Mystery 3 hr fight question.

jvanpelt

So we were up in Boca Grande Pass yesterday with 50lb main line and 60lb leader. One rod was using a big pinfish and my rod had on a green back. Dropped it down to the bottom and was hooked up immediately. Hook pulled after 20-30min. Next Allen dropped down and hooked up on the pin fish. Same thing, after 30 min or so hook pulled. Then again I dropped down and hooked up on another green back. Allen dropped down and also hooked up. He pulled the hook after about 30 min or so. I stayed hooked up for over 3 hours until my main line broke at a fray in the line.
The fight was intense. On all 4 hookups the fish hit the bait and immediately ran. It would stop and nose in to the current. We were able to get out in front with the boat and gain line on it. Every time it got to where it could hear the boat it would take off again. Big runs for about 3 hours. Any guesses on what it could be? Didn't fight like any goliath or shark I've ever caught, and the bait was so small, especially my greenie that I have a hard time picturing a big shark or goliath hitting it and it also didn't fight like any big ray I've ever caught. We were able to get it off the bottom and the runs were definitely mid water column.

bigfinn35

I'm probably not the best one to give a great answer, but maybe a big kingfish that you managed to hook in a way that didn't let it bite the line? I know they come into the pass sometimes.

Captain Ross

Probably a cobia. Lots of them hanging around right now.

Captain Ross

Got 3 last night inshore.

kmagnuss

The last decent tarpon I caught at Boca didn't jump and stayed low the whole time. Maybe? or a cobia?

amigho

sounds like you may have been dropping on a big school of big rays.

Ptsrhenry

50lb line but what size reel, could you not move it. This may not be the case but with the tide going in or out the bottom could fell like a fish as the boat drifts.

Finsfan

There are some big kingfish that have been caught in BGP. Were they smoker type runs?

Pilchard

You were stuck on the bottom. That big ledge loves white bait, jigs, crabs, squirrel fish etc...

Can't tell you how many times I have watched someone fight bottom in the pass... I bet it went on a screaming run every time you took the boat out of gear.....hahaha

reelman325

The rods were 15-50lb class and 7000 and 8000 size spinning reels. Pretty much what you would use for tarpon. It definitely wasn't the bottom because we were moving against the tide and whatever it was was still taking line against the current. It was definitely very odd. You could also feel head shakes and tail kicks but could never lift it off the bottom when it decided to stop running. Common sense would say it was a Goliath or big ray. If it was it ate a 3 inch greenie on 4/0 circle hook. Which seems crazy. Never heard anything like that happening before. It fought like big Cobia i've fought in the past but 3 plus hours seems a bit excessive.

Probably was a giant sailcat. Lol, or a giant sea unicorn!

Pilchard

When you were moving against the tide, I bet your machine would have still said you were going backwards.

The tail kicks and head shakes were likely because you were stuck on something that had a little give even though it was stuck solid on the bottom. Possibly a rope, another rig, etc.

The only thing in the pass with that much endurance is the bottom. Even a jumbo jew fish would have given up on that type of tackle with any significant pressure.

kmagnuss

I gotta admit I've been hooked up on the bottom there before and would have bet my firstborn it was a fish. All the while my friend laughing at me for the 4-5 minutes I "fought" it.

jvanpelt

Definitely wasn't the bottom. We had to chase it with the outboard multiple times with the outboard. When we hooked it we had the line straight up and down out by the point on the right hand side, when it finally broke off we again had the line straight up and down but back by the phosphate docks a few hundred yards away. When it ran we had to chase it with the outboard all over the pass, and on a slack tide where there was no water moving in or out.

SJC

Big **** shark

guitar picker

Pilchard wrote: »

You were stuck on the bottom. That big ledge loves white bait, jigs, crabs, squirrel fish etc...

Can't tell you how many times I have watched someone fight bottom in the pass... I bet it went on a screaming run every time you took the boat out of gear.....hahaha

This is what happened. I snapped some rods one of my first times there. I swore I was hooked up.

nuclearfishn

Bull guppy.

stpetebaitman

Warsaw Grouper for sure

offshore22

Long time ago, my dads friend had an 80lbs. black grouper in his freezer said he caught it by the phos. docks ( WASN'T A GOLIATH ) legit black grouper. He claimed he speared it on a slack tide :wink

sk018

Giant Cobia. Same thing happened to me off Sarasota about 6 miles out. We actually ran out of gas chasing it for 4 hours, had to finally break it off

jvanpelt

Maybe it was a rock. Oh well.

Captain Ross

We hooked something offshore 2 years ago that fought similarly. Hooked on a jig in 45 FOW near a wreck. Took us for a ride almost 3 miles before the knot wore through. It may have been a shark, but also a good chance it was a very large (90lb-100lb) cobia. They can stay down and keep trucking..... I'm still haunted by that fish to this day. Hate loosing a good fish without knowing what it was!!!

Good luck sleeping at night, lol...

BD27

I have caught goliaths over 5-6 feet long , Bull sharks over 10 feet long

One day I had the exact same thing happen to me . I was fishing a wreck in the keys in 240' of water . I tied into something BIG !! I could not figure out what it was ? I felt some head shakes and had to follow it with the boat . Every time that I got over it , I could not get it to budge upward at all . My first thought was big grouper , than big shark . After an hour or so , I just wanted to see what the hell I tied into . We kept chasing , I was on the bow and getting very tired . I didn't want to break it off , I just wanted to see it . We started approaching the Blue Water (Gulf Stream) . When I saw the stream , I said out loud to the rest of the boat . If this was a shark , he would already have worn thru the leader . I was using 65lb braid and a 80lb flouro leader . Than I said out loud , I have to whip this fish before he hits the stream and gains 4 knots of current and all that oxygen . I was fearing it would get stronger as I was getting weaker ! I put the heat to him probably 100 yards from the Purple water . I was able to turn the BEAST !

Turned out to be a reef shark , that was not much bigger than 4 feet !! I should have **** him in 10 minutes max ! He was hooked in the corner of the mouth (circle hook) and somehow the leader was under the bottom side and caught on it anal fin . That is the reason why I could not lift it ! No leverage to my advantage . Well at least I got to see him . Was very disappointed ! You might have had something similar . You will never know :shrug

Pilchard

Anything other than the bottom would have left the pass at some point during the fight.

Captain A-Dad

I fought a loggerhead turtle for a few hours

RMD

I have seen large rays fight like that

Binder

I've gotta agree with pilchard but I'm a idiot. Derpe :rotflmao

yellowdog

Same thing happened in the pass to me a few years back. Took a friend and we had crabs on heavy carolina rigs and hooked up immediately. He couldn't get it up to the boat. I'm not the most experienced in the pass and have been hung on the bottom beofre so that was my first thougt then I happened to look at my Lowrance. We could see whatever it was. He would put the heat on it and get it up about half way to the boat and it would sound on us again. We watched it do this about 6 times. We could clearly see it on the Lowrance. It finally sounded and broke off. We were fishing 65 lb braid with an 80 lb flouro leader on Diawa Saltist spinning reel.

reelman325

I guess all the information about how we had to fight whatever it was and all the things we did to not make complete idiots outta ourselves and fight this so called "bottom" was all for nothing. Not that it really matters but I'm pretty sure we know what the bottom feels like but thanks for the intelligent input.

capcioffi

Fought and caught a massive sting ray 15 years ago that fought the way you are describing. We were offshore so we did not have the current you did. I took us over 90 minutes on big grouper gear to get it to the boat. I did exactly what yours did, come off the bottom move and go back down. We were using 100lb main and 150 lb leader. It is still to this day the biggest ray I have ever seen. We were hoping for a Goliath at the time.

estero

No one said Warsaw?

Egreen cobra

I've hooked into a few manta rays in my time. Long runs, they hug the bottom, and at times feel like they stop but with some serious effort you can work them to the surface. Wider than the boat!