When we decided to go fishing in Hawaii, I thought it would be a quiet activity. The kind where you rent a private boat, go out to sea and sit with a rod, watching your bobber bop about in the waves. That's fishing. Maybe you catch something, maybe you don't. The fun is in watching the bobber in anticipation of snagging a fish. It's a bonus to reel in a fish.
Probably the biggest fish I ever caught was in Maine. Bluefish. The summer of 1988. Couldn't eat those fast enough. Some of those fish weighed 25 or 30 pounds. Once you got them into the boat -- they were fighters -- you had to club them over the head with a hammer to keep them from biting you or jumping back into the water. That was excitement.
But nothing compares to sportfishing in Kona, Hawaii. We could have caught a 500- to 900-pound marlin -- that's how big those fish are -- or a huge ono or mahi-mahi. The reels are as big as your head. The lures are the size of bowling pins. This is a totally different league from the days of toting around my ice-fishing pole with a string and bucket of minnows.
We rented the Fire Hatt, a 43-foot boat owned and operated by Captain Chuck Wilson out of Honokohau Harbor. Delightful guy retired from the fire department and who still teaches men and women of the fire department in Roseville, CA. His deck hand, Adam -- an easy name to remember -- was instructional and amusing to boot. Adam strapped me in the "chair" and showed me what to do when the reels "went off."
No sooner did we troll about 2 miles out than whammo -- a bite! By all appearances, it was a 200-pound blue marlin! I began to envision the fish mounted on our family room wall, right over the sofa. That wall is long and bare. It's the only spot in the house with nothing on the wall. Probably because it's been waiting for a marlin to go over it. You think? My husband disagrees. But I am suddenly in favor of a big honkin' fish over our sofa. I can't explain the urge.
Did you know that the fish you often see mounted on the wall in seafood restaurants -- those marlins with the long bills -- are not real? I did not. This is like finding out there is no Santa Claus. Those marlins are generally fiberglass fish. What sportspeople do is take the weight and measure the length of the fish they actually catch, and they give those dimensions to the place that manufacturers your custom marlin. Most people, unless the marlin's tail is wrapped or otherwise damaged, those people throw the marlin back and buy a fiberglass replica! It's the marlin catch-and-release practice.
So, there I was, imaging this gigantic work of art hanging on my wall in the family room when all of a sudden, the line went limp. Just like our ragdoll cat Jackson. All floppy like. The fish was gone. Just as well, I hear. Because it takes about 90 minutes to reel in a fish -- gives you a good workout. But that would have been fun, nonetheless. As it was, we enjoyed yachting, shooting photos of dolphins, and hearing stories about Britney Spears when she was onboard, how Adam deems it a pleasure not a job to work as a deck hand (and I believe him -- I feel the same way about being a Sacramento short sale agent) and about Captain Chuck's wife, the former rodeo queen. You can't go wrong with Fire Hatt. I recommend the experience, whether or not you get that big marlin.
Still, I could get a big fiberglass marlin. That's the part that has my husband worried. I say I am just wondering about it. He says he knows how my brain works. First I develop a thought and the next thing he knows that thought has become a reality. I say he should be happy to be married to a woman who is able to conceive a great idea and then put that idea into action -- because for many people, that is not an ability they possess. He is one lucky guy.
Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub, of the 3 dolphin shots, the middle one is a baby spinner dolphin spinning
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Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
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Okay, so we used to fresh fish all the time when I was little. And one day I caught a 5lb trout on nmy hook... I was like 9. And I fought with this thing and fought with this thing. And they wanted me to do it by myself. You know the story, I ended up, after the battle of my life, losing that BIG fish. I hate that feeling. So I hope you get that fish for your wall.. your husband just can't picture it in his head. But after it's on the wall, he will appreciate it.
That sounds like fun. And I can certainly picture a fiberglass marlin over your sofa. I bet it would make you smile remembering your day of fishing in Hawaii.
Hi Linda: I think the problem is my husband CAN picture the fish over the sofa, LOL, and he doesn't care for the image. I have to admit I've often thought it was kind of tacky but I am changing that opinion for unknown, inexplicable reasoning.
Hi Chris Ann: I like Hawaii TV. When we come back to our room after dinner, the maids have turned down the bed and turned on our favorite show -- hypnotic ocean waves and aerials of the islands.