Yes it’s true; fishing is not about the catch. Fishing is about so much more, it’s about freedom, it’s about quietness and peace, and it’s about you and the sea…and… yes it’s also about the catch.
I have been fishing since I was a small boy and trying to go as much as possible to any waters to try my luck. Yes fishing is also about luck. You can observe the weather and the water, you can invent your techniques, you can learn about the best bait for each spot, you can purchase the best equipment and there is still no guarantee that you will be successful. That’s also one addictive thing about fishing – you never know and you never have control.
Since I have been living in the UAE and since I have gotten used to the new types of fishing in the Arabian Gulf, I can say I’ll never leave the harbor without a fish. I like to eat fish and therefore fish is only counted by the size that ends up in the cooling box and later in the pan, or those that don’t even fit into the cooling box. For me fishing is something personal, I like to take one or two friends with me – but only if they are as crazy about fishing as me. Hours without talking, not even one word is important for the true and deep fishing experience. OK I’m drifting away into the philosophy of fishing, but I wanted to talk a about something else:
One day, I went out with one of my fishing buddies. We met early in the morning at the harbor. I launched the boat already and was waiting for him. At 5:30 am a car was entering the harbor and parked. My friend was in the company of a girl I didn’t know. I was thinking: Nice dress for a beach party and an especially nice dress for this early in the morning to drop a friend for fishing. When they came close my friend introduced the girl to me and then…. My friend said “By the way, she is joining us for fishing today!”
The girl: “I hope you don’t mind?”
Me: “Of course not, welcome on board!”
Why did my mother teach me to be nice? Why can’t I just say – yes I do mind, my boat, my day off, my fishing day! For me usually there is one rule: Fishing is for men! I’m not a sexist but in general I’m right with my fears. Men are simple, men don’t need to talk, the sea can be rough, so are we. I know there are always exceptions… and I pray to god, that this girl is one of them! But I had a bad feeling since I saw her dress. OK… don’t let this screw your day!
We put all the gear on board, filled up with petrol, went to the Coast Guard and took our sailing permit. Quick check up of the boat and the sound which for me like the bell of starting a boxing fight – the 2 four stroke 200hp engines start! With a slow five knots I navigate the boat out of the harbor, when we passed the breakwaters I push down the accelerator and the 400hp started to scream and push the boat through the waves. 10 knot… 20 knots …30 knots. Now my scream of freedom: yeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaa!
The girl: “Stop! Stop! Stop!”
What the F… was going on? I turned around and everybody was still on board? Anyways, I took the command and stopped the boat. Good time for a break – 500m away from the harbor.
The girl: “I lost my scarf!”
OK no complaints, nothing unusual but normally its caps or hats can get lost. So I turned the boat around and my friend took the gaff to get the scarf. We got the first catch of the day: a black D&G scarf, with golden ornaments.
The girl: “Oh no! Now I have to take it to the laundry.”
I checked again on the GPS and entered our spot. We continued our journey, without the scream of freedom and 20 knots. After about 20 minutes we reached the Jebel Ali Chanel where we wanted to start the day with a bit of trawling. I stopped to boat to fix the lures and to bring out the rods.
As soon as the noise of the engines where gone, something else started.
The girl: “What are you doing there… what is that… I like the color of this lure… ohh look who shiny this one is…”
Every man learns in the evolution of his being to ignore or not listen. I’m very good at this. As usual, am I taking two rods on the right side and my friend two on the left. I fixed all of my stuff and my friend was ready and donated one rod for the day to the girl. I started one engine again and we brought out the rods.
What I really like about the new 4 stroke engines is they are very quite. But on this particular day it was different. It was still early in the morning but there was this girl which I think had a lot of coffee or red bull. She was speaking without even taking a break to breath. I tried not to listen and got only a few words:
The girl: “Where are the life vests?”
My friend: “I don’t know?”
The girl: “Do you have life vests?”
My friend: “I don’t know?”
The girl: “But what do you do if the boat sinks?”
My friend: “I will swim.”
The Girl: But we are too far from the cost….
Suddenly a noise I knew! The break of a rod was opening and the line was running out! I turned around and saw it was one of my rods. I stopped the boat, my friend was bringing in his lines very fast and I took my rod to keep the line under tension. I started pumping and felt a continuous strong resistance. Strong but too continuous, to attempt to break out, no sign of getting tired. Maybe a Hamour with his mouth wide opened??? Or maybe… maybe… Yes! I could see a nice big black plastic sack. Unfortunately this happens from time to time especially if you are fishing close to place with a lot of traffic. OK not a big deal, this can happen.
What was that? He he he heh – a dazzling noise behind me? Luckily we had no glass on board, for sure it would burst.
The girl: he he he you caught a garbage bag.
I took a deep breath and acted as I didn’t hear what she said (you remember – ignoring). We started over again and continued. The three of us out at the sea and only the sound of the engine and the twittering. After some time another hit, this time at my friends rod and saw immedialtely a fish jumping out of the water. It was a small barracuda that was quick and easy to jump on board. I was holding the barracuda; my friend asked me if I wanted to take it. I agreed because it was the perfect size for the barbecue. So he hit the barracuda at the head, released the hook and put it into to cooling box.
The girl: “Ahhhhhhhhh why did you kill this fish? It was still a baby!”
This was enough and I couldn’t ignore it any more:
Me: “Listen, this is fishing! We catch fish, we kill them and we eat them! Are you vegetarian?”
The Girl: “No?” (First and only time that she gave a simple and short answer)
Me: “So, do you think that fish fingers are growing at trees? Or cows don’t need to be killed to get a burger? And by the way 60cm is a common size for a barracuda. And now please give me some time of quietness!?”
I didn’t want to be rude, but I couldn’t stop myself. Surprisingly it worked! She was quite. It was so good!
We continued in quietness… how it should be! So peaceful and nice! After about one hour, again a really strong hit! I could hear it and when I turned around, the rod was still bending. Unfortunately it was again the rod of my friend… the one he borrowed from the girl. Of course he took the rod straight, not to lose this fish. I stopped, pulled in all other rods while my friend was fighting with fish. He adjusted to break to a high tension because the fish was taking too much of the line. Slowly he started to pump and began pulling the fish back to the boat. I didn’t like the girl (obviously), but the rules still apply. Everybody is fishing with their rods – even if it is an annoying girl who has never fished before.
I saw it in the eyes of my friend; it was not easy giving the rod to the girl. Usually we do not use the belt with the support for the rod, but the girl was a bit skinny and she will need all the support she can get. So I tightened the belt around her waist before my friend gave her the rod. I was ready with the gaff and my friend gave advice on how to pump up the fish: Pull the rod up to your body, then turn the reel very fast and go down with the rod again. She was such a nice good looking girl. I recognized now the first time when she was concentrating and quite. She did not say one word and followed the instructions perfectly. When the fish came close to the boat he jumped out of the water. It was a very nice and big king fish. Close to the boat he tried to escape while jumping out of the water or diving deep down. After about 15minutes he was tired enough, so she could get him close enough to the boat. At this point my friend took the rod again, not lose the fish but to support me to get him in the boat. It was a really nice king fish – the biggest one I’ve have ever caught in Jebel Ali Chanel. Of course we had to kill him also… this time no complaint from the girl, maybe because it was obvious that it was not a baby. Everybody on board was really exited and happy about the nice catch. I congratulated the girl for her first nice catch. And I thought maybe she is not so bad!?
The girl: “You see I knew that the shiny lure would work. If I was a fish, I would also have taken it. It seems that I’m the best fisherman…” excuse me fisher women on board.
OK we will never be friends. On my boat, there are no competitions, we catch fish together even if the buddy it the lucky one. She randomly took a good lure, this was a mid size shiny silver rappala. Anyways, I was so amazed about the fish that she couldn’t take my good mud. I was looking at the cooling box where about half of the king fish and back tale were outside the box – as mentioned no fish would fit inside the box – and we continued fishing. It was now bout 11am and I was thinking about going to one spot for bottom fishing. The sea was calm. the weather was nice, perfect conditions to have absolute quietness, not even the sound of the engine.
I asked my friend if we should go bottom fishing and he agreed but:
The Girl: “Do you have a toilet on your boat?”
Me: “Do you see one?”
The girl: “No that’s why I’m asking? If you go out all day for fishing, you need to pee for sure?”
Me: “Yes.”
The girl: “So what do you do then?”
Me: “If we need to pee, we pee!”
The girl: “But how and where?”
Me: “Simple just pee in the water?”
The girl: “Uhhhhhhh that’s disgusting! You pee in the water and then eat the fish out of the same sea?”
Me: “I don’t think you should worry about my pee in the ocean! There are worst things.”
The girl: (looking to my friend, with these expressions in her eyes that all men are afraid of) “but I can’t pee in the water! Especially when you guys are around!”
I understood, that she needed to pee after all the coffee and red bull she must have had earlier.
My friend: “You think you can take us back to the harbor?”
Me: “It seems that I have to!”
This time we pushed the boat to the limit because the sea was flat and we would only reach the harbor after half an hour.
My friend took his stuff and the king fish while the girl was looking for a toilet at the harbor. I was not surprised when she came back and told my friend, that she will not use this toilet here and will wait until they reach home.
My friend: “Should I help you put the boat on the trailer?”
Me: “No, I will go out again.”
My friend: “I’m sorry, I will not bring her here again but,”
Me: “you don’t need to say anything, I got it! I hope it works out for you. Good Luck”
My friend: “Same to you.”
That’s what I like with men! We are simple. We don’t need to talk. Don’t get me wrong – we like women, sometimes we love them, but not for going fishing!
I went out alone till 6pm; to catch some more fish, but nothing special. I returned home, a bit sun burnt, full of sweat and salt water, smelling like one of the fishes in the cooling box, but deeply happy and satisfied.
My girlfriend asked after I had a shower and put the barracuda on the barbecue:
How was your fishing trip?
Me: “Nice!”
My “girlfriend: Nothing special?”
Me: “No nothing!”