Monday, July 26, 2010

No. 207 - Skishing

I learned a new word today -- skishing. It came from an article in the WSJ. It's a sport that combines swimming, fishing and skiing.

Normally a fisherman would hook a fish from the shore, or from a boat, with his feet firmly planted on the ground, or on the boat. If the fish is large enough it can be quite tough to reel it in. But imagine how much tougher it would be to reel it in if you were in the water with the fish!

Skishing is extreme fishing. It's a variant on saltwater fishing that involves wearing a buoyant wetsuit and swimming out from shore with flippers to fish with rod and reel, often using live eels. It is practiced as a means of getting farther out to sea in order to increase the chances of catching a fish and can be dangerous. Oh yeah, and it's mainly done at night.

The activity was invented by Paul Melnyk, a cabinet maker from Montauk, New York. Melnyk has explained that the activity is similar to skiing because "if you hook a fish over thirty pounds, it will generally take you for a ride."

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