After my "Cat Days of Summer" post, I thought maybe I should put my money where my mouth is and get out there. Took off yesterday afternoon for some "trial and error" See what I did there TRH?

Anyway, I left the skipjack at home. Wanted some fresh shad. Went looking for some bigger gizzards. I was up in the cove at Glass House Point. If you want to know where I was throwing, look for my deep taped net... it's still there. Hung on I don't know what byt it had a good grip on the lead line. And another $200 goes to a watery grave... Left there and went around to the west and found 'em. Up against the bank in shallow water, which is good because all I had left was my little 6' net. It did the job and I got all the bait I needed.

I have a family fish fry coming up in a couple weeks. We are headed up home for an 8th grade promotion and some time spent with family. We decided to have a fish fry and I volunteered to bring the fish naturally. So off I went with a cooler full of bait. When I was scanning for bait I marked some pretty good fish off of Glass House Point. I went South of there wanting to drift to the North and into those marks. Got bit right away farther South than where I had marked the fish. One good eater in the box. Good start...

The wind was up. Like it's been down in the last 6 months... I was drifting at .7 mph with the sock out and as I needed the far shore, I picked up one more good size eater about 7 pounds. It was then that I realized I was headed to the bank pretty quickly. I tried to spot lock to give me time to get reeled up and that didn't go very well. I ended up with the boat turning 180 degrees and not only tangling all my lines, but tangling them in the trolling motor that was keeping me from beaching the boat. Nuts!

Well with everything tangled I started handlining everything in to the boat just so I could get out of there and go to a place out of the wind and reset. So I got all the lines in, kicked up some mud and headed for calmer waters. When I got there I tied up to a tree in shallow water and set to fixing everything. First the trolling motor. Removed the prop and pulled all the line off. Put it back together. Check. One down. Started cutting all the lines and saving the terminal tackle. Ended up with a big ball of braid in the trash bucket. Only had to cut 4 lines out of the 8 which I thought was pretty good considering. So, all fixed up my next decision was where to go now. I was thinking shallow but I still had the urge to drift. Those first two fish came in 30 or so feet of water.

So back down South I went... I started at the inlet to East Fork and drifted back North or more North West actually. Bang. Another box fish right off the bat. Couple more good ones along the way. As the Thursday Night Bass Tourney set out and all the boats roared by, one of my long lines gets smoked and the fish is pulling drag! With a box full of fish for the fish fry I know this one wasn't going to be seeing the grease. Good fight and a few minutes later I have a 33 and change female full of eggs on the deck. Get a weight and a pic and back she went.

So after being beat up by the wind a little more, now I decided it was time to go shallow. I wanted to spend the transition from day to dark set up anchored in shallow water. So that's what I did. I ended up adding a couple more nice eaters. By now it was almost 9:00 pm. so I pulled my lines in and me and the boat dog headed for the barn. That is when things got really interesting. As I'm idling through the marina, I am almost to the lane when my slip is and I hear a man cry for help. He was in the water. I hit the spot light and turn toward the sound of his voice. I see him holding onto the dock structure. He had fallen in from the dock. He said he had been in the water for over an hour. I got the boat in close and told him to grab the side and move to the ladder at the back of the boat. He did so but he was too weak to get up the ladder into the boat. I grabbed onto him and told him to try again. We made several attempts but he was too tired and cold to get himself out and he was to heavy for me to pull up. My new friend Parker was coming in and I yelled to him for help. He came right over and put his pontoon up behind us. We lashed the boats together and were able to get him on the ladder on my boat and then sit back onto the deck of Parker's pontoon. Soon after the rescue boat arrived and the paramedics got on the pontoon with him. When we got him on the deck of the pontoon he was shaking badly because now he was getting hit with the wind. I grabbed one of my emergency foil blankets that I keep on the boat and we wrapped him in it.

I am 100% sure that God put me Parker and I there to save that man's life. Poor tool though I am in His hand. He used me to help get him to safety. I shook his hand when he was in the back of the ambulance. He was profoundly grateful...

What a day and what a night. To say it ain't always about catching fish, just doesn't do it justice...

Amen y'all...



I took this picture on the way back to the South end after my last drift. It looks even more special to me after what happen...




Winnie the boat dog was wore out and I think she likes the way the boat rocks...



Had good bait. Even a nice drum...



Added a few more nice ones after this picture...



And the 33 pounder full of eggs...

Tim, you are the man! God definitely works in mysterious ways. Had you not made the decisions you did, we could be hearing about that poor soul in the news today. Well done! Nothing but respect buddy.....

Great job on fishing and saving a mans life. God definitely put you there for a reason. God is great. I am glad you were able to hear him yell

Solid post and fish. Good job.

Well done! Well Done!

Love it Tim! Nice work buddy

Fisher of men. Thank you.

WOW! That is really a blessing there Tim... I would like to add one thing here Tim, when you get in a situation like this, first thing, and guys I mean first thing here you do is you get a rope tied around this person under their arms and a slip knot. Then if available get some sort of pfd on them as well as you. Then the rescue begins...

It is very common for a person in this situation to once you get there to just give in to the fact they know your going to save them and most people will just give in to that fact and they lose their ability and instinctive drive to keep fighting...
What happens next is you loose them. This happens more time than not...

Which makes what you did here Tim even more special sir. I am first aid and CPR trained and water rescue certified and I have had to watch some very sobering videos on this very thing. Another thing is the person your trying to rescue here gets you in the water with them, and you better not get in the water unless at least one of you has a pfd on.

I type all this for information to any and all here, but mainly you Tim, you sir have no doubt in my mind; God's hands all over you sir and in the best way... Heck after all that going on and then to have to clean those fish lol, I am being very honest here too, I would have had all the adrenaline hit me and go into high gear to save that guy, and it would have been a huge effort for me to clean all the fish after, after things like this the adrenaline is used up...It's just the way we are all wired. You Tim, had both of God's hands on you sir... You are a very blessed person.

Man, I thought I was just going to read a bad day of fishing post. I don't question God things. And this was a God thing. Great story. Great job on helping.

Thanks for a great read!

God works in mysterious ways... This "fisher of men" has a whole new meaning. Good work my friend!

Nice post on the fish also!


Ken

NEVER underestimate God's timing.

Nice work brother!