Catching or Skunked? You be the judge:

Had twenty minutes today and hit CPB for a few long casts. Tied on a 7/8oz silver Gotcha with a red head and walked down to my usual spot where the ladyfish have been holding.

No bites on the first few casts, so I knew that the fish weren't there. Still, I kept casting, and suddenly, right as my cast hit the water, my drag started screaming as my line flew off my reel. Shocked, I looked up to see a huge wake plowing through the bayou. I knew that could only mean one thing, and my heart sank as I realized I had hooked a manatee.

The manatees frequent the warm waters of Coffee Pot Bayou, and I avoid the places that they gather to ensure that my hooks aren't coming in proximity to their flippers and other assorted parts. Every afternoon they commute from the shallows out to the open flats of the bay, leaving odd dimpled wakes behind them.

The manatees were on that commute when I hooked one of them. I couldn't see them today when they were cruising through the water because the wind was blowing hard out of the east and chopping up the water.

When I told this story to Shawn, she said, "Well, what did you do?"

There is nothing else you can do in that situation besides tighten up your drag and see if you can break off the line. As a testament to the 10 pound braid that I had on my reel, that wasn't easy to do, but eventually the line went slack.

I was thrilled to feel some weight on the line, which meant that my lure had pulled free from the tough hide of the manatee, rather than remaining wedged in its skin.

When I retrieved my lure, I packed up my gear and headed back to my car. No reason to fish any longer today.