Since I'm getting super impatient these days waiting for our little guy, I asked Miles what kind of fun thing we could do this weekend before we have the baby. His idea? Go fishing!
It's free to fish off the piers here, and you don't need a license, so that is naturally the place we tried first. We've probably been
at least five times, and we've never even gotten a bite, so Miles has been wild to figure out what kind of bait people are using, and any little tips. Well, a couple weeks ago we met up with Jenn and her kids in Oceanside, and Miles got a new tip and got really excited...I guess the guy was actually catching all kinds of fish, and said you just need a Sabiki jig and a weight, so next chance Miles got, he was off to WalMart and back with what was to now change our fishing lives. For a few bucks it was worth a try, right?
Today was the lucky day, and MAN was that new jig worth it! Here is a minute or two after the first cast...
Can you see the excitement on his face? We were pretty much giggling with excitement--in TWO YEARS of trying to ocean fish off this pier, we've never caught a thing, and here we were reeling in the first fish as if we were back at Utah Lake. Whee!
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| being all studly with his fish... |
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| It was a mackerel. |
People told us this was a good one to use for bait, because I guess other mackerels like to eat each other, but our baitless jig was working good so far, and cutting up a fish would be gross, so we tossed him back and cast again.
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| Ta-daaaa! Two for two! |
This one's a sun perch, according to some guy who stopped by to see what we were catching. I just googled that, though, and they don't look anything alike to me, so this fish may remain a mystery. Ten points to anyone who knows what it is!
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| Heeeeeere fishy fishy fishy fishy! |
We caught another five or so in the next little while, and then it was time to move the car. Seal Beach has an hour limit, and since we'd never had success before we figured that would be enough time to get our fill of fishing. Wrong! We definitely needed another hour. Miles ran back to move to a different space and left me with the pole. I didn't put the line in right away, because I don't like taking the fish off by myself as much as I like Miles taking them off for me. :) I couldn't wait too long, though, and of course a minute or so after I dropped the line, I feel a fish. I look around...no Miles. I decided to keep the line in and wait a bit. Soon I feel more desperate wiggling and look, and there are now TWO fish attached. At this point my line is bent like a C and there is a family impatiently waiting for me to reel my line in so they can show their son what a fish looks like. I finally give in and reel in the fish, thinking I can always lower them back down until Miles gets back...which he did shortly, saving me from all the offers of help taking them off. Not without a picture first, by george.
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| Very attractive fishing Miles with #12 |
Grand total for the day? Twelve fish! Next time we're going to bring a bucket and see if we can have ourselves a little hillbilly fish fry when we get home.
Aha! I think it's a salt water perch, or "surf perch." Google images has saved the day yet again.
ReplyDeleteUh...WHERE IS YOUR BABY???!?? Did you have it already and just not tell us? I can't even see a baby belly in that photo of you with the fish. You look skinnier than I do wearing my normal bulky winter coat. What the crap. Be fat already!!
ReplyDeleteThat's because it's a super thin windbreaker of Miles's :) Pretty sure my fishing pole is just about resting on the bump...you can kind of see it? And nope, zero baby yet. But don't worry, I'll post some fatty pictures for you in a little bit here :D
DeleteRebekah, this is never easy to tell an expectant Aunt...but she actually gave birth to 12 fish! This was a way to introduce them into the family in a more common way, "We just caught them at the pier!"
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