It’s all About The Kids

By: Chasten Whitfield

We awoke at 6am to get our bait for our day. As we made a short run to the Skyway Bridge just north of us, bait is being uncooperative this morning, but with a little mumbling under our breath and some extra throws we landed enough for today’s adventure. It’s on to the boat ramp to meet my guest.  We met up with Analise and her mom up at the kingfish boat ramp and after a quick boat check and some hair freshening we’re ready to go. Analise got into the boat and it was obvious she was a little scared at first, but after showing her around we could tell she was becoming much more comfortable. Cruising out to our first spot, we were looking for quantity as we wanted Analise and her mom to get some sore arms from reeling in as many fish as we could land. At our first spot we dropped the power poles down next to some mangroves mixed in with several docks. The tide was high, therefore we placed our bait under the bushes. As we stealthed in to our spot, we could see snook under the bushes and our excitement grew.  After tossing some bait out as chum, the snook began to feed and we could see Analise get super excited. I made the first cast for her and handed off the rod to her. Moments later BAM, Analise has a Snook on!!! Analise and her mom caught a few snook and she decided to sit down and go for a chips and salsa break, her favorite. We all paused and took the opportunity for a quick snack. After our break we took a short run to a flat near my friends house now on the hunt for trout. Once again, as we pulled up and held the boat still with the power poles and threw out some live baits as chum. After several minutes, more snook were smashing the freebies on the surface. Analise was able to get several more before she became tired and wanted a boat ride.

We ended the day with good stories and smelly hands from holding fish. I look forward to my next adventure.  To watch some of our adventure log on to: https://youtu.be/1r2pPl51gYk

Chasten’s mission is to help kids of all ages, especially girls, become comfortable anglers while teaching positive life skills, thoughtfulness, doing what’s right for the right reasons, and choosing to stay active outdoors. It’s not about what you look like or outside appearance, what matters is what’s inside.