Boomer Tuna And The Deep Blue Sea

What To Expect On The Ocean.

Is there a greater bonding experience than a family and friends fishing trip?

An overnight on the high seas drives it all the way home.

You may know your family and friends on land, but do you know them as fishermen sixty-five miles offshore?

While you plan, keep a few things in mind.

1. If one of the party says, “I’m not taking motion sickness meds because I want to know if I get seasick,” it’s a fifty-fifty chance they’ll hurl.

• Try and explain how the meds won’t ruin the trip, but spending it laying down the whole time, rising only to vomit, won’t enhance it.

2. If one or more in the party starts cracking beers and eating hot wings before you leave the dock, make sure they get a bottom bunk for the night.

• Unless they are old salts, over eating and drinking before you hit the waves means they will feed the fish sooner than later. If they take a top bunk and feel woozy, you don’t want to be down stream.

3. Since this is a fishing trip, the goal is getting a line in the water. If you get up early, help the crew rig the lines.

• The sooner you get lines in the water, the sooner you’ll hear “FISH ON.” That’s your fish, early bird.

4. Most baby boomers know how to open a can of tuna. Fewer have bought tuna off the docks, and even fewer yet go all the way.

• Since you’re going all the way, dress for the occasion. Old clothes and rubber boots. Or better, hip boots with an apron and suspenders.

5. Where do the tuna swim? These are ocean fish, so you’ll be out in it. But don’t worry, you’ll see other boats on the water, none of which will be Somali pirates.

• The captain keeps a look out for ocean birds feeding on small fish. The tuna won’t be far behind on that food chain. Since tuna are so far out in the water, they don’t have the parasites of closer in fish.

6. For fishermen who cut their teeth at trout farms, tuna are not anxious to beach themselves. These are wild fish and they die hard.

• When you bring a fish in, and another one comes in right behind, the same protocol applies. The experts gaff the tuna behind their head, then reach into their gills and rip out the main vein. What you get is a twenty or thirty pound fish flopping hard and spraying blood like a garden hose. It’s a blood sport and you’ll be part of it.

7. When you come back to shore, give thanks for a safe voyage.

• The open ocean has more surprises than you’d ever expect. Do your part and pay attention. With any luck you’ll stay off the local harbor’s memorial list.