A SHORT FISHING TALE
by Mark Burchick
I went fishing yesterday and put three
rods and a tackle box in the back of
my pick-up truck.
I later proceeded to the car wash and was oblivious to the fact
the my rods
were exposed and
even in the back of the truck.
Two guys pre-washed my truck
and I then went through the automated gantlet of brushers and scrubbers,
including the blue vertical octopus tentacles that wiggle back and forth
over the top
of the vehicle. The guy at the end wiped down the car and off I went.
I had to stop and get gas
and buy supplies before meeting friends for an afternoon of fishing.
While pumping gas I leaned over to look into the bed of the truck, and
immediately a wave of
sickening panic coursed through mind. Oh my God, my
Browning soft tackle box was saturated
and I was missing my best baitcaster
rod and reel combo.
I've never had fishing
equipment blow out of the back of my truck, and then I realized, I went
through the car wash. Being many miles from my hometown car wash, I dialed
411 information
and called the car wash. Of course no one answered.
I called home to my wife,
explained the story and she drove over to the car wash. She explained
my
story to the attendants. They stopped the car wash to inspect theoperations (octopus tentacles), and sure enough, my rod was suspended in the
thick mat of fabric.
The tentacle mats apparently
grabbed hold of my treble-hooked Zara Spook topwater lure that
was clipped to the base of my rod, and off it went into the abyss of the
cleaning contraption.
The attendant did not know how many other cars went through the wash or if
the rod/reel
caused any scratches to other cars.
They quietly and sheepishly
cut away my suspended rod and reel and my wife thanked them.
Once she
got into her car she called me. My Shimano Crucial medium/heavy rod
went
relatively unscathed less loosing one eyelet. The Zara Spook was fine
and my Shimano
Curado low-profile baitcaster reel was torn apart from its
frame, bent and rendered unusable.
It was if someone ran over it.
I still remember when I bought the $180 reel at Bass Pro.
I tested the left-handed version (turning on the right) and loved the
mechanics and fit of the
reel, knowing that the money spent would be rewarded by many a good fishing
story.
I'm embarrassed about the
entire event, and I'll never go to a car wash again without
inspecting the bed of my truck.
Submitted by Mark Burchick
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