Our fishing trip, side effects

Friday morning Pastor Horton picked me up at the farm and we drove to Wise County Park to meet our fishing guide. I told Pastor that our guide sounded like someone who is habitually early so we were there about fifteen minutes before the appointed time and as we got out of the truck, we could see the red pontoon boat, which I had been told to look out for, round the bend and head to the docks where we were to meet. Our guide nosed the boat right up onto the shore and we got into the boat through a gate in the front railing of the craft. Introductions were made and we were off. It was a cool, overcast and slightly windy day.

We spent most of the day trolling along a shelf where the rock bass were schooling. Trolling is putting out a lure and letting it follow along fifteen or twenty feet behind the boat as the boat is driven slowly. That is the only method we used that day to fish, and it worked well because we caught thirty-four fish in this method. Some of the fish we caught had to be thrown back. The legal limit is ten inches. I may have lost count, but I think I caught twenty-six fish, of which, we kept twenty. Pastor caught the rest. Late in the morning, I hooked a very large hybrid Bass. The lake is stocked with small hybrids several times per year. This one had been in the lake for some time.

When he hit the lure, my rod was slammed against the side of the boat with considerable force. He was as long as my arm and it was all the reel I had on my rod could do to bring him in, but we were not able to land him. When our guide had slowed the boat to the point that I could reel him close to the boat and had grabbed the net to get him into the boat, the fish ripped the hook out of his mouth and disappeared. The loss was partly my fault for keeping the line too taught and partly the guides fault for not completely stopping the boat to limit the drag against the fish. At least I got to hook into one large fish. The Pastor got to see the fish as we were trying to net it. Had we succeeded it would have made a great picture for the guide to post.

All I all, it was a great trip. Terry, our guide was quite a talker. The pastor and I did not need to add much to the steady stream of conversation through the nine hours of fishing. Our guide took that upon himself recounting stories his days in Vietnam, rodeoing, raising kids in a different time, religion, and God, etc. He covered the gambit and we trailed along. In the end, he told Pastor that he was going to come to church and bring his wife and daughter – who is relocating to the area – with his grandkids. He reminded me of some cowboys I knew years ago when I was a teenager. He loves the idea of God as that idea conforms to his view of the world, but he may not really know God, having more of a tangential relationship with the concept versus having a personal relationship with the Savior. Pastor asked him if he knew for sure he would go to Heaven when he dies and he assured Pastor that he did, so we can only go by his testimony. He seemed deeply touched when the pastor asked him about his salvation. Maybe he really will come to church. That interaction made the trip even better.

After all the fish had been cleaned, and we were piloted back to the area where we had parked the truck, Pastor and I headed home, slightly sunburned and pretty worn out. Having spent the better part of the day on a rocking boat due to the winds blowing across the lake, my back was hurting badly. The next morning the pain was brutal. Not only was I dealing with the pain from steadying myself as best I could in the boat, I started to develop a cough. Although Mama was staunchly opposed to the idea, I started on antibiotics right away. We have some left over from bouts of bugs last year. I did not get into much Saturday as I allowed my back to recuperate. Sunday, my cough was bad enough that we decided it would be best if we stayed home from church. Right now, people feel mortally threatened when around someone who is coughing. We got to listen to the services online, but we did miss being in the service. If I had gone, I would not have been able to lead the singing and we would have been too great a distraction. So, Mama and I stayed home, watched online, rested.

It seems we both needed the rest, and we made the most of the day that had been given to us to do so.