Best of 2001: Best Job For Sea Lion Lovers

Everingham Brothers Bait Co.
Barges anchored off Point Loma, north of Ballast Point, and in Mission Bay, Quivira Basin
619-696-6673 or 619-223-5384
www.baitbarge.com

The night shift on Everingham Brothers' bait barges isn't for the squeamish. First you've got the wind, sea, and tides washing you up and down, especially on the barge moored out at the boisterous entrance to San Diego Bay. And then you have the sea lions. Barking, biting, bumping bait fish out of the tanks. At 800 pounds, they're smart, crafty bullies. They gang together. Then you've got the hundreds of pelicans and cawing gulls trying to join the feast. And that's just the background. Throughout the night you must service typically 40 to 45 sport fishing boats that come demanding bait supplies for their marlin, tuna, and albacore-hunting voyages. The pattern repeats itself for the day shift. "You have to be an outdoor person to love this job," says Buck Everingham, 46, who started at 12. But, if you want a hardworking vacation from the human race, it can't be beat.