Tidelines – June 2, 2011
When we do fishing trips for articles, as you can imagine, sometimes we catch the intended species and sometimes we don’t. And when you don’t catch the intended species, the question then arises what to do about an article.
Time and money have been invested (the money investment is definitely there this year with the price of gas alone), and there’s space reserved in Fisherman’s Post for the article. However, do people really want to read about a fishing trip that could be deemed unsuccessful?
The argument usually comes up that fishing is fishing—it’s not called catching—and all of our readers would understand that point. Ultimately, though, that argument is trumped by the reality that a “fishing” article in a newspaper has to be based on “catching” fish.
So with that said, in my Tidelines column this week I’d like to talk about “fishing” and not “catching.”
Regular readers know that I am a family man with a wife (Leslie) and two kids, Owen (age 5) and James (age 4). Those of you with wives and children know how hard it can be to balance work, family, and time for yourself (time for fishing), and that’s why this past weekend I was excited to have lined up an overnight to Harkers Island where I would be fishing the next day in a cobia tournament put on by Harkers Island Tackle and Trading Post.
If you haven’t fished out of Harkers Island, let me give you a few reasons why you should. And this list won’t include “catching.” It won’t even include “fishing.”
Since I was calling last minute, the Harkers Island Fishing Center was already booked solid. They’re under more pressure for rooms this year since Calico Jack’s was bulldozed down. They were very helpful, though, and put me in touch with Ed Carter and Penny Fleener who rent out a two-bedroom trailer by the night just around the corner. The Fishing Center being booked turned out to be a blessing, as Ed and Penny couldn’t have been more gracious hosts.
Tony, my fishing buddy for the cobia tournament, and I were greeted by both Ed and Penny (locals may know her better as the “Bird Lady”), as they live next door to the trailer. And in addition to smiles and a walkthrough, they also greeted us with a complimentary bowl of shrimp cocktail.
As we unwound on the screened in front porch with a couple of beers from the Piggly Wiggly on the way, Tony and I agreed the cobia tournament was off to a fine start.
Then it was down to the tackle shop to get signed up for the tournament. If you’re familiar with and fond of John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row, then a Friday evening in the parking lot of the Harkers Island Tackle and Trading Post will speak to you.
For instance, one regular came in for the weekend, and Karen and Ronnie Pruitt (owners of the tackle shop) immediately recognized that he had a new haircut. The guy smiled and said he had done it himself, but he had only gotten half way through before his wife stopped him because she said he was messing up his hair. And there he was that evening with a big smile, full of energy, and getting ready to go out flounder gigging, and half his head was shaved tight and the other half wasn’t.
Before he left, he bought a high end cooler from Karen and Ronnie. The guys in the parking lot heckled him about what his wife would say about him spending the money, but his plan was solid. He was going to say it was a used cooler and Ronnie had lent it to him.
After signing up, we walked across the street to Miss Faye’s Fish Hook Grill. There we enjoyed local Harkers Island seafood the way you are supposed to enjoy local Harkers Island seafood: we put back a quick beer in the parking lot and then ordered fried shrimp and fried oyster burgers with hushpuppies on the side.
Then it was back to the trailer until we were tired enough to go to sleep, knowing that the later we stayed up the sooner that 4:15 am alarm would go off.
The cobia fishing? The cobia fishing in this year’s tournament was non-existent. None of the boats were able to weigh in a cobia.
Tony and I anchored up early and fought plenty of rays and sharks. Later we searched and found bait pods to cast to, but there were either no cobia or no cobia wanting to hit a bucktail.
Then we finished the day anchored up once again, this time catching as many chopper blues as we wanted.
So what do you do when you target cobia but fail to find one? You head home tired and happy with new stories to tell and a plan to return next year to try again.
If you’d like to rent Ed and Penny’s trailer, you can best reach them by calling (252) 772-5088 and tell them you heard about them in Fisherman’s Post.
And if you need a friendly (and well stocked) tackle shop in Harkers Island, or if you would like more info on next year’s cobia tournament, you can reach Harkers Island Tackle and Trading Post at (252) 838-1126.
