Boat, Trailer and Camper Problems Almost Ruin A Fishing Trip

Lately bad boat and trailer luck has turned into good fishing luck for me.  The last two trips have started as near disasters.  And the last one almost ended in a disaster. Add to that Doctor Hopkins diagnosis of “Fisherman’s” or Tennis Elbow causing pain on every cast and it has been interesting!

Last Sunday 11 members of the Spalding County Sportsman Club fished our September tournament at Lake Oconee. After fishing from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM we brought 23 keeper largemouth longer than the 14-inch size limit and weighing about 44 pounds to the scales.  There were three five fish limits and two fishermen zeroed.

I won with five weighing 12.28 pounds and my 5.63 pound largemouth was big fish.  Niles Murray had five at 10.63 pounds for second, Kwong Yu was third with five weighing 7.63 pounds and Jay Gerson placed fourth with two at 4.16 pounds.

I started out pretty good catching two bass before 7:30 but they barely touched the 14-inch line on my keeper board.  In the next hour I landed two more keepers about 15 inches long and one short fish.  All those fish hit a weightless Trick worm around grass.

By 10:30 the sun was high and I had not gotten another bite. I idled back into a cove where I had seen a brush pile, stopped and scanned around with my Panoptix looking for it. As the beam passed a post out from the bank, I saw a blip that looked like a fish, holding on the side of the post about three feet down.

I cast to the post and saw my jig swing away from it as it sank. The next cast went over a bar on the post and I saw the blip move off. I figured I had scared the fish then noticed my line was following it!

When I set the hook the five-pounder jumped past the bar my line was on and my heart stopped. I just knew it would break my line on the post or bar or get wrapped around it.  Since I was fishing by myself I had to ease the boat to the bar, pick up my net with one hand, reach over the bar and somehow pull the fish to the net with the rod in my other hand.

It worked!

I fished hard the rest of the day hoping to cull the two squeaker keepers I had caught early but caught nothing but 13-inch fish. Then, with five minutes left to fish, I pitched my jig to a dock, the line moved off and I landed a 15-inch fish.

Two weeks ago when I went out to get my boat ready to go to Bartletts Ferry my motor would not trim up, the motor was burned out.  So Thursday morning I went to Bartletts Ferry near Columbus going through Gainesville on the way to get a new trim motor.

Last Thursday when I unhooked my boat at the barn to load my camper, I saw a flat tire on my trailer.  When I got the spare out I remembered how bad it was. Luckily Biles Tire in Jackson had two in stock and quicky put two new ones on to get me on my way to Oconee.

Monday when I loaded my camper I extended one of my jack poles and broke the shear pin. I had to take that leg off and load the camper using three poles, a scary ordeal.  When I got to the barn I was able to replace the shear pin, I carry four extra just in case, and after a few mistakes got the camper off the truck.

As I write this I am getting ready to go load up my boat and camper and head to Bartletts Ferry for the Sportsman Club Classic on Sunday.

I hope I have used up my bad luck, but not my good luck!!