Out There with Lea & Larry: Deep-Sea Fishing Excursion

Let's go fishing!

Morning sea fog

Excited, I woke up long before the alarm went off on Sunday, February 23, 2014, the morning of our all day deep-sea fishing excursion. I checked my "comfort" bag again to be sure I had warm wear, snacks and of course, a good book to read in case I got bored. I really had no idea what the day would hold.

We were joined by John, Debbie, and Jerry, friends hanging out at Copano Bay RV Park, in Rockport, TX, and full of chatter, we headed to Aransas Pass. We met up with others from the Park, checked in at Dolphin Dock Charters, bought licenses, and grabbed a breakfast sandwich and coffee at What-a-Burger. And, taking no chances, most of us popped a couple of Dramamine.

I would say there were about 30-35 people going out on this 95' charter boat called The "Dolphin Express." Besides the generous aft and stern areas to fish, each side had ample room and deep-sea poles, already baited, set in holders every few feet. An upper deck provided a wonderful area to contemplate the sea and peek in on our Captain as he held our course. Said to be the fastest boat in their fleet, we took off for the approximate 2-1/2 hour ride to our first stop.

As we reached open seas and the motors revved up for speed, we were asked to make our way into the cabin for the "trip info. meeting" where we were shown the nice galley area with booth-like tables. We could buy drinks, sandwiches and snacks (beer too - keep that in mind as the story progresses). The main things I got out of the welcome meeting were 1) where the restrooms were and 2) that the only place to be sick on the boat is... let's say it together: "over the rail."

Seas that day were only 2-3 feet so while it was hard to stand or walk, it was relatively calm. In fact, it lulled most of us to sleep going out. The sea fog stayed with us so unfortunately, there wasn't much to see until our first stop and we got busy with the poles. Larry caught a really nice 3' shark - so did John and Deb, but Jerry and I were out of luck.

I guess the beer consumed at 8:30 in the morning got the better of one of the men near me - he threw up several times - over the railing, as instructed. Though apologetic, he loudly gave us the rundown of what he had eaten! As if we wanted to know! TMI, I say, too much information! He was soon joined by two of his buddies, who more gracefully, kept their mouths shut - well, other than vomiting.

We pulled up anchor and traveled another 7 miles out using that time to eat our lunch. I don't think the sick guys ate anything - they sat (or lay quietly) at their tables. We watched the deckhands as they scrambled to change our pole riggings to double hooks and bigger weights to reach the bottom. Corey, was our guy and quick to answer questions. He said we were approximately 32 miles from shore and fishing in about 190' deep water. I dropped my line in, nicely baited by Larry, and within minutes had a fish! Larry had a fish too! We reeled in together and Larry had a beautiful red snapper (one of several he caught) and I had a nice colorful vermillion snapper. The red was returned to the water but soon, we had a nice collection of the vermillions to keep.

I took a trip to the bathroom, stepping over the transom, securing the heavy metal door, and wishing I could "hold it" till we got back. But 8 hours and lots of bottled water... anyway, have you ever tried to "hover" with your jeans down on a rocking boat? I thought I was going to pitch forward onto the wet floor, face first!

It is tiring work to fish. And messy! Yes, I baited my own hooks with that yucky bait. I liked not knowing what it was until my cruel husband had to tell me it was squid parts! Deciding that once I reeled in this last vermillion that I would make my way around the boat taking pictures of our friends and their fish, I cranked the handle on the reel. ZING! went the reel, line spinning off, water spattering my face, this was no vermillion snapper. The rod bent as I struggled to reel. Larry came to help as the guys around me said "she's got something big!" Corey jumped in and pulled and pulled on the line as I cranked - we plowed through the people along the railing as the big fish went toward the back of the boat. Each time the pole straightened a little, Corey instructed me to "reel it, Girl!" and I did! At the back of the boat, people made way for us and I gave out - heart pounding, overwhelmed with excitement! Larry took over and he and Corey fought the line. I guess the fish had other ideas because then we had to plow through the people on the other side of the boat as we followed the line to the front. I just kept thinking we'll never get it reeled in - we must have 200 feet of line out! Ryan, another deckhand stepped in to help, all taking turns reeling and pulling when suddenly we saw him - a hammerhead shark was on Lea Chrestman's line!

My first thought as he came into view and broke the surface with his snout and fins was that he was gorgeous! Truly a wonder of nature. Corey, at my side asked if I wanted him gaffed and brought in. Kill him? I thought - no, I could not kill him for the sake of my picture with him. I brought my phone up to video this beautiful creature and snapped a few photos. Now, I do not catch dumb fish - this guy knew exactly what to do. He circled the anchor line and snap, he was free. But, captured forever in this video. Ryan said he estimated him to be about 6' long and around 100 pounds. Not bad on 50 pound test line.

I think my big catch made us late heading back in. We quickly rolled in all the lines and made for shore. Some of us napped - Larry! I rested and tried to secure the experience of the day in my good-memory box. Friends and strangers congratulated me and I, swell-headed as I was, tried to say it was just luck. I went up top, visiting, taking pictures, and watching the fog. As if the day needed something more, dolphins came into view, jumping and playing along the side. Wobbly and excited, I captured them too on this video. Watch as they come close to the boat. It was slow-going as we reached the bay - all around fog obscured the other large boats as they blew their horns. We finally broke through as we reached the jetty to a beautiful sunny day.

Laughing and counting our fish (everyone caught nice fish), we hurried to the cleaning station where John, master fish-cleaner, put his knife to work. Larry, Jerry and even Debbie cleaned our haul. Delighted to have phone signal, I posted pictures on Facebook and played runner to the truck for ziplocks, paper towels, etc. We put away nice bags of shark and vermillion snapper fillets and watched the overnight fishermen bring in their amberjack, tuna, and huge black drum fish to clean.

Exhausted and starving, we gobbled down milkshakes and burgers, swapped stories, and headed for the campground.

What a memorable day!