Big Payoff

One of my biggest luxuries is my boat. As any boat owner can tell you, they live up to their reputation as “holes in the water that you throw money into.” Mine is certainly no exception. With insurance, storage, mooring, licensing, maintenance and the ridiculous cost of gas (always 10 percent higher at marinas!), the boat offers some competition to my boys at college on the old checkbook. (Not really, I don’t have to buy beer for the boat!)

But the old “Ellz Barge” is a great place to meet with my buddies, enjoy my favorite pastime and even pay back a few favors. This last week, my buddy Gary was coming out to the coast to join his wife on a business trip. Instead of bringing out his trailer this time, he was staying, on her dime, at one of Cannon Beach’s nicest inns. I got a call on Monday: “Hey Bob, we’re up here for a couple of days. Any chance we could play?”

Fortunately, there were a couple of days of sturgeon season left, so I invited him to join my crew and try to catch a fish. The water had been too cold, with all the snowmelt, for very good fishing, but we had managed to boat a few fish.

Chef’s Promise
It was a good time to repay Gary for all the help he had given the kids I coach over the years. Gary is one of the better shot and discus coaches in the region, and makes a couple of trips a year over from the valley to help my kids get ready for the big competitions. I usually give him a can of fish or two for his efforts, but this time he could try and bag his own!

Naturally, he was down at the boat 15 minutes early, and full of excitement. “You guys should know I’m a ‘sturgeon virgin,’” he announced with a smile. “But I’m going to catch one. The chef back where I’m staying said he’d cook it for me!”  The chef had also laughed at Gary’s promise to catch a fish, knowing how slow the fishing had been.

Etiquette on my boat is a little different than most. All rods are community property and the first bite goes to the person who hasn’t caught a fish for the longest time. That gives newcomers a good chance for a thrill. For a while it looked like the cook was going to get off easy. The weather was great, but no one was catching anything. Then one of the rods went down.

“Grab it,” yelled Milford, and Gary stumbled out to the rod. It took awhile to get the rod off the holder, with all the pressure the fish was applying, but Gary managed to get it loose. The fish was pulling like crazy and giving Gary a run for his money. Our “sturgeon virgin” was getting his money’s worth.

Just as it got to the boat, the fish went skyward! People don’t realize how much they like to jump, and Gary’s eyes got big as the gray beast left the water! We all cheered—it looked like it might even be a keeper. As it came closer to the boat we could see the hook was just dangling from the edge of the fish’s mouth. This would be close. I plunged the net under the fish, just as the hook pulled loose!

Barely Qualifies
When we got it to the deck, it still had plenty left. It took a couple of minutes to measure and finally we got it taped, right at 46 inches, an inch to spare! Gary could hardly contain himself as we put it on a stringer! “I’m having a sturgeon dinner!” he yelled to all within earshot.

We got a couple of more small ones and then the wind kicked up and we headed home. Gary was still fired up. He raised the fish to show off to every boat we passed, as we all ducked our heads and hoped that no one we knew saw us. The fish was big as fish go, although just barely a keeper for sturgeon, but our guest couldn’t have been happier. On the dock he took the long way through the marina to his car, just so he could show the fish off to a few more people!

A couple of days later I got his e-mail. Along with a picture of us with the fish, was a letter describing his return to the inn. “You should have seen the look on the chef’s face when I flopped down the fish!” But a deal’s a deal and the four-star “stove man” grilled it with fresh vegetables and a bed of wild rice. “My wife said it was the best fish she ever had!” Gary exclaimed.

Sometimes I wonder why I keep the boat, but on days like this it all makes sense!

Bob Ellsberg’s column, Fishin’, appears monthly in RV Life and rvlife.com.