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Huge Bass, Choke Canyon, And A Dead Best Friend. #14554731 12/04/22 11:57 AM
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BassLakeFork Offline OP
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I'm not the greatest at sharing stuff but have to tell of an event today that sent chills down my spine and almost made me fall out of the boat. This is worth taking the time to read if you have a minute.

Going way back, my brother and I grew up with a best friend Jeff that loved fishing. Jeff came from a family of fishermen from southern Indiana. One of the main connections Jeff had with his father and grandfather was fishing. The elders in Jeff's family used Lew's reels before any of us had even heard of them. I moved to Texas in 2008 and Jeff came here a couple times a year from Indiana to enjoy Texas bass fishing with me. I used all Shimano products and still have a bunch - they are excellent in my opinion.

Jeff got stomach cancer and life was struggle as he went through rehab for several years after I moved to Texas. He had difficulty with everything in life but still wanted to try fishing so I would occasionally fly Jeff down for a weekend to hit the lakes. As Jeff’s condition worsened, I wanted to do something extra special for him, so I had a brand new Lew’s reel on a Shimano rod waiting for him when he arrived for a fishing trip here in Texas the summer of 2017. The reel reminded him of good times fishing with his family during childhood. As Jeff talked about how special the reel was to him, I saw a rare moment in his life when he was almost overcome with emotion.

Jeff died of cancer on 1/9/18. I collected pictures of Jeff from friends and family and did a short YouTube video memorializing his life here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuPN5VAdPVo

In March of 2018, I was fishing on Lake Fork and caught the largest bass of my life at 9 pounds 13 ounces. I was shocked when I realized that the huge bass was randomly caught on Jeff’s Lew’s combo. Generally, I keep a minimum of 12 rod / reel combos on the boat and had coincidently picked that one up. A couple of weeks later my brother flew down from Indiana for some fishing at Fork and he landed a 10 pound 1 ouncer with, you guessed it, Jeff’s Lew’s combo. We both found catching personal best fish on Jeff's combo a little spooky and wrote if off to coincidence.

Fast forward to 2020 during Covid, the love of my life and the woman that I eventually married went on a fishing trip to Fork with me. She patiently tried her luck while continuing to learn using a bait-caster. Much of the time she was struggling as many do while learning a new sport. She thought the lure had snagged up but had a large bass and successfully landed 5 pound 6 ounce bass. Oddly enough, she had picked up Jeff’s combo among the piles of rods and reels catching her largest bass ever – and still is.

So at this point, my wife, brother and I all have our largest bass on the same fishing combo randomly pulled out of 12+ combos on the boat. Jeff’s reel eventually quit working properly as the button kept sticking so I took it to Southwestern Service for repair. Those guys have done fantastic work for me and they had the reel for several months trying various ways to repair. Mid-summer of 2022, Southwestern called me and said they had to give up trying to repair even after calling the Lew’s factory. Lew’s surprisingly offered to give me a credit for the reel even though it was way out of warranty. I now own many more Lew’s reels because of their outstanding service and reliable products.

But the story does not end yet. I had a rod repaired at Southwestern and stopped by to pick it up in the fall of 2022. While at the Southwestern counter I mentioned that I had golfed with Paul, the previous owner, and told the Lew’s reel story. As it turns out, Paul also died of cancer. I was surprised to find that they still had the unrepairable Lew’s reel in a box and they offered it back to me.
I took the reel and put it back on the pole to try on my next trip. The reel button still stuck a bit but I still used a couple times due to the history with Jeff.

There is another thread on this forum about my current Fall fishing bonanza with my wife and brother. I am sitting here in my Kicking Bass Cabin writing this after the shock the last couple of days here at Choke Canyon. Friday was an extremely slow day on Choke with only 4 bass caught by me and none by my brother. Saturday morning was even worse with me catching one and my brother zeroing out again. We decided to take a break and get some lunch at Live Oak (fantastic) and not even sure if we wanted to get back out on the water. The warm meal gave us new energy so we decided to give Choke another try Saturday afternoon. I caught my second bass of the day and just as I was letting him go, my brother hooked into a huge bass. His bass weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces and is the only bass he has caught on this trip. Our final shocker was the pole he randomly picked up – Jeff’s Lew’s. My brothers picture from yesterday afternoon is attached.







Attached Files Big Bass.JPG
Last edited by BassLakeFork; 12/04/22 01:51 PM.
Moritz Chevrolet - 9101 Camp Bowie W Blvd, Fort Worth, TX - Monte Coon (817) 696-2003
Re: Huge Bass And A Dead Best Friend. [Re: BassLakeFork] #14554739 12/04/22 12:11 PM
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 25,662
T Bird Online Content
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and????????????????? confused


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Re: Huge Bass And A Dead Best Friend. [Re: BassLakeFork] #14554761 12/04/22 12:59 PM
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 2,348
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Lone_Wolf Offline
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hmmm

Re: Huge Bass And A Dead Best Friend. [Re: BassLakeFork] #14554771 12/04/22 01:22 PM
Joined: Dec 2008
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grout-scout Offline
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Well, he’s right. He’s not good at sharing stuff, lol.


Edit: now we have a story thumb

Last edited by grout-scout; 12/04/22 02:12 PM.
Re: Huge Bass And A Dead Best Friend. [Re: grout-scout] #14554789 12/04/22 01:42 PM
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 10,429
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Monty Wright Offline
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Originally Posted by grout-scout
Well, he’s right. He’s not good at sharing stuff, lol.

roflmao


Daiwa biased

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^^^Worth a look^^^
Re: Huge Bass And A Dead Best Friend. [Re: BassLakeFork] #14554799 12/04/22 01:58 PM
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 22,424
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lconn4 Offline
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Originally Posted by BassLakeFork
I'm not the greatest at sharing stuff but have to tell of an event today that sent chills down my spine and almost made me fall out of the boat. This is worth taking the time to read if you have a minute.

Going way back, my brother and I grew up with a best friend Jeff that loved fishing. Jeff came from a family of fishermen from southern Indiana. One of the main connections Jeff had with his father and grandfather was fishing. The elders in Jeff's family used Lew's reels before any of us had even heard of them. I moved to Texas in 2008 and Jeff came here a couple times a year from Indiana to enjoy Texas bass fishing with me. I used all Shimano products and still have a bunch - they are excellent in my opinion.

Jeff got stomach cancer and life was struggle as he went through rehab for several years after I moved to Texas. He had difficulty with everything in life but still wanted to try fishing so I would occasionally fly Jeff down for a weekend to hit the lakes. As Jeff’s condition worsened, I wanted to do something extra special for him, so I had a brand new Lew’s reel on a Shimano rod waiting for him when he arrived for a fishing trip here in Texas the summer of 2017. The reel reminded him of good times fishing with his family during childhood. As Jeff talked about how special the reel was to him, I saw a rare moment in his life when he was almost overcome with emotion.

Jeff died of cancer on 1/9/18. I collected pictures of Jeff from friends and family and did a short YouTube video memorializing his life here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuPN5VAdPVo

In March of 2018, I was fishing on Lake Fork and caught the largest bass of my life at 9 pounds 13 ounces. I was shocked when I realized that the huge bass was randomly caught on Jeff’s Lew’s combo. Generally, I keep a minimum of 12 rod / reel combos on the boat and had coincidently picked that one up. A couple of weeks later my brother flew down from Indiana for some fishing at Fork and he landed a 10 pound 1 ouncer with, you guessed it, Jeff’s Lew’s combo. We both found catching personal best fish on Jeff's combo a little spooky and wrote if off to coincidence.

Fast forward to 2020 during Covid, the love of my life and the woman that I eventually married went on a fishing trip to Fork with me. She patiently tried her luck while continuing to learn using a bait-caster. Much of the time she was struggling as many do while learning a new sport. She thought the lure had snagged up but had a large bass and successfully landed 5 pound 6 ounce bass. Oddly enough, she had picked up Jeff’s combo among the piles of rods and reels catching her largest bass ever – and still is.

So at this point, my wife, brother and I all have our largest bass on the same fishing combo randomly pulled out of 12+ combos on the boat. Jeff’s reel eventually quit working properly as the button kept sticking so I took it to Southwestern Service for repair. Those guys have done fantastic work for me and they had the reel for several months trying various ways to repair. Mid-summer of 2022, Southwestern called me and said they had to give up trying to repair even after calling the Lew’s factory. Lew’s surprisingly offered to give me a credit for the reel even though it was way out of warranty. I now own many more Lew’s reels because of their outstanding service and reliable products.

But the story does not end yet. I had a rod repaired at Southwestern and stopped by to pick it up in the fall of 2022. While at the Southwestern counter I mentioned that I had golfed with Paul, the previous owner, and told the Lew’s reel story. As it turns out, Paul also died of cancer. I was surprised to find that they still had the unrepairable Lew’s reel in a box and they offered it back to me.
I took the reel and put it back on the pole to try on my next trip. The reel button still stuck a bit but I still used a couple times due to the history with Jeff.

There is another thread on this forum about my current Fall fishing bonanza with my wife and brother. I am sitting here in my Kicking Bass Cabin writing this after the shock the last couple of days here at Choke Canyon. Friday was an extremely slow day on Choke with only 4 bass caught by me and none by my brother. Saturday morning was even worse with me catching one and my brother zeroing out again. We decided to take a break and get some lunch at Live Oak (fantastic) and not even sure if we wanted to get back out on the water. The warm meal gave us new energy so we decided to give Choke another try Saturday afternoon. I caught my second bass of the day and just as I was letting him go, my brother hooked into a huge bass. His bass weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces and is the only bass he has caught on this trip. Our final shocker was the pole he randomly picked up – Jeff’s Lew’s. My brothers picture from yesterday afternoon is attached.









cheers clap


A good rule of angling philosophy is not to interfere with another fisherman's ways of being happy, unless you want to be hated.
Zane Grey, Tales of Fishes, 1919

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Re: Huge Bass And A Dead Best Friend. [Re: BassLakeFork] #14554808 12/04/22 02:08 PM
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 25,662
T Bird Online Content
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Great story BLF. thumb


Okie by birth, Texan by choice.
[Linked Image]
USAF "Thunderbirds" Alumni 1985-1989




Re: Huge Bass And A Dead Best Friend. [Re: BassLakeFork] #14554825 12/04/22 02:31 PM
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 120,586
hopalong Online Confused
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cool story, bit weird but cool.


" Hop, set the hook"!
hopalong 99,999
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Re: Huge Bass And A Dead Best Friend. [Re: BassLakeFork] #14554861 12/04/22 02:42 PM
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crapyetr Online Sleepy
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God-wink story...no such thing as luck or coincidence

Originally Posted by BassLakeFork
I'm not the greatest at sharing stuff but have to tell of an event today that sent chills down my spine and almost made me fall out of the boat. This is worth taking the time to read if you have a minute.

Going way back, my brother and I grew up with a best friend Jeff that loved fishing. Jeff came from a family of fishermen from southern Indiana. One of the main connections Jeff had with his father and grandfather was fishing. The elders in Jeff's family used Lew's reels before any of us had even heard of them. I moved to Texas in 2008 and Jeff came here a couple times a year from Indiana to enjoy Texas bass fishing with me. I used all Shimano products and still have a bunch - they are excellent in my opinion.

Jeff got stomach cancer and life was struggle as he went through rehab for several years after I moved to Texas. He had difficulty with everything in life but still wanted to try fishing so I would occasionally fly Jeff down for a weekend to hit the lakes. As Jeff’s condition worsened, I wanted to do something extra special for him, so I had a brand new Lew’s reel on a Shimano rod waiting for him when he arrived for a fishing trip here in Texas the summer of 2017. The reel reminded him of good times fishing with his family during childhood. As Jeff talked about how special the reel was to him, I saw a rare moment in his life when he was almost overcome with emotion.

Jeff died of cancer on 1/9/18. I collected pictures of Jeff from friends and family and did a short YouTube video memorializing his life here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuPN5VAdPVo

In March of 2018, I was fishing on Lake Fork and caught the largest bass of my life at 9 pounds 13 ounces. I was shocked when I realized that the huge bass was randomly caught on Jeff’s Lew’s combo. Generally, I keep a minimum of 12 rod / reel combos on the boat and had coincidently picked that one up. A couple of weeks later my brother flew down from Indiana for some fishing at Fork and he landed a 10 pound 1 ouncer with, you guessed it, Jeff’s Lew’s combo. We both found catching personal best fish on Jeff's combo a little spooky and wrote if off to coincidence.

Fast forward to 2020 during Covid, the love of my life and the woman that I eventually married went on a fishing trip to Fork with me. She patiently tried her luck while continuing to learn using a bait-caster. Much of the time she was struggling as many do while learning a new sport. She thought the lure had snagged up but had a large bass and successfully landed 5 pound 6 ounce bass. Oddly enough, she had picked up Jeff’s combo among the piles of rods and reels catching her largest bass ever – and still is.

So at this point, my wife, brother and I all have our largest bass on the same fishing combo randomly pulled out of 12+ combos on the boat. Jeff’s reel eventually quit working properly as the button kept sticking so I took it to Southwestern Service for repair. Those guys have done fantastic work for me and they had the reel for several months trying various ways to repair. Mid-summer of 2022, Southwestern called me and said they had to give up trying to repair even after calling the Lew’s factory. Lew’s surprisingly offered to give me a credit for the reel even though it was way out of warranty. I now own many more Lew’s reels because of their outstanding service and reliable products.

But the story does not end yet. I had a rod repaired at Southwestern and stopped by to pick it up in the fall of 2022. While at the Southwestern counter I mentioned that I had golfed with Paul, the previous owner, and told the Lew’s reel story. As it turns out, Paul also died of cancer. I was surprised to find that they still had the unrepairable Lew’s reel in a box and they offered it back to me.
I took the reel and put it back on the pole to try on my next trip. The reel button still stuck a bit but I still used a couple times due to the history with Jeff.

There is another thread on this forum about my current Fall fishing bonanza with my wife and brother. I am sitting here in my Kicking Bass Cabin writing this after the shock the last couple of days here at Choke Canyon. Friday was an extremely slow day on Choke with only 4 bass caught by me and none by my brother. Saturday morning was even worse with me catching one and my brother zeroing out again. We decided to take a break and get some lunch at Live Oak (fantastic) and not even sure if we wanted to get back out on the water. The warm meal gave us new energy so we decided to give Choke another try Saturday afternoon. I caught my second bass of the day and just as I was letting him go, my brother hooked into a huge bass. His bass weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces and is the only bass he has caught on this trip. Our final shocker was the pole he randomly picked up – Jeff’s Lew’s. My brothers picture from yesterday afternoon is attached.








MERCY - not receiving what you deserve
GRACE - receiving what you don't deserve
America's MESS = God's miracle fixes
I'd rather walk with God with no questions answered than to walk thru life without Him and know the answers
Re: Huge Bass And A Dead Best Friend. [Re: BassLakeFork] #14554873 12/04/22 02:53 PM
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Monty Wright Offline
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Fantastic story!

Thank you for sharing


Daiwa biased

Half Past First Cast
^^^Worth a look^^^
Re: Huge Bass And A Dead Best Friend. [Re: BassLakeFork] #14554920 12/04/22 03:49 PM
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fishnfireman Offline
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Neat story. Thanks for sharing.

Re: Huge Bass And A Dead Best Friend. [Re: BassLakeFork] #14554935 12/04/22 04:02 PM
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I've had a couple of situations in my life like this, but it was shotguns. My first deer I took with my great grandfathers 12 gauge single barrel Winchester shotgun when I was about 12 years old. It didn't even have a front sight and probably hadn't been fired in several decades. My dad owned it at the time and I begged him to let me shoot it once, but he never would because it was old and very well worn, he was affraid firing it would not be safe.
I got up one morning to head out deer hunting on a property behind my parent's place we were looking out over that had a few deer on it. I went to the closet we stored all our guns in and there sat that Winchester, so I grabbed it and a hand full of shotgun shells and headed for the woods. There was about a 5 to 10 acre pond on that property and it usually had a few wood ducks on it so I'd go by there first and sneak up to the edge to see if I could bust a wood duck or two, but when I got to the edge of the water I heard some splashing on the other side of the clump of weeds I'd slipped up behind, peeping over the weeds, I was litterally eye to eye with a big old doe; shot her point blank, and dropped her in her tracks. You'd have though I'd shot a monster buck by my reaction, never forget that moment.
The other was something that involved my son and my dad's 12 gauge Belgium A5 Browning. My dad passed away in 2007 and his gun collection went to me mainly because I was the only boy; have two sisters.
A friend invited us over to shoot some clays at his place one weekend so we took him up on his offer. We took the A5 and a couple of other shotguns. We put my son in a trap shooting situation with that A5; it was the firt time he'd ever fired this shotgun, he missed the first three clays and spent pretty much the rest of the afternoon smoking them. The guy that invited us to shoot was helping the local 4H shooting team train for competition and he asked if we'd be interested in participating. I asked my son what he thought and he said, why not. So we jumped into this. He shot for the first time in a Texas regional even and did OK; but not great, and our team wound up winning most all of the awards in what I'd call the over all catagories for both trap and skeet for the most points scored and they came home with top awards as a team. He spent quite a bit of time behind that A5 shooting trap and a Remington 1100 shooting skeet the next year and really became good at both. The regionals rolled around the next year and he wound up winning 1st place in both trap and skeet and the team took home some over all awards that year too.
We drove back home the afternoon after that regional and when I started to get out of my pickup and reached for that A5 it hit me just what had taken place. My son had just won regionals shooting my dad's A5. Dad would have been beside himself seeing my son pull that off. I had to regain my composure right there.


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Re: Huge Bass And A Dead Best Friend. [Re: BassLakeFork] #14554939 12/04/22 04:09 PM
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Thanks for sharing

Re: Huge Bass And A Dead Best Friend. [Re: T Bird] #14554957 12/04/22 04:29 PM
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Originally Posted by T Bird
Great story BLF. thumb


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Re: Huge Bass And A Dead Best Friend. [Re: Monty Wright] #14554959 12/04/22 04:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Monty Wright
Fantastic story!

Thank you for sharing


Awesome!


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