When we first started cruising, we had visions (delusions?) of catching fresh fish while underway and enjoying the fruits of our fishing prowess. Our first winter in the Bahamas saw us wetting the hook fairly frequently, with only a barracuda and a small jack to show for it, while a tail walking mahi-mahi giving us the kiss off as it broke the line.
We have done far less fishing since then, as a combination of impatience (we don't have time to stop to bring in a fish, we have 50 miles to go today!), laziness (if you catch a fish, it is going to make such a mess), and few other things. Our rods gather dust in the salon of the boat, while the lure and accessories get shunted around (the net came in handy to snare a flip-flop from a neighbouring boat).
However, in the past week, we have had exceptional luck catching fish. Well, "catching" is probably not the right word in this case. And the luck is not necessarily good.
When we arrived at Rodney Bay after a pretty good crossing from Martinique, I came forward on the boat to find a bit of a mess on the side deck and the side of the coach roof. It was squid ink. And the poor squid that was trying to escape an untimely death did not escape its' fate. Rather than being killed while being consumed, it asphyxiated on our side deck, but not before expelling ink in a rather unartistic manner. It was probably still consumed by a fish or something in the end, as I unceremoniously tossed it overboard.
On our last morning in Rodney Bay, I was getting ready to go for my run. As I stepped into the dinghy to get ashore, there was a suitably nautical exclamation (you know the expression, "swear like a sailor"?) As I was about to put my foot on the floor of the dinghy, I looked down to see a reasonably large fish there before me. I think it was some kind of gar, or something of the sort. Cheese and bread! I really did not need to see an 18" fish (dead) in the dinghy before 6:00 am. I called to Ken to come and see this, and bring the camera.
We have had one or two flying fish before this, and this was not the first squid to commit inadvertent hari-kari on our decks before. Why can't they be something like a nice tuna instead?