The Curiosity Correspondent: There is more to becoming a sports fisherman than you might think

If you’ve never been fishing, it’s probably an act that seems fairly boring. Throw out the line, sit and wait for a bite, reel in the bait, repeat until you have a fish. But if you’ve done it, you know there’s more to it than that. In fact, there’s a lot more.

Benjamin Crutcher, our resident Curiosity Correspondent, didn’t know much about how to fish, let alone how to be a sports fisherman. But after a day bobbing up and down in the Pacific Ocean, his eyes are opened to the sport, and his opinion on fishing has changed.

Fishing. It looks simple but I think you’d agree it’s far from it.

Although, something about that trip made it seem very simple.

Be honest with me: How close did you get to wanting to quit when you weren’t catching anything good?

In my world, ANY catch is a good catch. I know it can be discouraging if you’re not hauling them in — especially when everyone around you is frantically reeling in whoppers. But as I’ve implied so many times in the past, never give up, and keep chumming the waters! (Put that on a bumper sticker.)

How good did it feel to get that first fish you could keep?

After catching a few kelp bass and other nonregulation fish (by law, we can keep only game fish that meet certain species and size criteria), I had been content with catch-and-release, but the moment I pulled something out that they said I could keep, my level of accomplishment for the day grew astronomically. I would finally take home a trophy that I could be proud of!

If you had to rely on fishing to survive, do you think you could do it?

Do I get an experienced captain, boat and crew to charter me directly into a teeming school of game fish? If that is the case, then absolutely.

How much of that fish did you end up eating?

Way too much. I had to give a lot of it away. I am not a man to be trusted with such a hoard of fish, and it would be a shame to let it go to waste. I made a lot of friends that weekend.

What percentage did your fish shirt help with the success?

What’s wrong with the shirt? There was plenty to be said in regard to the shirt early on, but everybody’s tune had changed after I proved myself a master of the high seas. Without the shirt, there is no success.

And how many times did you vomit (which I was told not to include in this video)?

Enough.

What should Ben attempt to do next? Shoot us an email at mark.potts@latimes.com with your ideas!