The One that Got Away and the One that Did Not - Big Island Hawaii

I was whipping on the South Kona Coast today after I did some work around the house. I caught a few small fish and let them go.

The Taape in the picture was a small fish that I would have let go but...

I was whipping with a pink curly tail and took a small hit. I set the hook and the fish fought for a few seconds then SCREAMER the line started ripping out and my rod was bent over.

I thought AWESOME big fish. I fought it for a few minutes and I got it close to the shore then it took off again.

Another few minutes of fight and then I could see the leader then this small Taape showed up.

My first reaction was WTF.

When I brought it in the small Taape was chewed up. You can see it in the picture.

So I hooked up to a the Taape then a big fish grabbed it and took off. Since the hook was in the Taape the only thing keeping the fish on the line was the Taape in its mouth or stomach. I guess when the fish tired after the long fight it spit it out.

That was the most awesome fight I have had on my whipping pole in a long time.

I ended up throwing the dead Taape back into the ocean for the one that got away to claim its prize.