At New York State’s Honeoye Lake, you can usually catch a lot of fish. You need to work extra hard and have some luck to catch the quality ones.
The legal length is twelve inches, but, to keep everyone in our club tournaments safe from turning in short, illegal fish, we require a twelve-and-a-quarter-inch weigh-in length.

Sometimes the larger fish are found along the weed lines, in the holes in the weeds, or near structures such as boat docks and underneath boats, especially the large pontoon boats.

During a Tioga County Bass Angler’s club tournament in late September, my partner Joe and I were fishing the weed line and “punching holes in the weeds” by using heavy baits and sinkers to get through the thick vegetation and to the fish underneath. It was raining and the wind had begun to pick up, blowing the boat along too fast to fish effectively. We decided to go closer to shore and fish the docks.

We started pitching and casting around and under the docks and boats. I tried to slow the boat as much as possible by using the trolling motor. The waves kept increasing in frequency and size as the wind grew stronger. I made a cast as we approached the next dock, trying to skip the lure underneath it. I missed my mark and the lure sailed too high, wrapping itself and the line around a corner post of the dock.

“Oh, drat,” I said. “That’s just what I don’t need right now.”

Maneuvering into position to unwind the line, I teetered on the front edge of the boat, reaching out as far as I could, trying to keep my balance. Just then a gust of wind and a huge wave came and heaved up the boat. I lost it. I was a goner. Instantly, I went headfirst in the water and, just as quickly, popped up on the dock with rod and reel still in hand. This happened so fast—and I was wearing my rain suit—that I was, amazingly, still dry underneath.

Standing on the dock, I realized half of my rod was missing. The broken end was somewhere in the lake. Joe stood on the boat with an amazed look on his face after witnessing what had just happened. He quickly gained his senses and moved to the front of the boat to control the trolling motor. He was out of luck. The motor’s shaft had hit something and was bent by the force of the waves and wind. Control was lost.

Joe couldn’t get back to the dock to pick me up. The wind continued to push him down the lake. I ran down the shore and past a couple docks as the boat and Joe drifted to me. I jumped aboard and started the large gas motor. I pulled away from the docks and prevented the boat from beaching on shore.

Out in the lake, we stopped and looked at each other; only then did I crack a smile and Joe busted out laughing.

“That was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time” he said, “but I didn’t dare laugh, not knowing how you’d take it. You reminded me of a dolphin coming out of the water for a fish at Disney World.”

To add insult to injury, the whole incident was observed by Joe’s brother, John. He was fishing just a short distance from us. He motored over to us and asked, “Are you guys okay? Do you need any help?”

We explained what happened. Since no one was hurt, we all had a good laugh. I must admit it must have looked quite comical watching from a distance.

John went on his way and continued to fish.

With a great big grin Joe said, “I won’t mention this to anyone.”

He didn’t have to. Everyone knew all the details by weigh-in time, thanks to brother John.

When asked how I made out that day, I said “Fantastic! I went swimming and didn’t get my clothes wet. I still had my reel and half a rod; I recovered my lure and my trolling motor still runs; that is, if you want to go in circles. 

I was glad it wasn’t a really bad day.

The Lunker is a member of the Tioga County Bass Anglers (www.tiogacountybassanglers.com). You can contact him at lunker@mountainhome.com.