Dad's First Fish

Today's fishing trip was one that I have wanted to make for quite a while. Although I love to go fishing, my dad has never caught a fish before. I decided that enough was enough, and that we had to get him his first fish. My brother, Jacob, my dad, and I first head over Bait 'em Up Bait and Tackle to pick up 2 dozen live shrimp, and then went over to East Greynolds Park. We set up and dropped our baited lines in the water. The water was extremely clear, and relatively shallow close to the dock. There was lots of structure in the water because there is an artificial reef. At first, Jacob and I were fishing in hopes of bringing the fish near the docks. I was the first to hook up, it was a Mangrove Snapper. But then, something crazy happened. Just as I was preparing to bring it out of the water, a 3 foot Barracuda came speeding out of the mangroves and snatched the fighting fish right off my hook. No catch. That left me really excited. I started throwing my spoon lure out to see if it would strike again, but it didn't appear. Soon after, Jacob brought in the first fish of the day, a small Mangrove Snapper. The school that had come near the dock mostly consisted of small Mangrove Snappers, but there were also some other interesting species mixed in as well as some big snappers. I reeled in the next fish, a Blue Striped Grunt. We threw it back, and it was my dad's turn. I handed him a baited rod and instructed him. He waited with the bail unlocked as he watched the fish fighting over his shrimp. The shrimp was using its tail to swim away fast, one of its natural defenses. A bit after, we could see a fish swimming away with the hook. I told him to flip the bail and to jerk the rod up. He did so, and the fish was hooked! He reeled slowly as the fish was frantically swimming around. My dad brought it over the side of the dock, and he caught it! His first fish is a Mangrove Snapper! We were all very excited as I unhooked the fish and threw it back. Next, Jacob reeled in a new species, The Blue Runner. This one was one of the more rounder Blue Runners I've seen. A great catch. After that catch, I reeled in 2 Mangrove Snappers. Jacob tried to catch a Needlefish by hovering a piece of shrimp on a long-shanked hook on the surface of the water. One was swimming with the bait in its mouth, Jacob lightly flipped the bail and reeled it up fast to bring it out of the water. He brought it up, and caught it. It fell mid-air before it went over the dock, so we could not take pictures of it. I caught the next fish, another Mangrove Snapper. A little while later, Jacob caught the last two fish, both small Mangrove Snappers, as the bite started to slow down as it got warmer. We couldn't get the big Mangroves to bite, except for one that I hooked but swam into structure on the water that broke the line. Regardless, the trip was very successful, thanks to some interesting catches and the goal of the trip being achieved, my dad walking away having caught a fish.