Big ladies, little ladies--I like 'em all

Took my lunch out by the river today. I tied on a 1/4oz Yo-zuri with silver sides and a green top, went down to the dock, and started casting. On my first cast, I had a tremendous hit, and a large ladyfish burst through the surface, shook its head, and tossed my lure.

Second cast, I got a hit and then the hardest pull of my drag that I've ever put my reel through. I thought it would start smoking. I dug my rod butt into my stomach and held on, wondering what kind of fish I had on, when a huge ladyfish launched itself into the air and--predictably--tossed my lure out of its mouth.

Now, I ask you: What should I have done next?

What I did was cast out again, and hook another monstrous ladyfish, which jumped, shook its head, and snapped my line.

What I should have done before casting out again was check for weakness in my line after that second ladyfish put so much stress on my 10 pound braid.

So, my lunch break ended prematurely.

Later in the afternoon, I stopped by Coffee Pot for a few quick casts. I hesitated to even bring out my gear as it was so windy. I tried casting out with my Yo-zuri, but couldn't fling the lure more than twenty feet, which was not far enough out to reachthe ladies. Second, the water was so rough, it would have been hard for the ladies to see my lure in that chop anyway.

So, I walked back to my car and switched to a Gotcha lure to see if any of the ladies were hiding deeper in the hole. Cue superhero music:

I casted my Gotcha back into the same spot and started slayin' em. I reeled in three small ladyfish and jumped about six others in about 15 minutes. The 5/8 Gotcha is the smallest size they make, and really the only one light enough for my tackle. It was easy to fish and got fierce strikes toward the bottom of the water column.

Thinking about trying it out again tomorrow if the tide is right.