My Birthday Present Fishing with Captain Rachel

What an awesome time!!! There is nothing like hanging with a pro, doing what you love to do for your birthday. Maybe turning 40 isn't so bad after all.

We were up at 4:00am this morning so we could travel to Palmetto and be on the water with Captain Rachel by 6:00am. We went with her to get bait. Just watching her work was enough for me. If I never picked up a pole today I would have been perfectly happy. I just wanted to drink in as much of her knowledge as I could. She was absolutely amazing. She had everything under control. She put the boat on the bait, anchored, chummed, threw the cast net and dealt with all the little unexpected things that happen on a boat, all at the same time and all by herself. On top of that, she's 8 weeks pregnant. Who says women can't have it all!!??

After the bait well was full we headed out to catch some Snook. And that is EXACTLY what we did. We caught at least 15 Snook of all sizes. She showed us the best way to hook the bait, cast the bait, and chum the bait to find the fish (sending out the search dogs she calls it). It was truly a dream come true.

I wasn't sure that anything could top last weeks tournament win but I think I can speak for both of us when I say that today may have done it!!! Yeah, I'm 40, but I plan to have many more adventures like this one over the next 40 years!! Lots of fishing and lots of fun!! Peace Love and Fish!!

Old Salt Women's Fishing Tournament

Oh my gosh! I don't even know where to start? What a magical weekend. It all started at the Captain's meeting on Thursday night. The Captain's meeting is where you register for the tournament, learn the rules, and just party a bit. They raffle off a bunch of prizes too! One of the prizes was this awesome custom, hot pink, fishing rod by Ocean Girl. I turned to Andrea and said, "I LOVE THAT ROD!!." Sure enough, the next number called was mine!!! I could't believe it. It's a beautiful rod worth about $160!!!

Fast forward to Friday night. Andrea came over and we got the boat all ready to go and all of our rods set up. We rigged up a bunch of hooks, oiled our reels, and gased up the boat. We were so excited because we were really feeling like we had a chance in this tournament with all the knowledge that we had aquired over the past year and a half. Everything was ready to go for 5:30am Saturday.

Saturday morning came quickly, especially since neither one of us slept because we were so excited. We had a few little mishaps but we were on the water by about 6:30am.

By 7:30am we had caught the 2nd Place Trout that won us $300, a trophy, and a spot in the Old Salt Fishing Foundation Hall of Fame. Ok, I made up the Hall of Fame part, but it sounded good.

Although Andrea made me weigh the fish in, it truly was a group effort. I was making chum, throwing the cast net, and catching bait and Andrea was putting the bait that I had caught on the rods and setting them in the rod holders. All of a sudden one of the reels started to scream. To a fisherperson, there is no greater sound. It's what we live for.

When we turned around to look, it just happened to be the Hot Pink Rod that was doubled down to the water. Andrea grabbed the rod and I grabbed the landing net and in just a few seconds we were measuring our 21 inch trout. The trout, that would ultimately win us $300!!!

As you can imagine we are sooooooooo excited. Who would have thought the two girls that started out in a little blue Gheenoe, who couldn't catch a fish if their lives depended on it, would take second place in a fishing tournament. It really is a dream come true for us both.

Father's Day Fishing with Dad!!!