We went around Land's End and went west into the Pacific. The view of the coastline was spectacular. There was the beautiful blue water, the waves crashing into rocks, and long stretches of sandy beaches. We weren't more than a mile from shore, but we were in 900 feet of water. And there were dorados in that water. A dorado is known by other names - dolphin and mahi mahi among them. We caught two of them, each weighing 25 to 30 pounds. We gave one to the crew, and dropped the other one off at La Galeria, a restaurant Dorothy and I had eaten at on Monday night. We're going back tonight to eat the dorado.
Then we headed further out - probably 20 miles out - to find a marlin. There is a ledge where the fish congregate - where the water is only 600 feet deep - and the waters around the ledge were a veritable aquatic zoo. There were sea lions and whales everywhere we looked. It's quite a thing to be in a 30 foot fishing boat and watch a whale as big as your boat swim by. The sea lions were so numerous that they interfered with the lines when the crew was fishing for bait. So we moved the boat to get clear of the sea lions, and we soon hooked a marlin.
We took turns on the rod. Dorothy had it for the first 20 minutes, but she wore out. I sat down in the chair for a few minutes, then Mary K. took over for just a minute or two, then it was Dave's turn. Even after 40 minutes or so of fighting this fish, it had enough energy to take the line out 10 or 20 yards at a time. I got back on the rod and after a combined 50 minutes of reeling, I finally landed the marlin, which was 8 feet long and weighed about 160 pounds. I have always loved fishing, and there is no feeling in the world like landing a fish of that size.
The trip back to the dock took more than an hour, so we sat back and enjoyed the water and the sight of marlins leaping into the air. As we approached the marina, we were greeted by swarms of pelicans. I know the proper word is flocks of pelicans, but they really were more like swarms.
They could smell the fish on our boat, and they weren't going away without something to eat. Sauel (one of our crew members) held out a bait fish, and eventually he was able to entice one of the pelicans to get close enough that he could grab the pelican. Before he let it go, he rewarded it with a fish.
3 comments:
Wow! Rub it in why don't you dude! You really are in "The Middleaged Man and The Sea"!
Wow! What a vacation you're having! Here it's cold and drizzly, but I don't envy you one bit...wait, my nose is starting to get longer!
Fantastic! What a wonderful adventure Sam!
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