freeline102 - Flipbook - Page 168
ASH GEDEN
o f the bed chair just waiti ng fo r i t . I h ad s o r t o f h a l f ex p ec te d
t h e left hand rod to be th e o n e th a t wo u ld g o f i r s t w i t h th e
e a rlier occurrence and re ce n t li n e rs , b ut e i t h e r way, I wa s
i n to my first one from the s p o t , a n d af te r a re a l ly g o o d sc ra p ,
I s oon had a lovely scaly h a mm e r i n t he n e t t h a t l o o ke d to b e
a l ow 20. I had seen this fi s h i n t h e ma rg i n s a fe w t i me s w i t h a
gh ostie, and it was definite ly o n e o f t h e mo re a c tive o n e s th a t
I h ad been watching show i n t h e a re a s i n ce s t a rt i n g t h e b ai ti n g
c a mpaign. I unhooked i t i n t h e wa te r, s ec u re d t h e f i s h i n a
re tainer and quickly attach e d a f re sh r i g a n d p o p -u p to t h a t
ro d. I got it back out there , to my s u rp r i s e f i rs t t i me b e t we e n
t h e weed beds, and it lan d e d a b s o l ute ly love ly, fo ll owe d by
a n other three pouches of gl ug g e d b o i li e . It wo u l d b e g e tt i n g
l i ght in a couple of hours, t h e f i s h wa s s a fe a n d t h e re wa s s t i l l
t h e chance of another as th e li n e rs i n s ta n tly s ta rte d a ga i n o n
t h e rod I had just recast . I t h o u gh t I wo u ld ma ke t h e m o s t o f
i t , take it all in and waite d fo r wh at wa s to c o m e w i t h g re a t
a n ticipation. The atmosph ere wa s e le c tr i c; i t fe l t l i ke o n e o f
t h ose proper big fish nigh ts we have al l ex p eri e n c e d a t s o me
p o int .
The next take came at aro u n d 4 a m. T he le f t h a n d ro d j u s t
b u ckled on the set up, and a s I p i c ke d u p t he ro d , a p owe rf u l
f i s h roared off from the ma rg i n a n d o u t i n to t h e mid d l e o f t h e
r iver, thrashing at the surfa ce a s i t ro l le d on t h e l i n e wh i l s t
s h aking its head violently i n a n a tte mp t to f re e i t s e l f . I t re a l ly
d i dn’t appreciate being h o o ke d a n d wa s s e ri o u s ly t h row i n g
i t s elf about as we rucked i t o u t . A sh o r t wh i l e l a te r, i t wa s
g e tting clo se to netting dis ta n c e, a n d I f l i c ke d o n t h e h e ad to rc h
to see where we were. I gli mp s e d t he bi g gh o s t i e c o m mo n I h a d
b e en seeing with the mirro r I a l re ady h ad re t a i n e d , a n d a f te r
FREELINE 46
