One day we had a visitor, a relative that we didn't see very often. In the conversation around the dinner table, I heard my Mom ask something about his boat and fishing. My ears suddenly were listening, and I asked him a question about fishing. Then my Dad said to me " Jack is a real fisherman, maybe you could go with him sometime." Jack saw the enthusiasm in my eyes and agreed to take me when he had a chance, I was very exited, and after a month or two, there was a telephone call, and Jack came to pick me up. I would stay at his house overnight because we had to leave very early in the morning. It was pitch black when we arrived at the Richmond marina, and several of Jack's friends were arriving at the same time. I was taking in the feeling of being on a boat, it wasn't very big, it wasn't very fancy, but it was a real boat. Then the stillness of the dark morning was broken with the sound of the engine starting up, the exhaust made a powerful throaty pulse of smoke and steam at the stem of the boat. I kept out of the way as lines were untied and we backed out of the slip, then turned to make our way out. Looming tall above us, we passed very large ships, their hulls rusting, the wetness of the morning glistened in the reflection of our running lights. Now we were out in the bay, Jack opened up the throttle and the cold mist swirled around us as we headed for that fishing spot. Jack and his friends were having coffee and talking about who would catch the biggest fish. Would it be by length, or weight? They decided to each put five dollars in the "pot" and the winner takes all. Then one of the guys says" what if the kid catches the biggest fish?" Jack said "I'll put in five for him." The sunrise came over the Berkeley hills and challenged the misty fog as Jack switched off the engine, and the little Monterey settled down and drifted on San Francisco bay. Jack fixed a fishing rod for me (wow it even had a reel!) Soon we were all business. One of the men caught a fish, and then another, but I didn't get a bite. After a couple of hours I was daydreaming and all of a sudden, wham! My reel spun and I had something! I had something big! I struggled to bring it in, but I didn't have the strength. Jack said I had to do it myself, but he ended up helping me when he saw I couldn't do it. When we finally got it close, Jack was disappointed, " It's a shark." I was delighted!....I caught a SHARK! It was all tangled in the line, we had to cut the line and let it go, but not before Jack hit it with a club. " Sharks are no good, they eat our bait and sometimes the fish we catch." Well I definitely caught the biggest fish, but Jack and his friends said it didn't count because it wasn't a game fish. I did catch another fish that day, I didn't go home empty-handed. But I couldn't wait to tell the kids at school about the shark I caught, even though it wasn't a big one.