One of the greatest parts of my job is taking kids fishing. Here off Fort Lauderdale so many families vacation here, we get all ages on board. The younger they are, the more excited they get. Today's fishing report is about 2 half day trips. The one in the morning was all adult guys, the afternoon trip had kids.
With somewhat dirty water and little current even catching bait has been a bit tough. This lack of current and unseasonably warm weather has our Sailfish still north of us so we've been relying on some trolling and deep wreck fishing to provide action.
Grouper are out of season until May 1 so Cobia, Barracuda, Amberjack, various snapper and other species hang around these wrecks. We welcome any of these for action and fun. The light tackle makes things a challenge and the fight can be over 20 minutes at times.
Our group in the morning did not have much fun reeling in the small baitfish we like to use but they did enjoy the Amberjack and two nice sized Barracudas we caught before time to head in. The guys did have a good time, it was absolutely beautiful out. But one fellow's disappointment about not catching something good to eat kind of soured the mood. That happens sometimes on shared charters.
Now we come to the trip with kids fishing. First off, catching the BAIT was exciting to them. I swear, I could have probably just done that for them, they were having a ball and keeping track of who caught more. Just reeling in the bug lines with 2 to 4 baits was tough for these kids and they got pictures taken of each one! One dad looked up at me as this went on and gave me a big smile and a thumbs up as the kids caught fish.
And then we decided to play "Let's make a deal". You can keep the bait you caught or trade it in for what's behind the surface of the sea. And this picture shows Christian with just what he caught, a fish almost as big as he is. With help from dad and Captain Adam as mate, the 20+ minute battle was done. His trophy had been boated, measured, tagged and released after photos were taken.
So expect what you wish and be happy with what you catch. Something you always get when you take kids fishing.
Captain Steve
