Dan tied on a Beetle Spin and as if on cue, we heard splashing on Ely’s line, already Beetle Spin equipped. He fought in a small bass like he could do it whenever he perceived a threat to his lead.

Sardinia snapped. “Alright, Ely, you’re done. I hope you enjoyed having the lead, because it’s over. You’re going down.”

“No you’re going down.”

“How can I go down? I got nowhere to go. I’ve been in the cellar all day.”

To his credit, the two times we encountered another boat, Dan acknowledged the boy’s prowess.

Dan found a stark dropoff on his depthfinder that we plowed a few times with no luck. We headed for Alligator.

Dragging a jig under the 192 bridge, my rod received a jolt and I fought in a big speck. “I guess that gives you sole claim to the cellar,” I abandoned Dan.

Alligator Lake is the biggest in the chain, and like the others, mostly natural. It was the middle of a broiling afternoon and I cast with little expectation, preferring to take another swim and daydream how fine it would be on the edge of those grassbeds at dawn. Dan Sardinia, on the other hand, wrestled in a 5-inch stumpknocker. It would be his final fish of the day and his nearest approach to my happy boy.

We didn’t catch much but the finnies are there and these lakes are a chance to fish practically virgin waters, because almost everyone gets caught in the flow to Lake Toho.

Returning to the ramp, the usually exuberant Sardinia seemed sadly crushed. “The fish beat us,” he moaned. “These lakes beat us.”

“Don’t try to include me and Ely in your defeat,” I admonished from second place.

“Is this the first time you’ve ever been beaten by a nine-year-old?” Ely asked at the ramp. Then we learned our buddy’s deep, dark secret.

He hesitated, then gave a reluctant “no.”

So then we knew. This was a dé jà vu, the reliving of a past trauma, wound reopened and salt poured in.

We didn’t pry further, but Dan was eager to try the rest of the Alligator chain on another day and return to Trout closer to dawn. He’s definitely ready to get revenge on Ely.

Me, I’d rather fish these lakes just because other people don’t. They’re lovely, they look fishy and they have the main ingredient I look for, that you don’t find in a popular fishing spot—mystery.

FS