06-11-2010, 09:00 AM
Considering how this fishing trip started out, (Retaining pin failure, caused the receiver hitch, with my trailer &amp;amp; boat attached to separate from the truck &amp;amp; careen down the highway @ 65 mph, fishtailing &amp;amp; nearly flipped over!) Thank goodness for safety chains! The receiver now has a lock on it! <br />It&amp;rsquo;s not very often that I get to fish someplace, where you have to have key in a security code to open a gate, but today I was in for a treat! A buddy of mine was hanging drywall in one of the several nice mountain homes, located on a beautiful lake. I had told him about the Twin Troller I&amp;lsquo;d won, and he had permission to fish there &amp;amp; said this would be the perfect place to take it. <br /> After launching the boat, we headed for some shade, to sit back &amp;amp; relax for a few minutes and discussed our mishap. We had no more than taken a couple of sips of a deserved ice cold beverage. WHAM! FISH ON! My ultra light&amp;rsquo;s drag started to scream, the fish stripped line off, like it was going out of style! I stood on the pedals and headed after the fish. &amp;ldquo;GET THE NET!&amp;rdquo; I hollered to Mark, &amp;ldquo;I don&amp;rsquo;t know what it is, but it&amp;rsquo;s BIG!&amp;rdquo; The Trilene Big Game 6lb held &amp;amp; started to make that sweet sound it does when under a load. <br /> I gained some line back &amp;amp; was reeling like a mad man. Just then the fish turned and headed straight at me. All of a sudden, I pulled the rod &amp;amp; this MONSTER bluegill seemingly, leaped in the boat on the end of my line! It landed in my lap flopping wildly. It was so big, it looked unreal to me. Just to make sure my eyes were not playing tricks on me, I measured it, 10.25 &amp;ldquo;long &amp;amp; 6&amp;rdquo; across &amp;amp; 2&amp;rdquo; thick. What a bull bluegill! It is my personal best, &amp;amp; will qualify for a TN certificate. <br /> After catching this one fish, I almost forgot what had happened on the way up there. It&amp;rsquo;s one of the many reasons I fish! It seems that no matter what is going in my life, the thrill &amp;amp; excitement I get from catching a big fish seems to make all the trouble worth while. Take Care, Tight lines &amp;amp; FISH ON! <br />