Have you ever lost someone close, a good friend or a family member?  I have, God may have decided that it was their time, but I wasn’t ready and it never seemed fair. Their parting was far too early.

Time is not going to pass me by, I’m not going to say; I wish I would have done this or done that.  I will live like there is no tomorrow and cherish every day.  Life is too short for honey do lists or a boring existence.   Sometimes you have to make your own fun!  The last thing I see before I go to heaven won’t be my couch.

Cold brew, Hot guns and Big fish.  Play hard or go home!

10 – Litter Bugs ~ Pack it in – Pack it out.  It’s that simple!

9 – Illegal Snagging ~ Git’em in the mouth or go home!

8 – Zipper Lipping “Buddies” ~  You know the guy who always wants to brag about the fish he caught and rub it in, then he gets lock jaw about where he got it.  “Look what I caught!”, Where you get it at? “In the water”.  Wrong answer!  Don’t zipper lip your Pals unless you don’t want to go fishing with them again.

7 – Shortarms ~ The guys that can never reach his pockets when it comes to sharing expenses.

6 – The put downer ~  The guy who thinks the only fish worth fishing for is the fish that he’s catching.  If you fish for anything else you’re a loser.  “I only fly fish for trout” blah!

5 – No shows ~  The guy who makes plans with you, sometimes even push’s you into going.  You saved a spot on your boat for him. Then cancels at the last minute or doesn’t even show up, sometimes without even a phone call.

4 – Hey where did all these people come from! ~ You catch a fish and all the sudden your surrounded by a zillion other people casting over your line.  Solution:  After you crush your beer can on your forehead,  talk in your best redneck accent, loud enough so everyone can hear you, then say to your fishin buddy “Hey Billy Bob, hand me dat there shotgun. I heard its open season on &%$#@* today!

3 – Your fishing buddy who never brings his own beer but always manages to drink all yours!  Or.. He brings his own bargain beer but drinks all your premium beer then starts drinking his bargain beer.

2 – The know it all.  No matter what this buddy knows everything and makes sure to let you know it.

1 – The waster.  This guy always keeps everything he catch’s.  He puts it in his freezer then throws it away next year because its freezer burned beyond recognition.

Is it bad luck...Really!

Let me tell you a little story about a boat named the “Crazy Avis”.  It was a beautiful sunny day with calm seas and void of even a slight breeze.  The Crew: Bruce – The Captain of the ship, Dex – First Mate, John – Deck Hand and Keith – Deck Hand.  The Crazy Avis and it’s crew of four set out for a day of fun filled fishing with high expectations of a bounty of big fish.  The Captain of the vessel “Bruce” also had another agenda and that was to prove the age old theory of the bad luck banana’s was flawed.  Not being a very superstitious guy, he believed that the bad luck banana was just another silly old superstition and he was determined to prove it.   So armed with four bananas and an arsenal of fishing gear the four set to sea.

They all had their sites set on reaching the holy grail of big lings.  Each of the crew members had brought along their own special big ling lure or bait that included monster fresh squid, freshly caught bait fish in the 12” or bigger variety and an assortment of giant plastic grubs and jigs and of course bananas.

Full of anticipation the crew is happy to see that mother nature is cooperating.  Making it to the pre-determined fishing grounds will prove to be eventless.  A beautiful warm July sunny day with just a hint of high clouds and a calm seas the crew enjoyed a scenic boat ride to the fishing grounds.

As the crew approached the jagged rocky shoreline of the fishing grounds a couple of other boats were spotted and everyone was ready and eager to drop their gear.  The captain carefully positioned the boat and only killed the motor when he got that “Fishy Feeling”.  “This is the spot” he exclaimed!    Soon everyone aboard was staring intensely at the sea water directly below the end of their rods where each had dropped their gear in high hopes of getting that big hit.  Soon afterwards it was fish on!  One by one each of the crew members reveled in reeling up a fish, never really knowing what was hanging on the end of their line until they got a good glimpse of it after reeling it to the surfaced.  Big lings, a variety of rockfish and the powerful cabezon any of which could be expected.  Even the possibility of the occasional pacific halibut could be expected.

As the afternoon rolled on, the crew continued with their pursuit of big fish and the occasional shout of “I got one, a big one!” could be heard, then all eyes were focused on the crew member with the “Big one” on.  Inevitably someone would scramble for the net and stand prepared to assist in the battle.  Often the big fish would win, overpowering the crew member and taking  their gear straight back to the bottom and into the rocks, leaving the crew member with only a “deer in the headlights” look,  a frayed leader and a pounding heart show for there efforts.

As the crew continued to move the boat around to coincide with the moving currents which were fairly strong that afternoon causing more hang ups on the rocky bottom than usual and trying to plan their drifts precisely in order to put them on the perfect fishing hole.  Captain Bruce, knowing that they were already having a great day on the water had decided to fly in the face of superstition and eat one of the bananas he brought aboard.  That was one delicious banana he said with a smile, as he threw the peel overboard “anybody want one”?

Later that afternoon a slight breeze had picked up along with the strong currents and the crew had decided to explore a new hole that was in less current and wind.   As the crew slowly cruised through the rocky pinnacle’s in search of a new spot, John had mentioned that he had done well nearby a few weeks earlier.  Shortly after that Captain Bruce got that “Fishy Feeling”,  with less current and only a small breeze, he killed the motor. “This is the spot” he once again exclaimed and the crew once again dropped their gear to the rocky bottom.  Soon afterwards the crew had hooked into several big fish and boated a couple as well.  They were all excited that a new big fish hole had been discovered and continued to fish the remainder of the day on their newly found spot.

Ready to call it a day the crew stowed away their gear and prepared to head to port.  Another successful day on the water they thought.  Everyone tired, with sore arms and sea legs but still full of enthusiasm, ready for tomorrow.

With all the gear stowed away and the crew ready to set sail for port, Captain Bruce had noticed that outside the shelter of the fishing hole they had just spent the afternoon in, the seas looked a little rough and choppy.  Without giving it to much thought he fired up the motor and headed for open water.  As the crew approached the open seas for the ride back to port,  the wind and current gradually worsened as did Captain Bruce’s concern.

During the afternoon and in the shelter of the secluded fishing hole, no one aboard the Crazy Avis had noticed that the wind had really picked up on the open water.  All four of the crew members were enjoying a great day of fishing with only a small current and light breeze with a bounty of big lings to be had.

Soon after entering the open water for the ride back, Captain Bruce’s concern had peaked.  The Crazy Avis, a 21’ Bayliner Trophy that had made numerous trips to the area in the past suddenly felt like a small and insignificant craft, one that not only was underpowered but also extremely small… too small.  After only a few minutes of battling heavy winds and rough high chop making very little progress and knowing that the ride back to port was at least 20 miles or more to the north, against the high winds and chop, Captain Bruce decided to head back for the shelter of the fishing hole.  The fishing hole was a secluded area nestled to the south of one of the numerous small rocky islands that lined the Washington coast.  The high winds and the current were coming from the north so the shelter on the south side of the island provided the crew with safety from the turbulent open water and high northerly winds.

Soon after reaching the safety of the fishing hole Captain Bruce’s was faced with making some decisions and fast.  Afternoon had become evening and there were no signs of the conditions getting better, in fact they seemed to be getting worse.  Were they to take a chance and head back out fighting the worsening conditions and make the trip to port or sit and try to wait it out then head back or call the coast guard for help.  With late evening coming on fast, waiting it out didn’t seem to be the best choice and concern for the safety of not only himself but more importantly the other members of the crew, attempting the trip back in those conditions was defiantly out.  That left one choice…  Captain Bruce got on the VHF Marine radio and did a radio check, channel 16.  “Could I get a radio check please”, for a few seconds his worse fears seemed to surface, silence on the radio, no response.  Again he did a radio check only this time the Neah bay coast guard had responded.  “This is Neah Bay Coast Guard” confirming my radio check.  The response  quickly put Captain Bruce’s concerns at ease.  After brief conversations with the Coast Guard, explaining the conditions, the situation and the type of vessel in distress.  The crew was put on a 15 minute watch and instructed to stay in shelter and drop anchor.  The Coast Guard was given the exact GPS coordinates of the Crazy Avis and from that point on the Crazy Avis was referred to by the Coast Guard as “Twenty One Foot Bayliner”.   Every 15 minutes we checked in with the Coast Guard to confirm our situation and safety as instructed.

Knowing that the Coast Guard would be at their location in less than a couple hours seemed to ease the mounting concerns of everyone aboard.  The crew begin to chat and even laugh at how funny they all looked wearing the bright orange life vests that seemed to be to small.

Suddenly Captain Bruce reached into the lunch bag and proceeded to pull out the remaining bananas.  With a quick toss all the bananas were soon floating in the water.  “Who’s big idea was it to bring these damn things on board anyway!”

Soon the crew found themselves in the safety of the La Push Marina were the Coast Guard had taken them.  Stranded in La Push their only concern from that point on was to figure out how to get themselves and the Crazy Avis back to Neah Bay.  After several hours at 2:30 am the crew was once again in the comfort of their Neah Bay camp.

Once again on the following day the crew of the Crazy Avis headed to the holy grail of   big ling holes only this time they were lacking one thing.  BANANAS!