Lorenzo’s First Fishing Trip by PSC student Roy D

I took my grandson, Lorenzo, on his first fishing trip. Before the trip, I went to Big Five for a fishing license and Dramamine. I didn’t want to get sick in front of my grandson! My grandson was twelve, so he didn’t need a fishing license.

We drove to the Emeryville Marina. After parking, we went to the bait shop to purchase leaders, hooks, and weights.

We boarded a commercial fishing boat that had a three-man crew. It was still dark at five in the morning. It was cold and I was half asleep. We went into the cabin where it was warm. There were coffee, donuts, and cookies. They were good! But Lorenzo got sick inside the cabin. The crew told us to go outside to feel better. Lorenzo was still sick outside, so I went back in and cleaned up after him.

The crew told us what to expect, where we would be going, and how long it would take. We went under the Golden Gate Bridge. We wore hats and gloves when we were not fishing because it was cold and windy. A deck man put the bait on Lorenzo’s hook.

Someone caught a big squid. A deck hand yelled, “Cut the line!” because he knew that squids squirt ink and make a mess! The fisherman didn’t want to cut his line, so he battled the squid onto the boat where the squid made a big inky mess!

Lorenzo caught his limit of 23 fish! The fish were ling cod, halibut, rock cod, and salmon.  Lorenzo was really strong for a 12-year old, so the work of catching the fish was easy for him.  Some of his catches were “piggyback.” That means when he caught one fish, another fish tried to eat the first fish! So, he got two at once! We had to hurry to net the fish because the second fish wasn’t hooked. Lorenzo got piggybacks three times!

It was a long day and we were tired after our eight-hour fishing trip. Lorenzo and I have fond memories of his first fishing trip.