"California
on a Dream and a Hope"
December, 2000
It's
been four years now that Iıve been making my travels to
San Diego. Iım looking for that 300 pound yellowfin on
the Excel. Every trip has it's moments of that encounter
of fare chance with the beast. And so far he has won,
which makes this trip that more of a mission from God...
Sometimes
I think about what I will do when I have that trophy on
the other end right before the gaff. Will I just touch
the leader line and consider it caught or will I bring
it aboard for the pictures and document that moment in
time...
Or
will I pat the contender on his magnificent head and say
thank you for the chance of our meeting, since so few have
had that lucky chance. I do this not for conservation...
I do if for the fair fight between the two. That's what
it is all about for me.
I
once chased down a monster, mystery trout in the Delaware
(I will never totally disclose the area)...but
while living upstate, I would always fish this one tributary
in November. There where a few mystery trout that would
grab my line and set my small spinning reel into a frenzy.
My long steelhead rod would be doubled over to the maximum
and he would rip into the main river on the first run...taking
a hundred yards of line. I lost this fish and many others
in this one spot for four years straight and they would
only be in this one spot in November.
The last year that I had an encounter
with this beast was a cold November day... I threw my favorite
lure to the mouth of the river and twitched it ever so slowly
back. He hit with such a violent bang that my rod almost shot
out of my frozen hands.
He
took me down to the knot on the reel. I fought him like an
old friend playing chess. I knew all of his moves...all of
the rocks and boulders that he had broken me off on in the
past. This fish made three hard runs. My heart was full of
adrenalin. My eyes fixated on the water to just get a glimpse
of this magnificent fish. He was eight feet from me now. He
turned in the dark, winter water...a three foot silver flash
was all I could make out as he snapped me off on a rock that
I did not have in my chess game. He had won, but I know we'll
play again. To me the catch is the final end and I really
appreciate the journey and the mystery mother nature has beneath
her skin.
What's
your goal? Is it the 50 pound cod or the 60 pound striped
bass that haunts you in your dreams? The four hundred plus
mako that leaps clear out of the water, laughing at you
as he chews right through the wire leader. These are goals
which deserve an even fight. The ending is up to you who
have that final finish with your personal best staring at
you. What will you do? What will you decide at that moment?
That's fishing to me. No sugar...black coffee please.
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