Return of The Dinosaurs

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August 24th 2018

 

Lindsay had booked this day way back in April for her son Max. He was hoping to catch a sturgeon and I was going to do my best to make it happen! The waves would be our biggest problem today!

We headed out shortly after 7:00 and I hoped we would be able to anchor up in this wind. It was blowing pretty hard from the SW, causing me concern. All we could do was try!

I began looking for the fish before I actually got set up and found enough marks to give it a shot. I wasn’t going to try unless I had seen signs of life down there! I positioned the boat above and set the anchor. I also used the electric motor and the anchor mode as well, allowing me to stay where I had intended. This was the only way we were able to hold in the 2 & 3 foot waves!

We had been fishing for about 30 minutes, with rods in hand, when Devin set the hooks into our first fish. With expectations high, he reeled in a fish but it wasn’t what we were hoping for. He had hooked an eel and I didn’t want any part of that. I quickly cut the hook and re rigged the rod again! His next fish was no different with a second eel coming to the boat too! Needless to say, the same thing happened!

We were still optimistic and after about an hour, Devin set into another fish. Talk of dropping him off on an island was thrown around if this was another snake! Fortunately for everyone it wasn’t and a confirmation was had when his fish took to the air. Although not a giant, it was what we were looking for and the battle began. It was also short lived when the fish rolled in the line causing Devin to reel it to the boat, backwards. A quick untangling of the line and he got to fight it a little longer. Soon after, it was in the net and he had officially caught their first sturgeon ever!

After the release, we set back up and wouldn’t you know it, Lindsay hooked into another fish. Hers too turned out to be an eel and this was getting ridiculous. I don’t catch this many in a year! We released it the usual way and went right back to the sturgeon. Devin was soon to hook into another fish and passed the rod to Lindsay to fight. This was the right species and although it wasn’t a giant, it battled her pretty good. She eventually brought it close enough for me to net and she too had her very first sturgeon! We took more pics and returned her catch to the water.

With Max being the only one not to have landed anything yet, we focussed on getting him one of his own. I had hoped that it would be slightly smaller so that he could reel it in alone. Soon enough, I set into another fish and could tell by the weight that it wasn’t too big. Max immediately took the rod and reeled in an exotic species for the day. He had caught a freshwater drum and this definitely required some pics.

With the winds slightly down, the fishing became more comfortable and easier to feel the bites. We weren’t bouncing all over now and could detect almost any subtle nibbles on the lines. Devin hooked into another fish pretty quick and Max was up. This was the perfect one for him to fight and he landed his first sturgeon too. I gave him a hand holding it for the photos and he was all smiles with his prize before tossing it back.

Now that we were finally getting bit more often, we decided to stick it out with the sturgeon. There was no need to move and they agreed! For the remainder of the day we would be looking for more and bigger ones too!

The afternoon went by quickly with only a few more fish coming aboard. Although not huge, they were the right species and Max even got to fight another one as well. Lindsay also hooked into one on her own and battled another decent sturgeon too. A few fish missed and a few fish landed and we were done. They had accomplished what we had set out to do and everyone had a great time. I packed everything up and readied the boat for the return.

Unfortunately when I tried to get the boat on plane, the engine seemed like it had no power. After adjusting the weight forward, I somehow managed to get it on plane and ran back mid speed. Another problem that would have to get checked!

This day may have started out a little slow but we accomplished what we had set out to do. Sturgeon was on the bucket list for Max and everyone got to land theirs. They also got to reel in a few other strange looking creatures too! I will have to get the motor checked in the morning and hopefully it will be something simple like a coil problem again. If so, I will be right back on the water with clients by the afternoon. Crossing my fingers and toes for a simple fix!!