The big dog....

by Jason
(Kankakee, IL)

I was fishing one Spring evening on the banks of the Kankakee, IL river by myself. I had been down on the bank with my hip waters casting a plastic craw for small mouth. Where I was is a pretty remote location.

Just to give you an idea of the surroundings, I had to drive off the main road down to the river about 1/4 mile, then walk another 500 feet just to get to the bank. There are no houses around for miles. I have fished this location many of times by myself and with others.

This evening, I was alone. About 15 minutes into fishing I heard a noise in the dense wooded area behind me. I figured that someone else was walking down the bank to fish. I heard the noise getting closer and closer. Suddenly, out of the woods comes a very large black Rotweiller. As the dog came out it did not see me yet. I frooooooze. As the dog got closer, it finally saw me. With both lips lifted the dog started to snarl. I jumped into the cold swift river and immediately sank from my waters filling with water.

As I was panicking, with my rod still in my hand, I looked back, the sound of me jumping in the water, or being as startled as I was, he ran back into the woods. I was able to pull myself out of the cold water. I began to run, but my legs were heavy from the 50 lbs of water I had in each leg. I laid on my back and dumped all the water on myself. I ran back to my truck with my heart pumping. To this day I never go in a remote place without another angler or a cell phone with a good battery. I suggest everyone do the same.

Jason, Kankakee, IL