30 October 2004, 07:40
Charles_HelmLess Yodeling, More Fishing
In an effort to postpone the yodeling, I thought I would post a report on a fishing trip we made in the Gulf of Mexico out of South Padre Island, Texas, this past August. My daughters are five, eight, and ten, and my wife had never been out in the Gulf, so my objective was for everyone to have fun, not to catch a lot of big fish. After some initial frustration I managed to find someone who would take out all five of us for a half-day fishing � all I thought my younger kids would be able to handle. We headed out shortly after 7:00 AM on the Get Reel with Captain Kirk Bailey and his deckhand Risa Jones.
We trolled around the jetties but didn't get any interest. The waves around the jetties were a bit too exciting for my younger kids, who headed inside to watch the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD on the television. We trolled out into the Gulf and as we rounded a shrimper one of the reels finally began to sing. I thought my ten year old was going to jump from the flybridge to the cockpit to grab the rod but I managed to hold her back until the other lines were cleared. She started cranking and soon had a pretty nice King close to the boat. He changed his mind at the transom but between the two of us we coaxed him close enough to be gaffed. (The young, skinny guy in the pictures is Captain Kirk, not me.)
The excitement brought my other girls outside and they decided they wanted in on the action. The little one spoke first so she was next up. Before too long another reel started talking and she was soon strapped in and ready to fight.
We worked together to bring in a pretty Bonita. She was quite proud.
After that we trolled around another shrimper without catching anything but seagulls. We picked up some bycatch from the shrimper and headed out to try some bottom fishing. With Captain Kirk, Risa and me setting the hooks and the kids reeling in my two older girls picked up a couple of snapper � undersized and released � at a couple of different spots.
I had the last hook up and at first thought I had caught the bottom. Finally the line started coming up. With the pressure on the line I kept the rod instead of handing it off to my five-year old. The way the rod was bowed up I thought it was a decent sized fish but it turned out to be a trigger. Captain Kirk let the fish back out so my little one could reel it in. Risa then showed the kids why it is called a triggerfish.
Captain Kirk and Risa went way above and beyond to ensure my kids had a good time, despite my little one's short bout of seasickness and my middle one's initial fear she was going to fall off into the ocean. The bite was a little slow but Captain Kirk stayed out quite a bit longer than we booked for to try to get the kids onto some fish. Risa took care of them when they were feeling ill or needed anything. On the way back in the two younger ones, who had been very uncertain about the whole thing at the start, got to sit in the captain's chair. They were now officially having a blast.
Back at the dock everyone was happy and I heard the words I was waiting for, "When can we go again?"
Despite a slow bite and some seas that, while not real big, were at times interesting for younger kids, Captain Kirk, Risa, and the Get Reel did everything in their power to make it a great trip for everyone. I don't have much saltwater experience behind my opinions, but I would book a trip on the Get Reel again without hesitation.
If the pictures do not show up, try reloading the page a couple of times or you can find them (plus a couple of others) here:
http://www.pbase.com/chelm/spi_2004