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More Fishing and Boating

• A not-so-lovely weekend for a regatta
• Seaworthy: Starting the season off right
• Seaworthy: Start the season right

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I hardly ever do a repeat on a story. It’s always good to roll out new material. But this week is going to be an exception.

By way of justification for such a turn, let me offer the following. As you’ll see in a minute, the principals in this little story, originally published six years ago, are little 8 year-old Danny and his grandpop.

Well, as fate would have it, just a couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure, once again, of chartering for grandpop but this time with a couple of his senior buddies. We had a good trip and even had a nice catch of black drum that would grace that evening’s dinner table.

On several occasions during the trip we talked and laughed about Danny’s fishing trip and how he had repeated the story to friends time and time again. He said I ought to publish it again — it’s a timeless story and maybe the newer folks hereabouts would enjoy reading it.

So why not? Here goes!

It was a winter charter that started out rather routinely. There was grandpop, grandmom, mom and a eight year-old bundle of energy named Danny. Introductions were cordial and upbeat and it was immediately obvious that Danny loved to fish and do all sorts of neat little boy things.

He definitely was in high gear to say the least, and was chock full of questions. Good questions, but sometimes difficult to answer. How does that GPS know where we are or why do sheepshead like cold water, or where does the water go when the tide goes out? We gave him the best responses we could all come up with.

We hadn’t even pulled away from the dock and Danny took center stage to announce that they were counting on a nice catch because “grandpop is taking us to a restaurant that will cook our catch tonight.” No pressure there, right?

It was a warm early November afternoon, with some aftermath of a frontal wind having left the water a bit muddy. A passable fishing day perhaps, but not a great one.

We started at Capri Pass. There was a good incoming tide running but the muddy water was definitely slowing the fishing. We chummed a little and the snapper were right on top of us. Unfortunately, we must have hit a school of nine-inch snappers. We spent an eternity measuring and then releasing the small snapper.

Danny saw it differently. These snapper would make a great dinner and so there he was with a combined complaint and inquiry. “How come you have to let them go? Who said so?”

We explained to him that these were just juvenile fish and had to grow so they could spawn and make other fish. And there is a special organization in our state called the Florida Wildlife Commission that makes these rules so that, when Danny has a family and goes fishing, all the fish won’t be gone.

He absorbed the explanations with mixed emotion — all that sounded good but he still didn’t have his dinner in the box. He bought on; but just barely.

The afternoon wore on we had added but a single pompano and a lone whiting to supply Danny’s dinner extravaganza. We were nowhere where we needed to be as far as Danny was concerned.

Just then as we drifted over close to Coconut Island, grandpop’s rod doubled over suddenly and then the same thing happened to mom. There were two nice fat spotted sea trout coming aboard and Danny danced with glee, “Oh boy, he shouted, we got it made!” But his mouth dropped and he looked stunned when we explained that seatrout were out of season in November and that we had to put them back.

“What? How come?” It was a much tougher sell this time. Danny had to struggle with the explanation of November being a seatrout spawning month. “How do they know it’s November — maybe they think it’s still October.” We obviously did not satisfy his resentment, but what could an 8 year old do against these odds. The two trout were slipped back into the water.

So now we’re in the final hour of the charter and Danny has visions of his hard caught fresh seafood dinner slipping away. He has endured just about all the undersize and spawning period release rules that a kid can stand. He encourages everyone to “fish hard, we can still do it.” It’s like we now have an 8 year old head coach.

We’re set up again just off Coconut Island and I hear one of the rods go off with a tremendous whine. We had a big fish on Mom’s rod. The activity level on the boat rivaled a Lucy Skit as other rods are dropped; people are scurrying out of the way and the fish rod is passed under the anchor line repeatedly as we fight this obviously big fish.

It seemed like an eternity but in reality was only about 20 minutes when we finally slipped the net under a big beautiful redfish.

“Finally!,” Danny exhorts with an exuberant leap.

We slide the fish to the deck and onto the ruler. Twenty nine inch redfish. I’m almost afraid to speak.

“Danny, this fish is too big, we have to put him back.”

“You’re kidding me, right Captain? Grandpop is he fooling me?” His eyes rolled in an incredulous stare. “What! That can’t be. I understand the little fish and the closed season, but too big? The tears were welling up in his eyes.

Grandpop takes over. “Danny, we’re doing this all for you. These big fish are the breeders. We want them there when you grow up.

“But I won’t need it then I need it now, please.”

“Danny, rules are rules” and he stared in disbelief as the released redfish headed seaward. His elders calmed the situation as the charter ended and Danny showed his character when he finally said to his mom, “I understand, mom. Rules are rules, but I sure hope all of those fish we saved today will be waiting for me when I grow up.

Grandpop concluded with, “Knowing you, Danny, you can make book on it.”

•••

Name: Black Sea Bass

In season: Year around; Spawn in the winter months.

Florida Regulations: 10” size limit throughout Florida. Bag limit 20 per day on Atlantic side. No restriction on the Gulf side.

Habitat: Smaller fish. Usual size is about 13 inches. Found on wrecks and structure offshore and in channels and passes inshore. Very good table fare.

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Capt. Bill Walsh owns an established Marco Island charter fishing business and holds a current U.S. Coast Guard license. Send comments or questions to dawnpatrolcharters@compuserve.com.