Fishing

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Yesterday Enrico and I went out with the boat in the early morning to do some fishing. We packed fishing gear, bait, a picknick bag, sun lotion and towels - all you need for a day on the boat.

We stopped in a (random) spot and tried our luck. Fishing from the boat in Sardinia is different from fishing in the lake back home. Here, you fish with a long, long line with three or four hooks and a 200g led weight at the end. No rod, just the line. You let the weight down all the way to the bottom of the sea, and then you wait to feel the fish pulling on the hooks.

I managed to catch three fish in the first couple of hours before my led weight got stuck to something on the bottom and the line broke as we tried to free it. I took it as a sign that I was not supposed to do any more fishing that day, and retired to the mattresses in the front of the boat to work on my tan.

Enrico was very persistant and continued fishing all day. We didn't turn back to port until five o'clock in the afternoon, and by then we had a bag full of various fish.

Mediterranean fish are also different from the ones back home. For example, there is one type of fish which has a poisonous sting on it's back. If it stings you, you will suffer tremendous pain and you will have to go to hospital. Also, once you pull a fish out of the water you cannot let it back in (as we do someetimes back home if the fish is very small for example), as it has lost its ability to dive. If you drop one back in the water, it half-heartedly tries to dive but mostly just floats around upside down. And there is always a hungry seagull swimming nearby waiting to take care of the situation.

Actually, the other day when we went fishing together with Enrico's sister, the first fish I caught came off the hook and ended up floating in the water. It was too far away to reach from the boat, so we left it. A seagull was swimming not far away, bobbing up and down on the waves and pretending to mind his own business. As soon as he saw my fish he stretched his neck, blinked nervously and started swimming in a casual bow in the general direction of the fish, whilst looking like he had no particular intentions at all. If seagulls could whistle, he would have been whisteling. As soon as he came closer he made a beeline for his prey, grabbed it in his beak and swallowed it without hesitation. And then he went straight back to minding his own business as if nothing ever happened. I wish I had remembered to get the camera out and film the event, as I know my father for one would have loved to see it.

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Photos

Small fish
Smallest fish we caught all day

Alghero
Old town seen from the sea

Capo Caccia
Capo Caccia in the distance

Comments

[Bodil]

Hehe
Måsar... mine! mine mine! :)