Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Ill-timed bite

So, we’re catching some tuna, mostly on the troll and on the slide, when the boat is sliding to a stop on a jig-strike, and it’s gray and lumpy on Tanner Bank (southwest of San Clemente Island) with the tops blowin’ off like it does sometimes in early June albacore fishing. Everybody’s dressed mostly appropriately; deck boots and warm clothes, wool and slickers and such, ’cause it’s wet, cold fishing.

This kid of about 18 is standing at the rail during a stop on a jig-strike and a couple of bait hook-ups on the slide. He decides to lean his rod on the rail while trying to light a cigarette. Problem was, his bait is out and swimming. While trying to get a spark in the wind and before I could say anything, his bait gets bit.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The reel was in gear and the rod loads, flips over the rail, and flies up and out like a seagull fleeing the scene after stealing a sardine.

In one swift move, this kid drops his cigarette lighter, places his hands on the rail, leaps, and catches the rod mid-air as it is flying from the speedy albacore strike. He lands in the water, already tip up and fighting the fish as he starts back-treading toward the boat.

One of the other crew reaches out with a gaff, handle-first, which the kid grabs. The cigarette butt is still clenched in his teeth, though the rest has dissolved or broke off. Another crew takes his rod and fights the fish for a half a minute while they get the kid back onboard, but the kid grabs the rod as soon as he gets back over the rail and eventually gets the fish to gaff.

Though it was the largest tuna of the trip, it didn’t qualify for the jackpot because a deckhand handled the rod during the fight.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Morricone Youth, Berkley Hart, Dark Entities, Black Heart Procession, Monsters Of Hip-Hop

Live movie soundtracks, birthdays and more in Balboa Park, Grantville, Oceanside, Little Italy

So, we’re catching some tuna, mostly on the troll and on the slide, when the boat is sliding to a stop on a jig-strike, and it’s gray and lumpy on Tanner Bank (southwest of San Clemente Island) with the tops blowin’ off like it does sometimes in early June albacore fishing. Everybody’s dressed mostly appropriately; deck boots and warm clothes, wool and slickers and such, ’cause it’s wet, cold fishing.

This kid of about 18 is standing at the rail during a stop on a jig-strike and a couple of bait hook-ups on the slide. He decides to lean his rod on the rail while trying to light a cigarette. Problem was, his bait is out and swimming. While trying to get a spark in the wind and before I could say anything, his bait gets bit.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The reel was in gear and the rod loads, flips over the rail, and flies up and out like a seagull fleeing the scene after stealing a sardine.

In one swift move, this kid drops his cigarette lighter, places his hands on the rail, leaps, and catches the rod mid-air as it is flying from the speedy albacore strike. He lands in the water, already tip up and fighting the fish as he starts back-treading toward the boat.

One of the other crew reaches out with a gaff, handle-first, which the kid grabs. The cigarette butt is still clenched in his teeth, though the rest has dissolved or broke off. Another crew takes his rod and fights the fish for a half a minute while they get the kid back onboard, but the kid grabs the rod as soon as he gets back over the rail and eventually gets the fish to gaff.

Though it was the largest tuna of the trip, it didn’t qualify for the jackpot because a deckhand handled the rod during the fight.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents
Next Article

The danger of San Diego's hoarders

The $1 million Flash Comics #1
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader