Little Hawk
Active Member
Howdy!
Last 'Story' thread was a hoot. So why not try another?
I love hearing fishing story's and although I'm just now getting back on the water - after a 25-yr. hiatus - I sure as hell could tell a few myself...
Hope ya' all dive-in and take a bite!
Most Embarrassing...
It was back in the late 70's before I bought my first boat and we used to rent little open 14-footers from Sewell's in Horseshoe Bay.
It's the first time I've taken my new 'Lady' (now my Wife) out fishin' with me. Our group had rented three boats and we all bounced our way out to the 'Gap' (Salmon Rock/Gower Point).
It's a Saturday in July or August and there's the usual 'flotilla' of sporties out there trying their luck. We fished the morning around Salmon Rock (mooching w/live herring) and no one caught dick. Mid morning as usual I started in on the 'barley-sandwiches' and by mid-afternoon I'd had a few... okay, several-few.
Bored, I instructed my new deckhand to steer the boat to the open water in the middle of the 'Gap' and told her we'd just drift around for awhile and see what developed. So there we were, drifting aimlessly about after I stripped-out about 200/yds. of line on our two rods.
The sun was relentless as it pounded down upon me so I decided to lay back in the bow and rest...(aka. pass-out). I'm certain I must have been dreaming about 'the Great-fish' because - nearly an hour later - when I awoke I noticed my line was moving slowly, but deliberately, against the current.
Battle-stations!
I jump up and grab the rod. Like a seasoned pro I quickly take-up the slack, I'm reeling like a finely tuned machine.
It comes on heavy - really heavy - and my rod doubles over. My heart begins pounding and I started yelling loudly at my navigator to fire-up the motor so we can give-chase to this brute that was rapidly relieving me of what little line was left on my reel.
She doesn't have a clue how to start the little Merc so, while holding the rod in one hand, I reach over and give the cord a yank. She fires up and I take up my position at the bow of the little boat - like the harpoon guy in Moby Dick - and continue to bark commands at the poor girl.
"Turn this way! Turn that way! Hurry! He's takin' all my line! Jesus!"
I'm yelling at her, like some irrate platoon commander...
My voice must have carried a great distance because it seemed everyone else around us (30 to 40 boats) had stopped fishing and were watching the 'Master' battle what surely had to be a '50-pounder' by the sounds of all the commotion going on.
The 'Fish' ran off under a nearby boat and we were getting fouled in their lines so I barked at her to steer along side so we could pass the rod beneath their lines and get free. How she managed to do this I don't know but - after ramming their boat a few times - she did, and a few minutes later the 'Mother-of-all-Battles' resumed and - with my reel still peeling out line and giving me a good yank here and there - off we went, me standing in the bow (like a proud hood-ornament) and her getting more pissed at me by the minute.
This is where she caught-on. My buddies in one of the other boats also caught on long before I did...
Unbeknownst to me, while I slept in the bow earlier, my buddies in another boat had occassioned to troll past us and managed to hook up my line with one of theirs. With nearly 200/yds out on mine and likely 100 to 150/yds on theirs, there was a considerable distance between us.
Enough that I was oblivious to buddy on the other boat off in the distance as he'd yank-hard a couple of times on his rod and send me into a frenzy thinking I had the fish of a lifetime on my rod. He'd also - during this probably 20 minute or so battle - speed up his boat then slow suddenly, which of course caused my reel to scream... sending me into yet another frenzy of screaming and yelling at my poor helmsman...
I was the last to learn of this folly that day and as I finally began to gain some line back from the 'brute' then noticed my line headed off directly at buddies boat then saw him 'yanking' on his rod and seeing the two others aboard his boat rolling around on the floor holding their stomach's from laughing so hard... I was suddenly overcome with this 'sinking' feeling.
I did in fact sink... red-faced, slowly into the bottom of the boat.
It was several minutes before the laughter from the many boats around us finally subsided.
Cheers,
Terry
Last 'Story' thread was a hoot. So why not try another?
I love hearing fishing story's and although I'm just now getting back on the water - after a 25-yr. hiatus - I sure as hell could tell a few myself...
Hope ya' all dive-in and take a bite!
Most Embarrassing...
It was back in the late 70's before I bought my first boat and we used to rent little open 14-footers from Sewell's in Horseshoe Bay.
It's the first time I've taken my new 'Lady' (now my Wife) out fishin' with me. Our group had rented three boats and we all bounced our way out to the 'Gap' (Salmon Rock/Gower Point).
It's a Saturday in July or August and there's the usual 'flotilla' of sporties out there trying their luck. We fished the morning around Salmon Rock (mooching w/live herring) and no one caught dick. Mid morning as usual I started in on the 'barley-sandwiches' and by mid-afternoon I'd had a few... okay, several-few.
Bored, I instructed my new deckhand to steer the boat to the open water in the middle of the 'Gap' and told her we'd just drift around for awhile and see what developed. So there we were, drifting aimlessly about after I stripped-out about 200/yds. of line on our two rods.
The sun was relentless as it pounded down upon me so I decided to lay back in the bow and rest...(aka. pass-out). I'm certain I must have been dreaming about 'the Great-fish' because - nearly an hour later - when I awoke I noticed my line was moving slowly, but deliberately, against the current.
Battle-stations!
I jump up and grab the rod. Like a seasoned pro I quickly take-up the slack, I'm reeling like a finely tuned machine.
It comes on heavy - really heavy - and my rod doubles over. My heart begins pounding and I started yelling loudly at my navigator to fire-up the motor so we can give-chase to this brute that was rapidly relieving me of what little line was left on my reel.
She doesn't have a clue how to start the little Merc so, while holding the rod in one hand, I reach over and give the cord a yank. She fires up and I take up my position at the bow of the little boat - like the harpoon guy in Moby Dick - and continue to bark commands at the poor girl.
"Turn this way! Turn that way! Hurry! He's takin' all my line! Jesus!"
I'm yelling at her, like some irrate platoon commander...
My voice must have carried a great distance because it seemed everyone else around us (30 to 40 boats) had stopped fishing and were watching the 'Master' battle what surely had to be a '50-pounder' by the sounds of all the commotion going on.
The 'Fish' ran off under a nearby boat and we were getting fouled in their lines so I barked at her to steer along side so we could pass the rod beneath their lines and get free. How she managed to do this I don't know but - after ramming their boat a few times - she did, and a few minutes later the 'Mother-of-all-Battles' resumed and - with my reel still peeling out line and giving me a good yank here and there - off we went, me standing in the bow (like a proud hood-ornament) and her getting more pissed at me by the minute.
This is where she caught-on. My buddies in one of the other boats also caught on long before I did...
Unbeknownst to me, while I slept in the bow earlier, my buddies in another boat had occassioned to troll past us and managed to hook up my line with one of theirs. With nearly 200/yds out on mine and likely 100 to 150/yds on theirs, there was a considerable distance between us.
Enough that I was oblivious to buddy on the other boat off in the distance as he'd yank-hard a couple of times on his rod and send me into a frenzy thinking I had the fish of a lifetime on my rod. He'd also - during this probably 20 minute or so battle - speed up his boat then slow suddenly, which of course caused my reel to scream... sending me into yet another frenzy of screaming and yelling at my poor helmsman...
I was the last to learn of this folly that day and as I finally began to gain some line back from the 'brute' then noticed my line headed off directly at buddies boat then saw him 'yanking' on his rod and seeing the two others aboard his boat rolling around on the floor holding their stomach's from laughing so hard... I was suddenly overcome with this 'sinking' feeling.
I did in fact sink... red-faced, slowly into the bottom of the boat.
It was several minutes before the laughter from the many boats around us finally subsided.
Cheers,
Terry
[V]
