The irony of Lilla’s first fishing trip is that we had planned it for almost a year with Jonathan Allen, and his daughter, Adra, who is Lilla’s age and one of her best friends. The other times had been rained out, winded out, too cold, too early, blocked by birthday parties and football games, you name it, we didn’t know when it would happen. I’ll fish anytime, in any weather, but that’s not the way to instill a love of the sport into a youngster (at least in my opinion). I wanted her to enjoy the entire experience so that she would want to do it again. Waking up at 4:30 a.m. in 36-degree weather with 25MPH winds would guarantee one thing – she’d probably never go again.
So, we left later than normal, with roughly a 7:30 wake up call, followed by breakfast of her choice (cinnamon rolls). We packed snacks and drinks of her choice, along with plenty of desserts (bribes). I was going all in. I wanted her to enjoy the experience so that even if we didn’t catch a fish, we’d still have a good time. I was going to stack the deck shamelessly. We’re blessed with Lilla because from the time she could walk and talk she’s been a very happy kid who wakes up every day with a smile on her face. We now know how lucky we truly were because of 5 little letters: M O L L Y. That’s a story for another day.
After meeting at Jonathan’s house and loading the boat, we had Ralph Rowand join us. He went on this trip knowing I’d probably ask him to video, photograph, back the boat down, help with the girls, all while making us a five-course meal and fanning us. If you know Ralph, you know he’d gladly do just that – except for maybe the fanning. In addition to just fishing, we brought bathing suits with us because it was hot. Insert your hot joke here, because this was right in the middle of North Florida’s record heat wave.
On this day, we reached 102 degrees, and as you can imagine that wasn’t ideal (see above paragraph about weather conditions). Within 5 minutes of getting on the boat, Lilla was in the water. It wasn’t for a swim, or chasing a fish, it was a “potty break”, which was already her second emergency in the last 30 minutes. We had just pulled over on a back road outside of Old Town (maybe it was all of those Capri Suns?). This fishing trip was lining up to be more about bathroom breaks than line breaks.
We pulled up to the first (and only) spot, and while we were getting the girls settled in, Ralph caught a jack on the first cast. It was the perfect start, one cast, and one fish. I didn’t care what Lilla caught; we just wanted action and fun.
Mission failed.
We didn’t have another bite for two hours, and we were hotter than two mice playing hide and go seek in a wool sock.
The good news was Lilla and Adra were exceptionally creative, and thus self-entertained. Lilla made a custom fishing rod – tearing a piece of grass and tying the bait on to the tip of it, and fished for minnows. Adra followed suit, and soon they were in the water exploring. We intentionally pulled up on a grass bank, so the water would be shallow enough for them to play. They were in and out of the water more than a crab buoy bobbing in the ocean. Up, down, in, out, splash, jump, yell, and repeat.
Water shenanigans are the perfect recipe for a fun day cruising and playing, but not catching fish. I’ve never read about creating the maximum commotion, splashing, and yelling to attract fish, but this was what our day was turning into – and that was fine. They were having a blast.
Throughout this whole process, we continued to chum and bait hooks, but it was completely useless. After lunch we caught some baby mullet and pinfish, then put them in a five-gallon bucket. These fish turned out to be the day saver/extender. They were in fish heaven with brand new “pet fish.” They put mud, shells, and grass in the bucket, and then proceeded to feed them, love them, pet them, and even name the fish.
They were having fun, and the redfish, trout, jacks, or even a lowly catfish didn’t want to have any of it. There was no action, bait, or life in the surrounding water. Jonathan’s dad’s spot (where they had caught some beautiful redfish the week earlier) was a dead zone. So we continued to entertain the girls and watched the clock and the skies counting the minutes until it was time to head home.
Then it happened.
The bobber started to dance, and then it sunk faster than a bowling ball in a pool. I yelled for Lilla, who was focused more on her pet minnow, Stripey, than the redfish that had just engulfed a fresh pinfish. She ran to the back of the boat; I pulled the rod and reel out of the holder, she started reeling, and Ralph started videoing.
On the technical end, we were using a Mustad circle hook, so I had no worries – that fish was hooked and wasn’t going anywhere. Why did this matter? Lilla didn’t know anything other than to reel and to quit when she was tired. Reeling until exhaustion isn’t the greatest technique, especially when reeling against a screaming drag, but this was her first rodeo, so we rolled with it, and the circle hook did its job.
We eventually landed this perfect upper slot redfish. Lilla was excited, and Adra was equally as excited. They celebrated with a hug, and I celebrated with a hug, high five and a feeling of pride and accomplishment for my newly crowned little fisherwoman. And to think, she thought we were just fishing…
