I was looking through some of my old stuff and got to thinking about this one. This was caught by Mr. Harry Catlett of Sevierville, TN. Like many of us, he's addicted to the Brownfish. He was the person who took me to South Holston for the first time. He's the one who was my Guaranteed Boater the first 2 years I fished the BFL as a Co-Angler. We have traveled and fished together for many years. He is a great friend and fisherman. Now for the story as it is one I will never forget...
At the time, my dad and I were fishing a regional trail which went by the name, Team Catch. It was a circuit that held tournaments on most of the typical lakes in East TN including Cherokee, Douglas, Norris, Watts Bar & Loudon. We had competed in 2-3 of the tournament so far for the season and were top ten in points at the time. We were preparing for the Ft. Loudon event a couple of days before the tournament, when I was unexpectedly called to work the Saturday of the tournament. Since I had only been at this company in Oak Ridge for a short amount of time, I felt it was imperative that I be there in order to remain employed.
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So because of my situation, my dad called our good friend Harry and asked him to fish in my place and he of course agreed. It was a cold rainy dreary day that Saturday, I remember because I was sitting at work looking out the window all day, wishing I was fishing. The tournament was scheduled to be over around 2:30 so I called my dad around 2:45 to see how they had done. What he told me next shocked, amazed, saddened and humored me all at the same time. The first words out of his mouth were, "WE BLEW IT!". I didnt thnik much more about it as he told me that Harry had caught this huge 9lb 11oz SM that would barely fit into his 30 gallon livewell (which was awesome in itself) and that they had caught two more fish. One of which was a 5lb LM and another that was a 3lb LM. I was so taken back by the big SM I had to ask several times if he was joking to which he replied, he was not. I responded to him that that was incredible and that it figured I would have had to work on such a great day.
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I still had no idea what he meant when he had said, "they blew it". I ask him how much they won expecting they would have at least gotten lunker. He responded that they didn't win anything. Shocked, I asked why not. There was a long awkward pause and then he said... "We were 7 minutes late getting back to the weigh-in." I was floored... I didn't know what to say, so I said the first thing that most people would say when responding to such a story...
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WHAT?!?!?! He replied, "yep, I'm not sure how it happened, but we came in 7 minutes late. My watch said we had 3 minutes left to go but when we pulled in to the ramp, the director (a friend of ours) met us at the bank and told us we were late." My dad told the tournament director what they had and the director apologized several times but there was nothing he could do. The rules were the rules and because of that, my dad and Harry were docked 7 pounds off their total weight of 17lbs. To make matters even worse, the 7lb pound penalty was also deducted from the lunker they weighed, which made that 9lb 11oz SM only weigh in at 2lbs 11oz... They had gone from winning the tournament and SM Lunker ($1000 total) to 4th place and no money for their efforts. They were both miserable because of the situation. I was sick for the both of them too but I had to laugh a little bit. We talked a little longer and then hung-up.
To add insult to injury... it was about an hour later when my phone rang at work, I answered and it was dad. He asked me what I was doing and I replied with the obvious, "working". He then proceeded to ask if I could do him a favor and I told him I would. He then asked if I could come and pick him and Harry up. My first thought was they had gotten thrown in jail over the tournament, so I asked what was wrong. He told me that his truck had died on the way back home from the tournament and he was on the side of the road in Maryville. He had called the wrecker to come and get the truck but he needed me to come and get the boat and pull it home. Given the day they had had, I couldn't say no.
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So I told him I would be there as soon as I could. An hour later I had the two of them as passengers and I was pulling the boat home. Needless to say I ribbed them all the way home, asking them if they could tell me what time it was. They would reluctantly grin as I was laughing.
So this is not just another fish tale... this is a true story of how you can shrink a 9lb 11oz SM to 2lbs 11oz SM. That year for Christmas, I bought them both watches...
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The good news about all of this was that Harry was able to get the fish certified and he did become a member of the 2001 BASS Lunker Club. The fish was released there at the Canal Ramp shortly after the pics and measurements were taken. The picture below is of Harry and the fish the day of the tournament. The gentlemen over Harry's right shoulder is my dad waiting in the boat... I think if I squint hard enough, I can see the tears rolling down his face...
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At the time, my dad and I were fishing a regional trail which went by the name, Team Catch. It was a circuit that held tournaments on most of the typical lakes in East TN including Cherokee, Douglas, Norris, Watts Bar & Loudon. We had competed in 2-3 of the tournament so far for the season and were top ten in points at the time. We were preparing for the Ft. Loudon event a couple of days before the tournament, when I was unexpectedly called to work the Saturday of the tournament. Since I had only been at this company in Oak Ridge for a short amount of time, I felt it was imperative that I be there in order to remain employed.
To add insult to injury... it was about an hour later when my phone rang at work, I answered and it was dad. He asked me what I was doing and I replied with the obvious, "working". He then proceeded to ask if I could do him a favor and I told him I would. He then asked if I could come and pick him and Harry up. My first thought was they had gotten thrown in jail over the tournament, so I asked what was wrong. He told me that his truck had died on the way back home from the tournament and he was on the side of the road in Maryville. He had called the wrecker to come and get the truck but he needed me to come and get the boat and pull it home. Given the day they had had, I couldn't say no.
So this is not just another fish tale... this is a true story of how you can shrink a 9lb 11oz SM to 2lbs 11oz SM. That year for Christmas, I bought them both watches...
The good news about all of this was that Harry was able to get the fish certified and he did become a member of the 2001 BASS Lunker Club. The fish was released there at the Canal Ramp shortly after the pics and measurements were taken. The picture below is of Harry and the fish the day of the tournament. The gentlemen over Harry's right shoulder is my dad waiting in the boat... I think if I squint hard enough, I can see the tears rolling down his face...
