Monster Puffer

Today I went fishing with Austen at his house. I brought over some of my chicken and garlic and hot dogs that I had kept in the freezer for a while now. Once I got there, I saw huge puffers coming toward the bait. Austen started to catch fish first, though, and he caught an Oyster toadfish. I was dropping my hook down hoping to get one of the monster puffers on my line. I tried and tried, but they kept on taking the bait... until that fateful cast. I baited the chicken on the hook tight and got reedit catch the puffer. Just then, The huge puffer came right up and bit the hook! FISH ON! I reeled in as much as I could, but he swam away very far and was putting up a good fight. I reeled in at the right time and way, and I brought it up! I caught it! Those were the only fish we caught today. I saw many mangrove snappers at the dock. I didn't know why they didn't bite the bait or even check it out. I looked up what they eat, and I found out that they eat fresh bait. I had bait that was in the freezer for months and has been taken out for many fishing trips. That is not fresh. I will try to get them with fresh or live bait next time.




Stay tuned! More fishing tips and tricks coming soon!

Fishing with Benji and Jacob

Today, I went fishing across the street with Jacob and Benji. It was cool to be fishing with Benji, my cousin, again as I have not fished with him for a while now and he lives in Calgary, Alberta in Canada, so I do not see him very often. We set out across the street with our fishing rods and used chicken and hot dogs as bait. Once we got there, we started to catch fish! Benji instantly came up with a pinfish! this got us excited and got us ready for the day. We kept on fishing, eager to catch another fish. Then, something weird happened. Sergeant Majors, small, yellow and black striped fish with white heads, that are known for being annoying and stealing bait, came and actually bit Jacob's hook! fish was on! He brought it up and we were very surprised. Soon, Benji caught another fish, an Oyster Toadfish. We saw it come out of it's disguise on the bottom and snag the bait on the hook. He got it! The next, and last fish of the day was yet ANOTHER sergeant major! Maybe they were very hungry today.

That is all for this post. Stay tuned for more interesting fishing trips, tips, and tricks!

Gloomy to Exciting

Today, I went fishing on Sea Legs III with Doda Annette. We have been waiting to go fishing together, and last Monday we planned this trip. Our annual Sea Legs fishing trip. When we got on the boat, It was gloomy outside and the water was choppy. We bounced side to side as the waves pushed the boat. By the time we got to our third stop, only three fish had been caught in total on the boat. Fishing was very slow, but that did not discourage Doda Annette or I. We kept our hopes high and knew that we WERE going to catch at least one fish today and that our streak of catching fish on a boat, let alone Sea Legs was going to keep on going. After a little while at our third stop, I felt a tug. I reeled in as hard and fast as I could, and I caught a grunt! The streak is still alive! Doda Annette and I were now very excited, but little did we know the excitement just started. I bit later, I dropped my half eaten (because of the grunt) piece of squid back into the water. I saw the sun start to come out more, and the day was looking better now. Then, I felt a huge pull! I hoped it wasn't just my line tied up with someone else's which happened a lot that day because of the waves. I also thought it might have been a knot because it feels very heavy like a fish is on when you use that type of heavy deep-sea fishing gear. I reeled in halfway, and there was a knot. The crew and I untied the knot. But then, I still felt the gigantic, super heavy tug of a fish! I reeled in as much as I can, but the fish was making the line tension very tight and the rod looked like it was about to break. I had to reel in a little, and then wait, then reel in some more in order to prevent the line from snapping. Doda Annette helped me reel in a little by pulling up some of the line too. Soon enough, I saw the whitish, light-beigish reflection of the huge fish. I reeled it in enough to bring in onto the boat, and I caught it! A huge Red Grouper! That fish is on my list of fish that I want to and will set out to catch sometime in my life. On it read "Any Type of Grouper," and now I can cross that off! I am very happy that I had caught that. The average length for a Red Grouper is 15-16 inches, and this Red Grouper was about 20 inches. The grouper beat the average by 4-5 inches! There is a pool for five dollars for the biggest fish on the boat. I won because of the fish, but I couldn't keep the grouper because it was not Red Grouper season, which starts on May 1. The only other things we caught were seaweed and an eel caught by Doda Annette. It looked funny as it wrapped around the bait to clam it as his. The first mate got it off by lightly tapping it's head with a small metal pole. We didn't catch anything else that day but It was very fun at the end for the sun to start shining and for me to cross off something from the list.

No Fish

Today was one of the many days which I did not catch fish, and it stinks that today it snapped the streak of catching at least one fish in the Tampa area. Today I went to go fishing at pier 60, a pier in clearwater on which I caught 29 fish (my record high of fish in a day) last time. I tried small, cut up bits of shrimp and squid like last time, but no fish. No one else was catching fish that day either. Tom, a helpful volunteer, was there, as he is usually, helping everybody who needed it. I asked Tom why people were not catching fish, and he said that it was because of the seasons changing. Now it is spring. Last time I came here, it was Winter. I went on the Queen Fleet twice, one in winter and one in spring, and I caught way more in winter. (I caught 11 fish that day, and that was the record before Pier 60) I suggest to come to fish at winter or maybe summer. I had a fun time even though I did not catch fish, and now I know to find out about the best times to fish according to the seasons and the weather.

Oleta River State Park Fishing

I was planning to go fishing with Zadie, and I chose today to be a good one to set out. That morning, I was getting ready, but I saw tat it was cloudy outside. I didn’t like how gloomy it was outside, but I guess I had to fish with it. Hey, I can still catch fish! I brought chicken as bait. Someone recommended to me that I use garlic with my chicken when I fish, so I put garlic powder in it and mixed them up. 

We went to park at Oleta River State Park to give it yet another try. When I got to the pier, I saw someone with five poles and a lot of live shrimp for bait. That is a good method of fishing, especially from docks and piers. Someday soon, I will try it and see if it works for me. I brought my spinning reel and Ugly Stick rod to fish with chicken and garlic. I started to cast and wait for a fish.

Fishing was very slow today. I didn’t catch fish for a while, and nor did anyone else. The gloomy weather made it worse. I started to think that I wouldn’t catch a fish today, when I started to feel a bite soon after I casted! I started to reel in, but it got away. I now knew that there was a hungry fish, and I knew where it was. I told Zadie to get ready for a fish, and I cast in the same place again, I waited for about a minute, until a fish bit the baiting was hooked! I reeled in and stopped at the right times too. I had to stop it from going under the dock to prevent the line snapping or the hook sliding off the line. I dragged It away and I brought it up! It was a Porgy! My first fish at Oleta! It was a very big one too.

The rest of fishing today had no more excitement and it started to rain. We had to pack up and leave to avoid the rain. It was a fun trip, and I am happy that I caught a fish. It was good to try a new fishing method too.

Here are the tips and tricks from today’s fishing trip:

• Garlic adds smell to chicken when using it as bait
• A gloomy day doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t catch a fish
• If you are fishing in a place with a lot of fish, try using many rods at once (remember, I will use this method sometime soon)

Fishing Race

Today, Was a great day to go fishing here in Miami, the fishing capital of the world. In winter, the fish are still out because it is not cold at all as the temperature ranges from 85-65 degrees outside with a nice breeze. It also doesn't rain as much, giving me more chances to fish! Today, I realized that it was one of those great days to go fishing. I set out across the street to see what fish my brother, Zaide, and I could catch. At first, we used hot dogs. Soon enough, we started to catch fish. My brother, Jacob called out that he had a fish! He brought it up. It was an Oyster Toadfish! I went over to his area and started to fish there. Fish like Toadfish often make a hideout on the floor or disguise themselves in the sand. After a while of waiting, some puffers came and was checking our bait out. Jacob and I both wanted to catch the fish, but it kept on stealing the bait. We declared it a fishing race! Who was going to catch it first? I didn't know because it kept on stealing the bait. I was starting to think that we might go home with the race to be continued. But then, I remembered that I also brought chicken! Chicken is harder, thicker, and more difficult for the fish to get it out of it's mouth. I put the chicken on my hook and into the water and watched what the puffers would do. Just then, a huge puffer, one of the biggest puffers I have ever seen, snatched the bait in one bite! Because the chicken is very thick and big, as I said before, it was staying in it's mouth for a while. I pulled up on the rod to set the hook, and THE FISH WAS ON! I was reeling in as hard and fast as I can, thinking about how I would win the race if I catch it. I brought it up, and I caught it! A huge puffer to win the race! I let it go and called it a day. That was an amazing day for fishing!

Fishing at East Greynolds Park

Now I am back to fishing. Zaide came to stay here in Miami, "The fishing capitol of the world," and I thought that we could go fishing. I was looking at a few places to fish near me and I finally found East Greynolds Park at the bottom left of Maule Lake and the start of Oleta River. I researched the fish there and saw that there were lots of fish there that I would like to catch. We cut up hot dogs and chicken and head out in the car with three rods, hooks, sinkers, pliers, scissors, a knife, and more fishing supplies that all helped me. Once we got there we got onto the small pier and started fishing. For the first hour, we didn't catch any fish. We only felt a few nibbles. The second hour, though, we started to get some bites. At first, I was feeling a lot of bites and the bait was being tugged on a lot. I started to reel in, and I saw that it was an amberjack! That is one of the fish on my list of fishing goals and fish that I want to catch sometime in my life. I was reeling it in, and I brought it over the side! I caught it! That's a fish that I can take off my list! But, before I could take a picture, the fish fell off the hook as I brought it up. Later, Zaide called me over while he was fishing. I turned around, and he said that he had a huge, heavy fish. I went over to him to see if it was a rock, as both our hooks and sinkers have been stuck in and/or taken away by the rocks there. I started reeling in, and Instantly, I felt an extremely heavy tug on the line! I was reeling it a little bit to see if it was rocks, but it wasn't! I saw the line moving, and I started to reel in as hard and fast as I could. I brought it up so high that I could see it and it hit the dock, making it an official catch in the IGFA fishing rules. Now I wanted to just bring it up and catch it. I was reeling it in, but it went under the dock and loosened the hook by the tension on the knot. I saw it enough to know that It was a Crevally,  another fish that I can cross off my list. The next fish that I caught was a lookdown. It’s a member of the Crevally family and is similar to a pompano or permit, another fish I and other people caught. The last fish of the day was when Jacob caught an Oyster Toadfish. I got it on the hook, and then he brought it up! This was a fun day of fishing that I had planned a week ago.

My tips and tricks for today are:

• Research for good fishing places near you to go fishing. It might be your next favorite spot!
• Learn about the fish that you want to catch before you set out to catch them so you can use the right techniques and bait.
• Make sure that you have all of the right useful supplies before you set out.

Here is some of the footage of my trip.

Hook Test

Today, I went to test out a new set of different swivels and sizes of hooks after recently getting a lot of them. I went out to see what would working what ways. I haven't been fishing in a while and I really wanted to, and my brother also wanted to fish with me. Two days ago, I finally planned out a really fun fishing trip across the street from my house. This morning, I got my rods and new hooks together and hooked the up. Then, once I got my bait cut up and ready to put on the hook, I crossed the street and started a really fun fishing trip. On one rod, I used a pretty small hook and a slightly larger one on the other rod. My bait was cut up raw chicken and cut up raw hot dogs. The sinkers I used were big and small slip-shot sinkers. Once we started fishing, I used the hot dog with the larger hook. Almost instantly, A fish took the bait about 5 feet away! I had a fish! I was pulling it in as hard as I can for a battle that lasted 3 minutes while I was scared of it taking away the bait and hook. After a fight that seemed to last forever, I finally brought it up. It was a type of pinfish! Soon after, I threw it back in the water and tried out the super small hook. A whole bunch of small fish came to nibble at the bait, and I knew that the one good thing about little fish nibbling at your bait is the fact that they bring bigger fish to check it out. Out of nowhere, an Oyster Toadfish that was disguising in the sand and seaweed from the bottom came up and snatched the bait! I brought it up and... I caught it! It was really cool how it was so camouflaged in the sea weed. I set my bigger hook up this time to give to Jacob, who came with me to fish. He was waiting and waiting for a fish to come, and he was happy to actually have a puffer bite the hook! He was reeling and reeling until he caught it! The first puffer of the day! Once we got the fish up, it was shaking and wiggling total the hook and itself of the line in the water. What's really cool about fish is that they heal very fast and can remove the hook due to water corrosion, shaking the hook, and/or growing and shedding it in a matter of hours or days. Because we had no hook on the rod, I used one of the biggest hooks I have. It was as big as about half of my thumb. It worked just as I thought it would, as I got a puffer and pinfish to start out with it! Then, Jacob thought of using the chicken and hot dog on the same hook. I thought that was a great idea so I told Jacob to try it out. It was in the water, and about two puffers went right up to it. It took time to eat them both as they are both together mouthfuls for a puffer fish. But, Jacob got the fish on the hook and started to reel it in. It was one of the biggest puffers I have ever seen! he was reeling and reeling and fighting and fighting. He got it out and caught the fish! That's two puffers for Jacob. Once I got the rod, I tried putting on the chicken and hot dogs together on the same hook just like Jacob. At first, two puffers were nibbling at the bait. But then, suddenly, a huge fish that Jacob and I saw earlier was going up and took a huge bite of the bait! I was reeling in as hard as I could but it got very far away from me then took the bait and hook away. At least I had an extra set of hooks! I got to catch more puffers, and then called it a day. Jacob and I had a lot of fun catching fish and also seeing a stingray and multiple barracudas checking our baits out. Maybe today was not the day to catch them, but I know that another day will! Here is the overview of hooks and baits for different fish. Just so you know, I used hooks and sinkers mostly from the Rapala Rigging Set in Target.

very small hook: pinfish with hot dog and oyster toadfish with chicken
small hook: Puffer with chicken
bigger hook: Puffer with hot dog, Pinfish with hot dog, Big fish (mystery) with hot dog and chicken, 2 more puffers both with chicken and hot dogs

Again, sorry for keeping you waiting and more trips are being planned.

Fishing at Orange Lake

I was at Orange Lake resort in Orlando, when Jacob, Daddy, and I decided to go to one of the lakes to fish at in the afternoon, and I ended up feeling happy I did. We had such a fun day in the pool and playing tennis, that by the time I was going to rent the pole, I was running to make it before the shop closed. Luckily, we made it in time and I got to rent the rods. We went to buy hot dogs at a store nearby because you couldn't buy it at the time in the small shop. Then we went to the lake. Once we got there, we noticed an alligator. It was really cool to see and we were interested in how it swam and what it ate. I also thought the fish would be biting today because another thing I saw once I got there was a small frog swimming very fast in the water. I wondered why it was doing that until a fish came and ate it in one bite. That gave me a good feeling! I was all ready to catch fish, but as I was casting and waiting, I was getting bored because I wasn't catching anything, and Jacob and Daddy were working together to try to get the small fish near the shore to bite, but that didn't work. Then Barry, someone else who was fishing there, gave me a tip. He said to hold the line against the rod after the cast. He said that you would feel the fish biting more. So, I tried it, and not very long after, I actually felt the bite! I was reeling in as fat as I could, very excited to catch it, and then.....

I lost it.

I was annoyed, but still determined to catch it. I set my bait up again and cast it out. After a minute, I felt a strong tug! I was reeling in this time thinking, "I've got it in the bag now!" But, yet again, It got away after a long, hard fight. This happened about 2 more times until I knew their strategy. Don't reel in too fast. Let the fish swim a little bit. So I cast out again, and sure enough I felt a bite! I using my strategy against the fish's, and it worked! I caught a catfish for the first time! Barry showed me how to unhook catfish. He said to be aware of the sharp, razerblade-like fins. I also realized to be aware of it's mouth because it bit Barry. On my next cast, I caught another catfish! I was very proud of my self, all thanks to Barry. As we were going to go, Barry helped Jacob catch a catfish too! That was one fun day, and I'm not sure what we would have done if Barry wasn't there.

LET'S REVIEW

1. You should hold the line against the rod to feel the bite more.

2. Don't risk losing the fish by reeling in too fast. Give it a little line.

THANK YOU BARRY FOR MAKING MY DAY BY TEACHING ME MANY TIPS

Fishing with Austen and Davis

Today I went fishing with two of my friends, Austen and Davis. We met up at Austen's house/dock. Davis started to use his net to catch a lot of little fish, shrimp, and crabs in the floating sargassum. Meanwhile, I was fixing up some fishing poles and put on some bait. We used hot dogs, which were stable and heavy enough to fish with. When we dropped the bait in the water, fish such as puffer fish, grunts, and a big blue striped snapper instantly came and nibbled the bait. We weren't really catching anything, but Austen and I had bites, but they got off. We figured out that the best spot was a certain place next to the boat. I went there, and not long after, I had the "blue striper" on my hook! I was reeling it in, and it touched the dock! I caught it! But as I was trying to bring it up, It's weight and strength bit the hook off. At least I caught it! That turned out to be the only fish caught with a pole that day, but Davis caught a whole bunch of shrimp, some crabs, and cool fish. I hope to fish with Austen and Davis again soon. Stay tuned!

These are some of the fish and other creatures caught with the net.

Fishing With Boris

Today I went fishing with my friend, Boris.  We went across
the street with Jacob, to catch some fish.  Our bait was raw chicken, and we
ended up catching lots of fish.  We were off to a good start, when Boris caught
two fish almost instantly!  They were an Oyster Toadfish (we called them sand fish) and a grunt.  By then, I was
ready to catch some fish.  I ended up catching another sand fish!  Once I hooked
the fish it was trying hard to get the hook out, but it didn't work.  After I
tossed it back into the water, I was impressed by how it blended in perfectly
with the weeds at the bottom of the canal.  Then, Boris was eager to catch a
puffer fish, which had kept on taking his bait.    We went next to the dock, to
where we called, "The Sweet Spot," because that's where we had caught all of the
fish so far today.  A lot of fish came swarming around the bait, but then a big
pufferfish came and bit the hook!  We reeled it in and caught it!  Boris was
really excited and proud.  I was really excited and proud for him.  The last
fish of the day was another puffer, caught by Boris.  After that, we went back
to the house, which ended our trip.  This was a fun day, and I look forward to
fishing with Boris again.  

Stay tuned, more posts coming soon!











Part 1:





Part 2:





Part 3:

Fishing With Julian

     Today, I went fishing with my friend, Julian. Julian and I have always wanted to go fishing together and he has never gone before. We only caught one fish this day, but it was still fun. Julian Daddy, Danielle, Jacob, and I went across the street, ready and eager to fish.
         We used Chicken nuggets at first, and that is what we used when we caught the only fish of the day. It was a grunt! The rest of the time, we tried and got nibbles, but no fish. We tried using hot dogs, (raw and old is best) but that didn't work either.

Stay tuned! More posts coming soon!