2022/07/07

We participated because we really wanted to go squid fishing (see the first part here.).About 20 minutes after leaving port, the boat arrived near Tung O Wan, located east of Lamma Island. As usual, there was no guidance from the crew, so I checked the surroundings and started fishing. Fishing is very simple. All you have to do is hang a fishing line and a squid fishing lure called an eight-clawed squid lure into the sea and move it up and down. The squid will bite the hook thinking it is bait.

Rental fishing gear. The lure hanging on the edge of the box is called an yatsutsuba. Photo courtesy of Kine Tsuribune.

On the quiet boat, looking around, no one had caught anything, everyone was silently casting their fishing lines and waiting for the squid to bite. Maybe the squid didn't come near because we were too lively, saying we should split into teams and compete to see how many we could catch? Or was it because the sky was still bright?

We head to the first squid point while watching the sunset.

Thirty minutes after we started, we heard a voice say, "We caught one!" and our excitement instantly rose. Feeling jealous, we peered into the water and saw a few signs of fish, but no sign of squid. We thought there was something floating, but all we could see was a large jellyfish swimming around happily.

The sea was clearer than I expected when I went out to sea. It wasn't as clear as the tropics, but it was a beautiful warm blue. The sun had just set, so the sky was bright, and the contrast between the sea and the island and the signs of the coming night was wonderful. Also, perhaps because I was in an extraordinary place, my heart felt open, and I was moved by the memories of the turbulent past few months.

While I was immersed in sentimental thoughts, to be honest my brain was filled with squid (LOL). Just as I was starting to feel pain in my arms from keeping them moving, someone called out, "Let's move to another spot!" so I pulled up my fishing gear and moved on.

The sea surface is a beautiful color. The boat on the right is another boat on the same tour. The lights on this boat were on from earlier.

After moving a little way from the previous point and settling down, the lights on the boat flashed, as if to draw the squid closer... but they didn't come. The surrounding area was gradually filled with people saying that they had caught squid. This... I might not catch any at all. I hadn't even thought about that at all, and was at the brink of despair... (I'm exaggerating) when I felt something tugging at my hand.

First of all, squid! Looks delicious! And sometimes they catch fish I've never seen before. I forgot the name. They don't seem to eat it so I release it right away.

I wondered if it had gotten tangled in the fishing line of my friend next to me, but when I looked closely, I saw an object spitting ink and swinging back and forth! Unlike a fish, it felt light, so I pulled it up gently, not letting my guard down for even a moment.

When I finally shouted, "I caught a squid!", the man who seemed to be the most senior fishing expert among the participants, and the guy next to him, gave me a thumbs up with a smile, which made me doubly happy.

Once you catch one, you put it in the box at your desk. There are squids of all sizes and patterns.

After that, we each enjoyed fishing, and spent a relaxing time thinking about how luxurious it was to eat rice balls, which are now easily available, on the seas of Hong Kong! Looking at the other participants, the aforementioned senior man repeatedly spurted what looked like beer, and seeing everyone from small children to adults playing seriously gave me a lot of energy! When the big boss captain appeared at the end to collect the fees and ask if everyone had caught anything, he looked just like Tatsuo Umemiya, and my heart was even more excited.

The atmosphere on board! It's quite spacious and everyone has their own space. Everyone is so serious that you can't hear each other's conversations!

From there, we moved to the coast of Sekihashi to fish again, and then returned to the original meeting point around 22 p.m. This was the end of our squid fishing tour. Although we didn't catch as many as we had hoped, I was very satisfied with catching nine squid! I grew attached to them, and cooked them the next day.

It's so delicious that I'm sure I'll become addicted. I'm already thinking about when I can go again.

I would like to continue participating in more marine activities, not just squid.

As I was heading to Stanleya, the lights of the buildings and apartments on the island were beautiful. And I only used two of the many storage bags I had prepared.

Profile

wm_Journal

I first visited Hong Kong before the handover in 1996. A few years ago, I fell in love with Hong Kong, and in 2020, I decided to move there alone. Even in the midst of COVID-XNUMX, I'm enjoying my time here with my self-satisfied level of Cantonese and a cheerful attitude, with the motto of "act immediately when you think of something." My hobbies are watching Hong Kong movies from start to finish, traveling, and taking buses to the last stop. I post my daily Hong Kong updates on Instagram.

instagram
@wm_Journal