A couple of weeks ago we loaded up the family and headed out to Morris Island for a little surf fishing at the light house. I grew up and spent many a Saturday morning fishing with my family and several others fishing with my father and his friends. I learned a great deal about fishing from that island and spent many hours watching the waves to make sure I did not mistake their tug for a fish as they crashed on my line. I can also remember the feeling of accomplishment, as I was able to make my own cast out far enough to to catch some fish of my own, without having to ask someone to cast it out there for me.
It was only appropriate that on this trip my son and I were out and he gave me a look when I asked if he wanted me to cast his line out for him. I normally would not have done this, but there was a heavy current running down the beach with a northeast wind and I knew that if we did not get them just beyond the breakers we would have trouble with the lines washing down the beach. I understood his look and walked on off to cast my bait into the “strike zone”.
The action was very slow in the beginning and I could not understand why. I caught 4 huge mullet in the cast net and we had fresh cut mullet, but could not even draw a strike from a hungry shark. I was beginning to think we were not going to catch anything when he said, “I have a bite”. The next thing I know his rod is doubled over and the drag is singing. In my mind I am thinking that at least we hooked a shark. As he worked the fish through the waves I saw the unmistakable dome pushing a wake through the water and we saw he actually had a nice redfish. We quickly brought the fish in, snapped a picture and sent him on his way.
We don’t get to surf fish near as much as I did as a child and this was actually his first good sized redfish in the surf so we were both very excited, as were my wife and daughter who were watching the action from the sand. I cast my line back into what I thought was the strike zone once again with a renewed hop