Hard life...

Hi there,

So last Saturday I went fishing for a few hours in the morning.
Has you may have already read in a previous post, I did reel in a pretty nice fish on light gears...
Or at least, what could be seen as light gears down here: 15 lbs line, which I know in some place is heavy gears.

As if needed be, just one more proof of the relativity of things...

So I went fishing and I came back with a big blister on my thumb!
just from reeling in the fishes.
You want to see a proof of it, to be sure that I am not pulling your leg?
Ok here it is:

Blister on my thumb, from fishing...

So I am not asking you to cry me a river, no, but a bit of sympathy would go a long way.

Because you know what Ms Frugal said to me when I showed the terrible wound to her?

She said:

"If you get blisters just by going fishing, your life must not be that hard then"...

That is how much care she showed to to my pain and injury...

Ha this is a hard life...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

My first ... Milkfish!

Hi there,

With a few unsuccessful trips in a row it was time to get a few fish...
So Sheeby proposed to Sarrge and myself to have a go at the Cullen Bay Milkfish...
We said yes and we did not regret it!

In fact I had read so much about the run of the Milkfish, that I woke up at 3:00 am and could not find any more sleep, too anxious to see what it would be.
Sarrge offered to give me a lift so no pushbike ridding under the rain for me, that was a good start.

As we arrive we were greeted by a double rainbow over the harbour, a nice thing to see in the morning.

Greetings from the fishing spirits.

We walk down the rock, Sheeby is not yet there and Sarrge start to cast a chrome slice, and before I have even rigged my rod, he is on a nice little Queenfish! On his second cast!
The day is definitively starting well, I tell myself.

Sheeby arrives five minutes after us, and jump in the action the Queenfish are all over the place.
I got one too, and quickly bleed it and put it in my bag.

Sarrge got two other that he keept, yes that makes three fish to take home for him.
And then he hooked a fourth one...
But that was cheating, he hooked it on the tail...
And he was small too, so he put it back in the drink, so it grow a bit more for the next time.
He also hooked another one, and that could have been the biggest Queenfish of the day, but it literaly slipped from his hand, once he had taken the lure out of the fish, and went back for a swim...
I am not sure that he was very happy?

Sheeby so far, was good company, but did not catch much...
And sure enough, Sarrge and I, like the two good fishing buddies that we can be, we don't miss an occasion to remind him what the scores are...

But I have to admit, that with time, he was to have his moment, no doubt about that.

Then, we put down the spinning gears, and start to try for these Milkfish, which from what I was told, can give some pretty big run, and have an impressive stamina...
I was not going to be disappointed...

This is when Sheeby started to shine.
He got the first Milkfish of the day, and I think it is fair to say that both Sarrge and I were surprise and impress by what was happening in front of us.
Even if we couldn't help to ask Sheeby if he was making it last so long because he hadn't landed a decent fish yet...

But he definitively came up with the goods, and landed a beautiful fish.

Now the two novice wanted one...
And I hooked!
A mullet...

Sometimes, you really need a lip grip ...

But he still gave a faire fight, and I nearly slipped in the water trying to reel it in...
This time it was their turn to make fun of me...

But hey, I have no shame about it, it came at just over two kilos, and was a nice fish.
Because Sheeby gave me a Mackerel one of the last time that we fished together, I gave him the Mullet...
Fair no?

Actually a few people told me that they were actually very good to eat, and next time I might keep one for me if I can catch another one.

All this time Sarrge was trying to get a Milkfish on a cheap baitcaster that I had lent him...
I was soon to discover that it was a good thing that he did not hook one on it...
And the way I discovered it, was by hooking one myself, on my whiting rod...

Luckily I had changed the line on it the evening before, full of 15lbs braid and 20lbs leader  on a little Sedona 4000.
The thing just kept peeling line first going for the horizon, then for the left side of the wall, where I thought that I had it. But he started again, making a big circle around the point of the rock wall and jumping and taking for the other side.
I was sure that the line would break on a rock and I passed the rod to Sheeby who was standing higher than I so he could lift the rod tip to avoid the line rubbing on the rocks. I climbed as quick as I could and got my rod back, thanks Sheeby!
Then I spent what seemed a very long time trying to turn the fish toward me, but he didn't take any of it...
I even started to joke with the other that maybe they could come to pick me up tomorrow morning...

Ho they can pull ...

Eventually, the fish was close enough to the rocks for Sheeby to grab it by the tail and pass it to me.
Quick pic form his camera, and release of it...

My first ever Milkfish.

My ho my, they can pull...

Then i felt spent...
And started to flick a chrome slice around to relax.

Sheeby got a second one, which seemed like he was never going to stop.
To the extant that I had to ask him :lol:  if he had got his new reel cheaper because it came without any drag?

The fish looked like he was going to swim for a very long time, but finally was subdued, photographed and released.

And Sarrge in all that?
Weel he did had and encouter with a milkfish...
It didn't last long, maybe one or two seconds...
But that was enough to bend his hook, and give him a taste of what it is all about.

So that was our morning, and we all got back home with some fish and some good memories.
Thank Sheeby to show us how to target the milkfish, and Sarrge for the lifte, God life is becoming good!

So I did not came home with 5 big Queenfish, only with a smallish one...

But hey, it could be worse.
Have a good day,
Me.

The ceramic fishing lures.

Hi there,

One of my new favourite lure for fast spinning or whipping like some people say, is made of ceramic.

A red with black eyes ceramic lure in 1oz.

Ho I can hear you ask: What? you throw around bit of ceramic from the rocks?
And all I can answer is yes...
But they are pretty resistant and strong considering what they are made of.
And they are very beautiful, which for me is part of the thing. I mean, if it is a hobby that you practice to relax and have a good time you may as well do it with what ever tickle your fancy. That is part of the pleasure of it. Like some kind of bling on the terminal tackle, if you want.

The lures comes from Hawaii, they are made by Mark White and work pretty well for what I do.
I get Queenfish, which is my main target, and also Trevally, but apparently some people get all sort of fish with them. Maybe I should use them more often.

They are heavy for their sizes, cast very well and sinks, so need to be retrieved fairly quick. Like a chrome slice or metal lure in fact. But the action in the water is very nice, wobbling and splashing all over the shop, like a fleeing bait.

A little Queenfish on a 1oz.

My favourite at the moment is the black one with red eyes, works well at dusk and dawn, as you can see on the above photo.

I think that this is because the black one gives a better silhouette than a clear one would against the early morning sky, thus becoming more visible for the predators.

But hey, I am not a fish expert, so you can take it with a grain of salt, this is just my two cents of unverified science.

So, you could question my sanity for casting beautifully hand crafted ceramic objects from the rocks in the dark, in the aim of catching a feed...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

The translator

Hi there,

As you can now see in my sidebar I now have a translator in many different languages.
As great as this is, I have to say that I did not made it myself...
No, someone a lot more computer savvy than I is responsible for it.
The man is called Chuck.

And here is the address of the blog where I found it:

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2008/02/make-your-blog-speak-more-languages.html

Thank you Chuck, this is a great addition to an expat blog's.

Yes the translator is from Google and sometimes comes up with what I would describe as some very interesting translation, pretty close of free style poetry...
Yet it is still a great service, even if sometimes the text loose a bit of sense, or become slightly comical and obscure.

But hey, it could be worse.
Have a good day,
Me.

The Barbie truck...

Hi there,

So my little one really believe that the garbage truck is a Barbie truck...
Honest, I have absolutely not a clues as to where that comes from... ??? ...

But any time that the garbage truck comes down the road in the morning, to pick up our wastes, or when we see one in a street during the day. She becomes very exited and start screaming: "The Barbie truck! The Barbie truck! Look daddy the Barbie truck!"

And she then wave frantically to the guys in the truck.
Firemen, sometimes policemen are more used to this treatment, but garbage truck operators, or Garbo as they are called down here, are usually a bit surprise to see a little one waving to them with a big smile.
And often seem very happy and wave back. Some of them must think that my little one must have some family in the industry, or that here is a little girl who really appreciate their hard work.

And I am happy with that, if she gives them some happiness in their routine of taking everybody else trash, it is not a bad thing in itself.

The only thing that worry's me a tad, is that one day she might do it at school in front of her little friends or in front of someone who might then tell her off and say to her that this is not Barbie's truck, but the stinky rubbish truck.
And that would be a shattering news for her I am sure...

So what should I do as her daddy?
Tell her the truth, or let her live in a perfect world where Barbie often come down the road in her big blue truck? (I mean, not even pink?  ). 
I tell you what, it is not alway easy this parenting thing...

But hey, it could be worse.
Have a good day,
Me.

But my Grand-Ma drinks...

Hi there,

So some times ago, my little one wanted to go fishing.
She really love fishing and last year Santa brought her a really nice pink fishing rod and reel.
And I do like the fact that she loves fishing, as like this we get to spend some time together, so I hope that it will last.

So on a nice and balmy Sunday morning, between 8:30 and 9:00am we took the car and started to drive to the Fishermen's wharf for a bit of fish teasing.
And also have a few biscuits on the water edge, throw some bread to the fishy and look at the boats passing by...
This is all part of a good fishing trip with the little one.

So as I was driving down the little hill, a policeman sign us to stop on the side of the road and starts to walk toward us.
I could see in the background the Breath Analysis Truck, they were on a mission to catch the late revelers, full of alcohol on their way home or to a chill out party.
As the policeman arrived to the side of the car I pulled down the window and he said in his most professional and strong voice: "Hi sir, have you been drinking any alcohol today?"
So I replied: "No officer, I don't drink any alcohol."
And just then a little voice came from the back of the car: "But my Grand-Ma she drinks alcohol! She drinks Champagne!"
The policeman looked inside of the car and saw my little one seated and strapped in her child seat at the back, and very clearly made an effort to keep his composure.

He still asked me to blow in the little tube and I came clear as the day, as I indeed don't drinks any alcohol...

So this was the story of the last time that I got controlled by the police on the road.

But hey, it could have been worse.
Have a good day,
Me.