Charter Fishing on Fish Friday

 I wasn’t born on the bayou, but I do live on the water (and my sobriety is kind of a rebirth) and I have taken advantage of the river’s splendors: fishing, boating, watching the sunrise from the dock (the ocean is east). But not anymore. The boating was tied up with drinking,  and the fishing was a boredom killer and probably some act to impress guys (I do not relish taking a fish off a hook. Especially big ones. And the river is full of fat squirmy catfish). So the river is there, but I pretty much ignore it. So I had to travel to greener pastures and try fishing on the ocean. 

We booked a half day with Sea Spirit charter fishing in Ponce Inlet, me, John, and my brother. Really it was my brothers idea (thank you!). The sucky part is that you have to get up really early to be there by 6:15 am, and I am not a morning person anymore (hence no more sunrises). But we managed, and Friday morning we stood in line in the dark to board a vessel that takes off at 7:00 am. We brought two coolers and a backpack, for drinks and snacks of course (but we never ate the snacks because our fingers were slimy with fish guts).

I was worried I would get sea sick, but I didn’t have a problem. We sat on the boats edge and puttled out of the inlet, increasing speed as we reached the ocean. The rocking motion almost put me to sleep, as I didn’t prepare any coffee (but I did drink a Red Bull). I started to relish the rhythmic bobbing motion of the boat, a largish boat that holds fifty people, as the sun revealed itself on the horizon. The bobs got stronger and I thought I was on a speed boat (we had to travel eighteen miles, so we had to go fast). And the fresh orange sun was beautiful, and I felt very calm, although cold, because I aimed to dress for the eighty degree weather later. I had a sweater but I used it to sop up the water on my seat. The lady next to me gave me her quilt, a very nice gesture (she got sea sick later on and passed out, but she was okay).

It felt like we traveled for a long time. One of the boat helpers started meting out chopped fish and squid parts on the boats rim, so at that point I knew this was for real. We stopped in the middle of nowhere (I went to the top of the boat for a smoke and all I could see was ocean in all directions. What a grounding reality check). I heard the metal coil of an anchor slide into the water. “Okay ladies and gentlemen, grab your poles,” the captain said over the speaker. 

I was really not gung ho at that point, but all the men were excited (there were women, but few). How do I work this thing?…this was bigger and different than the small time poles I was used to, and obviously I didn’t understand it because I got the line in a big rats mess. One of the guys helped me untangle it. The man next to me was very helpful, and even helped me bait my hook (I could do it myself, I promise! It’s gross, but I baited nightcrawlers as a kid). He said the trick is to glide your thumb over the line as it comes out. “Remember, you’re going eighty feet down,” he said. Thats why the weight is so heavy (everything is big: the pole, the weight, the hook, and the fish (if you’re lucky)). And it’s a perfect trick, and after that it was smooth sailing, and I started to enjoy it, though I wasn’t catching anything, and I was almost deathly scared of the gigantic hook (I could only imagine it going straight into my finger, barb and all).

Forget the barb, there are sharks out there! No, really…we had a shark encounter. My brother had something big on his line and he wasn’t about to give up. “It’s a Goliath!” someone said (Goliath?! What?!). He had something very strong and heavy, and the boat helper said he could cut the line for him if he wanted. This could be the catch of his life for all he knew, so he hung in there, slowly but surely reeling in half of a big fish (I think it was some kind of snapper (maybe they are called snappers because they snap the line…))…attached to a shark. A four or five foot shark swam after the meal he devoured off my brothers line. So he got a big fish and a shark, and everybody was excited. John yelled at me to grab my camera, but I couldn’t get it fast enough. The shark did a little swim show for us, and eventually I did get my camera to snap a picture of my brother with his half eaten red fish (red snappers are protected and you have to throw them back. Any fish too small has to be thrown back, too).

That was the best part of the trip. I did catch a fish, a small one with the hook clean through his lip, and my brother took it off the hook for me. “Give it a kiss!” he joked. I just wanted the little thing to go back in the water (hopefully he’s not shark food). 

Fun fact: There was a surprising number of people on the boat who smoked, so I didn’t feel singled out for my nicotine indulgence. Fishing and smoking go together? (Is that what the Marlboro man would do?) I don’t know…John swears that the whole crew smokes. 

Before we knew it, the captain was on the speaker again “Allright folks, that’s it for today.” It went by so fast. John caught three fish that he got to take home. He actually caught the biggest fish of the day. He gave them to our neighbor, who will prepare and eat them (I have lost the taste for seafood, along with my craving for alcohol).

I’m not sure if I really liked it and would do it again, but it was an experience, and I’d be willing to go again, knowing what I know now. I mostly enjoyed the boat ride and the sunrise. Getting up early is not so bad. But next time I will bring coffee!