Mangar... A BIG Eye-Racki fish

Saltwater Fly-Fishing
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WHOOO FORKIN HOOO!!! HOLY DOO DOO YA’LL!!! Ok so there I was fishing my usual spot and we weren’t gettin squat. Pritchard and I decided to move over to the old Chapel and fish the bridge and see what shakes loose. Well the baby asps were bitin, nabbed 10 of them in about 20 minutes. I decided to move down a bit further to get away from the trees and the cars and in the corner by the bridge I heard a big splash and a boil… “hmmm musta been sumptin big” I thought… I whipped my march brown 8wt wiht a size 2 black wooly bugger with big bead chain eyes into the small weed bed in the corner and before I could mend line and get ready to strip there was a huge crash and I felt the line singing through my fingers. Before I realized I had a GOOD fish on she pulled the line all the way through my fingers and the drag began it’s song… She railed off about 3/4’s of my fly line in about a second and I finally got my wits about me. I jammed my palm to the side of the reel and let it sing. Man, what a great song :slight_smile: Then all the bad things that could go wrong started going through my head… will the leader hold? Is my backing really tied on? I hope there isn’t anything on the bottom to snag up on… She made another blistering run and had me into the backing a good 40 feet before I realized what was happening. I started walking back and forth following her and gaining line. Reel a little, she’d take a little. After about what seemed like 3 days, about 5 minutes actually, I really started gaining line and I could see my leader. Finally she made an appearance, it was a Mangar! One of the two species left for me to catch here in the Victory Base Complex, in Baghdad. I really got excited now. A little more fight and she really started to go where I wanted her to go. I walked over to the steps that go down to the water and slipped my fingers under her gill plate and she was MINE!!! After practicing CPR (Catch, Photo, Release) she swam away strong and fast to fight another day. This is the bigegst fish I

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Nice fish! Congrats, and good luck in the tournament.

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Best post in awhile…nice job dude. Actually a good looking fish too.

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Sweet…super job!

“Curiousity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect." Steven Wright

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Awsome!!!

Pathfinder 1806
90 Yamaha

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quote:
Originally posted by winyah-jay

Actually a good looking fish too.

I agree. Looks almost snook-like.

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There are many memories in one’s life. The first time in the backing on a fly reel is a pretty strong one for me too.

Let’s see. It was on a Kiawah pond, the summer of '96 when out of nowhere…

Sorry! I started drifting back.

Congratulations! Great catch.

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FANTASTIC!!! when you get back stateside, gimme a ring and we will see if we cant connect you to something red that gets to your backing, as i havent taken a flyfishingvet recently and always feel patriotic!!

Newman
www.gtownkingfisher.com

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JEDI!!! DUUUUDE. Flippin sweet man!! Have u quit smilin yet?? dats a beau-t-ful fish my brudda!!! holy cow, those last months of fish pics seem feeble and chitty in comparison.

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amazing…

'00 Palmetto BoatWorks 15.5 w/ johnson 50

Knowledge Speaks, but Wisdom listens…

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Scotty my Brudda… I am STILL smilin! :smiley::wink: My hands didn’t stop shakin for like half an hour :wink: I know what you’re sayin… I caught 4 fish today and they were all barely bigger than the cork on my rod and it was just depressing :wink: We have the OPERATION CATCH FISH Tourment tomorrow and it looks like I may be on ESPN’s Gettin Schooled… they are here for the tourney tomorrow and Eric the host wants me to show him where to find some big fish on Sunday… I’ll keep ya’ll posted…

Capt Newman… It’s a deal… :wink:

“Paddle faster boys… I hear banjo music!”
Charleston Director- SCKayakfishing.com
Tarpon 160os

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Right freakin on!!! Thats a beautiful lookin fish! Good job on the catch and good luck in the tourny, and as allways, stay safe man!

Russ B.

Psalm 55:22

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o hells yea!! you should design a topwater fly called “Bombs over Bagdad” and get a hawg for the camera!! the dorsal fin on that thing is wicked

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quote:
Originally posted by winyah-jay

Best post in awhile…nice job dude. Actually a good looking fish too.

Ill cheers to that!

Thanks for sharing Nikon I really enjoyed the story and I know I always see you talking about wanting those big reds on fly…well there you have it…well it wasnt a red but its a beut! Freakin cool looking fish and I know I would love to catch one! When do you return?

Jeremy

BTW im loving that nikon!