Do you have fishing friends like these guys?

[Baron49]

I have a friend named “Bubba” (name changed to protect the writer) that loves fishing for catfish after dark. He has a small fifteen-foot boat with a seventy-horse power OMC engine that he fixed up with everything. By everything I mean in addition to the electric motor and depth sounder he also put in a small TV, lights, gas stove, and a cooler that runs on DC power to keep things cold. He was so proud of his boat the day I stopped by his house he had to take me out to the garage and show off all the new additions. He explained he normally anchors up and if the catfish bite is slow he can cook, watch TV and just enjoy being out on the water at night. I asked him how many batteries did he have to run all this? His answer was just the one boat battery. Now you have to understand my friend is a self-proclaimed expert on everything and there is no telling him anything. Try as I may to get him to understand he might have a problem with running the battery down with all the equipment he had connected to it, he just shrugged his shoulders and said he knew what he was doing and had run his boat and electric motor like this for years. I have to admit the idea sounded good and might work if he would just add a deep cycle battery or two for the extras.

Bubba has fished out of my boat on many occasions and brings with him a small stove and cooler full of food. On cold days enjoys cooking up a hot meal out in the middle of the lake. He does make the best sausage sandwiches I have ever eaten with fried green peppers and onions on a toasted roll. On a really good day he will have chili or a stew made with who knows what in it, but when it is bitter cold out you don’t ask what is in it you just eat it cause it is hot and usually tastes pretty good.

A day or so after our conversation, Bubba and his buddy Jimbo (also a name change here as he is even bigger then Bubba) decided to head out for a late night of Catfishing. Now both of these “gentlemen” have not missed too many meals and not a single sausage sandwich has ever been wasted by either of these two guys. They got anchored up on a river that empties into Lake Ontario a couple miles down from the launch ramp. It was getting dark as they got their rods baited up with a smelly stew beef and who knows what else concoction. They dropped the lines into the water in anticipation of catching some monster catfish. The fishing was slow so they kicked back with some cold sodas out of the DC refrigerator and Bubba fires up the stove for some down home cooking. With the catfish not co-operating at all, on goes the portable television and they settle back and watch some shows. Around 3 AM the fish still were not biting and the bugs were. Bubba tried to fire the big engine up and it would not fire. He tries the electric motor and gets about half way back to the ramp when it starts to run down the battery completely. The current is too strong to hold with the electric motor and there way no way they could paddle against the current. They make it to the steep rocky shoreline that lines both sides of the river and were able to tie the boat off, but the current is beating the overloaded boat into the rocks. Quite a mess they are in now. If he cuts loose he is floating down a river into Lake Ontario with no lights, if he stays he has no idea how bad his boat will get beat up.

I guess Bubba and Jimbo got really desperate when they came up with a solution to this major problem. Bubba does have his cell phone with him and guess whose number he calls and who he gets out of bed at 3:30 AM? Yep, the "know-it-all" me! After I stop laughing, I said are you really sure you want me to come get you? I have been known to talk about adventures I have had with friends and neighbors and anyone else who would listen. They have no choice now as the Power Company is releasing water through the power dam up river and the current is getting stronger. The boys did finally manage to tie off to an overhanging willow tree while trying and keep away from the rocky bank, but Jimbo is really concerned that something is alive in the branches and now his flash light batteries have gone dead.

I told my wife what was going on and all she could say was "yea right" and rolled over and went back to sleep. You see this is not that unusual of phone call around here as I have some really fun friends. Hitched up my boat, drove to the ramp, headed down the river in the pitch black and found them dangling from the willow tree in the current. Got them tied off and towed back to the ramp, but I am sure I woke up a bunch of people, I could not keep from laughing at those two. The laughter was echoing down the rock walls lining the river mixed in with a few choice cuss words from the boys. To this very day if Bubba starts on some high-minded explanation of one of his projects I simply remind him of his night on the river catfishing with Jimbo, the sausage sandwiches and of course his TV set. Having good friends is great, but when you have friends like Bubba and Jimbo it is a writers dream come true.