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Off The Florida
Coast
This is an interesting catch...goes to show we need to keep an eye out
the next time we're out there fishing in the Gulf!
Some pretty good pics and story from some friends. If not for the
pictures, no one would eve r believe it. Talk about a fish tale!
Last Saturday morning, my buddy Bo Warren and I were trolling for
stripers in the Bay. We were a mile offshore in about
80 feet of water contemplating why the fish weren't biting. We looked
back to check our gear and saw something odd in the water. Was it a
seal?? Can't be, we don't have seals around here. On closer look, it
turned out to be a buck deer that was WAY off course. He was desperate
and barely staying afloat.
I've seen deer swim a river or bayou before. When you see that, the
first thing you notice is that they are powerful swimmers. Their head
and shoulders are out of the water and they make surprisingly good
headway. This critter was just keeping his nose up and looked like he'd
been swimming all night long. In fact, he was so warn out that he swam
toward the boat probably thinking it looked enough like land to him.
When he got closer though, he wasn't sure what to make of the two dudes
on board, and backed off.
So, since the fish weren't biting, we thought we'd give this buck a
hand. If pictures are here in text, they are attached. Turns out Bo grew
up around cows and was really handy with a bowline. He lassoed the deer
on the first try!
Bo grabbed his neck, I grabbed the flank, and we barreled over backwards
into the boat. Before I knew it, Bo was on top of him and had him tied
up just like a calf.
We hit the throttle and shuttled him to the closest beach - Kent Point.
I beached the boat and we carefully unloaded the deer onto the sand. The
whole time we kept thinking he was going to kick the snot out of us. He
never did though; he was totally spent. We untied him and jumped back.
Too weak to stand, he just sat there quivering. We even picked him up
again and put his feet underneath him, but he still
couldn't walk. Don't know if he made it or not, but I think his
chances were vastly improved. Hopefully he recovered after time. When
you're out & about, you just never know...
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