# House Report: 8/26/2013 > I Quit!



## HOUSE (Apr 29, 2010)

Well, I'm done fishing for a while... 

Not because it's too hot or too crowded or the fact that it's been tough finding the fish this summer...but because I have no freaking idea how I'm ever going to top this fish! 


:B











-After this weekend's survival story with Smitty down on the Ohio, I set out on foot to get some fresh air and test some new lures I ordered online. Most of the time when I go wading, I'm well aware that my odds of catching these bigger hybrids (or any at all for that matter) are often very low. On this trip, I really just wanted to get out of the house and enjoy the nice weather. I also couldn't sleep because every darn part of my body hurt after dragging my damn kayak a mile through Ohio River swampland. Here's how this catch went down, it is one of my top 3 favorite fish stories of the year:

8/26/2013 REPORT:
I crawled out of bed around 5am completely miserable due to getting my butt kicked by the Ohio River the day before with SmittyFisher. For those of you that don't know me, I had a pretty bad accident in 2004 and broke my back in 4 places, so any time I go out and do something stupid like yanking a kayak up and around freaking trees while waist deep in mud for 7 hours, my body lets me know it's angry with me for about 5 days afterwards. Unfortunately, I still do a lot of stupid stuff!

Unable to sleep, I decided to go out and get some coffee and enjoy the nice weather. I hit the water by daybreak and was fortunate to find a foggy, steamy river waiting for me, hidden from the sun by thick clouds. The creek I wanted to fish was running low but the water was clear and there was some excellent looking water where the creek poured over some big rocks at a choke point. I had about 5 new lures I wanted to test that I had ordered a long time ago but never got around to tie on. The first being a sweet looking jointed swimbait:








I was pleasantly surprised with its action in the water - it snaked back and forth like a real looking fish and with its black back, it looked very much like the baitfish in the area. My only complaint with it was that it rode very high in the water column, but as luck would have it, a few hybrids started busting shad around me right on the surface. I'd say out of the 8 days a week I go fishing, I only see fish busting shad 5% of the time, so it was a welcomed sight and it didn't take me long to start catching fish.









I would be more than content on any trip just to walk away with a picture of a fish like this. He snarfed down my swimbait 6 inches under the surface and gave me a bit of a scare when he swam into some fast moving water and started ripping line. I've been fishing with 10pound braid (2pound diameter line), so it's right on the edge of my comfort zone where I can pull on a fish pretty hard without the line breaking at the knot. Once these hybrids get over 18 inches they start pulling hard...and once they get over fishOH size, they stop "pulling" and just "go" where to go wherever the heck they want.

I caught another tank shortly after on a different swimbait, seen here above the fish:








This hybrid tried to pull a hit and run on me as I was scrounging this lure along the bottom of the water column. I paused to drink some coffee and while I looked away for that short few seconds, he picked up my lure and raced off downstream burning drag and causing me to spill my drink. I think we've all had those fish stories where we get caught off-guard and have to fumble around to find the drag or close the bail or whatever, and it's usually 50/50 whether or not it goes well, lol. I got lucky with this fish and when I pulled on him to set the hook, he wasn't in the fast moving water and I was able to turn him around rather than break him off or pull the hook out of his mouth.

Fast forward about an hour and the sun had started to climb its way above the trees and burn through the clouds. The fish had long since stopped busting bait and had all but disappeared from the area. My back was on fire from all of the standing and casting, so I decided to take a break, sitting down on a large rock right at the water's edge near the fastest moving water around. I had a small swimbait tied on which I threw out into the current to let it swing wildly in the waves while I was resting. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a huge explosion a few feet away where a large striped bass had busted on a large baitfish and missed. It happened so close to me that I could have reached out and hit the fish with my rod tip. That has only happened a few times in my life, and holy cow is it exciting to be that close to the action. The baitfish was a 10-12 inch long skipjack, which zipped away in terror right next to where my lure was flipping about. A striped blur raced after him, swimming full steam like a torpedo just under the surface, leaving a wake of white water in its trail. Just as the two of them passed my lure, I literally watched the hybrid change his mind and switch focus away from the skipjack and steamroll right over my lure snatching it up and peeling off downstream as fast as my eyes could follow. Did this seriously just happen?!? By the time I had even stood up, he was 50 feet away and my reel was screaming. I scrambled downstream after him with my rod completely doubled over, clinging onto it with both hands. I felt like I was deep sea fishing. The fish made a huge crash on the surface and thrashed about wildly, giving me at least 3 heart attacks as I was certain this tiny lure would break off or get thrown free. I struggled to get the fish turned around and we had a bit of a chess match as he went in and out of the fast moving water. It was almost as if he was daring me to pull harder on the line, knowing the slightest bit of added pressure would give him a chance to break free. Finally, after a good 10 minute battle, I was able to pull the monstrous fish close enough to shore to grab his mouth. He didn't like that and flailed about, causing my lure to slice open my thumb. I took a few quick pictures and a measurement just shy of 27 inches, which ties my personal best record for these amazing fish. I weighed him on my non-digital scale and it bounced around just over 10 pounds, so I finally broke the double-digit stripe club which has been a goal of mine for 2 years now.

Next to the last year's tank smallmouth and a 12 pound true striper I caught in January, this will go down as one of my favorite catches of all time. I jokingly said at the start of this recap that I'm done fishing for a while, but how on earth do I top a fish like this? 









-House


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## imalt (Apr 17, 2008)

Thats and awesome river fish. And that skipjack probably appreciates you saving his life for the time being at least.


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## Nubes (Dec 3, 2012)

WOW! what a beast! theres obviously no shortage of food where he lives, hes a fatty! I am jelous! Ive got my eye on a couple of SPRO jointed swim baits that look amazing in the water. one stays near the surface and the other is a countdown I believe. I ran into a dude at Kincaid fishing them a couple weeks and they looked amazing I thought.


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## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

Now that is a trophy! Nice fish sir.


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## zuelkek (Jun 8, 2011)

Wow, what a freakin' awesome story. You're obviously having a blast, which is why we do it. I'm happy with the 12" smallie I got last night, but this is a quantum leap in sportsfishing happiness. Nice! I did finally get a big fish last week, a 27" channel cat that had no intention of giving up. That was fun. I'd love to hook into a striper, though.


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## SeanStone (Sep 8, 2010)

Well written report and well done on the hybrids Rob. Thats a monster no doubt. Everytime fall rolls around those big hybrids start showing up in the tribs of the ohio. I know yours is kinda early so you have more time to improve. Maybe that will motivate you enough to get out and fish a little more. 

if not just send me all your gear and a list of all your honey holes. ......lol.

Well done and congrats on tying your pb.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## sammerguy (Jun 7, 2011)

Awesome! Sounds to me like Striper fight as hard as a carp. I might have to try to get one soon and see.


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## Bazzin05 (Feb 2, 2011)

Nice catch. That thing is a pig!


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## Crawdude (Feb 6, 2013)

Wow! Amazing fish! I'm just happy to know we have fish like that in our local rivers!


Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


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## SMBHooker (Jan 3, 2008)

AWESOME!!!!!!! . . and a few more exclamations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




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## Dandrews (Oct 10, 2010)

Holy Cow!! That's a Hawg!!!and a good story too.


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## ghurlag (Apr 27, 2013)

The feeling of satisfaction out of that... Oh yeah

We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it. -Abraham Lincoln


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## inrll (Apr 6, 2012)

I love it when they look unnatural they're so freaking huge! Congrats man!


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## Smittyfisher (Dec 11, 2012)

Holy cow!!! That fish is bigger then me and im pretty big. House you are a fishing master that speaks hybrid.  well done.


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## Nubes (Dec 3, 2012)

Smittyfisher said:


> Holy cow!!! That fish is bigger then me and im pretty big. House you are a fishing master that speaks hybrid.  well done.


LOL...Fish Whisperer...Or that hybrid is being hand fed in a tank behind his house??

That thing is a beast!


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## deltaoscar (Apr 4, 2009)

Great story and awesome fish House.


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## backlashed (Mar 19, 2011)

Great story and even better fish! We have some future HOF on this site and I really enjoy reading your (their) reports.


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## jpost (Aug 19, 2013)

Man, what a beauty!


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## oldstinkyguy (Mar 28, 2010)

Good karma from the mud creek trip paying off...

That my friend is a gorgeous fat slob of a fish


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## Mean Morone (Apr 12, 2004)

Nice fish House. I had to go to TN to get my first 10 lb hybrid.


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## GarrettMyers (May 16, 2011)

That thing is a monster. That was a hell of a story, not quite as good as the "dragon tramp stamp story", but solid nonetheless.


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