I swear, it was this big!

Yesterday, I caught a monster chainside pickerel at the pond across the way. I didn't have a scale with me, but the tape measure said 22", and as the record in RI for a chainside is a shade over 27", it was a damn big fish. Biggest I've ever caught in fresh water.

I was really just on the pond for a shakeout of my new rig. I wasn't expecting to catch anything, and was too busy fussing with the way the new Pflueger President Ultralight spinner was winding 8lb Fireline Crystal onto the spool (or wasn't winding it onto the spool, as was the case) to pay close attention to what I was casting where.

I did catch a few smaller "snakes" last year at this spot, 15 and 17 inchers, maybe a couple pounds each. They love blue-and-silver Kastmasters, and seem to respond well to a heavy plunk. I had the 1/8oz Kastmaster on, as it was a nice, heavy lure and I hoped a few dozen casts would break in the line. I screwed up a cast and ker-plunked it pretty hard near some sunken logs, and bam! Fish On!

The fight was intense, and it was a job to keep it from heading to deep grass. My fishing spot is just a little break in the treeline that slopes quickly down into deep water, with a lot of reeds and lillypads (or lillypad stems this time of year) bordering a clear patch in front of the break. You can cast to a lot of stuff from this spot, but the danger is that the fish can make a run for the jungle once they're on the line.

The new rig was definitely up to the task - I love ultralight, as it lets you feel what the fish is doing. I was able to hog it out from the grass and play the beast into the clear all by feel, and the rod did a remarkable job of getting out of the way. The best tools never remind you that you're using a tool. The reel had been giving me fits all afternoon, but under load, it worked like a champ.

I think that Fireline has too much memory for such a small spool. I'll try some Spiderwire Invisibraid, and see if that works any better.

I had some trouble removing the hook from its lip, and this reminds me to track down some little barbless trebles to equip my lures with. In the end, it swam away, and I hope to catch it again in a year or two, when it becomes a record-breaker.