While traveling by car along the Aegean coast, we stopped for two days in Bodrum. Three-storey Villa, where we had a Suite, and cozy little restaurant stood on the shore and immersed in the green. My buddy Alexander, coach of the national team of Russia on go-karting, a real fan of fishing, as soon as I saw the water, immediately grabbed fishing poles and went fishing in the long, almost deserted pier going far, far out to sea.
Home Alexander came later in the evening, and it seemed to me that she and her son immediately went to sleep. And I couldn’t sleep. I’ve been tossing and turning in bed, then decided to walk. A string of lights, evenly illuminating the pier, threw them on the water glare and blurred circles of reflections. I tried to see them through the bottom, but it vaguely was seen only where the light had already dissipated. Suddenly I saw in the water flashed some bright silver flash. “Thought”, I thought, but the sequins came back and immediately went out. And soon I saw a transparent shape floating squid. He was moving jerkily, impulsive phosphorescence shrinking and flashing. Suddenly squid stopped and abruptly went into the depths. When I saw him again, he was all juicy red. Were clearly visible dark spots in the eye. Suddenly, the squid was painted in green color and seemed made of rubber. Two rhythmic movements and he was bright purple. And then suddenly, like magic, disappeared. I looked again and saw the outlines of transparent corpuscles of the squid when he fell into the light. Below swam a school of horse mackerel. With the appearance of the clam fish hurriedly walked away, but one lingered. Squid then a missile came crashing down, and I saw as he grabbed the tentacles fish.
Fish slices — a universal nozzle for sea fishing.
— You do not sleep, night owl? — heard behind me a voice, and I too flinched.
I was approached Alexander with fishing rods in hand.
— Yes, and you can’t sleep, ” I said.
— Decided to go fishing. Because big fish only at night to the shore suitable.
Alexander walked around the pier, illuminating the water a flashlight. Find under the flooring tight joint small horse mackerel, stopped. Flanked on bread crumb short easy bait some fish, he cut them across into pieces, and prepare the bait, then the whole mackerel can gain the thick rod fitted with a steel leash, and, having gone to the end of the pier, secured it there in a loop of rebar. When he returned, he picked up the middle rod and Nagiev her a piece of fish cutting, to catch itology.
The pause was not long. Suddenly the circle of light emerged a long, narrow creature that resembles a snake.
— Who is it, a sea serpent? “asked Alexander.
I frantically tried to recall anything similar being — the inhabitant of the Mediterranean sea — and nothing remembered: sea snakes are not found.
— See, her beak is thin, like a bird, ” said Alexander.
— Yes this Gar! — it came to me, and I remembered that I read once about this rare fish.
Sargan, despite the strange appearance, is a proud marine predator.
Garfish inhabits mainly in open sea, but it spawns near the shore. The fry have
short beak, which grows with the growth of fish. One-year-old garfish migrate to a depth in places of their permanent habitat. An adult usually grows to 90 cm.
The fish was about the same.
Apparently, the Gar approached the shore to hunt for fry, in a whisper I explained.
Fish for a time disappeared from the firelight, but soon returned. I continued to talk about the billfish. Alexander, not hearing me, already planted fish bait. She immediately pecked, but the piece of horse mackerel picked carefully, the tip of the “beak”.
— Bring dad! — was heard behind us.
Fascinated, we did not notice how came Maxim. With hooking Alexander was in no hurry. Sargan made a push motion with her head, and the head went to the middle of the “beak”.
— Cut, daddy!
—Still early.
Head movement — a piece of horse mackerel were in the area of the mouth of the Gar. And then cutting. Fish, squirming, went on the hook.
— And suddenly it’s all the same snake? — while continuing to hold the fish, asked me Alexander.
— Garfish, garpike! I’m telling you.
The tackle was strong, the hook caught securely, and soon Alexander dragged the wonder fish to the shore. He bravely took her hand and, freed from the hook, threw it in the tank. And then Alexander caught the second Gar…
We forgot about left at the end of the pier bait, and when remembering, was with Maxim to check on her, saw in the water some dark body, like a log. It moved slowly. We’ve stayed in.
— Oh, what a huge fish! — shouted Maxim father.
Alexander approached. Fish, meanwhile, had swum under the pier, which was demolished over the line of the lost rods. And suddenly before our eyes, the rod began to bend, and connected to her big coil evenly and very loud crack in the silence of the night. Alexander soft jumping rushed to tackle and made a sharp cutting.
First, the fish stood stock still, and Alexander could not move it. Then began a movement, and we suddenly saw a four-foot shark. She appeared on the other side of the pile. Alexander pulled with all his strength for the fish to come back, but the shark did not respond, although he behaved quite calmly. The fisherman went to the pier, deciding to stick for spinning the pile, but this time the wily predator showed unexpected agility and again darted into the shadows of the pier. Finally fishing line tangled around the pilings.
— Maxim, get hook, right door, in the green case said, puffing hard on Alexander, trying to stretch me for the pile tip is spinning.
I couldn’t reach out to her: the pile was a bit in depth. But then I got the idea to stick a foot in the projecting loop of rebar and receiving support, doubled over, deeply penetrating under pier. It’s good that I professionally went in for sports…
The shark is a good swimmer. Her body has perfect streamline shape.
We managed to unwind the fishing line, but frightened by my appearance, the shark began to thrash about again and spun her around the piles. Or she was very cunning, the shark, or we were not sufficiently agile, but whenever it seemed that she must give the prisoner again dragged the line over the pile. The tension was strong, we were afraid that the line will ground on the small growths of the shell, clinging to the pile.
Finally it seemed to us that the shark was exhausted. It is a few minutes stood motionless, taut to the pile. After resting, I crouched and crawled under the pier to untangle the lines. And then the fish made one last fatal leap. The fishing line snapped. However, freed the shark continued to stand in place, and two adult man, open-mouthed, almost in an emphasis looked at her and there was nothing I could do.
— Dad, hook! — was heard in silence.
Taking my son to the instrument, Alexander slowly brought it under the fish… it All happened in an instant: a resounding blow fish tail, spray fountain and spiky shark at the pier. Heavily falling on the boardwalk, she jumped off the gaff and began to jump high, intending to be back in the sea. Alexander pushed her hook into the middle of the pier. Then I noticed that we are running a man in uniform. As he approached, he went straight to the shark and kneeling on one knee, two powerful blows of his fist killed her, then got up, smiled and congratulated us. As it turned out, it was the security guard of the restaurant, a big fan of fishing. He said that such splendid trophies spiny sharks he is never caught. And when he saw floating in the cage garðar, his delight knew no bounds. He smiled, saying, “cliche, cliche!” and raised the fingertips to his mouth, showing how this fish is delicious.
The next day the security guard and the cook of the restaurant arranged for us an exotic dinner in the gazebo overlooking the sea. Soup from shark fins in the East and Klich, served on a tray in the flames lit the Calvados, was fantastic.
