Yes, I went fishing! Those of you that know me well know that I DO NOT FISH! Even though Sid lives for fishing, I have little to no interest in the activity. But, as they say, when in Rome... We decided to take a half day charter, on which I figured I'd watch, take pictures and try not to freak out too much about not being able to see land while in a boat (another thing I do NOT like to do!).
This is our boat. The interior cabin was air conditioned, so I figured "how bad could it get?"
And here's me, with no land in sight!
Well, I have to say, I had the BEST time! We fished alongside two guys from Myrtle Beach, Kevin and Dwayne. Next thing I know, Kevin is calling me over and saying "Here! Reel it in!" Since Sid had told them I'd never fished before, he wanted to be sure that I "caught" something. Then Dwayne hooked on and it was the same - he let me reel it in. I don't know what happened, but from that point on, I was hooked! At first, Sid would bail my hook and I'd toss it out, feel the fish eat the bait, then reel it in. After I landed my first fish (not even big enough to keep!), it was apparent that it took too long to wait for someone to bait my hook each time and I actually started picking up pieces of fish and squid and prepared my own.
It was terribly hot out in the middle of the ocean, but I wasn't willing to give up the chance to catch a fish to go into the air conditioned cabin. I fished for the entire 4 hours and was not ready to come in when the trip was over. Obviously, it wasn't a great fishing day, because neither Sid nor I caught anything worth keeping, but some of the others did a little better.
The catch being divvied up
Tarpon at the dock
These huge fish must have heard the boat coming in as they were waiting to feed on the guts of the cleaned fish that were filleted on site.
A bird waiting for his reward
You know me, I'm fascinated by the birds. This guy was waiting for his portion of the guts, too.
This little outing was the biggest surprise to me of the entire trip so far. That I could actually bait my own hook and fish and have fun was something I couldn't have anticipated in a million years! My one regret is that I gave the camera to Sid and he didn't take a single picture of any of my catches! I don't think I'll be assembling my own fishing gear any time in the future or wading into a stream, but I'd be more than willing to go on another charter fishing trip.
Until next time...
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