It’s not surprising that a 10-year-old boy got distracted while watching his fishing pole when fishing last weekend at Dillon Reservoir. But what eventually happened to young Matthew Ater almost defies belief.
A fish bites and the rod disappears into the lake. Thing was, this was no ordinary rod.
“This Fenwick rod I have had all my life,” said Matthew’s mother, Jill. “It was given me by my father and is probably 50 years old.”
Things get more interesting.
“My husband, Alan, angry beyond belief, and my son strip down, get in the lake and comb the area. No luck. My son is a crying wreck, sure that he is grounded for life,” Jill said.
Now the plot really thickens.
“The next afternoon we go back to the same place. Matthew decides to use a spinner. After casting out for about 45 minutes, he yells that he’s caught something. Yes, he caught the line, pulled in the rod and two fish,” she said.
The initial fish, a rainbow, was dead. The sucker that bit the second hook was still alive. With a bit of oil, rod and reel are as good as new. Or old, as the case may be.
