Gus woke up first just before sunrise, started a pot of coffee and headed down to the dock to throw a couple lines before his lovers stirred. He still felt confident that he'd be okay fishing naked but threw a pair of shorts over his shoulder just in case. He wanted to make sure they got a whole week in here without offending anyone. Gus snapped a picture of the soft pre dawn purples shimmering off the water in the sound. There was no wind, and the water acted as a mirror reflecting the purple wisps of clouds back into themselves. Before putting his phone down Gus posted the picture to his Facebook account with the caption, "Ahh, sunrise in Topsail."
Cut bait had worked well for Gus and Mark last evening, so Gus baited back up with a chunk of mullet and added a strip of squid for extra measure. He hoped his bottom rig might entice a flounder or redfish he could prepare the boys for lunch. Gus casted out toward the middle of the channel, noticing that the tide was flowing out toward the inlet to his left. Gus held his spin cast rod in his left hand, pinching the line between his index finger and the fiberglass so he could feel any nibbles on his bait.
A few sips of coffee, about five minutes on the clock, and as the sun broke the horizon to his back, Gus felt his line move. A nibble, then the bait dropped, another nibble, then the bait dropped again. A third nibble and then, wham, a full strike on his line which bent his rod. Gus tightened his drag and set the hook. The fish ran, and pulled Gus' line out. Keeping his rod tip up, Gus let the fish run and when it paused he reeled as fast as he could until the next run started. "This is a big fish," Gus thought.
The door onto the back porch slid open and Aaron emerged in his fishing uniform with a cup of coffee in his hand. He looked down upon his furry fisherman fighting his first hook up of the morning. The way the sun glistened off Gus' hairy naked body caused Aaron's dick to swell. He didn't say a word, and sipped his coffee as Gus fought what seemed to be a big fish.
After almost ten minutes of runs and reeling, Gus had finally tired the fish out. He brought it to the edge of the dock and reached down, putting his hand into the fish's mouth to pull it up out of the water. "Wow, you're a beauty," Gus said to the giant bull red he hoisted up onto the dock. As he turned he noticed Aaron watching him up on the porch and held up the massive fish to show off his trophy.
Gus had seen big bull reds before, but had never caught one this big, especially dock fishing. The large red, silver and copper colored scales shone in the early morning sun, as did the quarter sized dark spot on the fishes tail. Gus guessed this fish weighed forty pounds and was a good three feet in length.
"Holy shit fisherman," Aaron exclaimed from the deck, "That's a huge red."
"Hell yeah! She's a beauty isn't she," Gus replied.
Gus, still feeling the exhilaration that accompanies landing a massive fish smiled from ear to ear, unhooked the fish and brought it back into the garage where his fish cooler, already packed with ice, was stored. He admired the fish one more time before laying it in the cooler. He wasn't sure if this was a fish for eating or a fish for mounting. One way or another, he was keeping her though.
The elevator door dinged and Mark rolled out into the garage, also still naked sitting in his chair. "What's all the commotion about, let me see, Gus."
Gus held the fish back up one more time, and Mark's jaw dropped. "Holy hell, Gus, she's fucking huge. You caught that fish off the dock? What were you fishing with?"
"Yessir, right out there- same cut bait we were using last night, but with the addition of squid strip for extra flavor," Gus answered.
"That's incredible. Damn fisherman, you know what you're doing don't you," Mark replied.
"I'm a lucky man, in many ways," Gus smiled.
Gus closed the massive redfish in the cooler and headed back out to the dock to grab his shorts and phone before heading up to have some breakfast, and relive the landing of his first trophy of the trip. The men ate eggs, bacon and toast out on the deck naked, and watched as the boat traffic started to pick up in the sound. Mostly fishing boats and a few speed boats followed the deeper parts of the channel entering and exiting the Atlantic ocean just to their left. The men thought it would probably be smart to dawn at least some shorts if they were going to be out around the house during the day.
"But once your back inside, or once we're out secluded on the boat, all clothes are off, okay?" Gus nodded at his men.
"Agreed," Aaron responded.
"Sir yes sir," Mark chuckled.
"Speaking of the boat, Gus, when do we go pick it up?" Mark asked.
"Supposed to be ready for us by 10AM today, up at the little marina we passed on the way down. Figured we could all hop in the truck and then a couple of us could bring the boat back here while the other drives the truck home," Gus responded.
"Ray and Max have a boat, too," Aaron chimed in, "One made for big water it appears, they said they're up for boating up here from Kure Beach, and would also take us out into the Gulf Stream if we wanted to fish for Tuna." Aaron relayed the message from the text on his phone. "They also said that our friend looks familiar, with a winky face and a pig snout," Aaron laughed.
"Wow, really?" Gus responded, "That's awesome, I'd love to get out to the Gulf Stream. So your brothers are going to come visit us this week?" Gus grinned.
"Well, they wont be able to get away until the end of the week, but said, if the weather holds, they'd be up for taking off on Thursday morning pre-dawn and making the run up here to see us. Hang out Thursday, fuel up the boat, leave early AM Friday to hit the Gulf Stream, and then head back on Saturday. You boys up for that?" Aaron asked.
"Hell yeah, it will be good to see those fuckers," Mark replied, "They're hilarious and tons of fun, and it's been way too long, tell them to come on!"
