Size Does Matter(??)

When I fish, I don’t really care what I catch or how big the fish is. Whether it’s my tenth Squire the size of my palm, or a Flathead as long as my foot, I’m happy, really relaxed and excited…..and yes, I’m lying!

There’s nothing more satisfying when, out of the blue, the reel goes ‘zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz’ and you know you’ve hooked a Kingie. I pull the rod up and wind on the way down, feeling a burn in my bicep (yes, I actually have a bicep), while my husband reminds me, “Take your time, not too much pressure on the line.” But! What can you do when the big bugger on the end of your line decides that it’ll swim in amongst moorings and snap you off? What do you do when you haven’t even caught a glimpse of the fish so you can boast how big it was? I’ll tell you what you do, you wind up, re-bait and go again…and again…and again.

You tell me, though, what’s worse?

A)       When the fish tangles you in the mooring, and you don’t get a glimpse?

B)       When your husband has fought for over an hour to bring up a Tuna, where I’m taking photos and video of it near the surface, and his wife (AKA me) accidentally knocks it off the hook with the net.  (I must admit, I was surprised at his calm when I tried to catch it in the net and then saw the tuna zoom away, never to be seen again. My husband must be mellowing in his old age. Or, maybe he was thinking, “What am I going to do with this giant fish when we get it in the boat?” )

You never know, maybe he’s scarred from the time we were trolling, and we caught a Bonito out in the ocean, off Port Stephens; he went to get the hook out of the fish’s mouth and ended up hooking himself straight through his hand. Every time the fish wiggled, it was excruciating for him. We ended up at the hospital, waiting for more than an hour (my Dad suggested we should’ve left the fish attached for quicker service). Finally, we were let in to see the Doctor, who proceeded to cut the hook and yank it out of hubby’s hand; without pain relief!!

Anyway, an hour later, we’re out in the middle of the bay at Port Stephens, when I (yes I!!) caught a giant Kobia. All pain, blood, panic and waiting time dissipated from memory…for me anyway.

The pain was worth it :)