Taking kids offshore fishing for the first time is amazing

By Collins Doughtie CONTRIBUTOR

As you might have guessed by now, fishing is my greatest passion. It doesn’t matter how many fish I catch because I have my share of days when I am totally blanked – but even then, not one second being on the water do I regard as being wasted. The things I experience, the things I see on these mundane days is worth all the tea in China.

Right up there with fishing has to be the satisfaction I get when trying to open people’s eyes to some of the incredible acts of nature that I have been privy to in my thousands of hours scouring our waters.

I want to tell you about a day such of this with an old friend and his grandchildren who came down from Tennessee.

I guess it was about five years ago when I first met Steve Moore when another friend of mine, Al Stokes, suggested that Steve call me with questions on how to fish our waters.

As I talked to Steve that first time, he told me that he and two friends had trailered a boat here from Tennessee. Having never fished here before, he asked if I would consider tagging along with them so they could better navigate our tricky waters and maybe, just maybe, catch a fish or two.

I accepted and we caught fish. Simply put, I had a blast with these hill folks. Every year since then, the three of them would come down for a guys-only week of fishing, scheduled on my recommendation of when the tides were best and also when they might expect a red-hot bite. There are no guarantees when it comes to catching, so some years were better than others. But Steve and I developed a nice relationship regardless of how these trips panned out.

When Steve called me this year, he said that instead of his two buddies he was bringing his four grandchildren, and could I possibly take them fishing offshore. This request was not new, because almost every year he would go on and on about wanting to get them offshore, but his boat was too small to make the 30- to 45-mile run. Maybe it was the fact that I too have grandchildren and I love introducing them to the abundant wonders on the water that got my wheels turning about his request. I asked my fishing buddy Dan Cornell if he would mind me taking Steve and his grands on his outstanding 53-foot vessel.

Dan and I have fished together for over a decade and without hesitation he said yes, as long as Steve covered the fuel. Talk about excited – Steve was like a kid at Christmas when I told him I would fulfill his wish, weather and wind permitting.

With only a week to pull off the trip, every day I would check the offshore forecast and, as it has been all this spring, the wind kept us landlocked. With only a couple of days left on their vacation, the forecast changed for the better and the trip was on.

Meeting up with Dan, Steve, his four grandchildren that ranged from 12 to 19 years old, and his oldest granddaughter’s fiancée, we headed out at the crack of dawn. It was then that I learned that not one of them had ever experienced the deep blue.

Freshwater fishing yes, but bottom fishing way offshore was alien to each of them. On the run out, I gave them each a primer on the do’s and don’t’s on this type of fishing.

On our first stop, a lot of fish were missed but each time our guests dropped a bait down they started to get the hang of it and up came some fine vermillion snapper. Having never caught a fish bigger than probably a largemouth bass, they responded with squeals of delight and took lots of photos.

Knowing that there were bigger fish to fry, we moved on and that is where the rods bent double with huge amberjacks and red snapper. It was hilarious watching them huff and puff bringing these fish up.

For the rest of the trip, the biting was on fire as we caught a variety of species including snapper, grouper, triggerfish and porgies. I could see each one of these kids’ eyes light up as they also watched flying fish skittering over the waves and loggerhead turtles surfacing next to the boat. For me, that made my day!

I guarantee each of these kids will never ever forget this introduction to my world. Without exception, every kid I have ever mentored became hardcore fisherman. Kids are the best. As for Steve, he ain’t all bad either.

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Kiwanis Scholars

In Memorial

as told to Charles Wright by his Cherokee friend G.B Chiltoskie

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves that live inside us all.”

“One wolf is greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other wolf is good, joy peace, love hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his Grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2

During its annual meeting May 17 at Seaquins Ballroom, the Kiwanis Club of Bluffton awarded three $2,500 Sondra Ammeen Memorial Scholarships to Bluffton High School senior Faith Paxton, and May River High School seniors and Key Club members Naomi Edmondson and Estefany Mondragon. These scholarships reward seniors for community and public service, and academic performance. Pictured from left are Russell Williamson, Kiwanis Division 21 Lt. Governor, Carolinas District; Faith Paxton; Estafany Mondragon; Naomi Edmondson; Helen Rickett, Kiwanis Club of Bluffton Foundation; and Robyn Kiser, Kiwanis Club of Bluffton president. Sondra Ammeen, the late wife of Kiwanis member Paul Ammeen, was a retired school principal and a driving force and advisor behind several of the Club’s best fundraisers. The Kiwanis Club of Bluffton, chartered in the Spring of 2016, sponsored, and chartered the May River Key Club in February 2017.