The One that Got Away, Kind Of...

So I have been thinking, what is interesting enough in my life to write about. And what do I come up with? Fishing. Of course not just any old type of fishing! This is the hardcore, fight with a marlin for hours type of fishing...if you have never experienced this...give me a call; everyone needs to try deep sea fishing at least once in their life. Why would some chick from the middle of nowhere care about fishing? Maybe it has something to do with sentiments of the trips, just good old fashion quality time with dad, but I think there is something more to it...Unless you have felt the salty wind on your face and felt the surge of adrenaline run through your veins when you hear the zip of a line it maybe hard to imagine. Picture this...early dawn, chilly with the lack of sunshine and anticipation in the air; bait on the boat, gas in the tanks and polls ready to go. Before the sun has even fully risen, the boat is in the water and just asking for some horsepower! Stalked with enough food and drink to last a week, we call the harbormaster, which signals the beginning of the fun. After cruising at 40 knots for an hour or so, we finally reach the spot...just deep enough to attract the lower lying fish like tuna and far enough away to go undisturbed by other boats. We release the brightly colored lures to whitecaps and begin the slow ritual of trolling in wide figure eights. There are some set on look out for the fisherman's friend...seagulls; where there are seagulls, usually you find fish. So we wait, laughing and singing to old jimmy buffet and bob Marley songs...trying snag a line or two. Suddenly, the ringing of running fish can be heard above the music and everyone shoots into action. Lock the line, strap on the fighting belt, reel in the other lines and most of all, get the bat...here i must explain...it has always been the tradition on my fathers boat that the youngest child present is given the task of the bat...one can only imagine the scene that takes place when my small-for-his-age brother of 7 is given a large wooden bat and given the task of "calming" the 15-35lb. fish. Barely able to lift the heavy bat above his head, it is quite a laugh to watch his efforts...but i digress...So proceeds the fight...the patience, determination, and concentration that goes into the task is enough to shock the fish into a stupor, but there would be no sport in that! After a length of time, anywhere from 20 min. to 5 hours and longer, the fish must come to an end in some way or another. Either he is caught and kept or cut loose. Lets go with the scenario of caught and kept, and since i mentioned it, the record of a 5 hour fight is a pretty interesting one. So after the (in this case) first 4 1/2 hours, we realize that for some reason, this fish, which we believed to be a large tuna, began acting very peculiar. As the fish swam under the boat we realize that there was an oddly large shadow directly behind our target. No sooner had the fish on the line circled around and shot for the surface did a large shark break the water...our tuna was having a particularly bad day...not only did he get snagged on one of our lines, but he also seemed to attract the attention of a large reef shark! Needless to say, our tuna did not fair well. After being partially devoured by a shark, he was reeled it in to complete the unbelievable story. After a full day at sea, we head back to the harbor under the moonlight. The peace that settles at the end of a full day of fishing is one of relaxation and contentment. The high hum of a full throttle twin engine fishing boat allows one to slip into a state of reflection beyon comparison. Admiring one of God's masterpieces, the moon relecting on the water puts one into a state of worship and the day is complete. The silence of the harbor after slowing down to an idle. The lapping of the waves can be heard as we unload the boat and clean the fish...9 beautiful tune, 1 half eaten tuna, and 3 dolphin (mahi mahi). We arrive home and start the grill to enjoy the rest of our night.