Hi my favorite grandkids!
Today was a real adventure!
I started at the crack of dawn with seven other friends from my Salt Strong fishing club. Eight kayaks all launching together — it was awesome! The weather was beautiful again: sunny skies and less windy than yesterday.
But… things got tricky fast!
In the morning I didn’t catch a single fish. Then — POP! — my rudder cable broke and I couldn’t steer my kayak anymore! I had to use my paddle like a big rudder to get back to the launch area. One of my fishing buddies followed me the whole way to make sure I was safe.
When we got back, everyone else was already there… and they had the grill going with hot dogs ready to eat! Yum! I was the ONLY one who didn’t catch any fish that morning.
I was pretty tired and a little grumpy, but after eating hot dogs and talking with the guys, we fixed my rudder with a quick trick. I decided to head back out with them.
At first my unlucky streak kept going. No bites at all! I saw flounder, a cobia, and even a big black drum swimming around — so close but they wouldn’t bite! You can ask Alexia to show you a picture of them to see what they look like. I did see some special fish too, in the picture that's attached, see if you can guess what it is and I will make a video later to show you.
Then the other two called me on the radio: “Want to try one more spot closer to the ramp?” Even though I was beat and was all out of remote bombs from Legends of Zelda, I pedaled over.
And guess what happened next?
BOOM! The fish finally woke up! I caught FIVE fish — including a 19-inch beauty and an 18¼-inch one! And you know what happened again while I was catching those fish? Yep! My rudder fix broke again. But I didn't care this time, i was catching fish. The other guys didn’t catch any more that afternoon. My day went from super disappointing to SUPER AWESOME in just a few minutes!
What a crazy, fun, up-and-down day! It taught me to never give up, even when things go wrong.
What do you think was the best part of my day? The hot dogs, fixing the rudder, or catching those five fish at the end?
Draw me a picture of my broken kayak or one of those big fish I finally caught! I can’t wait to read what you think.
Tight lines and keep smiling!
Love,
Grandpa the Pedal Kayak Fisherman 🎣