Mutt & Jeff
| Mutt and Jeff had been friends since high school. They began fishing for bass on the Catawba River, but switched to crappie fishing after the dam was built. Over the years, they cut down trees and dropped them in different areas of the lake to create brush piles for crappie. The agreement they had was; if they worked together to build a fishing hole, it belonged to both of them, to fish only when they fished together. If one built his own brush pile, it was to be his and his alone. The holes they shared produced plenty of table fare and enough crappie to win several tournaments. The two were so competitive that they eventually developed a strong distrust for each other. Neither wanted the other to gain the upper hand. As time passed, Jeff began to suspect that Mutt was fishing on his brush piles. Each time Jeff questioned the fact, Mutt gave him a sheepish grin and shook his head as if to deny it. Jeff grew more and more suspicious. One spring morning, Jeff rented a small plane and flew over the lake. His suspicions were proven true when he not only found Mutt fishing one of his brush piles, but the rascal had someone fishing with him. He was furious that now someone else would know of his favorite crappie holes. Jeff decided to say nothing while he plotted a way to get even. Near the end of the crappie season, a weekend tournament had been scheduled. At the last minute, he informed Mutt that he planned to fish the tournament alone. Mutt was in a state of shock. This was the only tournament they had not fished together since they were kids. Since he didn't want a new partner to learn of his crappie holes, he also opted to fish alone, but not without problems. His first spot was void of fish, as was the second and third and forth. This had never happened to him before. As the day continued, he noticed that his eyes began to blur. Soon, he was actually having trouble seeing. Why were his eyes watering each time he stopped to fish? Could it be foul play? He finally had to quit fishing and head for the weigh-site. By the time he arrived, his eyes were very red and tears were streaming down his face. The weigh-master thought he was crying because he had no fish. Jeff won the crappie tournament with a new record of ten fish that weighed twenty-eight pounds. Tears continued to flow from Mutt's eyes. Tournament anglers taunted him, jeering that he was crying because he had lost the tournament to Jeff. On the way home, he stopped at a local produce market for some tomatoes and onions. The clerk informed him that he had sold all the onions the day before. It seems that someone had filled an entire truck with thirty burlap sacks of beautiful yellow onions. A mile from home, Mutt figured out the problem with his teary eyes. Jeff had contaminated his thirty crappie holes with the thirty sacks of yellow onions. .... be reminded that small fish have large tales. Captain Gus Gustafson of Lake Norman Ventures, Inc. is a member of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association and a full time Professional Fishing Guide on Lake Norman, NC. Visit his web site, Fishin' with Gus! at http://www.fishingwithgus.com/ or call 704 617 6812. For additional information, e-mail him at Gus@LakeNorman.com. |
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| September 2005 |