Candledodger
Recruit
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2008
- Messages
- 3
When I was a kid, somewhere between 6th and 8th grade (can't remember when exactly) I was invited by a friend named Bill to go on a Mormon family campout in California where I lived at the time. Now Bill wasn't his real name but I'll get to that later. I was invited along with another friend of mine named Bill and that wasn't his name either but again I'll get to that later. Bill the Mormon was a little guy. The other Bill was 6 foot tall, almost 200 lbs even at that tender age and already had a moustache. So going forward Bill the Mormon is Little Bill, and 6 foot Bill is Big Bill.
So Big Bill and I did alot of fishing together for trout. There were some great trout streams there at the time. We brought all our fishing gear along and were hoping to sneak away and catch us some trout. Our first morning there we got up early with our gear and went to do some trout fishing from shore. Upon reaching the beach area we noticed about 10 canoes and a older high school age kid watching them. He said we could take one to fish as long as he got our names. We gave him our names and he gave us a maroon colored fiberglass canoe. One of those fiberglass rigid canoes they used to make with the almost patchwork pattern in the fiberglass. But damn now we had a canoe to get to the fish!
We paddled out happy as can be knowing we would have a stringer full of fat happy trout in no time at all. Well it didn't quite work out that way. We fished all morning with only a few hits on the Mepps and Rooster Tails we were casting. But we continued intrepidly along the shore for hours convinced we would catch some good trout. We knew this lake and had fished it before. It was full of nice fat brown and rainbow trout.
In the early afternoon we reached one end of the lake where it narrowed into the beginning of a river. There is no dam there it just turns into a river. We paddled into the opening of the river and immediately started catching fine brown trout even in the heat of the day (moving water I suppose).
Our stringer was nearly full when a white power boat entered the mouth of the river from the lake approaching us. It was a center console about 16 foot with a good sized outboard. Driving that boat was the high school kid who lent us the canoe. He drives up to us and says "where have you guys been"? I held up the stringer full of trout and said "fishin". He was clearly unimpressed. He informed us that the canoe is now needed for the Mormon Father and Son canoe race and we need to bring it back. We dutifully pulled in our lines and began paddling as he raced off back the way he came.
You know how when you walk a shoreline or paddle a canoe for a long while fishing how you don't realize how far you are from where you started? So we are paddling like mad trying to get back and looking down the shore realizing how far we still have to go. The high school kid comes back and says "Can't you guys go any faster?" Big Bill looks at him and informs him that we are going as fast as we can and we would be happy to switch boats with him at any time.
So the high school kid got this bright idea. He hands us a rope and says tie this off to the bow of the canoe and I'll pull you back. I'm in the bow so I grab the rope and tie it off. The high school kids literally GUNS the motor and me and Big Bill are hanging on for dear life as he pulls us back. The canoe is all skitching around left and right and stuff. After a short while there is this loud cracking noise and the canoe shudders. Remember I mentioned it was one of those old rigid fiberglass canoes? I look down and the canoe has cracked on both sides of the bow at about the waterline and water is pouring in through the cracks. Big Bill and I start screaming and the high school kid stops the boat.
I look back toward Big Bill in the stern and the canoe is actually cracked from bow to stern on both sids and water is pouring into it. The high school kid motors back to us, sees the damage to the canoe and the water pouring in what does he do? He pushes away from us and motors away as fast as he can without even a word!
I look back at Big Bill and ask him "what do we do now?"
"Paddle your *** off!", he says. So paddle we do as the canoe fills with water. As we paddled the canoe filled with more water. My fishing rod was under water, my tackle box was floating (good ole Plano tackle box, I still have it 30 years later) and the trout on the stringer were literally swimming around in the canoe. We finally reached the camp and by that time only the foam in the bow and stern were keeping the canoe afloat. The water was up to the top of the canoe almost.
An adult started screaming as we came into shore "What have you done to my canoe!?!" I start trying to explain what happened but he keeps on screaming at me. Big Bill, who was actually bigger than the adult and is now a California State Trooper, took over the situation and explained what happened in an assertive fashion. Then a side argument started between the canoe owner and the father of the high school kid who af course was nowhere to be found. Big Bill and I grabbed our fish and our gear and vanished back to Little Bill's parents camp.
Despite the excitement we ended up eating fresh caught trout that night, were uninjured and it didn't end up costing us a dime.
Candledodger
Disclaimer: This post was in no way intended to bash anyone's religion. It was part of a true story. Trout were injured in the course of this outing but only for the sake of good eats.
The Name Game: Little Bill and Big Bill were not named Bill at all however they did share the same name. Since Big Bill is now a State Trooper for some odd reason I thought I should not disclose even his first name. Bizarre I suppose but we were fast friends so I figured I would give him an alias.
Declaration and Introduction: I am a new poster to iboats even though I have been a lurker for a few months. Greetings!
So Big Bill and I did alot of fishing together for trout. There were some great trout streams there at the time. We brought all our fishing gear along and were hoping to sneak away and catch us some trout. Our first morning there we got up early with our gear and went to do some trout fishing from shore. Upon reaching the beach area we noticed about 10 canoes and a older high school age kid watching them. He said we could take one to fish as long as he got our names. We gave him our names and he gave us a maroon colored fiberglass canoe. One of those fiberglass rigid canoes they used to make with the almost patchwork pattern in the fiberglass. But damn now we had a canoe to get to the fish!
We paddled out happy as can be knowing we would have a stringer full of fat happy trout in no time at all. Well it didn't quite work out that way. We fished all morning with only a few hits on the Mepps and Rooster Tails we were casting. But we continued intrepidly along the shore for hours convinced we would catch some good trout. We knew this lake and had fished it before. It was full of nice fat brown and rainbow trout.
In the early afternoon we reached one end of the lake where it narrowed into the beginning of a river. There is no dam there it just turns into a river. We paddled into the opening of the river and immediately started catching fine brown trout even in the heat of the day (moving water I suppose).
Our stringer was nearly full when a white power boat entered the mouth of the river from the lake approaching us. It was a center console about 16 foot with a good sized outboard. Driving that boat was the high school kid who lent us the canoe. He drives up to us and says "where have you guys been"? I held up the stringer full of trout and said "fishin". He was clearly unimpressed. He informed us that the canoe is now needed for the Mormon Father and Son canoe race and we need to bring it back. We dutifully pulled in our lines and began paddling as he raced off back the way he came.
You know how when you walk a shoreline or paddle a canoe for a long while fishing how you don't realize how far you are from where you started? So we are paddling like mad trying to get back and looking down the shore realizing how far we still have to go. The high school kid comes back and says "Can't you guys go any faster?" Big Bill looks at him and informs him that we are going as fast as we can and we would be happy to switch boats with him at any time.
So the high school kid got this bright idea. He hands us a rope and says tie this off to the bow of the canoe and I'll pull you back. I'm in the bow so I grab the rope and tie it off. The high school kids literally GUNS the motor and me and Big Bill are hanging on for dear life as he pulls us back. The canoe is all skitching around left and right and stuff. After a short while there is this loud cracking noise and the canoe shudders. Remember I mentioned it was one of those old rigid fiberglass canoes? I look down and the canoe has cracked on both sides of the bow at about the waterline and water is pouring in through the cracks. Big Bill and I start screaming and the high school kid stops the boat.
I look back toward Big Bill in the stern and the canoe is actually cracked from bow to stern on both sids and water is pouring into it. The high school kid motors back to us, sees the damage to the canoe and the water pouring in what does he do? He pushes away from us and motors away as fast as he can without even a word!
I look back at Big Bill and ask him "what do we do now?"
"Paddle your *** off!", he says. So paddle we do as the canoe fills with water. As we paddled the canoe filled with more water. My fishing rod was under water, my tackle box was floating (good ole Plano tackle box, I still have it 30 years later) and the trout on the stringer were literally swimming around in the canoe. We finally reached the camp and by that time only the foam in the bow and stern were keeping the canoe afloat. The water was up to the top of the canoe almost.
An adult started screaming as we came into shore "What have you done to my canoe!?!" I start trying to explain what happened but he keeps on screaming at me. Big Bill, who was actually bigger than the adult and is now a California State Trooper, took over the situation and explained what happened in an assertive fashion. Then a side argument started between the canoe owner and the father of the high school kid who af course was nowhere to be found. Big Bill and I grabbed our fish and our gear and vanished back to Little Bill's parents camp.
Despite the excitement we ended up eating fresh caught trout that night, were uninjured and it didn't end up costing us a dime.
Candledodger
Disclaimer: This post was in no way intended to bash anyone's religion. It was part of a true story. Trout were injured in the course of this outing but only for the sake of good eats.
The Name Game: Little Bill and Big Bill were not named Bill at all however they did share the same name. Since Big Bill is now a State Trooper for some odd reason I thought I should not disclose even his first name. Bizarre I suppose but we were fast friends so I figured I would give him an alias.
Declaration and Introduction: I am a new poster to iboats even though I have been a lurker for a few months. Greetings!
