Posted By: BassLakeFork
Huge Bass, Choke Canyon, And A Dead Best Friend. - 12/04/22 11:57 AM
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.
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:/
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.
Description: Choke Bass - 9 Pound 6 Ounces
