BUILT FOR COMFORT, AND FOR SPEED

THE ABOVE PUNCH LINE, SHAMELESSLY MANGLED FROM B.B.KING, IS THE END OF THE STORY....


IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT......DIFFERENT STORY

YEARS BACK MY BROTHER DAN CAME DOWN FISHIN'. HELL OF A GUY, GREAT MUSICIAN, RELATIVELY NOVICE IN THE PISCATORIAL ARTS, PARTICULARLY IN THE AGUA DE SAL. WENT OUT TO THE BAJO, HOOKED HIM INTO A 65 POUND YELLOWFIN TUNA AND MY BRAIN CAMERA REMEMBERS HIM, WITH HIS FEET PROPPED AGAINST THE GUNNEL, ARMS EXTENDED, PULLING BACK ON A FISH THAT WAS FREIGHT TRAINING. HE LOOKED AT ME, WITH A LOOK OF HONEST SURPRISE AND REPEATED THE WORD, "FUCK" SEVERAL TIMES.
CRANK FORWARD TO YESTERDAY. OUR STALWARTS WERE UPON THE BRINEY. WE BEEN GETTING SOME WAHOO, FAIR AMOUNT OF CABRILLA AND PARGO, A FEW SMALL DORADO, AND YELLOWTAIL. THEY WERE ALL TROLLING 30 AND 40 POUND LINE WHEN UP FROM THE DEPTHS A SCHOOL OF 60-90 POUND YELLOWFIN TUNA ARRIVED, BENT ON WAKING UP THE DOZERS. WELL WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARED WENDY HAD A NICE WAHOO AND A 70 POUND TUNA, THERE WERE A COUPLE MORE WAHOO, ONE MIDDLE SIZED YELLOWTAIL, AND A BUNCH OF GUYS WHO WERE QUOTING MY BROTHER DAN. STORIES OF BROKEN LINE, SPOOLED REELS, BURNED THUMBS, AND OTHER TAILS OF WOE. TODAY, WITH THE BENEFIT OF YESTERDAYS EXPERIENCE EVERYONE HAD MARCHED UP THE LEARNING CURVE, GONE TO THE CENTER FIRE ARMAMENTS, AND DID MUCH BETTER. THERE WERE STILL A COUPLE OF GUYS THAT GOT SPOOLED, BUT WE AT LEAST FOUGHT THEM TO A DRAW TODAY. BB, A FF REGULAR, BROUGHT DOWN A BUNCH OF HIS WORKERS AND THEY WENT TO WORK TODAY. BB HAD AN 80 POUND TUNA TO TOP OFF THE PILE. HE HADN'T HAD THIS EXPERIENCE BEFORE, AND AS HE SAT IN MY OFFICE AFTERWARDS, I COULDN'T HELP BUT THINK OF DAN. BB IS AN ACCOMPLISHED FISHERMEN, MANLY MAN, AND NICE GUY. THE LOOK OF PLEASURED WONDER ON HIS FACE IS NOW IN THE BRAIN ALBUM. "I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THEY COULD BE THAT STRONG!", HE SAID, FACE LIT UP LIKE A KID AT XMAS.
WE DIDN'T GET THEM ALL, STILL HAD A FEW GET SPOOLED, BUT AS I SIT HERE IN THE LATE AFTERNOON, LISTENING TO THE REPEATED SHARPENING STROKES BEING TAKEN IN THE BACK AS OUR CRACK CREW DECONSTRUCTS TODAYS' CATCH I LIKE THIS JOB, AND LOOK FORWARD TO TOMORROW. AS OUR CAPTAINS START TO ZERO IN ON THESE NEW ARRIVALS I AM CONFIDENT THAT AS THIS GAME GOES ON WE WILL PULL AHEAD AND MERGE VICTORIOUS.

DAVID JONES