Just another day at the...Oh wait, I don't work in an office

You know you've got a good gig going when your work day consists of trolling for barracuda to use as shark bait.  Needless to say, today was a pretty epic day. The reasoning behind this "work day" was because in the next week or so we are likely going to be doing another shark dive and long line survey, both of which require a large amount of fresh bait.

Jim drove one of the 16-foot Pro Lines around the reefs and cays off South Bimini as Amanda, Steph, and I took turns trolling.  In the beginning there was no action and I began to wonder if today was going to be one of those days that give the sport the name "fishing" and not "catching".  Sure enough though, after about twenty minutes, Steph got a huge hit on her line.  It was pretty funny to watch a rather unsuspecting girl battle a massive barracuda but, after a good fight, she landed the first fish of the day.  Then, ten minutes later it was my turn.

I've done a decent bit of fishing sporadically over the years but it's been mostly freshwater fishing and shouldn't really be described as overly productive.  Nonetheless, when that first barracuda hit my line I remembered how much fun it is to fight a big fish, especially one that strong.  I managed to land the first one (bigger one on the right), but then lost a second one right when it got to the boat and Jim was getting ready with the net.  I got a glimpse of it and she looked big, but then again they always do.  About an hour later i got the second one on a different lure.  Damn that was fun.

When we finally reeled in the lines and headed back to the lab for lunch we had caught five barracuda and one houndfish, making the day a definite success.  Then, after lunch, we packed up a boat and headed up to the North Sound with Emily and built a new tagging/holding pen for juvenile lemon sharks we plan to catch next week.  Back at the lab, Jim returned from a walk tonight with a 3 foot Bimini Boa and tomorrow we're going to feed it the two rats we've caught in our sheds.

On a final note; Mim, I know you're watching over me and, although i couldn't be there today, your family gave you a wonderful funeral and we all will miss you deeply.