Fishing, only fun in movies

Not my bucket of worms

The boat's mast was the only thing keeping me stable on this old death trap. I almost laughed when my dad woke me up at three this morning; "Fishing with your old man" didn't seem like my kind of fun, especially on a Saturday. I could be at home right now watching 'Keeping up with the Kardashians' and laughing at their lack of emotional maturity; but no, I have to be here, on a boat, with a bunch of men teaching me how to fish because I definitely need that in life; because Woolworths apparently doesn't exist anymore.

I know that Dad wants to spend more time with me and I get that, but I'm not like my cousin, Eric. I don't want to go fishing. I don't want to watch sport matches. I don't want to go to pubs and drink beer. He should actually be grateful he has a son with such great taste. I mean, have you seen me in a pair of skinny jeans? Hot damn!

But.

Being on this boat in the middle of nowhere is not my cup of tea. The boat smelled like it had not been cleaned in forever. The constant swaying also had me tripping over my own feet.  "Help me with the rods!" yelled my Dad from across the deck. I walked over, my high tops almost getting caught on a fishing net. My dad held out a reel to me and explained the 'anchor' knot in detail. Up and down. Then you go left three times and finally pull it tight. After several tries I gave up and secretly just tied multiple double knots.

And then... That's when the sun rose...

A wild light hit the ocean and recreated a photo editor's masterpiece. I leaned over the edge of the boat and looked down. The ocean was a flurry with glittering fish. The large shape more beautiful than a ballet in an opera. It was as if my father's interest had collided with my own. It was magical. Beautiful.

The rest of that morning I helped my dad set up the rest of the fishing gear. By seven a breeze had picked up and blew my hair back. I had become used to the rocking of the boat but the smell just seemed to linger. Next Dad decided I should learn to cast. He showed me a few times until I finally got it. I was actually impressed with how far I could thro it, until I was informed that it would just sink anyway.
I was told by one of the other fisherman to never take my eye off the line because if it suddenly moved I'd have to act fast. One tiny detail they forgot to mention is:  it's really difficult because the boat is rocking back and forth. Regardless I still focussed on my line only glancing at my phone every thirty seconds to see if I could catch reception.

Suddenly the line bounced up and down. 

I panicked and grabbed the rod so hard I thought I broke it. The front end was so bent I thought I'd messed up. The other fisherman began shouting. They were all looking into the water but I didn't dare near the edge. I was so sure this fish would yank me in. I began to reel and realised I was going the wrong way. I instantly raced in opposite direction getting yells from the men. The adrenaline was intense. I kept pulling my rod making it go up and down like dad showed me and the next second SNAP!

I fell on my arse and yelled out a bunch or curses I new I shouldn't have. The boat had a swear jar (which is pretty ironic for sailors) and if you didn't have the cash you had to eat worms. I looked at my dad and he just raised his shoulders. "You're on your own son."
I saw the grins that came from the men as my new love for fishing swam away.