Some people feel that bass fishing is not a dangerous sport. I'm here to tell them that they are wrong. I caught a nice smallie on topwater at the Quabbin Reservoir on May 16. The fish somehow managed to get wrapped up in my line and the hooks held his mouth shut tight. I was unable to "lip" him so I gently lifted him out of the water by his belly. This is always a shaky procedure and none the less so on this day.
As I tried to tried to get the lure out of his mouth, he went nuts. Nuts.

The struggle went on for several minutes and I eventually freed him to fight another day. I had to cut the hooks to get the lure out of my shorts. You can see a minor wound on my index finger. I was not concerned about that area of my body.

Later in the day there was a  major thunderstorm. We beached my boat and watched fat lightning bolts strike all around us. Torrential rain and gusts of wind heaved out of the south. The air temperature fell nearly thirty degrees from the time we launched until we put the boat on the iron.

It was a lot of work for eight smallmouth, but I'd do it again. I was grateful to come home with all my parts in order. It's a form of madness.