Kids' fishing trip reels in boatload of redfish

As most of you know, I retired from guiding many years ago. As it turned out, guiding cut into my fishing time! 

These days, I fish mostly to learn and have fun with my family. However, once per year, I guide the winner of the Danziger Cup Kids Fishing Tournament. This year, I fished with Ben and Brooks Curran and their dad, Adam. 

We planned our trip for the lower stages of the tide, as Ben and Brooks wanted to catch redfish.  Just before their arrival, I took a few minutes to catch some shrimp and mud minnows with a cast net. The Currans arrived right on time. Immediately, I noticed that the boys were thoughtful and polite. They listened intently to the boat safety briefing and their dad. I knew this was going to be a fun trip. 

Our first stop was at an oyster bar that dropped off into a deep channel. A few days before, a school of redfish was holding in the channel and eating shrimp on the oyster bar. On the first cast to the oyster bar, a redfish inhaled our shrimp. For the next 30 minutes, Ben and Brooks took turns catching fish. One would be the angler, and the other would net the fish. They were an excellent fishing team. 

When the tide went slack, the bite slowed down. We moved into a small creek that held redfish in shallow channels at dead low tide. The boys caught and released redfish at a steady pace. Our goal was 30 fish. The sun was getting low when the 30th fish came to the boat. With our goal in hand, we decided to call it a day. 

On the way back to the dock, we stopped to make one last cast, and the boys caught another nice redfish. When I framed the picture on my iPhone, I wondered who had more fun. The boys, their dad, or me.