Barracuda!

posted by Jack
1/8/2020

On the 4th of January we were sailing back from the U.S. Virgin Islands and the fishing line started to click. We started reeling it in. It looked like a tuna but it never jumped so we couldn't be sure. We reeled it all the way in and saw that it was a barracuda. Nobody wanted to lose a finger trying to unhook it so we cut the line and lost the lure. 







We bought a new lure to replace the one that we lost. It was shinny and green like the last one. When we were sailing to Vieques we had another bite on the rod. The fish was putting up quite a fight. It did jump a couple of times, and we thought it was a dolphin fish. We reeled it all the way in and it was another barracuda. We cut the line again. You can't eat barracuda because most of them have ciguatera, which is toxic to humans. The symptoms are: vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, hot and cold sense reversal, nausea, abdominal pain, and muscle pain.
Fish that have it are: Spanish mackerel, Kingfish, Barracuda, Snapper, Grouper, Amberjack, and more. 





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