Kelley Jaye is back in the game. Bowman and I followed Hank Cherry past the launch ramp at Goose Pond, headed for deeper water, when Jaye raised away from the dock and toward the same destination. That must’ve been the quickest trip to the emergency room in history.
As you read elsewhere on Bassmaster.com, Jaye stuck a. hook deep in his hand and was taken by ambulance to the hospital to remove it. He and Cherry currently are a cast length apart, and are joking about the experience.
The accident could have been devastating, but apparently it did not hurt Jaye’s chances in this tournament. He remains in fourth place at this point with 54-13.
Jaye told us his thumb and index finger on his casting hand are “dead” and he’s having trouble casting and cranking. He is working a jerkbait — the same lure that hooked him — and he needs the full use of his thumb.
“ The good thing about it,“ he said, “is if I get hooked again, I can just pull it out. It won’t hurt.”