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Lost a monster...what big fish live in the ICW saltwater creeks?

6K views 18 replies 15 participants last post by  flathead 
#1 ·
Was (am) fishing a creek off the Intracoastal Waterway in Ocean Isle tonight. Put a mullet head on an 8/0 not really expecting much while using fishbites I a smaller rod.

Within 20 minutes the reel was screaming. I engaged the spool and the fish ripped off 100 yards before it slowed down, took another run and then my line went slack and my heart broke. I had forgotten to check my drag. It was so tight I could not pull any out by hand when I checked it afterward. I’m such an idiot.

Anyway, this particular creek gets really shallow at low tide and the tide had been incoming for only about two hours. It’s been super hot here, so I really wasn’t expecting much to hit thay big head in the creek.

Could it have been a shark? A big red? That was a super intense initial run, especially considering the amount of drag that was cranked down.
 
#8 ·
Bull croaker it was! Ha!

I deserve that for sure. For the record, the day before I hooked into what had to have been a ray in the surf. After a long fight, I got it within 20 yards of the shore and it just sucked itself into the sand. I waited on it for another ten minutes and got sick of what was no longer a fight. Knowing it had to be a ray, I tightened down the drag and tried to horse it home. The ray won. And I forgot to loosen the drag.

That was seriously crazy in the creek though. I never thought I’d hook anything on that big head in such shallow, warm water. My heart was thumping! Never experienced anything like that except in the ocean or bay.

No frayed line. Clean break.
 
#9 ·
With rays that suck themselves down to the bottom, strum the line like a guitar, they don't like the vibrations and will sometimes let loose of the bottom. X3 on the shark and given the tide was only 2hrs in and you were in a canal I'm sure the oyster bars assisted in the cutting of the line. I was fishing in Florida two weeks ago on the east coast, rod doubled over in a sand spike and then went slack before I could take 2 steps to it...shark, clean cut of 50lb powerpro.
 
#12 ·
Stingray , they will pull line effortlessly even on super tight drags and they run full bore without stopping , as others said it was either that or a sizable shark because Ocean Isle has large sharks everywhere and i have them routinely darting in and out in when wading in very very shallow water .
 
#18 ·
At any given time you can take an "L" with standard gear from shore. It could be one of a few species, but when it gets to the point that 15lbs of drag won't stop the fish?....it's a big fish. Forget about a small body of water....alll big fish can go into smalll body of water. The temps have been hot and the salinity is up. Reds, sharks, skates;sting rays..,.many a fish can rip line from a reel,
 
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