This was a very special day for all of us that shared our time and boats with these children. The little lady that graced our boat jelled very well with my granddaughter, Courtney, as I hoped she would! 
We, like FutchCairo, battled the 20 MPH Easterly winds AND the horrible smoke from the fires that blew towards us out on the west flats. That Angle perched on my shoulder must have been a kindly One because my prayers to end the smoke were answered around 9 a.m., when the wind shifted and dropped it's speed around 10-15 MPH! Thank you, my Lord!
I noticed the surface water temp @ 74-76 degrees with the water slightly stained because of the wind whipping up the waves...which is usually a good thing.
After many casts with the hard artificial baits, Tommy & I discovered the soft baits worked exceptionally well when worked slowly through the grass at around 3-4 feet of water with the tide incoming for most of the morning!
I know a lot of you out there sing praises to the Gulp baits, but, generally, I fish other brands like Exude, Slurp, DOA, or Sureketch. Yesterday was one of those Gulp baits or else...no fishy bites! 
Our little lady fisherperson needed very little guidance as she excelled at throwing her own rod & reel (one which I purchased for her...the tacklebox and freshwater lures will have to wait for another trip with someone to a pond, lake, or river) or using one of our spinning rigs. The gentleman accompanying her was an experienced fisherman, as well. He made a believer out of me towards buying some of that Nuclear colored Gulp bait as the flounder attacked it twice (he lost a nice one at the boat). The trout & ladyfish really enjoyed killing my somewhat limited supplies of New Penny & Natural flavored Gulp shrimp - OUCH!
There goes about $50.00 worth of Gulp buying spree for next week, eh! We fished across the west flats over towards Shell Island area until about 12:15 where upon the captain here pulled the plug and we zoomed back to the Fort. Secretly, I think my granddaughter and her new friend really enjoyed the fast wave riding in my boat more than the fish catching!
The cook out at the Pavilion was a very special ending to a most wonderful day spent with an incredibly brave young lady and her councilor. Thank you, my Lord! 
