freeline-104 - Flipbook - Page 163
ASH
DAVEGEDEN
HYDE
to pinch myself to see if I wa s re al ly awa ke . I t wa s a l a ke
where the fish normally sp o o ke d ve r y e as i ly, a n d ye t I ’ d b e e n
r u nning up and down the b a n k a nd la n d i n g f i s h , a l l o f wh i c h
h a d made a few splashes , a nd ye t th ey s ee m e d to b e g o i n g
a b solutely bananas. I sacke d t h e f i s h i n th e c a r p a rk sw i m an d
t h en walked back to my ro d s w i t h th e i n te n t i o n o f bri n g i n g
t h em in while I photograp h ed t h e f i s h . So d’ s L aw h ad a h a b i t
o f heading in my direction , a n d o n e p a n i c i n a d ay wa s q u i te
e n ough for me.
When I arrived back, I co u l d h a rd ly b e li eve wh a t I wa s s ee i n g ;
t h ere was my rod jumpin g u p an d d ow n i n t h e b u s h at t h e
f ront of the swim. As I lifte d th e ro d , i t me t w i t h t h e f u l l fo rc e
o f it heading for the other s i d e o f t he l ake . Ye t a ga i n , i t wa s
a c hing arms until yet ano th e r t we n ty wa s b ro u gh t to t h e n e t .
Well as you can imagine, if I h ad to p i n c h mys e l f b e fo re , i t wa s
a l most worth a thump in t he mo u t h n ow to m a ke s u re t h a t I
was really conscious. The f i s h wa s we i gh ed a t 2 3 l b 11 o z , a n d
t h en I went about the rigma ro l e o f t r y i n g to p h o to gra p h t wo
f i s h together. Once back in my sw i m, I h ad to s i t fo r 15 mi n u te s
o r so just so that I co uld ta ke i t a ll i n an d a l s o h ave a we l l e a rned cup of coffee. The n ex t t wo h o ur s d ra g g e d p as t s l owly
w i thout further action. It’s s t ra n ge t h e way yo u r mi n d a d a p t s
to fast fishing, and during t ho se t wo h o u r s , I m u s t h ave re c a s t
e a ch rod three times in s ea rc h fo r mo re fe e d i n g f i sh , wh e n
u s ually one cast would have s u f f i c e d. By m i d d ay, s o m ewh a t
re luctantly, I decided to ma ke my d e p art ure fo r t h e n ex t l a ke
a n d hopefully a couple mo re f i s h .
I arrived and was set u p by 1 p m. Co n d i t i o n s fo r t h e l ake
l o oked hopeless. The sky wa s n ow c le a r w i t h n o t t h e s l i gh te s t
s i gn of a cloud in sight . Th e w i n d h ad p i c ke d u p c o n s i d e ra b ly
FR E ELINE 33
