by Linda Aksomitis

The pelican, with its tremendous wings at full span, looked like a pterodactyl diving into Matagorda Bay after its prey. With a splash, it grabbed an unsuspecting fish from the salt water, then was airborne again. I watched the power of nature at work for a few minutes, then realized the pelican definitely had the advantage fishing, and we'd need to move our boat again.

I'm not much of a fisherman, or fisher-person either for that matter, so Captain Walt had his hands full when I stepped into his Kingfisher Guide Service boat that Saturday morning. The worst part about fishing is getting picked up at 5:30 a.m.-while one of the best parts is watching the sun rise over the multi-shaded blue world of Matagorda Bay, Texas.

The boat in the early morning light of sunrise.

Face into the salt-water spray, I watched the changing scenery along the Inter-Coastal waterway as Captain Walt took us out to sea. Behind me, he and Alan, a real fisherman from Florida, discussed the previous night's storm that had knocked power out in Matagorda for several hours. The big question was would the water be too rough in the Bay for fishing, since we'd already had to rule out the Gulf of Mexico?

Luckily, we hit a calm after the storm, and the water was smooth. It was time for my first saltwater fishing lesson. The live brown shrimp, which we used for bait, weren't nearly as repulsive as the grub worms I remembered my Grandmother threading onto my hook, when I was a child at a small Saskatchewan lake. She loved to fish and I figured, since I was named for her, that I'd be bound to find the experience exciting. With a quick cast I was soon sitting, staring at the float bobbing along in the water.

"If it goes down, reel in," said Alan, cheerfully throwing his own line out past mine. "Reel in a bit now and then to keep it moving, so the fish follow it. Don't let the line lay slack."

It bobbed a few times. I wound the reel, but it was a waiting game. My mind wandered to the women's salt water fishing club in Florida, from the early 1900s, that I'd read about when deciding to pursue this adventure. They must have enjoyed the sport to defy tradition and take up a man's hobby. And of course, I admired all those Women of the Year named by the American Sportfishing Association. With their examples for inspiration, I couldn't wait to catch my big one! (CONTINUE...)