06/07/2026
For anyone who thinks charter boat captains have everything under control at all times, allow me to provide a public service announcement:
We do dumb stuff too.
Last night's evening charter was going great. Fish were cooperating, clients were happy, and six rods were running perfectly off each side of the boat. The kind of trip that makes you think, "Wow, this is almost too easy."
Which should have been my first warning.
Somewhere during the troll, the remote for my trolling motor managed to have the Anchor button pressed.
Now, those of you familiar with trolling motors already know where this story is headed.
For those who don't, imagine you're cruising along nicely at 2 mph when your trolling motor suddenly decides, "You know what? This exact spot seems great. Let's stay here forever."
The trolling motor instantly tried to lock onto a waypoint while the kicker motor continued doing its job and pushing forward.
The result?
Physics took over.
The boat performed a maneuver best described as a drunken figure skater having a medical emergency.
One second we were trolling. The next second we were doing a complete spin in the middle of the lake.
Twelve rods immediately decided they no longer respected personal space.
Lines crossed.
Boards crossed.
Rods crossed.
At least three fish from neighboring counties were probably tied into the mess.
Lines wrapped around the boat, around each other, around things I didn't even know lines could wrap around. Somewhere in the chaos I think one rod was trying to lasso me.
By the time the boat stopped impersonating a carnival ride, we had a floating ball of monofilament that would have impressed professional macramé artists.
Forty minutes later we finally had things sorted out. Several lines were sacrificed to the fishing gods, everyone's blood pressure returned to normal, and we somehow finished the trip.
So now it's Sunday.
Instead of relaxing, I'm recalibrating rods, re-rigging tackle, pulling wads of recovered line off the boat, and digging enough braided line out of my props to knit a winter sweater.
Moral of the story: Even charter captains occasionally turn a perfectly good fishing trip into a live demonstration of what not to do.
At least the clients got a bonus show.
"Captain, what are we doing?"
"Teaching a master class on line management, apparently."
