Rollover Pass, Bolivar Peninsula, TX.)… At approximately 9:45 am, John Scurtu, while jig fishing Rollover Pass for flounder, felt a sudden tug on his line, setting the hook, John first felt what he thought was a good flounder tugging at his line, then, as he pulled up to start reeling in his catch, the fish suddenly decided to take off for the Gulf of Mexico, dragging John with him.
Now, hooking up with a big fish at Rollover is a common sight at the Pass as several big fish are caught, landed, or lost here just about every day. But what made this angler vs. fish fighting scene a bit different was that John had only four pound test line between him and the rampaging redfish.
John, an ultra-lite enthusiasts, was using a telescopic type rod of high modulus carbon, which was a Triana Special Competition GRANDSLAM VHS 140 rod made in Italy by Gabriele Tubertini. The telescopic rod of 16.4 feet weighed only 6.7-ozs. John’s reel was an Abu-Garcia Cardinal model 600-U with stamina drag system spooled with 4 lb test Berkley Fire-Line rigged with XPS Fluorocarbon 14 -Lb test monofilament leaders. Mr. Scurtu was fishing with tandem rigged 1/8 -oz Gamakatsu jig-hook and a 1/4 -oz Renegade jig-hook in chartreuse and red lead-head colors tipped with flounder belly strips with small chartreuse and pink colored beads for color flash and sound clicks.
“I was slowly ’massaging’ my jigs on the edges of a sand hump against an outgoing tide, John informed, when I felt a light ’tic’ of a bite and immediately set the hook on what I thought was just a good flounder bite. But I soon learned quickly that the fish was much, much, bigger than I had first thought when it suddenly began bulldozing its way towards the gulf, dragging me with it. I just kept my wits about me, John informed, and just kept my rod up high, giving it line when it ran and retrieving line back when It allowed me to do so. After about 25 minutes of tug-o-war, and with the help of a nearby angler who handled the net, I was finally able to land the wonderful fish on the bank.”
“Now, John explained, I didn’t want to kill such a beautiful fish so I managed to get it to the Four Star Quality Bait Shop across the street to have it measured and weighed on certified scales by shop owner, Ben Bruce. The red weighed 23 lbs and measured 40 inches long by 23-1/2 inches around. Then allowing for about 15 minutes of recovery time in a saltwater bait shop tank, I took the fish back out to the pass and released it.”
Writers Note: John Scurtu, a former Romanian National Fishing Team Coach, has qualified for a Texas Saltwater Lunker Fish Award as well as a Texas Saltwater Catch & Release Award. And his incredible 4 pound test redfish catch is now being processed as a possible line class World Record catch for the International Fish & Game Association.
This article sponsored by Fishingworld.com and Hazel’s RV Park on Rollover (409)286-5223.
