Jack Chamblin of Merritt Island has been on a mission ovewr the past year or so to introduce his sons and grandsons to the wonderful world of our local bull reds. And each of his grandsons have caught big, bragging-sized reds. This time it was Sean, his youngest son’s turn on the Banana River with Capt. Rocky. The charter started mid-morning amidst the calmest, slickest part of the day and the fish were super spooky in the bright sun and clear water. The scarce fish were extremely sluggish as if waiting for conditions to change before starting to feed. Then the sea breeze finally kicked-in and that’s when history was made as Jack hooked a huge redfish not more than a half mile from his own dock. The monster stripped line time and again and had to be ‘chased down’ repeatedly in order to put line back on the Shimano Sustain 4000 reel as the battle royal raged for nearly an hour testing the considerable skill of aged angler. As the beast was finally subdued and lying in the net, no one could believe their eyes – the redfish measured 53 inches and weighed 46.9 pounds. It has to be one of the largest redfish ever caught in the Banana River. Now when the Chamblin clan gathers to brag on tales of by-gone bulls, there is no doubt who will own ultimate bragging rights – the 80 year old patriarch, Jack, for a fish passing into angling lore!
