…when I tried fishing!

We were at Paxi, a beautiful little island south of Corfu with crystal clear blue/green waters. We were anchored at a little bay called Mogonisi and were 100% protected from all winds from any direction. Perfect little natural safe haven! There were many boats anchored there and tied with lines to the shore, from rocks and trees. The space was good and it did not feel terribly crowded. There were two tavernas at the beach but overall the place was not very busy so we liked it and stayed there for a few days.

Back in Toronto when we were planning our adventure of getting a sail boat and start traveling around the world, I had this great idea that once we are in the familiar Greek waters, we can live off the sea. I would be fishing, and we would be frying the fish and enjoying with fresh tomatoes in Greek olive oil and feta! That’s all you need to be happy! So now the time has come to realize my plans.

The sea was so clear, you could see the fish from the boat. We dived and went for snorkeling, Jeff to check on the anchor, me to check out were the fish hang out! So I identified their hideouts, basically near some rocks at the bottom but there were fish pretty much everywhere. I decided to make some dough to use for bait since that’s what I remember my brother using when we were kids fishing in Volos at Agios Konstantinos.

I had to argue a bit with Jeff for not giving me the blue bucket to put in the fish (!!! yes, my plan was to fill the bucket with the fish) that I was gonna get because he had some engine cleaning stuff in there, I had to compromise and use a small container, but I did secure the confirmation that I’d get the bucket when the container is full! So I started fishing.

After 2 and a half hours in the sun, watching the fish going to my line and leaving with the bait happy and totally unharmed, I ended up pulling out of the sea the most careless fish in the world:

Let’s name him Tobby, seems appropriate for someone that would open their mouth to swallow an entire hook when everyone else was leaving happy with their lunch. I know some kinds of fish but I just couldn’t identify what kind Tobby was, apart from the fact that I was pretty sure he was deaf, blind and missing all other necessary senses that would keep him and the rest of his family members alive. Well, Tobby was not enough to fill the frying pan so I had to throw him back to the sea.

Once you make a plan, you kinda stick to it and try to see it through. Therefore, I did not give up fishing. Obviously there must have been something wrong with the fishing line. So when we were at Volos for a few days, I went by the fishing market and got two new lines with the proper hooks and everything.

When we got to Kefallonia, anchoring at Fiskardo, a magnificent little bay, the fish were everywhere and it seemed that you didn’t need a line, but just a net like the one you use to chase butterflies, and you could scoop the fish right our of the water and directly in the pan. 😋

To make sure we get some of those floating delicacies for dinner, I decided to use pieces of frozen octopus as bait. I defrosted the bait and cut it up in really small pieces and got my gear ready but decided not to ask for the blue bucket…yet.

3 hours later, Tobby’s cousin got hooked by accident I’m sure…

I could swear that this little guy is a γόπα = gopa. The official name of this fish in English is Boops boops (!!!) or bogue! (one can only speculate what the marine biologist had in mind when he was naming this fish…!). So Boops boops here, was traveling in a big school of his boops boops friends (because I could see them from above) and obviously lost his “b” and oops(!!) strayed way too far away and made it into my little container. 🙄

Second attempt to fill a frying pan failed and had to let little Boop boop go with a warning. The lines were new and good, the bait was good….I just can’t identify the problem for not getting fish…🤔 but my wise woman’s intuition tells me not to discuss this with Jeff, because I’m pretty sure he has some ideas that will not sit well with me! 😉