The One that Got Away

The One that Got Away
It is well known among my boating friends that I have no salt-water fishing mojo at all. But if you’re going to sail around the world, you’ll have plenty of time to try & reverse the score.
My brother Jan is the opposite. He can, and I figure pretty much has, caught most fish you could name & a few more you can’t. Fishing with him is a very humbling experience. As an aside, he & I will be at the latitude of Kiribati at the same time only some 1500 miles apart east-west. He’s going fishing for Prevali (I hope I got that right).
On this cruise, however, I would have bragging rights to species that are not normally found in coastal waters. Putting moral arguments aside, I decided I would drag something behind the boat & see what luck bring.
I have (make that had) two tuna lures & some heavy braided fishing line. According to the salesperson this was just the ticket. For all I know, the stuff I got could be used for dredging clams.
Yesterday, as Seaburban slid off waves the surface of the water off the port side exploded in a hundred silver shards as a school of flying fish sought safety from who knows what. The birds that accompanied us for miles suddenly took notice & chased the flock/school of fish downwind.
My chance at redemption had arrived. Something was chasing the flying fish. Something worth catching I’ll wager! I jumped below, opened the locker where the fishing gear is stowed & rigged up. In no time my lure was trailing the boat & I was all set.
I can tell you that the novelty of watching a towed lure wears off pretty quick. Even the birds, which had quickly noticed my offering, were bored with it and took off in search of real food. I looked to the sails & sea as my attention waned.
Sometime later I turned around & everything was gone. Something had taken it all. I had the line hitched to a mooring cleat & I suppose the slippery line just pulled straight through the cleat. Whatever grabbed it must have been big enough to yard the whole works off the boat in one go. Whatever it was, it got away.
I have a picture of the lure. So Jan, just in case you ever need to know, this works. It works even better if you tie it to the boat!

Follow my tracks in real-time:
https://bit.ly/svseaburban