Old Men and the Sea

After a multi-decade long hiatus, I went fishing this past Saturday.  The last time I baited a hook and cast the line was at Scofield Reservoir up Spanish Fork Canyon in my youth with Grandpa Bill. We loaded up our hooks with nightcrawlers or Velveeta and angled from the shore, beside a blazing campfire.  We always caught our limit of Rainbow and German Brown trout. But those trips weren’t really about the fishing; it was all about Grandpa and his cronies. But that is a story for another day.  Saturday’s trip was a whole new ball game.  The three M’s and Ryan went sport fishing with renowned TV fishing star, Dan Hernandez.  I was a little apprehensive about this trip, in light of my propensity for seasickness. Heck, I can’t even ride the Tea Cups at Disneyland without barfing my guts out. So, as we departed the tranquil, sheltered  waters of the marina in Long Beach, a scopolamine patch was already firmly attached to the mastoid process behind my right ear, expecting the worst. I elected not to indulge in any of the incredible looking pastries on board, not wanting to exacerbate my ailment. But, it wouldn’t have mattered, because HS Freshman, Ryan and our 18 year-old deckhand, Daniel, pretty much snarfed them all down. Dan took us just outside the breakwater barrier in our hunt for fish. Dan was the man, because everyone in our party managed to snag a fish. Instead of worms, we used live squid and mackerel for bait.  We were reeling fish in as fast as we could cast out our lines. I was impressed with the angling prowess of M1 with rod, reel and tackle. He baited those hooks with squid faster than Josey Wales could gun down a red-leg. He got inked in the face by a squid and it never slowed him down. Ryan was as wide-eyed as a kid in candy store. His proud Papa, M3, kept us in stitches with long winded jokes about various clergy. His infectious laugh seemed to make the hours fly by. We caught heavily armored aquatic creatures such as sand bass, cabazon, calicoes and rock fish. But the catch of the day was made by Ryan, who landed a 55 lb Thresher shark. This top of the line predator put up quite a battle, but ultimately Dan hooked it with the gaff, as Ryan reeled her in and tossed it into the boat. What a catch! What a day! Even yours truly, M2, managed to not lose my cookies! We left the marina, after 6 hours of fishing, with several bags of delicious filleted fish and 18 shark steaks! I’m not sure when I’ll go deep sea sport fishing again, but this trip helped me remember one very important thing: How many fish you catch isn't really that important, it is the company you keep. That's what makes all the difference!