The past evening at Turn was quiet except for some fishing commotion during dinner prep. Rapid footsteps on deck were audible from the galley. Soon the word was relayed down gangway that a net would be needed and perhaps more. Like a curious gray haired groundhog, I popped up, eyes searching for the source of excitement. Brooke had been casually tossing a buzz bomb into the dark waters beside Ohana and now her pole was doubled over pointing beneath the keel. I extracted myself from the gangway to get a closer look. Louis was already unleashing the dinghy for a possible water level assist. I peered overboard watching intently as the rod tip remained bent. Guessing the high likelihood of a snag I requested the rod handle for a sense of the unknown weight. The weight in fact felt immovable. After heaving a few times on the line, I gave a determined slow and steady upward pull hoping to free up the situation. Suddenly, an equally determined counter-pull came with the unmistakable pulsing tugs of something very large and alive. Thoughts raced that we would have our hands and dinghy full with some denizen of the deep when the weight eased and from below came a frisky, well sized rockfish. Brooke and I exchanged knowing glances. A repeat of a similar fishing phenomenon in this very anchorage occurred a few years earlier. As well on another voyage in a remote region of BC. This was the unmistakable feeding pattern of a large ling cod. One minute you're plunking around for small bottom fish when suddenly your catch becomes an irresistible lure for a giant ling. During one such event, we coaxed the big ling from below and not wanting the monster to share our inflatable, we gaffed the rockfish from its jaws but not before snapping a quick photo. This time, the apparent monster would not show his teeth, at least to us.
Ling cod (estimated 40lbs) near Sullivan Bay, BC
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