Robin's Reports

4/5/06 What do we do with the kids?


Well, we have several options available for them when we go fishing. First, they ride in style with the bean bags to and fro. Depending on the distance and the seas, they either are ready to fish or already passed out.

Jack and I drop down the baits first to see what's biting. If we see that we're getting small pinfish which make great bait, we'll let both boys bring more of them up to throw in the livewell. My eldest has brought up keeper Red Snapper so he gets good gear. Our youngest gets a Zebco pole w/ the push button for letting the lighter (in weight) line straight down, although he believes he can cast pretty good. If he hooks anything huge, and he has, we let him try or he hands it to us. I have prayed at times that the line breaks because I would hate for his favorite blue pole to snap on an oversized fish.

Sometimes, the boys and I get a little seasick in the 4-6 ft seas or if we've been on shore too long -say a month. It's like readjusting to your sea legs. We take bonine motion sickness medicine (quarter tablet) if we think we might have a problem. Note, take them WELL in advance of getting sick. Poor big "M" has suffered the worse with tossing his cookies or as we say at sea - chumming the water. Our fishing friend, Mr. John, also chums the water. I blame those useless wrist bands.

I have taken bonine a couple times and while it helps on the water, it is BAD, BAD, BAD once I get home. A serious 12 hrs later, I'm still in a coma-like state where my brain is actively hearing my family move around but my body is weighed down & my eyes are sealed shut. For me, it is an absolute last resort.

Another option for our children is playing in the cuddy once we arrive on the scene or if the seas are smooth. They have a backpack of toys & drawing paper. This weekend, they did brain teasers. They also have a table for building legos or running Monster trucks back & forth.

Sometimes if we are desperate for a mini-vacation away from home, we'll pack a lunch & only the spinner poles w/ frozen shrimp for bait. Daddy and I will play deckhands and do all the rebaiting & fish removing. I think they must like those days a lot. Of course, big "M" might like the day he brought home snapper dinner more. He never let us forget his big moment. Little "M" does like to fish and by golly, we had better let him get in on the action if there are some nice pinfish or blacksea bass biting. It is good discipline for me to stop my competitive drive to fish and work on making his day wonderful on the water too. I am a mommy first.