My ol' friend Tom and I were anchored up in my DB on the Willamette at OC fishin' for shad.
Tom had a brand-new drift rod and Daiwa baitcaster that replaced an outfit that he had previously left in a campground somewhere.

I was jiggin' and Tom was fishin' out of the rodholder. He had a habit of not seating the rod all the way down into the rod holder.
All of a sudden, Tom's new outfit shot out of the rodholder like a rocket.

Tom turns around and with this matter-of-fact look says "Did you see that ?"


I never let my mentor forget that a lowly shad took his rod