Fishing Tales
Yes, there's fish there......here's a few channels I caught there last winter. I've posted these before.
Toad, it's a long story, I'll try to shorten it up best I can. I had just bought a 1986 15' Skeeter F-88 with a 40HP Yammy in 1995(?) I paid cash, but had to make about 3 big payments for it, so it took me a few weeks before I picked it up. Anyway, I took it out at CC 1st, then next trip was to Brookville. It was the 1st week of April, the DNR puts nets along the face of that dam & across that far side a little. Those big bouys are a keep out-restricted zone
Anyway, I was there one night and it wasn't too bad out, I think I had my youngest son, or I was alone. Anyway I heard splashing so I took my spotlight and went along & saw a few nice muskys caught in the net, I guess trying to get an easy walleye meal. The DNR pulls the nets in early in the AM & then they take have a hatchery there & hatch out all the walleyes stocked in IN from there. I talked to them this spring, they put back a ton of fry, I think 5 million(?)
Anyway, I wanted to show this to my oldest son who was about 16 then(but not driving) -he'll be 24 in Feb. Anyway, when it was getting dark & cold, there was a nice chop & a drizzle. I took the spotlight & started searching to show him some muskies & walleyes. I lose sight of the net, now the motor stalls. It won't start, it's got gas, I check- yep, got into the net. The wind is pushing us towards the riprap bank, we were close to begin with(25-30'). The motor is manual lift- no hydralic tilt. I pull it up & start trying to get the net loose. I'm having a fit, waves, rain, dark, blowing towards shore, I sure don't want to cut their net either. I have a Buck 110x in my pocket.
Okay, I'm tugging and you guessed it. It releases the motor, I'm already leaning way over the back when the motor drops. Into the inky black drink I go !! Head first, fully clothed wearing jeans, sweater, hooded sweat jacket, coveralls, a coat over all of that, PFD and pac boots. I surface, panicked as we are a long way from the ramp, my son can't drive the truck for help, or the boat for that matter- these are the thoughts running thru my mind. I'm thinking hypotherma will set in & it will be over in a few minutes & he's going to be stuck in for a long night in the boat after I die without being able to leave. Well, I'm not too cold. I try to pull myself in. No way. I have too much weight with all the wet clothing. There's also nothing to grab onto (I put rails on it next before I took it back out) When I'd get pulled up some, I'd just slide under the boat, I was becoming exhausted fast- from fear & from several attempts & the cold. My son tried to help, same thing, I wasn't coming over. He said he couldn't I told him he HAD to....I think he knew what I meant
So on the last try, after I got one leg on the side( when I'd do that, the weight would push me down) I forgot to mention my boots had become tangled in the net. I was going to go under water & cut that- figuring I might get stuck or drop the knife & drown & leave that image in his mind
Boots came loose on their own ( long story huh?) Anyway, got rolled in the boat, right over my good Fenwick rods too, I didn't care - they wern't hurt either. So now I'm soaking wet, back from Neptunes grip. Still raining, still a long way from the ramp, still 38 degrees out. Prop still tangled in the net. I get the motor up again, this time I open the knife, cut the minimal amount I have to in order to free the prop, fire that baby up. Full throttle to the ramp, up the hill, get the pickup, let it warm up. Then I took off the wet clothes- big mistake as I wasn't ever cold, I had so much on, I was warm(except for my hands) I'm nice & toasty in the truck, back it down, get the boat on the trailer.......now the motor won't come up
It HAS to come up or the skeg will drag. Nothing doing.
Okay, I drag it up the ramp, jump back out to see what's wrong. By now I'm really freezing, I think maybe it was colder than 38 at night. Plus wind & rain. I have to warm back up. I can't figure it out, there's no way it would release. I'm good mechanically, I finally see that the pin has moved, in the struggle with the net, it pulled an "E" clip off and the pin had shifted. Okay. I get the motor up, get the boat secure, and make that drive home, shaking in my boots, but not from the cold.....
Now you know the rest of the story.
Here's a few after thoughts, One(1) had my son not been there I would've drowned or maybe I would've got to the bank & hiked to town for help.
Two(2) if it ever happens to you.....JUST CLIMB UP THE MOTOR ! I was told this after the fact- you can climb it like a ladder right up the cativation plate. I told this story last year & guess what, someone had heard that & that's what they did-climbed the motor so they told me about it & that was the good that came out of it.
