3/07/2010

Kicking Butt and Breaking Things

I managed to dodge a bullet - much to the disappointment of a lot of vultures...er, people.

Whatever I had, didn't kill me and I wound up convalescing on the road, which, as we all know, is the ideal place to get one's health in order....which may explain why I'm still trying to shake this crud.

When all was said and done, I found myself with a wafer-thin opportunity to fish...and then it SNOWED FOR THREE DAYS and completely erased any chances that I had of hitting the river.

And that, kids, is unjust and inhumane - plain and simple.

Now I could point the finger at any number of people for this, but will instead, blame the Amish on my misfortune (since the odds are in my favor that they'll never see this).

Which is good, since I'm not sure how I would handle being on the receiving end of a Mennonite beat-down...

"Brother Angler, thou hast gone too far! Prepare thy buttocks for a righteous kicking...just as soon as we finish raising this barn."
Jump forward a week or so, and the stars have aligned: Saturday's forecast was showing sunny, dry and 55 degrees, and my schedule was WFO. If ever there was a time to squeal like a little school girl, this would be it.

But I refrained, being that I'm a guy.

Instead, I opted to pee myself, while leaving little concentric circles on the carpet, like an over-excited puppy, as I danced around in joy at the prospect of hitting the water in some mighty fine weather.

By early Friday night, my bags were packed and my gear was stacked. The only thing standing between me and the river's embrace was about 5 hours of sleep. Stoopid need for sleep...

Funny, it takes an act of divine proportions to drag my rusty frame out of bed on a morning I have to work. Not so on fishing days - alarm goes off, and I'm out of the rack before I'm fully awake, dragging the sandman, kicking and screaming, down the hall.

Its all about priorities, I guess.

For once I actually timed it right on the money - I got to the water's edge just as it got light enough to see. I scoped out the Family Pool first, but didn't see a whole lot of action to be had there, so moved on up to the Ice Box.

And, as usual, there were fish a-plenty. Throughout the day, I hooked and played quite a few - several which I lost...one to the rock and three more to popped hooks and snapped tippet. The weather was spectacular, and the fishing was just as good.

I actually managed to net half-a-dozen nice fish...and wouldn't you know it, my video camera decided it didn't want to play anymore somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd fish.

So much for that - it's been a good little camera, and it's seen it's share of abuse. It's endured ridicule by it's older twin 'brothers', the SONYs, and my son and his friends as they set out to capture proof of the afterlife. It's been dropped, frozen, baked and rolled over (long story).

I think it's safe to say that I got my money's worth from it, especially being that it was a freebie from a client to begin with.

Oh, and the trail of broken items doesn't end there, either. Oh no...

There had been a fish that I had watched all day - parked further out in the river, and riding the sandy bottom tight. From time to time I would throw a few casts his way, just on the off-chance I could get him to go for it.

Finally, late in the day, as the canyon was moving into shadows, I tossed my line his way. Once. Twice. And on the third try, I set him. He wasn't freakishly large, but he wasn't small, either - I'd say average for this spot, which is in the 20 inch range. A nice fish, and even more impressive when he came out of the water.

And as he did, I stripped the excess line, and brought my pole back, like I've done countless times before....only this time, I heard a loud CRACK!

WTF? My rod simply snapped. Broke. In two. I just sat there and stared at the damn thing, as the top half slid down the line and into the water. So I started hauling by hand...basically horsing the fish in, until the tippet gave out and cut the fish loose.

As great as the fishing had been, it was a real buzz-kill to prematurely end the day like this.

I wish I could say that my rod broke as I grappled with a beast of a fish - a record-sized cut-bow that was fighting like hell to get away, while I tirelessly struggled to get him to net. But I can't.

But, it was all worth it - I can always use an excuse to buy a new video camera and the folks over at TFO will be more than happy to help me out on the rod-end of things. Yeah, in terms of fishing days, they don't get much better than this after a long winter.

But that doesn't mean I still can't blame the Amish for the camera and rod...

14 comments:

Bigerrfish said...

damn bro! thats two TFO's in less than a year if not mistaken..
And the camera? is this your under water one?
glad to see you out fishin..
better figure out who's been playing with your fishin stuff while your away...ya know,, like the camera..sorry again bout your rod, where I come from thats like a death in the family,,R.I.P.

Anonymous said...

that sucks.

R.K. said...

Josh - you're not mistaken. That's two TFOs in less than a year. The folks over there are going to stop talking to me if I don't knock this off.

Not sure what the cause was - but I was fishing in a tight squeeze between two boulders, and once or twice I recall hitting my pole on them when taking my fish out to some water behind me...that could have been the culprit...

Not the underwater camera...it was a little handheld Panasonic beater.

While I really love the TFO rod, I may go back to a Sage, and keep the repaired sticks as back-ups.

Anonymous - uber suckage.

Bigerrfish said...

well my day went as planed for sure as far as the crouds and just as i wondered....the fish god got pissed at me for ditching school and being cocky left me skunked thats twice in my life for that tailwater....should have tried to learn somethin at the show.

R.K. said...

HA! I doubt the Fish Gods were pissed...and you probably came away with more from hitting the water than the show.

Rebecca said...

I'm going to try the Amish blame for a week or so, try it on for size and comfort. I agree with Bigerrfish, a broken rod is like a death in the family to me. I'm still crying over my old broken Red and time has not erased the pain. It's been almost 2 years...today I'm blaming the Amish(scuse me, I have to go grab a tissue now)

Beyond the rod, and the camera it sounds like one of those days. The type to lean on and daydream over until the next time you can hit the water.

R.K. said...

Rebecca - yeah, it is a bit tough to lose a good rod (2 for me in the past year). But on the other hand, with the day that I had, I think it was worth the price of admission. TFO should have it back to me in short order.

Blaming the Amish kicks butt! Have at it for all of your blaming needs...

Bigerrfish said...

Ron, I just saw the weather report for your area.. Turns out Mother Nature could be Amish.. And she has Plans of pissing in your Coke (coffee) this week, Be safe.. and if you get any free time... go hunt down that one....

R.K. said...

Argh! Nobody messes with the morning Coke, Amish or not!

Weather is spectacular during the week with highs close to 70.

Weekend gets a little choppy...may need to take a day off. Hmmmm....

KVeMAN said...

Hey man good job netting some fish before the rod crapped on your day. I'm looking to hit the water march 27 or 28. Let me know if your down

R.K. said...

KVeMAN...thanks, bro.

Going to be out of town that weekend...my son's Spring Break, so we're hopping a plane and going somewhere warm and sunny.

BUT....the following weekend is open..April 3/4...

Went up yesterday and it was EPIC. New post to come...

Rebecca said...

This is exactly the sort of blog entry I can't get enough of...fishing that makes me want to pack of my fly gear and go camp (freeze) on the river so I can be there at daybreak.
And, fantastic writing that I can't get enough of....
I am curious, are you doing self portraits with a camera timer there?

Rebecca said...

Yep ~ Thats what I thought. The comment lived, but wrong entry. Lets just pretend this is posted to your most recent blog entry, shall we?

I blame the Amish!

R.K. said...

Man, them Amish have it out for us, don't they???

Thanks for kind words!