The worst day of fishing - ever!
By Ulf Hagström
Okej, some days you shouldn't go fishing. Heck, you shouldn't even get out of bed!
I worked to lunch this day , then checked out and was gonna go pike fishing, great! Sumer had clearly ended and I looked forward to some real autum fishing for pike! Little did I know what I was in for this day...
I pumped up my float tube, opened up the big side pocket and put all my tools in (pliers, mouth operens, weights). And when closing the big zipper it came off! Ok, so a broken ziper on a side pocket is not a huge problem... but it gets worse!
Walking down to the water, putting the fins on and getting in the water. Once in I start to put the rod and reel together. Screwed on the reel and tried to draw out the line to get it trough the reel loops. Nothing happens, it is totaly stuck! I try to wind the handle, but it is totaly stuck. Tries to loosen the break, but it's also stuck. Everything on the dam reel is stuck! Take out my pliers (that's now in my vest again because of the broken side pocket). Work hard on the brake and it finally comes off.... still it can't be turned! WHAT THE F...:!!!
After five minutes trying it finally starts to give in and I can with hard work start to unwind line and get it trough the loops of the rod. This will be problem if I catch a pike because it will never be able to pull out the line by itself. Now I am sweating like a pig because I have paddled during the whole fight with the reel. But now I have a fly on and enough line out to cast so I do my first cast for today... stick the fly in my back. Take it loose and do another cast. Ooooh, nice cast! But WHAT THE F.... the float tube is all soft! AAAAH! I gotta get to shore! Paddles like a maniac to the shore 20 meters away. Gets there and the weed is so thick and high (two meters +) so I try to stand with my paddles on the bottom while trying to get the pump out of the big back pocket. Since I am now standing on the bottom I have to use my hands only to pump. It's dead hard and I am now floating away with sweat! But finally the tube is nice and hard again and I sit down exhausted...
As I slowly begin to move away from the shore I notice an army of bubble from under the float tube... NOOOO! It's a big leak and I didn't notice before because of the reel problem. Okey, quick decision: should I try to reach the good spot 30 meters ahead or give up and get to shore trying to find somewhere I can fish from land instead. I chosed fishing from land.
So back to the man high weeds and using my float tube as a battering ram I slowly make my way trough the weeds. It turns out to be 15 meters thick, and of course it's thickest where I have come trough. Now I am a positive guy, and don't give up very easy, but now I am beginning to think if I should ever have gotten out of bed this morning. Well, I start to walk inside the weeds to get to the end of the bay, and without any big incidents I am past the weeds and on the high cliffs.
Switch fly from a diver to a batifish and start to cast. Catch a tree in my back cast... try again, tree again.
Okej, I move ten meters to the left, high up the cliffs! More sweat, more cursing. Try to stand rather far out to not riskt the threes. Makes a good cast, great! Makes another one, cool! Third cast, let's try and see if I can cast longer. More motion in the rod... suddenly loose my footing on my right foot, with ten meters down to the water, I throw myself handless to the other side to prevent from falling in and lands with my arm on the sharp rocks totaly scraping it. Now the blood is running down my arm and that's it, I give up!
I pack everyting and start to go back to the float tube. Once there I notice the open side pocket.. wait a minute, didn't I put my pliers there... and the mouth opener? Looking in the 15 meters of man high weed and realizes that I am NOT going in there again!
I attach the fins to the now empty float tube and walks through the woods along the weed bank all the way back to the car. I get to the car, drop the float tube to the ground (need i say that I am sweating like a pig again). And now I notice that my fins are missing... NOOOO, NO MORE!!! I rip off my jacket and vest, and start to walk the whole wayback tracing my steps trying to find the fins. Well, they weren't all the way back, there were like two meters left or somehing. Why, oh lord why? What have I don! Well at least I found them...
Back to the car, and nothing more happens... strange.