JOSH GOES FISHING: Exotic Fish on the Dania Pier

This fishing trip was definitely one to remember. I went with Danielle and Zaide to Dania Pier from about 4:30 to about 6:00 in the evening. Once we came in, we checked out the bait shop on the pier right before the entrance. I had sabiki rig, a Japanese rig with small hooks on small colorful lures that are attached to one line. I was going to use that, but I figured that some frozen shrimp wouldn't hurt. After all, I had two rods and only one of them had the sabiki rig on. We walked on the pier to the place that we wanted to fish. Not the very end, but where the the sand ends and the seagrass/reef starts. You can see this by looking at the water seeing when it starts to turn darker. We cut the shrimp into very small pieces and put them on the hook. I put the pieces of shrimp on the hook, but it wasn't working too much, and the line was tangled. Things were not looking very good. The sabiki rig was not working, and the lines were tangled and it took us about a half an hour to finally get settled. Dani then came up with an idea. The sabiki rig is meant to be just put in the water with no bait on the hooks and to be pulled up and down very slowly. Dani thought that if the the fish aren't biting it, then we should try to put small pieces of shrimp on the hooks and seeing if that works. I agreed, put the shrimp on, and dropped the rig in the water. Just then, birds came to steal the shrimp. I gave the pole to Dani and I shooed away the birds. Since Dani was holding two rods, she had to give the rod with the sabiki rig to me because a fish was on! She put her rod aside and helped me reel it in. Soon we saw a big, white thing on the rig. It was a fish! We got it higher and onto the pier! It was a Redband Parrotfish! A very good sized parrotfish on the sabiki rig with shrimp to start the day! I unhooked the fish and threw it back. The line was tangled, so Zaide worked on the line. Soon enough, he untangled the line and I put bait on the hooks. I dropped it again and waited for a bite. Soon enough I felt nibbles, then the rod tip dropped and the line was moving. Fish on! I reeled it in and I caught a Smooth Trunkfish! A Trunkfish is an exotic fish in the shape of a box (also called boxfish). What an interesting catch! I rebated the hooks on the sabiki rig and dropped it down again. I felt a tug, so I reeled in. The line was somehow stuck on the piling of the pier. I tugged at the line and it became free from the piling. But, I still felt a bite. I reeled in, and sure enough, I caught a Black Margate. A Black Margate is a type of reef fish found in South Florida, and this was my first one. An exciting catch. Because my hooks were stuck on the piling, it took off the sinker. Zaide and I went back to the store and bought two pyramid sinkers and two bank sinkers, both 2 OZ. I tied on another pyramid sinker and dropped the rig down. The sun was starting to set and you could see the cruise ships leaving the Port of Miami. This was an awesome day on the water, but it was not done yet. Just then, I felt a tug on the shrimp on my other rod with the egg sinker and hook, and the fish was on. I reeled in, and caught the last fish of the day. It was a Doctorfish, a type of Tang! What a great way to end a great day full of exotic fish, milestones, and Miami ocean and sunset scenery.

Tips and Tricks that I have learned: