“Set the hook, set the hook,” yelled my maddened grandfather.
Well, there was no third-time’s-a-charm in this case. I couldn’t have been more than 6, my pole was bent in half, the reel screaming and my feeble yanks to “set the hook” proved too much for him. With a mumbled “Here, let me help,” I was relieved of my burden and looked down to find my pole replaced with a net.
The ballet that followed was that of a master fisherman at work. Beginning with a sound two-handed pull, the man danced around the cockpit of our tiny runabout in Useless Bay with a look on his face that could only be described as “fishstatic.” He was in his element, and fighting to land a rare beauty.
In all fairness, it was indeed a big fish and that was the only time I got that much “help” from my grandfather landing a salmon. Most of my memories of those long ago days were of patient instruction — teaching me the improved clinch knot and bowline, letting me try to raise the outboard all by myself, how, when and where to troll, the correct way to cast and, of course, how to set the hook.
They’re great memories, all of them, and what’s cool is they or their like are shared by many a Whidbey islander. Fishing, crabbing, clam digging: these are more than local pastimes. They’re honored traditions, even rites of passage for some.
Living at Bush Point, it’s gratifying to see that way of life continues. For weeks, the beach has been lined with anglers, the waters peppered with a flotilla fish boats. Men, women, old and young, they’re all there hunting for the big one.
But it’s not just the fishing — it’s a chance for family, for community. It’s a day at the beach or on the water, a place to hang out with friends, make memories, or in my case, for a grandfather to teach the next generation to fish.
The Sebo’s Whidbey Island Coho Derby will take place around Central and South Whidbey waters Saturday, Sept. 13.
Weigh in starts at 9 a.m. with anglers in line for final measuring by 4 p.m. at the Holmes Harbor Rod and Gun Club. Tickets cost $10 and may be purchased at Sebo’s in Bayview, the Short Stop in Freeland, Clinton Food Mart, American Legion Post 141 in Bayview or the Rod and Gun Club.
A chance to win $500 and a trophy for a day of fishing? One could do worse, much worse.
