Leave It to Me to Create Problems

It was time today for Wayne and me to get back on the water and see if we could hone our plans a bit better for the Dewey's tournament this coming Sunday. As things worked out, about all we accomplished today was eliminating some areas from further consideration.

Just a week ago, we finished a day of pre-fishing with about 17 pounds of bass, compared to only about 7 pounds today, with less than half the number of fish we caught a week ago.

As usual, I was having my share of errant casts, but one such occasion couldn't have come at a more inopportune time. At the same instant Wayne was taking his daily diabetes shot, my cast went over a limb in the distance and fell about a foot or two into the water. Instantly, a bass hit my bait, and I set the hook. Try as I might to raise the fish out of the water and flip it over the branch, it wasn't going to happen.

Seeing my predicament, Wayne told me just to feed some slack in the line, allowing the fish to stay in the water until he could finish his shot and go rescue my catch. To my disbelief, the keeper fish stayed buttoned the entire time. Handing my rod to Wayne, he extricated the fish and handed the rod back to me, so I could land the catch.

This indeed wasn't the first time I've ever landed a fish after having my line go over a limb, but it was the fist time I was able to keep it fastened as long as the one today. Suffice it to say I was able to release the fish, no worse for wear, from the event.