november-2026-free-line-part-2 - Flipbook - Page 99
FREE LINE / FIELD JOURNAL
JAY NEWTON
FIELD NOTES
When all seemed lost, just that moment, one single beep was to restore
all faith. I looked up to the one remaining rod on my buzz bar, and the
line began to rip off. The third fish of the night was on my line, and there
was no way I was going to lose this one. I played the fish so carefully, the
gentlest game of give and take I had ever played. Besides the odd small
attempt to fight back, it was clear that the 100-yard haul had taken its
toll on this one, as she came straight into the net. I had literally cried my
consolidation prize into the net, and what a beauty she was a perfectly
proportioned, dark common carp. Blow softened.
That morning, after the standard photographs and celebratory smoke, I
was back to it, topping the swim up, running the file over the hooks and
steaming the booms on my Ronnies.
FREE LINE
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