Since my boys watch a lot of ESPN, they’ve stumbled upon – and become mesmerized by – some of the fishing tournament shows on the network. We decided one day last week to check out a nearby bait shop, grab some rods and see what the Tampa Bay waters had in store. After all, some of the national shows are filmed right in our backyard.
What my boys, ages 7 and 9, didn’t realize is that fishing takes patience. And, that patience is a virtue that comes with age. The prize, however, is well worth the wait.
The only water near our house is a creek, with tadpoles and a baby alligator. We weren’t about to drop a line there!
We went to Denny B.’s bait and tackle to figure out the best local place to drop a line. The staff recommended we head to the Upper Tampa Bay Park, more than 2,000 acres of park and preserve situated on the water tucked away just off of West Hillsborough Road.
With our biodegradable "Gulp" synthetic bait and our shiny new casting rods, we walked on the boardwalk to the end of the dock, where a few scattered fisherman were staked out. Huge trout were jumping out of the water. Stingrays swam within feet of us. And, cast as we might, we stood for three hours – with nothing but sounds of the kids whining.
“Fishing takes a lot of patience and luck,” I told the kids, while purposely neglecting to mention skill or expertise, of which we had none. “We’ll try again soon. I promise.”
Well, as all parents know…kids do not forget those words.
For Memorial Day, our close friends who live on Harbor Island near Channelside Bay Plaza invited us fishing on their boat. My friend Tracey and I stayed behind, opting to jog over to the Tampa Marriott Waterside for a delicious seafood salad – figuring we’d grill hamburgers if the kids came back empty handed.
We left the real fishing to the dads. (Of course, we sent them off as all moms do, reminding them to wear hats and sunscreen and packing up lots of water bottles and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.)
As the boys headed out to Davis Island’s first marker, they reached a jackpot. With live shrimp on their reels, they reeled in more than 20 fish in two hours including trout, a stingray, a bonnet shark, lady fish, pin fish, catfish, a baby nurse shark and more.
It was a fish frenzy!
Thanks to our captain and friend, Richard Miller, the day was a huge success!
“That was the best day of my life,” said Jack, echoed by Brandon’s “Me too!”
Phew…Like I said, “A promise is a promise.” |
