I’m unemployed and I smell like fish, life is great. I turned in my keys today and said some goodbyes. Well, not anything real emotional since I will still be keeping an eye over stuff so that things don’t get too out of hand but a good feeling being able to let people know what my plans were (Still the old Steve.)

With the freedom of unemployment comes the time to do the things we love. For me it’s fishing. I had been putting off trying to find a good spot, kind of holding back until I was truly free. I had scouted out a few spots and found a very promising area only 3 minutes from my house. It’s a locals only type area and I often went there to chill out and grab some sun. I had talked to some guys a few weeks ago who were out there cast netting for bait. I noticed that they were catching Pilchards. Now for those in the know, Pilchards are like big fish candy. Where there is Pilchards your going to find the good stuff. I had already saw the dark shadows of some Snook so I knew it was going to be good. I had given it a half hearted try before, but as soon as I got a bite, a mosquito bite that is, I left. Well today was going to be different. I spent last night stripping my reels down, rebuilding, lubing, getting the grime out, and unspooling some of the old line. I kept an eye on the clock all day knowing that I was going to get to do some fishing that evening. Around dusk I headed over to the spot. I lubed myself down with some, give you cancer Deet, and I hit the rocks. I already knew what I was going to try. I banked on catching some Pilchards so I didn’t even bring any lures. Threw out the Sabiki rig and quickly loaded up on a batch of bait. After a couple of throws I had a half a dozen of the little fish candies. Headed out to the edge of the rocks and threw one out. Not more than a few ticks went by and I caught a 16" toothie creature. Not what I was looking for but a good tug. A couple more hits which felt like more bait thieves and then it hit.

The sun had already set about a half an hour before so the only light was from the red fire streaks across the sky. I was just thinking about how many of these sunsets I’ve seen all over the world and how they never stop amazing me. Just then it hit. You can always tell when its something good because its not like normal fishing when you are trying to identify the little tweaks of a fish nibbling your bait. When a big fish hits it doesn’t nibble. It inhales and runs. The rod tip hammered and the drag started screaming. I was kind of stunned because I hadn’t felt the tug in a long time. I had no clue what I had until I felt then heard the splash of a fish jumping out of the water. A Tarpon. As soon as I heard the splash I knew. With the exception of Dolphin (Mahi Mahi), nothing jumps and tugs like a Tarpon. I fought that fish for a half an hour just wanting to see the size and to get that feeling of winning the battle. Eventually, I got it to roll over and it surrendered. Once I grabbed the hefty jaws and removed the circle hook, I was able to relax. Said my goodbys and let it loose. I took a moment to just sit there and enjoy the moment. I was unemployed, my hands smelled like fish, and I was happy.