Stick a fork in me....

[bassboogieman]

I'm done. I have no idea WTF I did to have all the crap come down on my head this summer, but it needs to stop NOW, whoever has that VOODOO doll and is sticking the pins in it, if I find you we will talk! That's the funniest thing you'll hear for the remainder of this post.

So today off to the local lake with a friend of mine who is about to buy a kayak, for a test float and a little fishing while we are there. Two hours in and my phone rings - I keep it in a dry box - while I'm trying to rig a rod, so I reach for the dry box [NO, not yet wait a minute] to answer an obviously VERY IMPORANT CALL. I had laid another rod on the back of the kayak and the end of the handle was just over the dry box [HERE it comes], so I lift up the dry box and bump the handle of the rod............... YES - overboard it went. I reached for it, but it was just out of reach and sinking slowly, so I paddle frantically with my hands - yeah, I never use my paddle so I left it in the Durango - trying to reach it as the tip goes under sinking handle first, again just out of reach by an inch and sinking faster. Kistler LTX & Pflueger Patriarch XT (neither of which is still in production and almost ir-replacable), a combo worth about $600 headed for the bottome like the Titanic. Yes I though about going in after it, but I dunked myself a week ago and just didn't feel like doing it again and I didn't have a change of clothes with me. I NEVER PREPARE FOR THE WORST.

OK, terrible day right? Wait, it gets better? BETTER?? Back to the phone call. It was my daughter and her day care had lost it's water service today so no day care, she needed someone to watch her 2 kids - seems I'm the only family member who doesn't work so naturally it's always assumed I'm available to take care of whatever needs taking care of.

So I have to leave the lake early, no major issue because I was in a pretty sour mood at the moment. We load up the kayaks (I borrowed my old one so my friend could try both, he's set on the Pro Angler) and mine sits flat on the trailer and I have two sets of J-bars to carry two additional kayaks on their sides, remember that and try to form a mental picture.

The final straw, I drop of my buddy at my house and I just pulled in my drive which goes slightly up hill. Usually I back the trailer up the drive, that will become important. We unload his stuff and I immediatley back out the drive with the trailer still attached as I want to return the kayak after I'm done baby sitting. HERE it comes.... so I back down the drive (anyone that's backed a short wheelbase trailer knows they turn pretty quickly and tend to jack knife easily if you are not careful. HA! no I didn't jack knife the trailer. But it seems that I had it turned a bit more than I wanted and when it hit the street it was level but my Durango was still inclined with the angle a bit steeper I guess than when I pull out with the trailer behind. How freaking lucky can I get that the nose of the kayak on it's side aligns PERFECTLY with my tail light? Huh, imagine it's PERFECT, so the angle closes the distance between the nose of the kayak and my tail light and the tail light get shattered.

I don't know for sure, but I'm betting that tail light assembly costs about $200. You can't buy just the lens anymore, but you knew that. Any of you old enough to remember buying a tail light lens for about $5.00 back in "the day"? Oh, it was so much easier, not to mention cheaper, then.

So, another day in my crappy life. It's all true, you can't make this sh!t up. I think it's time to sell every thing I own and make my reservation at the Old Folk's Home.......................

The GOOD NEWS - well it might be good news. The lake is in the process of being drawn down about 8 - 10 feet to do some fish habitat installation over the winter. The rod is in 9' of water. I'm going back tomorrow if I can get my Aquaview camera working to see if I can get it - yeah we spent about an hour trying to snag it with crankbaits, it had been a darn tree branch down there we would have hung a crankbait on the first cast. If the camera doesn't work I be hitting the lake every other day or so as the water goes down and see if I can see it then. After the lake goes down about 5' regular boats won't be able to acess the water, it will only be a few kayakers, and they won't be looking for my rod. If do get it back, I'll definitely have to send the reel out for a complete tear down, the rod shouldn't be affected. I hope I have just a smidgen of good luck over the next couple of weeks.

It was a day where I cut a few corners, in what equipment I had with me and in paying attention. Distractions cause a lot of problem and I need to start ignoring the phone when on the water, I can always return a call later. And rod leashes, yeah I need a few of those. And I've got to move those side mounted kayaks farther back on the racks, I thought I had plenty of clearance - which I did with everything on level and in a relatively straight line. Hard lessons learned today.