THE GREAT FALL

For those of you who practice Christianity, then to you, the greatest of all falls, is from grace. There is a joke about that but it is sinful.

This is the great fall from the boat seat. Before you say "no biggie" think about this. You are at your favorite bass spot at the cat tails and you know the fish lay just inside. You know that as soon as you see a swirl, you better set the hook and start cranking to get them out before they twist themselves around the base and you loose the fish and have to use a sailor word.

I was taught to set the hook hard by my teacher, sweet Thomas. After all, it wasn't like we were going to rip the mouth of a little crappy, we were fishing hard mouthed pike, walleye, and muskies at the time.

As so on this very fine weekend were everything goes wrong under the sun, Tom made his way visually through the swallow water. If you wonder why it is because the trolling motor muddied down and it didn't work. Why did he muddy in? Because there was a loon on the nest surrounded by foam and we wanted to get as close as we felt was comfortable for her for the picture.

When we had the boat built, we added a casting deck in the back. It is about three feet off the floor. Again, because Tom was navigating by sight, he was in front with controls and I was in the back.

The fish were on, six casts, three lost and three boated. Paradise. Could it be better?

Because of body restrictions, I sit to fish and when the swirl came, I dug into the side of the boat and hauled back. That is when the seat snapped loose and sent me flying with the seat under me, a distance of maybe 6-8 feet.

Imagine my horror when I landed between the boat wall and Tom's chair with my legs in the air. I was hollering because I hurt and Tom said, "I wish you wouldn't do that". Of course I wished I wasn't either!

I had landed on my back with my mouth shut, (can you believe that?). I landed so hard that after wiggling my toes, I wondered if I had broken all my front teeth off, which I had not.

Somehow, my head had missed the metal post of the chair. My bingo wing, for those of you who are not old and fluffy, is the upper arm, which is still sore.

Tom moved the captain chair and pulled the snapped one from under me. My legs worked. I had stopped hollering by now. I was breathing fine and seemed to be basically okay. What seemed like moments from the snap to standing really was more than an hour. This is not a time when one says "time flies when you are having fun--nor does one say fly for fun".

Tom packed for home and I lay in the seat with the heater on. I crawled into bed on Sunday and crawled out a couple days later. I am bruised from tailbone to waist, (what waist?) and feel my invalid donut is a necessity.

For the first time in almost 15 years I was not on the computer.

Will it happen again. Oh my, I hope not. Tom replaced the shaft of the chair and the trolling motor is fixed.

This is not fly fishing folks.

Stay away from all great falls, they aren't worth it.

But wait, there is more..................tomorrow