By Marty Dixon/Staff Correspondent
It’s been a slow week for fishing. I did manage a few bites during the two-hour time frame I managed to get out between rehab and grandkids. I landed a few fish, including a pretty good one on a jig around some grass and rock.
By the way, it’s still hot if you fish during middle of the day, and that sun and humidity will beat you to the ground. As a matter of fact, I think I baked a cake in the mailbox this past week.
I did receive some good medical news on Tuesday. Thanks Daniel Sparks, I got to replace the leg brace with a small knee brace. My rehab is still progressing in the right direction; I’ve just got to keep on surfing that way.
Brother Butch and I got out in the heat with the 15 other brave souls on Wednesday to fish the local afternoon tournament. We decided that since we currently were sucking downriver, we should go upriver. After about 45 minutes, I stumbled across and subsequently landed a big dumb fish that weighed 5.22 pounds. That gave us confidence that we would get it on for the rest of the tournament.
Evidently not, as we spent the next two hours catching two short fish. The only thing we caught was Butch with a big fat treble hook that buried past the barb. He asked if I I could pop it out with some fishing line. I responded that I had never performed such surgery or even seen it done. As I’ve mentioned previously in this space, I’m a little squeamish when it comes to that sort of thing. Butch proceed to pop the barb out himself and continue fishing. We then sweated and fussed because we couldn’t catch anything to go with the Big Bertha we had in the livewell.
With about 45 minutes left in the tournament, Butch caught a good spot, and it was on like Donkey Kong. We culled two or three times during the last 30 minutes and managed to win one for the home team.
We also agreed that from now during tournaments, Butch will be required to pop out any stray hooks or barbs with fishing line. I am superstitious when it comes to fishing. At least Butch now knows what he has to do for us in order to have a chance to win.
We ended up weighed in 9.78 pounds and had the Big Fish. On a side note, Butch has been elevated to tough guy status since he yanked the hook from his own hand while continuing to fish. Look for him in UFC at an arena near you.
Thanks to Lynn Johnson for temporarily taking over the tournament for the Chief, who is on a well-deserved vacation. Lynn is a quality guy who does a lot for the community without expecting anything in return.
In tournament results for Tuesday night, Eli and Trim took first place with 8.51 pounds as well as a Big Fish of 4.52 pounds. Second place went to Pockets and Greg with 8.01 pounds, while third place went to Walter and John with 7.87 pounds.
It looks like we have a large high school event this week and possibly this weekend. I’m sure it will be a 200-boat field.
I’ve got to get back to some rehab and work on redoing the top of my pier. If anyone feels the need to put some boards on said pier, feel free to join in. Until next time, stay safe and tight lines.
P.S.: I finally I get to say, “winner winner, chicken dinner.”
Marty Dixon is a 1982 Sardis High School graduate and retired high school educator and coach. He was head coach of the Gadsden State women’s basketball team from 2015 to 2019. He and his wife Texann live in Gadsden. He can be contacted at fishn4funin02@yahoo.com and the Neely Henry Bass Fishing page on Facebook.