The feeling of sea water hitting the feet reinvigorates the soul.
I've been fishing for decades, especially beach fishing (surfcasting), although never aimed at eating the fish. More recently, however, the subsistence aspect of fishing hooked me {no pun intended}. I want to be more assertive and only capture enough to feed instead of counting numbers. Capturing, identifying species, learning how to clean and prepare the fillets go into my basket of useful survival skills anyone should have.
So, to the beach I go. With nothing else but the equipment to fish. No purchased baits to make life easier. The idea is to provide food for the dinner at zero cost (discounted the equipment I already have).
Surfcasting, southern Brazil
Surfcasting is perhaps one of the most intricate fishing types. One slight change to the environment can cease fish activity, compromising the day. Also, the wind turbines in the photo are suggestive: it winds quite a lot around here, which puts me off from fishing [at the shore] most often. Fortunately, the day is pristine and promising.
Local fresh bait is perfect. Shrimp, clam, beach worms and that weird-looking crustacean we call corrupto (ghost shrimp) work best for me. My goal is to capture Papa-Terra (Menticirrhus americanus), so any of those work, depending on what I find at the shore. One gotta try and discover what the fish want.
Clam and ghost shrimp
It's easy to find bait around here as long as the tide is low; just locate the holes on the sand and use the pump. Now that I have the equipment and the bait, it's time to cast and wait. Surfcasting is all about hitting the right spots when casting, generally between sandbars (never atop breaking waves). That, sometimes, means applying quite some force to cast far away from the shore, which may create some problems if using a baitcaster type of reel.
Small backslash
Fixed
Our thumb stops the spool rotation on a baitcasting reel. The result can be catastrophic if you let the spool run free after hitting the target — it's called backslash. On severe cases not even a Tibetan monk is able to untangle the mess. Fortunately, I got an easy tangle; more attention next time.
I continue until the sun fades. The wind is chilly, although the water feels warm for Autumn. Three catches seem enough for the dinner, so I decide to call it a day. There's no point in freezing fish for later when I can simply go fishing another day for more.
Papa-terra
Papa-terra is one of the best fish around here. Its meat is soft, lean and free of pin bones. The sizes vary, but anything between 25 - 40cm yield beautiful fillets. Less than 25cm should go back into the water to preserve the species.
I don't plan to write a post on how to fillet the fish, but the way I prepared them is coming out in a future post. All I can add for now is this: Tastes amazing!
Do you enjoy eating fish?
I hope you've enjoyed this post and don't forget to stay tuned for the recipe post.
Peace.
Access Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/6500272773?
Disclaimer: The author of this post is a convict broke backpacker, who has travelled more than 10.000 km hitchhiking and more than 5.000 km cycling. Following him may cause severe problems of wanderlust and inquietud. You've been warned.
