Gone Fishin'

Javy, April 16, 2015

Two days ago, I went surf fishing with my dad. I was thrilled to go fishing! I was looking forward to it, and I was waiting and waiting and waiting for my dad to get back from work. When he finally came home, I was so worn out from waiting, I felt like I had grown a beard on my chin.

So, I was happy and I asked him, "Can we go fishing?" And he said, "Not now, I need to eat something." I felt like my head was going to split in half. Waiting ten minutes for my dad to eat felt like a year or two.

But let's get back to fishing. So, we were on the beach. It was very windy and dark. It's very good to fish at nighttime because some species of fish wait until it's dark to eat. We found a place to fish. We didn't have a pole, but we had a bucket. Our neighbor loaned it to us. The bucket was used for wrapping the line around. We got out the shrimp bait and we hooked it on the hook and then we put a rubber band on the shrimp so it wouldn't fall off in the ocean. Then I went far away so I wouldn't be hit by the hook. The way you get the shrimp out into the water is you swing and swing the line until you're ready to let go and it goes right into the blue sea. And you wait. The line has a big weight at the end so the ocean doesn't sweep it away.

So then we waited and waited and waited. I jogged, I sat, I annoyed my dad, I talked, and then I took a little walk. I watched as a bolt of lightning streaked down from the sky.  I think Thor was mad at us for fishing. Then I came back to see if my dad had a fish. I was excited but, no luck. Then my dad asked if I wanted to try. I asked if I could throw the bait in. But if you know me, you know that I am very short. I'm not tall enough to throw it. So we left the line out there in the water and I held it awhile, waiting, and then I felt a little tug. But then I made a mistake of pulling back. My dad told me, "Never pull back, because it will tell the fish, 'This food is crazy, get me out of here,' and it will swim away." The right way to do it is to let the fish feel it and get used to it, and bite it and swallow it. When the fish has swallowed it, you yank back.  And voilá, you got a fish.

But me? That's a different story. I'm not a good fisher yet.  But I, Javier McGinnis, will catch a fish in Uruguay! Or at least I hope so.

I enjoyed talking with my dad and having a nice time on the beach. We left and went home and told the sorrowful news to Mom and Teo. Today, we are going to try again. If I catch one, I will tell you.