Stuck in Catalina With the Bonito Blues Again —

Written and dedicated to Hashem aka Mahigeer when he was seeking out his first bonito at Catalina in 2006. Although the rest of the UPSAC/PFIC contingent was pulling in the bonies that year, Hashem just couldn’t seem to hook one.  

Oh, the Dompha, he draws circles
Up and down the mole.
I’d ask him what the matter was
But I know that he don’t talk.
And the anglers treat me kindly
And furnish me with line,
But deep inside my heart
I know I can’t escape.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

Dompfa (Dominating positive fishing attitude) Ben aka Ben Acker

Well, Ken, he’s in the alley
With his pointed shoes and his bells,
Speaking to some French girl,
Who says she knows me well.
And I would send a message
To find out if she’s talked,
But the tackle store’s been stolen
And the tackle box is locked.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

The Pier Fisherman aka Ken Jones

Gordo tried to tell me
To stay away from that Catalina mole
He said that all those older fishermen
Just drink up your blood like wine.
An’ I said, “Oh, I didn’t know that,
But then again, there’s only one I’ve met
An’ he just smoked my eyelids
An’ punched my cigarette.”
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

Rita, Gordo and Kyle with bonito at the Cabrillo Mole

Grandpa died last week
And now he’s buried in the kelp,
But everybody still talks about
How badly they were shocked.
But me, I expected it to happen,
I knew he’d lost control
When he built a fire on the mole
And shot it full of holes.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

Grandpa’s buried in the kelp

Now the GDude came down here
Showing ev’ryone his rod,
Handing out free tickets
To the gathering on the mole.
An’ me, I nearly got busted
An’ wouldn’t it be my luck
To get caught without a license
And be discovered beneath a trunk.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.


GDude aka James Liu

Now baitfish looked so baffled
When I asked him why he dressed
With twenty pounds of feathers
Stapled to his chest.
But he cursed me when I proved it to him,
Then I whispered, “Not even you can hide.
You see, you’re just like me,
I hope you’re satisfied.”
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

Baitfish aka Adam Cassidy

Now Mahigeer gave me two cures,
Then he said, “Jump right in.”
The one was Persian medicine,
The other was just plain Raki gin.
An’ like a fool I mixed them
An’ it strangled up my mind,
An’ now people just get uglier
An’ I have no sense of time.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.


  Mahigeer aka Hashem Nahid — the motivation for the “Bonito Blues.” Hashem would go on to become an expert at catching bonito. In 2007 he hooked six and landed three and in the years since he has visited the Mole more often, and caught more bonito, than any of the original crew. 

When Rita says come see her
In her honky-tonk lagoon,
Where I can watch her waltz for free
‘Neath her Avalonian moon.
An’ I say, “Aw come on now,
You must know about my debutante.”
An’ she says, “Your debutante just knows what you need
But I know what you want.”
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.


Rita001 aka Rita Magdamo

Now the bricks lay on Metropole
Where the neon madmen climb.
They all fall there so perfectly,
It all seems so well timed.
An’ here I sit so patiently
Waiting to find out what price
You have to pay to get new balls and feathers
After losing them more than twice.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.



Metropole 

(With apologies to Bob Dylan and “Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again”)

YES, Hashem aka Mahigeer and a Catalina bonito!

Some additional Pier Fishing in California “pier rats” and Catalina bonito

Scott and a Catalina bonito aka “bonie”

SteveO and a Catalina bonito

Santa aka Mike Spence and a Catalina bonito

Grammer Police aka Anthony Van Son III (Joey) at the Mole with a “Bonehead”

Kyle Pease and a bonito from the Mole

Redfish aka Robert Gardner and a bonito


An unknown angler and a bonito at the Mole. The visitor had never fished so when  Mahigeer hooked a bonito he handed over the rod and let the “new” angler enjoy a battle with the good fighting fish.  

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