Location: SE Wisconsin | Bitter sweet day on the water was getting out with D.Kloet on Pewaukee a few years back. Leaving the launch at first light that morning my polarized glasses I forgot were on my head flew off and were gone for good. Then Doug hands me a battle scarred custom walleye Slippery Slider and says he'd like to see what I think of the lure. I snap it on and fire it out. On the retrieve I'm snapping my forearm to get'r to dance when she hit. I reared into it hard and like a northern cutting its teeth on 2lb line, my line went limp and I reeled in half of the line that was out. I had just respooled the reel with fresh line, so I checked the eyelits for burs - nothing. I had just released a musky a half hour earlier, so perhaps when I gave it slack after the fish hit the bag the line may have been knicked by her teeth or gill plate, all I knew was I had to look at Doug, who was already looking at me, and say "Sorry dude, Mr. rare Slippery Slider is a goner...  " Redemption was mine a couple hours later when I doubled for the day, but Doug still drove all the way home with one less lure. Still sorry about that Doug 
Edited by Sam Ubl 4/5/2012 10:43 AM
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | MuskyHopeful - 4/4/2012 11:36 PM
I nominate this topic for all time greatest long blocks of text thread.
Kevin
someday go visit the research thread and tbetcka ... if you can read the whole thing, i'll buy you a cheeseburger! |
Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | Some of you guys know I love roughing it in the woods instead renting some posh cabin. Here’s my story 6yrs ago.
I tell my dad I’m going camping on Bear Island on Leech Lake for five days. Winds are +30mph, it’s pouring, but hey I’m a pro and have been doing this for years… no problem. God I was arrogant. I take off in my 16.5’ Crestliner Canadian (flat bottom tiller) with a 30hp Johnson. My boat is LOADED with gear. Ice, food, generator (charging boat batteries), musky gear, tents clothes, etc. Some nice 3.5-4’ choppers and I’m heading straight into them. They’re splashing over the sides and I see some water on the floor.. no big deal. Turn on the bilge everything is fine. For the life of me, I can’t find this campsite… I’m cold, wet and getting peey. I decide it’s just best to set up in this bay I saw a ways back. I turn around and go with the wind instead of against it. BAD IDEA! The first couple of waves weren’t so bad… they barely went over the back of the boat. Alarmed I gun the motor… We just make bubbles. I’m too heavy and I can’t hook up!
The next 5 waves are huge & cold. They come over the back of the boat just above my waist. I look down in the boat and I now have 1 ft of water in it. I’m freezing. All my gear is floating inside the boat! Head to shore now! Things get better because the angle of the waves hit the side of the boat and don’t come over… that is until I get to shallow water and the boat bottoms out on the sand during the valley of a wave. The next wave eats me. The back of the boat is now level with the water and I’m smashing bottom every wave. Overboard I go (only 2-3’ sand). I pull her with towards shore and throw all my stuff on land. Thank god I was smart enough to pull the batteries out! Everything is soaked. I tie the boat off to some trees and try to find a place to set up out of the wind… no luck. My tent is soaked, clothes soaked, matches wet, cell phone dripping…
I set up in the woods and try my best to dry everything out. Disassemble my phone and put it in the driest place possible. All the sticks are soaked from the rain that day so I can’t get a fire going either. Run down to the lake to look over the boat and every wave is splashing into it. There is no way I can bail her out until the waves go down. I pull her as far as I can up the shore and retie with every rope I have in the boat.
The next 12hrs was miserable. Cold, wet and windy with nothing to do but think about what an idiot I was. I barely slept. The next day, I wake up at 5ish and the wind is still 30mph. I’m going to be here awhile. Walk back down to the lake and the boat is still there, but now the sand has practically eaten it. WTF?!? It looks like the boat was set inside a hole of sand. I can’t even budge it now. So screwed… Go back to the tent make breakfast and reassemble the cellphone. It turned on! Call my dad, he freaks out! I’m calling the cops! No just chillout. Weather is supposed to be hot and calm tomorrow. No deal can’t convince him… Wait by the beach, cops come, rescue me… I feel like a fool. They tell me how stupid I was. Drop me off at the landing and I drive to my dad’s place in Brainerd. Next day I grab a old highschool buddy and his little boat and we had back to leech. We brought shovels, bilge pumps, plywood and clamps. Waves are now 2’. We make it to Bear and boat is even more engulfed by the sand. Beach his boat, clamp plywood to the back of the boat to keep the waves out. Bring down the batteries I saved earlier and power all the pumps with them. Shovel, shovel, shovel… Sand + waves = impossible. 3 hours later, she starts floating. Grab my gear, load the boat up, motor fires right up no problem. Love that Johnson. Took her home.
I spent the next 8 hrs taking the floor off and power washing it. I found well over 30 rusties hiding in the boat.
I hope someone learns from my stupidity.
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