I had to give it a 5. It was hands down the best trip to westport I've had in 5 years of going. Fished Sunday and Monday with success. Westport is heavily fished and a good day is hard to come by. We got beautiful weather, sunburns even! We fished the boardwalk, the finger jetties, and the main jetty. Had luck all 3 places. Ended up with 2 keepers with 7 thrown back. 8 decent green lings, 3 small rock fish, several lost fish, and a mental picture that will last a life time. I hate the "fish that got away" stories but I've got a good one. The second day I found a great spot to fish from. Did not consider a place to land a big fish. Second cast got a bite that felt like hanging a boulder. If you've caught ling you know what I'm talking about. Knew right away it was big and i was in trouble. The rock I was fishing from put me 8 feet above the water and it was straight down. No real access. After a 10 minute fight i got him up. It was going to be a personal best for me, in season. (Landed an oversize the week before the season opened.) He was a FAT 36 inch class fish and I got the shakes. I fish 3 times a week, damn near 52 weeks a year for situations just like this. What did all that practice do? Right out the window. I convinced myself that my 30lb braid could handle a 20lb fish. Hand over hand, over hand, over hand, over SNAP! ..... I'm going back next weekend. Tight lines all. (ling cod have TEETH! :-) )

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