EricM
Well-known member
If you haven't read yesterday's post "OOPS..." you might want to now. I fell in yesterday while throwing a cast net. WELL...., today I was fishing for blue catfish in 50 feet of water when a 3 footer picked up the bait at a dead run and jerked the rod right out of my hands and into the water next to the boat. It took about 2 seconds to realize that the rod was 6 inches out of reach and disappearing fast. I couldn't believe what I was about to do for the second time this winter, thought "OH ****" (or at least I think I only thought it), and went in after it. A forward flip with a half twist (difficulty 2.5) salvaged the rod and the fun began. I couldn't throw the rod back in the boat - it still had a big catfish on it. So here I am, swimming around the boat, fighting a 20 lb cat with one hand while it's pulling drag like mad, and releasing my rope stirrup (see the other post for the description) so I can haul my waterlogged butt back into the boat! Larry, Moe, and Curly couldn't have done better. Meanwhile, there are three kids in a boat not far away and they're all staring with really big eyes and their mouths hanging open. They finally overcame their shock and asked if they could help, which was really nice. I'm just glad they didn't videotape me. Now I'm laying flat on my stomach on the rear deck of the boat, trying to catch my breath and still fighting that #$%$# fish that started this whole mess. I finally landed it, measured and weighed it, and took a picture of it. I wasn't in the mood to kiss it before releasing it (Jimmy Houston style) but I did consider kicking it's butt over the side until I realized that I'd probably slip and go in again. When I finally got back to the ramp, an unnamed CFF member was loading up and telling his friend "See that rig? That guy FELL IN yesterday!" and here I come along sloshing water out of my boot tops again today. How humiliating! By the way, I foud out that getting back into the boat using my little rope trick is a lot easier with practice!