New Zealand extravaganza!: The Deadliest Catch!

For my work Christmas party we chartered a boat at 7:30 (that is am) in Tauranga and headed off to the unknown in hopes of not meeting Gilligan on his island because I had to make it back to Hamilton for pancake Sunday (my weekly ritual at Strata Café). We were lucky to be blessed with beautiful weather, nice sun and a breeze just enough to keep us comfortable. There were 18 of us ready to catch all of the fish in ocean! After riding out on the boat for what seemed like forever (more like an hour and half) we were given fishing rods and lots of dead fish and squid guts and someone to put it on your hook. We would fish in one place for awhile and when the fish quit biting we would move on to another fishin hole. We were catching fish left and right but it was enough to keep me interested and motivated. On our second fishing hole someone yelled out “dolphin” so I frantically started scanning the ominous ocean for Flipper. I didn’t see Flipper but I did spot a killer whale and her baby! For about five minutes I put down my pole and focused 100% of my attention on trying to figure out how I would reel that one in (it never even nibbled). I caught the first regulation size snapper which was 28 cm; it needs to be 27 cm to keep! I was also reeling in my line to see if I still had bait when something took it and I was afraid it was going to take me too. The captain of the boat tried to help me reel, but I wasn’t having it! I reeled in a barracuda! They are long and mean looking and have three little snaggle teeth on their top jaw. You can’t keep them because they are evidently no good to eat. When everyone reeled their line in for lunch, I left mine in the ocean to simmer. I sat next to it while I ate my lunch so I could keep an eye on it. I spotted no action throughout lunch so when I finished lunch I thought I would check to make sure I still had bait. As I picked up the pole there was an immediate tug at the other end. I thought I might just be hung up (I call it catching the ocean) so I started whining (literally) for someone to come help get me unstuck so I could fish. The first mate came over tugged on my line and told me to just keep reeling with a real naughty grin on his face. As I started reeling again I felt something pulling back, and it felt real big! I reeled in the fish pictured below on the floor of the boat with feet next to it. It had bitten the hook and its tail was snagged on the bottom hook. So I decided that must make me an amazing fisherman to catch a fish without even holding the pole. It was a lot of fun but my wrists are still hurting just typing this now! By the end of the day I was baiting my hooks and was the last person still fishing. I caught a total of six fish and was able to keep four of them. It was a fantastic time and I would totally do it again!