Bella Goes for the BIG Fish

We're goin' fishin'!

It was another day to go fishing in the Caribbean. Jim Larson, our houseguest, was the guy who put the trip together, and Captain Chito Guerrero was our most able guide. Ironically, Jim had booked the trip online from Texas, not knowing that Cpt. Chito ties up his boat, Bianca Michelle, at the dock in front of our house! Anyway, if you tend to be bored with fishing stories, just chill for a while, okay?


The sea had swells of about three feet, so it was a little rough as we headed toward Caye Caulker to the south. "A little rough" translates as, "I will not puke, I will not puke!" Chito took us to at least five places past Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley known for good fishing. At first. Early on, we caught four good-size snapper, but we switched to the heavy-duty reels and went for the big boys. And big boys they were! 

Tom with Strawberry Grouper

Jim with "Big Boy" Snapper

We didn't have a scale, and there's no sense bragging anyway, but Tom pulled up a beautiful strawberry grouper and Jim briought in a fine red snapper. With them and the little snapper, let's just say we have enough fish fillets in the refrigerator to eat for a week! (And let's get this out of the way: In the picture of the grouper, that's a distended air bladder, not an additional nose!)

Jim, who strongly resembles Ernest Hemingway in Hemingway's latter Key West days, is as close to a professional fisherman as you can be without making any money at it. Tom's only known skill is playing the piano, but at least he knows when to stay quiet. That's not a bad skill for fishing.

Dinner Is Served

The fishermen and their wives took Herman, the grouper, with them to Blue Water Grill this evening where he was magically transformed into the best fish dinner ever.  He was served grilled, pan fried, and blackened with a butter sauce, orange mango salsa, and/or a curry sauce accompanied with home-made bread, mashed potatoes or rice and fresh vegetables. (Jim ordered Key Lime pie for dessert, presumably in honor of Hemingway.)

Kim and Shelley

Dinner was fabulous, fabulous, fabulous, or so I'm told. Blue Water Grill is one of those uppity uppity restaurants that doesn't allow dogs, if you can believe that. Kim and Shelley were allowed at the restaurant, and they assured me that dinner was fabulous, fabulous, fabulous. Judging by the extremely small leftover portions, I believe them. 

By the way, Captain Chito is not available as a fishing guide for the next couple of weeks. He will be attending his daughter's graduation from the University of Wisconsin. She went on a lacrosse scholarship!

They call me fearless.

Y'all come visit. We'll fish and eat fish, and then maybe knock some lacrosse sticks together. You're gonna love Belize!