Fishy fishy fishy!

I have never been much of a fisher person, although did go a few times with my family as a kid, but my own girls decided that ALL they wanted to do on our family holiday in Warrnambool, from which we'll get home today, was to:

a) Swim
b) Ride horses, and
c) Fish.

So we went to a bait & tackle shop and got kitted out with a few cheap handlines, a bag of bluebait and a bag of pippies, fishing licenses and the free fish guide from DPI, and headed down on Monday to try our luck off the breakwater.

Well, we had a fun two hours - and the kids loved it - but we caught nothing, as we had, honestly, expected. We promised we'd go again, so Wednesday we headed back down. That time, we'd only been there 15 minutes when my husband hooked a wrasse; quite a little tacker, although just over the limit, and we cooked him up and ate him as part of that night's dinner (we got two morsels each :-)

Friday the kids were keen to fish again, so we went back to the breakwater. As an aside, recreational fishing people are one of the nicest crowds I've ever met - we got heaps of help and tips, friendly fisherpersons with rods who were catching stuff called the kids over to have a look at what they were getting, and the atmosphere was generally friendly and relaxed.

So we'd been there 2 hours again, diligently feeding the delighted fish with our bait (how many empty hooks did we drag up!) and hooking masses of seaweed, when I thought I felt a snag on my line so I started bouncing it to get it loose. Then - YOWIE ZOWIE BATMAN - my line went tight and I was nearly pulled in. I called out for the kids and played the line in slowly, and on the end was A FISH!

My first fish ever!

And I had hooked it, not by the mouth - oh no, that would be too easy - but by the side!

I think what happened is that a few were nibbling at the bait, and as I bounced the line to get it free, I must've inadvertently snagged this one (hereafter known as Lunch) just under the gills. There was no skill in it, but oh boy, there was excitement :-)

We couldn't conclusively identify it - anyone who can, please chip in! - but I can tell you this - I cooked it whole with lemon and made home-made wedges and salad to go with it, and we each got a portion and it was a delicious meal.

The kids are keen to go fishing again once we get home and I think we will go with it. It's very relaxing, together-time and it's more fun than I expected it to be.

I am planning a post on Tuesday about our Warrnambool holiday as a whole, including how I liked it as a family holiday destination, and one on Thursday about eating gluten free on the Shipwreck Coast (my experiences). If other people's holiday stories and gluten free diets are not your thing, look away now. Regular book blogging will resume shortly :-)