The Hook

The Hook

“If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”
Frank A. Clark

My cousins Stephen and Rory were out fishing one day at Incline Lake, above Lake Tahoe, when they were around eleven or twelve. They are brothers and would spend the summer up at the cabin that my Aunt Janice and Uncle Gordon lived in above the lake.

Though I wasn’t there, I know exactly where they were fishing, as it was our favorite spot, just at the curve in the dirt road on the way to the boathouse.

Stephen was at the shore about to cast as Rory was above on the road preparing to fish as well. We liked to use Indian Roe, our favorite bait for the rainbow trout of Incline Lake.

Stephen cast back and had begun his forward cast when he heard a sharp cry and felt a strong tug on his line. He thought he was caught in a pine tree or bush that lined the shore of the lake. But when he turned to look he had not hooked a tree or a bush but his brother instead.

Stephen’s hook had caught Rory in the left eyelid. They quickly cut the line and ran up to the cabin. The family piled into the Travelall to rush to the doctor seven miles away in Incline Village.

Amazingly Rory’s eye was not even touched. The doctor gently snipped the hook and freed Rory who didn’t even require a stitch. He did get a tetanus shot though and they both got a lecture on safety from their parents.

Thankfully, he was alright. And back they went the next day to their favorite spot on Incline Lake.