Deep Sea Fishing excursion (Sunday, Aug 6)

Deep Sea Fishing (first time) --friend's blog entry/my additional notes
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(My friend JLin's blog entry of my first deep sea fishing outing) Date: Sunday, August 8, 2006 (5AM til 6PM)
"I once caught a fish and it was thiiiiiiiiiiis big." (24 inches, I swear!)
Stephen, Rich, Minh, AI, and I got up at 5 today and trekked out to Cape Cod for some deep sea fishing. (http://www.deepseafishing.com/) This was high on stephen's list of things to do before moving to japan (3 more weeks) so we were all pretty psyched. Hopped up on dramamine and endorphins, we marched onto Captain John's boat filled with visions of grandeur -- us reeling in mountains of fish, bringing home the bacon (er...fillets), kicking back with some beers and tall tales, and all to the background of dolphins jumping in perfect unison. It would be a rite of passage, from landlubber to sealubber, from clueless consumer to responsible provider. We would connect with the sea and nature and think about our role in messing with oceanic ecosystems. Breathing in the fresh air, feeling the cold wind sneak past our collars, hearing the crank of gears and the put-put of the engine, and being surrounded on all sides by endless ocean... this was our time!

Captains Hu, Ow, Khuu, Ing, and Lin had arrived. Right. So 2 hrs later, with the boat ramming through big choppy waves and the engine on overdrive (ka-chunking instead of put-putting), I was keeled over and curled up in the fetal position, praying like hell I wouldn't barf up granola bars and bananas. The main cabin was filled with nauseated landlubbers, each in his own private hell begging God for relief, for the world to simply stop moving. I heard shouting, "Whales! Whales!" and then forced myself to sit up and look out the window. Fins and tails broke the surface as jets of water sprayed into the air. But in my delirium, all I could register was "Who the F cares?! MAKE THE WORLD STOP MOVING!!!!" And then I passed out. When the boat finally stopped plowing ahead and the engine muttered to a halt, there was a rush of activity as people ran to their stations. I gingerly dragged myself over to my stool, propped my arms on the railings, and put my head down.

Stephen: Jen, if you need to yak, go ahead. It's okay.
Jenny: No. I'll be fine.

Next to my reel was a cup of slimy looking bait - clams, I think. The thought of plunging my bare hand into the cup and sliding my fingers around clam guts made my stomach lurch. While everyone else eagerly baited their reels and dropped them overboard, I lay listlessly still, swallowing back the threat of upchuck, and mentally counting the steps to the nearest trashcan. Stephen took one look at my face and put his reel down: "Hrm, let's do yours first." He pierced a gob of slimy clam gut onto the hook and then stuck the reel under my armpit and over the railing.

We were instructed to put a thumb over the line and release a button on the side. The trickiest parts were: 1) not letting the line drop too fast such that the reel would tangle, and 2) not crossing lines with the other 38 "fisherman" on the 70-person boat (either next to you or completely on the other side of the boat, 2 people pulling back and forth screaming "I got something!" when in reality, all you had was someone else.) The two 10-gram weights on the end of each line sunk 230 feet to the bottom of the ocean floor, with the clam guts drifting about 7 inches upwards. Once the line went slack you were at the bottom and could flip the button back. The front and the back of the boat started catching fish pretty quickly, pulling up dog sharks, haddock, and bluefish. Everything pulled out of the water was easily over a foot long, but had to be at least 24 inches to keep. Dog sharks and bluefish weren't really edible so everytime someone caught one, the crew would throw it back.The 5 of us arrived too late for the 6 hr trip (sold out) and were the last ones on the 8 hr trip, so we were located towards the front but on the side. Thus the fishing chi was weak in our location. While the family to our right (closest to the front) pulled out fish after fish, the 5 of us had little luck. The crew asked us to pull our reels up, chartered the boat to a different area, and let us drop down again. By the time we got to the second spot, the sun was out, the waters were calm, and I was feeling much better. I baited my own hooks and improved considerably at dropping the line without letting the reel tangle.

After 4 hrs of fishing, the count was:
AI: 2 dog sharks + 1 haddock (too small to keep)
Minh: 2 dog sharks
Stephen: 1 dog shark
Rich: 0
Jenny: 1 24-inch haddock (yay, keepable!)

Or cumulatively, 5 fishers ($50 x 5 = $250) and 1 haddock to show for it. Terrible! But I was pleased with the process: 1) catching live fish, 2) freshly gutted fillet sitting in my cooler, 3) making it's way home to the cherry st freezer, and 4) eventually landing on a plate & in my mouth (when I figure out how to cook it). The biggest fish caught that day was 9 pounds and biiiiiiig. On the trip back, I slept on the roofdeck under the sun. We ate at Weathervane and called it a day. Deep Sea Fishing Pics (random set b'c I was delirious for about 60% of the time. And sadly, I didn't take a pic of the fish I caught cuz fishguts & digicams don't go well together.)

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My (Smithie95) notes for the weekend:
I definitely was open to deep sea fishing. I had grown up in the area and have never gone fishing. I love to eat fish so I figured when my friend Stephen wanted to go I was all aboard.
The night before, I had two events to attend so it was a busy Saturday night. I went to a cool BBQ at (Ke'ting's place) and the food was great. I met a college friend's best friend per chance. Fancy the small worldness of it all eh? I always wonder when someone says, "Oh you went to ______ (fill in the blank) College,but I know this person who went there, you possibly might know them....". Nine times out of ten I don't know them. But in this case, I had a pleasant surprise!

The food spread was great. From home ground burgers, cheese and crackers, ribs (yummy), buffalo wings, asparagus tips, hot dogs, and other goodies I filled up fast.
I then traveled one hour on "T" from Alewife (BBQ was in Belmont) back to my area of Boston "T" Coolidge Corner area to go to an engagement party for a great couple--Helen and Paul. I remember three years ago, before they met and started dating talking to them individually.

They are a great couple. Helen and I bonded wandering around Toronto before her flight heading back to Boston for the NAAAP Convention during the SARS year (lowest attendance for the conference). Lauren was the hostest with the mostest and she lives near me. I only could eat the delicious velvet cake with great frosting. I got a great care package of ribs, scallops wrapped in bacon, cake, mini quiches, mozzerella sticks (etc). My sister was over the moon when she got off work.

In addition, I got to borrow to Korean movie (My Tutor Friend with Kim Ha Neul) and drama with Kwang Sang Woo (one is Stairway to Heaven with Choi Ji Woo-a Kdrama classic).
She was shocked I haven't seen his dramas yet. But it was cool bonding on other actors and actresses. We both agree that "My Lovely Kim Sam Soon" rocks. There is a reason it was rated TOP Korean drama of ALL dramas for 2005.

I ended up packing up so I could get up in time for fishing (4:30AM wake up call for 5:30 pickup).

Only addition I have to add to Jenny's commentary is that I did not feel sick. I took two long naps and it rocked. Waiting for the fish is alright. I tended to chat with people mainly Rich and Minh.By the time we got back, we were famished. In addition, cranking in the the rod is tiresome. Because the rod goes so deep, you don't have know if you caught something (happened a few times) until you reel in the rod.

We went to WEATHERVANE, I got the clam chowder (too thin broth and salty) and market value fried clams (with the bellies not bad). But unfortunately for me, our waitress dumped a big cup of icy soda onto my lap. Luckily Rich saved my baseball cap and wallet from getting wet by getting them out of the way. It was "splash of cold reality" when it my lap. Luckily it dried quickly as I wore those athletic dri-fit technology workout pants.