‘Let’s go after this thing.’ Palmetto fishing captain hops in water to reel in snook
Captain Griffin Deans is no stranger to hopping in the water and chasing down a big fish for clients.
“Normally, I can wade and stand to make it easier,” said the Palmetto-based captain Deans, who specializes in fishing inshore flats around the Manatee River and Terra Ceia Bay. “Sometimes I debate if it’s worth it for a few minutes before doing it.”
The situation usually occurs because a fish of large size overpowers the light tackle used on fishing charters for inshore species, taking the line around structures like docks or mangroves. Deans knows big fish make a trip, so he is willing to go the extra distance to do what it takes to get one in the boat. On a recent trip, a battle started from the boat but ended with not just him in the water to finish it.
“One of my guys caught a giant pinfish and I threw it in a bucket and said maybe we’ll use this later. We were catching so many fish at this spot, I decided that was probably the best opportunity to use it. I threw it out on the big rod and after it wasn’t eaten, I reeled it in and we started getting ready to move,” Deans recalled.
“I threw it out one more time and as we were leaving I felt it get thumped, the biggest thump you can get. It ran 50 yards off the rip through some dock pilings and into and out of mangroves, too. The water was so dirty and dark, I sat there for about 10 minutes debating to go after it or not. Then I said to my deckhand Corey Spreeman, ‘Let’s go after this thing.’”
Deans jumped in and started working his way toward the line. Soon he was over his head after not realizing just how deep the water was.
“It was deeper than I thought. It wouldn’t surprise me if there might be a goliath or bull shark around there. But we went through the pilings where the line was and then it was around a corner where it was wrapped on a couple branches,” Deans said. “Corey was stepping on the line and got one part free but then it was around another. I couldn’t feel the line moving and thought it might be off at that point.”
After a little more finagling, Deans and Spreeman freed the line of the branches. That’s when Deans saw the fish still at the other end for the first time.
“When it came free, I saw the fin free in the middle of the creek. I let the people in the boat know we were about to get this thing. I grabbed it, went back to the boat real quick and couldn’t believe any of what was happening. The current was ripping so the swim back was tough. We got some quick pictures and let it go.”
The big fish, a giant snook, was about 4 inches longer than the 40-inch ruler Deans had on the boat and the biggest to hit his deck. After the crazy occurrence, he said he might not do it again.
“Not being able to know how deep it was and just how fast that current was moving made it a bit crazier. Who knows what else could have been swimming there,” said Deans.
