Duff
07-06-2010, 09:07 PM
Had a good weekend with the kids. We went out to the middle of the bay and watched fireworks Sunday night. Tampa, St. Pete and Clearwater all had big shows, visable in opposing directions from where we were at. The causeway had 'em all up and down both sides, and every neighborhood around the bay was blasting them off. The water was calm enough on the north side of the bridge to see reflections in all colors. The neighbor counted 31 boats go out and return from our canal that night. That's about everyone in the place, so it must be a tradition around here on the 4th.
With the exception of that night, it has been raining for a week. It is raining now. Yesterday the kids fished the dock in between rainshowers. They are getting to where they like to go down and fish by themselves, which is good. They still need me within yelling distance for when they catch something though. I like to see them become more independent, which will allow me to spend more time finding fish instead of messing with tangled tackle when we're on the boat. Seems that's all I do some trips, but it is getting better. When I was Ethan's age I was fishing for bluegill and crappies at Rocky Fork lake in Ohio, and a canepole or Zebco 404 was very user-friendly compared to the spinning reel he is learning on.
Ethan beat out his older brother in size and quantity but we counted 13 different species if the blue crab can be counted as a fish. He sure had a hold of that piece of fishbites bait. Y'all remember that stuff? I can't remember the guy's name but we put up banner ads on GG many years ago when he first got started. I have to say, especially for kids, that stuff works! I picked up a pack at Bass Pro for about $6. It has lasted 3 weeks, 3 of us fishing every weekend since. Normally we use shrimp or gulp and catch only catfish here at the dock, but yesterday with fishbites they caught ladyfish, jacks, whiting, redfish, pinfish, mangrove snapper, black drum, croakers, trout, toadfish, blue crab, and only one tiny catfish. And would you believe a big mullet even bit on the stuff?
http://filetransferprofessional.com/users/1801000010/files/0ec56339d0e8d0c554178b6772375a90.jpghttp://filetransferprofessional.com/users/1801000010/files/07791214fba82841d47ce08e6bafbaef.jpg
With the exception of that night, it has been raining for a week. It is raining now. Yesterday the kids fished the dock in between rainshowers. They are getting to where they like to go down and fish by themselves, which is good. They still need me within yelling distance for when they catch something though. I like to see them become more independent, which will allow me to spend more time finding fish instead of messing with tangled tackle when we're on the boat. Seems that's all I do some trips, but it is getting better. When I was Ethan's age I was fishing for bluegill and crappies at Rocky Fork lake in Ohio, and a canepole or Zebco 404 was very user-friendly compared to the spinning reel he is learning on.
Ethan beat out his older brother in size and quantity but we counted 13 different species if the blue crab can be counted as a fish. He sure had a hold of that piece of fishbites bait. Y'all remember that stuff? I can't remember the guy's name but we put up banner ads on GG many years ago when he first got started. I have to say, especially for kids, that stuff works! I picked up a pack at Bass Pro for about $6. It has lasted 3 weeks, 3 of us fishing every weekend since. Normally we use shrimp or gulp and catch only catfish here at the dock, but yesterday with fishbites they caught ladyfish, jacks, whiting, redfish, pinfish, mangrove snapper, black drum, croakers, trout, toadfish, blue crab, and only one tiny catfish. And would you believe a big mullet even bit on the stuff?
http://filetransferprofessional.com/users/1801000010/files/0ec56339d0e8d0c554178b6772375a90.jpghttp://filetransferprofessional.com/users/1801000010/files/07791214fba82841d47ce08e6bafbaef.jpg