The 50 Year Storm

Have you ever seen point break? It’s a classic movie about some surfers who are bank robbers. The Reeves (Keanu) goes undercover to stop these dudes and needs to learn to surf. In a nut shell, he catches the bad guy but has to let him go. He caught him where he knew he’d find him, where the 50 year storm would hit where waves would be as big as sky scrapers. Once only ever 50 years would this event come. While the bad guy, Body, is looking at the waves, handcuffed and going to prison when the Reeves decides to let him go so he can surf the waves that came only once every 50 years…

I had a similar story, not like I was handcuffed or anything and going to prison, but I surfed a 50 year storm. With my fishing pole.

All my life I wanted to catch a big 10 plus pound bass. Not just catch a big bass, but a big bass on a trout swimbait. Knowing that fishing can produce a 50 year storm once or maybe twice in your life (but if you know what’s up, it happens frequently, I give those guys mad respect. Except those who take it to their heads.), I had heard from a close short hairy friend that an epic bite was on at a specific lake. I don’t need to say names because if you know, you know.

Minded this friend, had only been fishing for 1 year and caught a 45 pound bad during this swell. A 45 pound bag on jigs! Jigs! My whole life I wanted to get a bag like this, let alone one fish that was in this bag. Well, I decided to go out with him 2 days following his amazing day that probably will not be repeated for the rest of his life (scum bag).

On this day, I brought my Calcutta swimbait rod rigged with 25 pound Pline maxima and a 12 ROF Huddie.

We hit the spot where he hooked his fish with minimal luck (nothing, except he unbuttoned a toad earlier in the day) and decided to move on. Once we hit the next main lake point, I was determined to keep hucking that HUDDIE for one of these hungry pre spawn Florida strain largemouth bass. Low and behold, I got bit. I could not believe it. A bite on a hud! That was enough to get my heart pumping faster than I have ever experienced fishing. I love adrenaline, and this was the perfect fix. I keep saying, “I got bit on my Hud, I got bit on my Hud!”

The next cast was the start of the 50 year storm. My first HUD fish weighing 7.5 pounds. Best fight ever. Blissssssssss. I thought to myself, ”Wait, I read once where there is one big one, there is usually another”. Two casts later, new PB and my first 10 pound plus, a beautiful 10.5 pound bass.

Following that day was one month filled with the best fishing of my life. Multiple 9 pounders each day, a humungous bag over one weekend, and I experienced it with three of my best friends. Was it for the taking, I will never know…we were always the only ones on the water!

After thinking about he elements that made this happen, I figured out why it was my 50 year storm

• Lake closed to boats (except when you launch them by hand)

• Pre spawn

• Trout hungry bass

• Weekly trout plants

• No trolling motor so we anchored making no noise what so ever

• Many types of Huddlestons available at the local shop

• Proper gear investment before the storm

• Moon was just right

Without all of those elements being perfectly aligned, I would have never experience the bite I had. I actually do not know if it will happen again. Of course I hope it does, but I swear, I feel like I were to die now and look back upon my life, I could say I’m glad I finally accomplished what have always wanted to do with my life in Largemouth Bass fishing.

Be prepared for your storm. Have the right gear, go to the right spots, research, ask questions, and most of all, HAVE FUN! Thank you BazzTurdz.