Night Fishing and the Muelle at La Libertad

Many of you probably know that the Muelle (pier) at La Libertad is open all night on weekends. It´s an all night fishing party attended by many of the same people. In the darkness, you can enjoy a cool(ish) breeze, and fish until dawn. Bonuses include
light conversation, good snacks, and the comradery that comes with many all night efforts.

Emme, my 6 year old daughter is obsessed with fishing, and in the relative security of the pier, she has been trying out her social butterfly wings. She is learning the delicate walk between adorable and pest. Having spent many of her early
years on the FAR side of that line, she is almost beginning to see the logic behind some boundaries, but not many. She currently regards anybody with a fishing pole as her close friend, and takes it as a matter of course that they want to swap fish stories and pieces of bait as well.

You see, if she has a crush on any film-star it would be the silver-haired Brittish front-man for “River Monsters”. Every credible looking fisherman she sees is a potential gateway to fabulous stories and advice on how to land a “real” fish.

Back late, but ready for a fish fry anyhow

For the most part, her intense interest and fawning adoration pays off. She does seem to know more about fishing here than I do.
She also tends to land helpful little items like an extra hook here, a weight there. If she catches anything, there is generally some encouraging cheers from the area, and one or more of the guys run over to help her safely remove the hook, or any dangerous
spines the species might have. I have yet to get a good look at the Bagre she catches fully intact. The fishermen are so quick to disarm them I have no idea what these spines they are talking about look like. Emme tells me the fishermen advised her that if she gets stuck by a spine, her arm will go to sleep for several hours. Who am I to argue?

I do not know if the stories are true, but I am happy to accept a little help. I have yet to pull out the knife in my pocket and do my share off the work. Probably for the best.

For anyone interested in some family fun at the ocean, I highly recommend bringing a couple poles out to the pier. If you are reasonably friendly, or have a cute kid, you will get plenty of help, and even help with any equipment you appear to be struggling
with. If you forgot snacks, the carts keep coming round fairly late. If you are paranoid, I see several police patrols each time I go, and think (not sure) there is other security watching the pier the whole night. I also suspect that you are fairly safe with all those
other families around.

On weekdays the pier closes at 8:00 PM, which is almost long enough to get your fish on, depending on when you get out there. It is good safe clean family fun, and it costs nothing. Did I mention the waves under the pier are hypnotic behind the conversations?

A very fresh dinner, after a night of small-talk