A day at Sea with Dennis and Shannon.

When I was asked to create a page for our fisherman so people could understand how the fish from this family owned company made it from the sea to your dinner table, I couldn't.  I've never been deep sea fishing, I live in the landlocked state of PA. The most we have are lakes. I didn't know the first thing about ocean fish or how to catch them. The most I've ever seen of the deep sea was aboard a Disney cruise ship when I was 18.  I was given the opportunity to fly to CA, take a 5 hour drive north from the bay, board a boat in Shelter Cove and experience a day in the life of the main fishermen, Dennis and Shannon.

 When first hearing of my upcoming trip, I did what any person who had severe motion sickness would do. I called my doctor. Armed with about 3 different types of Dramamine, sea sick wrist bands, a patch of medication that sticks behind your ear, ginger chews and ginger ale, I was ready to brave the open sea. Dennis and Shannon pulled up in their van. It was finally time to meet the people responsible for most of the fish at Mission Fresh Fish.

 My impression of the couple, humble and hilarious.

It was their day off from the seas but since I flew into town just to experience a day in their life, they drove 5 hours to Shelter Cove to fire up the boat and take me out. I thanked everyone for taking me on one of their only days off. The owner, Crystal, stated "No worries after all, what we catch today could be the exact fish we might not catch or have tomorrow."

 Fishing fresh is a hard business, you won't always catch what people want and you can only sell what you have. So you gamble and take a chance and hope the seas are kind to you.

 As we walked to the loading dock, I was taken back by how small the boat was. With how much fish I see at the markets, I had expected something much larger. Will this boat really be able to catch the amount of fish they sell at the markets? Is a wave going to flip me over and leave me stranded miles from land? They got right to work loading up all the supplies needed for our adventure. I'm almost positive Dennis and Shannon noticed I was slightly nervous.

 "I hope you don't mind I'm wearing my man-kini today, I need to work on my tan", Dennis said.

 I busted out laughing as the anxiety I felt lessened.

After the boat was loaded with ice chests and fishing poles, Dennis radioed into the launching command center and said, "Honey, I'm ready for you to take me out." The next thing I knew a large tractor came around the bend. I looked in disbelief, surely a tractor wasn't taking us to the water. Without a word the man in the tractor and Dennis hooked up their boat and we were off. I giggled to myself, this felt like I was going on a hay ride to a pumpkin patch back at home. The tractor loaded us in the water and immediately the man and woman who were joking around had hard, determined lines set in their face as we headed towards the sea.

Shannon rustled in the front of the boat securing everything and making sure it was ready to access quickly before we left the cove. Dennis was steering us out, he and Shannon dropped small rods to try and catch a little extra live bait. We left the cove, the boat sped up, and water from the waves splashed over the sides and hit Shannon. She gave Dennis “the look” and he giggled and ducked down behind the steering wheel. She smiled back and chuckled to herself and we continued sailing out. These two seemed to really enjoy what they were doing.

 They used a boating GPS with spots they had marked as "fruitful places".  I noticed it was nowhere near where the other boats were stationed. They liked to be out on their own. Soon we hit our first mark. I saw 3 fishing poles, again, I thought "how on earth do they catch the amount of fish I see them sell at the markets?" Shannon saw the face I made and laughed. Dennis said, "We have special hooks that my buddy made for us." They weren't kidding, one pole had enough hooks to reel in 10 fish! 

I began to realize this was more complex than I originally thought. A school of fish passed through and I watched as Dennis and Shannon started reeling in fish after fish. I was amazed at how quickly they worked together, as well as on their own, making sure they caught as much as they could. You only have seconds when a school of fish pass under your boat and are gone.

 I learned from them while we fished, there were rules on how big a fish had to be for you to keep it, certain types of fish were illegal to catch and you were only allowed to be on the water for so long before you needed to come back to the cove for the night.

 I was handed the pole and instructed what it feels like when you have a bite vs when the fish is "testing" the hook.  I had always used a bobber, I had never gone by how a fishing pole feels. This takes practice and skill and something I wasn’t going to learn in a day. Finally, I had a bite and reeled in a sole. I just stared at it. For a fish that was so tasty, it had the face only a mother could love. I named him Henry, since he was my first fish. Crystal explained in certain circumstances some fish have venomous spikes and sharp teeth, so I left the de-fishing from the hook to the experts.

 Just as we cast out the line again, I see Dennis run to the front of the boat with his pole, almost completely bent in half. He leaned over the front of his boat and straighten it out so it didn't break. Had that been me, I would have fallen in or lost the pole. He continued to real in the fish who was fighting him so much. Meanwhile, I turned to see Shannon on her feet, arm muscles I didn’t know she had, wrestling with her catch. I knew then, this type of work took luck, skill, determination and most of all strength. Dennis' fish managed to unhook itself, while Shannon reeled in a large Vermillion. Not even phased by the battle they just endured, as sweat dripped across their brows, they cast their lines out once again determined to get the next big fish. They often set up a competition between each other on who catches the most fish in a day.

 I had forgotten my motion sickness, as we were floated along a place very dear to Dennis' heart. It was where he spread the ashes of his father, Patrick O'Shea, who created Mission Fresh Fish. As we sat in silence fishing, I turned to Dennis and asked the question that plagued my mind all day.

 “What made you decide to do this?”

I wanted to know while I looked out at the vast ocean. Dennis looked out at the sea and smiled. I was sitting on the edge of my seat, knowing he was about to bestow some sort of deep seeded wisdom you could only receive first hand from a fisherman.

"Because it beats working 9-5.

As we all started laughing, I realized that this playful couple who spend most of their time at sea really did love what they were doing.

 The sun started to set and over the radio I heard that they were calling in all boats and we had 15 minutes to get back to shore. We were all laughing and enjoying the sea, we forgot to check the time. We were miles away. We weren't going to make it. Dennis threw the boat into high gear and raced for the shoreline and we all held on tight. The wind was flying in our face as the ocean wave’s splashed over the sides of the boat. As we pulled into the cove with 2 minutes to spare. The tractor was there waiting to take boat back to its spot. The fish we had caught had already placed in the ice chests before we ever got back to the cove. It was ready to be transported to the van and then taken back to the bay.  

Realizing now the work, skill and dedication it takes to get fish from the ocean to the markets, gives me a new appreciation every time I eat their seafood. Anyone can sell anything and claim it's fresh, but experiencing a day in the life of Dennis and Shannon shows the dedication that "Mission Fresh Fish" will live up to their name.