Out of Their Misery

*** You may not want to read this post or view the video if you are particularly sensitive. =) ***

Hubby and I went on a fishing trip yesterday and had a blast! We went Saturday night and stayed the night in a moderately dive-ish room but it was better than waking up at 1 a.m. to drive two hours and be at the docks no later than 4 a.m. Westport is a town on the coast of Washington. It’s a tourist town but mostly a fishing town so the “tourist” stores were actually closed by 6:30 p.m. on a Saturday. It was weird. I did buy Salt Water Taffy and Sea Foam though. Yummy!

We woke up at 3 a.m., got ready, and walked to the docks to check in with the Charter company. It brought back SO many memories. My father used to take me fishing when I was a little girl - he’d wake me up when it was still dark out, make me some buttered toast wrapped in a paper towel and hot chocolate, and we’d head out to sea. My mom says that I loved rough weather and would come home talking about all the “rocks” we hit. *grin*

The day didn’t start out rocky but boy by the time we came back in it was super rough. The boat was rocking so much that I couldn’t see the horizon at several points.

But I had so much fun. I finally found my sea legs and was able to stand up without falling over - though walking is always tough. I get wobbly on a plane!

I caught the first fish of the day!!! =) Though the boys on the boat didn’t think it counted because it was “just” a flounder. They were just mad that a girl caught the first fish. Ha! I wasn’t the last one to catch a flounder though - two others were caught as well.

Hubby caught the biggest fish of the day though and it was a salmon!!! It was SO exciting and I am so proud of him. Hubby gets sea sick so I’m not really sure why he even suggested we take this trip. He never wants to do it again of course, but is happy with his catch.

**** WARNING - This video *is* a little graphic. Nothing bloody or anything but if you are extra sensitive to fishy feelings you may want to avoid watching. My mother in law thought it was mean…but she’ll enjoy the salmon once its cooked! ***

Now…I asked why they hit it on the head with that big pipe thing because it did shock me a little. I hadn’t been fishing for a long time and forgot that they do that sort of thing. But it’s for two good reasons. The fish can’t breath out of the water so it’s just suffering more if it’s not knocked out right away. Two, it can actually hurt people if it’s flopping around the boat. Trust me, even the smaller fish get in the way if they flop around under people’s feet. So while it seems mean (my MIL was horrified) it really is better than letting it suffocate to death.

They filleted it when we got back to the docks and we are going to be feasting on salmon for a long time. It was a fatty!

I caught 11 Sea Bass and Nick lost count of how many bass he caught. There were only three other salmon caught, but hubby’s was the biggest. Woohoo!!!

Here’s me with one of my Bass - I’m sure my papa was smiling down on me from heaven with pride. And my grandma too. She was quite the fisher-woman herself.

Needless to say, we’ll be eating a LOT of bass. I don’t even know how to cook bass.

Hubby says it’s the last trip he will ever go on - he was so sick last night it would have been funny if it hadn’t been so pathetic. I was a bit dizzy (and exhausted) but at least I wasn’t sick. If you are interested in reading more details and seeing more pics please feel free to visit my other blog where I’ll be posting lots of pictures.