Sunday, June 27, 2010

Kids and Big Catches

Britt Caple and his wife, April were in town with their two sons Conner and Carter, visiting from Alabama. I met them at the Atlantic Seafood dock yesterday afternoon, in hopes that the afternoon heat would wind down and we could put the young guys on some fish. After suiting up in their life vests and a brief safety orientation, we made a run up to Jolley River as the tide hit its dead low. We anchored at a small creek run out with the intention of letting the young men get warmed up with the spinning outfits and then possibly moving on to some better spots. No need for that! My first instructional cast picked up a bite and then after turning the rods over to Conner and Carter, the bite was non-stop for 2+ hours!
I tried to guestimate how many Redfish they caught but it had to have been more than 20, most all of them "rat" reds, but Carter did hookup, and with the help of his father, hauled in a nice keeper sized, 23" 4lb Redfish! Both boys were catching fish: Redfish, Croakers, and Blues when Conner hooked up with something big that made a drag-ripping run! Conner fought the fish to the back of the boat, across the stern and back up to the bow with dad helping out along the way and mom snapping picturs. Eventually they subdued the fish and brought to the net a 3' Bonnethead Shark. We inspected the fish, photographed it, then tossed it back. The boys added a couple more Trout - keeper sized, more small Redfish, a few Flounder, and a small Black Tip Shark. A storm was brewing west of us and Carter, an aspiring weatherman, advised us that we may want to pull up and run, so we did! We made a stop at Tiger Island then came on in, counting it as another great day to be out on the water!

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