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"Release!" I yelled as we watched her lure go sailing twenty feet into the bay.
"Yayyyy!" Emma squealed with delight.
Then she turned around and kissed me on the cheek.
"Thanks, Jade. You're an awesome fisherwoman. Don't go too far away. I still might need you to show me how to wiggle my hips properly to make this work."
I looked into Emma's eyes and smiled as I felt my cheeks warm with a gentle flush.
"You got it, girl," I said. "I'll keep one eye on you from my perch right over there."
Truth was, I kept more than one eye on her wiggling ass in her tight bikini as she continued casting her rod. After about ten minutes of quiet casting into the still waters of the bay, Emma suddenly began hyperventilating.
"I think I've got something!" she squealed, as we watched the tip of her rod twitch and bend in frenetic tugs.
"Okay, Emm," Lilly said, rushing over. "Just hold your rod steady and slowly crank the handle of your reel away from you. There's no rush—let him tucker himself out for a bit before you try to outmuscle him."
She looked at the deep bend in Lilly's rod and nodded.
"It looks like a big one, maybe a five-pounder. That might be enough to feed all of us tonight. Be cool, girl—take your time. Just remember, you're stronger than he is."
We all cheered Emma on as she struggled to control her fluttering rod and awkwardly reel in the fish. When it got close to shore, it jumped two feet out of the water and waved twice rapidly in the air before diving back under the surface.
Lilly stepped down onto the bank with a fishnet and stepped into the water as the fish neared shore, then swung the net underwater and lifted it up for us to see. As the bass flapped wildly in the tangled rope, Lilly calmly reached down and removed the hook from its mouth. Then she threaded her fingers under its gills and held the fish up for everybody to see.
"Woo-hoo!" Emma yelped, proud that she'd caught the first fish of the day.
"Good job, Emm," Hannah said, and we all clapped and smiled to acknowledge her accomplishment.
Lilly attached Emma's catch to the stringer chain underwater, then the group fished for another thirty minutes until we'd caught three more bass.
"That should do it if you guys want to take a breather," Lilly said, placing the stringer of fish in a metal pail filled with water. "Time to cook these fellas up and see what real Canadian food tastes like."
The sun was beginning to lower on the horizon, and after taking another short swim to cool off, we all got dressed in cargo pants and polar fleeces to protect ourselves against the mosquitos and evening chill. I watched Lilly deftly cut off the head of each fish then expertly fillet the flesh to remove it from the thin skeleton underneath.
"Looks like you've done this before," I said, marveling at her skill.
"A few hundred times maybe," she said.
I stood mesmerized as she sliced the fish under its belly and removed its entrails, then carefully pulled the flanks away from the spiny skeleton inside.
"Kind of messy, huh?"
"Yeah, it's a bit gross at first, but you get used to it pretty quick. My mouth is already watering thinking about the taste."
While Lilly filleted the fish, the other girls collected some small logs and rocks from around the shore and placed them in concentric circles in the middle of our campsite to build a fire pit. Then they placed some twigs and driftwood inside the rocky pit and started a small fire. After it quieted down a bit, Lilly placed a steel grate and a cast iron pan over the hole and slapped a few slivers of butter in the pan along with the fillets. Before long, the aroma of fresh pan-seared fish wafted into the air.
"That smells exquisite, Lilly," Hannah said, suddenly emerging from her tent. "Do you need us to help prepare any sides?"
Lilly shook her head.
"For our first night together, I just want you to savor this, straight-up. All we need to finish it off is some lemon slices cut up and some paper plates and forks."
When the fish was done, we all sat around the campfire on the wooden logs while Lilly served us our plates.
"Oh my God, Lilly," Bonnie said, placing the first morsel in her mouth, closing her eyes and tilting her head back. "This is to die for! Now I don't feel nearly as bad about yanking those little critters out of their cozy lily garden."
"What about you, Emma?" Lilly said, glancing in her direction. "Are you comfortable with eating your catch?"
