AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I hate to be so ignorant, but I have to ask, what’s a trash fish?”
“Rays, blow toads, or puffer fish, sharks, those kinds of things.” Barb set her hands on the table.
Jenni stood up and got a refill of her coffee. She had so much to learn in such a short period of time. It was like cramming for an exam back in college.
“We’re all women,” she stated. “Is that unusual?”
“Not hardly. I’d say about twenty-five or thirty percent of teams in tournaments are all women. In this tournament, all teams compete on the same footing, all men’s teams, women’s, and mixed. But like I said, all tournaments are slightly different. I like this one ‘cause we’re all competing against each other.”
“Last question, I promise.” Jenni smiled as she sat back down. “Have the fish been biting?”
“Good question.” Barb finished her coffee and stood up to move to the sink. “It’s been so-so recently, but with the weather turning tomorrow, things might improve. Could be a bit ‘drummy’ as they say. Bad weather brings the drum fish.”
“That’s right,” said Caitlin as she walked into the kitchen. “Which means, my dear Jenni, we will also need to get you a warmer shirt or something for tomorrow. Which also means, you need to get showered, and we’ll get this day started.”
Jenni pushed back her chair and saluted Caitlin as she walked by. “I can be ready in less than a half hour. Let’s get this show on the road.”
The front door opened, and May Ellen greeted them with a handful of shells. “It was a great morning.” She smiled as she dropped the shells onto the table. Then she turned to Jenni. “Are you getting excited about tomorrow now?”
“I’m not sure what word I would use,” she admitted. “But since I’m in, I need to get my lessons started.”
May Ellen gave her a thumbs up, and Jenni disappeared down the hallway, re-emerging as promised just thirty minutes later. She and Caitlin hopped into Barb’s truck as Barb indicated she’d take Caitlin’s car to the captains’ meeting that afternoon. A truck would be necessary on the beach if they intended to get any practice done that afternoon.
The tackle shop was just a few minutes away. Jenni’s eyes widened as they drew closer to the parking lot.
“Lordy, this place looks like Walmart the day after Thanksgiving,” exclaimed Jenni as Caitlin maneuvered into one of the few parking spaces. “What is everyone doing?”
Caitlin laughed. “Everyone needs a new rod or a new reel or the latest lure.” She turned off the truck. “But honestly, I think everyone is trying to scope out the competition, listen for who’s catching what where, and exchanging a few fish stories.”
Jenni stopped for a moment to take it all in as they walked into the shop. There were rods of every size. Reels too. She also noticed colorful lures, some of them looking like Halloween decorations or maybe some sort of weird sea creature.
“Do we use those?” She pointed to one very bright display.
“No,” Caitlin laughed. “Those are for offshore fishing. We’ll get our bait for today’s practice right as we leave. Let’s get you some waders now, and a warm shirt, a hat, and some gloves.”
The next several minutes were spent checking sizes, colors, and brands as Jenni remained fascinated with what seemed to be a parallel universe of anglers in a tournament-induced frenzy.
She decided on a pink and purple tassel cap, thinking she could at least add a bit of color to the olive drab of everything else.
For one brief moment, she thought she saw Caleb checking out at the register in the front of the store, but whoever he was disappeared, and she didn’t see him again.
She was surprised at the hint of disappointment, but she replaced those feelings by concentrating on what was still to come in the day ahead.
Chapter Four
“Alrighty, what’s next?” she asked Caitlin as they placed the packages on the back seat of the truck.
She had tried to pay for her new wardrobe, but Barb was adamant with Caitlin about picking up the costs. The only thing Jenni did pay for was her fishing license which everyone had forgotten she needed. Thankfully, Caitlin remembered when they saw someone else get one at the check-out.
“I feel like I’ve moved into some alternate world where everything revolves around fish,” she commented to Caitlin as they pulled out onto Highway 12.
“It is a bit, I guess. Some people take it way too seriously, I think. It’s supposed to be relaxing and a chance to just cast away your cares, so to speak. But tournaments are a whole different thing. So, the next thing we’ll do is go out onto the beach and practice everything. I’ll walk you through the steps of baiting and casting. Don’t worry.”
They turned off the highway and cruised through the campground area to what Jenni saw was a sign for Ramp 49. As Caitlin put the truck into 4-wheel drive, Jenni was amazed at how easily she navigated through the sand.
There were plenty of anglers already hard at work. It was hard to say how many of them would be in the tournament in the morning, but Jenni suspected a fair amount.
Surely, Caleb and his crew would be out there somewhere getting a feel for things. She hoped they wouldn’t cross paths here at the beach.
