Fishing (Finally!)

Last night the battery that runs the internet died right as we started to email and I was very disappointed. We had planned this morning that we would go to the canopy walk, but both last night and this morning the station manager couldn't be found to get the key. That worked out for the best because around 7:00, when I was supposed to wake up, it was raining really hard again. We got to sleep in until about 8:30 when I was too hungry to sleep any longer because of the torrential rain. As I started to read a paper we were going to discuss at dinner I was happily interrupted and informed that I could go fishing. I went and changed so I could go. We had a late start because some of the native people came by the station and the jr. manager had to stay and find out what they wanted. We ended up going without him. We went to the beginning of the Black Water system and it was really pretty. The people I went with were T, three workers, and the jr. manager's girlfriend. Nobody else on my team really wanted to go fishing. 

Here is the way you fish: You use a spool of  fishing line with a weight and a hook. The bait we use is a piece of bread rolled into a small ball, about the size of a bead.  You place the bread on the hook so the round part is hidden from view.   Next is where some skill is required. You then toss out the hook a few feet from the boat letting out lots of line so it sinks down a good distance. You want the line to go straight down so it is easy for you to feel the fish biting.  You wait for the fish to bite, then jerk the line to set the hook. Once you think the hook is set you have to pull the line in quickly before the fish breaks free. I was the second person to catch a fish. My wish is a bagre, or a catfish. It was about ten inches long with really long whiskers. The workers were very nervous that I would try to hold the fish and get stung by it. They did not know that I have caught catfish before.  After I caught my fish I only got nibbles and could never set the hook. It is hard to set the hook (that is why I said skill is required). T only got nibbles. In total we caught five fish. The boat driver caught three, one of the cooks caught one, and I caught one. The kinds of fish were: a catfish, two round silver ones, a piranha, and a fish that was used for bait to get the piranha.  Over all it was a lot of fun fishing. I would love to go again, but I don't know if I will have time in remaining time I am here.  The cooks are going to cook my catfish for me to eat at dinner tomorrow night. I am willing to try it, but I typically don't like the taste of fish, and I have told people that. So if I don't enjoy it I will be sharing it with someone else. Everyone is wanting my fish because they know I don't like it. We will just have to see if I end up liking it or not. I will let you know!