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FROM THE DECK
by Captain Jack
Stories to tell...It's Fall
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Mike Crouch of Redondo Beach shows off his big Tuna caught in Sister City La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico. His first trip south was a good one he sez. |
Well Mates, fall is in the air and the island Yellowtail are biting. For the past three weeks if'in ya could get out there to them islands man all ya needed to catch a nice Yellowtail was some live squid. The boys out of San Pedro and Long Beach have been making the trip on a regular basis and loading up their sacks. Up the coast in Oxnard, good counts of fall White Sea Bass were mixed in wit some Yellowtail. Then down Diego way, you still have decent catches of Albacore, Bluefin, some Yellowfin and Dorado. What more does a body want as the morning air cools and the nights are filled wit smoke from yer BBQ's?
Family folk, friends and even strangers gather round the dining table swapping stories of spring and summer catches, the big one that got away or the next monster fish out there just waiting for the right fisherman wit the right bait. These are the times that bring a special community of people together that are separate and apart from most. Think about it. Who, in their right mind would get on a boat, headed out in nasty seas, drinking coffee, pounding suds, nipping the bottle, eating galley food that would kill a dog, just to catch a fish? A normal person would rather walk down an aisle in a supermarket, pick out a fresh filet then zip home in 20 minutes and watch Sunday night football. Well, we ain't normal! Arg...
Here are some examples of abnormal behavior that only a fisherman would do to, have done and try to keep a secret in a community that keeps no secrets. Ya plan a fishing trip, yer boat is all gassed up, got good bait, cooler is filled wit suds, yer at the mouth of the harbor then a fog bank rolls in and ya can't see two feet; yer own two feet. What do you do? Go fishing!. How? Ya follow the real Captain Jack on the vessel the City of Redondo seven miles out to the Rock Cod banks. You have a working compass but no working GPS. So, yer stuck wit Jackie like a flea on a dock hound. Make one mistake and yer lost in the fog; all the while thinking, "It will lift." And, it don't...the fog that is.
Captain Jackie can't stand having no private boat hugging his butt for seven miles out and seven miles back, while he's anchored and while he's not. His crew is yelling, "Hey A$$@e, get the hell out or we'll dink ya wit an iron!" And, they tried. The fog did lift and the flea jumped ship. However, the shadow ship did get their sack full of Cod and a Mako Shark.
Story #2: Captain Smitty out of King Harbor Yacht Club plans a quick dive trip for some California Spiny Lobster. Seas are calm, crew is ready and the water is warm for October. Over the side and into the deep they go while leaving Captain Gil at the wheel. Divers fill their sacks wit bugs and return to their boat. But, alas, while under the water the boat on top of the water has crashed on the rocks of the breakwall and sunk. Once again it was the good ole Harbor Patrol to the rescue. "How did this happen?" the wet Gill is asked. "Just happened, OK!" he sez. "Look folks, the breakwall is no place to play tag," is the reply, all the while thinking to himself, "Dang fishermen, they ain't got no sense!" The last diver, not knowing the situation, spies the blinking blue lights from down under and is thinking, "Crap, it's Fish and Game." Learns at the surface it's sink or swim then asks Smitty, "Hey Smitt, what do I do wit these?" Well, you know what he said. "**%$###@!"
Folks, these are the stories that are passed around the table ten years from now. Not the perfect day, in a perfect world, caus'n it just ain't normal. AArg Sez the Captain...
From the mountains to the sea, the fresh water boys found nut'in normal either. High wind blew dang near everyone off the water and into a local pub. However, under water the fall Trout are still biting, Catfish are snapping and big Bass are slapping the bait. When the winds back off, I say, "Hey, lets go fishing." Aarg…
Keep sending yer fish pics and fish stories to Captain Jack c/o the Easy Reader, P.O. Box 427, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 or Email easyreader@earthlink.net See ya out there...ER