Catching Up...From the Beginning.

These warm January days have been such a welcome change from the dreary days of December!

They tell me if we don't have more cold winter days our Spring fishing won't be too good.  I'm still trying to learn these things and trying to learn to be less selfish...because I LOVE warm weather and openly Welcome it in January.  Please Forgive me if I never overcome that selfishness!

The Story is...I fell in love with pier fishing the first week of April 2010.   On a whim, I found my ex-husband's freshwater gear he left at my home, took it to the Russell Fields Pier (city pier) in Panama City Beach, set up my chair at the rail of the first T, put some shrimp on the hook, and waited for some action.

The action I got was a little unnerving: from the very end of the pier came running maybe ten fishermen.  They surrounded me, taking over "my spot" without taking their eyes off the water.  Suddenly, they began furiously casting, standing shoulder to shoulder, seemingly unaware that "I was here first."  I was too stunned to try to move out of their way.  I was too curious to take my eyes off the water they stared at so intently.  Nothing bit their hooks.  And then, as suddenly as they came, they ran off again, taking over another spot nearer to the end.  This time one of them hooked a fish.  A Big fish.  I left my rod laying on the rail and went to get a closer look.  It took a while, but they got the fish on the pier and it was Huge!  They called it a "cobe".  Later I learned the full name is cobia, but they have a whole bunch of nicknames for these fish and apparently it's a realllly Big deal to catch one!

                                                    

For the next couple weeks, I went to the pier every day, slowly getting brave enough to take my spot closer to the end where all the action seemed to be.  I took my camera, of course.  After all, I am a photographer and I wanted some great shots of this action.  At first, I stayed back.  But I finally decided the best shot would be  taken by leaning over the rail as they tried to hook that fish with something they called a "gaff".  How was I to know what a dangerous thing I was trying to accomplish?!  If I could find that shot, you would see a fisherman's angry face as he yelled "Get outta the wayyyyy!!!" So Rude!  I couldn't believe it.  But it did make me stay back the next time.  I mean I didn't know...but I learned Quick how serious these guys took their fishing.

It wasn't just guys.  There was a very nice lady out there one day, who was concerned and patient enough to see I needed help.  Her name was Linda and she showed me what I needed to use to catch those big fish, like this one...

                                                                        

So I bought my first rod and reel and treble hooks and went back. I finally caught one. It was smaller, but it was still exciting.  A man named Rafael showed me how to clean it and told me it was called a Spanish mackerel.

My ex-husband came out there one day.  I caught something I thought was some kind of shark. But they told me it was called a "remora".                                 


Finally, I hooked something HUGE!  I thought it must be one of those big fish they all were catching, called king mackerels...but it Wasn't!  It WAS a shark this time!!  I mean...that's even Better, right....?!

And then, finally, on May 11, 2010...I caught my first king.   They kept calling it a "schoolie"...like it wasn't something to be proud of.  But it was a KING and I caught it.                                                                                               I worked hard at learning about pier fishing that spring and summer.  So much to learn!  So much etiquette to learn in order to have a peaceful environment, so many rules created by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission ( http://myfwc.com/ ), but after all...it's a whole lot different than fishing from a boat or from the riverbank.

So this is the beginning of my Fourth year of pier fishing...Wow!  So hard to believe it was that long ago.  I'm still learning to fish and I've accepted that I'll never be a Great fisherman like my fishing friends. But, I've also learned that it's not just about the fishing.  It's about Fellowship.  Drama.  Etiquette.  Patience.  Sunsets.  And if you catch a fish, it's not just Super exciting...you have a story that will last Forever.

Through this blog, I'll be sharing some of those stories with you all.  The next blog will start with last May...when I fell behind on fishing pictures so I wouldn't get fired from my portrait clients.  Forgive me!  But They do pay my bills!  This year I'll do my best to post every Monday evening.

See y'all soon!

{To see all the fishing pictures from previous posts click here:  http://www.anaedwardsphotography.com/Landscapes-Nightscapesand/Fishing
There are well over 1000 and they're from all the panhandle piers from Mexico Beach, Florida to Gulf Shores, Alabama}