Spooled: A Fishing Blog

I'd like to begin this by saying that if any of my peers at school are reading this, either alone at home or aloud to their art class, I would advise you to immediately take whatever electronic device you are using and throw it as far away from you as you can. This blog is a reflection of my life outside of school, and many of you undoubtedly have thought of me differently after reading my musings on the state of today's sturgeon fishery. So once again, I would strongly advise you to direct your attentions on the internet elsewhere before I regret having started this blog in the first place. For those who have stubbornly continued reading, this week I have delved into night fishing. It's something everyone should try at least once in their life, and the fishing for many species becomes much better during the night than during the daylight hours. Of course, these species tend to be of the beady-eyed, bottom-dwelling, whiskered orientation. Night fishing for the vener...

I like fish that can inspire awe and fascination among the most stalwart non-anglers I know. These fish tend to be large, or cool looking, or have any desirable trait that makes them interesting to those not normally involved in the sport. As you might guess, I have caught very few of these kinds of fish. The fish I generally target tend to be small and from some muddy ditch next to a freeway. To be honest, there aren't many species in the Pacific Northwest that can really inspire "awe." Salmon and Steelhead are recognizable and beautiful, but people are used to seeing them in grocery stores on a daily basis. Bottomfish look less visually appealing to most. Many freshwater fish are colorful and/or fun to catch, but tend to fall in the "cute" category. Except one. I honestly cannot fathom pictures like the one above. To imagine that a predominately freshwater (many live in saltwater for parts of their lives) fish can grow to the size of a small whale is ab...

When most people think of spring break, what comes to mind is partying in the sun. It seems as if most of my spring breaks consist of catching zero fish in the cold. One particular memory was from practically getting skunked into the next time zone while salmon fishing in Seattle with some guide whose name I "forgot." First, I'd like to say that getting skunked with a guide is far worse than getting skunked by yourself. With guides, you expect to catch fish, and the fact that no fish ever continuously bite 24/7 skips your mind while you're enduring what turned out to be a cold, expensive boat ride. However, getting skunked by yourself is much easier. Back to the present. I had difficulty pushing these thoughts out of my head as I launched my kayak into the frigid waters of the San Juan Island coastline. You find yourself scanning the horizon a lot more when you forget your license. To be honest with you, I'm becoming disillusioned with the whole kayak fishin...

Of all the places in the world to fish, there have always been a few that stood out to me. Alaska, Zambia, Christmas Island, etc. However, Zambia is hard to get to, Christmas Island is nearly impossible to get to, and Alaska is, well, I'm not sure what the situation is with Alaska. However, another place that has been on the top of my list is Hawaii. Known for legendary fishing in an unparalleled setting, it has always been on the top of my list. Fortunately, a family wedding gave me the opportunity to explore the island of Maui and the fishing it has to offer. Unfortunately, the hectic chaos that weddings usually provide would make fishing difficult. In addition, my entire family was staying in a large home a considerable distance from the beach, making the old "sneak out at five in the morning with rod in hand" difficult to pull off. And there were two other limiting factors named Iselle and Julio. I ended up not using 90% of the tackle in the box. The Ha...