Tournament fishing yields more than just a personal best

Over the years, my view on tournament fishing has changed.

 

When I was younger, tournaments were about competition, and winning. Now, tournaments are about spending time with my family, the fellowship of friends and just having fun.

 

The spring tournament of the Daniel Island Inshore Fishing Club is a good example. In this event, the largest trophy is for the smallest fish. Fellowship and fun are the priorities.

 

Typically, Elliott, my son, and Brody, the amazing fish-finding and stock-trading dog, would fish this tournament together. However, Elliott was fishing in Mexico, and Brody was still wearing a cone on his head. So, I invited Gary Kiesler to fish with me. Gary is a good friend and fellow fishing club member. He is also a lot of fun to fish with.

 

On Friday morning, we launched the skiff just before sunrise. Our plan was to target big trout with top water lures.

 

As the sun came up, the wind did as well. Conditions were not optimal for top water fishing, but we gave it a try anyway. The bite was a bit slow, but it gave us a chance to catch up with each other. We shared a few stories and lots of laughs.

 

Thankfully, we managed to catch and release a couple of tournament-grade trout as well.

 

After a while, the wind intensified, and fishing on the Wando River became difficult. Gary and I decided to seek out a wind-protected area. We made a short run into Beresford Creek and stopped at the first leeward docks we encountered.

 

Not the best tournament fishing strategy, but we were out of the wind.

 

Gary cast a Z-Man Finesse TRD to the dock pilings and hooked up. The fish put up a powerful fight, and we both assumed it was a redfish. We were laughing and cutting up until a huge trout surfaced near the skiff. Our excitement level went through the roof!

 

Gary did a great job fighting the fish, and soon a 24-inch trout came to the net. We quickly took a picture and carefully released the fish. As we watched the big trout swim away, Gary smiled and told me it was the biggest trout he had ever caught. A personal best.

 

We took a few minutes to savor the moment. Then Gary laughed and said, let’s go eat lunch!

 

At the tournament awards ceremony, Gary won the trout division. However, the award was secondary to fellowship and fun.

 

Contact Captain Greg Peralta at captgregp@gmail.com or call (843) 224-0099.