Fishing

    30-11-13

   Today we went fishing. I had some reservations about signing up for it, because in the past I've found I'm way too ADD to sit in a boat and watch a bobber or a line for hours on end. I also wasn't sure what kind of fishing "line fishing" might entail. Was it what it sounds like or was it more like what we saw the village boys doing a few days ago? They spread out a net, and while two boys held the net out, three other boys ran toward it, splashing and beating the water with sticks. They were chasing fish into the net. Then they'd pull the net up, pick up their catch, and bite the heads to kill them. I had no desire whatsoever to bite fish heads, I don't care what kind of good luck it may bring. That only added to my hesitation to sign up for fishing. 

   Luckily, line fishing is what it sounds like, and there are no nets involved. We got onto a small boat with two locals and motored out past the rocks. I looked down, and to my delight I saw coral! Lots of coral. I could even see little blue fish darting in and out. Best part of all, we saw a flying fish! It was a bright, silvery turquoise color, and it moved like a fish-shaped skipping stone. It was so cool! I made a mental note to come back later and snorkel around there. Then the reef just dropped away and there was nothing but deep blue ocean.

   We motored out another quarter mile, until the guide had us perfectly positioned between two landmarks on the land. This was his spot. We set anchor and prepared to fish. He handed us reels of fishing line, and explained that we threw the baited hook (with a weight) out into the water, and to just keep feeding it line until the line wasn't taut anymore. That meant the bait had reached the bottom. Then pull up a little, maybe half a foot or so, and wait. When you feel anything, pull hard and keep pulling. 

   What were we using for bait, you ask? Live crabs. Sand crabs, not rock crabs, because apparently there is a difference. Actually there are a lot of different crabs here, but that's besides the point. Our guide put his hand right into the bucket full of fairly large crabs and plucked one out. He then ripped off its legs (yes, they were still alive) and then ripped apart the body. We used the body chunks for bait. The legs were thrown back into the bucket with the rest of the still living ones. I peered into it, wondering if that was some sort of hideous torture- if they had any idea what their fate was about to be. Poor crabs. I will say, though, they made excellent fishing bate. Luke caught his first fish within seconds of casting his line. I caught one soon after. All in all we caught at least a dozen fish in about two and a half hours. Luke caught at least six, I caught four or five, and the boat driver caught two or three. Our poor guide didn't catch any. I told him maybe we just have beginners luck, but I suspect that he was too busy helping us to really fish well. 

   We'll be having our fish for dinner tonight. Since there are only three of us here at the "resort", I hope the rest go to feeding the village. 

-Carolyn