European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 6, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Spray ashes out from the Bow of a fishing boat. Paul Dubovik displays his Day s haul. It. It was just a matter of attitude and oxygen i announced that i was going out for some air. The Captain smiled. He knew i was going to feed the fish As they say. I stumbled and staggered across the deck and Down the Metal stairs to the lower deck gripping the Handrail tightly. I joined about a dozen soldiers at the Stem. As they leaned bloodless faces Over the railing they suffered the derisive hoots and Good natured catcalls of their friends. Deep breathing and attitude checking did t work i too fed my breakfast to the fish. The trip to Helgoland can take less than three hours in Calm seas. The Jan Cux fought unusually heavy swells for the season and it took four hours. It seemed like four Days sgt Paul Dubovik and his wife Marlies drove for six hours from Wiesbaden to join the group. Quot i could have stayed in Wiesbaden and gotten the same feeling with a rubber raft and a bottle of Bourbon Quot he said grimly after four hours on the boat. Later he. Would Grin widely but now his tips were a tight line on a face As Gray As the cod we were seeking. I had never been seasick before and i Hope never to be again. It s like the moment on a roller coaster when your body moves one Way and your stomach seems to go another a but it s not a moment it s a lifetime. The worst hangover of my life was a joyous experience compared to this. At least then i could imbibe a bit of the Quot hair of the dog Quot and lie Down. If j did t move i did t feel so ill. At sea it does t matter if you stand sit curl up in a Ball or stretch out on the deck you re still moving your stomach is still rolling and there s no such thing As Quot hair of the fish Quot to make you feel better. If misery loves company i had some Consolation by the trip s end All but six of the passengers had fallen victim to Neptune s revenge. A Fisherman gets his Hook ready for action. Since the Cabin was full of suffering people and rather malodorous by this time i sat on some stairs and Clung to a rail for a couple of hours and looked Over the Stern. Water. Clouds. Water. Clouds. I was drenched from sea Spray and Waves splashing onto the deck a too wet and cold to be a Happy camper and Tod sick to Brave the scene in the Cabin and dig for my Raincoat which was stashed under a table. So Clung to my rail and wondered what i had Ever found interesting about fishing. After months of misery crammed into Fostir hours we could see the Cliffs of Helgoland the seas were far from Calm but seemed to be easing. Just after noon when the Island was a couple of Miles off the Captain Cut the engines a to the dismay of the dismal and the Delight of the diehards Quot let s go Back Quot moaned the miserable. Quot let s go fishing Quot hollered the hardcore. For most of the group the fishing urge overcame the desire to curl up in a fetal Ball. Some however did t venture out of the Cabin until the trip Home. The Captain dropped Anchor and the Crew passed out Short stiff fishing poles each with a reel and a Basic lure one that looked like a fat steel Pencil about eight inches Long. It was fitted with a Large treble Hook and it proved to be the lure of the Day. The lures must not have been too tasty because the fish weren t swallowing them a most of the fish. Caught were hooked through the lip. I caught one by hooking it in the nose. Within minutes the hardier souls were hooking fat fish four to six pounds. Their excitement stirred most of the still suffering non sailors out of the Depths of their misery and the ship s rail was soon crowded with anglers still Pale but happier. Cod fishing in the North sea is Basic. Drop that crude Fure Over the Side and wait for the line to go Slack. Crank the reel a couple of turns to get the lure off the Bottom and then wait. The Drifting ship a a a a a. Provides All the lure action required eliminating the need for the fancy jigging and jogging and delicate line massaging it takes to fool a fresh Vater fish. We soon fell into a routine that would last an All too Brief two hours. The ship drifted in the current Over a school of fish. When we reached the Edge of the Curren Rand the fishing died out the Captain sounded two blasts of the ship s Horn to signal Quot lines  he. Would then move the ship to the other Edge of the school and sound one blast of the Horn and we would drop our lines again. On lighter tackle the fish we caught would have Felt like Marlin but even with the stubby one piece rods we had they put up a satisfying fight. The action died Down by 2 and the Captain said the school had moved too far to follow. Three blasts of the Horn signalled the end of the fishing phase of the trip far top soon for the serious anglers who had suffered so  average catch was three or four fish weighing four to six pounds. Dubovik had eight his wife two. Once the ship turned around and began the trip Back to Cuxhaven the seas calmed and flattened the Clouds cleared and a warm summer Sun calmed the still woozy. The trip Back was like a pleasant summer cruise and even the most tormented passengers ventured onto the upper deck the color returning to their faces and their spirits rising. Quot this makes it All Worth it Quot Dubovik said heating a heavy Stringer. He was already talking about joining a trip planned for september. His wife however was not so sure. She rolled her eyes and said Wilh a queasy smile Quot ill have to think about  editor s note reporter Ken Clausen was too ill to focus his camera for any photographs other than the one of Paul Dubovik and his Day s catch. The others on these pages were taken on a similar expedition aboard the Andromeda out of the Netherlands july 6, 1390 stripes Magazine 5