Besides the actual great events in life like births, graduations, and things like that, some of the best things that have ever happened to me in my life have been while fishing or activities centered around that.
Some of the most embarrassing, physically painful, and outright life-threatening events also have been from fishing.
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What I’m mainly talking about is the kind of thing that when you run into someone years later, you immediately start talking about “The Thing” that happened. For example, after a great day of smallmouth bass fishing on New York’s St. Lawrence River, I pulled up to the public dock in Alexandria Bay. My friend Steve was on the bow with a dock line. I noticed that another boat had come past a little too quickly and thrown a wake that was going to rock us pretty well.
Just as I was going to mention to Steve that he would want to wait a minute — literally as words were escaping from my mouth — he stepped out of the boat as the bow lifted about three feet from the incoming wave. I’ll never forget the sound as his chin made contact with the dock while he flipped over and out.
I was sure we were heading to the hospital, but all he ended up with was a fat lip and headache. I guess being an All-State heavyweight high school wrestling champion had given him some durability.
After determining that all was well, we laughed about it. More importantly, he was able to laugh and didn’t have a cracked skull.
The big thing to remember here is that you can never be too careful around the water, but most importantly, No Wake Zones exist for a reason. Those waves left behind by a big boat traveling through a small space are going to affect something, even well after the boat has passed. Watch your wake.
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An old college buddy once decided to combine a cross-country get-together with his brother and a beach fishing trip to see me. We had a great time. Even considering that, while out in my boat on a summer excursion for Spanish mackerel and blues at Cape Lookout, he decided to have a few too many.
Well, after falling on his butt a couple times, he fractured a rib, because he couldn’t keep his balance. Again, after determining that he would be well enough to stand and walk, we had a great meal at one of the best restaurants in Beaufort. It was just like going to a “grocery.”
When he got home, my buddy called me. He had been to the doctor and there were actually two fractures. We still joke about it today. But I think the lesson here is obviously to limit your consumption of “beverages” while boating and fishing. There’re just too many things that can go wrong.
I used to do a whole lot of fishing in water that was so shallow the only way to get around was via a 20-foot-long graphite propulsion device called a “push pole.” Often the depth would be so little that you had to aware of exactly where you were in relation to grass humps, oyster rocks, and stumps. I’ve hit oysters and chipped the gel coat a time or two, but the best time involved a stump.
The problem would occur when we were so engaged with stalking a fish that we’d lose track of other things. I was on the bow, and my friend was poling. He spotted a fish tail behind a row of stumps.
You know what happened next.
As I was preparing to make the cast, there was a thump, and before I could turn around, there was a splash. The first thing I was concerned about was if he had landed on the stump.
When we realized all was well and he was merely wet, then we had a couple of laughs. The best part, of course, was that it happened in December, and it was a little chilly. We grabbed an extra sweater and another jacket and continued to the next tail. Of course, the first lesson is to know what you’re doing and pay attention to your surroundings, but also to have some extra gear for a cold day.
While chasing false albacore along the beach one day with my old pal Jessie, I noticed that the schools of fish were moving into progressively shallower water, and the wind was starting to get going. I’m sure you realize that means that the shallower we went, the bigger the waves became.
Naturally, as soon as a big school moved into range, the biggest wave of the day crashed straight into the side of our boat. This was followed by my watching helplessly as he lost his balance.
As he began his descent, what he remembers is me saying was “Bye- bye.” But what I actually said was, “Bye-bye-bye.”
He did have the presence of mind to make sure his top-of-the-line fly fishing outfit landed in the boat as he tumbled out of it. At the time, Jessie was a world-class competitive 400-meter hurdler, so of course it was no issue to get him back in the boat. In fact, he was in the water and back in the boat before I could ever move to render aid.
I’m sure you don’t have too many friends who are world-class athletes, so falling overboard in rough seas might be a major concern in your case. But the lesson here is to have PFDs, aka personal floatation devices, and wear them.
Crazy things can/will happen faster than you can react.
I hope you’re ready for your next adventure on the water. Try to keep everyone safe and sound and return with all their parts in order.
