On a chilly Saturday in February, the University of North Alabama (UNA) Bass Fishing Team, Florence, and the University of Alabama Bass Team, Tuscaloosa, met on the Wheeler Lake of battle.
The teams crossed rods out of Ditto Landing in Huntsville.
Two of the North Alabama team boats headed upstream to the headwaters of Wheeler lake known for providing limits of three and four pound bass with big fish kickers. This particular Saturday the area below Guntersville Dam lived up to the reputation of being home to some of the biggest, most aggressive bass on Wheeler.
Not too long after arriving below the dam the North Alabama boat number one hit paydirt.
“Bubba A” in the back of the boat hooked into a big largemouth. He knew it was a big fish and yelled for his partner “Bubba B” in the front of the boat to grab the net. Bubba B immediately dropped his $300 rod and reel with an Alabama Rig attached, grabbed the net and hurried to the back deck.
Now this is the point in this true story where you need to read slowly and believe what you read.
The net, in the meantime, had become entangled with the tip of Bubba B’s high dollar fishing equipment. Bubba A, still fighting a five pound plus bass remarked, “What was that?” At that moment Bubba B turned his head to see his expensive rod and reel plus a $25 Alabama Rig and probably $15 worth of plastic lures and jig heads going overboard. Being a young man of quick decisions and action, Bubba B dropped the net, leaving Bubba A on his own to deal with the five-pounder plus. Even though not particularly athletically inclined, Bubba B took one step and cleared the console enroute to the water and rescue of his equipment.
The other North Alabama team fishing nearby witnessed the event and could not believe what they were seeing – Bubba B was falling overboard. At least they thought he had “fallen” in.
As Bubba A watched in disbelief, all he could see of his teammate Bubba B was his left hand that he had managed to land on the side of the boat on his way underwater – without a life vest. The next thing Bubba A saw was the tip of Bubba B’s expensive rod slowly rising out of the depths and breaking the surface of the approximately 20 feet of water. Bubba B’s head came up next with a shivering, water spitting explanation for his hurtle jump over the console into the cold Wheeler headwaters, “I was not going to lose this @*!#^##@!! rod. I ain’t rich!” Nuff said.
The other UNA team nearby yelled to Bubba A to drag Bubba B out of the water which he did. However, Bubba A was very miffed at Bubba B because Bubba B had jumped on top of Bubba A’s line and broke the big fish off. Now Bubba A had a wet, shivering teammate and no five pound plus bass. Bubba B started stripping off all his wet, cold weather clothing that would have surely taken him to the bottom of the 20 feet of water they were sitting in had he not managed to grab and hold the side of the boat during his rescue jump. Bubba A and the UNA teammates from the other boat began stripping off clothing they could spare or happened to have in the boat to provide Bubba B some dry clothing- whether they fit or not. For some unknown reason, Bubba B opted to keep his cold, wet underwear and wet socks on. We guess a man has gotta preserve his modesty regardless of comfort.
The moral of this story is think before you leap…literally. The rod and reel could probably have been retrieved off the bottom using a heavy jigging spoon or a treble hook with a one ounce egg sinker. But jumping into cold water with winter clothing on and no life vest…uhhhhh no.
