Nice mix of fish

[whichwaysup]

 

• I got a call from a buddy of mine Friday morning. First of all, I NEVER get a call from him unless something is serious. He is more of a texter, a man of few words and many thoughts. So, when the call came in, I knew it would be interesting.
  
  It seemed that he had picked up a stray fisherman at a Thanksgiving dinner who was in some way related to him, though I have yet to get out of him how. It also seemed that this stray fisherman was a (gasp) dedicated bass fisherman who (double gasp) had never caught a saltwater fish. It also seemed that my buddy had volunteered me to serve as captain to correct both of these issues.
  
  Plans were made, sleep was short, and we met up with our patient at the ramp. I tried not to notice the suspiciously bassy looking equipment he put in my boat. Best to handle these situations gently.
  
  As we pulled away from the dock, we briefed him on the basics of the first spot. We were easing him in, so we started in an area that was similar to his native fishing situation, a dock, only saltier. Unfortunately the fish didnt want to play, but he did learn that saltwater was wet and you can cast lures into it, so we were making progress.
  
  Spot #2 was a similar bust, but again we were trying to ease him into the epicness of saltwater by staying close to what he would recognize, fishing a grass bank. No fish, and I knew he was doubting me. Time to teach this bass fisherman what real fishermen do. . .
  
  Spot 3 was on fire. We had 6 fish in the first 30 minutes and would have had more if Roland Martin had been a little easier on the hookset. After bringing in several pairs of lips, sans the actual fish, we taught him about the use of drag (not locked down) and how to set a hook properly and how to play a fish instead of slinging it into the boat during the hookset. Took a little while but he eventually made us proud. We left the spot in search of larger fish, but struck out at spot 4 so we returned to give him more practice. When we hit the lucky 13 trout mark, all small, though, we decided to head for greener pastures and browner water. We took the long drive out to the Cape Fear to search for reds and striper.
  
  We stopped at the first river hole and after working a bank for a little while, I felt that wonderful "thump" and set up on a nice fish. Unsure of whether it was a red or a striper, I played it carefully, eventually pulling a 25" red over the gunnels. This got ole Bass fisherman's attention, so in true bass fisherman form, he cast into my spot and yanked out another red. Not to be outdone, my buddy slung his lure in, and a few seconds later pulled a 24" fish into the boat. Over the next few minutes, we took turns battling 7 nice fish into the boat.
  
  Spot 2 on the river produced a striper for me and another red for my buddy. I lost another Striper, then the bite shut down. With time running out, We tried a new spot and Black my buddy scored two more nice reds.
  
  We headed back to the ramp at noon, feeling triumphant, with 13 trout, 10 reds, and 1 striper and and one former bass fisherman all released to grow a little smarter before our next trip. Life is good.
  
  *Note: No bass fishermen were harmed in the making of this post.

   
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[Sunstone]

That was one great day.  Glad you released the bass fisherman too. 

[whichwaysup]

14 hours ago, Sunstone said:

That was one great day.  Glad you released the bass fisherman too. 

Yeah, thought about keeping him for dinner, but I have found them stringy to filet and really foul tasting.