Hallo-Zine Fall 2021
The Big Toad
Written and Illustrated by Ken Wada Call me Ichimori. I am riding with my older brother Matsumori, (Mat), in an old Chevy Apache 10 pickup truck.
The date is August of 1972, and I am a young man of 14 years of age, (born in November). We are both heading out of our family farm near Caruthers, California. It is about 10:00 PM in the evening; and we are heading out to Virg’s landing in Morro Bay, California. The year is an El-Nino year. The big thing about El-Nino, in California, is not only the prodigious amounts of rain, but the warming of the Pacific Ocean brings the big-game warm water fish up to the Central Coast of California. My older brother and I are going fishing for the ultimate game fish. This fish is the albacore tuna. We are both very excited. Tuna is almost a religion in Japanese culture. It’s a big, strong and powerful fish which is highly prized for sushi and sashimi. The reason why we are going out at 10:00 PM is because the tuna boats put out at midnight. It takes roughly one and a half hours to drive from our farm to Morro Bay. We get to the landing, check in and pay the fees. The fees include all the rigging, tackle and bait for the day ahead. I ask the deck-hand how long it will take to get out to the fishing area. He tells me the fishing area is approximately 100 to 120 miles out from shore. We are on a very large boat which have bunk beds in the hold.
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Poets and Writers Coalition Hallo-Zine Fall 2021
