Stop Dickin’ Around

Circa summer 2009: I’m planning Pete’s 40th birthday party for February 2010 and I’m at a loss --  What to do? what to do? I think I threw him a surprise party on the actual date. Good golly I’m old. I can’t remember anything anymore.

What I do remember is that before the actual birthday I gathered some friends to go to this place that Pete talked about endlessly: Lake El Salto, Mexico.

Getting a group together wasn’t as difficult as I expected.

What was this magic place? Why did everyone jump onboard so willingly? I know Pete’s a good friend to all, but there must have been something about this lake that enticed them. I mean, he’s not that nice.

I had the dates booked. CHECK.

Pete on vacation schedule at work. CHECK.

Friends onboard. CHECK.

Airline tickets booked. CHECK.

Hanna freaking out on whether to tell him about the surprise trip to his bucket list fishery. CHECK.

At that point in my fishing “career” I still couldn’t tie knots or back a trailer. I  didn’t even know what a crankbait was, so how would I pack the right soft plastics, hard baits, reels, hooks, line, scales, bobber stoppers, rod covers, reel covers, and everything else we’d need (see how much I have learned through the years?).

I reel-ly (ha ha) didn’t want him to find out the destination until we were at the airport. I felt like if I told him prior to that point it would ruin the surprise.

I had to tell him.

What if there were magic baits he would have wanted to pack?

What if I didn’t bring the right reels or line?

I had to tell him.

The moment the words “El Salto” got out of my mouth, he was like a kid in a candy store let loose to purchase anything he wanted, no exceptions.

How did you know I wanted to go there?

When are we going?

Can I start packing now?

Do I have the right tackle?

I need to go to the garage!

“I need to call Bill.”

“Bill’s going.”

“I need to call Duncan.”

“Duncan’s going.”

“I need to call Mike.”

Mike’s going.”

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Fast forward to December 2009. Bag packed, taxi arrived, the flight was not so much on time, but that’s a story for another blog/time

We arrived at El Salto a mere 12 or so hours late, 2:30 am, so we weren’t offered the famous Anglers Inn margaritas, just a toothbrush and toothpaste. Our luggage was delayed – again, a story for another blog/time.

We didn’t need sleep. We were so excited to go fishing that we were the first ones to breakfast at 5:30 am, just three hours after arrival.

Pete has a sixth sense about things and had us carry reels and a lot of hookless tackle in our carry-on bag. We borrowed rods since our tube hadn’t made it yet, and we were ready to go FISHING.

We had a great morning. Seeing Pete’s lit-up face, hearing him ask questions (in broken Spanish), tying on baits – left and right – made my heart pitter patter. I had done GOOD.

Luckily for us, our luggage (specifically our tackle) showed up that and we loaded up the boat for our afternoon session (after a well-deserved and much-needed siesta).

Our guide Javier pulls up on a spot and tells us to fish “todo” (everywhere).

I am still an amateur, with next to no idea of what I am doing. They gave me an 8” watermelon lizard and told me to let it sink, then slowly reel. I cast it out the back of the boat and did what I was told.

Boom! Five pounder!

Pete gets excited. He still hasn’t wet his bait, but he realizes that there are fish here and they’re decent size. He starts digging around the tackle bag looking for the bait her heard was a showstopper at El Salto, the famous citrus shad Fat Free Shad. He wasn’t as organized back then as he is today, so he’s dumping things out, letting a few choice words fly and finally he finds one.

He then had to find his snippers, not clipped to his belt or in his pocket, and retie, because he already had a perfectly good bait tied on.

So, as Javier is unhooking my catch I cast out again, with a different rod, also with an 8” watermelon lizard. One turn of the reel and -- you guessed it -- another 5 pounder.

Pete, on the other hand, is still dickin’ around on the front deck.

I can tell you that in later years the citrus shad Fat Free Shad has been been a great producer, but on that long-ago trip all I can remember are my two 5 pounders. The trip was a blast and personal bests were caught and later mounted.

Pete had his cake and ate it too and somehow his bucket list trip became a two to three time a year destination.

Bottom Line: Don’t dick around on your bucket list trip. Time flies and opportunities disappear.

Pro Tip: Sometimes it’s better to keep the “wrong” lure wet than to dick around looking for the “magic” bait.