I still think about the one that got away.
I’ve been fishing since I was four years old. The water is in my blood.
I’ve been to Pantabangan and Lumot to catch Bass, Cebu to catch Tikos, Mactan Island to catch Wrasse and I’ve even managed to catch a 120 cm long Maya-Maya. But none of them compare to this.
I first spotted it off the coast of Anilao. I didn’t know what to make of it. It looked like a large lizardfish, bigger than any I had ever seen before. Typically a lizardfish only reaches a maximum of 30 cm but this looked more like a shark that was well over 400 cm, maybe more.
It took me weeks to come up with the amount of bait I needed. It only seemed to like large fish, Mahi-Mahi and Grouper most especially. Every time I fished the bait out of the water there was a giant bite taken out of it. The fish were ripped apart with incredibly sharp jaws and I knew I was going to need a stronger line.
I got up at 3 am and I waited. I strung the bait on my line and I sat in the cold early morning air.
This is why I loved fishing. It was about the nice quiet moments, the calm before the storm when you can think about every eventuality that might come your way. My dad always told me that 90% of fishing is preparation. I took too long to learn that lesson.
I saw a glimpse of its fin right after sunrise. I knew the time for preparation was over. I threw some chum near the line. The fish had a taste for blood, I remembered. I braced myself for the inevitable bite and nothing could have prepared me for what happened.
The line was cut. I don’t know how that could be, it was the strongest one I could find on the market, but there it was. 3 months of preparation all for nothing.
I sometimes take trips to Anilao to see if I could spot it. I wanted to go again this year but the fishing grounds were off limits. A couple of amateur fishermen were found drowned by their boats.
I still dream about that catch. How it would have been amazing to carry it on my shoulders, but I won’t give up.
Tomorrow is another day and maybe someday I will find it.
I don’t understand what I stumbled upon, but I know for a fact it’s more dangerous than people let on. Ever since I returned to Anilao this year to find that fish again more people have been found drowned.
There was the tourist couple who was found by the dock. They looked like they were taking pictures, they were still holding on to their phones when their bodies washed on shore. The bites that appeared on their bodies weren’t like anything the locals had seen before. We were all prepared to say it was a terrible accident.
That was until the surfers started disappearing.
5 young people in total had been reported missing since the start of this week. The rainy season had made the waves enticing to them, and they thought it would be a good chance to try them. For some, it would be the last decision they ever made. The bodies still haven’t been found and the resorts have all issued a warning for people to stay out of the water.
I was there for each of the disappearances. I mean, I was by the sea, and I swear upon my mother’s grave that I saw a glimpse of the fins in the areas where those people disappeared.
I may be crazy to think that some kind of fish has something to do with missing people, but instinct is shouting in my head. There has to be some connection.
I don’t think I’ll make the trip back home, because I keep seeing more and more of the fins around the waters.
I’ve even stopped fishing. I don’t want to end up like those people, and no one will listen to me. I keep trying to warn them, trying to say that the waters are too dangerous for anyone to go in. The resorts wouldn’t listen, they were losing too much money and they reopened the waters for divers and fishermen.
I won’t stop though, these people need to be warned.
There are more than one set of fins.
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Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Inspired by the Siyokoy Legends
llustration by Leandro Geniston fromAklat ng mga Anito
FB: That Guy With A Pen