freeline-105 - Flipbook - Page 172
EXCLUSIVE
We were all tuned into wh a t
w e called the Lake of Drea m s ,
s u ffering happily fro m w h a t
b e came known as Kin gy Fe v e r.
This time I didn’t even l e a d
a r ound. The pre-tied b l a c k
z i gs went straight o ut, th e
r o ds were fishing within t h e
h o ur, the kettle was on , a n d
s e renity settled over th e swi m .
m o r n i n g, t h e l e f t r o d w a s a w a y
y e t a g a i n . Wa d e r s o n , I sl i p p e d
i n t o th e w a t e r a n d p l a y e d t h e
f i s h c a r e f u l l y, k e e p i n g s t e a d y
s i d e st r a i n o n m y 1 0 l b l i n e t o
guide it over the weed. When
t h e n e t f i n a ll y c l o s e d a ro u n d
it, I dragged it to the edge
a n d l o o k e d i n s i d e. T h i s t h i n g
was enormous. My head fell
T he first night passed q uie t l y,
b u t befor e dawn the l a k e
b u zzed with anticipatio n —
k e ttles steaming, headtorc h e s
g l owing, everyone scann i n g
t h e misty water for si gns o f a
m orning bite. Then the l e f th a nder pulled tight ag ain . A
m i d-twent y common kic k e d
t h ings off, followed the n e x t
m orning by another h i g h
t w enty and a m id-th i rt y
k n own as Lockjaw. I’d cle a r l y
t a ken to zig fishing — tho u g h
I hadn’t admitted to any o n e
t h at I’d only used the met h o d
a handful of times bef o re.
B i rchy had already ni cknam e d
m e “The Welsh Gill Net .” If
o n ly they knew… On the f i n a l
o f f. Wi t h D a v e a n d J o n a l r e a d y
b e s i d e m e, w e s e c u r e d t h e
fish, brewed a sugary tea to
calm the nerves, and lifted
the Reubens.,45lb 14oz. The
F i g h t i n g M a c h i n e. M y s e c o n d
PB on my second session — I
w a s l i v i n g t he d r e a m .
The obsession was real. After
such a flying start, reality
s o o n h u m b l e d m e. W h e n t h e
weed reached from bottom to
surface and zigs were no longer
t h e a n s w e r, a s t e e p l e a r n i n g
c u r v e f o l l o we d — b u t I e n j o y e d
t h o se c h a l l e n g e s j u s t a s m u c h
a s t h e e a r l y s u c c e s s e s . T h o se
years became the golden era
o f m y a n g l i n g l i f e. We sh a r e d
b r e w s, c a p t u r e s, s t o r i e s , a n d
BigCarp 170
