Fishing with Kids 101

A grumpy old Captain once told me there was fishing and “fishing with kids”.  He wasn’t adverse to small children in that classic W.C. Fields way, but nevertheless, a tad short on patience towards the little people. Let’s face it, doing anything with your children, grandchildren or anyone’s children for that matter, presents moments (perhaps even hours), when it takes everything you got, not to get a little…let’s say frazzled. Compound that with a day on the water where you are “pot committed” with pretty much no Happy Meal or Play Station to turn to, and things can go sideways in a hurry.

Before we get carried away, first, realize that these are kids we are talking about. Even those pole breaking, bait eating, button pushing, foot stomping, “I wanna go home” kids. I have also been with kids who never want to go home or quit fishing; the “one more cast” kinda kid (I was that kid, and maybe the foot stomper too). But let’s address the kids that aren’t quite so enamored with a long day on the water pitching jigs all day. While we grownups are obviously out there to do some damage and sore lip our finned adversary, it’s important to put the little people first…even if it means sacrificing a shot at a monster, a limit of fine eating filets, or the “targeted species”.

Step one in establishing the “grin”, and developing a life time angler is the target species. Or should I say eliminating the target species. The fish you are now after is the not so elusive “whateverbitis”. The whateverbitis inhabits every place a fish lives in any part of the world. Depending on your locale, this could be a whiting, shiner, sucker, catfish, toadfish, gar, croaker, spot, pinfish, skate, sting ray, or, whatever bites. A child’s first fishing trips should be about them catching something…anything! Many of us anglers would call them trash fish, but to the child starting his angling endeavors these are giant blue marlin and the start of a lifelong passion for fishing. By targeting some of these easier to catch species it is very possible that children can experience the whole thrill of dropping the bait back, feeling the bite, and reeling in the fish! If you are hiring a guide for you and your children, it’s often wise to let the guide know that you just want to catch fish for the kids...of any kind. This may be the fish you had in mind, or it maybe “whaterbitis”. Remember, this needs to be for the kids.

Another important part of your child’s fishing trip should consist of other activities and options. Food and drink go a long way here. Bring some of those junk foods the kids like. While I am not suggesting changing your kids eating habits to sugary snacks and drinks, this is a special occasion, and a special snack or two will go a long way. Establishing a ritual of sorts, like a certain breakfast or dinner stop on the way to, or from fishing, is a great way to bond and make the day on the water one to remember and look forward to.

Finally, when a fish is caught, show your child all the nuances of the fish. There may be fish with scales, fish with smooth skin, teeth, no teeth, etc. Do not force your child to hold the fish if he does not want to.  Sometimes I give a child a towel to hold a fish. Some fish may be small enough that a kid can hold the line or pole and let the fish “dangle”. Be careful that the fish is not harmed in anyway, and let the child be part of a successful live release. It is important to stress the fact that fish need to be released healthy. If you are catching fish to eat, explain how they are managed as far as limits and size. Although this may be a hard pill to swallow, some children will not last very long on the water, so plan your trip accordingly, giving yourself the option of leaving earlier than you planned. This may even mean just planning a short trip at first. If you take care to make your kids’ first days on the water fun ones, you will have a fishing partner for life. And remember, fishing may not be for everyone (God forbid!), so support your children in all healthy endeavors they may want to pursue.

St Simons Island Fishing Report June 2013

June brought us the first named storm of 2013 and with it a good shot of rain as well. Nevertheless, the warming waters brought redfish, trout, flounder, tripletails, jacks, ladyfish, bluefish, sheepshead, black drum, King Mackerel, black sea bass, cobia, tarpon and of course...SHARKS! St Simons Island is well known as one of the largest breeding zones for sharks on the planet and makes for some great light tackle shark fishing. Don't be fooled though, often you will need to bring out the big guns as the islands waters are full of bigger sharks in the 100-200 lb. range! The summer months in the Golden Isles may offer some of the best fishing for shear variety on the Atlantic Seaboard. See you on the water!

 By Captain Tim Cutting

The Art of Artificials Part II: You Big Dummy

Dummy lures. That’s the word my old bass fishing partners use to use when describing a certain class of lures. These lures simply needed to be reeled in steady to be effective. While there are many lures that fit the bill, I’ll give you four that get eaten pretty good in the marsh. 

The Bill Lewis Rattletrap has been around for a long time and is usually classified as a vibrating crank bait. This lure was designed to be fished at varying depths. Its slow sink rate allows you to “countdown” to the depth you desire. With a sink rate of about one foot per second, the angler simply needs to count about one second for every foot until the desired depth is met. One of my favorite ways to fish the “trap” is on deeper grass flats of about 6 feet in depth. I will count the lure down about 4 seconds to obtain a running depth of about 4 feet, which will run this bait right above the grass. The strikes on this bait are usually pretty aggressive and the motion of the lure combined with the speed of the fish usually allows one if not both of the treble hooks to stick the fish pretty good. Bill Lewis also makes a floating rattletrap that allows the angler to work shallow flats. This lure, while called a floater, actually runs about a foot or so below the surface. This is a great tool for covering water as both the floating and sinking models cast a mile. Combine the casting ability of this plug and a steady retrieve this lure can cover a lot of ground fast. As with any lure, once fish are found, you may be able to stake out and work on what may be more than one fish.

The gold spoon may be one of the most well-known but lesser used baits on the market. This is a lure that is manufactured widely in size, shape and color. I pretty much have gone solely to the Captain Mike Hakala Aqua Dream spoon but still keep a few Johnson Silver Minnows on standby (called silver minnow, but I use the gold one). The Aqua Dream spoon comes in some really amazing color patterns to match most forage and water conditions. Both these spoons are weedless and will also cast a mile. Weedless spoons will work at any depth in any condition, but they really are an awesome tool in grass, timber, and weeds. The “hit” or “take” can be fairly obvious, but often it is just a tick or a tap. In any case, set the hook immediately and sharply. One of the nice things about a spoon is that when it does snag, often a quick snap will free the lure, and the retrieve can be continued. Be ready after that “snap”-- sometimes that will trigger a bite.

Another lure that works quite well is the paddle tail soft plastic. This bait is made by hundreds of manufacturers in a wide variety of colors. This particular bait can be rigged in

a variety of ways, both weedless and hooked exposed. Two of the more common presentations are on a jig head or a weighted Extra Wide Gap worm hook. Recently a lot of these plastics are being sold and classified as “swim baits”. While different lengths, thickness, and even jointed features have been added, the paddle tailed feature remains on all of the baits which gives it the “swimming” action due the vibration of the tail. One of the newer designs that many anglers are swearing by features a hollow body and are usually rigged on a weighted worm hook as well. The Yum Money Minnow in the 3 ½” size is one of the hollow bodied soft plastic paddle tails that comes to mind and has been a good bait for me in flooded grass.

Another bait that needs to be mentioned is the spinner bait. This bait works exceptionally well in the marsh. While speckled trout, snook, redfish and many other species will all attack these baits, the spinner bait has been particularly effective targeting flounder. This is another lure that is available by hundreds of manufacturers and every one of them will work.  Over the years, it seems that many inshore anglers have gone to the single Colorado blade with a soft plastic paddle tail as the trailer. One of the more popular examples of this style spinner bait is the Redfish Magic made by Strike King.

While “dummy bait” is pretty harsh language for these baits, it’s fairly true. Simply throw these baits, and begin a steady retrieve. That being said, there are tweaks and techniques that can often trigger more bites. These baits can be “burned”, which is simply speeding up the retrieve. Or, just “slow rolled” by slowing down the retrieve. Another technique is to “kill” the bait, which is just to stop retrieving and let the bait fall, and repeat. As a rule, try to remember exactly how you were working the bait when you got bit. Often, the fish will tell you what they like.

It is always nice to pull up to the honey hole and find it loaded, but this is not always the case (or someone else is sitting there). This is where the “art” in artificial comes in to play. By covering water, and varying lures or retrieves, you will find new “honey holes”. At the very least you will pick off quality fish here and there and develop a pattern. Worst case scenario, you will eliminate some water. In any case, you won’t know unless you go!

by Tim Cutting

St Simons Island Fishing Report June 2013

June brought us the first named storm of 2013 and with it a good shot of rain as well. Nevertheless, the warming waters brought redfish, trout, flounder, tripletails, jacks, ladyfish, bluefish, sheepshead, black drum, King Mackerel, black sea bass, cobia, tarpon and of course...SHARKS! St Simons Island is well known as one of the largest breeding zones for sharks on the planet and makes for some great light tackle shark fishing. Don't be fooled though, often you will need to bring out the big guns as the islands waters are full of bigger sharks in the 100-200 lb. range! The summer months in the Golden Isles may offer some of the best fishing for shear variety on the Atlantic Seaboard. See you on the water!

 

 By Captain Tim Cutting

 

St Simons Island Spring Fishing Report

It has been a very busy winter/spring so far, compounded by computer problems, submerged camera’s and phones. Add to that an absolutely full schedule of trips, I finally get a chance to bang away at the keyboard. Thanks to so many of the GON folks for fishing with us, and to those that have rescheduled due to some pretty crazy weather (like the soaker we’re getting today) and water conditions. The trips we ran were surprisingly good, although we worked pretty hard to get on the fish.

Obviously, the nearshore bite on the wrecks has been very good with plenty of nice BSB, (come on June 1^st), small blues, big reds, summer trout, and sheepshead. The sounds and beaches are yielding some good catches of whiting mixed in with our annual spring run of dogfish. Inshore, the redfish have remained strong on certain tide stages, and the flounder have just started showing up. The trout bite has been good…when you can find them. Although somewhat scattered, the fish we are finding are good size. As the water nears 68 degrees, we will get into some even larger fish and larger numbers. (We have been releasing trout over 20”…not so much for conservation, but for trophy management…big trout make big trout babies…much like deer, it’s a gene thing)

I am working on an April/May forecast with stuff (lures, rigs, locations, species, etc.) that helps us with spring fishing, should have that out later today.

Here’s a few pics we were able to save!

 

 

By Tim Cutting

Camp Village Creek!

Had a big time helping Capt. Brooks and the gang with Camp Village Creek last week. For those of you living or visiting the Golden Isles, check out the best kids camp available. Contact Capt. Brooks Good at http://www.coastaloutdooradventures.com/ for information!

Early Season Slams 3-2-12

Had a great day on the water with some great folks from the Tarheel state.  Billy, his wife Sheila, and their future Bassmaster son, Jonathon headed out early armed with artificials, mud minnows, and frisky shrimp.  Jonathon was really impressive with his casting skills, as we picked our way thru some docks. Trout were the first species to show up, but the bite tapered off as quickly as it started.  Jonathon then shot a dock for a nice flattie to get 2/3’s of the slam completed.  It was here we ran into a wall, checking several skinny creeks for the reds.  On our last stop we hit pay dirt.  It was a fairly tight spot surrounded by oysters that required some pretty precise placement, and even more tact to yank them out of the shells.  We lost a few, got a few nice ones, and even managed to find flounder here as well.  While the bite was hard to find, and it took a lot of running and gunning, it was pretty rewarding to end up with some nice fish and a couple of slams. A special thanks to Billy and his fine family for grinding out a tough bite on the marsh today.  Jonathan definitely earned his stripes today, piloting the Scout back to port. You guys are gonna have a reel problem keeping a reel out of Jonathon’s hands! The kid’s a natural! 

Golden Isles Fishing Forecast 3/4/2012

There is no doubt that spring has sprung here on St. Simons Island, albeit a tad early. Probably doesn’t mean we won’t see another cold snap or a little snow for the folks in the Atlanta area, but with water temps in the lower 60’s some predictable things are happening. The whiting are THICK in the sounds, trout have been showing up in good numbers on the Camden and Glynn county coast respectively, and that rat-a-tap-tap of those pesky shrimp stealing yellow tails has begun in earnest.

This time of year, the word “transition” gets thrown around a lot, and I suppose it is true. Trout will be bunched up, from shallow to deep, near the sounds as well as further up the rivers. Now is a perfect time to break out a topwater lure for a locater, and you may even get a nice redfish surprise. Whiting will be in many of the usual haunts, but a sure bet is 18 feet of water in the sounds and rivers less than a half mile from the beach. Small pieces of fresh peeled shrimp, a # 1 bait holder hook, and just enough weight to keep the bait planted on the bottom will do the trick. Multi-hook rigs will most certainly yield plenty of "two on one cast" hook ups. Mud minnows are a great addition in the spring as the shrimp will definitely be in the mold and hold mode. Those frisky pollywogs floated under a popping cork around shells at low tide will certainly produce reds on big water as well us up the creeks. Surprisingly enough, we had quite a few flounder show up in the last week of February! And everybody knows what a doormat magnet Mr. Mudminister is. Don't get me wrong, a live shrimp is always a good choice, but a mud minnow added to the mix may up your odds.

The sheepshead fishing is in full swing as well. Jetty rocks, bridge pilings, docks, and laydowns are all holding these hard fighting great eating fish right now. Along with fiddler crabs, chunks of blue crab, squid, shrimp, clam meat, oyster meat, and mussels will all get eaten. A small mussel, used whole, will often entice the larger fish.

March may be one of the best months to take a kid fishing. The weather is not too hot, and if the redfish, trout, and flounder prove to be elusive, the whiting will keep kids busy, not requiring a lot of pin point casting. So while you have to check your honey holes for reds and trout, take the kids whiting fishing at some point. They will get to feel the bite, catch the fish, and have some awesome table fair as well. The keeper ratio is excellent right now for whiting.

As always, you won’t know if you don’t go!

A (Kids) Picture(s) is Worth a Thousand Words...

...featuring Steve-o, 'Action' Jackson, Logan the Moganman and 'Call Me Butter Because I'm on a Roll" Cole.