Fishing is one of the few things that makes a 2am alarm feel reasonable, and if the ocean’s involved, we’re there. This trip we joined our friends at Benders Sportfishing on a charter to the Coronado Islands, hunting yellowtail, one of the best-eating fish in our backyard.

We rolled out of San Diego Bay past the downtown skyline, submarines, and Blackhawks overhead, caught our last glimpse of land at Point Loma, and were first at the bait barge and sitting off the islands before sunrise. Then the boys came, saw, and conquered. Yellowtail came over the rail all day, a few got away, and the laughs never stopped. Some days you look up from the middle of the ocean and it’s hard to believe this is work. Grateful for the people, and grateful for the work.