Me and the family decided to make a trip to the Texas City Dike on Saturday. I contacted a good friend of mine, Percy Rose, to go with us. He asked to bring his nephews Darryl and Andre. Of course we said YES bring them along. It was Andre and Darryl's first fishing trip to the Dike. And, they had never caught a fish before. So the pressure was on to put them on some fish.
The morning started off with a bit of a surprise. I had set my alarm to get us up at about 04:30am. Well, I stayed up late, and just slapped the alarm when it went off. About 05:30 my phone rings. Well, that was the time I was supposed to meet Percy at Boyds One Stop. He called to tell me he overslept and would be running about thirty minutes late. I laughed and told him he just woke me up and I'd be running late too! Laughing I gathered up the wife and the sleepy kids and we headed to the Dike. We got there around 06:20am and got our bait. As we were in line to get bait I noticed Percy was right there in line in front of me. He had Darryl and Andre with him. Darryl is a six year old boy and Andre is just starting college. So, I just tapped Darryl on the shoulder and asked him if he was ready to catch a BIG fish. He didn't know who I was and smiled. He was a perfect little gentleman and said "Yes SIR" "I'm going to catch a BIG fish!" Very Happy I immediately took a liking to this kid. He had confidence and a smile that was big as the sun! Percy and Andre turned around and Percy introduced Andre to me and the family. We got the bait and headed to our spot.
The spot we fished has produced for me each time we've fished there. It's kind of an unassuming little spot. But, it's a spot on the Dike that seems to draw fish, sometimes REALLY good fish. Each time I've fished there we've done real good. This time would be no different.
The first to score was Mitchell. He got into a good fish almost immediately. It turned out to be a good 19 and half inch speck. Next to score was Matthew. Melissa had helped him by throwing his line out for him. As soon as she handed him his pole the fish hit and nearly jerked the rod out of his hands! After a long and exciting battle I was able to net a 23" redfish for Matt. I got a bit wet trying to net the fish cause I had to get down close to the water and them rocks are too big to net from the top of them. So, at that point we had a nice speck and a good redfish in the box. It was Darryl's turn next. He scored his first ever fish. It was a 14" speck. We took a pic and tossed the fish back into the water as it was too small to keep. But, that little guy scored again! This time it was a nice 17 incher! We had several fish on and lost after that. Then Michelle scored with a redfish! This would have been her first ever salt water fish. But, we had to release it because it was right at 19 and half inches, just a half inch to short. She wanted to keep it but I told her no, we have to follow the rules for fishing. I think she understood. Michelle scored again! Another rat red. Then Andre scored on a good speck, his first. Andre also caught several croakers. Then it was my turn. The kids and Melissa went across the street to the East side of the Dike to go swimming. So, I was able to fish. I nailed a good flounder using a Gulp shrimp tail in new penny. I had a few others on and lost them close to shore, bummer. We caught a few more rat reds and Andre got another speck.
All in all we had a GREAT day! We ended up catching a bunch of different fish. We got Speckled Trout, Redfish, Flounder, Croaker, one Bluefish, and one or two pinfish. Andre and Darryl got their first EVER fish! And, I think they are hooked on fishing!! It was a wonderful day and a great way to start my Fathers day weekend.
Ole Mitch was so excited about his fish that he threw it in the box and went back to fishing before we got any pics of his fish. He was like "Dad I ain't got time for pics! I gotta get back fishing!".
Here is Matt and his big red.
Here is Michelle and one of her reds.
Here is Darryl and one of his fish.
Here is my friend Percy and another of Darryl's fish.
Here is Andrea and one of his fish.
