freeline-101 - Flipbook - Page 76
EXCLUSIVE
I ’d dropped the net a n d
t a ken a few steps back wh e n
i t hit me, it almost di d n ’t
f e el real. After fou r so l i d
d a ys of w aiting… fo ur d a y s !
D oubting everything… th e r e
w as actually a fish in the n e t .
I got the fish out of t h e
w ater and when I say I l e t’s
b e honest, my partn er pr e t t y
m uch took over at th at p o i n t
b e cause my back ne a r l y
s n apped in half. The fish w a s
s a fely popped into the s l i n g
a n d returned to the w a t e r
w hile I made the pho ne c a l l .
J a mie. The man who to ld m e
t o call him at any hou r a n d s o
I did. I knew he’d be jus t a s
b u zzing as I was, and I wa s n ’t
w r ong.
J amie gathered the t e a m
a n d when they arrived, th e r e
I was, standing in my wad e rs ,
r e ady… or so I tho ught. A n d
t h at’s when it reall y hi t m e.
I got emotional. P rop e r l y
e motional. To have every o n e
t h ere, sharing that mom e n t …
i t ’s hard to put into word s. T h e
BigCarp 74
e x c i t e m e n t i s n ’t j u s t y o u r s i t
belongs to everyone around
you. That feeling is surreal,
a n d i t ’s s o m e t h i n g y o u n e v e r
f o rg e t .
Once everyone had seen
w h a t w a s s i t t i n g i n t h e s l i n g,
their faces said it all. That
r e a c t i o n , t h a t ’s w h a t i t ’s r e a l l y
about. At that point, there was
only one thing left to do. Get
i t o n t h e s c a l e s.
S o w e g a th e r e d r o u n d t h e
willow tree where the chain
h a n g s, c l i p pe d i t o n , a n d u p
i t we n t. A n d h o n e s t l y, m y
h e a r t n e a rl y j u m p e d s t r a i g h t
out of my mouth. There was
no hanging about with those
s c a l e s , st r a i g h t p a s t 6 0 l b …
a n d s t i l l c l i m b i n g. I d i d n ’t
really know what to say at that
p o i n t . A n d t ha t , r i g h t t h e r e, i s
what fishing is truly about.
Moments like this. Sharing
them. Celebrating them with
your team, your family and
loved ones.
T h e n i t wa s t i m e f o r p h o t o s .
I got into the water and
