欢蹦乱跳的旗鱼和冒烟的火山（二） / Leaping Sailfish and Smoking Volcanoes (Part 2)

欢蹦乱跳的旗鱼和冒烟的火山（二）

Leaping Sailfish and Smoking Volcanoes (Part 2)

感觉刚睡了还不到一会儿，手机闹铃就提醒我该起床了。我全副武装地穿戴好钓鱼的行头（帽子、偏光太阳镜、防晒长袖衫、强力防水防晒霜），整理好从香港带来的渔具，还有——此刻在我脑海里顶顶重要的——一杯上好的危地马拉浓咖啡，用来提神醒脑。

吃完了丰盛的早餐——辣煎蛋卷配蔬菜火腿碎——又喝了几杯咖啡后，就到了出发钓鱼的时间。几分钟以后，我们启航向南驶去。海上风平浪静，海水很快就变成了蔚蓝色。

船长罗兰多注意到水面上有一条色线，线的一侧是深蓝色的海水，而另一侧则呈现出蓝绿色，他示意该往水中放线了。这时才早晨7点半钟，但热带的气温爬升得很快。

船员抛进水中的渔线挂满了各种新鲜的鱼饵（胭脂鱼、金枪鱼、乌贼）和塑料假饵，但都不带鱼钩，目的是为了吸引旗鱼、青枪鱼和其他大鱼向渔船靠拢，这样我们就可以飞杆了。

After what seemed to be a fairly short sleep, my mobile phone told me it was time to get up. I began to get dressed for fishing in the tropics (hat, polarized sunglasses, long sleeve shirt for sun protection and strong waterproof sunscreen cream), organize the fishing gear I'd brought from Hong Kong, and -- topmost in my mind at that moment -- get a cup of good strong Guatemalan coffee to start the day.

After a hearty breakfast of huevos rancheros -- a spicy omelette with chopped vegetables and ham -- and several more cups of coffee, it was time to head for the marina. Minutes later, we cast off and headed offshore in a southerly direction. Seas were calm and within a short time turned azure blue in color.

When Skipper Rolando spotted a color line in the water, with deeper blue water on one side and greenish blue water on the other, he signaled to put lines into the water. By now it was about 7:30 am and the tropical heat was rising fast.

The fishing lines the crew put into the water contained a combination of fresh bait fish (mullet, tuna, and squid) and plastic fishing lures, but none of them had hooks. The purpose of these lines was to attract sailfish, marlin, or other big fish close enough to the boat so that I could cast a fly to the fish.

我知道，不用钩儿钓鱼也许是几个世纪前由道教的姜太公首开先河的，但姜太公肯定不会想到，有一天我会在万里之遥的危地马拉用改良版的姜氏钓鱼法垂钓。

过了10到15分钟，船长兴奋的喊声打破了海上的宁静：“Vela！Vela！”，意思是“开啊！开啊！”，表示有一条旗鱼正在追逐我们的诱饵。船员们立即行动，把不带钩的饵线往回收了收，让它更靠近船体。

我也赶紧预备好，手握飞杆和假饵，只待时机一到——旗鱼一靠近船尾10米以内时——就动手甩杆。我的饵料跟早餐的煎蛋卷差不多大，泛着金绿色，我觉得它看上去堪称美味，因此专程从香港带了过来。我对这一杆感觉良好。

第一条旗鱼是来“打酱油”的，它围着诱饵闻了几秒钟就扬长而去，我又放松下来。

好像是要考验我的反应能力，没过几分钟船长又开始喊“Vela”，我们再次投入行动。这回我的眼睛很给力，清楚地看到了一条鱼——如果没有好的偏光墨镜是做不到这一点的。它朝着船尾游来，剑吻（旗鱼的嘴部，长而尖，似剑形——译注）像根筷子似的拨弄着美味的诱饵。

很快这条鱼就游进了垂钓的范围。“可以啦！”船长喊道，示意我甩杆。

这时候掌握时机最为重要。因为旗鱼正兴奋地追逐着钓饵（一条胭脂鱼），船员会猛地把饵拖出水面，而我要做的就是趁旗鱼正在找跟丢了的鱼饵时，尽量把杆甩到刚才胭脂鱼所在的位置。

这种情况下一定要把握好时机。饥饿的旗鱼转向我的假饵，判断这是不是除了胭脂鱼以外最可口的食物，然后就一口把它吞了下去。当这条100磅的大鱼转身游开的时候，我拉紧了线，使劲儿朝反方向带。

旗鱼像火箭般跃出了水面，作出一连串精彩的翻腾动作。随着它不断地试图挣脱，线轮也被扯得飞转。慢慢地，旗鱼放慢了频率，我也开始收杆。

20分钟后，船员小心地把鱼捞了起来，让我快速拍了些照片，就把它放生了，同时确保它还能正常地游动。大鱼游走了。

It occurred to me that this "no hooks" approach to fishing was probably first discovered by the Daoist Jiang Tai Gong many centuries ago. Little did he know that I would one day be following a modified version of his style. of fishing, in far-away Guatemala.

After 10 or 15 minutes, the silence at sea was broken as the skipper shouted excitedly "Vela! Vela!" which means "Sail! Sail!", indicating a sailfish was following one of our lures. Quickly the crew sprung into action, pulling the hookless lures closer to the boat.

I jumped to attention, fly rod and fly in hand, ready to cast when the moment was right -- when the sailfish came within about 10 meters of the stern of the boat. My fly was about the size of my breakfast omelette. Green and gold, I thought it looked appetizing, which was why I brought it with me from Hong Kong. I had a good feeling about this fly.

That first sailfish was just a window shopper. After nosing around the lures for a few seconds, the fish took off, and I relaxed again.

As if to test my reflexes, within minutes the skipper cried "Vela" again, and we all sprung into action. This time, my eyes attuned to the task, I spotted the fish clearly -- impossible without good polarized sunglasses. In he swam, toward the stern of the boat, using his bill like a solo chopstick exploring some dainty morsels.

Soon he was within casting range. "Now!" shouted the skipper, signaling to me to cast the fly.

This is the moment where timing is critical. As the sailfish excitedly pursues one of the baits (in this case, a fresh mullet), the crew yanks that bait out of the water, and my task is to cast my fly as close as possible to the spot where the mullet just was, just as the sailfish is looking for the missing mullet.

In this case the timing worked like clockwork. The hungry sailfish turned to my fly, decided it was the next best thing to a fresh mullet, and inhaled it. As the 100-lb. fish swam away from the boat, I held tight onto the line and leaned in the opposite direction from the one he was swimming.

The sailfish took off like a rocket, leaping clear of the sea in a series of majestic jumps. Line tore off my fishing reel as the fish continued on his blistering initial run. Gradually, his pace slowed and I began to regain line.

Some 20 minutes later, the crew carefully brought the fish aboard for a brief photo opportunity, and then released him again, taking care to ensure he was swimming properly. Off he swam.

这一天的开局真不错，这也是我第一次用飞杆钓到旗鱼。

A fine start to the day, and my first sailfish on a fly.