Fishing Tournament - Pioneer Beach Resort
Well, after a nice Valentine's Dinner and Dance last night (including some "Appe Pie" drink concoction made by my neighbor Mike - grain alcohol and spicy apple juice and cinnamon), I left before 9:00 p.m. with a bit of a headache and sore throat (thinking I should get some rest for today's fishing tournament on the beach near the RV Park). I decided I should pay the $5 the day before and hope for a door prize at best -- some were nice pieces of fishing gear and a couple fishing charters, gift certificates from all around the area courtesy of many of the local establishments.
Since I have had no desire to fish from the beach here because it looks so trashed and flat, I figured that I might as well give it a try anyway and bought some additional tackle to supplement what I had. The high tide this morning was at 8:11 a.m. and the tournament started at 8:30 a.m. so, I figured the fishing would really be lousy too (as most other people might agree). As I tried to wake up this morning after sleeping mostly upright and taking a number of throat losenges, I pondered the possibility of not participating since it was only in the low 50s -- easy out for feeling poorly (maybe blame the neighbors concoction a little too).
After getting checked in, I headed for my spot #45 down the beach. By the way that's my birth year for some who don't know. Earlier, I had stopped at the nearest Stripes store and purchased a container of frozen shrimp and threw some hot water I had nuked on them to thaw them out -- next step to throw some saltwater from the Gulf on them to season them. I slipped out of my corduroy pants and slipped on my old rubber sandals to go with my bathing suit (that I had on under my pants) topped off with my "Margaritaville" t-shirt (last year's Christmas present from Tim and Laura).
That first step into the chilly waters finished the wake up process and I had a half bucket of water to throw on the bait and to hold any fish I might be lucky to catch from the yucky looking beach (heavily strewn with plant debris and a few Men of War mixed in with their little blueish balloons). The guy next to me was named Rick and we talked a bit while we waited for the word to start fishing. Soon a pick'em up truck came honking down the beach and the cold, wet fun began -- thank goodness it ended at noon, as I began to get chills and started shaking or shuddering at times with my rod in hand. "Blew out my flip-flop" too near the end.
I used some tiny squares of Fish Bites and a small piece of shrimp on each of the two hooks of my bottom rig specifically purchased for this outing. I had bites on my first cast and then caught my first Whiting on the second cast (thrown farther to my left as the current was taking my weight and hooks to the right). By the time the tournament ended, I had caught 15 Whiting and one Pompano (my first of the year) for a total of sixteen fish -- most fish caught and the most Whiting caught by anyone. This old man won the top prizes and one of the door prizes too (an indoor/outdoor thermometer). Sixty dollars and a nice gift too for a five dollar investment.
Now, I just hope this cold doesn't get worse -- Nice Day anyway. More fish in the freezer and gave some away to that neighbor who shared the "Apple Pie".
Since I have had no desire to fish from the beach here because it looks so trashed and flat, I figured that I might as well give it a try anyway and bought some additional tackle to supplement what I had. The high tide this morning was at 8:11 a.m. and the tournament started at 8:30 a.m. so, I figured the fishing would really be lousy too (as most other people might agree). As I tried to wake up this morning after sleeping mostly upright and taking a number of throat losenges, I pondered the possibility of not participating since it was only in the low 50s -- easy out for feeling poorly (maybe blame the neighbors concoction a little too).
After getting checked in, I headed for my spot #45 down the beach. By the way that's my birth year for some who don't know. Earlier, I had stopped at the nearest Stripes store and purchased a container of frozen shrimp and threw some hot water I had nuked on them to thaw them out -- next step to throw some saltwater from the Gulf on them to season them. I slipped out of my corduroy pants and slipped on my old rubber sandals to go with my bathing suit (that I had on under my pants) topped off with my "Margaritaville" t-shirt (last year's Christmas present from Tim and Laura).
That first step into the chilly waters finished the wake up process and I had a half bucket of water to throw on the bait and to hold any fish I might be lucky to catch from the yucky looking beach (heavily strewn with plant debris and a few Men of War mixed in with their little blueish balloons). The guy next to me was named Rick and we talked a bit while we waited for the word to start fishing. Soon a pick'em up truck came honking down the beach and the cold, wet fun began -- thank goodness it ended at noon, as I began to get chills and started shaking or shuddering at times with my rod in hand. "Blew out my flip-flop" too near the end.
I used some tiny squares of Fish Bites and a small piece of shrimp on each of the two hooks of my bottom rig specifically purchased for this outing. I had bites on my first cast and then caught my first Whiting on the second cast (thrown farther to my left as the current was taking my weight and hooks to the right). By the time the tournament ended, I had caught 15 Whiting and one Pompano (my first of the year) for a total of sixteen fish -- most fish caught and the most Whiting caught by anyone. This old man won the top prizes and one of the door prizes too (an indoor/outdoor thermometer). Sixty dollars and a nice gift too for a five dollar investment.
Now, I just hope this cold doesn't get worse -- Nice Day anyway. More fish in the freezer and gave some away to that neighbor who shared the "Apple Pie".
posted by Ray at
5:11 PM
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