Roosterfish Woes: The One that Got Away

By Sam Wike

Everyone has a story like this every fly fishing trip they take... but this one was so close I could taste it, and have had nightmares of losing this fish already.

During the last hour of the entire trip (standard storytelling line, but it’s true), we were out in front of the beach hooking up and seeing some smaller Roosterfish and Jack Crevalle. Actually a huge school of Jack Crevalle--thousands just sitting under the boat.

The day before I had made some casts in front of the lodge before dinner and saw a huge rooster crash on a Jack Crevalle. One of those moments that you wish everyone could see so they believe you, and impossible to replicate with words.

Hooking up with the Largest Rooster of the Trip

Well we hooked a fish in this spot and I cast a larger closer towards a dock and I saw a large shadow beneath the boat at the same time. Not even realizing what happened my line was tight and at first-nothing-just a tight line. I look over at Brian who is still casting and look back, and a massive (I mean huge) roosterfish jumps and shakes out of the water.

My Loop reel is immediately spinning like it’s in the Indy 500. I can’t even believe how far away this fish is! Rene, our boat captain is frantic and immediately asks me what pound test I had. I told him 20 pound fluorocarbon, he responded with a bad word so I knew this was going to be difficult.

I asked him how big he thought this roosterfish might be, he said, "Maybe 50 pounds or more." I felt weak. Then Rene told us that he had never seen a fish (roosterfish) this big hooked on a fly.

"I've Never Seen a Rooster that Big on the Fly"

We hadn’t seen a fish this large the whole trip, so to us, 20 pound had been fine the whole time for the inshore species. I couldn’t turn the fish and the fish wouldn’t stop running. We had to start chasing it with the motor. I got the fish onto my fly line nine or ten times, but every time the fish saw the boat, it would go screaming in to my backing again.

After an hour of fighting the fish we could see the fish starting to get tired. There was about a ten minute Mexican standoff 20 feet from the boat: I couldn’t move the fish, and the fish wasn’t moving any closer. We just sat and watched this huge roosterfish lay there and wag its tale at us. Then finally it started coming a little closer. In my mind, I was like, "This is it."

Not.

And He's Gone

Another screaming run into my backing and at the end of that run, and it happened: I felt nothing on the other end. I was in disbelief at what had just happened, and had no real emotion at first.

I really thought we were going to land that fish. Rene explained to me that on the larger fish their tail is so large that after a while it can wear through the tippet. The knot didn’t fail as it was a clean break. I just sat down, said, "Thank you," to Rene for the experience and laid back.

I have no pictures or proof of that fish other than Brian and Rene, some mediocre video footage, and some pictures where the tail of the fish is just barely visible.

I’ll be back.