Going Overboard!  

This story was written after the last Desert Splash Tournament (B.A.S.S. Federation sanctioned).  Check out the Tournament Results

            It was a hot summer night on Bartlett Lake in Arizona.  There was this wild and crazy kind of guy named Bruce who was invited by a club member to fish the tournament, as a guest.  He wasn’t able to enter the main tournament but for ten dollars he could enter the “Big Fish” option.  Fishing was tough that night so Bruce decided to take a nap.  (In his younger days it was rumored he was quite the night owl and that he could hoop it up with the best of em.) Anyway around 5:00 AM, he was awaken by his companion and told he only had an hour left to fish.  So barely awake Bruce tied on a chartreuse and red worm and casts it into the lake.  He then leaned his pole against the rail on the pontoon boat and walked away to grab a soda.  All of a sudden he heard his pole smack up against the rail.  Bruce spun around just in time to see it flip over the rail and into the lake.   He makes a mad dash towards the rail, dives overboard catching the rod about 5 feet under the water.  After climbing back into the boat he realized the fish was still on the line.  He then reeled in the three-pound villain.  Shortly after, it was time for the weight in.  Much to his surprise, his fish was the biggest of the tournament and with it; he won the $135.00 Big Fish Prize.  As he walked up to claim his prize, it was hard not to notice his soaking wet cloths, and scratched up body.  Even though club rules say fishermen aren’t allowed to leave the boat, no one was going to take away this hard earned victory.  Congratulations Bruce.

By

Kip Pollay