Unbelievable

Here's a fishing story for you.  My brother Rick comes up every year to stay with us at camp for at least a week as he loves to fish, especially for Smallmouth Bass.  His favorite fishing spot is at the end of the sandbar on our lake, Indian Lake.  He will go there like clockwork every evening to cast for smallies or northern pike.  The fish that hit the hardest are the ones he prefers to catch.

One evening he and his buddy that came with him from GA were out fishing at the end of the sandbar when Joanna and I came out in another boat to fish there as well.  We were closer to the stake marking the end of the sandbar which helps fishermen know when they can safely turn to head up the lake without hitting the sandbar.

I usually wait for the sun to get close to sinking over the horizon before I try to catch Walleye there because they bite better when it is darker.  So, in the meantime I thought I'd try a few casts with a special stickbait that Rick had given me the year before.  It had rattles on the inside of it and tail feathers sticking out the back end, simply irresistible to an unsuspecting fish.

I tied the lure on the end of my line and cast toward the sandbar landing it in about two feet of water.  Suddenly a large fish which I figured was a northern pike flew out of the water and grabbed my bait, whipping my rod over.  I let out a shout figuring I would be hauling in a nice fish, when just as suddenly my line went limp and there was nothing left but line.

I felt so badly that I had lost my favorite bait from Rick to the sharp teeth of a pike.  I hollered over to Rick telling him what happened and told him to come over there to catch that fish and get my bait back.  He asked if I had put on a leader.  I told him I had not.  He said you always need to use a leader with a stickbait.

The following evening Rick and his buddy again went to the sandbar to fish although this time I decided to stay back at camp.  About dark Rick came back to camp after fishing and told us what happened.  He parked his boat where Joanna and I were the previous night and cast toward the sandbar in about the spot where I had cast and he caught himself a nice sized pike.  They netted it and brought it into the boat.  Lo and behold my lost fishing lure fell out of its mouth.  It wasn't even attached to anything.  The fish just spit it out.  We couldn't believe it.  What are the odds?

It's so nice to have a brother that will do just what I asked him to do.  Way to go Rick.