The Tug and Pull of a Lifetime

Becca, who had been waiting for this day to come for months, jumped up even before her alarm sounded. She glanced outside of her cottage and could hear the owls in the trees wooing as though it was still night, though dawn was soon approaching. 5:30 was super early and not a usual time for her to rise up, but today was special. Today she would be spending her time on a boat, the whole day. She didn't care if anything was caught or not, she just loved the ocean. She joked with herself,

"I should have been a mermaid! Hahaha"

Bounding, she took her shower, brushed her teeth and got dressed. Becca had chosen a cheesy boating outfit with the white and red striped shirt, blue jean capris' and matching shoes, she was going all out. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail and grabbing her hat, she was ready. She had already packed the necessities she was encouraged to bring in the car. Remembering back to her first time on a boat that far out, her dad and she had gone on a half day excursion, though she didn't get a lot of time, she had been the one to catch the most. That was the moment that had pulled her to come back. She had asked a friend to come along, but the friend bailed at the last minute. Still, alone or not, she was going to enjoy this with every ounce of her being.

One last look in the mirror and mulling over the checklist. It was time. GPS had shown it'd take about 30 minutes to reach the dock. As she began to drive, she realized, her excitement was so great, she forgot to eat. Quickly stopping, she grabbed a fast food sandwich with water, gulped it down as she made her way to the meeting point. Driving, in the distance the golden owner of the day began to wake up and shown on her with the smile of warmth. It was going to be a beautiful day!

Becca pulled into the parking lot, it was bit remote, but she pulled into a shaded parking spot, scooped up everything she'd need and started the walk to the silver plank where she could hear the water lapping up against the edge. There in front of her was her two new best friends for the next 8 hours, the captain and the boat. She hadn't realized till now that this was a private event. Her heart leapt! This made her all the more excited!

She stepped toward the boat and there stood the captain,

"Becca?"

Yes, hi! Alex?"

"Yeah! Are you ready?"

"More than ready!" they both laughed.

Alex took her cooler and reached out his hand to help her onto the vessel.

"Careful, it might be a bit slippery." he cautioned. He then explained how the day would go and how far out they would be travelling. Becca, through discussion, had found that Alex's day had started even earlier than hers as he had to get the fresh bait prepped.

"You are welcome to sit in the front and catch the wind or you can sit up here with me. Whatever you like. Life vests are on the sides in the pockets in case one is needed." He said as he gave all the necessary warnings and guidelines.

She nodded in understanding as he cranked the engine. The rumble could be felt under her feet as they began the journey to the ocean through the channel. Alex played tour guide until they could really take off. Once to a certain point, she could hear him ask,

"Are you ready? Let's do it!" He pushed the speed on the boat, hitting the waves. She could feel the spray of the ocean lick her face and she was all smiles. He pointed out on the fish scanner what the depth was and how to read the fish finder. They were heading towards 25 miles out. Becca looked behind her and could slowly see land fizzle into nothingness. She was trying to absorb everything in. Turning back around, she kept her eyes on the horizon. Soon, Alex slowly let off the speed and steered to a location where it appeared to have plenty of choice catches.

Once the spot was found, Alex settled the boat, then made sure all the gear was ready to go. Fish bait had been placed on the hooks, as Becca counted how many rods there were, six, three on each side and the corners of the boat. Alex had told her of several fishing tales throughout the process and she now was hoping she'd have a tale to tell of her own. The fish in this area should be plentiful, but Becca made sure to tell Alex, whatever was caught, should be let go after any pictures or videos.

Now the fun would begin, he scooped out some chum and said,

"Keep an eye out, this will drive them crazy."

Sure enough it didn't take long. Alex pointed out movement in the water, one side of the boat, then the other. Becca could see multiple, long slender creatures close to the edge swirling and circling. She was amazed at the sight. Now it was time to get to business, to get to what she was here for. Alex picked up one of the rods, baited it, gave direction on how to cast the line and reel it back in for deep sea fishing. The first cast he sent out and handed her the weighted rod. Now we wait. A bit more chum to keep them circling and all at once Becca could feel this force take over the rod she was holding.

"I've got a bite!" she exclaimed

"Hold on! It could just be a brush by."

Soon it was clear, this dominant torpedo had latched on and wasn't happy.

Alex was equally excited as Becca, as he called out instruction to remind her of how to hold onto the line. The battle was on. Becca was only 125 pounds wet and now she was in a water fight with a master swimmer. Her determination was to see this through...without becoming part of the fish bait.

This boy was moving, like a dance in the deep. He'd go down and tease coming back to the surface. Becca now was having a crash course on how the dance would go and she learned quickly. Pulling and reeling when he gave and loosening the line when it was tight. Soon, Alex had no choice but to become a partner in the dance as he shifted the watery floor by adjusting the boat's position. Turning to the left, then to the right, keeping the unknown from diving under the boat.

The line began to show less distance in the ocean to where the vessel was circling. Alex encouraged Becca on,

"You got this, just wait him out, he'll tire soon."

"I'm trying," Becca responded, "I'm determined, I never back out of a fight!" as she groaned and giggled from the tug of war taking place.

The boat circled again. The wonderful beast was fighting hard, still dashing to the depths to release himself. Each time he came near the edge of the glassy, chopped water, she would reel the line in more. Before long, Becca could feel a difference in the line, so she began to reel in the line until she could feel him pull again. This time the tugging and pulling wasn't as strong. She'd feel a quick hard dart and then a release. She kept reeling each time the line was loose. Until, she finally heard Alex,

"There he is! He's on the surface!"

The fight was all but over and it looked as though Becca was indeed the winner. Alongside of the boat was the most exquisite predator she had ever seen. Just as Alex leaned down to carefully grab hold of the line, the second place muscle machine, had one last jolt of a fight in him. He splashed the top of the kicking waves and darted once again facing away from the metal he was right up against. SNAP! The rod had held out till just this moment. Becca and Alex peered at the line still hanging from the now broken winner's trophy. Her swimmer was still attached and now more than ever it was time to finish this battle.

Alex took the reins and finished the last of the reeling in. Once there was no more to reel, he handed it back to Becca. Quickly, he reached for his camera and filmed this majestic shark that Becca had fought a great battle with for well over an hour. The tan shimmer to his flesh captured the sun and the black tips to his fins shown through the water, he was beautiful!

"He's a BIG BOY!" exclaimed Alex "He has to be at least 350 pounds, a 5 footer easily! Great job!"

As this beastly, majestic shark was released, Becca watched as he slapped his way through his underwater world. With a splash and one hard push of his tail, just like that he was gone. Becca sat back with the biggest smile on her face, success!

"To see and experience a real shark in its normal habitat, nothing could be better. So much better than an aquarium," she thought to herself.

"Becca, you did fantastic! I've seen women catch a shark not near as large as that one and within 15 minutes, they're ready to call it quits and let it go."

"This was my dream," Becca responded, "I've always wanted to catch a shark, to know what it feels like. They are just such beautiful creatures."

Becca was exhausted from the fight and her arms and hands were sore. Though her fishing adventure was far from over, she had at least four other sharks, much smaller, in her immediate future. At the end of the day with the sun ready for rest, the metal steed pulled up to the dock. Becca glanced back and saw that a couple of dolphins had followed them inland and were hanging around the boat. She stepped out onto the dock, sat and filmed the bonus water mammals to her day as they played around the dock. Diving and popping up, blowing water out of their blowhole. Once they had their fill of the watchful eyes and swam away, Becca spoke her good byes and thankfulness to Alex. She had encountered more than imagined and memories she would never forget.

Once she returned to her cottage, the exhaustion set in. Becca fell over onto the bed, quickly found herself dreaming of the day’s events. As she slipped into sleep, she recalled the best day in her life, leaving a smile on her face.