freeline-95 - Flipbook - Page 76
EXCLUSIVE
l u mp. The line ripped thro u g h
t h e water and I had that g u t w r enching feeling. As it ro l l e d
n e ar the bank like a croco d i l e,
t h e hook pulled. I was gut t e d .
I t was the first fish I’d los t i n
t h ree wee ks, and I in sta n tl y
k n ew why. The lead ha d n ’t
d r opped. I always fi sh d r o p o f f leads for the fish ’s saf e ty,
a n d this o ne time it faile d, i t
c o st me dearly. I told my m a t e,
BigCarp 74
“That was the big one.” He tried
t o c o n v i n c e m e o t h e r w i s e, b u t
I k n e w. My s t o m a c h w a s i n
k n o t s. S t i l l , I r e g r o u p e d a n d
got the rod back out. I climbed
i n t o t h e b i v v y, d e t e r m i n e d t o
p u t i t b e h i n d m e.
S u n d a y m o r n i n g, 6 : 0 0 a m ,
t h e a l a rm s c r e a m e d a g a i n — a
l o v e l y c o m m o n . We g r a b b e d
s o m e p i c t u r es , t h e n s l i p p e d i t
b a c k . T h e n a n o t h e r b i t e. Tw o
