When we got to the pier, I baited the rods with small pieces of squid, then Jacob and I dropped the hooks down. Right after the hooks and sinkers fell to the bottom, we reeled in bit to get it staying just a bit over the ground. Right away, I felt nibbles.
Sometimes, we would feel a bunch of nibbles, and sometimes we would not feel any of all. I wasn't feeling any nibbles at all, until a tug came and the rod was bending. Fish on! I reeled in, and caught it. It was a Tomtate, which is a small type of grunt with stripes on its side and a dark spot on its tail. I baited my hook again with another piece of squid, and sure enough, I caught another Tomtate! Two fish so far.
The squid then ran out, and We switched to shrimp. Jacob was determined to catch a fish and rushed me to bait his hook first. H dropped his down, and sure enough, he felt strong tugs. The rod bent and the fish was on! He reeled in and he caught a Tomtate! Jacob had caught his fish, and he was satisfied. His day was not over yet, though. He wanted to keep on fishing.
It was a nice, breezy day and the sun was going to start setting in about 20 minutes. We kept on fishing, and I ended up catching 3 more Tomtates. They can be a fun fish to try and catch on a nice day like I did, and see how many times you can catch them. This trip was really fun, but it was not over. I was rebating my hook when Jacob had A big tug.
I saw the rod bend, and It looked like it was stuck on something. He brought it up without it getting under the pier, and it turned out to be the biggest Tomtate of the day! Jacob caught it. I could tell that I have been teaching him about fishing well, and that his angling skills have progressed and have gotten better. It was a Tomtate, but you need to know what you're doing when fighting a fish, especially near pilings and rocks where you can easily lose a hard-fighting fish like his big Tomtate.
As the sun was starting to set and the park was closing soon, I caught a juvenile Lane Snapper to cap off the day. I have caught adult Lane Snappers at refs of of Sea-Legs III, and it was interesting to see and to learn about how the Lane Snapper lives. Like other fish, adults come to breed and lay eggs inshore and away from the reef. The juvenile lives there until it grows enough to go out to the reef offshore to find more food and live in different shelter. I have now caught a Lane Snapper in both places, inshore and offshore.
This was an awesome day and I can't wait to fish again. Tight lines!
