Tidelines – July 21, 2016
My approach with my boys, James (age 9) and Owen (age 10) who have been at best only warm to fishing, has been to bring them along semi-regularly on fishing trips that they will most likely enjoy. The hope is that I am not shoving fishing on them and that a genuine love of fishing at least slowly develops.
The boys don’t yet have much patience when it comes to fishing, so they need a lot of action, and they aren’t very good at casting (accuracy) nor do they want to cast and retrieve repeatedly, so my thought was that a half day of bottom fishing on the head boat “Vonda Kay” out of Wrightsville Beach would be the perfect solution for a day of steady action where they aren’t required to cast and cast again until they get a bite.
Owen (left), Gary, and James (right) Hurley with a stringer of grunts caught on a half day bottom fishing trip on the head boat “Vonda Kay” with Capt. Dave Gardner. They were fishing out about 15 miles dropping squid on two-hook rigs.
The “Vonda Kay,” with Capt. Dave Gardner, proved to be a perfect solution.
The day started easy, as we checked in at the boat office in the Motts Channel Seafood parking lot at a very comfortable (even with little kids) 8:30 am. Not getting up early meant the boys had a good night’s sleep, and a good night’s sleep (for our kids at least) means they are friendlier to each other and more agreeable in general.
James has had a little trouble in the past with getting seasick, but Dramamine (for kids) and then a soda on the boat ride out (to counteract the drowsiness of Dramamine) works for him. So I had my coffee, James had a Coke, and Owen downed a Gatorade as we headed out to about 15 miles for our first drop of the day.
My plan was not to fish but to stand between Owen and James on the back of the boat and be their personal mate. I would help with baiting hooks, taking fish off hooks, helping with any line tangles, and offering guidance to help improve their chances of reeling up fish. I also wanted to be standing by in case they got a grouper bite (Dave has been landing some gags on the half days, and I didn’t want to see a combo go overboard).
The boys didn’t have to cast, but they had to get the hang of putting the reel in free spool, keeping their thumb on the spool to let the line drop smoothly, flipping the reel out of free spool when they felt the weight hit the bottom, and then trying to keep the weight on the bottom and not bouncing around as the boat moved up and down with the waves.
We used classic two-hook chicken rigs baited with squid (squid, rigs, and combos are included in the $60 ticket price for a half day of bottom fishing). The boys often got “robbed,” bringing up empty hooks, but they also “nailed ‘em.”
James brought up grunts and sea bass and ringtails. Owen brought up more grunts and seabass and ringtails. We didn’t have any big bites, but the boys slowly put together a stringer of fish.
At our first drop, Owen and James fished the entire time: dropping baits, waiting for bites, and then bringing up either fish or empty hooks. At the second drop, they fished about 30 minutes before deciding they wanted to take a break, and that’s a benefit of the “Vonda Kay.” The boys went inside out of the sun and opened up our small cooler to grab cold juice boxes, Mike & Ikes, and Go-Gurts.
Another benefit of the Vonda Kay? While the boys were inside taking a break from the summer heat, I was able to transition from mate to angler, dropping down myself for some grunts and sea bass and ringtails.
At the third drop I think their fishing time dropped down to only about 15 minutes before they headed back inside, but they were content and enjoying themselves, and their fun (not a fish count) was my only goal for the day.
James ordered a grilled cheese from J.K., the Vonda Kay’s famous/infamous chef, and both boys reported that it was perhaps the best grilled cheese they had ever had.
Dave sounded the horn three times, announcing that fishing was over and we were headed back to shore, and he had us back at the dock by 2:00. This early arrival time also works well with kids, as those full days where you leave at 7:00 and return at 5:30 can be a little taxing even for adults.
In the past I have gladly paid J.K. to clean fish, a service he offers on all trips, but on this day the boys were proud of our catch and wanted Mom to see what they had done. And a fish fry that evening, I believe, instilled more love of fishing in the boys, as they kept asking Leslie and me with a very pleased smile if we liked the fish they had caught.
The “Vonda Kay” has a lot of loyal followers (like myself) that travel out on the full day bottom fishing trips, but until the boys get a little older and/or a little more dedicated to fishing, then I think I am transitioning over to being a loyal half day bottom fishing follower.
Grab your kids, buy some treats, and try it out for yourself. It’s easy, and I believe the cheeseburgers and fish tacos are even better than the grilled cheese.
