cuban yoyo fishing reel Hand Yo-Yo with Hook keeper-Pre-Rigged Line & Hook- 6 tied and rigged Offshore Angler Cuban Yo-Yo

As darkness approached I swapped out the baits for larger "big shark" offerings

It's still being produced today, although it doesn't look the same as that old black workhorse used by kids and grownups across the country

I also tied my personal best smallmouth record on the same outing as the sun gently lifted above the tree-line

With giggles from coming from my guide, whod climbed down off the poling platform and cranked the motor, I watched my sturdy 8-weight pump up and down as the giant fish tore fly line off my reel and pulled into the tannin-stained waters of Terrebonne Bay (yes, gar can and do live happily in brackish water, just as they thrive in freshwater rivers from Oklahoma, south to the Gulf and east to the Atlantic)