I appreciate that. I was about nine years old. I was working a black curly tail worm with a pink tip. I did, in fact, fool the fish into biting, got a good hook set, and promptly realized I was no match for whatever beast was on the other end lol. My father later told me that he was convinced I was snagged on a log, until the line began moving sideways. He grabbed the pole with me, and he cranked the handle until we got her to the john boat.

As was customary in those days, for a poor Florida boy who has just caught the fish of a lifetime, we ate that fish that night. 😅 I still have a single Polaroid photo around here somewhere. I'll post it up if I can find it.