When Bob Greene headed out for a morning of striper fishing on the Kennebec River on July 17^th, he had no idea that he would be there to make a life-saving cast. Greene arrived at the river around 4:30 a.m. and while waiting for first light, coffee in-hand, he heard a strange cry which he dismissed as a cormorant or other sea bird. After another 15 or so minutes, Greene heard a distinct cry for help. Then, in the first light of the new day, he saw what he thought was a log but quickly realized was a man bobbing downriver ??? crying for help.

Michael Gibbs was the man, it turns out that he had leapt from a nearby bridge and was now being carried by the current. Greene may be his last chance!

His first instinct was to jump in to save him, but a 911 dispatcher suggested throwing something to him and then hauling him in to shore instead. Using his Okuma setup, 25-pound line and a Storm Chug Bug, Greene fired a cast which landed a few feet beyond Gibbs, he reeled in and hooked his shirt around the shoulder area.

Working slowly now so as not to straighten a hook, tear the fabric or part the line, a tough task in the brisk Kennebec currents. Greene carefully guided the man toward the land and just as he was nearing the shoreline a local police officer arrived to help get him out of the water. Gibbs was in rough shape upon making it to the safety of dry land, but was able to tell the officer his name and that he had jumped from the "Third Bridge" in Augusta.

Gibbs survived the ordeal thanks to Bob Greene and his life-saving cast. Okuma and The Fisherman wanted to make sure that Greene was rewarded for his heroic efforts. Okuma supplied a trophy and rod-and-reel combo and The Fisherman magazine's ??Ricardo Cruelles deliver the prize, interview and photograph Greene.

Emergency personnel stated that Greene had done the right thing by casting toward the victim rather than risking his own well-being by jumping in to save him. "It was by pure luck that I was even there that day," said Greene. "I very nearly fished a different area. I guess I was meant to be there."