The lagoon has closed

I’ve been fishing on the reef twice (4/12 & 4/14) since I posted last, and twice in one week, and I just can’t get enough of it! There’s just something about being out there in a boat seeing the different colors of the water and all that sun. I could stay out there forever. And I had a pretty good day of fishing on the 14th too! Trolling I lost a nice cuda and standing in Bread&Butter Caye I lost 2 more. Bottom fishing in 100 feet of water netted me an 8 pound black grouper (that fed 5 of us and gave me 3 more dinners worth), 5 grunts (I threw 1 back), a permit, and a spotted hind grunt. I was the only one that fished today. On the 12th I caught a cuda that fed 6 while my fishing buddy of the day, Kelly, caught a number of spotted hind groupers and yellowtail snappers. On both trips our boat captain Patrick showed his complete lack of customer focus, as he has several times in the past, and today (4/14) I vowed to never fish with him again and that’s a promise I will keep. (Conan lets buy that boat so we don’t have to rely on the poorly trained fishing guides in Hopkins ever again!) On the 13th Kelly and I caught a catfish each and her traveling companion, Karl, caught a dogtooth snapper in the lagoon. Conan was the recipient of our catch and ate them later in the week.

Jeff and his son Zak, from the San Francisco area, are on a couple month driving tour of Central America and came to stay with us for about a week and a half. They left on Tuesday 4/26. Jeff is a photographer and wants to photograph the Mayan ruins at Carocol on a moonless night. He’s been quoted different price rates for the opportunity and so far has been unable to come to an agreement with the Ministry of Archeology. The rates range anywhere from free to US$800 for the night, depending on who you talk to, and when. They seem to be doing a rather splendid job of jerking him around. He began emailing for permission several months before he came and still no agreement. My take on it is that they will drag their heels until the very last minute hoping that he’ll cough up the US$800 because his trip will be about over. We’ll see how it ends. Click on "Jeff" to take a look at his website to see some of his work.

Zak has been going to the lagoon with me every morning and night but for the longest time he watched Arthur and I catch fish while he went home empty handed. His Dad even bought him a nice rod and spinning reel from Uncle Harry’s Hardware but to no avail…until the evening of Friday 4/22. That night he finally caught 2 small dogtooth snappers to bust his Belize fishing cherry and put an end to what I’m sure he thought was a jinx on him and his fishing rod. A couple days after Zac got his rod Conan, Arthur, and I went to Uncle Harry’s and we were like kids in a candy store Harry had gotten in a shipment of rods and reels and Conan and I were looking to replace the ones we’d had stolen and Arthur wanted to buy a rod to fish with (he’s been borrowing one of mine). So we tried this rod and that reel and that reel and this rod until we found a set that made us happy. I got a nice Shakespeare set up that I will use exclusively in the lagoon and save my Penn for trolling the reef.I also stocked up on weights as we’d lost quite a few of mine over the past week. The lagoon was hungry for fishing tackle so it ate well, while my tackle box got lighter. Harry, the good guy that he is, let is choose BZ$10 worth of lures for free too so we hemmed and hawed over what to pick. We were there a good hour and hated to leave. Before we did Harry’s wife brought down a bag of smoked barracuda that they’d just made using orange (tree) wood for smoke and a soy sauce marinade. Boy was that ever delicious! He said he’d smoke anything we brought in for ½ of whatever it is. I might just do that soon!

The guests booked a fishing/snorkeling trip on Saturday 4/23, and it started off on the wrong foot with Johnny Bosco (stupid sc*mb*g from our trip on 4/5). Tricia gave him BZ$100 to buy gas for the boat before he came to Kismet to pick everyone up so they didn’t have to stop on the way. Well he showed at 9am and at 9:30 I found out that he hadn’t bought the gas and needed to stop at the marina. So he and Tricia got into a shouting match about how he doesn’t listen and how his customer service sucks because now they wouldn’t reach the reef until around 11, 1-1/2 hours later than planned. I decided not to go after he and I had a few words. I didn’t like the high waves and didn’t want to go anway, and you know me and my fishing so you know the wind and surf had to be bad. Conan and his girlfriend Adela, Jeff and Zac, Arthur, and Tricia and Elvis were already going so I would have made 9 with Bosco, a totally overweight boat that was made a little safer by keeping my tonnage on shore. So off they went. On the way to getting gas the hose popped out of the gas can and Bosco, while NOT steering, made a major project out of trying to get the hose back into the can. They finally stopped off the beach 2 blocks from the marina and Bosco and Tricia walked up to the marina for gas. This will illustrate the lack of common sense and foresight of Bosco. He didn’t being a gas tank or even a jerry can for the gas. He expected the marina to have gallon bottles there to put the gas in! Granted you can go to Home Alone’s (another Hopkins person’s nickname) and buy gas by the gallon in old bleach bottles. But now you are talking about the marina…not a chance! So back to the boat to get the gallon bottles that he had 2 cycle engine oil (to mix with the gas for the boat engine) and used them. Not sure what he did with the extra oil though. Out to the reef they went and were soaked and sore from the pounding they took from the waves. Closer to the reef the wave action subsided and they did have a good time snorkeling. Bosco, Elvis, Arthur, and Tricia went bottom fishing while the others snorkeled and spear fished. Conan got a bagful and he let Zac try his hand at it and he got 1 or 2 as well. Tricia said Bosco and Elvis were pulling in small fish 2 at a time while Arthur caught 2 fish all day. You’d think the nitwit, wanting to please his customers, would have helped get Arthur on the fish or made sure that his pole was rigger correctly. Nope! He just fished on. Another reason I won’t fish with the guy ever again. He and another boat driver I fished with we more interested in how much fish they we catching than in making sure the paying customers were happy. And the other boat driver argues with me about sharing HIS bait with me. Now one of the things that comes with the fishing excursion is fishing tackle and bait. I always bring my own tackle because mine is in good shape, where theirs just barely has line on it. But I do expect to be provided live bait for trolling. He did finally give me some and was thoroughly pissed when I caught more than he did. Anyway…I’ll stop complaining now. It’s just a sore point with me that these guys are supposed to provide a service for tourist that will leave them with fond memories and fail miserably. CONAN BUY THAT BOAT YOU HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT!!!

We had another photographer guest here at Kismet. His name is Martin and he hails from London. From what I’ve seen he’s pretty darn good at it. Take a look at his website (click on Martin) and see what you think.

Fishing in the lagoon has come to a stand still for the moment. The mouth of the lagoon closed completely on May 1st because it’s the dry season and that’s what it’s supposed to do. The locals say it’s nature’s way of recharging it. We’ll see. Conan and I took a walk up to fish on the 2nd and caught absolutely nothing. Nary a bite even except for the crabs. Peter came to try throwing net and came up empty handed as well. Over the next few days Conan and I will canoe around and try some of the deeper spots to see if we can find anything to bring home. We’ll also take the canoe up into the big lagoon (a 2 mile paddle to get to it) to see if the stories of big tarpon and snook are true. Keep your fingers crossed!

The nation got some good news yesterday for a change. Osama Bin Laden is dead thanks to Seal Team 6. Maybe that will give a bit of closure to those who lost family and friends on 9/11 and allow the country to begin healing. But there’s still a long way to go in the fight against terrorism. There’s plenty more where he came from…

And, so, life goes on for the Fatboy in Belize… And, as always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!