There were big adventures on the high seas last Saturday as
South East Consortium embarked on an afternoon fishing trip. The excursion
began as one of the Island Current Fleet’s finest vessels pulled anchor off of
City Island in the Bronx.
The air was heavy with the sweet mixture of sunscreen and
sweat, a staple scent of the summer months as our first mate, Anthony, set up
our reels. The open aired boat chugged along out of the harbor passing other
anglers eager to get out to the water.
The target of the day was fluke; a flattened, bottom
dwelling fish that looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. The finned fiend
proved elusive to our cleverly placed bait. The only fluke caught was by
seasoned seafarer Johnny Reichelt. Unfortunately said fish failed to reach the
18 inch minimum length. Salvation! The fish was freed, avoiding a one way
ticket to an evening dinner plate.
Sea robins on the other hand were practically jumping into
our boat. The sea robin is a swift and heavily armored fish that is equipped
with sharp, protruding stickers lathered in bacteria. Our first mate quickly
took over to remove these ferocious fish from our jagged hooks. Not the
deadliest catch but still a formidable foe from the murky depths.
Although the crew of anglers didn’t pull in a tremendous
catch this time around the sky was blue, the air was warm and the waters clear,
combined with good friends there is not much better in life. As we were shaking
off our sea legs and easing back into our roles as landlubbers once again, the
relaxed looks on everybody’s face could only mean one thing: been fishing.
