hook, line and sinker

so i agreed to go with dichi and rheza to a fishing trip that was organized by aya and her friend. i've never gone fishing in the middle of the sea before so this is gonna be a fun first for me. with only 3 hours of sleep, i drove to pick dichi up from her apartment and we drove to atlantic highlands pier really early because i was scared we wouldn't be able to locate it and i'm certain we would get lost on our way there. i was wrong. the gods of traffic and the gods of map directions joined forces that day and helped us reach the pier 2 hours early. but those two hours weren't wasted for nothing. we used it to shop and look for shorts and other stuff.

with our thirst for bargain shorts quenched, we headed off to the pier where the rest of the fisherman wannabes were waiting. soon our boat was cruising the bay heading off to where the captain thinks is a good spot for catching fish. it was a bumpy ride. we encountered big waves that created big splashes of water against the boat. dichi and i had to hie off inside the closed area where the captain drives the boat (hey, i'm not a fisherman so sue me if i don't know what that area is called!) to prevent us from getting more soaked. one of the two anchors of the boat fell off and that was a signal for the captain to stay put. in short hindi na nag-ambisyon pa ang kapitan na pumunta pa sa kalagitnaan ng laot. according to him, he isn't gonna risk it because he's got women and kids on board his ship. what a wuss! he he...


when the boat stopped everybody grabbed a fishing rod and started fishing like they do it everyday. dichi and i grabbed the ones near us pretending like we know what to do with it. the guy with a really nice body who is by the way a crew of the fishing boat probably sensed the lack of my skills and knowledge when it comes to this activity came over and taught me how to hook bait, handle the rod, cast the line and how to reel it in. he even attached the sinker himself. he could do the entire fishing gig with me just looking at him for all i care and i would be happy. but i gladly did everything he told me to do and in a few minutes i was bored to death waiting for any fish to bite. an hour later nobody on our boat caught any fish except for a few stingrays and baby sharks which the hot fishing boat guy sent flying back to sea. i got quite a scare when i felt a tug on my rod and it felt really heavy while i was reeling it in. it felt like it was giving a good fight. i was like "this is it! i'm gonna be the first one to catch a fish today." somebody had to help me maneuver the reel because it was heavy, but then the line broke and there goes my story of the one that got away.


tito leo put it in this perspective. "isipin mo kung dito nakasalalay ang pagkain ng pamilya ko, tiyak diet kami lahat." a few more hours went by with no fish in sight. we got tired of reeling in stingrays and baby sharks which we had to let go back into the water. a lot of people were feeling seasick. i felt really seasick at one point and made an ass of myself by throwing up on the boat which was witnessed by the hot fishing boat guy. just my luck huh? he was really nice by the way because he brought a bucket of water to wash off the vomit from the floor of the boat while dichi was handing me paper towels. pakauwaw lang jud ko.

i was in high spirits again at the end of the day. a nine year old kid who threw up with me on the boat saved the day for us by catching an 11 pound blue fish. they were kidding me that i would be the next one to catch a fish since me and the kid got seasick at the same time. that was the catch of the day though. when the captain called it a day, the hot fishing boat guy came over to me to help me reel the line back so he can put the rods away. i learned he is just 19 years old. he's just a baby shark.... i had to let him swim back to the ocean.