Roy
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LAST EDITED ON Sep-01-06 AT 12:44PM (MST)[p]Well fellers - It's time for me to relate my latest brush with death. It has taken me a few days to really come to grips with it so I am sorry I haven't posted it sooner, but here it is now. First off - it in no way compares to the close call that Hunter Harry's nephew faced and is still facing - but in its own right I just have to say I am counting my own blessings, - all I can say is that I was spared by the hand of God.
Well school started back up for me here at the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday. Tuesday therefore was my last day of freedom - so to speak- before my hectic schedule took over and ruled my life. Well we had a small cold front move through on Monday and with it some much needed rain. We haven't had a drop since early July so the ground was soaking it all up and the break from the 100 degree temperatures was more than welcomed. Another small front and more rain were forecasted for early Tuesday morning so I thought I would take advantage of the snap in the weather and get my last good day of fishing in before school started. I left early to get ahead of the front and take advantage of the low pressure before cold front.
I drove to a nearby park where a pretty good stream full of bass, catfish, carp and perch flows through the middle of the city of Round Rock, Texas. It started out to be a very productive
day. I began fishing with a crawdad crankbait and within the first 10 casts I had caught two 1 1/2 lb. largemouth and missed another one about that same size. Then the rain started to come and along with it lightning and thunder. I was fishing on a low water crossing and when I noticed the water swelling over the road, I decided that my fishing was over for the day so I left. As I traveled back to the south towards the house, I noticed that there were clear skies over Pflugerville so instead of going to the house, I kept on heading south to another little creek I know about near our chapel.
Well I got there and noticed that the water was a little murky for the crankbait or flies so I switched to a catfish rig using a good stinky crawfish/chicken blood doughbait on a #6 doughbait treble hook. I have caught some pretty good cats here before and there are some great carp too so I thought I might just get lucky. I began to fish beneath a bridge in a channel that is probably no more than 10 ft deep. Near the edge of the channel, by the pilings of the bridge, I saw some debris and mud float up from the bottom of the stream and thought I had some
cat action for sure. I pitched my line carefully and laid it just on the other side of the piling and patiently waited. Just then, lightning struck not more than two miles away and a thunder crack rolled through the air like a B-17 bomber raid. I could feel the tension in the air and the static electricity made the hairs on my arm stand at attention.
Almost imperceptibly, I saw the bobber begin to move - just a little - then a little more and I knew I had a strike. I took up the tension on the line, but didn't feel a jerk on the other end so I didn't set the hook. However, as soon as I took in more line, my drag started to sing like a canary in spring and line began stripping off quickly. The fight was on.
I stuggled to maintain my composure as I knew this was the big one. I was grinning from ear to ear as I began to recover some of the lost line and bring the great beast in. Then, things began happening fast - too fast - and the danger was upon me before I even realized it was there.
Suddenly, the line went slack and though I reeled as fast as I could, I could't reet it in fast enough but it was swimming right towards me and I could see the line coming right at me. Then I did the one thing that probably ended up saving my life. I ran upstream, pulling the line slack just in time to turn the monster back to me but protecting myself from the oncoming attack as I could now control it and keep the line tight. I didn't know what it was at first, maybe a killer shark, maybe a gator, maybe a giant deformed nutria, but my worst fears were realized when it's dark shell surfaced and I saw its sinister head rise rudely out of the water, its evil eyes glaring at me, searching for me, wishing me certain unbearable death by its savage snapping beak.
As it surfaced, I knew what it was going to do but I was still shocked by the force of its hiss as the devil beast held tight to the end of my line, seemingly trying to pull me to its waiting jaws of death. It was tired now and desperate and I had only one chance, but the current and fate were on my side.
I began to manuever back downstream - letting the current pull the great turtle down towards the falls. My plan was to let the current drag it back to the edge of the falls, cut the line as it slid over and then run back upstream, grab my tackle box and get the hell out of there.
All was going to plan, I was keeping the line tight, praying that the turetle didn't snap it off with its great beak and send me flying backward, easy pray for this devil terrapin. Soon, its back legs were in edge waters of the fall and the current was pulling hard, but then, the great turtle began to fight back and come back upstream. I held my pole high and tried to force it back to the edge of the falls, and just when it looked like the turtle was going to recover and come after me, its massive huge hind flipper lost its grip on the mossy rocks and it slipped halfway over the falls. I had to act quickly but almost instinctively I cut the line with my pocket knife and began to run. I looked back over my shoulder to see him give one last futile lunge forward and then slip over the falls into the whitewater below.
I made it back to my tackle box out of breath, my arms aching from the epic life or death battle I had just waged with this demon turtle of Central Texas. I got in my car and sped away, overjoyed to be alive - to have looked at the bottom of the abyss and returned to tell about it. I thought about crying, but there was a really good topic on the Sports Talk Radio and the AC was on full blast so I felt pretty good - darn lucky and grateful to be alive.
UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)
Well school started back up for me here at the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday. Tuesday therefore was my last day of freedom - so to speak- before my hectic schedule took over and ruled my life. Well we had a small cold front move through on Monday and with it some much needed rain. We haven't had a drop since early July so the ground was soaking it all up and the break from the 100 degree temperatures was more than welcomed. Another small front and more rain were forecasted for early Tuesday morning so I thought I would take advantage of the snap in the weather and get my last good day of fishing in before school started. I left early to get ahead of the front and take advantage of the low pressure before cold front.
I drove to a nearby park where a pretty good stream full of bass, catfish, carp and perch flows through the middle of the city of Round Rock, Texas. It started out to be a very productive
day. I began fishing with a crawdad crankbait and within the first 10 casts I had caught two 1 1/2 lb. largemouth and missed another one about that same size. Then the rain started to come and along with it lightning and thunder. I was fishing on a low water crossing and when I noticed the water swelling over the road, I decided that my fishing was over for the day so I left. As I traveled back to the south towards the house, I noticed that there were clear skies over Pflugerville so instead of going to the house, I kept on heading south to another little creek I know about near our chapel.
Well I got there and noticed that the water was a little murky for the crankbait or flies so I switched to a catfish rig using a good stinky crawfish/chicken blood doughbait on a #6 doughbait treble hook. I have caught some pretty good cats here before and there are some great carp too so I thought I might just get lucky. I began to fish beneath a bridge in a channel that is probably no more than 10 ft deep. Near the edge of the channel, by the pilings of the bridge, I saw some debris and mud float up from the bottom of the stream and thought I had some
cat action for sure. I pitched my line carefully and laid it just on the other side of the piling and patiently waited. Just then, lightning struck not more than two miles away and a thunder crack rolled through the air like a B-17 bomber raid. I could feel the tension in the air and the static electricity made the hairs on my arm stand at attention.
Almost imperceptibly, I saw the bobber begin to move - just a little - then a little more and I knew I had a strike. I took up the tension on the line, but didn't feel a jerk on the other end so I didn't set the hook. However, as soon as I took in more line, my drag started to sing like a canary in spring and line began stripping off quickly. The fight was on.
I stuggled to maintain my composure as I knew this was the big one. I was grinning from ear to ear as I began to recover some of the lost line and bring the great beast in. Then, things began happening fast - too fast - and the danger was upon me before I even realized it was there.
Suddenly, the line went slack and though I reeled as fast as I could, I could't reet it in fast enough but it was swimming right towards me and I could see the line coming right at me. Then I did the one thing that probably ended up saving my life. I ran upstream, pulling the line slack just in time to turn the monster back to me but protecting myself from the oncoming attack as I could now control it and keep the line tight. I didn't know what it was at first, maybe a killer shark, maybe a gator, maybe a giant deformed nutria, but my worst fears were realized when it's dark shell surfaced and I saw its sinister head rise rudely out of the water, its evil eyes glaring at me, searching for me, wishing me certain unbearable death by its savage snapping beak.
As it surfaced, I knew what it was going to do but I was still shocked by the force of its hiss as the devil beast held tight to the end of my line, seemingly trying to pull me to its waiting jaws of death. It was tired now and desperate and I had only one chance, but the current and fate were on my side.
I began to manuever back downstream - letting the current pull the great turtle down towards the falls. My plan was to let the current drag it back to the edge of the falls, cut the line as it slid over and then run back upstream, grab my tackle box and get the hell out of there.
All was going to plan, I was keeping the line tight, praying that the turetle didn't snap it off with its great beak and send me flying backward, easy pray for this devil terrapin. Soon, its back legs were in edge waters of the fall and the current was pulling hard, but then, the great turtle began to fight back and come back upstream. I held my pole high and tried to force it back to the edge of the falls, and just when it looked like the turtle was going to recover and come after me, its massive huge hind flipper lost its grip on the mossy rocks and it slipped halfway over the falls. I had to act quickly but almost instinctively I cut the line with my pocket knife and began to run. I looked back over my shoulder to see him give one last futile lunge forward and then slip over the falls into the whitewater below.
I made it back to my tackle box out of breath, my arms aching from the epic life or death battle I had just waged with this demon turtle of Central Texas. I got in my car and sped away, overjoyed to be alive - to have looked at the bottom of the abyss and returned to tell about it. I thought about crying, but there was a really good topic on the Sports Talk Radio and the AC was on full blast so I felt pretty good - darn lucky and grateful to be alive.
UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)
