One Final Hawaiian Memory

Just a few weeks before we left,

Rick decided he would like to go Deep Sea Fishing

while we were in Hawaii.

If they could get six of us to agree, 

they could have the boat all to themselves.

Rick was in...Scott and Austin were in,

Kerri and Leisa decided they wanted to go,

so Rick talked Papa into coming along and they had their six!

Now, I had absolutely no desire to go deep sea fishing at all,

so I never even considered it...

I would gladly stay home and keep Jackson

so they could enjoy their fun.

The gang left the house at 4:30 AM so they could make it

to the dock in time to head out for a day of fishing.

Their boat was the Ke Kila and there were two fishermen 

on board that were their guides for the day.

They headed out and part of the "reward" of the day was catching our dinner.

The guys told them that they would go out and make sure they caught their haul

which was about 30 pounds of fish and then once they made

sure they had caught dinner, they would go out farther and see if 

they could catch "the big one!"

Here is Leisa with one of her fish that she caught.

I think this was called a Skip Jack.

Austin's line was next and he pulled in another 

Skip Jack.

He did not stop long enough to pose for a picture with his fish.

They quickly caught their limit and then headed out for deeper water to 

find the bigger fish.  After about four hours they had still not caught any big fish...

Austin and Kerri had started to get a little sea sick and Leisa

was feeling a little panicked because one of the fishermen

told them that the water below was about 4,500 feet deep.

Leisa does not swim...

So, Rick told them that since they had caught their dinner,

they were happy and they could all head back...

but as they were heading back...

They caught the BIG ONE!!!

They were all so excited.

For about 30 minutes they all took turns

trying to reel in the fish.

They were all so excited to see what was on the end of 

the line!  The fishermen told them that as soon as it came over

 the edge of the boat to quickly get out of the way.

The fish are big...with big  fins that will take your leg off if not careful!

When he hit the deck it was a 170 lb. 

Yellow Fin Tuna!

Then a few minutes later they caught another one!

It was about 100 lb. Yellow Fin Tuna.

The haul for the day.

The little ones are the fish that they filleted 

and the gang brought home for dinner.

And the two Big fish on top

were taken to market and sold to the local restaurants.

The Mighty Fishermen of the Day!

Kerri, Pappa, Rick, Scott, Austin and Leisa.

They all had so much fun...even with some 

seasickness and a little moment of panic,

it was a great memory and great experience with

friends and family!