The 'reel' benefits of fishing

Thanksgiving week was filled with lots of family, friends, food and fishing. Unfortunately, on several days, gale-like conditions made fishing a bit of a challenge. Of course, I went fishing anyway because the best catch in fishing is time with family and friends. Thankfully, the fish were cooperative, even in the tough conditions.

On one of the really windy days, Elliott, David and I set out to catch redfish on the fly. The main river was blown out. So, we began our search for redfish in a small wind sheltered creek. The tide was falling and nearing dead low. There was not much water left in the creek. This made locating redfish much easier, as their backs and tails were often above the water line. Finding them was easy. Accurately casting a fly in gale-like conditions was another matter entirely. Our first few casts did not even land in the water. The wind would catch the fly line and blow it onto the bank. After a few adjustments, my brother David (finally) made a good presentation. The fly landed a foot or so in front of a decent size red. We held our breath as the fish slowly swam forward and inhaled the fly. The redfish was feisty, and the fight took longer than usual. All the while, Elliott and I were giving David a hard time. When he landed the fish, we were all happy.

David unhooked the red and was releasing it when Elliott took a picture. It would have been a great picture, but it captured me looking stupid in the background. This gave David and Elliott cause to give me a hard time. Things change fast on family fishing trips. Standing on the poling platform, watching Elliott and David laugh (at me) reminded me of why I fish (so much). Fishing is about time, moments and memories. Catching fish, well that is just a bonus!

Contact Captain Greg Peralta at captgregp@gmail.com or call (843) 224-0099.