Thread: Captain Dan......Another story.

We are shocked when we arrive at our destination to find no one there and after 45 minutes of fishing we realize why! Now here it is 10 AM and we haven’t got one keeper to show for our efforts but at least I have 30 pounds of ice! Went over to fish under the Route 32# bridge and catch a few dinks but the winds continue to play havoc with my light boat even though I have a bunch of cra…I mean gear in it. Thirty minutes later Josh has put his poles away as he is done for the day but I say let me just try a couple of spots around there and then we can head back. Before we do I check my tank since we are right next to Skeeters and it looked like I had plenty of petrol so we headed to the ramp. Got Josh’s gear out and him on the road but I was going to forge on and had decided to head to the spot where we had fished the river channel last week down by Wolf Creek. Passed by the Findlay Marina and decided I had plenty of fuel. Now Brian and I had been talking and texting all morning and he offered to text me the GPS coordinates to a spot down there close to where Josh and I had been the week before and it arrived just as I passed by Eagle Creek – ain’t technology grand!

So as I watch my GPS for the magic confluence of numbers I am shocked that it is maybe 50 yards from the spots I had marked the week before. However, as it was past Noon and boat traffic had picked up considerably – as well as the wind – I had to use my Johnson (motor) to stay in the area and try and locate the fish. This is quite stressful for an inexperienced guy like me and I just wasn’t having any luck with minnows or lures. And since Brian needed his beauty sleep (he had worked 7PM to 7 AM) and my texts and calls had him in and out of bed all morning, I didn’t want to bother him again so I kept plugging along for some time. After an hour or so of this, I felt it was hopeless and thought about heading back north to some spots others had suggested and that was when I noticed how much lighter the gas tank was!!!!

Where the Heck had it all gone! I considered a leak but realized that couldn’t be the case. It didn’t matter as I need gas pronto and set out for the Findlay Marina. Traveled 100 yards and the motor quit. Resituated the tank and went another 50 yards. But before I could throw myself overboard and drown my troubles, a Sea-Do pulled up alongside and asked if I was okay. You know I don’t go to church but I believe in God and occasionally pray but how lucky can one person get! We conferred and they offered to tow me which gave me pause for it was some distance and he had just the Sea-Do and that was when he pointed out he had help – his wife and other daughter was behind me in a boat!

First things first and we looked for a rope. I pulled out all three of mine (the anchor rope and two other yellow ones) but he knew he had something safer in his boat. Now his wife had to search her boat but in no time at all we had his Sea-Do and my Jon boat attached and headed north. I thought 8 MPH was slow but for our entourage we could only go 6 MPH. However, it sure beats trying to troll into a head wind, or, heaven forbid, row there, so I spent the time cleaning the boat and making ready the tackle for the next time.

You all know how far it is from basically Wolf Creek to the Findlay Marina? Well, it’s a VERY long way and I got a lot done. In fact I was able to take my Good Samaritan’s picture and post it on the web. Oh, and Brian called to tell me about where his buddies had done well that very morning. While Josh and I had struck out wherever we went these two caught nearly a two man limit of keepers in just a couple of hours! What a dilemma. On one hand it had been a tough day and I was beat. On the other hand, I had nothing to show for my two outings except for the pending marina gas bill. Heck, I don’t give up easily and nearly 45 minutes later we arrived at the Marina and the gas pumps where we were greeted with a sign that said, are you ready, “NO GAS!”

Now what did I do in the past week to bring this down around me? No matter as I offered to pay the Good Samaritan for his assistance so he and his family could enjoy the rest of the afternoon but he declined. I even offered to buy them all ice cream but I think they just wanted to get away from me before my karma rubbed off on them – Ha, Ha! No matter as I would survive and this beats trying to get back to the ramp by rowing….yeah, like I could survive 10 seconds of that and that was when that silver lining appeared and one of the staff made a call and got someone to drive down to pick me up so I could get some gas. Halleluiah, praise be the good and kind people of this world! They actually were not out of gas, it was their gas line that was broke by that tornado earlier in the summer and they have a gas truck up top. Got 5.3 gallons in it and went ahead and had them put oil in even though I had bottle in the boat and was back and running just after 2 PM.

Now the spot I wanted to go (no, I wasn’t giving up) was another mile or two south of where I had been when I ran out of gas which would make a return trip to Bo be about 10 miles. I wasn’t going to chance my luck again so I headed back with a plan to load the boat on the trailer and head south. As I cruised back, I even stopped at a couple of spots to try my luck and only landed an eight-inch bass. Was this an omen? Should I run home? No matter, for I got the boat loaded by 4 PM and headed to Findlay where I planned on buying a very large fountain soda with lots of ice. I have some customer loyalty and since I buy my minnows there sometimes and they give me more than what I pay for, I passed by at least one other station which probably had the same just to do what I felt was right.

As I disembarked the Jeep a woman came out of the store to inform me they were closed due to their power being out. You have to be kidding me and I began to laugh for this day just hadn’t turned out like I had planned or hoped for. Now I had drinks in the ice chest (FULL of ice) but I went ahead and got a Coke and headed south. I had to chuckle for I had big bottle of ice cold Coke in the ice chest and here I was drinking this “cool” Coke instead but I wasn’t giving up! No, not yet…

Made it to the Coon Creek ramp and recoiled in horror as I remembered how it was a fifth mile walk UPHILL to the parking lot but I went ahead and put in and headed out to catch some Crappie. Unfortunately, I could not remember exactly where Brian had said to go and not wanting to call him for the umpteenth time and wake him from his slumber, I texted instead! No response so I just decided to hit some structure here and there and troll as the opportunity presented itself. Finally around 5:30 Brian replied and I headed to his spot.

Now I had already discovered I had left my jigs in the parked Jeep when I was at the bottom of that FIFTH MILE walk at least I did find some jig heads similar to what Brian had suggested. And while I was just starting to approach a tree in the new area Brian called to check on how I was doing. We had been talking maybe 30 seconds when the one pole tipped and I grabbed it to set the hook and just as I did that the other pole tipped and without even hanging up I yelled to Brian I had fish and put the Cell down as I landed two keepers and landed a third within seconds of rebating the first pole.

How can you beat that! It had been obstacle after obstacle the last 24 hours and here I had trailered my boat by myself and moved to another location (for the first time) and I was now into them! In fact I ended up catching some and throwing some back too during the next two hours as I fished until just after sunset. I had my limit of unders that ran 9 inches or so and then I had six or so overs but I still wanted that biggie. In fact, here I am fishing 20 minutes after sunset with my battery running so low the fishfinder screen would dim when I used it and I had a small LED light cupped in my mouth so I could see the rod tips. Man I am glutton for punishment but I was laughing and having fun and that is a big part of what fishing is all about to me. I mean I know a lot of people laugh at me and I am okay with that for the most part since I encourage it.

But here I am still trying after all that had gone on today and asking for more. It made me feel like Captain Dan in Forest Gump when he was screaming at God as he tried to make meaning of his life and the cards he had been dealt. Now I still have my legs, such as they are with all the weight they carry, and while my trials and tribulations are very minor compared to so many out there, I find comic relief in much of what befalls me. Sure, I might not at the time, and have been known to suffer road rage occasionally when those idiots on the roads get under my thin skin, but if not for my sense of humor and skewed perspective of life and humans in general then I just don’t know what I would do.

There is one thing I know for sure, and that is I will never give up if there is that one opportunity to achieve something I desire or need to. Life is full of jeopardy, dark clouds and lemons but as has been pointed out by better men than me, in each you can find something positive. In one, there could be a silver lining inside even if you don’t realize it at the time. And in the other, you can if you try most times makes something sweet out of something sour no matter what they throw at you! In any case, it had been a day that made possible by old friends, new friends and some truly good people. People online, over a telephone, on the water and on shore. Thank you all!

And as my Good Samaritan said to me, he was just doing what was right and what he hoped others would do for him if the occasion should ever arise. Something we should all continue to think about as we pass through life…Amen!

ITS GOTSTA BEEZ DA TRUFF.....................too much to be B S