South Florida Canal Fishing

For this trip I went fishing with some of my friends at school. We went in one of the locally-known brackish water canals in south florida. Freshwater fish such as Peacock Bass, Largemouth Bass, Tilapia, and Ciclid can be found in these canals, along with saltwater fish such as snook, tarpon, and the occasional Jack. It was a cloudy, gloomy day, but that did not stop us. Two of my friends, Ben and Santi, found a spot near the weeds where we figured the fish might be. We got some bread and ripped it up into a few pieces. First, we dropped the bread in and no fish bit it. We were walking and casting in all different places trying to find the elusive fish. Finally, I dropped my piece of bread under some weeds, and sure enough, I some a school of Cichlids and an Oscar nibbling at my bait. I called Santi and Ben over, and tried to snag the pesky fish. We felt the tugs, but the Ciclid would not bite. I decided that the pieces that I ripped for myself were way too big. I ripped smaller pieces that just fit on the hook, then tried again. It worked! The fish nibbled and took the bait on my hook! But, when I reeled it in enough, I had found out that the Cichlid had not been hooked very well and it fell off when it came very close. If I had set the hook more properly, I would have brought the fish up. It's still a catch though! We tried more, but the fish were too hard to hook. Maybe I should try a smaller hook this time with a shorter shaft. Stay tuned! More posts coming soon!

How to Tie on a Hook

When fishing, you need a tight knot on the hook to make sure it does not slip off. This is a good way of tying the hook on. I learned it from the Mucho K, and I use use it all the time.

Pinfish Day

Today Jacob, Danielle, and I went across the street to the canal to go fishing. We used shrimp and chicken for bait. We caught lots of fish today, especially pinfish. First, Jacob dropped his line in the water, and sure enough, a pinfish bit the hook immediately. That was the first catch of the day! Next, I caught pinfish with chicken and so did Dani. I decided to put a whole shrimp on my hook to try to bring a swarm of fish. It worked, and a school of pinfish and mangrove snappers surrounded the bait. Then I felt a tug. I reeled in, and it was a mangrove snapper, the only one of the day! We caught some more pinfish, until Dani had a needle fish on. It was really fast! Dani and I pulled it in, and we caught it! Our first needlefish! Unfortunately, once we brought it up, it fell off the hook so I could not get any pictures. At the end of the day, We had caught 11 fish in total, Dani had 5 fish, all pinfish and the needle fish with me, Jacob had 4 fish, all pinfish, and I had three fish, a pinfish, mangrove snapper, and the needlefish that Dani and I caught together. Stay tuned! More posts coming soon!