....... of fish and fishing

This is the "Tenggiri" / Mackerel ( 3. 5 ft long. 4 kilos plus which Yours Sincerely ( Y S ) landed. You can estimate it for yourself . Never believe the anglers. They have the tendency to exaggerate, especially for those catches which got away !!!) Y S does not wish to go into the nitty gritty story of how the poor fella got hooked to my line but the aftermath of the fishing trip.

While you are still harbouring the seasickness and covered with sea salt and dirt, especially for Y S, you have to clean up your catch before they deteriorate. If you land one like this, then you have storage problem. You have to clear up your fridge and if it is already full, you have to think of who to give to. Then you start to call up your kith and kins, friends and associates. Since your fishing day is usually Friday, a rest day for Kedah, your land line calls return unanswered and those on cell phones are answered, " Soli, we're in Penang ! Weekend outing !."

Just take a look at Y s' tools for chopping up the fish, very crude and barbaric. It is hard labour and very bloody, too. The hand tugging at the tail of the fish for it to stretch out belongs to Better Half. " Ai ya..... you give me work only!!! Mess up my kitchen!!! "

Finally you manage to stuff a few pieces away in your fridge and a good other pieces are distributed here and there, you have a good bath. While resting, you start to calculate :-

The boat and the boatman = RM450.00
The fishing gears. (The lines, hooks, weights and floats you lost) = RM 20.00
The transportation to the jetty. = RM 30.00
The "Jaga Kereta" ( Self appointed car attendant) = RM 10.00
The food and refreshment for the trip. = RM 40.00
The ice for the coolers . = RM 4.00
Total ................... .................. .................. = RM 554.00

RM554.00 for 10 pieces of Mackerel. Of course, the fun is always immeasurable. The gratitude of those receiving the fish is even more pleasurable, " Wah !!! You caught one ya...?"

That's life.