Of truth and fish stories, part 1

I try to have a life that doesn't revolve completely around fishing. As the editor of this section, that's very difficult sometimes. I am a PTA mom, I belong to a professional organization of which I am the treasurer, and I am a wife -- though I usually see more of my husband at work than at home, especially during the Hook, Line & Sinker season.

When I got the first messages Friday night about this potential world-record fluke, I was driving home from what was supposed to be the first night of a soccer coaching licensing course. My daughter has decided to play her mom's sport this fall, and I want to be involved.

Since the messages were left at 5 p.m., I called the one person I knew would be all over the story: John Geiser, our longtime outdoors columnist. In 3 1/2 hours, the rumor mill was going berserk.

I started working the phones Friday night. Saturday morning, as headed back to Monroe for the coaching course, I traded calls and messages with people, chasing information. Because of a scheduling error, the course took up most of Saturday -- the instructor hadn't received notice that he was to teach Friday night. I finally got home about 5 p.m. Saturday, and began researching what I could. It was at that point that I discovered all the discussion on Stripersonline.com's Surf Talk forum, with the rumors flying hot and heavy.

I read it, well into the night, while trading phone calls with others who were researching it as well. But no one had anything concrete at that point showing that Monica Oswald had been given the fish by a commercial fisherman.

Sunday morning arrived, and I got in the car to drive to Pequest Trout Hatchery, where I was scheduled to go to write about the Casting for Recovery program and its fifth straight retreat. On the way back to the paper -- I had to put out the sports section that night -- I put my head down and took a nap while my husband drove. I knew I was in for a long night. But I didn't have any idea of how bad it was going to get.

To be continued ...