# SA - A Good Friday for Charlie



## solatree (May 30, 2008)

Charlie is the youngest son of good friends of ours. He is 12. We have been doing Pilates with Hilary and Nigel for a long time - since Charlie was an infant. Its helped me keep it up.viewtopic.php?f=18&t=19854&hilit=+Pilates

Charlie is interested in fishing - and I have provided advice previously to Nigel on what to buy Charlie, on rigs and where to fish. But there had been little success. Nigel is not a fisherman&#8230;.but he is a kayaker - he has a Mirage 580 sea kayak and he plays kayak polo - and so does Charlie.

I'd taken Charlie fishing in my Mission Catch390 once - off Kangaroo Island - we were hunting squid. Charlie sat in the back and we fished together. We got one squid - on my line - so Charlie was squidless but still thrilled at the team score. I was really impressed at his attitude, his patience and despite his lack of success, his pleasure at our collective capture.

Hilary loves fresh fish and with early success this season, I had provided them with fresh whole snapper on a number of occasions. So when Nigel asked if I would consider taking Charlie out again to hunt a snapper - I was very open to the idea. I did stress it might mean an early start and I could not guarantee success but both Nigel and Charlie were keen.

The week before Easter provided the right conditions and Good Friday seemed to be a good opportunity. Charlie's grandparents were flying over from Perth late good Friday and so it was only chance we would have on the long weekend. A plan was hatched.

Nigel picked up my Lanai for Charlie Thursday night. I would launch an hour before sunrise and paddle to spot X to berley up and attract the fish. Charlie and Nigel would launch on sunrise - Charlie in the Lanai and Nigel in his Mirage 580. Charlie and I would share my anchor and catch snapper while Nigel went for an 18km paddle.

Friday morning, the tide was high at the launch spot and a swell was rolling in. The launch looked tricky and I was a little concerned that that Charlie and Nigel might have trouble in these conditions. A message to them about the risks was returned promptly with a message saying they were on their way regardless - Charlie was on a mission (even though it was me in Mission Catch390 !)

So I launched in the dark through the waves, paddled to spot X and commenced the berley stream - and hour later, nothing ! Then one bite and a short run for an undersized fish. About 5 minutes later, as the darkness lifted, I could see two kayaks heading towards me between the swell, one the unmistakable Caribbean blue of my Lanai, paddled by Charlie.

We hitched together and commenced fishing as Nigel in the impressively sleek Mirage 580 head off for his exercise paddle - but it was very quiet with no action for me or Charlie. An hour later, it was time for a change in plan - OldDood and RobC were going to be fishing a spot further south that morning so Charlie and I upped anchor and headed in that direction to see if they had done better than us. Almost there and and we see two kayaks coming towards us - an OldDood and RobC - with a similar tale to us - just one smallish fish between the two of them.

OK - time for plan 3 - I headed inshore to a spot that had provided for me previously with the ever patient Charlie following and we soon hitched together on the anchor, lines out and berley trail. Some interest on my line had my hopes up and then it happened - Charlie's line took off and he was on - Fan-bloody-tastic. He fought the fish well and there were some spirited runs until we had a legal snapper in the net - at 40cms, not a big one but a thrill for us both. "It was worth the wait" beamed Charlie. OldDood and RobC joined us for some of the action. Charlie scored the next fish - just undersize and then there were three more - up to 50cms before Nigel returned from his training paddle. The bite had slowed and we were entertained by Nigel showing us his kayak rolling and emergency rescue skills before we headed in. The fish were not huge but it was one of my most satisfying fishing mornings ever and I'm sure a great memory for Charlie.







Charlie impressed his grandparents with fresh whole snapper that night. It was a very Good Friday for us both.


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

Brilliant Andrew, and all involved. One of the best trip reports ever.

You might well have influenced Chalie's life direction (in terms of outdoor adventures) for ever. Top marks.


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## eagle4031 (Jan 29, 2010)

Love this report Andrew
Your a good friend to them - Charlie must have been thrilled


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## Daveyak (Oct 6, 2005)

You've probably got him hooked on a lifetime addiction.

:mrgreen: Well done, great report.


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

Brilliant

love trip reports like that


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## samrota (Mar 27, 2008)

Nice work on the snapper.

Hopefully he's hooked for life.


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## Rockster (Sep 7, 2007)

Great report Andy, good to see the persistence paid of for Charlie especially. The trip to SA for his grandparents was obviously worth it.
Cheers
Bob


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## solatree (May 30, 2008)

Thanks for the positive comments folks - it was very rewarding for me to have the plan come together and be able to successfully share the joys of a catching a first decent fish with such a great kid. Especially when early indications had got me worried that we would be successful.


kayakone said:


> You might well have influenced Chalie's life direction (in terms of outdoor adventures) for ever.


A nice thought Trev, but Nigel is not only an accomplished kayaker, he also rock climbs, kite surfs, cycles and bushwalks. So with a Dad like Nigel, I'm pretty sure Charlie will have plenty more outdoor adventures - but perhaps the influence might be he will combine some of those things with the joy of fishing as I have been fortunate to do at various times in my life.


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## suehobieadventure (Feb 17, 2009)

Well done Andrew you just gave Charlie a lifelong memory, even if he turns into a snapper fishing pro he will always remember gis first catch. I know I found a new respect for my then deceased Dad when I taught my 4 kids to fish. Great report.


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

solatree said:


> Thanks for the positive comments folks - it was very rewarding for me to have the plan come together and be able to successfully share the joys of a catching a first decent fish with such a great kid. Especially when early indications had got me worried that we would be successful.
> 
> 
> kayakone said:
> ...


What a great thing to lead kids/young adults into Andrew.

It has to beat video games/TV X 100 times. Top marks for the involvement and the encouragement you have all provided.


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## labrat (Jul 25, 2008)

Thanks for an inspirational read about perseverance under pressure.

That's a great photo too - the grin says it all.


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## Drewboy (Mar 18, 2008)

What dedication and perseverance ...and what a payoff.
Simply brilliant Andy.


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## Geoffw (Jan 23, 2011)

What a great report. Thanks for sharing with all.


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