Another item on my bucket list is to catch a fish. Yes, I Katie, had never caught a fish. I just never had a chance to catch one. It just so happens that fishing off the Oregon Coast is GREAT, so I jumped at the chance for a deep sea fishing excursion. As my mom put it, it was "The guys & Katie" today. We left early and headed down to the dock to jump on board. Our ship looked like this:
The crew & captain of the ship were phenomenal! They were extremely helpful, and watching the big, burly captain take our picture with my little pink camera made me smile! The day was perfect, not a cloud in sight! We headed out on the sea, threw some crab cages on our way, and searched for the best fishing spots we could find.
Having never caught a fish, I had no idea what to expect, or what it would feel like when I caught a fish. We all dropped our lines and waited. People around me started catching fish right away. My dad caught one. Karl caught one. And I waited. And waited. And waited. I worried that I wouldn't catch a single fish. Finally, the tip of my pole began to bend down. I had one! My dad grinned and yelled to the captain, who rushed over to assist in pulling it out of the water. I felt so cool. And then it came out. I looked something like this:
Having never caught a fish, I had no idea what to expect, or what it would feel like when I caught a fish. We all dropped our lines and waited. People around me started catching fish right away. My dad caught one. Karl caught one. And I waited. And waited. And waited. I worried that I wouldn't catch a single fish. Finally, the tip of my pole began to bend down. I had one! My dad grinned and yelled to the captain, who rushed over to assist in pulling it out of the water. I felt so cool. And then it came out. I looked something like this:
Despite the slightly confused look on my face, I really did think it was awesome! I just didn't know what I was supposed to do with it! The captain knocked it out, threw it in our basket, and I dropped my line again.
The day in general was quite a success. Beginners luck was not with me, I caught only two fish (though I was extremely grateful for both of those beauties!) Dad caught 4, and Karl won with a grand total of 10 fish. Steve didn't fare quite as well. He had a bad case of what the company calls the "Deathly Hollows", and spent most of the time either leaning over the side of the boat or lying in the cabin. Poor Steve.
On our way back we picked up the 10 crab cages that we had dropped on our way out. Everyone helped pull them in, anxious to see how many crabs we had gotten. After throwing back all of the females (which you can't keep) we got 4 1/2 crabs per person. We got to take 17 1/2 home with us!
The day in general was quite a success. Beginners luck was not with me, I caught only two fish (though I was extremely grateful for both of those beauties!) Dad caught 4, and Karl won with a grand total of 10 fish. Steve didn't fare quite as well. He had a bad case of what the company calls the "Deathly Hollows", and spent most of the time either leaning over the side of the boat or lying in the cabin. Poor Steve.
On our way back we picked up the 10 crab cages that we had dropped on our way out. Everyone helped pull them in, anxious to see how many crabs we had gotten. After throwing back all of the females (which you can't keep) we got 4 1/2 crabs per person. We got to take 17 1/2 home with us!
The best part about the whole adventure is that we didn't have to clean the fish! When we got back to the dock we threw all of our fish up to be cleaned & filleted, and the crabs to be cleaned and steamed all for 50 cents per sea creature. If you ask me, it was well worth the money!
When we got home we all gathered round the kitchen and cracked open the crabs. It took us about an hour, but we got TONS of crab meat. Tonight we enjoyed crab & asparagus crepes. Fabulous.
So I get to cross one more item off of my bucket list, though I am sure it is something I will do over, and over again. It was way more fun than I expected, and the rewards are quite delicious!
6 comments:
My mouth is drooling right now thinking about the crabs. How fun!
My mouth is drooling right now thinking about the crabs. How fun!
That picture of you after catching your first fish is priceless! I'm glad that you and the guys had such a great time. And your ode to Steve is great. We'll be enjoying your catches all week long! :)
Oh my goodness, what a fun adventure! I'm so jealous of your amazing travels! So fun! And those crab & asparagus crepes sound SO delicious! Yum! Fun pictures!
That is awesome Katie, way to go! I am not sure I would have attempted what you did, I am afraid that I would be sick the whole time!
Congrats on the fishing success (sorry that Steve was so sick). And YES -paying to have the fish cleaned and everything is SOOOO worth the money. I'm not much a fan of fish myself - but glad you're enjoying it. :)
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