A winning day for 2017 Kids' Fishing Tournament Champion!
This year, the winner of the Daniel Island Kids’ Fishing Tournament was Johnathan Cheek. As the tournament champion, Johnathan won a fishing trip with me. After a few scheduling issues (on my part), we got out to fish last week.
On the day of our trip, Johnathan and his Dad, John, met me at the boat landing an hour before low tide. Our first order of business was to catch a bunch of shrimp to use for bait. The first cast of the net produced a dozen or so shrimp. I was impressed when Johnathan (without my asking) began picking them up and putting them in the baitwell. After a few more casts, the baitwell was full of shrimp and we were ready to fish. As we idled out of the creek, I asked Johnathan if there was a specific fish he wanted to target. He told me he had never caught a big Redfish and if it was OK with me he would like to try and catch one.
With a big Redfish now our target, we made a short run to a shallow but submerged oyster bar. Johnathan cast a live shrimp on a lead head jig to the base of the oyster bar. A few seconds later, his rod was deeply bent as a Redfish tried to get away. Johnathan fought the fish with great technique. It was obvious why he was the Daniel Island Kids’ Fishing Tournament champion. The Redfish was a good one (over the 23-inch slot limit), but not the big one we were after. So, we switched locations to a small creek that is home to a couple of monster sized Reds. We found the fish, but the water temperature was over 90 degrees and the big Redfish were just not eating. As we left the creek, to search for more cooperative fish, the falling tide stranded us behind an oyster bar. I call the spot we were fishing “Hotel California” because you can check in any time you like, but can never leave. Thankfully, the tide was just beginning to rise and we checked out after about 30 minutes.
Johnathan and John were very understanding about getting stuck. However, I was a bit embarrassed and said a silent prayer that our next stop would produce a big Redfish. My prayers were answered! At the next location, a small channel in a long shallow flat, we found a school of hungry 30-inch class Redfish. In short order, Johnathan caught and released several big Reds. It took a while (due to the delayed check out at Hotel California), but Johnathan got a big Redfish. More importantly, he created a family fishing memory with his Dad.
After spending the afternoon with Johnathan, I know the future of fishing is very bright.