A few less Feesh in the sea

Well, we had a great day yesterday. (Unfortunately Jeff wasn't able to come, and there was a noted lull in conversation. Hope he goes next time.)

Some funny things happened, but in some cases what happens on the boat stays on the boat, and they'll have to tell there own stories. For my part the morning started a little rough. I couldn't sleep the night before because I was so afraid of missing the alarm. That happens to me every time there is an event like this. When we got to the marina to put the boat in, the waves on the bay were at 3 feet and the ride out to our special fishing spot was really a test of fortitude, thankfully I had eaten a little bit before getting on board, I think that I was just a small distance away from tossing my cookies. But I held my peace and once we got out there I was ok the rest of the day. The egg salad that Mrs. Pat sent really helped keep my belly happy too.

I didn't catch the first fish, nor did I catch the last, niether did I get the title of catching the most or the biggest (Ron did), but I did contribute to the haul by catching some of the bigger ones. I did notice that once I picked up the rod I used for the second half of the day I didn't catch any more. The Ugly Stick was what it was called, and it had green 40 pound test line, and I think the fish could see it and stayed away. Now, for what it's worth, I was quite content to hold this rod. If I hadn't someone else would had to, and they probably wouldn't have caught anything either, so in a way it was a little gift to my mates. And for what it's worth, my host reads the blog occasionally and I hope he knows that this is not a complaint, I had a great time.

Having a rod that doesn't catch fish allows you to observe the activity of the boat. For instance, all of Chris' antics. Chris was an ADD style jokester, never missing an opportunity to remind Ron of things he said that were funny, telling us of jokes he had pulled on other fishing trips, arguing with Ron over who was a better fisherman, asking Ron to bait his hooks (everybody baits their own was Chris' rule), and his constant pestering of Phil who was dozing all day while holding his rod (chris would jimmy with his rod so that he thought a fish was biting, then he would look at me and laugh).

And Phil seemed to have a great time. I told Chris a couple times to knock it off, on Phil's behalf. I think Phil needed a day of dozing, but in this case there was little rest for the weary.

We played the next fish caught would be the last one of the day, for over an hour, then when Ron caught the last one, we waited while Ron and Chris had a one on one, five minute tournament. Ron won.

A great time had by all I think. I know I did. Thanks to my host and crewmates.

--Ben

I ate the fish last night. (Egg, flower, cast iron skillet, oil, cajun seasoning) Fine fish. Made an especially good sandwich.