Fishing Story with Terry Bandy

It’s not every day I get to go fishing, but when I get the chance, it’s with my good friend Terry Bandy. He’s a boater, like myself, and he knows the area like the back of his hand. What fish are we fishing for? He knows what bait we need. Great guy.

So anyway, me and Terry Bandy were out in Chocolate Bay in a couple of kayaks of all things. We make boats for a living and this guy rents us kayaks. We’re out on the water fishing for redfish or flounder or whatever, having a couple brews, having a good time. I recall I caught a few trout and he caught a whopper of a flounder. It gets about time to pack up and leave and I feel a tug on my line. I pull it in a little and eventually I feel a big jerk. I’m thinking my line must have got caught on some debris cause when I pulled again, I stop my boat. Suddenly, I’m being dragged! I get yanked out of my kayak and out of the water pops this big old marlin. Thankfully my line snapped and I’m free to go, but my kayak is overturned 50 feet away and all my fish and tackle is sitting at the bottom of the bay.

To this day, Terry Bandy thinks I’m lying but can’t explain how I suddenly got out of my boat, flipped it over, and swam 50 feet in 5 seconds. He didn’t see the marlin. Though I lost a bunch of gear that day, I take solace in the fact the I’m the one that got away.