Made It Out On The Potomac Today...and Should've Stayed Home.

[jeepcrazy]

We got out late (long night last night) so we hit the water about 3pm. (RIGHT at low tide)

I figured we'd hit some flats and do a little frogging, so we put in at Hope Springs (20 bucks really grinds my gears...but I digress) and made our way out of the no-wake zone.

Right about the time I opened her up, we were porpoising like mad. I looked back and noticed the motor wasn't trimming up. I have a "blinker" style trim switch that worked just fine a week ago. Then the radio dies. Dead. I try the throttle trim...it works VERY intermittently. I get up and check the motor...works like a charm.

d**n. Looks like we won't be going far.

So Nikki and I decided to motor around Aquia a bit (idle sucks) and fish some of the grass there. There is plenty of it at low tide, that's for sure. We pulled all manner of frogs and topwaters through there, but it just wasn't meant to be. We decided to pitch some of the docks along the way, even though the water was mighty shallow along the docks. During the process we passed a nice big area of grass and I grabbed my frog rod and tossed her out there.

BAM!!! Something killed Artemis Clydefrog. I mean SLAYED him.

1...2...I set the hook and almost had my arms ripped off. The fight was on! I had Nikki get on the trolling motor so I could fight this thing and, man, fight it did. I realized almost immediately that it wasn't a Bass because it was pulling like a Volkswagen and wasn't coming up. Now some of you might have caught my post a couple weeks ago about my trip on the Shenandoah where I caught a large carp on a Rage Tail worm. That was my last fishing trip. The carp was all I caught. This time? A 28 inch snakehead. Female. HUGE. ticked off.

I realize I don't have anything in the boat with which to kill this thing. Hmmm...what to do? I drop her in the livewell. I figure someone at the dock will have something. On with the fishing...to no avail. I catch zippy and get more and more concerned (Read: ticked Off) over the situation with my trim and radio. I figure it's time to pack it in.

We head back to the boat ramp and Nikki jumps out to go grab the truck and trailer. Pretty awesome, eh? She can back up a trailer. She should be able to, her Dad was a FLW guy when she was growing up so she spent enough time on the circuit. I tell her to be careful and she claims "This ain't my first rodeo." So I backed out and took up my place amongst the floatilla of boats waiting for their respective trailers. Nikki sees her opportunity and backs out. Evidently, it's been a while since she was in the Rodeo. She jack-knifed my trailer and it wedged against the tailgate and almost flipped over. The tailgate has a hole in it and doesn't close properly...the trailer winch handle is bent and needs to be replaced. She is glad we don't own a handgun.

But wait...there's more!

Remember the snakehead? Yeah. Her. We had to find a way to kill her, and there were no fisherman around. Nothing but pleasure boaters. What to do? I decide (in my infinite wisdom) that we'll just run it over. So I place the gargantuan fish under the tire. The *REAR* tire. Nikki hits the gas and the truck doesn't immediately run over the massive creature. So, if some gas is good, more is better right? Well she guns it. Gravel and FISH GUTS fly ALL OVER my boat.

So for those of you keeping score at home, in two fishing trips I have:

1 Carp

1 Snakehead

1 Hole in my tailgate

1 Broken boat motor

1 Broken radio

2000 pieces of the afformentioned snakehead showered over my Ranger

0 Bass

Happy Monday, fellow fishermen. I have pics of the Snakehead I'll add when I get my SD Card.

-JC

[Big-O]

Interesting adventure and stuff like that happens to us all if we go often enough With the mileage you'll get out of telling your friends about it, that adventure will last for awhile!

Big O

www.ragetail.com

[fish-fighting-illini]

That's a classic right there.

[ICU812]

Haha sorry for the frustration you had to endure but great story!

[L a r r y]

Fish guts....mmm mmm mmmmmm

[Bankbeater]

That is a once in a lifetime trip you had there.

[kms399]

That is a once in a lifetime trip you had there.

you would hope so! we all have those days and while it sucks at the time a few weeks go by it make a great story.