Bittersweet Weekend

Bittersweet weekend- I had been planning a weekend trip to the Toledo area for the past couple months. My plan was ride, fish, and camp. I found a small cabin to rent located right on the Maumee River. It was perfect. The day finally came, and I had everything loaded except for the KLX. Since the truck and trailer were blocking the driveway, I decided to cut through the front yard and hop the curb. As I hopped the curb I gave her too much throttle and she popped an unexpected wheelie. I knew I was fuct. I lost control, and had to lay her down. I took the brunt of the impact landing on my ribs, and shoulder. Bike has a couple scratches and bent gear shifter. I was hurt pretty bad. My wife helped me get the bike upright, because I couldn’t lift it. I still contemplated loading the bike, but I couldn’t lift the trailer gate, and Audrey thought it was a terrible idea. So I started the bike and got her back in the garage. I was in pain, but I was still hell bent on going on the trip. Audrey advised multiple times that I go to the hospital. The drive up wasn’t too bad. 2 hours later I arrived in Waterville. Immediately I got my fishing gear set up on the bank. Within 20 minutes I had a small channel cat on the line , and then a nice 5 pounder. They were loving the shrimp. Then a largie hit the Ned rig. I was off to a good start, but reeling in the fish had never been so difficult. Everything was a struggle. Of course I left my rods set up overnight. At 5:00am on Saturday my bite alarm woke me up in the cabin. It was screaming! I could barely roll out of bed though. Slowly I got my pants and shoes on, and stumbled toward the river. Surprisingly the fish was still on the line, but by the time I got there it had taken at least 75 yards of line down river. Slowly, but surely I did manage to get him to the net. Turned out to be a 9.5lb common carp caught on earthworm and corn. The fam stopped up on Saturday afternoon, but I was in no shape to hike. Audrey tried to convince me to wrap it up early, and come home. Clay helped unload the rest of my firewood which was a big help before they left. I was exhausted, so I laid down for a nap. Then 2 hours later another carp awoke me from my slumber. It about spooled me again by the time I got to the bank. I was hurting so bad at this point I could barely reel. It took several minutes but I got her in. This one was 7.5lbs.
After that I was pretty much over fishing. I retired by the camp fire for the rest of the evening, knowing I had to get my ass to hospital as soon as I got home in the morning. I packed up and drove home. My wife drove me to the hospital as soon as I got home. At the hospital they discovered I had 9 broken ribs, and a shattered collarbone. 2 surgeries and 7 days later I am home, and back to work. I will be on ultralight duty at the pond for the foreseeable future. If you made it this far thanks for reading! And always wear your helmet!