Addicted To Fishing

How do you know you are addicted to fishing?

Last October 1, 2008 we went fishing at Kalawisan Fishing Village in Lapulapu City. We aimed at catching the biggest haul of our lives. I was already prepared to shell out a few hundred pesos in case we catch lapulapu and giant bangus. A couple of friends joined me and my wife. This would be our second outing together because in our first outing the week before, they caught nothing, while my wife caught just one fish.

They were already ready with newly-purchased hooks, strings, swivels and floaters. I too was excited to use my brand-new fishing rod. My wife was just contented with the bamboo rod.

We set out early. Our friends arrived at 7am while we caught up with them past 8am. In our excitement, we forgot to put on sunblocks. As it was a breezy day with clear-blue sky, my wife and I didn’t mind the sun.

We ordered rice in advance for lunch hoping that we’d just cook our morning catch. Midday came but our buckets were still empty. We still haven’t caught a single fish. Hunger sets in so we ordered a kilo of crabs for lunch. “May we catch more fish for dinner, Lord” was a line I included in our prayer for lunch.

It was already 4pm when I felt my red-hot and burning skin. We caught a couple of small fishes but we returned them to the pond. Our friends caught a large milkfish, but in their excitement, they lost it, including their hook and floater. I, too, lost a possible big catch. The fish got the bait and my hook.

It was dark when I first caught a fish. The fish is locally known as “Kitong”. My friend also caught a bigger one minutes after. So for 12 hours of fishing, we caught two fishes with a total weight of 450 grams. We brought it home and fried it for dinner.

That night, my wife and I separately dreamt of fishing. The fish that got away wouldn’t leave my mind. She dreamt of catching a large fish. In the morning, I woke up in pain brought about by the sunburn. If not for work, I would have headed back to Kalawisan Fishing Village. So we just decided to go fishing again the succeeding weekend. In that month alone, we fished at least 6 times.

That, my friends, is what I call fishing addiction part 1.