Fishing trips have long been a form of bonding and relaxation because of the adventure and the unexpected.
Yes, sometimes guys come back empty-handed, but every now and then something happens that keeps you coming back for more.
But what these fishermen hauled in their boat was the catch of their lives, which they never expected.
Dozens of dogs rescued from lake
State Farm Insurance agents Bob Gist and Brad Carlisle traveled from out of state to enjoy a day of crappie fishing on Grenada Lake in Mississippi.
Gist and Carlisle hired Jordan Chrestman as a fishing guide to take them out on the 35,000-acre man-made lake for their expedition.
Not long after getting out on the water, Gist noticed something strange in the distance.
“I think those are dogs!” Chrestman yelled.
The men took the boat in closer and were shocked at what they discovered next.
Dozens of hunting dogs were paddling aimlessly in the lake with electronic collars restraining them.
The fishermen knew something was amiss because the dogs were too far from shore and many were struggling to stay afloat.
Gist told Jonesboro Right Now, “The dogs were at least a mile offshore. . .The way their heads were in the water, there’s no way they could see the shore. They were dog paddling and completely lost.”
Realizing that the dogs needed help, the men sprang into action.
However, they were in a small bass boat and more than three dozen dogs were in the water.
The rescue mission
The fisherman began scooping as many dogs out of the water as they could fit into their boat.
Twenty-seven dogs were ferried to shore, then they went back for the rest.
After two more trips, the fisherman saved all 38 dogs.
“[Brad] and I were just lucky enough to be in a boat with a guide that knew we needed to act, so we did,” Gist explained on social media. “We all pulled dogs from the water and Jordan managed [the] recovery like he had done it before. He is the hero here.”
And the rescue occurred just in the nick of time.
“By the time they got to the exhausted dogs, they could barely swim,” a post on social media declared. “Bob told me they grabbed the last four dogs as they were sinking underwater.”
The fishermen discovered what happened after the heart-pounding rescue. The dogs were part of a fox hunt in Grenada, Mississippi, but they ended up chasing after a deer into the lake and got themselves stuck a mile away from the shore.
Chrestman turned down a reward from the owners of the pooches.
The fishing buddies joked that they ended up having a good catch during their fishing trip, only not the one they intended.
Gist said, “Opportunities to help somebody are in front of us all the time. . .Sometimes if you see something, do something.”
Informed American will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
