Drum is Yum

We went out family fishing this morning in Galveston Bay. Our usual target when fishing with Caroline is ... well, anything. So, Hunter began to bait lines (frozen shrimp) and throw them out. Caroline was busy planning her upcoming fishing show (the one she will be recording for viewing in our living room, not on national television) and we got a bite.

Her past experience has been reeling in little catfish or whiting, but she has been paying attention to the fishing shows and knew that this was "a grander" and that she had to " pu-u-u-ump, reel, reel, reel, reel" if she was going to bring this one to the boat. We weren't sure what she had on the end of the line, but we were sure we would lose Caroline or the rod if we did not hold on to one or both.

Her little spinning rod with 4 lb line was pretty close to the breaking point as the biggest fish she has ever caught came into view. A giant black drum! Caroline was also pretty close to her breaking point ("I think I am getting tuckered out , Mom. You should do it." )

Caroline continued her 20 minute fight moving back and forth across the transom ("you don't want the line to get cut by the motor") and finally leading it up the starboard side so Hunter could net it.

The line and the hook broke just as we set the net down in the boat. You have never seen a grin so large or a child more proud of herself. When Hunter determined it was legal size we told her we could keep it for dinner and the grin got bigger. " I caught dinner all by myself" she repeated over and over. She was pretty much finished with fishing after that and worked the net for Daddy a few times, but what she really wanted was to go home and feed her family dinner- with the fish she caught. As it turns out this is also the first fish we have brought home on the new boat. A good omen for fish to come.