Sunday, November 14, 2010 - Fishing on the Sea

Sunday, November 14, 2010 – Fishing in the Sea:

What a day. One of my most memorable - So let me tell you about it:

The Girls had talked about going fishing again, and today was one of those days that they set – weather permitting. Of course that meant an early rise, plus Gerald and I had volunteered to do breakfast last night while we were in the hot tub. It only seemed right, since they were inviting us and Patty’s condo is still not back together again so they can’t cook.

We make hash browns, scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, toast and coffee. Everyone seems to enjoy it, and no one gags (my cooking skills are improving!).  Alfred is supposed to be here at 8am, and we finish with no time to spare, Alfred is on time! We’re taking Patty’s boat this time, since it is up and running, so he will have to get gas and ice too. That gives us a couple extra minutes. We grab our gear and head out.

The weather this morning is gorgeous. Pretty much clear skies. Warm.  The water is calm. All good signs, right? Right. We have to stop at Paradise and get ice for the build in coolers (mostly for the fish we may catch, beer and rum!). Then, off we go.

The ride is pretty smooth. We see dozens of little islands some with simple residences, some with really nice residences, and some are nothing but sand, mangroves and a couple of palm trees. I try to envision myself living on one!  A couple of islands look like they are building resorts on. How cool would that be?

We are headed out to the barrier reef. At first, the ride was smooth, no more than a regular boat ride.  But the farther we got out, the rougher it became. Sort of like being out on the Lake of the Ozarks during Memorial Weekend. We see a big squall to the north, and one to the south.  We are headed in between them, but they still look ominous and I can’t tell where they are going.  They are probably causing these waves, which are now getting about 20-30 feet apart and about 5-10 feet high. We stop suddenly – Alfred fiddles a while, then we are off again. I don’t know exactly what happened, and I don’t think I want to know, all I know is that we are moving now! (you know I immediately started thinking about being stranded, then remembered I forgot to put matches in my purse – good grief, what kind of Girl Scout am I?).

 (squall to the South)

 (squall to the North)

We stop at one of two little islands that are apparently a Belizean Park or protected area. Alfred says it is called Silk Caye or Queen’s Caye.  He said the Country took these two little islands, made a park and put toilets on the one and now the guides bring tourists here after they fish to snorkel and cook their catch for them. It’s cute! Alfred says after we are done fishing, we will come here to snorkel and rest too. We pay the park fees ($5 per person) and then head off to fish.    

I’m keeping any eye out on those squalls still. So far we’ve managed to elude them, but they seem like they are getting closer and the waves are getting farther apart and higher the closer we get to the open ocean.  I think they peaked at about 60-80 foot apart and about 15-20 feet high. We are so far out, you can barely make out land. All we see is an occasional island. Alfred is an excellent Captain and I have faith in his abilities, otherwise I’m sure he would have taken us back by now. 

We head north and start to fish. Alfred starts to prepare the lures on the poles and we throw 3 lines out.  Some of these lures are HUGE and I’m wondering if we should have brought a bigger boat!

The lines are let out and Alfred takes off.  This is strange to me.  I guess they put the lines in the water and then troll for fish. That’s cool really, especially since we don’t have to sit and be rocked to death by the waves!

Jane catches the first fish of the day. It’s some sort of Jack (Skip Jack I think).  She caught it on the lure she bought in Belize City – Alfred has one just like it.  Then Linda catches a Bonita. They are a really pretty fish (which is why they are called Bonita).  Alfred says we are going to use it for bait since they are very fishy and the Barracuda love them.   We head south since the floating weeds keep getting caught on our lines and messing up the lures. I’m just glad we are headed away from that monster squall.

Then it’s my turn. Alfred hooks me up with some of the Bonita that Linda caught. I wonder to myself how I’m going to reel a fish in anyway!  I don’t exercise or lift weights, and the biggest thing I do lift is my purse, but I guess that IS a 30 lb weight! Oh well, I’ll just hand it to one of the guys if I can’t do it.

I get a bite. Holy cow! It’s amazing how hard it is to reel and pull these fish in! I keep reeling and wonder if there are 7 miles of fishing line out there! My fish jumps out of the water and it’s so exciting! He does it about 4 times…and I feel like I’m watching a fishing show on TV!  I finally pull it in and it’s a Barracuda! COOL! Gawd! He’s a BIG one!

GAWD! HE’S SCARRY LOOKING! LOOK AT THOSE TEETH!

Alfred hooks him and just grabs him by around the gills and holds him…ewww!… Get him away from me! I’m NOT touching it! ...I’m only going to eat it!

(My first barracuda...now get him away from me!)

Us girls keep catching one fish after the other, thanks in part to Jane’s lucky lure. We feel sorry for Alfred because all he gets to do is bait and take the fish of the line!  I lost tract of who caught what. Patty and I catch a couple of King Mackerel … at the same time! Alfred said they run in bunches and we hit at the perfect time.

Alfred hooks and brings in one of the Mackerel and a little black shark looking fish falls off of one of them. It’s about 5 or 6 inches long. EEEEEWWWWWW!  He says it’s a sucker fish and picks it up to show us.  He shows us the belly and its mouth and how it sticks on mostly fish but sometime people. It is apparently like a leach. He said you really have to be careful with them – they are nasty.  He said one of the first parts of the human body they go for is the nipple.  I can tell you that 4 women covered their chest very quickly and then we squealed.  And I am now working on inventing metal cups for my swimsuit before I go out again.

We catch a Spanish Mackerel, some more Barracuda, and a couple other Bonita’s to use for bait. Poor Gerald. He hasn’t caught anything yet!

Then Gerald gets a hit!  Alfred thinks it may be a grouper by the way it is working the line.  He can tell what we have when we catch it! It seems to take forever to pull in and boy does it puts up a fight!  It is a BIG barracuda! And it does not look friendly!  He’s got some teeth on him! And he barely fits in the cooler. It’s the big catch of the day! 

For video click:  "GERALD'S BIG CATCH"

 (Reeling in the big one!)

 (Smile for the camera fishy!)

 (That big haul tuckers Gerald out!)

Later Gerald catches a King Mackerel. It is HUGE! But just as he gets it to the boat and Alfred is ready to snag it…it jumped off the line! DRAT!  Gerald lost a total of 3 fish today. They were big ones too! They took the line and ran! You could hear the drag on the reel pulling and screeching. Then when he stopped to put the belt on, they got off the line!

Oh well, we’ve got a cooler full of fish. Enough to feed the whole town of Placencia! (or us for a couple of days and Alfred’s 9 kids!)  And without even noticing for all the excitement going on with the fishing, I realize the squalls have disappeared the sun it out and we head for one of the little Silk Cays to rest and snorkel. And guess what?  The battery on my camera is almost dead! (that reminds me I need to make a note and get another battery for my water camera). We stop and get our gear ready to do some snorkeling.  Alfred heads out to do some lobster hunting! This is a beautiful little island.  Alfred says when he was working with National Geographic tagging whales, they used to stay on this island. Wow. You hear some interesting stories here!

After a little snorkeling and browsing around we get a beverage and rest. I do manage to get a couple of pictures with my camera before it goes totally dead. Alfred comes back from his excursion around the island and he has a lobster AND a crab! Right out of a movie scene!

(millions of minows) 

 (sea urchin)

 (....fish)

(curious fish looking at me...ready to attack!)

 (Alfred with his catch!)

He throws them both in the back of the boat, and while the lobster just lays there waiting to die, the crab will have none of that, and he takes off in the boat!  You have never seen women scatter so fast!  He runs all the way to the front of the boat – RIGHT AT US! Of course, us girls have jumped up on the seats and bow! Alfred comes to the rescue and throws them both in the cooler! Phew…! That was a close one! =)

Safe again, we take off to parts only known by Alfred.  The water is beautiful. Changing in color from aqua to black, depending on the depth. And so clear you can see the bottom, at some points you can see all the way down to about 100 feet and you can see fish and coral. It’s so beautiful!  Alfred takes us to a spot near the edge of the reef.  In the shallow parts you see dozens and dozens of conch shells.  He says that the locals come to these areas and clean their catch (conch and fish). They throw the shells and fish parts over and the rays and turtles come to feed on the scraps.  He revs the motor a few times. I guess it’s like a dinner bell to them. And soon here comes a ray. My gawd – it looks like it’s like 6 feet across! IT’S HUGE! It floats around and then goes under the boat! AND MY CAMERA IS DEAD!AAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGG!  So I get out my iPhone.  (please don’t let me drop it in the water!)  We don’t have any craps to give him! We float around and rev the engine some more. 

(I know it's difficult to see, but this ray takes up the whole picture!)

Then along comes a turtle! SO COOL! He’s a big one! (I guess most sea turtles are!).  Alfred pulls out the lobster and cracks off one of the antenni and throws it in the water! Then another turtle comes.  Alfred breaks off the head of the lobster and throws it in.  The turtle grabs it and starts eating it. Right underneath us! 

And then…another turtle comes up and it is BIG! The smaller turtle (well, he’s not small, but he’s only about half the size of the bigger one) takes off quicker than I have ever seen a turtle move!  He has the lobster head and Big Daddy turtle wants it! They are chasing each other now and they go round and round! IT’S A TURTLE FIGHT! OMG – I can’t believe what I am seeing!

I hope you can get the gist of it from the video!

The action dies down and it’s getting late, so we head back.  The sun is getting lower and the sea is getting a little rougher. It seems to take forever getting back, but we finally make it.  We pull in and unload.  Kenney can’t believe we caught all these big fish and says he thinks we bought them! =)

Alfred takes the boat around to the dock and prepares to clean the fish. There is no wind, and the bugs are biting and we have to spray down!  There is a ton of fish! Alfred cuts up a Mackerel and Barracuda for us.  We give some of the other fish to Francisco, and the guys working on Patty’s floor.  Kenney wants a set of the Barracuda teeth.  Alfred finishes cleaning the fish for us so he leaves and takes the big Barracuda Gerald caught to Yoli’s. Probably to show it off.

(our total bounty, minus 3 used for bait - and a lobster head!) 

 (Gerald with his BIG Barracuda)

(mean lookin huh?)

We barely make it in time for the sunset, and then decide to cook the fish tomorrow night. 

For now we are all tired so we head home. Unfortunately, Gerald and I committed to play cards so we have to hurry and get ready to go to Paradise. It’s 5:30 and we are supposed to meet at 6pm.

We walk over the Paradise and luckily no card players are there yet. So we order diner.  I’m starting to feel like I’m rocking. I guess this is the sea legs I should have anticipated.  I did real well on the boat, not getting dizzy or sick, but I didn’t about afterwards. It’s getting really bad, so I take an Antivert to help.  It does nothing, and I can’t eat my dinner, so I take a second. I can’t concentrate on the cards, and I’m loosing all my money! But I don’t care…I’m moving and want it to stop. Finally, the Antivert kicks in and now it is making me sleepy, but it’s helping with the rocking!

We stop and talk to some new people we met who just came from San Pedro, and then some familiar ones we know to say goodbye before we leave town, then head home. I eat some more rice and we head to bed.  I can hardly hold my eyes open.  But it has been a spectacular day. The only thing that would have made it better is if we would have seen some dolphin jump up! But you can’t have everything and I’m pretty content with the way the day unfolded – despite getting dizzy. It’s definitely on my list of favorite days for sure and I can’t thank Patty and her sisters, Jane and Linda, enough for inviting us to go with them!  The memories will stay with me forever.