As the late, great Hunter S. Thompson once said: This was a very
ominous assignment.
Last week, I was asked if I’d like to tag along with Ana Patejdl
on a deep-sea fishing trip.
Free salmon? No problem.
As the late, great Hunter S. Thompson once said: This was a very ominous assignment.
Last week, I was asked if I’d like to tag along with Ana Patejdl on a deep-sea fishing trip.
Free salmon? No problem.
Getting to Moss Landing at 6 in the morning after working the late shift? Well … OK, if you insist.
Given the fact that I was at work until midnight the previous night, I decided that any attempt to get some rest would do more harm than good.
So, I set out at 4:40 in the morning on no sleep. Not a good idea.
When I finally parked the car at Moss Landing, about halfway between Santa Cruz and Monterey, and got my parking permit, I decided to take a look around the docks as I was about a half hour early.
A sign on one of the gates instantly struck fear into my heart.
“Vicious sea lions, do not feed. Violators will be prosecuted.”
I slowly backed away from the gate, my head moving from side to side as I scanned the dark parking lot for any foaming-at-the-mouth sea lions that might be looking to take a chunk out of me.
I was a bit rattled by the time Ana showed up and we boarded sport fishing guide Norm Chapin’s boat for our crash course in king salmon fishing.
Now, I’ve spent a good amount of time out on the water. I have an uncle in Seattle who happens to be an avid sailor and, when I lived out there, I tried to get out into the Puget Sound on his boat whenever possible.
I had never had a problem with sea sickness before. Fat lot of good that did me.
Norm warned us not to watch the water when he put the lines in – that’s when the majority of his land-lubber clients lose their breakfast.
So of course when the retired Gilroy police officer said that, my stomach started to do strange things.
Nothing like the power of suggestion.
Stay focused on the horizon. Try not to think about that whole Wendy’s chili thing. Try not to think about the prison food that the woman behind that whole Wendy’s chili thing is soon to be finding odd things in.
Once the sun came up though, the trip took on a whole new tone. There were no signs of rabid sea lions and my stomach settled down as I started to get more and more excited about the prospect of reeling in my first-ever salmon.
About a half an hour later, the captain yelled the magic words: “Fish on!”
Ana was on the reel in an instant and, after a couple minutes worth of fighting, she landed the first fish of the day, a beautiful, 10-pound king salmon.
It didn’t take more than 10 minutes for us to get another bite. And, naturally, I blew it.
Fish are a lot smarter than I gave them credit for. What happened was, I wasn’t quick enough on the reel and the fish took advantage. There was slack in the line and the fish was able to charge towards the boat. When I caught up with the slack, the fish had positioned itself at an angle that allowed him to get off the hook.
This was no good. The Illinois native had a fish and I didn’t. My hunter-gatherer creds were in serious doubt.
But my shot at redemption came only a few minutes later and I made the most of it, landing our second fish of the day. A little bit smaller than Ana’s, much to my dismay.
By the end of the day, we had caught our limit and were enjoying a beautiful day out on the water. Nobody lost their lunch – despite my early gurglings – nobody fell out of the boat and we both went home with enough fresh salmon to last a month.
Next time you’re hankering for a salmon dinner, give Norm Chapin a call. His company is called Hook’em Up Sport Fishing. Call him at (209) 992-0418 or E-mail him at ho******@ga****.com to set up a date. The Cap’n knows the area’s fishing spots like the back of his hand and you’re guaranteed a good time.
Just watch out for the sea lions.
