Stroke of luck reunites angler, rod

There wasn't anything really special about Neal Taylor's favorite rod and reel combo.

The rod was a 24-year-old Quantum Blue Runner - a heavy stick with lots of backbone.

The reel was an old Penn 225 LD.

But when the outfit dived into the chilly depths of the Atlantic Ocean, it broke Taylor's heart.

"That combo was my baby," said the captain and owner of Sea-Duction Sport Fishing. "That was my favorite togging rod. I caught an 18-pounder with that outfit.

"I can't tell you how bummed I was."

Yep. This is another one of those lost-it-found-it rod-and-reel stories that only a handful of anglers can associate with.

And like many of the others, this one has some incredible circumstances.

Taylor's extraordinary day started out like most others - with he, his wife Janet, and friend Scott Fiedorczyk heading to their favorite coastal wreck for a day of tautog fishing.

But when they got to the small snag where they wanted to start, a boat already was anchored and fishing.

"Too small of a place for more than one boat," Fiedorczyk said. "We were kind of upset that we got beat getting there."

Plan B took the trio about 12 miles south to another piece of wreck.

While they had this one to themselves, the trouble with the location was that it was producing only small fish. And not very many of them.

That's when the disastrous moment happened.

Taylor got hung in the wreck. When he tried to free the hook and weight with a hardy yank, the rod slipped out of his grasp and shot into the water.

"It's the first time I've ever lost a rod and real overboard," said Taylor, 45. "I was ready to pack it in and head home.

"But I didn't throw a fit or anything. I just got another rod and reel and kept fishing."

He quickly was rewarded for his sacrifice to the fishing gods and his calm demeanor when a huge tog snatched up his offering.

Taylor knew the fish was big. He also knew when it wrapped the line several times around the anchor line.

Not wanting to miss what obviously was a good fish, Fiedorczyk quickly grabbed the anchor line and freed the grapple from the wreck.

You already know what happens next, don't you?

Taylor saw which way the line was wrapped around the rope and unwound it so he could continue the fight. Minutes later, he was boating what turned out to be an award-winning 16-pound, 1-ounce tog - the current leader in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament.

And when Fiedorczyk pulled up the rest of the anchor line so they could hook back up to the wreck, he found a bunch of line wrapped around it.

"I started pulling on the line and it felt heavy," he said. "I thought it might just be some of our weights that broke off.

"But I kept pulling and sure enough. I yelled at him 'Dude, I've got your rod.' He couldn't believe it."

And to make a good story better, the action turned on for the togging trio. Each angler caught a weight citation award-winner topping the state's 9-pound minimum. They each also scored release awards for fish longer than 23 inches.

They left with a limit of one of saltwater fishing's tastiest species.

And an old rod and reel that was very special to its owner.

"The day started off bad and got worse, then things got better and I didn't feel so bad about the rod," Taylor said. "Then I get my rod back and things really got good with the catching.

"It was one crazy day."

Lee Tolliver, (757) 222-5844, lee.tolliver@pilotonline.com