Kayak Fishing Demonstration
The ladies were back at the condo but barely had enough time to freshen up after a day of salt air and salt water drying both their hair and skin out. In and out of the shower in a matter of minutes, slather on some good smellin' lotion to moisturize the skin and a quick pow-wow to regroup themselves. It wasn't long before nick-names started being doled out. Alice, who has a peddle kayak was given the nick-name of "Legs" by Dot. Alice turned around and started calling Liz "Malibu" since her pink kayak is a Malibu brand and because Alice was on such a creative streak, she didn't skip a beat by labeling Dot "Speck", which, of course, is just another word for "dot". Delores was "Our Fearless Leader", and so it was. By 4:15, they all piled into Delores's truck and headed to their next event at the FWC Marine Lab Building for their kayak fishing presentation.
There, they joined others who were signed up for the Saturday Kayak Fishing Event to listen to Rebecca & Jennifer, two of the FWC Outreach and Education Specialists who were in charge of the in-service. The topics covered introductory basics of inshore fishing from a kayak, fisheries conservation, circle hooks, de-hooking devices, proper handling, and types of fishing gear for a kayak. This was a prerequisite in order to kayak fish with them on Saturday.
Also discussed were the FWC Hot Sheets which is a monthly regulation change notification and update that gets e-mailed to anyone interested. The FWC now allows four license free fishing day per calendar year for both fresh and saltwater, an increase from only two days each for previous years. There were recommendations to flatten barbs on hooks, and to become familiar with all fish species and the regulations assigned to each fish. Rebecca gave the class advice on what type of hooks live bait may and may not be used with during inshore fishing and where federal waters separate from state waters. She used the phrase "C P R" to describe the "catch, photo and release" process and the trick of using "zombie arms" to make a fish appear bigger in a photograph. She went on to explain how to revive a fish before release, where to dispose of used monofilament, what the term "Grand Slam" means and which fish are included. Finally, she talked about the Ethical Angler competition where one can submit a photo of a catch being held properly and that photo being put in the running to be on the next cover of the FWC Rules & Regulations Booklet.
By the time the mini kayak fishing course was over at 6:30, the students were overwhelmed with information and hand-outs, all of which were interesting and enlightening. Rebecca did an excellent job teaching and I'm sure she was as tired and hungry as the rest of the group. Now to find dinner!
By the time the mini kayak fishing course was over at 6:30, the students were overwhelmed with information and hand-outs, all of which were interesting and enlightening. Rebecca did an excellent job teaching and I'm sure she was as tired and hungry as the rest of the group. Now to find dinner!
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