Reservation Number : 39789
Property Name : Briar Branch
Reservation Date : 05/18/2024 AM -
Total Fish/Sizes : 6
Lures Used : flashy spinner, senko

My future son-in-law and I arrived at 7am to introduce him to fishing.  Lake was very full, and unfortunately we could not find the stone launch area after driving the entire length of it.  We found what appeared to be a decent place to launch, and were able to put my Sun Dolphin Pro120 in.  The lake was only about 30% fishable, as all of the rain has caused the vegetation to explode.  The overflow pipe was working overtime the lake was so full.  I spent much of my time lifting the trolling motor to just skimming the surface, causing a chopped salad to cover me and my boat entirely.  We caught 6 dinks in our 4 hours of fishing, but because there were not specific directions on what to do with bass, we let them go.  The instructions only mention crappie and catfish. 

The interesting part came when we tried to load the boat up and pull out.  Unbeknownst to me, there was actually a drop off that I had not seen.  When I drove out, the trailer got stuck.  I gave it some oomph and ended up bending the leaf spring on the left side almost 90 degrees, causing the axel to disconnect from that side.  Just what I needed!  I drove up to the house and met the owner, Nate.  Super nice young man and he came down to evaluate the situation with us.  He ended up calling his dad, who lives in the area, and has his own shop.  We ended up taking the boat off the trailer and unbolting the axel and leaf spring.  He took the spring back to his shop and used a 20 ton press to bend it back into place!  Wow – thank you so much!  Extraordinarly grateful for both Nate and his father’s assistance!

After he brought the spring back to the property, we quickly assembled everything.  I drove 45mph the entire way home, and I’m sure I drove some Saturday motorists absolutely bonkers!  Regardless, the fix held perfectly, and now I will be ordering a new replacement spring set for my trailer.  The End.  :-)

Zach