A Most Unusual Double
Posted by Pete Robbins on Dec 9th 2020
Alabama Rigs notwithstanding, I’ve only caught one true “double” (two fish on one lure) in the United States – two 12-inchers on a Rat-L-Trap at Virginia’s Smith Mountain Lake over a decade ago. In Mexico, however, I’ve had several of them, and I’ve been in the boat several other times when a partner accomplished the feat. One time, Hanna’s 8XD crankbait grew heavy with a dead weight that turned out to be 11 pounds of bass – a 5-pounder and a 6-pounder.
She did not match that feat on this trip, but she did enjoy an unusual double on the second-to-last night.
It was dark, just about time to go in, with visibility limited but bats and mosquitoes buzzing around our heads.
I was retrieving my Whopper Plopper and she inadvertently cast her Rico over my line. As my lure neared the boat it got caught up in her line. My eyesight is growing increasingly poor, so I just passed it back to our guide Chichi to untangle it. She stopped reeling, but as Chichi worked on the lines we heard a distinct “whoosh” in the distance. He pulled on the line in his hands to set the hook, and then took about another 30 seconds to finish the extrication process.
When he was done, there was still weight on Hanna’s line, so she reeled it in to find two bass affixed to her popper. They must’ve really wanted that sucker to stay hooked for so long. As those of you who fish tournaments are well-aware, that’s the type of good luck that would never happen on derby day.
