Fall 2022
Taking Over the Ditch – Gary Klein
Dee and I spent a lot of together in his aluminum boat with the 12-foot rods.; but even though we fished together, he was always a fierce competitor.
I remember, we were both fishing a one-day event at Clear Lake. The water was a little bit low. It was the final day of practice, late in the afternoon and I was on the north end of the lake.
There was a shallow shoal that I couldn’t get my boat over to get all the way into the backend of Rodman. There was a deep trough with a bunch of laydown trees that I wanted to go to. Being young and very determined, I was going to find a way to get in there.
So, I waited until later when no one would find me, and I put my boat in the shallow water and started digging a ditch with a shovel to get my boat into that back section. I had to dig a ditch about 50-yards long in 8-inches of water. Then, I took a bunch of cut willows and put them in the ground to make
something like a goal post, a barrier to know where the deeper water was.
I was into the dig about two hours, and 25-yards. I was not paying attention, thinking no one was around and all of a sudden at a distance, I could hear Dee Thomas laugh.
He trolling motored his way up and said, “I’m just going to sit here and watch you dig that out; because tomorrow I’m going to be in here with you.” I dug a little longer, and he left. Then, I thought about it.
I decided that if I had Dee in there flippin’ with me, I couldn’t compete; so, I abandoned the ditch and left. It turned out to be a blessing because it made me change my gameplan and I ended up winning that event cranking down by Rattlesnake.
But, being out there in the middle of nature, digging for hours, just a muddy mess, thinking I was all alone and then to hear Dee’s laugh coming from behind me – It was something I will always remember. He had caught me. •
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