It was a cloudy Wednesday on Carnegie Lake. Cloudy usually means good fishing, so as we unloaded the gear onto the boat launch dock, I had a good feeling about the day. The air was cool, and the usual summer heat had subsided under the cloud choked sky. Kurt and I left Dan on the dock to drive over to the canoe rental place a little under a mile upstream. Dan has recently become obsessed with catching carp, and though he hasn't been successful yet, he'll keep trying till he dies of pneumonia on some desolate fishing dock, on some lake that probably doesnt even have carp in it. It's a commendable undertaking I'll give him that. So anyway, Kurt and I rented the canoe, and we paddled back to the dock where Dan was. We loaded up the gear, strapped on the motor, and started fishing the left bank.
A few hours in, we were without fish and admittedly extremely bored. As we were crusing along towards the dam on the far side of the lake, Dan spotted a bright yellow object sticking out of the lake, near a small peninsula on the left bank. There was a short debate on whether or not to motor over and check it out, or to continue towards the dam. The fishing would supposedly be better there. I swung the motor around, and turned the canoe towards the yellow thing.
We came to a stop on the little peninsula, and to our surprise, a few feet from the bank in the
shallow water lay a sunken sailboat! We decided to pull it out of the water and try to float it again. It took us a good 20 minutes, but we finally pulled the water logged boat out of the water. It was a mess, and some small fish had even been caught inside it. The rigging was in shambles and there was a big plant growing from where the rudder had once been. After sitting around and waiting for it to drain, we plugged up the only hole with a stick, and launched it back into the water. There wasn't much wind that day so we opted to tow the boat behind the canoe, Dan climbed aboard the salvaged vessel, and we continued to the dam. We must have looked hilarious. I was in my boxers because my shorts had been soaked in the rescue process, and dan had a circular floaty around his neck on the rotting sailboat. Kurt and I threw things at him and played pirate on the way to the dam. It was fun. Really.
We spent an hour or two at the dam. Not really fishing, but messing around catching crayfish and just collectively doing nothing. Idleness lead to boredom and soon we left to go fishing for real again. I caught a little bass on the right bank, which that greatly improved the mood, which was good, since the light rain that had started was dulling things. It instilled hope in is again. Whenever a fish gets pulled into the boat, it renews everyones drive to catch. Which was good, because soon that drive would finally pay off.
We left the right bank and crossed the big lake over to the left again. I don't remember exactly what I was saying when it happened. It caught me off guard. All of a sudden I felt weight on the line. It didnt feel like much but I could tell it was a fish. I didnt yell, but just said out loud 'fish on', as is our custom when we hook one. Then it happened.
The bass exploded through the surface, and leapt into the air. Time slowed down and our jaws hung open as the image of the huge fish jumping etched itself into our heads. The fish was BIG. It was swimming towards the boat, thats why I didnt feel much. Instantly, we all scrambled into action, and the boat came to life again. He went under the boat, and I could feel the full force of his weight. Just as I though the rod, or the line, or my arms would break, I got the line under and free of the propeller, allowing me to fight the beast without of obstruction. We got him beside the boat. I was shaking the fish was so huge. I had never in my life seen a bass so gigantic. I kept screaming at Dan, who was trying to pull it into the boat "KHOMENKO IF YOU DONT LAND THIS FISH I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" over and over again. His teeth made him to sharp to grab at first, and in one final effort Dan reached in with both arms and hugged the fish into the boat. Then all hell broke loose.
I was still shaking as we all went crazy, screaming in celebration. It took us a while to calm down. We took lots of pictures and I put him in the livewell. But then I was torn with conflict. I couldn't decided whether to keep the colossal fish, or turn him loose to live. I fought an intense mental battle with myself. I really wanted to bring it home and show it off. But I felt really bad killing such an old and experienced fish. The marks around his mouth revealed that he had been caught and released before. Although he would have made a tasty meal, I decided to put him back. It felt good to watch him swim away back into the murky depths. Maybe someone else would catch him again. Maybe I would. Who knows. I guess thats why we go fishing anyways.
Bike Rides with Logan
Logan likes to ride his bike. He likes to go on long journeys across Manalapan. I dont know or understand why, but he does. So I go along with him occasionally. It's almost always an adventure. From watching Alex Villafane fall off and nearly die on a dark rural road, to almost getting run over by a blue chevy S1o, our bike rides are rarely boring. They just suck when you get tired of peddling.
Today we rode to Baco's pizzeria. We had gone a few days ago and I got this slice of pizza with shrimp and corn and all this other stuff and it was DELICIOUS. I was very sad to find it not there anymore. The main Italian pizza guy said it was a special creation that he had only made that day. It was amazing. I settled for a Chicken/Peppers/Fresh Mozzarell. It was alright, but deffinitely not as tasty as the shrimp and corn slice.
We rode over to Walmart, and as I crossed 537, a big highwayish road, the light went green, and several cars lurched forward. There was much honking and embarrasment. The blue S1o a lane down didnt stop. And We almost collided, my wet brakes were very unresponsive. I scurried off to walmart, where we walked around and I saw Richard Hinton. He works there. We talked briefly and I asked if they had any flare guns. They didnt. I was unhappy.
Then we biked over to Dick's Sporting Goods. I bought some fishing stuff and we went home. Now I'm writing this blog. But I'm going to stop now cause theres Chinese food downstairs. Peace fool.
-Chris
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