Email from my fishing buddy in Australia

[Hubbard]

Hey guys I thought you would enjoy this email I got from my fishing buddy who has recently moved to Australia with his wife for about a year.

 

 

 

 

Hi this is greg

Ya its really me, i m trying to be computer friendly and do some typing and for good reason! Today was my first day off in four months. It is my first day off because i am finally employed again. It kind of stinks going back to work especially when it is 35 degrees and extremely humid but that is what being an adult is all about right. So this morning started like every other morning, the alarm going off, lisa poking me and hitting snooze on the alarm clock, alarm gong off and lisa pushing me and hitting snooze on the alarm clock, alarm going off and lisa hitting me and the alarm clock. I reluctantly got out of bed and finally clued in to why i had to get up. I had a rental car to return. So thanks to my loving, tolerant, and persistant wife we returned the car. Okay, i know what you are thinking. Yes, they let me drive a car. No, they haven't looked at my driving record. Yes, mom the car was insured! And yes to everyone else, the car made it back in one piece without a scratch.

Lisa and i then went out for breakfast to kind of celebrate my new job. It is hard to explain to you guys back at home how exciting breakfast really is in this country. the food is nothing out of the ordinary, you know, the usual. Bacon, eggs, sausage, toast, pancakes, crapes, fresh strawberries, blue berries, a sort of whip cream that they actually whip right there, and of course hash browns. The crazy thing is that there is drip coffee! Real Coffee! HA Ha REAL COFFEE!

And then you start to clue in that caffiene might actually be a drug. BUT A GOOD ONE. So yes coffee, i mean real coffee in this country is a treat. After our breakfast we went for a walk through some shops, down cavill ave, and then down the beach towards home.

Unfortunately, surfers paradise is only an address. So lisa and i both had to get some work done. Not just enjoy "paradise". Lisa has an exam on monday so studying was pretty high on her list of things to get done today. Second to watching out for me of course. Sometimes i wonder how she knows what i am going to do, even before i know i'm going to do it!! Fustrating. But most of the time if i listen it is a good thing, i think, atleast i haven't got hurt yet. So anyways, lisa studied. Inside. With the blinds closed. me outside. blinds closed. how was i to know what was going to happen? I have already learned that my sense of responsible behavior is a little warped so i tried to think, what will keep me occupied and out of jail? i know, i'll do what lisa likes to do in her spare time, take some pictures! Once again, i know what you are thinking. No, i did not go take pictures of barely covered people at the beach! No, I didn't have permission to take lisa's fancy camera. And yes, the camera made it back in one piece (without a scratch i might add). It was low tide in the river behind our place so i thought i would wonder along the edge and take pictures of anything that looked neat or moved. I was on a mission to not get in trouble of any kind so i moved slow and looked all around me. I was surprized how much wild life was in the shallow water, the mud, and the newly exposed shore. There is probably lots of wild life at home to, but i just don't see it flying around on the fourwheeler and blasting anything that might move. So i think i got lots of cool pics. They will have to be edit..ed (i don't know how to spell it) by lisa of course, but then they should be on lisas facebook page. Its on the interweb. kind of like emailing or something lisa tells me. There was some freaky looking birds, crazy tree roots, lots of weird underwater fungi, and fish. That is the start of things going crazy. Honestly, it was not my fault! I was taking pictures of fish. Nice little fish. You know, like three or four inch breem (the equivalent of our rock bass), and some dog fish (they probably aren't called that, but thats what i named them). Then out of nowhere there is a big fish! UHH. Once again, I know what you are thinking. Yes, I was scrared. Yes, i was in the water. No, i did not soil my shorts. And yes i did check my shorts afterwards! I was looking straight into the eyes of a barracuda! I jumped clear right straight up out of the ankle deep water and ran for shore. I was shaking. Sweaty. Scared.

I am such a baby. It was only about 20 inches long. It was over 10 feet away. I wasn't even ankle deep in the water. I was shaking because i am out of shape. Sweating of course, because this country is way too hot. And well, scared, that part is pretty honest.

I have caught lots of pike the same size, and would not hesitate to swim with them, but this fish really startled me! I could see teeth sticking out either side of its mouth and it was looking right at me. So yes i was scared.

Safely back on shore i assessed the situation. No digits missing (yes ronnie, i can still count to twenty), no mess in my shorts, no, no common sense either! I ran back into the water to grab it but it was gone! I had to catch it. I went back home and grabbed my wallet and headed to the servo ( the gas station) to buy some bait. We had driven by one earlier so i knew where it was. I had forgotten though that a two minute drive is about five blocks, and in this crazy heat it was a really really long walk. I got the bait and rushed back but i wasn't fast enough. I smelled terrible. Soaked with sweat. The problem was that the frozen bait i bought wasn't frozen anymore. I reeked like fish. Not just fish. It was like putting fish in a small car, jumping in, rolling the windows up, parking in a sunny spot and then shoving the fish into each of your arm pits! I hope you can imagine what i am trying to get across. It smelled. So anyway, I put the pungent bait on my hook and casted it out. This was around two in the afternoon. i went about my afternoon and checked my line occasionally, but NO ACTION! Eventually it got dark and i thought i should take it out but then i thought oh whats the worst that could happen???!! So I left it. Checked it at 9 30. NO ACTION!

9 45 checked it. pulled it back. the drag spewed out line. checked the drag. Uh Oh. DEAD WEIGHT. could be weeds. could be john doe. could be a shark! Line takes off. I hold on. It was going towards the main river. Fast.

This might be a good time to remind everyone what kind of tackle i am using. Twelve foot pole. 20 kilo line. Saltwater reel (they call them egg beaters here). You have probably all seen the pics of me and my pole on lisas facebook thing and if you haven't you maybe should right now. I tightened the drag and pulled back as hard as i could. The pole double over. I got pulled forward and then the wierdest thing happened. I don't even know how to discribe it except to say that my pole had a seizure. It was vibrating and flopping like crazy but still pulling really hard. I had the butt of the pole shoved into my stomach and i was holding on with both hands but it was still taking line and i couldn't do anything. At this point the neighbour from upstairs looked out and started laughing. Probably cause i looked like i was having a seizure with the pole! I gave one more good pull and it turned back towards me and i got a lot of line back. Bit by bit. It went side to side and after five minutes, which felt like an eternity, it must have had enough because it started taking line again. Then the worst sound a fisherman can here. Twang.

That was it. Except for the guy upstairs telling me between laughs that it must have been a big "stingy". The biggest i have seen so far is about two feet in diameter but i have no idea how big this one was. Could have been bigger. Could have been smaller. All i know was that it was way stronger than any fish i have ever hooked into. I guess it is true what they say (frank snell actually), "once you hook something big with the wrong tackle, you might as well have hooked a truck going down the highway"!

Greg & Lisa

[Joeytier]

Cool story. All that talk of 35 degree humid weather reminds me of why I like winter so much.

[limeyangler]

i'm sure its a good story but i had a headache just looking at that body of text....

[Hubbard]

Sorry about the text Limey, I just copied and pasted from my inbox. What text would you prefer?

I just thought it would be a good story to tell to all the fishermen/women here.

[limeyangler]

Sorry about the text Limey, I just copied and pasted from my inbox. What text would you prefer?

I just thought it would be a good story to tell to all the fishermen/women here.

 

 

No worries Hubbard...lol...it just comes out as a huge block of tiny text...maybe its just time for me to get reading glasses..

Edited February 9, 2009 by limeyangler

[DRIFTER_016]

No worries Hubbard...lol...it just comes out as a huge block of tiny text...maybe its just time for me to get reading glasses..

 

FYI

If you are using IE7 down in the bottom right corner you will see a magnifying glass, 100% and adown arrow.

If you click on the 100% it will increase the size to 125% the first time, 150% the second time and back to 100% the third time.

Or you can click the down arrow and choose a magnification up to 400%.

I use it when a site has tiny text. I'm not blind just optically challenged!!!!

 

I think the lack of formatting is what is making it hard to read. I had a little difficulty keeping my place.

Edited February 9, 2009 by DRIFTER_016

[Tarzan's Jane]

that was a funny read....Greg has talent. Would love to read more of his life adventures as they unfold....great stuff.

[Hubbard]

You wouldn't believe what this guy gets into, I cant even begin to describe some of the stuff he has done in the past.

 

This is the man that dressed like cupid and suspended himself on a rope at work swinging back and forth so he could impress his girlfriend.(now his wife)