At What Point Do You Become a “Species Virgin” Again?

I made it through the wilderness
Somehow I made it through
Didn't know how lost I was
Until I found you

I seem to recall that a few years back there was a phenomenon making the rounds of the Jerry Springer/Oprah Winfrey/Maury Povich talk shows referred to as “Born Again Virginity.” It seemed that some young people who had been sexually promiscuous, or at least sexually active, had decided to chose up the muffin shop unless and until they got married. For those among us who battled to get every scrap we could as young people, this was a tough decision to understand, but it’s easy to respect their discipline. 

What in the Sam Hell does this have to do with fishing, you might ask? 

As we fished in Panama I started to wonder if a long enough lull with a particular species qualifies you as a “born again angling virgin.” To wit, when my father and I went to Costa Rica in August of 1995, I caught both a blue marlin and several roosterfish, among other quarry, but I’ve yet to catch either of them again in the subsequent 25-plus years. We had a chance to change that in Guatemala in 2020 when a marlin came up in the spread, but it wouldn’t commit. In Panama, several members of our group, including Hanna, landed roosters, but I did not.  

I’m not terribly sad about it, because I know that I’ll have more chances at both of them, but nevertheless when people ask me “Have you caught a marlin?” or “Have you fished for roosterfish?” I feel like a fraud when I answer “Yes.” Despite having photographic evidence of both of those conquests, they were long enough ago that they feel like not only another lifetime, but another person’s life altogether. 

The only solution – get back and catch some more.

I truly hope that when I get back in the saddle it’ll be like being touched for the very first time.