#3...RUBE Strikes Again...

I wasn't sure whether this fish was going to place on my little list.
I am ashamed that I killed it.
I have been fond of saying that this fish provided the greatest fight of any fish that I have ever hooked.....and that is probably accurate still.
Quite a bit of that however was due to the fact that it was the first October HOT Wild fish...on gear that was waaayyyyy to flimsy...and I had zero experience with fish like this.
It was my first HOLY SHIT!!! fish.
lol
I had been fishing Sauble Falls exclusively for about 4 seasons trying desperately to figure out the sport.
I had gotten to the point where I was catching the occasional fish but still half expected to get skunked whenever I left the house. LOL
That river is a bitch still today even though I have managed to figure it out somewhat.
The water is fast and always ultra clear. The river also seems to select for big strong fish that are able to make it up over the falls themselves.

It is a neat place and typing this now I can picture it vividly in my mind.
I usually pull into the parking lot way before sun up and just sit and listen to the roar of water.
I think I will make it a point of heading back there this year.

Anyway...
I don't think that I will wax poetic about this too too much ...
It was October 13th after a week of solid rain and the river was quite busy.
I had just bought my first Islander and paired it up with an 11 1/2 ft premier blank that was as stiff as a piece of wet spaghetti.
The river was crowded and I had fished for about 4 solid hours without even so much as a bump.
Misery loves company as the saying goes and I had lots of it...the river was being very difficult.
The usual faces were there and quite a few of them were what I considered to be 'heavy hitters'...I was painfully self conscious.
No scowls though...as a matter of fact most guys were very helpful and I really owe them a debt of gratitude for some of the tips they offered early on.
Anyway....after casting for that amount of time I had kind of lost my focus and was getting a wee bit frustrated with the amount of line twist that had resulted from 10 thousand long throws.
After one pathetic throw the line came back at me and the float landed about 3 ft in front of me....where it promptly shot beneath the surface.
All I remember is fear....



To this day I don't think that I have ever had a fish peel line that quickly from my reel. The fish jumped at least 7 times...and they were the kind of jumps we dream about....like straight out of the water clearing the water in feet rather than inches...
Just amazing.
The fish made it all the way across the river before I could even gain any control over it and when it breached over there it took the boys on the far side a bit to figure out who had the fish on.
Backing out of the water on the Sauble is always a bit of a test. The river bottom is littered with old wood from a dock that used to be there and it is slippery.
So now that I have gathered everyones attention I couldn't help but fall three friggin times in the water trying to catch up with this fish.
I was never more excited about a fish.
I was still a rube back then...and this fish came home with me. It stings a bit in my memory...but you know....maybe I should lighten up a bit.
It was a great meal and fed a dozen of us that night. It was a proud moment.
...and rightfully so...

#3


I have turned the corner and never looked back.
I was a shitheel....I think we all go through it....
Complete with my orange whistle....
The tackle box was somebody elses though... I swear

BTW... I am back in the working world...
I worked 90 fucking hours last week....nothing like jumping right in....CHRIST....