Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
A lot of folks probably remember back in the mid to late 90’s when tuna chunking was so hot that fishermen were often able to attract blue and yellowfin tuna into feeding frenzies behind their boats. When the action was “right” it was as easy as sticking a butterfish on a hook, dropping it overboard, and WHAM you had one on! As much fun as it was to catch those fish, the most amazing thing to me was the opportunity to witness free-swimming tuna gliding through the water as they eagerly snapped up chunks of baitfish just a few feet from the boat. It was an incredible sight that I would often point out to my charter clients and comment, “take a good look at those fish and always remember what you’re witnessing here, this is something you might never see again.”
Back then the tuna were so abundant that it was almost absurd to think that Delmarva anglers wouldn’t always be able to enjoy such a strong and productive fishery. Of course all things are subject to change, and even though our offshore tuna fishing can still be pretty darn good at times – it doesn’t hold a candle to the way things used to be. Thinking back to how good we all had it back then (particularly the season when we easily caught our daily limits of tuna just 16-miles out near the Twin Wrecks) I for one am glad I paused long enough to take it all in, contemplate, and appreciate the wonderful opportunity I had to participate in such an incredible fishery.
Thoughts of those “glory days” of fishing came to mind a couple years ago as I sat in attendance of the Memorial Day ceremony at the Worcester County Veterans Memorial at Ocean Pines. As the various narrators spoke of wars, battles, honor, freedom, and sacrifices, I couldn’t help but connect the dots and come to the conclusion that the only reason we fishermen ever had the opportunity to enjoy and witness such sights as a school of tuna feeding behind our boat is because of all the heroic men and women who have served our country and made it a place where the rest of us can live safe, be happy, and have opportunity for recreational pursuits such as sport fishing. Think about all the countries around the world that are bordered by waters that even if they were teeming with fish the average citizen would still have no chance to go out and fish strictly for “fun” because they live under such poverty or oppression that the concept of doing anything for “recreation” is something they cannot even comprehend. Our country abounds in natural beauty and resources that are both the envy of the world and accessible to our citizens. And for hundreds of years members of our armed forces have suffered and sacrificed to ensure that this country and the way of life that it affords us all remains free from the perils others would impose upon us if they could.
Imagine if our military slipped up and allowed the “bad guys” the opportunity to wreak havoc right here on our own soil. With all of our fellow countrymen struggling daily just to survive there wouldn’t be much recreational hunting or fishing going on, and you can bet that if we ever fell under the rule of some dictator we’d no longer have the right to bear arms or cruise around where ever we wanted in our fishing boats and ATV’s. There’s a lot of bad people in this world that would deny us those rights if given the chance, thank God our military has taken the fight to them and kept the conflict “over there” so that we can live the lives we do in the United States.
The freedom to hunt and fish is something that’s not fully appreciated, because it’s a privilege that most American sportsmen have never been without. That is, until this winter when a new type of enemy snuck in under the wire, infiltrated our country, and began to ravage and kill our fellow citizens. Suddenly we found ourselves in the midst of a war on our own soil, a war that took away so many of the freedoms and privileges that as Americans we have always known but too often taken for granted. Confinement, social distancing, food and supply shortages, businesses closed, travel restrictions, school and workplace closings, jobs lost, life as we know it turned upside-down. Who would have ever thought that we’d be told we couldn’t go out for a simple ride in our own boats!
Right now America is experiencing a very small taste of what it would be like around here if not for the incredible job our military forces have done to keep us safe and free. Only this time our warriors, our champions, our heroes are the men and women in healthcare. Yeah things have been bad these last few months, but you don’t have to review too much world history to understand how much worse it could be.
I’ve had a few sobering moments in life when injury or ailment put me in the hospital for close to a week at a time, and believe me, when you go from feeling fine - to flat on your back with more wires and hoses sticking out of you than Frankenstein on a stormy night you sure do appreciate the thought of someday having not a care in the world other than whether or not the fish are going to bite. We all know sportsman who, for one reason or the other will never again have the opportunity to set foot on a boat, sit in a duck blind, or climb into a tree stand, and regardless of how young or healthy we might be, none of us knows if or when accident, illness, pandemic, war, or whatever, will creep into our lives and rob us of the good life we’ve always known and took for granted.
I can still visualize the beautiful summer days when 200-boats would be anchored-up on the Jackspot and everyone was catching tuna, back then we couldn’t imagine the action ever coming to an end, but things changed and here we are! As we plow headlong into yet another fishing season that will certainly provide Delmarva anglers with a multitude of experiences, I hope that anglers will pause now and again to ponder and appreciate each moment for what it is. Just as God grants us the good heath we need to enjoy the magnificent world He created, for generations our service men and women have fought and died to ensure that we’ll always live in a country that allows its citizens the opportunity to enjoy life and recreation as we do. Hopefully we’ll always appreciate what we have when we have it, and never take any of our blessings for granted.
