To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before

That famous line from "Star Trek" took on new meaning back in May 2013, on Day 3 of the Elite Series Alabama River Charge. That's when competitor Jared Miller decided to take his boat--and his marshal, Lisa Cox--to the base of Jordan Dam.

In the words of Trip Weldon, "I've been fishing this area for 40 years. Never seen a fiberglass boat below Jordan Dam. It takes 6 to 8 miles of nerve-racking white water to get to where Jared Miller is in this photo."

Normally, water levels would have been much lower, and the only craft you'd have seen are canoes, kayaks and maybe a jet boat or two. Because of heavy rains, however, Jordan Dam was spilling water over its floodgates and generating power as well, creating lots of turbulence and higher water in the river below.

Miller had followed Brent Chapman up near the dam. Chapman, though, stopped a half-mile below the dam, while Miller continued until he and Cox literally could reach out and touch the massive structure. At this point, they were in a mist created by waves and the water coming down from the dam. "It was exciting up there," said Cox, but she also admitted to being a little nervous, too.

After fishing near the dam for 20 minutes or so, Miller decided to trek back through the treacherous rapids and head downstream. He hadn't much more than entered the powerful current when his boat came to a dead stop after hitting a submerged rock.

Cox, an experienced angler in her own right, reacted quickly and moved toward the bow of the boat to help balance it out. Miller, meanwhile, trimmed his outboard and gunned it, freeing the boat from its precarious position.

He paused only briefly in a nearby calm eddy before continuing on to safer waters. At day's end, he weighed 13 pounds of fish and finished 13th in the tournament, barely missing the cut for Day 4.

If you were to apply the principles of risk management to this episode, it doesn't take very long to realize the decision Miller made to fish the dam in the first place was, at best, a hair-brained idea. The risks he placed himself and Cox in far outweighed any gains he might have realized. Let's face it: They both easily could have been killed if this foolhardy endeavor had gone horribly wrong.

I like to catch fish as much as the next guy, and I understand wanting to get away from the crowd, but I'm not going to risk my boat, and certainly not life and/or limbs, just to accommodate those desires. Of course, there is this consideration: The boat wasn't one Miller had paid for; it had been given to him. However, that fact in no way diminishes the value one should place on people's lives.

To see this whole mindless event unfold before your very eyes, simply click on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjEc_dZNyTQ.