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I've had a rough summer so far. 2 sinus infections, inner ear infection/vertigo, and my mom was in the hospital for a while too. But all that is behind me now. Today I finally got dad's boat, the "TexaCajun" out for a shakedown cruise and I brought my 7 year old niece and nephew out with me.
We launched in the protected harbor here in Pass Christian, but when we tried to leave the harbor, I thought better of it. If I had been alone, I would have made it past the rolling swells, and run back to the marsh through Bay St. Louis. With the kids in the boat, I wasn't having any of that. So I found a less traveled area in the harbor and tied up to a piling. I just knew we wouldn't catch anything. Last summer I got them on a million hardheads and they had a blast, but this summer they wanted to catch some "REAL FISH"! Spider Man and Barbie poles rigged, we began the assault.
I hooked 3 croakers in a row and they reeled them in, very excited to have caught a REAL fish, not a hardhead. I probably could have hooked 30 croakers for them, but I spent most of my time untangling their lines. I simply could not believe what these 2 kids could do to a fishing rig. At one point, I was working on a spiderman tangle, with a barbie tangle waiting, so I gave my nephew Blake my rod and showed him how to use a grown up reel. He made a great cast to a spot we hadn't tried yet and BAM! 20 inch white trout! He hooked it, reeled it in, AND landed it himself! His first real fish from beginning to end. Talk about one excited 7 year old. It was only then that I realized I had left the camera in the truck! EGAD!
I'm still really bummed about this.
I got everything untangled and we all threw to the spot where Blake caught the white trout. I hooked up right away and CeCe broke her barbie pole running over to reel it in. (So darnit, guess who's buying her a new one?) She reeled it in and landed it herself. Smiles from ear to ear. "REAL fish!" they kept saying. The tangles got fewer and fewer, especially with the barbie pole out of commission. Both kids got proficient at baiting their own hooks and casting. They had trouble feeling the bites, but got a little better towards the end. In the end we boated about 20 white trout, a ladyfish (MASSIVE EXCITEMENT!), and 10 croakers.
When the bait ran out, they didn't want to leave. I was done in, but I told myself it's all for the kids, plus we were still in the harbor and only about 100 yards from the ramp. So they decided on a casting contest. I let them do that until they got tired and we headed in. A great day, that didn't look so great to start. I love these kids, and I hope they always remember their first REAL fish.
In case you are wondering: A white trout is just like a spec, but without the dots. They are not sand trout. I think Texans call them Gulf Trout.
We launched in the protected harbor here in Pass Christian, but when we tried to leave the harbor, I thought better of it. If I had been alone, I would have made it past the rolling swells, and run back to the marsh through Bay St. Louis. With the kids in the boat, I wasn't having any of that. So I found a less traveled area in the harbor and tied up to a piling. I just knew we wouldn't catch anything. Last summer I got them on a million hardheads and they had a blast, but this summer they wanted to catch some "REAL FISH"! Spider Man and Barbie poles rigged, we began the assault.
I hooked 3 croakers in a row and they reeled them in, very excited to have caught a REAL fish, not a hardhead. I probably could have hooked 30 croakers for them, but I spent most of my time untangling their lines. I simply could not believe what these 2 kids could do to a fishing rig. At one point, I was working on a spiderman tangle, with a barbie tangle waiting, so I gave my nephew Blake my rod and showed him how to use a grown up reel. He made a great cast to a spot we hadn't tried yet and BAM! 20 inch white trout! He hooked it, reeled it in, AND landed it himself! His first real fish from beginning to end. Talk about one excited 7 year old. It was only then that I realized I had left the camera in the truck! EGAD!
I'm still really bummed about this.I got everything untangled and we all threw to the spot where Blake caught the white trout. I hooked up right away and CeCe broke her barbie pole running over to reel it in. (So darnit, guess who's buying her a new one?) She reeled it in and landed it herself. Smiles from ear to ear. "REAL fish!" they kept saying. The tangles got fewer and fewer, especially with the barbie pole out of commission. Both kids got proficient at baiting their own hooks and casting. They had trouble feeling the bites, but got a little better towards the end. In the end we boated about 20 white trout, a ladyfish (MASSIVE EXCITEMENT!), and 10 croakers.
When the bait ran out, they didn't want to leave. I was done in, but I told myself it's all for the kids, plus we were still in the harbor and only about 100 yards from the ramp. So they decided on a casting contest. I let them do that until they got tired and we headed in. A great day, that didn't look so great to start. I love these kids, and I hope they always remember their first REAL fish.
In case you are wondering: A white trout is just like a spec, but without the dots. They are not sand trout. I think Texans call them Gulf Trout.
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