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08/25/2006: "Calm Before the Storm ..."

This being a fishing site and all, I should probably talk about fishing once in a while ...

As someone who's spent close to thirty years chasing marlin off Southern California, one of the hardest things for me to do is help someone understand why I keep doing it. After all, to an outsider, marlin fishing must seem to be like watching paint dry. Lots of time spent driving around, squinting through binoculars and listening to chatter on a radio. For many people, it seems like a form of slow torture.

I certainly understand that feeling. There are days I feel like that way myself.

To explain why it is a special experience, I could take the easy way out, and talk about the spectacular feeling of fighting a marlin. To see that power, that beauty, that grace - all on the end of your line - is simply amazing. In the heat of the moment, it's easy to miss as you bear down on the task at hand. I often find myself taking a moment somewhere mid-battle to stop, look around, and remind myself that this is the exact experience I worked so hard to achieve.

To me, though, there is a moment that is even more memorable. There is a point, before you hook the fish, where you realize that it is all coming together. You are in the right place ... the signs are right ... you have the right lures in the pattern ... fish are being seen ... fish are being caught. You know - you just know - that at any moment, it will be your turn. You'd think this would be a very tense moment, but I find it incredibly peaceful. I've done all I can do ... I'm fully prepared ... now it's in the hands of the fish gods. You scan the horizon, looking for fish, awaiting the (hopefully) inevitable ...

If you feel the joy I feel right now just by reading that last paragraph, then you have what it takes to separate a marlin fisherman from someone who is simply trying to catch a fish.

Of course, even when it all looks right, there's no guarantee it will actually come together. I spent last weekend (Saturday through Tuesday) on the marlin grounds, convinced I was seconds away from glory. Didn't catch a damn thing.

Then the boat went back out yesterday afternoon and caught two marlin before dinner.

And that's what keeps us all coming back ...