Fishing in Newfoundland with the Wizard of Zigton

During the summer of 1985 I had the pleasure of making a trip to Newfoundland. My wife Elizabeth,
along with our daughter Kathleen and Buddy "the Wizard of Zigton" and his wife Alice were the guests of
my in-laws. My wife's parents, Vince and Noreen are originally from Newfoundland and when Vince
retired they would spend the summers there. We stayed with them at Vince's boyhood home, a picture
of which could easily be a postcard for Atlantic Canada.

We had a wonderful trip, Newfoundland is truly beautiful and the people are very friendly. Vince was an
avid fisherman and as a youngster did it both for fun and as a livelihood. Vince promised to take the
'Wizard" and myself out on his boat cod fishing in Conception Bay. Vince was excited about going
fishing, explained they use jigs to fish and we had to get out real early. "Real early" was a bit of a culture
shock for Buddy so he asked Vince, "Aren't the fish still there at two in the afternoon"?

The next morning an enthusiastic Vince woke Buddy and me up at 4 in the morning and told us
"coffee is ready, grab a cup and were off to the boat" The dock was only a short ride away and when we
arrived, Vince's boyhood friend Pete was waiting to join us. It was August, the temperature was about
50F, there was a light drizzle, it was not quite 5 AM and I was not sure my heart had started beating for
the day.

Vince and Pete were both in their mid sixties and were fired up like 2 kids going to Disney World; Buddy
and I were in our mid thirties and not quite awake yet. Vince and Pete were both seasoned fishermen;
Buddy and I grew up in New York City and our limited fishing experiences were with poles and bait.

Vince had an old wooden open boat about 20 feet long, the only housing was over the engine located in
the center of the vessel. I asked Vince if he called the boat Titanic, he assured me it was sea worthy. As
we got under way, Vince and Pete were preparing the jigs and giving me and Buddy an education in
jigging. Buddy summed up the lesson, "We knocked the fish out when we drop the jig and then hook
them on the way back up".

Vince was navigating us to a good spot when Buddy had to answer natures call. Vince also an
experienced sailor quickly yelled to him, "off the back of the boat". Pete was a little hard of hearing and
as the "Wizard" was walking around the engine house Pete asked him what was going on. Buddy
replied, "I am going to water the flowers"; Pete missed the colloquialism and comes back with, "What
flowers?" At this point I am wide awake and laughing.

I then noticed a couple of large sea creatures with dorsal fins paralleling the boat. I whispered to Buddy,
"There are sharks over there." Vince does not even look back but yells, "You jerks, those are pothead
whales". Jerk comment aside, I was relieved to know we were not on the breakfast menu.

We made it to our fishing spot and Vince and Pete began catching one big codfish after another. Every
time they hooked one a big radiant boyhood smile would glow across their faces. I caught one small
fish, a "tommy cod" and Buddy commented that I was yanking on the jig so long that it looked like "rigor
mortis" had set in.

Vince and Pete started feeling bad that the "Wizard" and I were not catching any fish. They were telling
us not to worry we would catch some. It had stopped drizzling, the sun was up, it was
warmer and "Wizard" and I were enjoying the boat ride. It was a gift to witness the enthusiasm and
passion Vince and Pete had for fishing.

I assured Vince and Pete that we were having a good time and we were enjoying the ride and the
friendship. In good cheer, I also told him that they caught an abundance of cod and we planned on
enjoying dinner with them.

I am grateful Vince took us on that fishing trip. The codfish was excellent and our next boat ride several
days later was at two in the afternoon.