This story that I am bringing to you today has significance on many fronts, but above all to encourage fishing as a multigenerational activity. I have been planning this fishing trip for over a month and a half, but as I told the manager of the Two Georges fishing boat, everything has to be in a certain order for it to work.
People have been fishing for a very long time, spanning generations. You know that in the Bible, Jesus took the fishermen out of their boats and told them, “I will make you fishers of men!” Fishing is an activity that can be done with children and adults. But first, a little about the reels.
I really started learning to fish the residential canals in Ft. Lauderdale. “Zebco” is the brand used by many fathers who want their children to have fun and catch something without the hassle of getting a “rat’s nest” or mass knots of fishing reel.
My challenge during the trip was to use their model #808 reel to catch as many fish as I could and bring them to the boat without damaging the reel. My goal for the day was to use it from the first anchor drop point to the last stopping point before we headed back. Now, I have a contingency or backup plan just in case. In my “bag of toys and tools,” I have a stout spinning reel set with 65 lb. test braided line. I had to reach into that bag for a dehooking tool, a pair of fishing pliers, and most importantly, new sets of “grouper rigs” (a set of heavy line with a 3-ounce sinker and a #6 hook).
Most of the skipper’s stops are over seafloor structures that abound in rocky outcrops (where your hook will often get caught).
Today, returning to another theme of generational fishing, my friend John Weipz took his six-year-old grandson, Dominick Cordero, along for a taste of what fishing is all about. I first asked John if he would consider buying his grandson a smaller Zebco reel so the kid could spend more time fishing and less time asking one of us to fix his rig. I’ll admit the #404 is a bit light and the light-duty pole for the territory we’re in, but as the saying goes, “small rig, small hook, and small bait, often brings small fish,” ( which is good for this application).
It turns out that young Dominick not only managed to bring a fish to the boat but brought three fish after it. He could probably do better than that, but considering the attention span of a six-year-old boy (plus a boat galley with a seemingly endless supply of small bags of chips and drinks), that day was successful! The bottom line here is that a grandparent can spend some quality time with a grandchild (or grandchild) in an activity that won’t guarantee a heart attack. Grandparents will come out looking like wise old teachers (as opposed to the bumbling fools that the Walt Disney Corporation portrays of anyone in the family structure over 40).
The Two Georges is an 84 ft long fishing head-boat that pulls out of the docks in the popular Dodecanese Street “Greek” district of Tarpon Springs. At the end of the fishing season (as the vessel returns to docks), the crewmates go into “speed fillet” mode. I have never seen so many fish stuffed in the time they do! They have a fleet of pelicans flying behind the boat knowing that the fish carcasses are about to be thrown overboard. In fact, the first mate, Mike, allowed some of us to hold some of these fish “leftovers” near the upper edge of the deck cover and let the pelicans take it from our hands !
This trip is a fun adventure but requires some sacrifices in the way of sleeping habits. The boat leaves the dock at 8:00 am, but it is advised that your party gets there around 7:00 am to 7:30 am, as the parking spots near the boat are taken early. Once you step out of the car, you can take in the many sights, sounds, (and smells) to be found on that famous Greek-themed street. The fishing trip and making the plaza afterwards also helps this community. I talked to “Jack G” of Two Georges as we headed west at the first stop, and he told me that he and his crew and most of the vendors in that little community were pretty much devastated by the ” COVID – 19 ” quarantines. In fact, Jack mentions that they lost four months of income from being tied up at the docks during that “Pandemic”.
I hear a lot of older people my age saying that they don’t keep in touch with their children and grandchildren. This is a great way for a family to get to know each other better without the hassle of waiting for the youngsters to give you time between phone texts. Most of the time you’re outdoors, phones are out of range of land-based repeaters. That’s a good thing to know, but I advise against telling the grandkids that! Bless you all, and have a great week!
Steve Goodwin is a recently retired Christian conservative veteran (of the US Army 82nd Airborne Division), who still feels that “duty to country” is not over when he hangs up the military uniform. He and his wife Cecelia live on the edge of a beautiful wooded lot just south of the bypass, and are involved not only in church activities, but also attend school board meetings and local action events. of the community.
