freeline-104 - Flipbook - Page 176
DAVE HYDE
k n ew my chance was soon to c o m e .
T w o h o u r s l a t e r a n d a l s o t w o c a s t s l a t e r, p l a c i n g t h e b a i t
ever closer to the reeds, and I was still waiting, although
the carp was still there. Once again I could feel my eyes
beginning to close when suddenly the Optonic sounded and
the indicator cracked up against the rod. As I lifted the
r o d , I c o u l d s e e t h e a n g l e o f t h e l i n e a c r o s s t h e w a t e r, a n d
fortunately the fish was swimming away from the reeds.
As I walked backwards into the field behind me in order to
t r y t o p u l l t h e f i s h t o w a r d s m e a n d a w a y f r o m d a n g e r, t h e
fish suddenly turned. The rod just simply bent and bent
until even the butt was bending. Suddenly I saw one of the
outside reeds knock, and then followed a loud crack as
the line broke sending me flying over backwards onto the
ground.
It’s easy to overestimate the size of fish, especially when
t h e y g e t a w a y, b u t l k n o w w e l l w h a t a b i g f i s h f e e l s l i k e o n
hooking it , and I would have willingly bet all my tackle that
t h e l o s t f i s h w o u l d h a v e b e e n a r e a l c r a c k e r. I s u p p o s e t h e
disappointment of losing the fish was made even greater
as I had been expecting a run for the past two hours as I
w a t c h e d t h e f i s h l u r k i n g o v e r m y b a i t s . H o w e v e r, i t w a s
lost , and there was no use in crying over spilt milk. I kept
telling myself that for the next four hours!
Darkness arrived, and the lake fell flat calm. The air
hung heavy with the smell of smoke, the result of national
s t u b b l e b u r n i n g d a y. I s t a y e d a w a k e f o r a c o u p l e o f h o u r s
after dark to listen for any signs of rolling fish, but there
were none, which was unusual for that lake. I was awoken
six times during the night – three times with the cold, for
FREELINE 46
