Lunker and Pal Give Someone the Bird
By Fred Metarko
“Mrs. Metarko, It’s John. Can Freddie come out to play?”
Those were the words Linda, my wife, heard when she answered the phone on a Friday evening. She laughed and handed the phone to me. John is a member of our bass club and we fish together a lot. He often calls when he has time to wet a line. We made plans to fish Cowanesque Lake the next morning.
I drove to John’s house, which is on the way to the lake. He had his boat hooked to the truck when I arrived. We loaded my gear and headed to the water.
It was just a day to fish for fun, check out some areas, and maybe find some new spots to fish during tournaments. We were also trying new lures and some old ones we hadn’t used in awhile.
After spending time above the swimming area in the trees, we came back toward the launch area. We continued to fish along the bank that’s just above the small cove.
A duck came gliding through the air from across the lake; he circled our heads and landed on the boat right at John’s feet. We watched the duck make himself totally at home as he went about checking out the boat. We knew that fowl leave more than tracks behind as they waddle about. We didn’t want that smelly stuff deposited on the carpeting to step in and track around, so this bird had to go. John chased it off and it settled in the water behind the boat.
After paddling around for a while, the duck took to the air again, did a loop, went into a glide, and landed expertly on the boat. Chased off again, he returned to the water close to our bow. We had to be real aggressive to get him off the boat. He was on again, off again.
While ducky swam around the boat, he was getting interested in our lures as they were entering and being retrieved from the water. We were afraid we would be catching a duck. That would be something to experience if it took flight and we had to reel him in from out of the sky. We just had to get rid of this pesky fowl.
There was a boat ahead and the guy was fishing in our direction. We told him about our acquaintance, the friendly duck, as we passed, and we actually introduced them. Then the duck took flight again, made his signature loop and, with a stroke of luck or divine intervention, landed on the other guy’s boat. This was our big chance. John immediately started the gas engine, and we hightailed out of there.
After experimenting for a while around the face of the dam, we fished our way back to the launch area. The guy we stuck with the duck was calling it a day and was back at the launch.
“Where is your buddy the duck?” we asked.
He laughed and replied, “I met this other couple fishing just up the lake and our friendly feathered friend decided to desert me, so I gave them the bird and did a disappearing act.”
We pulled the boat out of the water and headed home. John and I agreed it was a good day on the lake.
We were all involved in a little game of “Pass the Duck.”
The Lunker is a member of the Tioga County Bass Anglers (www.tiogacountybassanglers.com). You can contact him at lunker@mountainhome.com.
The Lunker Invitational
2007 State Classic Tournament
Beltzville Lake
What: Beltzville State Park, the site of the state classic, is in the Poconos’ southern foothills, north of Allentown. So hitch up the boat trailer and take a ride. The 949-acre lake is stocked with striped, largemouth, and smallmouth bass. Ramp applications will be available at Nockamixon Sport Shop, 808 Doylestown Pike, Quakertown, Pennsylvania, (215) 539-9553; the Wacky Worm Route 209, Gilbert, Pennsylvania, (888) 285-2050; and Angler’s Paradise and Marine, 1300 Mickley Road, Whitehall, Pennsylvania, (610) 433-2500.
Where: Beltzville Lake, Beltzville State Park, Leighton, Pennsylvania
When: October 7 at 6 a.m.
Fees and prizes: $150 per team registration fee, plus $10 if registering at the ramp. Seventy percent payout. Applications available online at www.teambass-usa.com
Information: www.teambass-usa.com or phone Richard Harris Jr. at (570) 332-7302. For park information: www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/beltzville.aspx or phone (610) 377-0045
Also: Team Bass USA sponsors these tournaments, which raise money for children’s hospitals, and there is a $25 membership fee. Team Bass USA also has October tournaments scheduled for Oneida Lake, near Syracuse, New York, and Raystown Lake in Entriken, Pennsylvania. Visit their Web site for details. |
