Fishing for Fun

I took my nephew deep sea fishing out of Orange Beach last week. He was really excited about it—it was his first fishing trip on a “big boat” with a “real captain.” But I didn’t realize he was set on catching dinner. I found this out when we caught the first fish: an eight-pound red snapper. Unfortunately, red snapper have to be released back into the water in September, and when I told my nephew this he cried, “But it’s no fun if you don’t get to eat them!” Luckily, we caught other fish that were okay to keep (and eat).

I realized that I’d have to educate this young boy on the sport of fishing. No way can I let someone who shares my blood grow up thinking that the only purpose of fishing is to catch a meal. He has to learn about the excitement of finding and catching fish and the adventure of just being out on the Gulf. I guess I’ll just have to take him out again, maybe even a few times. I feel I owe it to him.

And Orange Beach is a great place for all kinds of fishing, so it will be easy (and fun) to teach him the ropes.

You can learn more about Orange Beach fishing at http://www.orangebeach.com/fishing/.