Fishermen Take Care of Their Own

Had a phone call from Gabe Himmelwright (left) this evening, telling me about an on-the-water rescue that occurred earlier this afternoon. The angler in distress was Jim Sumrell, a regular who fishes out of Bob's Fishing Hole.

Seems he had run down to the last creek on the Northwest River this side of Tull's Bay and had fished a while before he realized he had a problem. In a nutshell, his boat wouldn't start.

Most times, that kind of problem would be remedied quickly just by calling one of your buddies, who also was on the water. As luck would have it today, though, there wasn't another boater from the Fishing Hole sharing the water at the same time.

Jim (right), however, had Gabe's phone number in his cellphone and gave him a call, explaining his plight, and in short order, Gabe had actions underway to take care of the situation. He called his friend, Mark Ingram, who was at home and happened to know that his brother-in-law, Bob Clarkson, had been out fishing elsewhere today. Mark subsequently called Bob and asked if he would like to help rescue Jim. Minutes later, Bob, who still had his trailer hitched to his tow vehicle, picked up Mark, and they were enroute to the Fishing Hole.

Once they had launched and reached Jim, the tow got underway quickly. Rather than make the painfully slow trip all the way back to Bob's Fishing Hole, though, the plan was to tow Jim and his disabled boat to a ramp located between where he was and the marina. From there, Bob and/or Mark (bottom, left) would run back to the Fishing Hole, leave their boat, and drive Jim's truck to the alternate ramp, where they then would load the latter's boat.

As it worked out, however, Jim finally managed to start his boat before they arrived at the alternate ramp. The tow was aborted, and the two boats stayed together for the rest of the run back to Bob's Fishing Hole.

Anyone who has ever had to be rescued on the water, especially this time of year, when there often is only a few or perhaps no other boats in the area, can appreciate the situation Jim found himself in today. There's never a better time to have friends who are willing to drop everything to ensure your safe return to shore. I, for one, applaud everyone involved with this operation today. In short, you're da best!