First Big Catch of the Season!!

I'll be the first to say it - I'm a pretty inexperienced fisherman. My parents love to fish, and tried to teach me years ago, but I never had much success. However, when I realized that fishing was an integral part of what I would be doing this summer, I decided I needed to give it another chance.

One of our first days of orientation was dedicated to spending time out on the harbor, during which we fished for flounder before we took a quick tour of Spectacle Island. The captain of the boat had installed some sort of sneaky fish radar, so he could tell where all the hot spots would be. As soon as we found a good spot, we all broke into teams, shoved some super creepy worms onto our hooks, and went at it.

I was partnered up with Zach, a fellow Senior Harbor Educator, and we immediately dubbed ourselves Team Good Vibes. In the first fifteen minutes or so, everyone around us was hoisting flounders and skates into the boat...except for us. Apparently you can't use positivity and happy thoughts to will a fish onto your hook - who knew?

Eventually the captain of the boat, Charlie, noticed we weren't having a lot of luck and came over to investigate the problem. It turns out we had grabbed one of the only rods with everything set up completely wrong. After Charlie fixed our rod, Zach dropped a line back into the water and IMMEDIATELY hooked a flounder!

So then it was my turn. With another super creepy worm on the hook, I dropped my line into the water and waited. And waited. And waited. And then we moved to a new fish hotspot, where I waited some more. And then some more. For two and a half hours. I never caught anything.

At the end of the day, I was a little bummed. However, knowing that I would spend my whole summer fishing made me feel a little better. I just knew deep in my heart that I would catch something one day.

Fast forward to my first day at the Children's Museum. Our day is split into two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Despite all our efforts, no one at the museum managed to catch a fish that morning, but we did bring up a few crabs.

I'm so proud!

When the afternoon session rolled around, I felt determined. We snagged dozens of crabs in the crab trap, but no...that wasn't good enough for me. Right before we had to pack up for the day, I grabbed a rod, marched to a new spot, and cast my line in the water. Nothing.

Disheartened, I decided it was time to hang up my fishermen's hat until tomorrow. I began to reel in my line, and then I saw it...

A CRAB!! A TEENY TINY CRAB!! ON MY LINE!! THAT I CAUGHT!!

I quickly reeled in my crustaceous friend and ran back over to the team screaming "SOMEONE GRAB MY PHONE AND TAKE A PICTURE".

And they did. Here it is!

And that, folks, is how I got my first catch of the season.

Here's to many more!
Melissa