October 20, 2002

We had another charter last weekend, and it was the best so far. The weather was perfect, and the fish were jumping. I didn’t realize that fish really jump, just like in the song "Summertime". Anyhow, the Albacore weren’t jumping, but we saw small bait fish swimming in a fast school, leaping out of the water like tiny dolphins.

On the first trip we were all so proud to be catching 12 pound fish. This time they were 20 pound fish, and that’s a huge difference in a fish that fights as much as an albacore. I’d be reeling a fish in and pulling up on the rod, and they’re just heavy. My arms were getting tired. Sometimes, I’d just hang onto the rod with both hands and lean back against the weight of the fish, just to rest a little. I heard that on some boats, the deck hands don’t let you rest… they make you keep fighting.

There were sharks hanging around the boat. My friend Priti, who is much tinier than I am, hooked into a 7 foot shark! She was yelping for help, and I didn’t know why till I ended up with one on my line too! They’re huge! And hungry! It was wild to see the fins circling all around sticking up like in a cartoon. The deck hands just cut the line to get rid of the shark, but it’s scary while it’s hanging on there, and you can’t let go of your rod, and there’s this huge man-eater dragging your around the boat.  In the pictures you can see a few of the albacore that were mauled by sharks while they were being dragged to the boat by one of the anglers.  These fish had no chance...