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Now on with my story, my experiences with the elusive squid
started when I was invited to stay with a group of professional fishermen
at a fishing and hunting lodge way south on the mainland side north
of the Sudanise border in a place called Marsa Alam and if you are driving
through don't blink because you will miss it, the lodge was a little
quaint but adequate and the hired help overseeing the lodge was so friendly
and helpful that I felt a little guilty not being able to do the most
simplest of chores like for example making a sandwich or a simple cup
of coffee because they would get offended even if they were in the middle
of doing something extremely physical and time consuming so I would
go with the flow and constantly thank them all of the time. The first
day that we arrived it was decided that live bait would be needed so
my friends suggested we try our hands at squid fishing at a nearby bay
just as the sun was setting and boy what timing it was. We arrived at
this bay about a half hour before the setting sun and I was handed a
super light spinning combo with probably 5 lb test line and a green
and shiny rapala looking lure with numerous small curved barbless umbrella
shaped hooks on the tale end and a small center weight mounted on the
underside to keep this lure sitting up while on the bottom. My friends
told me to cast out as far as I can into the bay and let it drop to
the bottom and then slowly retrieve it dragging the sea bottom. Naturally
I assumed I would snag it on the bottom but they assured me everything
would be ok, (right). Just when we arrived and as the sun was close
to set one of my friends hooked the first squid and it bent his pole
double but he dared not set the hook because don't forget there are
no barbs on this lure so he just kept on reeling it in slowly all the
way to the shore and wow, I was surprised what simplicity in this technique
and just at that moment I thought I hooked the bottom but my friends
laughed at ma and assured me to just keep reeling slowly and sure enough
I felt the pulling and I knew I had something on the other end. It took
me about 3 minutes to land a beauty about 2 lbs I guesstimated it to
be and with this new found feeling of accomplishment I was ready for
anything. After catching about 2 more or so, I hooked what I thought
was a bigger one and on getting it to the shore this squid decided to
do a little damage. Just as I was reeling and at the point of reaching
the top of the water just in front of me about 5 ft away the squid took
its anger out on me and started spraying its jet stream of ink right
at me and you can only imagine what this looked like to my friends with
the ink coming out in spits and spats and me trying to avoid it, I must
have looked and acted a little crazy because I wasn't about to drop
the pole and throw in the towel at that moment so the squid and I were
linked by just a thin line and need I say more I landed that sucker
and what came over me was a challenge to all of them squid in the bay
so the war was on. All of my clothes were ruined with the black ink
but it didn't discourage me to say the least and all of my friends just
simply sit down on the shore and watched me in action. I walked back
and forth covering all of the shoreline and I felt like I was on a mission
and don't forget the fishing stops when the sun sets so I was in a rush
as well. I had a vendetta against all of the squid in the bay because
of this one squid ruined my brand new t-shirt with the fishing logo
that I wore wanting to impress my new found friends and all they could
do was laugh and watch as I got busy doing what I do best. Well when
it was over I had put in the bucket at least 16 of those ink squirting
suckers and I felt redeemed to lose a prized t-shirt and I gained the
respect of my fishing friends as well and so they all got together and
decided to name me the squid catcher of the trip which at that time
felt like an honor to be excepted into their inner circle and to provide
such a valuable service as to continuously every day catching a valuable
bait for the entire 10 day trip. The squid did their job during the
entire trip because we caught numerous fish trolling and bottom fishing
and in turn we also fed on the big squid as well. I had so much fun
on this trip that I bugged my new found friends as to when the next
trip was going to take place and so my Red Sea experiences started and
as I look back on those days I still have the desire to start it over
again and again. Telling you about my experiences makes me live those
trips again and it makes me feel so good to think about them and now
that I look back on this phase of my life I conjure up more and more
of those special moments when you feel one with mother nature and you
get the feeling of being invincible and to think I have loads of stories
to live over and I would like to share them all with you but I really
wish I could be there on the Red Sea with you to experience them for
yourself, for sure you would get the very same feelings as I did but
for now an old fishing story will have to do.
STORY 2
 Red
Sea's Marsa Alam Let me tell you more about the Marsa Alam Lodge fishing
stories and some of the special people that crossed my path while staying
at this lodge. Some of my new found friends were from other countries
but most were Egyptian professionals, for example my close friend still
to this day goes by the name of Zaky and he was my first fishing partner
I met and the one that invited me on my first trip to the Red Sea. He
is the owner of a gold and silver shop that is located in one of the
oldest bazaars in Cairo and I have to admit he always had an instinct
as to what type of bait or lure to use at the right time whenever we
would go fishing. I relied on his expertise a lot of the time but in
some unique cases I would add my 2 cents to the picture just to give
it some spice of my good ole Florida know-how. The Lodge was built next
to the water and it had a very long patio overlooking the water as well
and we spent many a night staring up at the stars and telling fish tales
without any interference from TV or Radio or even Telephones and Cell
phones to damage the moment. There was at least 6 bedrooms with 2 beds
in every room and don’t forget also a couple of shower bathrooms as
well, so whenever a trip was planned, it was planned for at least 10
people and sometimes some of the wives would go as well. The lodge provided
two boats for us to use however and whenever we wanted and they supplied
the skippers as well. All of us would split the overall bill and also,
if we wanted, just take along some of the little specialty extras to
share with everyone. Of course most of the fishermen had their own tackle
and they would also have their own stories as to how they came about
having this tackle whether it was from purchasing it in the USA or Europe
or even some parts of the Middleeast but it was almost always a constant
problem bringing it through customs wherever. I didn’t help matters
by telling them of my favorite superstores and the mass quantities of
fishing tackle and how much time it would take trying to choose the
right lure or product for the right fishing trip, boy what would they
be like to have an Outdoor World at their disposal. Many of the fishermen
that also stayed at the lodge during my episode’s had a hard time excepting
my ways and as I said before my ways were proven ways of the typical
Florida fisherman, which is to go as light as you can under the circumstances
and give the fish an equal chance of survival or (catch and release)
so I felt most comfortable using a spinning combination Penn 9500 series
with 30 LB test line loaded to the max and this gave me the option of
casting for schoolers that would cross our path as well as trolling
for the big ones, but whatever the fish, I felt like I had the advantage
overall. But most of these fisherman were still of the old world ways
of putting food on the table and don’t let anything swimming get away
or else (I always wondered about the what else part) or maybe you are
cursed with the bad eye, don’t scream and shout on a hookup (which was
my constant problem because of my enthusiasm) and trust me when I say
they still believe in these superstitions, so, they use big Penn reels,
big lines and big rods and basically wench the fish to the boat. But
all in all it was always most satisfying to get my hooks wet and besides
I kept my friends on their toes and amused as well, due to the fact
I was always experimenting in my endeavors. Now back to some fishing
tales, well on one of my trips I decided to try my hand at catching
bait fish while we were trolling around some of the numerous reefs.
These reefs seemed to pop up out of no where from the crystal clear
blue/aqua water and some of them as well, don’t even appear on any charts
or maps, you really have to take care in navigating in these waters
and so it’s always wise to have a skipper along that knows the waters.
Most of the fishermen like to use hand lines to feel the fish strike
better which is what they always told me and on these lines they would
use a small homemade spoon or take a bird feather (preferably white)
and tie it on to a small hook and then on the line, sometimes they would
put up to 4 hooks with feathers on the same hand line to better their
chances at multiple hookup in schoolers like small bonito or blue runners
and they were very successful as well at this old proven method and
I guess you can say don’t fix it if its not broken but I can never settle
for just an old method. I took out of my tackle box a small saltwater
redheaded rattletrap and I begged them to give me a little room to fight
the bait so they did with a little chuckle and a look between each other
as saying (really right). Well, I made believers of all of them on this
trip for not only did I catch the most bait fish 67 in all on this trip,
I also caught other kinds like Barracuda and some skip jack and a couple
a dorado (Dolphin fish) as well. After the first day of catching, my
friends resorted to only me catching the bait for the remainder of the
trip which is OK in some instances but I had a hunger to catch the big
ones as well, so I would put my bait pole between my legs and trolled
over the side while I sit in the fighting chair waiting for the big
one to hit on the big Penn reel, I think I won their admiration as to
the severity of my hunger for fishing after this trip. So many times
I begged them to let me troll with my 9500 at the back of the boat for
the big ones but almost always they used the same excuse that if the
big fish hits we need to give it a real good fighting chance (ha ha)
and then wench it in after that, but you know me by now every opportunity
that came along I would put my pole to the test and if you can get a
big fish on a Penn 9500 then you will surely know what a good and challenging
fight is and even the smallest of these monsters of the sea can give
you a fantastic battle that can last you a long time and you do get
that heart pumping, adrenaline flowing exercise as well. We would relax
after each days fishing by sitting on the patio overlooking the water
and reminisce about the days events and get a laugh or two and just
when you thought the day was over one of my friends would take out one
of the old bait fish and bury a hook into it then tie it to one of the
big Penn reels and convince one of the lodge helpers into carrying it
out in the dark onto the shallow reef that touched the shoreline just
in front of the lodge and then we would go about our evening activities
just forgetting about the bait. Some of the fishermen played cards some
backgammon and some just plain relax under the stars but don’t get to
relaxed because the reel starts singing and who knows what’s on the
other end in the darkness of the night and into the early hours of the
morning, why we have caught from that patio small shark, big jacks,
Barracuda, ray’ s and an occasional moray eel but who’s counting. Boy,
I’m starting to get that feeling of doing it all over again. Maybe I
will because when it comes to fishing I think I will always be adventurous
and young at heart so how about all you fishermen and fisherwomen out
there. STORY 3 Red Sea My Crowning Glory Hey fishing friends its just
me with another of those Red Sea fishing tales and I really feel driven
to telling you about it. I want you to tell me if it was Divine Intervention
or just plain dumb luck, but whatever the answer you derive from this
tale please give me your opinion. On another of those Red Sea trips
to the same Lodge located in Marsa Alam another group of die hard Fishermen
and I decided to go at a time when the weather was not so good but we
figured we would try and get our hooks wet in between the wind storm
squalls. You may be wondering why we chose this moment but what I didn’t
tell you about is the usage of this lodge, you see the lodge belonged
to a Hunting and Fishing Club located in Cairo and it was available
to any members wanting to rent it out at just about any 10 to 20 days
of any month but a drawing would be held a month ( democracy at work)
before each month to decide which member won and so we ended up on the
short end of the stick for this trip, but you know me by now I won’
t say no when it comes to getting my hooks wet. The first 4 days we
couldn’t even take the boats out because of the ferocity of the wind
so we would go exploring with the 4 wheelers we had and boy what a view
of the desert that ran along the mountains as well as driving all through
the valleys and we would spot an occasional gazelle or a free roaming
camel. We even stopped at the meteor hole which is what the locals call
it but whatever it is, it’s amazing and to think it is located just
5 miles south of the lodge and right on the edge of the shallow reef
along the shore line and as well in the middle of nowhere or (no civilization
for miles). You can stand on the reef just in front of this meteor hole
at low tide which is about a foot deep and look at this gaping hole
on the shore that drops to at least 30 feet deep or more and at least
30 feet across forming almost a perfect circle with a small mound built
up in its center and the sea water rushes in and fills it up to the
level of the sea. This water hole is filled with sea creatures of all
kinds just like an aquarium loaded with for example Lion fish, small
schools of bait fish, angel fish, jacks and many different kinds of
crustaceans you wouldn’t believe it if you didn’t see it for yourself
and all of these sea creatures have their total freedom to ro! am in
and out of this meteor hole, amazing. Now back to my fishing tale, we
were able to start fishing on the 5th day but decided to stay close
to the lodge for fear of a wind squall because weather reports don’t
exist over there but things weren’t going very well and we all have
those moments don’t we. My friends started getting restless because
we weren’t putting any fish on the table and I kept giving some of my
closer friends a pep talk telling them that things would get better
but what do I know when it comes to the Red sea, I’m just a Florida
fisherman. Things went from bad to worse as we were getting closer to
our day of departure and everyone really was getting irritated at just
about anything that occurred because very few fish were being caught
and when something good hit we would lose it by not setting the hook
just right or the fish breaking the line or gaffing at the back of the
boat but whatever the reason it just wasn’t our days. Finally on the
evening of the 7th day one of my close friends whom I really respected
announced out loud in the presence of others that maybe I wasn’t that
good a fisherman to fish in the Red Sea and that maybe I should concentrate
on my Florida fishing only, but it really surprised me for him to say
it to me because this wasn’t our first time together and we have caught
lots of fish other times so at that moment I shrugged it off and told
him maybe he was right, so I thought about it silently for awhile and
came to the conclusion how could I be inexperienced at fishing when
I have fished for over 35 years in many places fresh and saltwater,
so I started thinking that all of them were looking for an excuse for
their bad luck and the easiest thing to do was to lay blame on someone
being bad luck ( the black sheep ) or maybe one of my enemies put the
bad eye on me, if you can believe such hogwash but whatever the reason
was, most of them seemed to except this excuse and react more calmly
now that I was blamed for all of their bad luck and also maybe because
I was the only foreigner on this trip. I was really bothered about what
was said to me all of that evening and even into the night because up
till that moment I always felt like I was one of them but in just a
swift jab of the tongue I was put in my place so now I didn’t feel so
enthusiastic about this trip and I was questioning the fact of who were
these people, my so called friends and how could they believe in such
superstitious ways. I couldn’t sleep all night and so I convinced myself
that in the morning I would take out the smaller boat and just do a
little bit of fishing all by my lonesome and this would give all of
them the opportunity to prove their theory, in other words let all of
the experienced Red Sea fishermen go out on the bigger boat and be set
free of this inexperienced Florida fisherman. Well 6 am rolled around
and this was an hour before everyone else woke up, but I was on a mission
from GOD and all fired up and bursting at the seams by now to find out
if they are right and that I am inexperienced, anyway, the one friend
(Hany) that didn’t agree with the majority on me being bad luck heard
me rustling around and decided to get up as well. I told him my plan
to take out the smaller boat and so he asked me if he could go along
since there wasn’t very much fish being caught anyway so I said OK.
We ate breakfast and by 7 am we prepared our poles and bait and I looked
up at the morning sky giving caution to the wind and noticed how beautiful
and refreshing it felt for me to go out on my own to try my luck so
we headed for the boat and just at that moment some of the others heard
us leaving and asked what we were doing so I told them I felt like trying
my luck in the small boat and go near the shore and not get to far from
the lodge for fear of the wind, they excepted my excuse and wished me
good luck as well, I could tell by the look on their faces that they
were relieved and a look of hope came across them as well so now everyone
was happy and no more bad luck or no more me, ( Mr. Enthusiastic the
foreigner ). We immediately started trolling at the break of day and
my instincts told me to hug the shoreline just outside of the shallow
reef which extended out into the water and it drops off sharply like
an underwater cliff into 90 feet or more as well. By 9 am we had a couple
of bait fish so we decided to rig them up since the fishing was slow
and by 10 am my world changed. The monster hit the bait the same time
I was fighting to untangle the line that was kinked in the Penn reel
and me being a gentleman I offered the pole to Hany but he didn’t seem
to enthusiastic about it, maybe it was to small a fish or whatever but
he refused and said to me that I would have to break the curse so I
calmly fixed the kink in the line and picked up the pole and tightened
up the line and set the hook and boy was I surprised, the fish immediately
surfaced with all of its gleaming white teeth gnashing and thrashing
back and forth and Hany sitting in front of me was closer to the fight
kept screaming that it was a monster but I was to interested in concentrating
on reeling and setting the break and keeping the right tension at all
times so if I lost it then it wasn’t anything that I did to cause it
to get away. We finally got it to the boat 20 minutes later and the
local skipper on board decided on seeing the fish that it would take
2 gaffs to get ! the fish aboard only because of the teeth and its size
so Hany had to control the moment and what a job he did reaching out
to the leader that was very close to the fishes mouth so the fish was
landed, I gave Hany and the skipper as well as looking up at the sky,
a big, (Thank You) and then I noticed my fish and what a relief came
over me because my battle was over not with the fish but my new fishing
friends and so was this my bad luck or what. The fish was what you call
a great northern Barracuda and it measured 5 ft 3 inches and weighed
approximately 50 lbs and when I opened its mouth wide I could place
the upper portion of my leg into its mouth and not feel its 1 inch maybe
longer teeth, WOW what a fish. I felt a little guilty to keep this great
old warrior of the sea but I was on a mission from GOD and I as well
had to see this story played out to the end. We stopped for lunch at
an island reef just off from shore and as we were reminiscing about
the barracuda I was still pumped so I decided to drop a line and do
a little bottom fishing while I was eating remimber I told you I can't
get enough. Hany cut up some bait and decided to fish, as well as the
skipper but I didn't want to touch the stinky bait while I ate so I
searched around in my tackle box for just the right kind of jig that
could work and I came up with a rubber shrimp and showed it to Hany
and the skipper and they looked at each other laughed and said (right).
Well just as the shrimp hit the bottom I had my first small reef fish
I called it a big eye and both Hany and the skipper just looked at this
shrimp in amazement and just couldn't believe it so I dropped it in
again and caught the fishes brother and from that moment on my time
seemed to be spent going through my tackle box for both of my friends
to try just about everything I owned and it really made me feel good
to apply my experienced Florida techniques here on the Red Sea. The
day’s fishing went very well for us, several more barracuda, jacks and
more bait was caught and even Hany had a defining moment as well, he
decided to try his luck fishing with a deep running heavy lead weighted
hand line (yo yo fishing) with a bait fish with 2 hooks imbedded in
it and just after 2 pm his world changed as well, he had a hit while
we were rounding a reef point very close to shore, and so he set the
hook by quickly pulling up the slack and jerking it tight, what I seen
him do next was as I thought a little crazy, at that moment he let the
line go by releasing it from his hands and the line started feeding
out the back of the boat but keep in mind a lot of the line is still
on a spool sitting between his feet and then he picked up the line again
and set the hook one more time. All that I could think about was what
was he thinking or was he crazy or what but when he finally landed the
fish I was so surprised for not only was it a nice sized barracuda but
also a nice sized jack as well, WOW. One of the big fish cut the bait
in two pieces and was caught on one of the hooks and the other fish
was caught on the second hook so all I could think about was Hany's
mastery at dealing with this situation and how did he know what the
outcome was going to be, he just chuckled and grinned from ear to ear
at his good luck but I knew he was surprised as well, you could tell
by his excitement. It was time that we headed back to the lodge and
both of us felt thoroughly satisfied of the days events and we didn’t
care what the other professionals caught even if their luck was changed
because I wasn’t in their boat. Hany told me to not make a scene when
we arrive and to go about our usual daily activities until we know what
the score is and so I took his advise and believe me when I say it was
killing me to not scream out at the top of my lungs and say to the others,
well it’s not me that caused all of your bad luck so quit believing
in such nonsense and superstition and this Florida fisherman does no
how to fish anywhere, anyplace and anytime even in the Red Sea but I
didn’t. I kept my composure and the local skipper carried all of our
fish back to the patio and laid them down on the floor beside the other
fishermen’s catches and surprise surprise surprise they caught the same
as all the rest of their past days fishing which were small and few
and our smallest fish could have eaten their biggest fish as an appetizer.
The look of total surprise on their face told the hole story and it
redeemed me as well and I felt like I was 10 ft tall, Their jaws dropped
to the floor in disbelief and they started questioning the fact that
maybe we bought our fish from somewhere but (ha ha) where in the middle
of nowhere. The trip ended with the wind blowing to hard for us to go
out the last 2 days so we packed it in and the score was settled, I
was the champion of the trip and you know they have never to this day
questioned my abilities and from time to time they even have asked for
my opinion as well, so please tell me my fishing friends was it Divine
Intervention or just plain dumb luck, you judge it for yourself. I hope
you enjoy these true tales, from your fishing friend, Darrel
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