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I was at Cranes Beach this July with a buddy of mine fishing the outgoing tide at 4:30 AM. Very extreme tide on the new moon (I think). You could walk out to within spittin' distance of the main channel bouy. We were out there working some feeding fish at teh edge of a bar that had a very steep break, the kind that if you take one step you go from ankle deep to over you head. Strond outgoing tidal flow. Another guy walks out to join us and we warn him of the drop off and to watch his feet, not the fish until he gets situated... Walks right off the break... Nothing between him and Portugal.... I try to reach him with the tip of my rod and almost go in as well. Waders filled with water and I fight my way back to solid footing. My buddy throws him his plug bucket as a float. The guy looses it. I toss him my plug. Line breaks. I'm thinking this is going to have a very bad ending....
My buddy reels in his line to toss him his plug. Hooks a bass. Reels in the bass as fast as he can. Throws the bass, plug attached to the guy. Grabs the line and it holds. Meantime, i've tied my plug bag to my line and I toss this out. the guy grabs this too. Now we just stand and wait till the tide ebbs enough to reel him in.... He lost everything. I lost a digital camera. My buddy lost a ton of plugs, but we saved the guy. This is the third time in three years I've pulled or helped pull someone out of the drink. I now wear a life jacket wherever I go to fish....
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