i keep a diary

June 9, 2003

Fishing with Pappi Part 2

Since graduating college, my brother Brett has been temporarily living with my parents in New Jersey while he figures out what he's going to do next. I took a Monday off from work and went deep sea fishing down in south NJ (at Mid-Atlantic Highlands) with my dad and brother.

Instead of going out on my dad's boat like last year, this time we upped the ante and went out on a larger, chartered boat with some of my dad's former co-workers.

DSC01267.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
Oooof. I can't remember seeing the "waking up" side of 5:24am in a loooong-ass time.
clock
DSC01269.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
My brother and I had stayed up until well past 3am playing video games (Amplitude, anyone?) and my brother was so tired he couldn't even talk.
brett
DSC01273.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
Nevertheless, we somehow managed to pack up the car and hit the road well before 6am.
driving ˆ thumbs up ˆ brett ˆ dad
DSC01276.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
We fueled up and Dunkin' Donuts...
donut ˆ brett ˆ dad
DSC01277.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
...and immediately perked up when we saw the prize they were offering in one of those "leave your business card" drawings. Makes you think twice about ordering a "glazed" doughnut there, right? Ew.
photoshop ˆ brett
DSC01279.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
And immediately perked up when we saw the prize they were offering in one of those "leave your business card" drawings. Makes you think twice about ordering a "glazed" doughnut there, right? Ew.
vw ˆ dad
DSC01282.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
There's she is! The brand new "Mi-Jo II." 75ft of fishing-catching fury piloted by the super-nice Captain Mike Scardigno.
boat
DSC01288.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
Tired.
hat ˆ tired ˆ brett
DSC01284.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
Tireder.
hat ˆ tired ˆ me
DSC01287.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
Tiredest.
tired ˆ dad
DSC00989.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
Before we get on with the fishin', I should prolly give you a little background. You see, we come from a fishing family. That handsome devil up there is my dad's father, Hank Battjer. (Holding up what looks like a fresh-water muskellunge)
fishing ˆ nostalgia ˆ hank battjer
DSC00992.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
And that's my Dad's mother, Connie Battjer; who actually caught the sailfish she posing with (Nope, I'm so not kidding).
fishing ˆ nostalgia ˆ connie battjer
DSC01289.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
With our proud angling lineage in mind, we puffed our chests, hoisted our hopes and cast our lines towards the sea (that's Capt. Mike in standing next to my brother).
boat ˆ fishing ˆ brett
DSC01292.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
No more than 10 minutes passed before my dad hooked this sea-robin (Prionotus carolinus) which aren't very tasty and didn't count towards the "most" prize, so he threw it back.
fish ˆ sea robin
DSC01303.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
Shortly thereafter, my brother hooked a bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix).
fish ˆ fishing
DSC01308.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
After that, my dad hooked a "little skate" (Raja erinacea) that also didn't count towards "most." Throw it back!
skate
DSC01309.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
Holy creepy fishmouth, Batman!
skate
DSC01297.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
Brett reacting to all the bizarro sea-creatures that my dad was somehow managing to hook.
fishing ˆ brett
DSC01321.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
After his bluefish, my brother caught a pretty big striped bass (Morone saxatilis).
best ˆ fish ˆ fishing
DSC01316.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
Fish as art? Oooooh!
best ˆ fish
DSC01312.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
A few minutes later, my brother hooked another bluefish.
fish
DSC01313.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
And then, another and another, and another. Fucker. (If you you're wondering why there aren't any pics of me with the fish that I've caught it's because, um, I haven't caught any).
fish
DSC01333.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
The first mate gutting and fileting my brother's fish.
blood ˆ fish
DSC01337.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
Oh, I forgot to mention - before we set out, each of the sixteen people on the boat threw in $10 towards a pool to be awared for two prizes: Half the money would go to the person catching the biggest fish (the "biggest" prize), the other half would go to the person who caught the most fish (the "most" prize). Got it? After four hours of fishing, my brother, having caught five fish was tied for the "most" prize with some other guy. Ten minutes before the captain was scheduled to call "lines up" and head back to shore, my brother (in the blue hat), hooked yet another fish which made him the winner of the "most" prize (with six fish caught).
boat ˆ fishing
DSC01347.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
And here's the kicker, the last fish he caught also ended up being the biggest fish of the day (that's his fish on the left beating out the 2nd biggest fish).
fishing
DSC01344.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
Brett demonstrates how you turn 22lbs of striper into...
fish ˆ brett
DSC01351.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
...cold, hard, cizzash! Brett ended up taking home $120 (after tipping out the two mates on board).
money ˆ brett
DSC01350.jpg
original not copied to this machine yet
Brett was the big winner. Me and my dad both caught NOTHING! NADA! ZIP! ZILCH! (Actually, my dad at least caught two fucked-up fish that just didn't count in the contest so he threw them back. I was the only one that didn't catch a god-damned thing. Bah.) Arrrrgh, matey! Better luck next time!
fishing ˆ dad ˆ me