Shark Boy and The Lucky Net
By Capt. Chuck Eichner
Plucking two fat blue claw crabs from my crab traps was the best bait I could come up with on short notice. Grandsons Jonah and Gavin Adler arrived in Florida just two hours prior and Jonah (age 5) told me he wanted to go shark fishing today! Late afternoon and a low tide we dropped anchor and chopped the crab in half and pitched out lines. With true patience both young anglers held their rods and waited for a nibble. I expected pinfish to be the first visitors but Jonah yelped “I got one” and suddenly his rod buckled and his drag was screaming. Over top of the screaming drag was a screaming kid, laughing his heart out as he reeled and I wondered what the heck was on his line. When a shark appeared we all yelled in unison “Shark”! Father Brian, me and the boys were ecstatic with a good size bonnet head shark! Later I was told that Jonah told his kindergarten teachers he was going shark fishing with his grandfather (they didn’t really believe him). So with no time wasted time and luck and perhaps fate at our side, the dream of a 6 year old boy was met. Jonah’s new nickname is shark boy!
The following day was a total group fishing outing of all three grandsons, parents and grandparents. With 7 of us aboard, our mission was sharks and specifically big sharks. All fishing reports said sharks were everywhere in the harbor. The night before I stayed up late preparing shark rigs with steel leaders and in the morning I loaded the coolers with chum blocks, Spanish sardines and a variety of fresh fish scraps. By days end we fished about 8 spots which apparently were the few places sharks were not. A good time but apparently preparation and a lot of effort was not the recipe for success just the opposite of the day before.
The following day was also a fishing day. This one started very early with me waking Gavin (age 8) at 5:00am. Pretty early for a kid, but his feet hit the ground as his eyes were opening and next thing you know we were headed across the harbor. This was to be a day of catching fish and lots of them! We started with cast netting baitfish and then proceeded to my best spots. Spots that always produced fish, trout spots, snook & redfish holes, open water places for mackeral & jacks and not a single bite. How can this happen to a veteran captain with his grandson eager to fish, I wondered. Our mantra for the day was patience and Gavin became very good at navigation with starboard and port becoming normal words for the day. Enjoying the day while riding from Boca Grande to the east wall, Gavin suggested it was time for a pool party and I agreed. About half way home, we saw a nice sized landing net floating on the water and picked it up. Some bad luck for another angler turned out to be good luck for us! With only a 5 minute boat ride left to home, I asked if we good try one last spot and with Gavin in agreement we fished an oyster bar on the top of the outgoing tide. Gavin made the first cast and a big snook blasted his bait as soon as it hit the water! With his drag screeching and the fish jumping and finally coming to boatside, it seemed only appropriate to carefully net the fish and release it, since we had just found the net. Then, his next cast was a redfish, then another snook and the bite was on! It then occurred to both of us that we had discovered a lucky net! Eight hours of fishing with no bites, find the net and then start catching fish is indeed lucky.
I always say it is better to be lucky than good any day spent fishing. Thank goodness for a hungry shark and a lucky net!
Capt. Chuck Eichner operates Action Flats Backcountry Charters and can be reached at 941-628-8040. Buy a waterfront home and come live the dream! I will show you how!
To see an in print version including pictures and modified by the editor, go to www.WaterLifeMagazine.com
