My husband made it very clear when we first decided to go to S. Padre for this year’s anniversary trip that he wanted to go fishing – hopefully a day trip but minimum ½ day. That was fine with me, but then he said he wanted me to go with him. Fishing. On our anniversary. I love fish, but only eating it – I’m a city girl, not interested in trying to bait a hook or cast a line or heaven forbid clean it. But I felt it was the least I could do, go on a fishing trip with him if it would make him that happy. Especially since many of the things were doing were things I wanted to do. We agreed on ½ a day trip with a guide, and he would make all the arrangements.
On Day 3 he found the captain he wanted, finalized the trip and returned to the condo excitedly telling me all about Captain Cliff and how great it was going to be and how we got a great morning time slot and all we had to do was be there at 7:00 a.m. The Capt. would teach me everything I needed to know about how to fish. I’m not exactly a morning person but a promise is a promise. I dutifully set the alarm (one time during this vacation wouldn’t kill me) and the coffeepot for 6 the next morning.
It wasn’t the same as waking up naturally but it was doable. Plus there was less than zero need to fix hair or do makeup. We packed our cooler of water and snacks and arrived at the dock promptly at 7. Capt Cliff was there waiting for us, leaning against the door frame, no doubt sizing up ‘the wife’, remembering what he had been told about my complete lack of knowledge of all things fish and wondering what he had signed up for.
We walked out to the boat. I don’t know what I was expected but it wasn’t very big, or at least it didn’t seem that way to me. But once we went aboard, found our seats and settled in for the ride way out into the bay it was quite nice. The weather was perfect – cloudy, cool but not too windy and only a few other fishermen were out. Capt. Cliff is a very nice man with a calm voice, even temperament, decades of experience and plenty of patience. As I would discover, he also had the heart of a teacher which made all the difference for me.
He stopped the boat at the first spot and climbed down from his seat to show me the ropes. Capt. Cliff has four rules for fishing: 1) grip the rod securely with the reel stem between middle and ring finger, 2) position the line correctly, 3) open the bail, 4) always have both hands on the rod. I’m a rules and regulations kind of a gal, so I figured I could do this. I learned that there are actually techniques to fishing – things like stance, when to release the line, how to set the hook, how to free your hook from grass, and how to land both small and big fish.
As the morning progressed, I realized I was enjoying myself! My dad and brothers would never believe Paul got me to go fishing. I actually caught 3 fish, one of them a pretty decent size. Got my picture taken with the Capt. and The Fish – and the brothers who would definitely want to see proof. Capt. Cliff has a great sense of humor, and when he saw I was practicing what he taught he began to give me other ‘tips and tricks’ too. How to store your rod safely with the hook in just the right place while the boat was in motion or you weren’t using it. How to untangle a line that got crossed with another fisherman’s line (I had to use this one several times) and when to set the hook so your fish doesn’t get away. I had to learn that the smaller fish got pulled into the boat on the hook but the bigger ones have to be brought in with a net. When the net is used, you have to make sure to keep the fish under the water but not too close to the boat and definitely don’t let the fish go under the boat. That I could do because it meant I was the boss of that fish – bossy I can do :) Heck, he even loaned me a pair of polarized sunglasses so I could distinguish the different colors of the water and which areas make a good fishing hole.
The time really went by quickly, although towards the end of our 5 hour journey I was starting to feel muscles I hadn’t used recently from the casting and reeling in. When the trip was over and we arrived back at the dock, we had caught our limit – 10 beautiful speckled trout ‘in the box’ (that’s the technical fisherman term for ones that are big enough to keep as opposed to all the smaller ones you catch but have to release). But here’s the cool part: they clean them for you!! And bag them up too. Now THAT’s the kind of fishing I can do. I won’t say I’m chomping at the bit to go right back out for another fishing journey. But I must admit that fishing really can be fun – who knew??
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