PORT ARANSAS, Texas — One wrong step and zap, “it was a like I got hit by a baseball bat,” Wes Logan said of his proposal trip gone wrong.
Recently, Logan, heading into his fourth Bassmaster Elite Series season, took Riley Michelle Smith down to the beaches of Fort Morgan, Ala., to pop the question. On their way back from a quick walk in the surf, Logan had quite the misstep through the patches of sea grass and onto a plate-sized stingray.
“Her, being a woman and being smarter, she walked around,” Logan said on the eve of competing in the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup presented by Skeeter. “Well, I walked through — and I got stung. Bang! I felt it instantly. I’m limping out of the water and I held up my foot and there’s just blood running through the water. Oh crap!”
With the pain rising up his leg and remembering that his father had the same thing happen years earlier, Logan got his mom on the phone, and she advised a hot water treatment. Problem was the tub stopper at their rental house wouldn’t hold water.
“At this point, I’m almost crying, tears, it’s hurting so bad,” Logan said. “Cut my foot off, I don’t care.”
Riley ended up boiling water and refilling the ice bucket for the next two hours. Logan, who was stung on his heel close to the arch of his foot, said hot water would take away the pain but it came back once the water cooled.
It was a rough night (it’s still sore and might be for a while) and Logan limped through the beach proposal, which included a photographer.
“She said, yes, thankfully,” said Logan, who added it was the second-worst pain he’s experienced in his life.
In high school, the middle infielder tried to turn on an inside pitch and it careened into his face, breaking bones around his eye.
Logan says the scariest thing in freshwater fishing are probably snakes, and alligators while down south. What’s your take on the worst thing about saltwater?
“One-hundred percent stingray,” he said. “I don’t care about sharks. I can see a shark coming. You can’t see a stingray. I can’t imagine a big one. You don’t know pain.”
Funny thing was he was trying to explain the pain at a table with fellow competitors Drew Cook and Brandon Palaniuk, whose wives recently gave birth. Logan got little sympathy from them.
Logan will be fishing the Redfish Cup with Louisiana’s Brent Roy, and his plans are to yank in some big spots and stay in the boat. If they happen to run aground in skinny water, Logan will probably be a bit leery getting out to help push.
