Sharks, goosefish, monkfish make for fascinating outing.
It was an interesting week in the news for me – news about two underwater nemesis of mine and a brace of my heroines.
Sharks and goosefish made the front page – a shark attack off of Chatham on Cape Cod, pretty much in front of our cottage in Dennisport; and monkfish as a food.
My introduction to the goosefish, monkfish or angler, whichever you prefer to call them, was decades ago long after I had volunteered for UDT, Underwater Demolition Team, later the SEALS. And was denied, thus my underwater career, better my love, started with one of the first air tanks to come into this country and a dive with friend Roland Tetreault.
We fluked to the bottom floor of Gloucester Harbor, down 80 feet or so.
On the bottom we were greeted by a fishing rod teasing a piece of bait reaching out from the sand and muck. Closer inspection showed a flat body the size of a kitchen table and two eyes the size of doorknobs. It had covered itself with sand by moving little fins that surrounded its body.
The bait was surrounded by a black cloud of fish of a variety of sizes pecking away at it.
That is until the maw of the beast opened quickly and sucked them all in with frightening power.
It closed its mouth as much as it could, leaving a smirk that was surrounded by triple rows of jagged, razor teeth.
I looked around to see if Roland had witnessed what had amazed, and transfixed me.
He was pursued by a second huge monkfish its jaws wide opening trying to swallow his feet. I discouraged it with my Hawaiian sling hand spear.
While I was doing this the original monkfish grabbed the potato sack of lobsters I had collected and it took some convincing to get it to release its grasp.
I signaled Roland and we surfaced near a giant breakwater that stretched from a Coast Guard outpost to the mouth of the bay.
On the surface we were greeted by drumming. A couple teenagers, one wiggling a coat hook on the surface to entice monkfish while the second pounded it on the head with a baseball bat. The thing, despite the heavy whacks, kept returning to the coat hook.
We surfaced on the rocks to catch our senses when we saw two goosefish floating nearby. One giant, had attempted to swallow the other, both died.
How strong are they? We returned to the bottom, much more wary, yet I found it easier to look for lobsters while on my knees.
Suddenly I felt very ill and thought I perhaps had had a bad can of air and was prepared to inflate my floatation device before I passed out.
Then I realized that I had climbed on the back of a monkfish and it was swimming with me on its back.
It was and is, as far as I am concerned, the most vicious fish in the ocean and dangerous.
This includes a couple of adventures involving sharks.
UNFLAPPABLES: MARTHA & BETTY: An old-time heroine, long ago movie star, as well as a member of the Special Forces Reserve and a nurse, Martha Raye, was recently remembered by a Vietnam vet who said that during an ambush of American Chinook helicopter troops in 1967 she helped carry dead and wounded Special Forces to a copter.
In 1951 returning from the Korean War, I visited the Martha Raye nightclub in Miami.
She spotted me in uniform, came over without a word, hugged me and kissed my cheek. It marked the second movie star I fell in love with.
The first was in 1951. I was alone in a foxhole beyond our battalion perimeter when someone crawled toward me in no man’s land and gave the password.
The next thing I knew Betty Hutton, one of the most famous stars of the day crawled into my pit, outfitted in a sort of sarong-type outfit, gave me a hug and a kiss and was gone so quickly that I wasn’t sure she was ever there. I knew I wasn’t the first marine, soldier, sailor or airman who dreamed while wide awake.
There were other courageous women who visited the troops at the front – Ann Margaret, Joey Heatherton and many more. Thank you ladies.
TURKEY SHOOTS: The public is invited to the Easthampton Fish and Game Club turkey shoots that will run Sept. 16 to Nov. 18 at 11 a.m. at the Route 10, Southampton club grounds. Refreshments will be available.
SPORTSMAN VICE PRESIDENT CANDIDATE: The U. S. Sportsman’s Alliance reports that Paul Ryan is an across the board outdoor sportsman. This is interesting, as fishing, with hunting thrown in as an extra, is by far and away the most popular outdoor participation sport, according to a variety of surveys.
EARLY GOOSE SEASON: The Bay State early goose season will be Sept. 4-25 with a seven bird per day bag limit.
GRANBY TRAIL FOR BLIND, OTHERS: Diane Piquette of the Granby Spirit of All Recreation Society, SOARS, has plans for a trail for the handicapped, a fishing ramp, and the dredging of the Dufresne Park pond. Volunteers, donations and sponsors are invited. Contact SOARS at www.granbysoars.com or granbysoars@gmail.com. You can also call 413-467-7606.