Somewhat True Stories Of The One That Got Away

Uncategorized — By Shopping Blogs on December 26, 2009 11:25 am

If you have ever returned from a fishing trip without any fruit from your labor, then you know how tempting it can be to start to tell the tale about the one that got away. Maybe you have been after the Big One in the same fishing hole for the larger part of your lifetime. If that sounds like you, your story may get bigger and wilder every time you tell it. It may end up sounding something like this.

You woke up earlier than dawn so as to get out on the water in time for the best fishing spots. You had prepared your tackle box the night before and placed all your homemade lures neatly in a row. You knew exactly what kind of bait The Big One liked and you knew where he had his breakfast every morning.

A nice line of lures tucked neatly in a row, you placed your tackle box on your trusty old John Boat. The engine purred and you trolled out of the dock just far enough when you jetted down the lake.

This was the lake your father took you fishing on and you knew it better than your own name. There was something about the sparkle of the mist and sunrise that made your lungs open up as you inhaled the day. This day was unlike the others and in your gut, you knew that today was the day you would catch the whale of a fish that had eluded you for years.

He was the largest catfish you had ever seen and from time to time he would jump out of the water and you could swear he looked you square in the eye.

On this fine brisk morning, you did everything right. The lures were tied with the secret knot you learned from your grandfather and no fish could escape your line. As you cast your line into the water, you held your mouth just right. Only moments into your cast, the bobber is towed to the bottom of the lake and you jerk back exactly at the right moment.

You have hooked him, the Big One. After ten minutes of give and take, you can see him just below the surface of the water. You are nearly there, close enough to touch him, but not just yet. You let him float there, in a moment of uncertainty.

What will your life be like without the chase? He has been weaving in and out of your lines for nearly two decades. He was probably the largest fish in the lake. Would fishing ever be the same if he were not lurking somewhere in the deep?

You could not bring yourself to do it. He deserved to be in the lake as much as you loved to tell the stories of how he got away.

In a move that would have made your great granddaddy turn over in his grave, you cut the line.

Immediately, your pole fell from the taunt grip the beast at the other end had put on it. He had disappeared into a messy bed of grass and you knew he would be there every day after that, waiting for you to chase him.

And that may sound something like the greatest story you have ever told, be it a tall tale or something like the truth.

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Tags: Fishing