The five best words to hear when out fishing
Pass me another bloody beer.
You may have read at Hog On Ice that I went fishing this past Sunday for a few hours with Steve and my neighbor Pat and his brother Mario. We left the house at about 5:20 am, picked up some ice and beer and made it to the boat by a few minutes before 6.
Turned out to be a beautiful morning for fishing. The seas were "un espejo" as my fishing Godfather would say. Like a mirror.
We headed out just as the sun was rising. That view, that peace of being out on the ocean at dawn completely cleanses you of all worry and stress. There really is no better therapy than that.
Now, Steve will say I was lucky this weekend - I was the one that caught the first 4 dolphins - because I had a ballyhoo rig, but a good fisherman always chooses what rig he wants to use.
The first Dorado - dolphin or Mahi Mahi for those who prefer the restaurateur name - hit at about 7:30 am. Thus officially, I could have had my celebratory first beer - and all other ensuing beers - right then. But it was too early for me.
So I waited until 8 am.
I also took the liberty of smoking one of my celebratory cigars, given to me by Cuban Crafters cigars for the Cuba Nostalgia Convention. Steve was thinking I had done a little mariwiti on those cigars, because as soon as I lit that puppy, we hit upon a school of Dorados.
If you've been out dolphin fishing before and hit upon a school, then you know what Im about to say is absolutely true: We couldnt bait the hooks fast enough. We brought in 10 dolphins in about 5 or 6 minutes. We lost at least 4 because we just werent prepared and had no one to help bring them in.
It was a frenzy on the back of Steve's Hatteras. Fish flapping all over place, fishing lines getting tangled, guys screaming "Fish On! Fish On!". Fish blood on our shoes, fish blood on our shorts, our shirts, hands. Fish blood all over the boat deck.
And, most importantly, fish blood all over our beers, stored appropriately in our ever filling cooler.
Pass me another bloody beer.
Guess what Im having for dinner?
Bet that leaves you with interesting breath.
you gotta love it when you hit a school..but for real fishing, you need to be fishing the flats Val...and try for the holy trinity: redfish, snook, and tarpon...
This is great - gotta pass it on to my old dorado-fishing friend who'll appreciate it - sounds just like one of the dorado-seeking outings I was lucky enough to share with him.