The excitement of being out on the water, trying to find that perfect spot and catch that perfect fish, along with the thrill of competition in tournaments, is a true passion for us.  What makes it the most exciting though, is when we have the opportunity to involve the kids in our fishing adventures.   To see the joy in their eyes and the happiness of catching a fish, no matter what size, gives us the most excitement and joy we could ever have out there on the water.

It was the kids turn to shine this time, so this particular tournament was about the kids.  They were the anglers and we were the deckhands.  The night before our trip, our kids were so excited and couldn’t sleep.  Our daughter proclaimed she wanted to catch a King Mackerel as big as her and by herself.  As for our son, although we were targeting kings, all he kept saying was “I want tocatch a big shark!”

The day turned out to be perfect.  The weather was calm, and the fish were hungry.  The kids battled fish all day long, bringing in one big king after another.  The day was winding down, and we were down to the last bite before we had to head in.  It was our son’s turn at the reel, and he battled what we thought would be the last king of the day.  As the fish came up from the depths, we realized he had a 4 foot bull shark on the end of the reel.  He got his shark!

It was an epic day for the 4 of us.  Our daughter got to fight and land her big kings that she wanted, and our son got his shark!  Each time they brought in a fish, their faces just lit up with joy.  What they didn’t realize however, was the joy that Kelly and I had watching our kids enjoy our passion.