Craziest fishing experience?

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Post by UofHYaker »

I've been hit by lightning. But I'm much better now.


That makes 2 of us! :D Mine was when I was little and I was playing in the rain. :oops:
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How about fishing X-Mas Bay this Saturday?

Post by Wolfman57 »

Got to Ernies Too about 7:30ish with 2 friends.

Just in time to see a huge storm hit the area. 1.5 hours later the storm had cleared to be able to launch...of course into the wind.

But We were only going to paddle a mile or so to fish. We have great luck fishing, every cast a fish. Specks, reds, black drum...most released. Had a blast, that was until the second storm hit.

Lightning reminded me that I was the highest thing in the bay with long metal tiped poles waving in the air. Well Sparky maybe it is time to hit cover.

We abandoned our PRIME fishing spot to take refuge under a dilapidated, bird poop infested house. We anchored down and decided to wait out the storm. Well an hour later with waves crashing over our Kayaks we were thinking we should have found better shelter. I fogot to check into the Hyatt, but we had a great view of boats trying to make it back to the dock. The wind must have been 50 mph plus and the waves were awesome to be at water level with.

At a lull in the storm we paddled against the wind to get back to Ernies and our cars. Huffing and puffing we made it after an interesting paddle. We realized we paddled against the wind going and coming back. Something is not right about that.

Things I learned.
Buddy system is good
Important to have a phone
Get under cover during a storm.
It was all worth it to get a few hours of Fishing in.


Craig
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Post by QueSun »

There is no hook nor fish related to my story - but it is fishing scouting related :lol: .

Yesterday, while cruising for a good spot on the beach and lookin for brave souls to whip the suds to fish the green line with me. Heading west past access 5 on Follets Island...

5 mph - watching the surf w/ peripheral to the front of the vehicle. I noticed this vehicle (either side away from the crowd) - Ah, another family enjoying a glorious day at the beach. I can see the young boy (toddler) running around - so to make sure I slow down some more when approaching 'em. The couple are aware of my approach since "Twisted Transistor" by Korn is playing on the radio.

Being far sighted - I'm beginning to question my self what I thought I am seeing the closer I get 8) "Hmmm... I am 60 miles from High Island - What the :shock: ???

I drove on w/o missing a beat - slowin down some more due to beach conditions :lol: . The hubby's expression is more like "Hey dude - chk her out :lol: !!!" . She shifted her position for maximum viewing :lol: .

I am intentionally omitting some of the exchanges (no profanity or violence involve).

Anybody else seen 'em out there yesterday?

Years of fishing the area, that was first for me.
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Post by Boatright »

QueSun - I am totally lost as to what the couple was doing. I re-read your post at least 20 times and there are many things I can imagine them doing, so maybe you could be a little more explicit?

Sorry if I'm the only one who didn't understand.
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Post by Wolfman57 »

Yo Tambien.
My imagination has filled in the blanks.....But the kid running around keeps throwing me off.
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Post by ARSAN »

oooh another time at x-mas bay was when i was fishing the back marshes. i tell you what, don't go too deep in these back marshes because that is where seagull's nest are at. i swear i had to swing my paddle at some of them gulls due to there low flying, trying to scare me away from their nest. well it worked. one gull came so close that i felt the wind from his wings on the back of my neck, i turned my yak around so fast and paddled out of there so quick, it looked like i had a 150 outboard strapped to the back of my yak with the roostertail i caused from paddling so fast to get out of there!
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Post by T-Bart »

I've got a pretty funny story. Couple years back, my family took a summer vacation in Pensacola, FL. We're right on the beach in a house we rented out for a week. Anybody who knows the area will know where I'm at since I was half a mile east of the "longest pier in the Gulf of Mexico". So, anyway, I'm swimming and fishing every single day. And I'm right at the surf's edge and I see a dorsal fin. My little brother's about 20 feet into the water right now (which puts him at about 3 foot water depth). So this shark is about 30 feet out in about 3-4 feet of water and its just starting to come past my brother. At first I'm frantic and I'm saying "get out the water!" Then I think, is that a shark or a dolphin?" No, it was definitely a shark. And it was definitely a 5 foot black-tip. Well, long story short, he got out the water, the shark kept swimming, and nobody died (keep in mind this was the infamous "summer of the shark"). So this shark's still cruisin down a mile of public beach right on the shoreline, so me and my brother start walking down the beach telling people to watch out since there's a shark in the surf. Here's where the story gets interesting. We walk upon a man standing by the water. We tell him the situation. He responds by picking up a fishing rod with a piece of shrimp on a small bait hook (no leader) and walks abruptly into the surf. When he's chest deep in water about 40 feet out, he turns back and asks, "where is it?" The shark is not breaching, but the shadow is clearly visible within 10 feet of this guy, and he's standing there like a human shrimp cocktail. I couldn't believe it! So the shark swims by and the guy gets out of the water because he's lost all hope of ever catching the shark (boohoo). Me and my brother start walking back to the beach house, thinking the show was over. But no. The man then drops his rod, goes over to his beach blanket, picks up a sock and starts talking to it. Now of course, in all likelyhood, there was a phone or walky talky in that sock. But the juxtaposition of that man blindly walking towards a shark and then talking into a sock was too much for me and my brother, we were rolling on the sand laughing too hard for the rest of the day.
Sorry for the long post.
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Post by T-Bart »

I hope y'all won't mind one more story (it's late, and I'm putting off studying for finals). This one's probably pretty tame for many of you, but it was a nightmare for me. Now, anyone who knows me well knows that I'm pretty afraid of sharks. They have teeth and no soul. So when my friend (MstinkinD) suggested that I tie my bait bucket 'o' shrimp to my waist and surf fish next to schooling bait in chest deep water, I was a little apprehensive. So I tie the bait bucket to my waist and walk out with two poles, one armed for live shrimp, the other with a D.O.A. So we're fishing and having fun, and catching gimpy ladyfish like crazy. On a tangent- do y'all ever notice how ladyfish tend to pull a lot harder than their size warrants? Anywho, so my friend is fishing a ways away from me, and I'm sticking close to a nearbye jetty. He signals with his hand that he's spotted a shark. Whoohoo. This is how I imagined the headline: Local idiots die after tying a bucket of shrimp to themselves. That is not how I wanted to go out. So we're still fishing, and the water is loaded with baitfish. And every now and then you get a whole school of baitfish jumping out of the water with a big fish leaving a wake behind them. I'm not too concerned since it's only tiny fish and only like twenty of them are jumping like this. I became concerned when the baitfish started jumping TOWARDS me. About twenty feet ahead of me, a symphony of baitfish starts jumping right at me. And when I say a symphony, I mean a LOT OF FISH. I kid you not, 3 feet ahead of me all the jumping stops, and I'm left in an eerie silence. You know that feeling when you're at the top of a roller coaster and you're wincing because you know the inevitable is about to happen? That was me. I was waiting for a surge to just dive into me, but it never happened. For a lot of veterans, this is probably an everyday occurrence, but like I said, it was a nightmare for me.
And again, sorry for the long post.
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Post by Lollipop »

My strange experience got all of your's beat. Once I caught a fish on a fishing trip. :lol:
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Post by SeaAg07 »

LOL, Lollipop! (Try saying that 5 times real fast :shock: )

This didn't happen to me, but I saw the whole thing. Me, my dad, and some of his buddies used to go down to Port Mansfield fishing every summer. One of my dad's buddies, we'll call him Mike...that's his name...is really tall and skinny. He's about 6'7" and just like a rail. Now, this is back about the time the movie, "Urban Cowboy" came out so a lot people wore those Wrangler jeans with the big ol' flare bottoms. Well, just picture a 6'7", really skinny guy in these jeans...you can imagine how loose they fit around his lower legs. So, we're out wading in about a foot of water, when all of a sudden this guy just starts screamin' like a banshee. Of course, we all look over and he is just screamin' and writhing around in the water, holding his leg. It looked like a demon from "The Exorcist" had gotten a hold of him. Anyway, he used all of the known curse words, then started making some up, and "stingray! stingray!...it got me...it got me!" So, we all started rushing towards him, (as fast as we can shuffle) and the guy with the boat imediately headed toward the boat to come pick him up and call an ambulance to be ready by the dock. Well, we finally made it over to the guy, and he is still just screamin' like crazy, holding his leg. We finally get him to calm down a bit to check him over, b/c we couldn't see any blood or anything. He was just yelling, "it's in my pants! It's in my pants!" After a good 10 minutes, we finally got him to let go of his leg, as it was turning blue due to lack of circulation. He lets go, and plop...out slides a dead little flounder. He had totally squeezed the life right out of it. Apparently, he spooked it while shuffling and it shot up his pants leg. Of course, the rest of us just started laughing like crazy, but it took Mike awhile to see any humor in it. The next day, we looked at his leg and it was black and blue where he had been squeezing so hard.

Dangdest thing I ever did see. :D
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Post by Birdsnest »

This is from Wetlures circa 2004: a TKF classic. :D
I was wading alone at night when I caught a trout on a 51 MirroLure. This was back in the days when I still brought a net with me once-in-a-while.

As I brought the trout in, I tried to scoop it in the net. The trout had other ideas, and jumped right over the net.

Now mind you, that trout had that 51 in its mouth in a way that all three treble hooks were pointing forewards. The trout landed right in my crotch. Dead center! And proceeded to bury those trebles into the very thin fabric of my wading pants. There was only a mesh brief between me and the fabric.

As that trout thrashed about, firmly attached to my pants in that most delicate region, horror periced my mind, and I steeled myself for the pain that was bound to fallow. How it didn't I'll never know, but when I realized that I had a chance to dodge that fate, I grabed that trout and applied the Vulcan Death Grip upon it.

Had to rip the crotch of those pants to shreads in the proccess of seperating myself and that fish. Later that week when my wife was doing the wash, that currious damage was an item of discusion.

I couldn't help but think of what it may of been like if any of those treebles had struck paydirt. I was about a half a mile from the walk-in spot, and would have had to wade (waddle) all the way back. Then get in the vehicle and drive to the hospital and explain that fish attached to my you-know-what. All the while dreading what it would feel like to get it 'un-hooked', but dreading not getting it un-hooked even worse.

I've never tried to use a net again!
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Post by Parrothead »

Okay. I've got a wierd one for you. Years ago I knew a mate who was all coked out. Dude's name was Terry. Anyway, this guy was always stoned. It was a wonder he ever could figure how to rig baits. So one night, we're sitting in the cockpit of a Hatteras boat in the Bahamas and he gets this wild idea that he thinks he can catch a billfish with a mullet rigged upside down! :shock: Now follow me on his logic.

He said to me in his usual slurred, stoned voice,

"Norm, you're sailfish."
I said "Okay. I've been called a lot of things before, but that's the first time anyone ever called me a sailfish."
"No!" he stammered. "You're a sailfish and you're about 15 feet below the surface, looking up. What do you see?"
"The sky?" I retorted.
"Right! Now let's say a mullet swims over your head, what do you see?" he querries.
"Uh. I don't know." I shoot back.
Then he holds up a mullet to the sky and says, "the underside of this mullet is a natural camoflage."
"Cuz it's silver or white, like all bait." I tell him.
"Right. Now what would happen if that mullet swam overhead upside down?" he asks as he turns the mullet against the sky.
"Well it would stick out like a bump on a log because it has a black back!" I reply.
"Bingo!"

So he gets his rigging tools out. He takes a mullet, debones it and rigs it to swim upside down! It was the freakiest thing I ever saw. Well, we dragged it the next day and dang it if it didn't actually swim upside down!

I am certain that was the first time anyone ever tried that. Well about 30 minutes after we put it overboard, we raised a sailfish that ate that upside down mullet! :shock: After turning that fish loose, I asked Terry if he was going to rig another upside down mullet.

"Absolutely not!" he blurted! "If that ends up being something that works regularly, it will set the fishing industry on its ear. I can't have that on my shoulders! :lol:

And he never rigged another upside down mullet ever again!
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Post by blesker »

picaroon wrote:So many years. So many trips. So many foul ups. So many adventures. So many stories. I have saved lives and had mine saved. I have seen strange and exotic animals and fish. I have even caught some..............Did I mention meeting some strange and exotic people.

Actually I am on chapter 21 of a book I am writing on some of my expierences. At this point the title is " Fish Camp truths and lies". If nothing else it will serve as a written account of true stories, exaggerations and outright lies revolving around my life long fishing and hunting expierences.


We'll assume the "truths" portion is the introduction, with the "lies" portion taking up the remainder of the book, yes?

;)

b
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Post by picaroon »

Blesker.................You know how the BS flows at night in a fish camp or a hunting camp............My stories are rehashes of those old stories intermingled with some of my own expierences. One is about a 60" trout, another about a four legged chicken and another about a Korean tiger hunt etc. .......If nothing else this will give my family and friends something to remember me by..........How about a little imput..........What is the funniest fishing story you have ever heard??
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Post by The Trout Scout »

parrothead wrote:
"Well it would stick out like a bump on a log because it has a black back!"


Now you've gone and done it parrothead.

The secret of
Black revealed.

8)

Capt. Rex
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blesker
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Post by blesker »

picaroon wrote:Blesker.................You know how the BS flows at night in a fish camp or a hunting camp............My stories are rehashes of those old stories intermingled with some of my own expierences. One is about a 60" trout, another about a four legged chicken and another about a Korean tiger hunt etc. .......If nothing else this will give my family and friends something to remember me by..........How about a little imput..........What is the funniest fishing story you have ever heard??


LOL Perfect.

I'll try to remember a couple of the old Minnesota stories I'd heard when I was a kid.

Actually, I can tell you one or two - one which I witnessed myself.

BUT - I have to finish making the seared ribeye strips and lobster medallions for Gretchen's birthday now. <G>

More soon. :)

b (I'll buy that book! :)
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Post by Backlasher »

O.K. Usually I don't get to fish too much because I have to watch out for my wife, MrsB. One day we were at the Seabrook Lagoon and I had gone off in search of a fish (I caught a 23.5 in. red there) Anyway, my wife started screaming for me to come to her. She had her anchor out and couldn't get it up when the "alligator" started her way. When I got there, I couldn't lift her anchor out of the water, it was hung on something that I could get up but not out of the water. I found that when you hold a heavy object in one hand and paddle with the other, you go around in circles. I finally got close enough to shore that a wader took the anchor rope and pulled up an old tire. The "alligator" turned out to be a leaf that she thought was a gator's eyes coming toward her. We have some really fun trips!


Someone ought to tell the story about the bass, the squirrel and the pecan.
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Post by blesker »

Ok - a fishing story, true as can be.

I was ice fishing with my dad in central Minnesota, near Upsala, where we lived. I suppose I was about 10 or so, and it was a beautiful day, with a brilliant sun creating diamonds in the snow.

The lake was dotted with fishing houses, all roughly the same shape and size, but varying in color and materials used in the house. We were fishing near a point, and near us there was a shallow area with cattails sticking up and it was dotted with muskrat huts. There were 3 or 4 guys who had set their houses up fairly close to that area - they were obviously hoping to spear northerns.

So, we'd taken a break from our fishing and were standing outside, enjoying the sun, and stretching a bit when we heard an aweful scream from inside one of the fish houses near the cattails. We started to move towards it as there was a terrible clatter from inside, and more screams. The racket was coming from a buffalo board covered house (that brown thick insulating board they use up north) - and a moment later out burst, THROUGH the wall, the guy who had been screaming in the house, buffalo board pieces flying through the air and the guy ending up sprawled out in the snow.

When we got to him, he'd finally recovered enough to tell us what had happened. He was indeed spearing for northerns, and he'd fallen asleep (which is REALLY easy to do in that nice dark, cozy fire-warmed ice fishing house [ask me how I know <G>]) - anyway, he woke up to find a creature in the house with him, and it was dark, and he completely freaked.

Yes, it was a muskrat - perhaps it'd become disoriented under the ice, but no matter the reason, it had come up through this guy's spear fishing hole, and into the house, and completely freaked him out.

I have to wonder if he decided to move his house after repairing it. ;)

b
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Post by Chubs »

picaroon wrote:So many years. So many trips. So many foul ups. So many adventures. So many stories. I have saved lives and had mine saved. I have seen strange and exotic animals and fish. I have even caught some..............Did I mention meeting some strange and exotic people.

Actually I am on chapter 21 of a book I am writing on some of my expierences. At this point the title is " Fish Camp truths and lies". If nothing else it will serve as a written account of true stories, exaggerations and outright lies revolving around my life long fishing and hunting expierences.
Sorry to dredge this up, it's entertaining at least. I've been going through old posts since hearing tkf might shut down. Does anyone know if Picaroon finished his book? I'd be interested in finding a copy if it exists.
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Re: Craziest fishing experience?

Post by Wag »

Me and a great Carolina Skiff were headed to Easter Island to camp and fish for a few days. Never launched there, but, what the heck.....got there and didn't like the rates for the fishermans' motel, so decided to camp out...close to boggy bayou. Good night, tent up, rain shield good against small rain drops. A good night's sleep. Up in the morning to head to Easter Island, but my trailer seems to be a bit stuck with the rain last night....no worries, a Jeep Wrangler will help....Jeep pulls, and pulls, and pulls....boggy bayou wins. We're stuck. 4 wheel drive and all. Have to call for a tow truck from Victoria ($$$) but what the heck? Tow comes...barely gets me out. Whew! Drive to launch....but notice I don't have breaks. WTF? I drive 15 miles with no brakes, pulling a Carolina Skiff, looking for a place that can help me get brakes. Found a place to help. Unfortunately, they couldn't really resolve the problem as my efforts to dislodge my boat damaged my Jeep wheel housing. And, wheel housing repair, ordering parts, etc., would take several days. OK. So, I am stuck in Victoria, with no boat and no workable Jeep. I decide to leave the Jeep and wait for parts and take the bus home. Bus home from Victoria...no direct bus to Austin....have to catch but to Houston...then wait for bus to Austin...very humble feeling.
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Re: Craziest fishing experience?

Post by karstopo »

Most trips have something interesting or new happen.

There’s one story that I’m not directly a part of, but I know some of the principle players and can vouch for its accuracy.

My dad used to like to scuba dive and he and occasionally I would take trips to various places in the Caribbean to dive, but occasionally we’d go out and dive in the GOM. I wasn’t available one trip so he and a friend went out in my dad’s 19’ silverline, out in the gulf, likely one of the rigs around then out about 20-30 miles out off Freeport. It was May or maybe even April, early in the year.

Dive went fine, but as they were just making their way back in a front blew in and the waves got big fast. They took a big one over the stern and that dumped a ton of water over the deck, lower in the water boat, another wave, more water, engine died, and in less than a minute they were capsized and floating in the gulf 20 miles out.

The clung to the capsized boat wet and miserable, with zero communication and just hoped for the best. They hadn’t seen a boat all day being so early in the season and likely everyone else had enough sense to look at a weather forecast to stay out. Sometime later, after bobbing around in the GOM for a couple of hours, a boat comes along and without a lot of details, they get rescued and boat gets towed in.

That would be a pretty good story if that were the end of it, but there’s another chapter. The experience sort of soured my dad on taking small boats out in the gulf and soured him on that particular boat. My friend wanted a project boat, so dad basically gives it to my buddy. Time passes, my friend gets everything in order, finds some outboard that works and off he goes back out into the Gulf of Mexico. Three others are with him, a crowd for this boat, his wife and a landlubber couple from Chicago that have never been out in the open water.

Days is nice enough, they’re out 20 something miles snapper fishing, getting some chop forming, a little hull banging, cruising along looking for the right structure when all of the sudden there’s water at their feet and coming up quickly. WTF, boat is starting to bog down, the landlubber woman is going hysterical. A solution is needed fast. Hey there, what’s that a shrimp boat. There just able to make it. Plan was then to unbolt the outboard and allow the boat to sink. They have somehow got the boat and motor hanging from the iron of the shrimp boat. They can’t free one of the nuts from the engine mount so off they go back to port with a boat and motor hanging by one bolt.

The captain of the shrimp boat is getting into it with his crew. I think the crew wanted to just kill the hysterical landlubber and her idiot friends and dump them overboard. The captain evidently had a conscience and that along with some actual fisticuffs thrown in carried the day. Friends, boat, motor all get safely back to shore.

You might wonder how the heck the boat suddenly took on so much water? Upon closer inspection, a scuba tank was found in the space between the deck and the hull. That tank had been rolling around in that space knocking out the supports that gave the hull some reinforcement. Thin fiberglass will eventually fail flex repeatedly and the wave chop finally split the glass wide open. Of course, the scuba tank came from that ill fated trip my dad had taken. Somehow, when the boat capsized, a scuba tank found its way into the space.
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Re: Craziest fishing experience?

Post by Tombo »

Please keep them coming.
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Re: Craziest fishing experience?

Post by mwatson71 »

One day I was out fishing with Jed, an old buddy of mine. Mind you, he was not an avid fisherman and much more of a hunter and just a poor guy from the mountains. We were hoping for a meat haul (this was back when there were liberal limits) because my buddy was socioeconomically challenged. No matter what we threw at them, we couldn't buy a bite. So after a few hours of getting skunked, we headed in. Driving back to his place in his old beat up truck, he pulls over to take a shot at something. He missed, but you'll never believe what he hit. Oil. Black gold. Texas tea. Well the next thing you know ol' Jed's a millionaire...

*this post is just my attempt to keep TKF alive
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Re: Craziest fishing experience?

Post by karstopo »

So one time many years ago, I drove to a semi-remote location in the Freeport area along the ICW. This was an afternoon trip and the plan was to launch there in the canal as it gave me access to a couple of marsh areas that are even longer paddles from more traditional launch spots. It’s an unmarked dirt road, a path really, along the canal and not one you’d want to take in wet weather or on a big tide, but it was dry and no one is anywhere close by when I reach the end. I had been there maybe five minutes and had my kayak by waters edge and had just gone to truck for my paddle when this car rolls up and parks 2 feet from my truck.

Wide open spaces, plenty of room to put a car anywhere, not a soul around, and this old white sedan pulls up so close the door hits my truck. 4 “people” pile out, no fishing gear, not the type, and it is instantly obvious they are jacked up sky high on something that’s a way speed it upper. Back of my neck hairs are fully erect and I know I had better think fast or I’m in real trouble. I decide that I’m about to be robbed at the least to keep the party going and maybe kicked around some just for the fun of it and possibly killed if things really went wrong. They are maneuvering around me, bombarding me with nonsense questions, sizing me up, moving like a pack of hyenas looking for an opening. At that time, I’ve got my old heavy duty Werner Fiberglass paddle from the late 1980s. This thing is way over built and I could knock out a Cape buffalo with one. I’m holding on to it like it’s one of those fighting sticks Tom Cruise gets the snot knocked out of him in “the last Samurai”, and swinging it around some like I was a careless fool that didn’t know any better. But, I was going to open up a head or two of my own before they got to me should anyone make a move.

I’m jabbering back at them like it’s all cool and like I’m a semi idiot all the while doing this little dance that takes me closer and closer to my kayak. I’ve probably got 25-30 feet to cover. All of this is instinctual at this point. Finally, just seconds this all was, I get a running start and hit my kayak on a lunge, propelling it into the deeper water and paddle off as fast as possible without looking back.

I end paddling for while without letting up, paddling hard and fast, I’m keyed up and end up well back in this marsh after the long paddle, maybe a mile and a half, two miles of water when I feel the urge to throw up. Stress, Dehydration, something I ate, who knows, but I’m feeling pretty bad. Throw up I do. Several times. I kind of hang out there and just rest a while, not really up for any paddling at the moment.

I get a little energy back and start the long paddle back retracing my path. It’s getting dark by now and there’s a long way to go. I’m not covering water like I did on the way out, I’d just soon not have to paddle at all, but there wasn’t any alternative. I would stop and rest a bit, then move on, felt like I had the flu or something.

It’s full dark by the time I hit the ICW and there’s still a lot of water to cover. I’ve got zero lights on the kayak as this wasn’t to be a night time trip. I’m hugging the shoreline and listening for boat traffic and just forcing myself to make another paddle stroke. This felt like an eternity and I’m almost in a daze. All of the sudden I hear enormous crashing sounds behind me and they are coming closer. It’s a pitch black night and I can’t make out what the h*ll it is. I’m thinking I’m delirious or something, but this sound is intensifying and closing pretty fast. I finally realize the sound is connected to a giant trawler that’s moving down the ICW. I swing to the deeper water just in the nick of time preventing a certain swamping and turtle. I’ve never seen a wake like that and hope to never see one again.

After all this, I get close to where my truck is. Just then headlights flip on and a car drives off. I’m still out of sight unless someone had night vision goggles, but I swear it was the same car as the crazies. Whoever it was, they were parked right next to my truck. I creep on in making sure they are good and gone. Load up and thank my lucky stars I was safe at last.
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jharry3
Posts: 619
Joined: Wed May 11, 2005 1:12 pm
Location: Houston

Re: Craziest fishing experience?

Post by jharry3 »

Let's see:
1)Flounders jumping out the water chasing menhaden.
2)Dodging water spouts 40 miles offshore of the Mississippi River Southwest pass.
3)Driving a 20 foot boat down the Mississippi River south of Venice, La in fog with about 50 feet visibility. The river is about a mile wide there and I saw and passed or was passed by every thing from guys in 14 foot flatboats, to crew boats, barge tows, and oil tankers. Everyone was hauling ass and somehow we all missed each other. If you couldn't see them at least you could hear them.
4) My favorite was one time fishing offshore my brother put himself into a harness to hold his trolling rod but didn't want to connect his harness to the boat. While reeling in a lure a 50 lb jack cravelle hit his lure right at the edge of the gunnel. He was going over the side into 1200 feet of water. I fortunately was standing next to him and was able to grab his belt and hold on while he backed off the drag on the rod to let the fish run. He always had his drag set too tight for some reason. That one could have been really bad...
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