Team ReelTime congratulates Elizabeth for
Completing her 1st Virginia Saltwater Tournament,
Junior Angler's Award!
Here's a wrap-up on the day’s events and a little about Elizabeth: Recently, Elizabeth expressed a strong interest in catching a "bigger fish" than the hand sized Croaker and Spot that she'd been landing off of the dock near her house ...
And I GRINNED  .. . So Saturday, Team ReelTime (CREW: Elizabeth, Fletcher and Carl) set sail from Taylor's Landing to make this happen. Just after sun up, we started working the rips for Spanish Mackerel...
And within short order, Elizabeth learned the great joy of shouting
"Fish-On" !!!
She managed to land the fish with help from 1st mate, Carl Lohafer,
who also helped her release the fish unharmed. By the way, Carl is great with kids of ALL AGES!
Above is a picture of one of the Spanish mackerel that she kept for table fair (at her dad's request, I might add...) Shortly thereafter she landed yet another nice 21" Mackerel, which gave a great fight.
Then another and so on...And would you guess that Elizabeth managed to catch a total of 6 Spanish mackerel and 4 Blue Fish within a 45 minutes time span? She had several Blue fish on the hook followed by a double knock down (Spanish Mackerels) which sent Carl and I scrambling like a Chinese Fire Drill to opposite corners of the boat ... WTG and Thanks, Elizabeth! 
Through Carl’s outstanding instruction, she caught on quickly in managing the rod and keeping pressure on the fish. Super job, Elizabeth!
And her Dad GRINNED, again : )
After that, we gave Elizabeth a choice of what she wanted to fish for next - more Spanish or perhaps some other inshore action? She opted to go for flounder. So, we worked some popular haunt's the rest of the morning and Elizabeth caught and released about a dozen flounder...
Many were around the 17 inch mark and some were a bit smaller...
So, back they went...
On the change of the tide she also hooked up with 3-1/2 foot Toothy Critter (Sand Shark) and a Skate. When asked what her favorite part of the trip was, she stated "Fighting the Baby Shark". You go, Girl! We returned back to port a little after noon and a good time was had by all.
Once again, Great Job and Congratulations Elizabeth!
Love,
(A very proud) Dad
Please let us know and well put a trip together to meet your needs! We like to cater to family outings and other parties up to 4. Call Fletcher anytime at 757-292-7702.
Good Luck and Tight Lines!, Fletcher Dunton USCG Captain OUPV
PS - VMRC encourages young anglers to become responsible anglers and good stewards of our marine resources. As a part of this effort and to encourage young anglers to appreciate the rewards of catch-and-release, anglers 15 years of age and younger can participate in the Virginia Junior Angler Awards Program the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament. Young anglers catching and releasing 6 different species of saltwater fish during the year earn an award certificate, baseball hat and decal. This is a great way to get kids started off right!
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