Here's my story......
I spotted a beautiful 6 acre pond in Amite, LA when I was surveying the right of way for a 500 KV power transmission line from the Pearl river in MS to Baton Rouge. I stopped to ask the owner (turned out to be the care taker the owner lived in NY) if I could fish the pond. His answer was an emphatic NNNOOO!! So I changed the subject and asked what he knew about the big power line that was comming through. He was very interested (as was everyone as this was a very controversial project) so I gave him a few juicy pieces of information and promised I would stop by from time to time and keep him up to date on the power line.
Anyway, I stopped by once a week or so and chewed the fat with the old guy and told him what I knew about the power line, which wasn't much, but he enjoyed the conversation. One day I learned he was partial to Mountain Dew soft drinks and salty peanuts, so I began bringing some along on my visits. After almost a year went by, during one of these visits I asked, "so when are you gonna let me fish that pond?"
He laughed out loud and said "you can fish it anytime, just don't leave a mess and let me know you are here".
After work on May 18, 1982 I stopped to fish with a guy from work. After checking in with the care taker we started casting the banks. My friend hooked up right away with a nice big fish and I watched from across the pond as she jumped and spit the lure. I remember thinking that fish had to be 5lbs. My adrenalin was pumping big time. He landed a couple more about 3 lbs and I'm working hard without a bite. I had a brand new ABU 5600 (I think this was the first ABU reel with a thumb bar spool release) and a "Worm" brand rod. I had over a hundred $ in that setup and that was lot of money 25 years ago. I tied on a 1/2 oz Arkie jig with an "Uncle Josh" black widow eel and made a perfect cast into a pile of myrtle bushes along the bank and #@%*! the freakin reel wouldn't retrieve. I fooled with it for a while and couldn't get it to engage the spool and finally gave up. That was the last time I didn't have back up rig since then. I yelled for my buddy to ask if he had an extra rod. He sent me to his pickup to see. I found a combo, LOL a "Zebco" 202 with a 5 1/2' rod with one of the guides busted off. Undeterred, I tied the jig and eel on the twisted up line and made 6 or 8 casts against the only bluff bank on the pond and finally the jig & eel bounced off the bank and as soon as it hit the water the line took off like a rocket towards the middle of the pond. I reeled down and set the hook hard. Only then did I learn that the drag on the little zebco just didn't work. It was miracle that the hook snagged the tounge of this bass. So now I am hooked up with a 6 1/2 pound bass and can't reel him in. This I can't retrieve line thing is getting to be a big problem. I am screaming at my buddy to get his butt over to help me. I finally wrap the line around my hand and walk backwards up the bank and just as I get her to the edge of the pond she makes one last bolt into a myrtle bush and gets tangled up. I am screaming like an idiot for my bud to get in there and get that fish or come hold the line so I can. This whole thing looked like Abbot and Costello meets the Little Rascals. My man jumped in the pond waist deep and gently untangled my prize from the herbs.
My heart was beating the buttons off my shirt. I remember carrying that bass back to the truck and looking at her mouth and thinking "this is why they call them Large Mouth bass". The taxidermist said she weighed about 6 1/2 lbs. I have caught a few that have come close, but she is still # 1. After 25 more years of fishing she was certainly worth the time & Mountain Dews.
Thats my crazy story. Oh Yea!
THE FISH................
Ronnie
