It's Ike. I'm back.
I see where Pete brought you up to speed on the wedding. Everything went perfect. Our early morning fishing trip, the weather, the ceremony, the reception, my groomsmen, Becky's bridesmaids, my bride — it couldn't have been any better. I'm the happiest man in the world right now.
Our honeymoon was fantastic. We had a place in Fiji right on the water. We snorkeled, ate good food and enjoyed each others company in a quiet and normal atmosphere. Of all the things we enjoyed, that might have been the best. Quiet time is something neither one of us knows enough about.
Our cabin was really cool. It had a glass floor in it. When we went to bed at night we could look down and watch the fish swimming around and schooling up underneath us as it turned dark. That was very romantic. That's something we won't forget.
Of course, we carried along a couple of pack rods. That's not as crazy as it sounds. Becky loves to fish, so it wasn't like I was out doing my thing while she was left alone on her honeymoon. She was right in the thick of it with me.
Anyway, Daiwa was nice enough to send us two of their best before we left. We had a ball with them. There's no telling how many different species of fish we caught once we figured out how to make them bite. It was at least a dozen.
The place is full of fish, and I don't think they get that much pressure. They bite quickly and don't seem to have any fear or hesitation when they see a lure. Lots of days we caught 30 or more without really getting serious.
(OK, I'm always serious when I'm fishing. I'll admit to that. But you get the picture. I was having a good time with my wife as opposed to fishing for money. That's what I mean. It was a different experience.)
Most of them were fairly large, too. They put up a serious battle with the tackle we had. Our rods were about 6 foot, 6 inches and not the heaviest ones I've ever fished with. We spooled our reels with 30-pound-test Spiderwire and 10-pound-test fluorocarbon leaders.
At times the fish would pull off 80 yards of line on the first run. Some of them fought like smallmouths on steroids. It was unbelievable. Our tackle held up, though. We got our fair share of them in.
Unfortunately, however, that was then and this is now. We're back in the real world. It's time to go to work. I'll be leaving in a couple of days to film a new episode of City Limits, and then I'll start getting back in tournament mode. That's what I do, you know … fish tournaments.
