10'4" hammer released by John Widmann, IV of the N.G.R.R.

Any other Friday night, I would have been at my favorite karaoke bar, hitting on your girlfriends. However, I was on the kayak, paddling out three baits off Venice Pier, thinking about how Northern European women are all beautiful because the Vikings were selectively breeding. Good job, men.

Anyways, around 5:20 Jimmy starts commenting on how my 14/0 is shaking and making noise. Turns out when I relocated my rod, I forgot to turn the clicker on. Great start. So I finish my drink, and calmly walk over to what I figured was an over zealous nurse shark. The fish begins to pick up speed, and the crowd slowly accumulated.

This is the text I sent to Dan and Sean... "EMERGENCY! BIG F€£¥INGE FISH AT VENICE PIER! JOHN JOHN" not sure if Tony typed it, or I did it between sipping my cigar city beer.

Neglecting the offer for a bitch-belt or whatever mates with the rod gimble to create a more pleasurable experience was a bad idea, as I sat on top of my boys for three hours on this fight. Surviving the odds, risking three cut offs from passing boats, the fish worked its way against the tide. Jimmy screamed "Its a hammer, he's trying to work against the ride so he can rest on breaks." I realized I was in for a long fight at that point.

Luckily, my fellow guitarist from Justdrivesouth arrived with a six pack and a burger for me. Thanks Tony Isgrig!

So we work our way back and forth on the T, praying the fish cooperates. Halfway into the fight, we were counting frays in the line, and jimmy mentions that the leader he rigged me up with while I was kayaking was a shitty jewfish leader with a huge cut in the mono.

Great.

So I back the drag off a little more.
The reel took off again, as the fish had gotten its second wind, and was putting expired HT-100s to their test. 300 yards, 350 yards, 450 yards, 700 yards, the fish was starting worry me at this point, as a skiff boat approached from the north. Dan got the kayak out of Jimmy's truck and paddled towards the incoming boat. I've never seen him so goddamned happy.

The fish gives, then takes, then gives, then takes, then finally surfaces about 250 yards to the north. "IT'S A HAMMERRRR!!!!! AND IT'S HUGE!" the fish surfaces literally twenty yards from Dan and he doesn't see it quite yet.

The fish heads south, as it was determined that it had to be beached on the south side of the pier. Awesome. I hadn't realized the large crowd that gathered. Mind you, that it was about 7:45, so the entire state of Wisconsin was there to watch the sunset. "OFF THE RAIL, OFF THE RAIL, MOVE, GET OUT OF THE WAY, ohh yoga pants..., WATCH THE HELL OUT" were some of the more polite things said. Thankfully, the entire situation was being assisted by people who knew what to so, and how to manage. Thanks guys. Seriously.

So we work our way down to the bait shop, and the fish basically beaches itself on the sandbar. Jimmy and the Bobby are mid-air by the time I look over, swimming to the sandbar. By then I was full sprint with my 14/0 to the beach. Did I mention Ohio and Michigan were there too? More yelling, screaming, and nice butts in yoga pants.

I get on the beach and sprint full force into the waist deep trough, jimmy and bobby and Dan have all got this under control by then. There must have literally been three hundred people there.

At this point, words can't even do justice to the state of mind I was in.
Exhausted, slightly buzzed, and just... So epic.
The second I get my hands on the shark, I put both arms in the air with the 14/0 and scream a noise that I couldn't have ever recreated.

Pictures, taped out, redbull can, and celebrating, pictures et cetera... And Jimmy, Dan, Bobby, and I start working on getting the shark back to health. Dan and Jimmy manage to get the shark over the sandbar and on its way to whatever it's fate may be.

8:07, the sun finally starts to set, and walking back up the pier, the orange-red-violet of the sky reflecting off the water, the last visible thing was that huge sickle shaped fin disappearing into the horizon..

It's so important that we maintain preserving these wonderful large sharks so that future generations can enjoy what we do, as some of us only find true solace on the sand. If you can't manage getting in the water with your shark to release it, then you should just stick to bass fishing, you sissy.

But yeah, here's some pictures. Thank you everyone that contributed by helping, pictures, getting the hell out of the way, and even the few cute girls in yoga pants that did absolutely nothing.

Thank you

https://www.facebook.com/john.widmanniv