The Skunkmeister scored big last night at the Big Ditch. Here’s how it went down.

It was a dark and stormy night (really). Disdaining my map and compass, and carrying no provisions for the journey, I slogged through rain and muck, and arrived at the edge of the known world, the Cape Cod Canal. Here there be monsters.

Baitfish were hopping all along the edge, and birds lined the stony banks, hoping for fresh fish. I clipped on a brand new Hopkins and cast away. Nothing. A second cast and, pow! The Hopkins snapped off and sailed magnificently northward alone into the mist. What a cast!

I rerigged and tried an amber Hogy. A few casts later and, bam! A major league hit! But no hookup. I reeled in a shredded softbait. This was getting exciting.

I hooked on a 4 ounce leadhead with a Sluggo, lovingly prepared and donated by my friend Bill Dean. I cast that baby out and jigged it a few minutes, but nothing. I cast again, letting it slip to the bottom, and, oomph, it was sucked in by a what can only have been a monster striper! I set the hook, and the fun began.

The monster moved slowly and fitfully eastward with the strong current. I kept the pressure on and swung the monster closer to shore. Within five minutes it had hunkered down in the rocks. I slipped, stumbled, and staggered over the slick rocks in the dark, keeping that pressure on, moving toward the great monster and hoping to get around to the front of it. But this trophy was both smart and tough, and it stayed solidly entrenched. After another ten minutes of fighting, I tightened the drag just a smidgen and gave a mighty but steady pull on the rod and, snap! It was gone.

I will never know exactly what that monster fish was. I think it was a big-time, canny striper. Uber-piscator Andy Nabreski says it was probably a rogue lobster trap.

In any case, the evening was a great success. I did not drown. I did not break an ankle on the dark rocks. I hooked something large and spooky and fought it valiantly like Captain Ahab for almost fifteen minutes. I even came home with some gear to use next time. As you can see, here I am at the brink, with this here big yellow popper thingy that I plan to use next time.

Not bad for an evening’s work at the Big Ditch!