Road to Nova Scotia

We spent two days Boondocking in Monterey on Cannery Row.

The main event was deep sea fishing! We woke up at 0430 to catch our boat at 0530. We rented some gear from the charter shop, met our fishing companions who offered up some of their bait, squid and sardines, and boarded the ship. Once on board I was somehow named the book keeper and was responsible for collecting the pot toward the gamble for the biggest fish of the day. With our rental poles in hand and comparatively minimal previous fishing experience I feel fairly confident saying that we were considered easy money in the pot.

We had a beautiful ride out on to the bay during sunrise, talked with many people and collectively became known as “Minnesota” on the ship. We were offered many, many, pointers some more helpful than others but appreciated nonetheless.

Meghan quickly proved to be a fish whisperer consistently hooking two at a time! We were fishing for Rock Cod and Lingcod, but found our favorites to actually reel in were the little mackerels which the other folks used as bait. We found immense amusement in a few of the other fishermen, one particular fella would scream for the gaff and deckhand nearly every fish on line well before seeing it convinced it was a massive Lingcod and the catch of the day, but would end up pulling up the cutest little fish almost all under 12”.

I was reeling up a fish and after a few feet came to a screeching halt. I thought for certain someone on the other side of the boat had snagged my line. I then spent the next 15 minutes fighting for my life to reel and waiting patiently for someone on the other side to yell that they had snagged me. After probably 12 of those 15 minutes the two people next me started hollering that the had something big on their line, as I was still quietly reeling in my line. The fish was finally visible and my two companions started whooping that they had caught the Lingcod of a lifetime. As it got closer to the surface it turned out they had snagged my line, and the Minnesotan rookie bookkeeper would walk away with their money. I managed to pull in a 20 pound Lingcod which would end up being the biggest fish of the day, and according to the fishermen on the boat a fish many spend most of their lives trying to catch.

We donated the majority of our catches to a very kind gentleman who works as a principle at a nearby high school, he does a cook out for staff and packages the rest to gift to teachers and neighbors. We left the day literally covered head to toe in squid chunks and fish guts but had an absolute blast. Thanks to one of our many pointers we were able to scrub most of the fish smell off with some lemon juice. We absolutely lucked out in all aspects, massive catch, perfect sunny day with calm waters and no fog! Great time all around.