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Two Hard Lessons at Banner Marsh

More than 80 members of Illinois Bass 25 met at Banner Marsh's Wheel Lake (East Access) May 1 for their second tournament of the year. Before the day was over we would all have learned a hard lesson in the realities of catching bass and my partner and I would have learned an even harder lesson in the realities of being in a boat.

It was a brisk morning, but not unreasonable by Illinois standards, with air temperatures in the low 40's at takeoff time. The water temperature was 56 degrees despite a record low temperature a few evenings prior to the tournament.

Many of our club members had caught impressive bass from Wheel Lake this spring, beginning as soon as ice-out. But this was tournament day and, as such, invariably reduces anybody's chances of catching fish. That's just the way it is.

With the skill and expertise of Mayberry's Deputy Barney Fife, I drew boat number 35 of 41 for our takeoff position which, believe it or not, was an improvement on the April tournament when I drew 46 of 49.

The ability to draw low takeoff numbers at bass tournaments is a science that could be the subject of an entire article, but since I have never done it somebody else will have to write that one.

We were beaten to our favorite stretch of bank by another boat so we decided to fish across the lake and move in behind them after they fished down the lake.

A few casts with a gold willowleaf spinnerbait and we had our first fish, a 18 ½-inch keeper that was laying alongside a log on the calm side of the lake in two feet of water. Keepers must measure a minimum of 18 inches at Banner Marsh.

Anybody who fishes tournaments will tell you about the importance of getting that first keeper into the livewell, thus ensuring that you go to the weigh-in. We had that keeper at 6:35 and high hopes of adding to our total weight.

Catching that first fish reminded me of a similar occurrence years ago during a bass tournament on Lake Shelbyville . My partner and I had borrowed a boat to fish our final club tournament during late September. Our intentions had been to head up the lake, but since our outboard motor wouldn't start, we used the trolling motor to move to a cove just across from Lithia Springs Marina.

We caught 13 keepers on chartreuse buzzbaits in that cove and weighed in two limits of bass. We finished first and second for the day all because the outboard wouldn't start. Of course, that's not the story we told at the weigh-in.

Sunday at Banner we fished a bank solely because somebody beat us to our spot and immediately put a keeper in the livewell. That's just fishing.

At 8:45 we boated our second and last keeper of the day, another 18 1/2-inch bass that hit a black and blue jig.

We tried to reason out what to do, but since one keeper came from the shallow, calm side of the lake on a spinnerbait and the other one hit a jig along a sharp drop-off near deep water with the wind howling onto the bank, we were unsure what to do.

We tried several baits and presentations in different areas without success. At the weigh-in, it became apparent that this day there were no magic baits and no secret spots.

16 of the 41 teams brought 20 bass to the scales with no more than two keeper fish being caught by any team. The tournament was won with two fish that weighed less than nine pounds. One seven-pound lunker won big bass and fourth place for the day.

My partner and I were lucky enough to get fifth place and learn another humbling lesson about bass fishing, but our most valuable lesson for the day came about noon.

As we fished along a woody, tree-lined area, I was trying to keep the boat off the stickups and stumps in a 25 mph wind. The boat was blown and a tree limb came over the middle of it. I yelled to my partner to watch the limb.

The limb hit the back of her leg and she stepped onto the boat seat to get out of the way. She lost her balance and into the lake she went.

All kinds of things could have happened in the next few seconds, almost all of them bad since she was wearing several layers of clothes and had fallen into 56 degree water.

Fortunately, I was able to turn the front of the boat toward her so she could grab the gunwale and work her way to the transom where it was easier to pull her into the boat. She can swim but more than 25 feet of water was less than a boat length away.

I sped back to the dock immediately while she sat in the bottom of the boat with towels over her head. For years I have taken several towels and spare clothes on my fishing trips but never used them until now.

She was able to dry off in the restroom and put on the spare clothes before sitting in the heated car to warm up. Being the trooper that she is, we went back out fishing for a couple of hours at her insistence.

That kind of an accident on the water puts catching fish in perspective and makes one reflect on what could have happened and some possible safety precautions.

First, bring the extra clothes and towels. Put them in the boat if you have dry storage, but at least have them in the car.

We weren't wearing life vests while fishing and we were lucky.

Most fishermen rationalize this by saying they can swim or by moaning about how bulky and uncomfortable it is to fish in a vest, but we were fishing in extreme wind. Besides, life vests are manufactured much lighter and less cumbersome than my old traditional vests.

If you can invest $100 or more on a rod and reel outfit, can you afford not to have a vest you will wear?

In the few seconds between her falling overboard and getting back into the boat, I didn't even think of my throwable cushion. Is yours in good shape and at hand or is it shoved into a crowded storage compartment? Our boat was barely moving when she fell, but for many people this is not the case. That cushion can be a lifesaver.

The pedestal was not in place on the back deck of the boat and the seat was lying on the deck. If the seat would have been mounted on the pedestal, not only would she not have slipped on the slick upholstery but she may have been able to grab it to maintain her balance.

At the end of the day, we had learned another lesson about bass fishing and were grateful for the two keepers, but we were far more grateful for the important lesson we had learned about being safe on the water.

This time the lessons didn't cost much.