A WEEKEND TO REMEMBER

“It only happens to good people,” boasted Len Swanson through a broad smile that belied any thought of his seriously believing that statement.

“The only thing scary about last weekend is that I am afraid the good Lord gave it to me as a going away present.If he did it was a good way to go out!”

Being a grandparent makes it much easier to understand his unabashed joy, but it was incredibly special regardless of age.Len is seventy-nine going on fifty and one of those folks that make everyone around them feel younger.

“Thursday afternoon, my eighth grade grandson caught two touchdown passes in the first game he ever played.” That is even more astounding considering the fact that he wore a brace to correct a lower leg problem up until two years ago.“His Grandma cried, his Mother cried and he and I celebrated with a chicken fried steak supper.”

While that alone would make it a weekend to remember, Len was just getting started.The following night, Kellen’s older brother, a senior linebacker intercepted a pass to save the game with a rival school with two seconds remaining. “I cried and his dad and I celebrated with another chicken fried steak!”

“Saturday morning we drove to the lake and barbequed in time to watch my alma mater, North Carolina, beat the Gamecocks. If Mack never would have left for Texas we would have won a lot more games, but any win over South Carolina is special.”

As if it couldn’t possibly get any better, Len and the boys decided to drown a few minnows over a brush pile the next morning.“We decided to drift a point in Toro on the way out,” said Len.“I put my rod in the holder with my brush hog still drifting across the bottom while I rigged a rod for Jason.”

After finishing off a cup of coffee he noticed that his lure was hung up and he was about to break his rod.“I finally got it out of the holder and was jerking to free it up when I felt the fish.I immediately started acting like I knew what I was doing, but both boys had been watching the entire time.”

The bass was so tired by the time they netted her that she just floated next to the boat.“Most of her body was wrapped in hydrilla,” said Len, “so we didn’t realize how big she was at first.”The big bass pulled his scales just past the ten pound mark and they forgot all about white perch fishing.”

Kellen revived the big bass and they celebrated as she disappeared beneath the surface.“I have owned a camp on the lake since 1972 and I have never caught even an eight pound bass,” said the elder Swanson.

By the time he finished his incredible story, I agreed with his earlier assessment that his remaining days may well be numbered.He added that seeing his wife standing by the flat tire on his truck snapped him back to reality

For the first time in quite a while we found reds, gafftop and ladyfish herding schools of shad all over Sabine lake.Unfortunately, there were more gafftop and ladyfish than reds, but it was a positive sign nonetheless.

There was not a “wrong” lure to throw, but fishing a Gulp tail under a cork was borderline suicidal.The gafftop and ladyfish literally raced to inhale it the second the cork hit the water.The redfish were far less aggressive, but they were still hanging around the shad.The water clarity was very much improved.

Corey Rambo can’t possibly be very well versed in what will or won’t work in saltwater, but he suggested a bait that his customers had been bragging about over the past few weeks and I picked one up.I should have picked up two as an oversized red is now wearing the only one I had.

At this point I am not positive as to the name of the little topwater, but I think it was a Sixth Sense Splash.The river bass love it as well and I have no doubt it will work on trout if I can ever find them again.Until I can get you the exact name of the lure, someone at Rambo’s Tackle will steer you in the right direction.