Oyster Bay 5/11/2013
Posted: May 11th, 2013, 8:37 pm
Did a fishing trip for kids and their mentors today. I had my boat and a friend had his dad's boat. They had never fished out local waters and he was worried about the foot of his motor. The plan was for them to follow me and try to put the students on fish. We hit the first spot and I asked my student if he can use a spinning reel. He says he can, so I rig him up with a gulp under a cajun thunder. I cast it out and show him how to pop it and go back back to rigging up his mentor. He then says, "I have one!". I turn around and see the classic head-shake of a trout. It is a good fish and I manage to net it on the second try 
. She measures 19.5" and is fat. One cast, one trout in the box. I am thinking we are going to wear them out. We caught a few more trout and then the bite slowed down. We moved out in front of Shell Point and caught a few shorts and then the mayhem began. We got into a school of good sized ladyfish. Normally I consider them a pain, but today they were a dream come true. At one point, four rods on my boat all had airborne ladyfish attached to them. After everyone had caught a fish, we moved on looking for more trout. We ran toward St Marks, but never got into the fish other than a shark which the kids got a big kick out of. They did not want to jump in after seeing him. The wind started to blow and we had some rougher water, so we ran closer to home. We stopped over some good bottom in 5 ft of water and caught a few keepers, lost a blue, two sharks, and a gafftop. We also saw a big sea turtle. My student then noticed a had a bite on the rod in the back. I always drag a pinfish back there looking for a bonus fish. I told him to pick up the rod and just reel because it is a circle hook. He does and the fish starts to take some drag. I figured it was another shark and it would be fun for him to catch. Just then, the fish rolls on the surface and the head-shakes begin. It is a big trout. He plays her like a old pro around the drift sock and the motor and after a few minutes she rolls over the side of the net. She is 26" and thick. A tremendous catch for anyone, much less a kid who has never been saltwater fishing before. We are passing out high fives when we notice the other boat coming toward us. They are very excited because one of their students has just caught a good trout. They pull out their 23" fish and begin to tell us what great fishermen they are. We very politely agreed "that it was a beautiful fish and it looked a lot like ours.. only smaller". Fishing 101- Never brag until you have seen all of the other guy's fish. I love teaching that rule. We fished a little while longer adding another keeper when the weather turned. We made a mad dash for home and had the boats on trailers when the bottom fell out. We grilled burgers and hotdogs and then the students had to go. Final tally was 9 keeper trout to 26", 10 shorts, bunch of ladyfish, 1 gafftop, 1 remora, 3 sharks, and a blue. It was a great day. No pictures of kids with fish as it is against school rules.
. She measures 19.5" and is fat. One cast, one trout in the box. I am thinking we are going to wear them out. We caught a few more trout and then the bite slowed down. We moved out in front of Shell Point and caught a few shorts and then the mayhem began. We got into a school of good sized ladyfish. Normally I consider them a pain, but today they were a dream come true. At one point, four rods on my boat all had airborne ladyfish attached to them. After everyone had caught a fish, we moved on looking for more trout. We ran toward St Marks, but never got into the fish other than a shark which the kids got a big kick out of. They did not want to jump in after seeing him. The wind started to blow and we had some rougher water, so we ran closer to home. We stopped over some good bottom in 5 ft of water and caught a few keepers, lost a blue, two sharks, and a gafftop. We also saw a big sea turtle. My student then noticed a had a bite on the rod in the back. I always drag a pinfish back there looking for a bonus fish. I told him to pick up the rod and just reel because it is a circle hook. He does and the fish starts to take some drag. I figured it was another shark and it would be fun for him to catch. Just then, the fish rolls on the surface and the head-shakes begin. It is a big trout. He plays her like a old pro around the drift sock and the motor and after a few minutes she rolls over the side of the net. She is 26" and thick. A tremendous catch for anyone, much less a kid who has never been saltwater fishing before. We are passing out high fives when we notice the other boat coming toward us. They are very excited because one of their students has just caught a good trout. They pull out their 23" fish and begin to tell us what great fishermen they are. We very politely agreed "that it was a beautiful fish and it looked a lot like ours.. only smaller". Fishing 101- Never brag until you have seen all of the other guy's fish. I love teaching that rule. We fished a little while longer adding another keeper when the weather turned. We made a mad dash for home and had the boats on trailers when the bottom fell out. We grilled burgers and hotdogs and then the students had to go. Final tally was 9 keeper trout to 26", 10 shorts, bunch of ladyfish, 1 gafftop, 1 remora, 3 sharks, and a blue. It was a great day. No pictures of kids with fish as it is against school rules.
ain't that the truth....