One unlucky fisherman

When Sgt. Adam Rush was charged by an alligator while out fishing on Blue Creek on March 27, he knew it wasn’t his best day.

In fact, it was the worst day that any fisherman had in all of 2009.

Rush, a Camp Lejeune Marine, was named Outdoor Life Magazine’s “Unluckiest Angler of the Year” according to a “Best and Worst of 2009” list published on the magazine’s Web site.

The post giving Rush the dubious award referenced how Rush was forced to call 911 when a nine-foot alligator eyeing Rush’s fresh catch of largemouth bass left the river bank and made a beeline for his 10-foot boat.

Rush defended himself by hitting the creature in the head with an oar, but then found himself stranded with a dead engine and a broken oar. Game wardens arrived on the scene, brought him to safety and then issued him tickets for having undersized fish and no boat registration.

Rush paid $121 in court costs and a $50 fine for the violation, Rush said last week.

“I was kind of in the wrong about keeping a fish that was too small, but that was the furthest thing from my mind,” Rush remembered. “I was pretty much caught red-handed by the game warden, I guess you could say, with having a fish that was half an inch too small.”

Among the 13 other items on Outdoor Life’s “Best and Worst” list include “The Barney Fife Award,” “Worst Gun Thief” and “Best Dog Owner of 2009.”

The magazine didn’t contact him to let him know about the recognition, Rush said — it didn’t need to.

“My dad reads a lot of outdoor stuff. He called me about two days later and said, ‘Hey, did you get attacked by an alligator?’” he said.

Rush said the Marines he works with on base call him “Crocodile Dundee,” and the base game warden asked him if the story was true.

Rush’s run-in with the law hasn’t inspired him to change his system for sizing up the fish he catches.

“I’ll be honest with you: I use the same system I did before. If it fits on the top of my (14-inch) tacklebox, then I’m good to go,” he said.

The incident also hasn’t made him less eager to participate in outdoor activities. Rush said that three days after the alligator attack, he was back on the water — just a little more careful.

“This time I went with an extra battery on the boat,” he said.

Staff of Outdoor Life did not return requests for comment.