With this Fishing Rod in Hand, I'm going to be a Fisherman!

Me instructing a young camper on how to side cast.

George's Island this week went by swimmingly. My team and I went back to the drawing board after the hectic day we had earlier in the week and decided to bring more fishing rods with us to the island so that more people would be able to spend time fishing. Through my instruction on casting techniques and some helpful fishing tips I was able to impart to them, the young children really seamed to get the hang of it! Again, it was a crab-heavy week as far as our catches go, but as promised, we did catch something with a lot less legs than the typical crab; one of the kids fishing along the dock reeled in a sea quirt! Neither I nor the kids were familiar with the species and so we turned to a field guide that was on hand and was able to identify it as a club tunicate. The kids were fascinated by the sea squirt's amorphous body, and definitely were surprised by the stream of water I squirted them with by squeezing on it.

On Friday I was posted at the Courageous Sailing Center in Charlestown right there in the navy yard. The weather was cloudy and rather chilly so my team and I spent most of the time under one of the center's tents, teaching them about water quality. We introduced them to Secchi disks, an instrument used to test the quality of water. The kids rejoiced in designing and creating their very own replica Secchi disks out of plastic straws, string, and cardboard and even took to the water to test their new creations. Our Save the Harbor team had constructed one using one method, but I was surprised at all the different ways the children were able to come up with make their own! One girl was so impressed with her disk that she tied it to her glasses and began walking it around as if it were her pet. Fishing off the pier was admittedly unsuccessful, but a number of the participants had never fished before and relished the opportunity to cast a fishing line into the water in hopes of hooking a big one. Hopefully next week will bring with it some scaly, finned fish for us to catch!

The Courageous crew sporting their Secchi disk creations!

Until next time,
Maxwilliams