July 6 Half-Day Trip
Julio 06, 2020
Hampstead
6 fotos
+3
Trip Summary
Trip Summary
Michael and his son, Jackson, came out for a half-day trip, hoping to catch some fish they could eat. The Spanish mackerel had been hitting pretty well, and the kings were close to the beach, so we set a plan to put some Spanish in the cooler first, followed by a try at kings.
Everything looked promising as we set out lines, running Clark spoons over pods of bait and flocks of birds... but the Spanish seemed to have lockjaw. We picked up a couple, as the schools started ripping up the surface. Unfortunately, they wouldn't stay on top long enough to throw jigs at them, and then they just shut down again.
We headed down the beach toward some live bottom and an old inlet channel and picked up a couple more Spanish... and then the lizard fish showed up. They're not great to eat, but they do keep the excitement level up.
As we fished, the topic of sharks came up. I mentioned that sharks are great to eat, and Jackson's ears perked up. I told him that we sometimes catch them while fishing for king mackerel, so he was ready to switch over from Clark spoons to live bait trolling.
We worked an artificial reef for a little while, and picked up a huge Spanish... and then the Atlantic Sharp Nosed sharks started eating our baits. As promised, I put one in the cooler for Jackson's curious appetite (and they really are excellent eating), and released several more. We had several more short strikes, and then Michael put his king mackerel in the boat.
At this point, Jackson was worn out. It's a long day for a youngster, and he was ready to point the boat back to the dock. We trolled in and managed a couple more Spanish mackerel just to keep his eyes open.
It was a pretty good day. I love to see the excitement in a young fisherman's face!