Make sure you laugh a lot even if you fish a little

Sometimes fishing does not go according to plan. Saturday was a perfect example. My son Elliott, our dog Brody, and I planned to fish offshore for marlin. 

 

The forecast was for diminishing winds and calming seas. Unfortunately, the forecast was wrong. At 4 a.m. on Saturday morning, the wind offshore was howling and wave heights increasing.  Reluctantly, I made the call to cancel the trip and went back to bed.

 

Later that day, Elliott and Brody came by to help organize our tackle room. It was a mess and took a few hours to get squared away. Well, Elliott helped organize. Brody sat next to the refrigerator and asked about what we were going to do with all the sandwiches we made for lunch. A bit later he added that it would be a shame for them to go to waste.  

 

A few sandwiches later, Brody decided to take a nap. Elliott and I decided to go fishing. Our plan was to target a school of redfish I had located a few days before.  

 

This school of fish was smart. They had taken up residence in a shallow oyster-lined channel beneath a dock. Between the oysters and the dock pilings these fish were going to be a challenge to catch.

 

Upon our arrival, the redfish were still there. We could easily see them milling around the channel and dock pilings. They were not particularly big. As a matter of fact, they were tiny. We figured if we hooked one, we had a good chance to wrestle it away from the oysters and dock pilings.  

 

Things once again did not go according to plan. Elliott hooked one and his line was cut off on the oysters. I started laughing and giving him a hard time.  

 

Then I said, “Let me show you how to do it,” and I cast a Z-Man Finesse TRD under the dock. I hooked up and was immediately wrapped around a dock piling. Elliott started laughing and giving me a hard time. This got me laughing again as well. Brody started barking from all the excitement.

 

While we were laughing and cutting up, the redfish unwrapped itself from the piling. I quickly brought it to the boat for a quick picture and release. As the fish swam off, I asked Elliott if he wanted to catch one. He laughed and said, “One miracle is enough!”

 

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