The Scrub Haul

While heading to Hanslolik island to catch bait for night fishing we hugged the coast of Peterborg in hopes of spotting a bait ball that made its way ashore.

We approached “The Goof” a cove named for the sound that rises up over the ocean roar when the seas are rough. With a gully of about 60 feet it makes for a great haven for small patches of fry or a school of fish when the seas are calm. A single pelican was resting on the natural perch above the entrance. I suggested cutting the engine and letting the boat drift towards the opening. This would give us a better chance of not spooking the fish if any were in the gully.

Keeping our eyes glued on the lone pelican we were delighted when it did what our minds begged it to do. It dropped from it’s perch into the water and surfaced with a full bill of fry.

Our plans quickly changed from catching bait to catching fish. Dad got on the oars while I propped up the engine and readied the arm of the seine to throw on the rocks that jutted out at the entrance.

This is what we call a scrub haul because there was no evidence of a school of fish. The only activity was a single pelican that dove and came up with bait. But as fishermen we both knew there was a chance there could be fish in the gully.

Intentionally I threw extra yards of seine at the arm. The side wall of the Goof recedes inward a few feet below the surface to the ocean floor. It makes for a perfect escape path for any fish that may be inside.

With ample net stretched cross the mouth of the cove I left my dad securing the net on his end while I swam back to the first arm and made sure it was set correctly. Diving down I placed the foot line and nap securely against the wall blocking the recessed escape path from bottom to top.

When surfacing it was a spectacular vision of flashing yellow, pink and silver. A wall of yellow tail snappers filled my view.

I lifted my head out of the water while clearing the snorkel and with unconstrained excitement whipped out a “woohoo” and told dad the good news. “We got-em, we got-em, we got-em! The joy continued to ring through in my voice as I reminded dad to make sure the net was secure on his end.

We took our time and worked the net into a corral and prepared to the tuck the fish. Arranging the net into a make-shift bag we pulled all the fish into the boat in a single tuck.

Today it is easy to recall the colorful imagery of the wall of yellowtail that filled our net. Soon the website will have images of my art which includes one titled “The Scrub Haul”.