My first weekend on my first boat... day 1.

[bshaner]

First let me say, I only tell this story at the behest of Joshimoto and do so knowing full well that if I don't, he will.  So I think I better tell it.

Friday May 19, 2006 1230 hrs I'm pulling into the credit union to finalize the financing and there she sits... I'm all shaking and nervous trying to sign the paperwork but I manage.  Mind you it isn't the $30,000 dollar tournament package but dang-it she's practically new and she's going to be all mine!!

1300 hrs, papers are signed and I'm headed down the highway, it's been the longest week of my life and I'll be darned if the 1 hour drive home doesn't seem like a trip to Florida!!  Mile post 132.... 10 minutes later I'm seeing mile post 133...  FINALLY mile post 142 rolls up and I'm pulling up to the house shortly after and packing gear into the boat.

1700 hrs I'm out at Portage Lake in the staging area taking the straps off and deliberately putting in the drain plug first so as not to repeat the history of those who have come before me!  I get her in the water jeep doors are open, I'm sitting on the boat, got it floating off the trailer ( I forgot ropes to tie to the dock ) and I'm cranking the motor.  It wont start.  60 degrees outside and I'm starting to break into a sweat.  I'm starting to notice that people are watching, and they are all looking at me.  The guy out in 40 foot of water is staring at me too... I can feel it.  So I'm cranking the motor... nothing... crank... nothing... WTH am I doing wrong??  After what seemed like an hour of turning the motor over it hits me.  Shouldn't I be choking the motor a bit since it hasn't been started in quite a while?  Ok so I finally get her to turn over and idle while subconsciously saying a prayer to each and every one of the fishing gods that I know.  Then it hits me again... I'm sitting about 50 yards from my jeep that is parked at the ramp on dry land and I'm out in the middle of the lake....  no rope... I have to beach this thing somewhere right?  I should probably get my jeep out of everyone's way... I doubt it would last long at the ramp running with the door open while I fish.

1800 hours - I'm on the lake, cruising along.. search for the weed line on the drops... bust out my X-Rap and start jerking away.  Things are going good, I'm starting to get back into the groove I left behind 6 years ago... casting is smooth... jerking away and SLAM!!  I cant remember if I said "here we go" or "toad" or "bull" or "it's a biggun"... there was no one around to hear it so I guess it's a mute point.   I recall thinking wow, first day out on the boat and I'm about to boat a 4 plus lb'er, who's going to believe me?  Wait, I brought the 360.00 digi cam so I'm covered.  (this will come into play later on in the story).  I get this "toad" halfway to the boat and at this point I remember thinking.... don't most bass come to the surface by now and try to shake the hook?  I get this "bull" a bit closer and recall mouthing the words, "that's one skinny bass"....  "and it's got umm... tiger stripes, isn't the stripe suppose to go the length of the body?"  So ya, my very first bass on the first day with my first boat turns out to be a muskie... went about 4 lbs. 

But wait, this is just the beginning of the story...

1930 hrs - I'm still working the X-Rap on the outside of the weed line at the drops and SLAM!!  Again, I don't recall what exactly I said and again, it doesn't matter.  This time it's got one stripe and it's running down the length of it.  I remember sighing in relief and then noticeably shaking as I try to reel this puppy in.  It goes about 2.5 lbs maybe 3 and I'm freaking excited... I wont lie, I think I was actually crying.   So I thumb this thing obviously forgetting that I'm using a lure with 2 trebles connected to it....   I get it out of the water and start scrambling for the camera I kept in my side jacket pocket just for this occasion...  It's at this point that I feel this really sharp pain as if I had just been bit by a cobra....  shooting up my forearm...  the same arm I am holding this bass with and I remember pondering to myself, "I've never really seen snakes out this far off shore".   It suddenly hits me,  that's not a cobra, that's an X-Rap. Again, I don't recall the words I used at this point....  what I do remember is enduring this pain and ensuring that the memory of this fish is captured digitally for a lifetime.  With that out of the way I ended up catching 3 more keepers and headed in for the night.

2015 hrs - Ok so I'm back at the docks, ready to practice loading the boat up onto the trailer... again I am reminded that I don't have a rope to tie off with and I'm alone and... well... I beached her again.  I jump off the boat and trot up to the jeep proud as a peacock that I had such a great evening.   I pull the jeep down, turn around and back the trailer into the water like a retired trucker, run over to where I beached the rig and this time I do remember what I said very vividly: "where the %$*# is my boat!!!!"  I'm looking in the water at the exact location I left it and right there, in about 1 foot of water what to my wondering eyes does appear? As if transformed by one of those genies in a bottle - a Sony 4.1 megapixel digital camera.   Mind you, by this time there are no more trucks/trailers in the park and no boats on the water, but everyone is still looking at me.  Thankfully, I spot my boat about 20 yards down the shoreline still beached and safe.

2045 hrs - I'm on my way back to the camp grounds and the only thing that I can think about is:  "the boys at are never going to believe I caught a bass my first day out."

Stick around for day 2, believe it or not it gets better...


Brian

[djkimmel]

I think you meant 'it's a moot point' but actually mute fits this funny and entertaining story much better.

I expect Day 2 to be pretty good. Was the XRap still stuck in you for the picture, or did you remove it from your person first?

[bshaner]

It was still stuck in me.  I never got the chance to preview the pic.  I'll see if I can still pull it off the soaking wet, sand crusted memory card.  If so, I'll post it.