But I love Jamie O'Brien's dad Mick O!
I was going to write about the day’s wonderful professional surfing action. Did you watch? Did you see John John take his rightful place as the King of Caledonia and vanquish the dreaded comboland/Frenchman?
Did you?
Well. I decided not to write about it because I like reading Rory’s recaps better. The man is really at the top of his game and no one is doing better wrap-ups than he. I’m so biased! But I also speak so truth!
In any case, I shall tell you a tale about fishing and why I hate it.
It all began eight or such years ago and I was on Oahu’s famous North Shore living in Jamie O’Brien’s house, for some reason, though Jamie wasn’t there.
Mick O’Brien was though. Mick O. And we would drink lots of vodka together under the pale moonlight.
Mick is quite the character. He is an Australian but came to Hawaii on family vacation at some point and swore he’d never leave. He hasn’t and worked as a lifeguard around the island, I think, before retiring?
He fishes now and loves it. After drinking lots of vodka under the pale moonlight he would wake me very very very early in the morning, before the sun came up, and we would drive to his boat in the Haleiwa harbor. Do pre-fishing activity stuff then head out to sea.
He would drive and look at his underwater fish finding sonar whatnot. I would sit in the back and hate vodka. The sun would come us and bake the boat like it baked Lawrence of Arabia on its anvil.
My eyes would burn.
Mick would toss me a warm Coors Light.
He would drive and look.
I would sit in the back and hate Coors Light.
Then a fish would get snagged. It would all be sort of exciting-ish for a moment until the wobbly carcass got gaffed and pulled aboard and thrown into the ice thing underneath.
Hours later another fish would get snagged and the process repeated.
Lots of Coors Light.
Ugh.
The sun would go down finally and my eyes would curse me and threaten to jump out of my skull.
Mick would toss me one of the last warm Coors Lights.
We would clean the boat, the blood, the gaff hook, the whatnots but the day was not done because then we would throw the two or three fish into his truck and drive from Haleiwa to Honolulu and the giant stinky warehouse managed by a Chinaman.
Mick would sell his fish.
On the way home he would stop at a gas station and I would buy some vodka.
It was the best of times and by best of time I mean worst of times.
I love Mick O but I hate fishing.
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“Snagged” one just yesterday while drinking Coors Lights. Eating fresh Ahi tonight. Not a terrible deal. Maybe it’s because our beer was cold?
Blood Feud: Chas vs the Mad Hueys.
mad hueys vs rest of world
hueys and salty crew vs the rest. they’re making money, which ain’t easy right now. sure, its bogan/redneck money but at this point, can’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
There’s nothing as smart as a horse of Coors.
Its called trolling. I grew up in a place that you have to take a boat to get to the surf. My dad used to throw out some lures and drive excruciatingly slowly to the better spots, sometimes circling around to follow birds. All the while the clock would be ticking before the trades came up and blew everything to shit. Fucking hated it, I still think he did it on purpose.
And there wasn’t any warm Coors either.
Don’t worry, no Coors is better than warm Coors. Or cold Coors, actually.
Coors is keystone, I’m convinced of it, and equally terrible. Miller light is my go to light beer.
Tecate for me, or PBR when I’m feeling hip (rather often, unforch).
sound
That’s what I like about you Chas, you’re a people person.
sounds boring as fuck!!
Only way to kill fish is by firing a spear through their head fifty feet underwater.
Agreed
i don’t kill anything, just hassle the shit out of em, give em a piercing if i’m lucky and swill some piss
That kind of fishing sucks.
Now fly fishing is worth giving up surfing for.
Oh funny….I was in Idaho last year where Hemingway ate a shotgun and watched two old men wander the river fly fishing for an hour plus. Totally mesmerized.
I’ve sold surfboards to pay for fly fishing gear, but never the other way around.
Fresh or salt? Fresh water fly fishing for itty-bitty titty brims is lame, but tricking a tarpon, that’s living! I suppose my disdain for freshwater is those silly rubber pants and old fart hats one must wear.
shit, on a 4wt even those stocker trout are fun with 2lb tippet, especially if they’ll eat dry flies. for salt, poon, bonefish, redfish. they all eat em good
True, I have done bass and brim on the fly. I suppose the lack of cold water rivers here in Florida play a role in my opinion. I have tried on vacations to Tennessee a few times, but I don’t know enough about it to be good. I need to hire a guide next time. Know any?
i know salt guys, one in the keys, one in southern SC. you mean White River, right?
Yeah, the kind with round rocks. We have coldish spring fed creeks in Florida but not like mountain rivers. The water here comes out at 72 degrees year round. Lovely in the summer time, not bad in winter.
I feel exactly the opposite: I don’t remotely care about ocean fishing – except for dropping my crab pots in the winter. Now the cold, clear water of a mountain river, with trout running running and not a soul around? Paradise.
Now then: what the hell is a titty brim?
Just an expression to describe a small fish. Pan fish come in a wide variety, but no matter what species that’s how I describe the juvenile ones. I must admit that freshwater fishing is what got me hooked as a lad, but saltwater fishing is where my heart lies. Specifically spearfishing. My dive buddy and I have a saying that we are saving freshwater fishing for retirement when I can no longer dive.
Did you meet a Chinaman named Dong?
https://www.youtube.com/wat…