“Thank You for Your Sacrifice.”

 This is our standard expression of gratitude when executing a fish we have caught. Due to waters that seemed a bit overfished, this phrase had not been uttered in some time. But with our new crew on board (Shaun Roberts, a childhood friend of Marc’s) and an enthusiasm for angling and 170 miles of water to cover between Acapulco and Puerto Escondido we felt things might be turning around.

We decided to try some different tackle and opted for a blue feather lure with an inside out cacahuates bag tied to the line above the leader. (Cacahuates are peanuts.) We have heard rumors that the metallic insides of chip or snack bags works well to attract fish. Which it did!

Our first catch was a small bonito, which are in the tuna family. We had one before and had cooked it up, but Shaun informed us they were quite delicious eaten raw. A bowl of soy sauce and wasabi was quickly mixed up and our first batch of sashimi went down the hatch.

The second day out we hooked up something a little bigger. Once the line took up buzzing, Marc secured the pole and started increasing the drag, then handed it off to Shaun so he could turn the boat and run down the fish that was running hard! As we closed in, and got a peek of color, we all lit up with excitement. A nice Dorado! She was hooked at the tail, which took a team effort aboard the s/v Mer-Sea to carefully gaff and bring her aboard. An enthusiastic “Thanks!“ was exclaimed and before she was done being cleaned we had full bellies of the freshest sashimi ever! Later filets were grilled on the bbq and the following day we gorged ourselves on coconut milk ceviche that Marc marinated over night.

 

It is truly a beautiful thing to live simply and self sufficiently. Not that we are completely unplugged (as is demonstrated by this very blog post), but through many experiences we engage in by living out here, the more we appreciate all that we have.

               
       
                          Eat sushi… More. Often.