Boobies... it's not what you think

DEFINITION

Boobie: a stupid or foolish person; a dolt.

Whoever named these sea birds was no fool! These birds are relentlessly stupid!

Fishing is a disaster when the boobies approach. They’ll dive on your lures and they don’t give up. Throwing things, yelling, jumping up and down... nothing seems to deter a boobie when his/her mind is made up. We’ve learned to pull our lines in as soon as they hover about, but sometimes we’re just not quick enough.

The boobie birds are diving birds. Once they get a hold of the lure under water they get hooked on their feet, wings, beaks... you name it. We reel them in, cover their heads with a towel so they can’t pluck our eyes out as easily, and then remove the hook with pliers as quickly as we can. Then we toss them into the air so that they can do it all over again.

We actually caught four boobs on the day these photos were taken... three of the boobies were one one lure! It took Tim forever to pull in the line because it was so heavy. We were motoring because there was absolutely no wind, so I was able to reverse Hotspur and help take some of the tension off the line. Unfortunately, the bottom boobie drowned because the two others kept pushing him under. I tried to revive him/her and actually got it to spit up a low growling belly full of water, but it was too late. It was very sad. Luckily for them, the boobs are heavy duty procreators and are not even close to becoming the next line of endangered marine life species.

Because the water has been colder this year and the fish are not as prevalent as the boobies, we are considering recipes for boobies: Boobie Pie, Boobie Marsala, Fried Boobie, Boobie on a Stick...

Nah, I'm just not there yet!