The "The Big One That Got Away ... Really!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading my online copy of LNP newspaper when my grandson bursts through the front door of our rental in Ocean City, New Jersey.  "Uncle Tad, mom lost your fishing rod!"  My sons Derek and Tad as well as grandson Caden and daughter-in-law Barbara are sharing the rental with my wife and myself along with my daughter Brynn, son-in-law Dave and granddaughters Courtney and Camille.  

Derek displaying the fish he has just removed from Caden's rod.

At about 5:30 am this morning Derek, Barbara, Caden and Camille quietly loaded their fishing equipment in Derek's truck for a morning of fishing on the bridge that runs over the bay to the north of Ocean City.  Seems that Barbara was using the fishing rod that Tad had loaned to his brother.  The same rod that Derek had taken to a nearby bait shop yesterday to have new line placed on it as well as purchase new hooks and bait.  All was going well and a few small fish were caught as they fished off a low bridge that connects the barrier island of Ocean City to the mainland.  Along the side of the bridge is a protective wall about three feet high.  Barb had placed her fishing rod along the wall after casting into the water.  

Camille fishing along the wall of the bridge.

Wasn't long before everyone saw the rod rise from behind the wall and head over the wall, down into the water.  I'm sure a lot of screaming followed as they saw the rod disappear in the waters below the bridge.  It was too great a height for Derek to dive into the water and he had no idea what would greet him if he did dive into the water.  A fellow fisherman, a native of Greece, saw what had happened and told them it must have been either a ray or a shark to be able to pull the entire rod from behind a the wall into the water below.  So, on their return to the house, Caden was picked to tell his uncle about the rod.  Uncle Tad wasn't too upset since he hadn't used it for quite some time and he had hopes of buying a new rod in the future anyway.  He now has the motivation to look for that rod that was stolen by a gigantic fish, as the story was told to me.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.