A note from Alec Lucas:
The strange fish are the ones that keep me super engaged and challenged as an angler, and strange we found. Our day started with the intent of camping on one of our favorite islands in the bay and targeting snapper species and whatever else we could find.
When fishing rocky shorelines, the biggest thing I like to focus on is canvassing the area. The biggest tactic I’ve learned is to put a few casts in one spot and then move to the next. I was jumping from rock to rock, blind casting fishy water. Suddenly, I retrieved my fly to my feet and this Giant Hawkfish made his move. As my fly dropped, the fish shot out from under the rock I was standing on and crushed my fly. Less than a few seconds, the Giant Hawkfish buried himself in volcanic rocks. Without hesitation, I jumped into the water, rod in one hand, the leader in the other. I dove down to pull this fish out not only from one rock but a few sharp volcanic rocks while getting smashed by waves.
After pulling him out of the volcanic rocks and landing him on the beach, I began shouting in awe as my good friend Jefe Feczko was in full sprint and excitement, making his way over to assist. We could hardly keep it together. This is the largest Giant Hawkfish we had ever seen and was on par with the world record. The aggression and fight of this alien-looking fish was unmatched. The biggest take away from this is to keep the fly in the water and keep exploring and pushing to try new things.
Angler Story of the Week from Alec Lucas, find him on Instagram @fish_a_day.Â
