By Peter Jolly:

Just a small story about my exploits on Sunday morning.

I ended up fishing on Sunday morning, I wasn't going to go out 'cos of the weather forecast but the wind was down so off I went. I just poked around Point Cook for a while, drifting after some flatty or squid... and got niether.

I thought bugger this I'm going out a bit. I anchored up about 500 metres out from the Point in the pouring rain, set up the berley and had a fish. I had a new wiz-bang berley mix on the go (garden snails, crushed).

About twenty minutes later I had a bite and I thought it was a snapper, I was dancing around like a dill when the rod buried down and after about ten minutes I saw I had a good gummy on the surface, being on my own it was hard to get it up but finally it was in the boat.

Then I wanted a pic, well I couldn't find the knocking stick to put it out of it's misery so I hoisted it up on the esky near the motor well for the pic.

Next thing you know the bloody gummy sprung up and over the side taking the rod and camera with it, bloody hell I thought (not in those words). After about fifteen minutes of saying every swear word under the sun I looked over nearer the shallows at Point Cook and saw what I thought was a handle to a rod, picked up the nockies and yep there it was!

I pulled up the anchor and very slowly crept across, as I got within 20 feet or so it took off like a rocket, I gunned the boat and got to the side of it and grabbed the handle, and yep you guessed it - it was MY rod with MY fish still on the end!

I played it in again, all the time thinking to myself this can't be happening but I was rapt it was. I got the fish to the side once again and was about to let it have it with my big gaff when I looked at the fish and decided to cut the line. Why? Probably 'cos I'm an idiot - gummy is my favorite eating fish, bar none.

After that I packed up and went home and braced myself for the "what the hell happened to the camera" question that would follow upon my return home, and yep it did come.

The ensuing banter was rather interesting, almost worth another story, but that is another story.

(5 December 2001)


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