Diane from Manhattan, Ill., sends us this fishing tale. As you can see by the photo she enclosed with the entry, this is not going to be about “the one that got away.”

But don’t let me tell the story. Here’s Diane’s story, which is competing in the Fishing Story, adult, division.
 
This is a very exciting time for me as I finally caught the big one. My Bass weighed in at 5.5lbs and 19 1/2 inches.

As with many fishermen I have plenty of stories about the big one that got away, including the one I missed a little over a week ago while I was pond fishing in Monee. I had it all the way to the shoreline and saw how huge it was, but of course, once again, it got away.

This past weekend we went up to the lake to open our summer home which can be a big ordeal and we typically don’t even have time to fish. But, our six year old daughter, Jordan, was pretty adamant about fishing, so despite the fact we were exhausted we bought some bait and headed out on the boat. The conditions weren’t that great and it was extremely windy, but there was absolutely no way she was going to let us go home without at least trying. 

After about an hour and not even a bite we headed back. My husband, Darin, went off and started closing the cabin while Jordan and I made few more casts from the pier.

It was my second cast and I knew I had something big. After a few minutes of battling I finally caught a glimpse of the monster as it rolled towards the top of the water. I kept my poll high and continued to fight as I was not about to let this one turn into yet another story.

I told Jordan to go and get Dad as I feared not being able to get it without a net. She replied, “I don’t know where Dad is.” I said, “I don’t know either, just go find him.” Frantically, she started running around and yelling at the top of her lungs, “Dad, Mom got a big fish.” I’m sure the entire lake and then some heard her repeatedly shouting, “Dad, Mom has a big fish.” 

As I stood there laughing at her opportunity knocked and I grabbed the big guy right out of the water and headed for safe ground just in case I dropped him. My husband came running over and the look on his face was absolutely priceless. At that moment I knew I finally did it. The first words out of his mouth were, “Do you want to get it mounted?” I thought about it for a split second and said, “No.”

He went and grabbed the camera, measuring tape and scale. We documented it and took plenty of pictures. I released the big guy on the shoreline and watched him swim away gracefully. It’s an image that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

To my Dad a great big thank you for taking the time to teach me. To my brothers, yes, your little sister is capable of getting one out of the water. And to my nephew…mine’s bigger than yours.

Thanks, Diane for that tale.

You, too, can enter the Great Lakes story and photo contest for a chance to win prizes.

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