A Roller Coast Ride That Lasted for Eight Hours, Deep Sea Fishing

It wasn't just the swells, it was the chop on top of them that made the boat toss and turn so much. Before long the deck hands made the way to the front deck and helped an elderly couple who had gotten sick and couldn't move from their seats. Next to us a younger man suddenly bolted to the railing and it wasn't pleasant. The cabin was quickly filling with folks who wished the ride was over instead of just beginning.
The shows were all over and so now it was time to relax, which meant fishing. Pam and Roy were visiting us from Iowa and Roy said he had regretted not going deep sea fishing last year so we booked on the Kingfisher for an eight hour trip. Arriving early we paid and signed in, before loading aboard. Anticipation was high as two fellow fisherman told us they had caught their limits the day before and that someone had caught a fifty eight pound grouper.Personally I couldn't care what kind of fish I caught, I just hoped to catch some fish and the kingfish were biting.

Arriving at the spot we saw another charter boat, the Scat Cat, with its deck lined with fisherman. No time to sight see and we took our places along the railing and let out ninety feet of line. Before long my pole tugged but the fish didn't get hooked. Roy was luckier and he started to fight a nice kingfish. Running to the boat it dove with a powerful run and the hook pulled out.
Rebaiting a thawed Spanish sardine, Roy had no sooner let out his line when another hit and he battled the fish to the side of the boat where the deck hand reached down and gaffed the fish. The deck hand sliced Roy's initials into the fish's skin and then hurried to gaff another fish.

I waited patiently but no fish took my offering and so I simply passed the time waiting and watching other fish hoisted aboard. Returning to the same spot we started another drift but only two fish were caught and so the captain moved us to a new location. There I hooked a fish but it pulled free and then I had one cut my line with its razor sharp teeth.
Lots of people had limited and here I hadn't caught a fish yet. Meanwhile a young man hooked his second and let yell with a yeehaw and you know I have never liked young people. Another drift with no fish in the cooler.
Starting our last drift I had resigned myself to no fish and also to the fact that I hadn't gotten the Mal de Mer. I had barely let out when a fish took my sardine and ran as kingfish do. The initial burst of speed is about forty miles an hour as they thrust their powerful and streamlined shape with heir broad crescent shaped tail.

Finally stopping the run, I reeled the fish to the boat and after a sudden dive I was able to raise it to the surface where the mate performed his coup de gras. I had a fish aboard! In the time it takes to write this I put out another bait and this one too was quickly taken by another greedy kingfish. In less then ten minutes I had gone from no fish to a limit and it was good to relax a bit as the school ran to the boat in a feeding frenzy.
The fish were so close that you could actually see them take the bait and I was snapping some images when the captain yelled shark! I had forgotten about the shark pole at the back and another fisherman grabbed the pole as an eight foot shark hooked itself.

Moving to the stern, the shark made powerful dives and runs and it took about fifteen minutes before three men gaffed the fish. Watching a large animal die is never pleasant but it was a legal shark, and caught in US waters so I simply stood there and thought of all the shark meat.
Time was up and the captain announced,"Reel in". The ship turned west and headed back. The ride was with the swells and it was so much easier  though the people in the cabin didn't seem to brighten up any. It was quite a change by the time we got to the dock as they were all up and almost smiling and they had all survived the roller coaster.

I never did get sick and I never have. Perhaps I am just lucky but it may be also due to the fact that I had taken a ginger root pill before we left. I know that it worked for the people on the tv show, "Myth busters". Taking the obligatory images we watched the fish cleaners, an all women crew, make short work of turning the fish into fillets.
It had been a good day and Roy was able to take the deep sea fishing trip off his bucket list. I still have one more trip to make as I want to take the overnight trip where the boats fish for tuna. That however is for next year's winter visit and so we headed back to the Blue Lagoon Rv Park with a cooler full of iced fillets,(Watersedge has been bought and undergone a name change and manager change). Clear skies.