Hard Lessons Learned on the River

by Jody Cussins

Where to start? I guess at the beginning would help give you a little of my background. When I was 7 years old in the mid ‘60’s, there was an elderly couple who owned the farm and pond behind our house. From our back yard I could see when anyone was at the pond and when I saw them fishing, I made sure I was out where they could see me and I made enough noise that they knew I was there. Each and every time they invited me over to join them. If we caught any fish, which were mostly bluegill, they would tell me to come down the next day for lunch and we would feast on what we had caught. The biggest fish I caught there was on a 10’ long cane pole and using an orange lizard I had found in the spring that fed the pond. It was a 19 1/2” largemouth bass that was so heavy I could barely carry it! In later years my love of the out of doors inspired me to pass on what I’d learned. So, 1998, I started teaching Hunter Education and Boater Safety Classes for the Virginia Department of Games and Inland Fisheries (DGIF). For many years I had fished tournaments big and small from local lake tournaments to the old Everstart series national tournaments and the Virginia Bass Federation tournaments. Then a friend invited me to float one of our local rivers for river smallmouth and I was hooked. I’ve never looked back.

I bought a Sevylor 360, 6-man raft and built a floor and bench seats for it then added a trolling motor. Over the years we caught thousands of fish from that set up! I had also bought a couple of Ranger Bass Boats which I used in lake fishing and tournaments. I sold the Ranger to pursue my dream of buying a farm on the North Fork of the Holston River in Virginia. After the move, I bought an older Coleman Crawdad to use for floating the waters in front of my house. Maneuvering that old boat was sometimes challenging and I had need of a partner to help with launching and loading it.

Meanwhile in 2013, I suffered a “widowmaker” heart attack. That was a life altering event that caused me to rethink everything I did and how I did it. I needed an exercise regimen and a means of getting on the water to enjoy my favorite sport that wouldn’t require another person to help with my equipment. A friend advised that I look into getting a fishing kayak. He insisted that I would love it. So in November of 2016 , after a lot of research and discussion with my wife and Dr. about the benefits of using the kayak for exercise, I bought a Jackson Big Rig. It was reputed to be one of the most stable kayaks on the market. That was one of my wife’s stipulations before the purchase! Not long after getting the Big Rig I met Thomas Horsch online and after messaging back and forth a few times, I invited him over to float the river with me. I explained to him that I was totally new to kayaking and discovered that he was more than willing to help and teach me, not an easy task since I was 55 years old and still not 100% since the heart attack 2 1/2 years prior. On our first float we hadn’t been on the water 20 minutes when I got a hook stuck in my thumb after catching a 15” smallmouth! Talk about feeling like a noobie and being embarrassed that on our first float, I had to ask for help with hook removal. I was totally embarrassed! But he overlooked my kayaking inexperience and we just hit it off. The rest of that Fall and part of Winter we hit the rivers every chance we got. The next Spring we had nothing but high water so we couldn’t float as early in the year as we wanted. Finally by mid April, we had a few good days of mid 50’s temperatures and we were back on the water. The North Fork was still running about 3 feet above normal but we couldn’t stand it any longer and decided to give it a try. Now the North fork Holston is a skinny, crystal clear river that at the nearest gauge runs about 2’ in depth on average but on that day, it was at the 5’ mark and water temp was about 50 degrees.

Initially, all was going well with a few fish being caught and both of us enjoying the early Spring sunshine. I was about 100 yards in front of Thomas and was coming up on some small ledges. The plan was to stop and fish above them. I had installed an anchor trolley the previous Fall but had only used it once or twice before. The river had too much current for my 3 lb. anchor to hold and I didn’t realize the trolley was locked about midway of the kayak. I floated across the ledge with my anchor dragging when it suddenly caught. My kayak quickly turned sideways in the current and when I tried to run the trolley forward or back, the current caused the kayak to tip dangerously. After working for what seemed like an eternity and nearly flipping several times, I decided the safest way out of the mess was to cut my anchor rope. So I reached into my pants pocket to get my knife. Shifting my weight had dire consequences. I suddenly saw my kayak dip up river and in a flash I was flying upward and into the water amid a hail of sinking fishing gear! In a flurry, I was moving down river toward my kayak. Then I realized I was under water fighting the current that was so swift it carried me under the kayak where I was fighting for my life!

After what seemed an eternity ( which it nearly was), I popped out and got a much needed breath! I can’t describe the anguish and shock of hitting that cold, swift water. It was all I could do to yell “HELP”, At least, I thought I was yelling. I was struggling against the current to get to the river bank.

By the time I got close enough to the bank to touch bottom my arms and legs had already started to stiffen from hypothermia. I don’t know how Thomas got to me so fast but I remember hearing his telling me to get up on the bank out of the water. I was trying , but to no avail. My muscles were frozen and my whole body felt like lead. It was then that I felt these hands grab onto my PFD and jacket and drag me onto the bank! Thomas had jumped out of his kayak and pulled me onto the rocky shore. The PFD I was wearing was brand new and it was the first time I had ever worn it. It was another condition my wife had placed on my getting the kayak. I had to have the best life vest we could buy. I had always worn an inflatable PFD before but she said she wanted me to have one like Thomas wore, that she didn’t trust the inflatables on the river! To this day I know if I had been wearing the inflatable I would not be here to tell this story!