Of Fishing Kakis Come and Gone.
Thanks for the memories
Fishing kakis are getting harder to come by don’t you think? I don’t mean someone to simply tag along and share the sometimes hefty cost of a fishing trip. I am thinking more along the lines of someone you can bear to be cooped up for three or more days with in the middle of the ocean on a leaky piece of flotsam. (This, lets face it, is what some fishing boats can barely pass for at times) Someone who is upbeat when there are no fish around, willing to help you unhook your catch in the middle of a frenzy, does his or her share of the loading and unloading, understands that sometimes the fish just aren’t biting, willing to jump into leech infested waters to net a fish.. Well you get the idea, someone fun.
I had such a kaki, in fact we have known each other for going on thirteen years. Longer than I’ve known my Girlfriend by just a little. We both went to the same University in Perth and developed our relationship through what else but fishing. This guy was everything a fisherperson should be. A consummate gentleman angler who practiced C&R long before it was fashionable to pretend it was hip to do so. We learnt a great many things about our great sport together and from each other. We amassed countless fishing stories that we still look back and laugh about.
My earliest memories are fishing for Cobbler (an awful looking catfish relation that tastes great however you cook it) in Fremantle using precious bloodworms bought using money that was supposed to be for groceries. You see, we had a great plan to convert the slimy wriggling things into, well.. other slimy wriggling things that could provide us poor students with some much required protein. We never were good at filling our bellies in that way but being a little above our ideal bodyweights at the time it was probably a good thing. Thankfully, after losing our last centimeter of bloodworm to a 500g puffer or f****** blowie as the locals so fondly call them, a famous spot for catching King prawns was only a stones throw away according to my kaki.
Of course a stones throw meant a short walk to the nearby traffic bridge and a precarious 40 foot balancing act across a 3 inch plank with no guard rails, and a spider man crawl around a pillar all the while balancing a 15 foot prawning net, bucket, lamp, thermos etc. whilst trying to ignore the dark raging waters of the Fremantle river 10 feet below. Oh and did I mention that you catch prawns at night, and of course the walkway was pitch dark. Lights? Don’t be silly.
Having reached the prawning spot and rested a while to steady the hands and heart rate, we would set up, and between hanging on for dear life from the gusts of wind (Perth is the third windiest city in the world) and avoiding the beer bottles thrown by the friendly but drunken Aussies walking on the bridge overhead, we would sometimes catch enough for the most luxurious Maggi Mee ever.
Needless to say we survived these prawning adventures intact and between inconvenient lectures managed to get quite a bit of fishing done. Speaking of lectures this kaki of mine was never able to attend morning lectures in a lucid state, but mention a 3a.m. start to catch Tailor off the beaches, no problem. 5a.m. for a charter boat? He’ll pick you up. 4.30a.m. for a dawn start during the short abalone season? Breakfast will be waiting.
It was while hunting for abalone that I first came the closest to losing my fishing kaki. Abalone hunting and collecting is allowed on a designated weekend morning, twice a year. Abalone are of course great to eat but abalone guts are one of the best fishing baits around which was a major motivation for us. They are found on rocky reef tables slightly away from the beaches of an island near Perth. You basically walk in water that varies from ankle to chest deep looking for likely candidates that are of legal size and wait for the waves to recede enough for you to use a screwdriver to lever them off the rocks.
Well my kaki found a whopper and was so excited he forgot the first rule of abaloning: (If that is even a real word) Never turn your back on the waves coz Mother nature can be a real unpleasant b**** at times. Well, he remembered that number one rule very quickly a moment later, even as I yelled out a futile and largely belated warning as he was engulfed in foaming green seawater. As the water receded I searched frantically for my kaki, where he was a moment ago there was only rock and some scrape marks on the coral. Expecting the worst I turned only to find him 30 feet away, bruised, bloodied but resplendent and triumphant and clutching his prize. This was the kind of person he was, never losing sight of the good side of things. This was even after the Great White Shark incident on the same day, but that is another story.
Strangely it was a shark that showed me how dedicated my kaki was to C&R as well as his respect for the many creatures that suffer for our sport. Three of us, my friend and I, and a good friend Thomas had gone for a much anticipated four day fishing trip to Rottnest island off the coast of Western Australia. Staying in a backpacker dormitory, fishing for food and living off the land so to speak. Well, we overestimated our fishing abilities somewhat and here we were, three starving (as usual) Malaysian Students with nothing to eat between us but an absurd half watermelon that we had thought to bring. Resolute we were determined to seek out a rock ledge and catch something to eat in the next few hours, or die trying. No way would we be eating fruit for dinner tonight! No way.
Whilst sharing the watermelon that night we decided that we desperately had to catch something the next day coz there wasn’t a seven eleven anywhere in sight. Luckily a guy who had just returned on his boat took pity on us and offered us a small piece of Yellowfin Tuna he had caught that day. Rottnest Island is famous for its Quokkas, which are small creatures that are something of a cross between a wallaby and a large rat. Extremely cute, intelligent and oh so cunning. Friendly they were as they approached us whilst we sat on the terrace eating our meager dinner. Little did we know, the ones that approached us were an advance party of the cutest in the herd. (Or family, school or whatever) Their task was to distract us as the less attractive of the bunch quietly made off with the rest of our food. Stomachs rumbling and dreaming of nasi lemak we went to sleep thinking of the next days fishing and that stolen piece of watermelon. Be thankful of what you have. God has a sense of humour too.
The next day we set out with slightly diminished enthusiasm but determined nonetheless. To be brief we caught a large Wobbegong shark of about 15 kilos. These sharks are considered very good eating and are especially good as fish and chips or made into a curry. Whilst pondering on the best way to dispatch our catch my kaki made a proclamation that we should release the magnificent (but ugly) creature. Well we thought that this must be hunger induced mania talking and Tom headed off to find a good sized rock to do the deed. Patiently but somewhat dramatically my kaki threw himself in front of the shark and explained that us three could never possibly finish eating the shark and that we had no means of keeping the excess and that most of it will likely go to waste. Grudgingly we did release the shark and just to us show that He (The almighty) not only has a good sense of humour but is also fair we did catch other things to eat that day.
My kaki lived and breathed fishing, friends and family. (In no particular order) This was a guy whose sole criteria for buying a car was that it had to be able to fit that famous 15 foot prawn net and his one piece rods. To top it off he was quite intelligent and we both managed to graduate eventually.
Well what is the point of this posting I hear you tiredly moan. For those of you who have stuck it out this long I offer you, along with my thanks, THE MEANING OF LIFE</font id=“red”>. Well not really but at least the reason I wrote this. I no longer get to go fishing with my kaki, but this is not being selfish nor is it the reason for the post. My kaki no longer gets to enjoy his favorite pastime. I hesitate to call it a pastime because it is, or was, a lifelong obsession with him. His partner in life hates fishing and hates him going fishing. When he does very rarely get to go fishing, the catch he brings home is never big enough. As far as I know his contact with fishing of late has been a few day trips, sometimes quietly, and some postings on MFN. Yes he is a member but I will not reveal his identity.
I lament the loss of this fishing kaki very much not because I bear his partner any ill will for her views on fishing but because an enthusiast such as him has been reduced to sneaking out whenever he can to cast a line alone. I cannot pretend to understand the wrongness of our hobby though, after all, what is the harm in fishing. What is so bad about it? I am sure it is much more preferable for him to be fishing at sea rather than on land if you catch my drift.It is just FISHING. Nevertheless I have faith that you can’t keep a good fisherman down and that he may be back someday.
As I write I have just received (unsurprising) news that he will not be able to join me once again for the next fishing trip in November planned by my girlfriend and I. It’s OK though; I will still keep the space open in the hope that he can make it. If not, the first one I catch will be dedicated to a great fishing kaki come and gone.
These memories are thanks to him and even if I have described them overzealously they are as I like to remember them. Thanks for the memories buddy.
Good Fishing and Good Food Bring Good People Together
Jam
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Thomas 
Good Fishing and Good Food Bring Good People Together