Catching a smile releases fishing frustration

Every so often, I meet a young person who is thoughtful, polite and loves to fish. Tyson is one of those people.

 

So, when the opportunity arose for me to fish with Tyson and his dad, I gladly took it.

 

However, March is a tough month to fish.

 

It is windy and the redfish are transitioning from their winter to summer pattern. When this is happening, it is hard to get them to bite.

 

This was the case when fishing with Tyson and his dad.

 

We planned our trip around the latter stages of low tide: the optimal time to sight fish schools of redfish in shallow water.

 

Unfortunately, a strong northwesterly wind made locating the redfish problematic. Wind-driven waves stirred up the mud bottom, and the water clarity was poor.

 

This gave the redfish a decided advantage. They would sense us well before we could see them.

 

After about an hour of fishing, we had not caught a single fish.

 

Like I said, fishing was tough.

 

Yet, Tyson was positive and seemed to be enjoying the day. His great attitude motivated me to try even harder. 

 

Another hour passed. Still no fish.

 

I was getting frustrated, but Tyson and his dad kept on smiling and laughing.

 

It reminded me what fishing is really about. Spending time with your family and friends.

 

About then, Tyson set the hook on a redfish. It was about 18 inches, and he expertly fought the fish to the skiff.

 

After taking a quick picture, we released the red and it healthily swam away. A few minutes later, Tyson caught and released another redfish about the same size. The rest of our day was typical March fishing.

 

We located multiple schools of redfish in 1 to 2 feet of water. We could clearly see them, but they were just not interested in eating.

 

Fishing was tough.  

 

Really tough, but Tyson remained thoughtful, polite, and eager to learn.

 

Funny, I thought I was going to teach Tyson about catching redfish.

 

Instead, he taught me to enjoy the experience, regardless of the catch. Thanks for the lesson!

 

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