And am fully prepared for trouble before it has a chance to strike. Lucky me! Today was one of those days. It went down like this.
I had planned for a few days to fish today, and while Wayne originally had planned to fish yesterday, a job on his boat trailer dictated that he, too, wait until today to "scratch that itch" we fishermen all get from time to time and try to catch a few fish.
We both were ready to put in at West Neck about 5:45 this morning...in our respective boats. We planned to stay in contact by phone throughout our fishing hours, so we could cover more water and perhaps get some idea of what we want to do for the next Dewey Tournament. Neither one of us could have known how our day was going to turn out when we launched. As far as we knew, we were going our respective ways, in hopes that we both would be wailing upon some bass in a little bit of no time.
At Wayne's suggestion, I launched first this morning, and while I was parking my vehicle, he tied off my boat at the catwalk and jumped in to start 'er up, so she could warm up a tad before I shoved off. In short order, I was on my way to my planned first spot.
Before I could reach my destination, though, I already was on my phone to Wayne, asking for...you guessed it: H-E-L-P-P-P! You see, without warning, my rebuilt motor had gone into alarm mode. In the short time he subsequently spent walking me through a couple of checks, I reached down and got the motor to restart without going back into alarm mode.
With an agreement I would let Wayne know if I had any more problems, I went on to my first spot, as well as three other spots without any more alarms. Then, about 11 o'clock, as I prepared to return to West Neck, I called Wayne and let him know I was headed his way. Without any alarms rearing their ugly head again in the first 10 minutes or so of my return trip, I decided to step on it a little bit, since the boat hadn't been run in two or three weeks. In a matter of only a few more seconds, that dreaded alarm once again sounded.
I waited about five minutes to call Wayne again. The alarm kept sounding, and I figured I likely might need a short tow back to West Neck. However, Wayne found the source of my alarm, pulled the plug (on a sensor), then reengaged it, and I was on my way under my own power.
We got both boats back on their respective trailers without another hiccup, and Wayne already was making some phone calls before we either one pulled away from the ramp. He since already has formulated a game plan for getting me back in the hunt with minimal delay (while waiting on a part). In the meantime, he plans to do some other troubleshooting to ensure there's nothing more involved than just what meets the eye.
Can't tell you how glad I am that Wayne was just a phone call away this morning when I needed him.
Beyond my trouble, both of us managed to catch a couple of keeper fish before we quit today. I started my pursuit this morning with a topwater bait that I hadn't thrown in ages, and for a short time, thought I might have stumbled onto something. On just my second cast, after letting all the rings settle, I had a fish swirl underneath my lure...no connection, though. I twitched the bait four more times while it was in a productive-looking area, and each time, that action solicited another giant swirl but no connection.
I decided to extend my pursuit with this topwater bait for a few more casts and eventually boated my first keeper with it. My second keeper finally came on a soft plastic.
In talking to Wayne, I learned that both of his fish came on soft plastic...didn't even get a smell with his choice of topwaters.
All in all, it wasn't the best of days...not so much a result of my outboard problem but more because of how quickly it got unbearably hot, with barely a breath of fresh air stirring only rarely. We weren't the only ones looking for cover and a cold bottle of water when we returned to the ramp, either. The three other rigs in the parking lot wasted no time recovering right behind us and heading for home.
P.S. My "Harry 'n' Charlie" Moment Today
I at first wasn't going to include this little story as part of my blog post today, but then I remembered that I've always thought it's important that people be able to laugh at themselves. So here goes.
I had just started using my worm rod, which I fish with 40-pound braid, when I engineered a horrible overrun in my baitcaster. As I've said before, my accuracy leaves a lot to be desired, but on this particular occasion, I had surprised myself by getting the cast to drop right beside a nice stump. Therefore, I had gone into warp speed, trying to undo the overrun mess, so I could really work the worm.
I had my head down, stripping braid off the reel as fast as I could go, paying no attention whatsoever to where the coils of line were falling. Finally, as I got to the last of the overrun, I looked down to find that most of the coils were now ensnared in the reels on my other three rods. One of the last coils, however...and I'm still not sure how...had settled, of all places, around my neck.
I hadn't even noticed this particular coil until I suddenly felt something causing the line to jerk. At that moment, I took stock of where my line in the water was and saw it heading away from the stump at a pretty good clip. This development stirred me into desperation mode, as I wondered: Was this a dink bass, was this a big bass, or worse, was this a giant toothy critter looking to extract a bit of revenge on me for the sore noggins I've given some of them over the years?
I was all thumbs, as I wrestled to get the coil of line from around my neck and off the reels. At long last, I was free...but, then, so was the fish when I pulled off a hookset that came closer to throwing my butt out of the boat than burying the hook in the fish.
It indeed was one of those moments when you take a quick look around afterward, just to make sure no one was filming you at your very worst. Had to admit to myself later, though, as I related the tale to a friend during a phone call, that it was at least a little funny. Hence my reason for sharing here.
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