These Skates Must Love Me

Hi everyone,

Its Andrea back again to wrap up the week at Gegorges island. Yesterday, was the end of the week out on Georges island. It was really hot out but Kharlyia and I made it through fishing. We had about five different groups that had signed up for fishing but only two groups showed up. With that being said, the two groups that showed up had more time than usual to fish. They were really small groups too. The first group only had three kids and the second group had about ten. When those groups were fishing, they did not catch anything on the fishing rods but they did catch lots of crabs in the crab trap. Once the groups were done fishing, they went about exploring Fort Warren because many of them had never been to Georges island before.

The last hour or so, Kharlyia and myself were left alone on the fishing pier. That meant that we were fishing just the two of us. We changed it a little bit. Instead of fishing at the same spot we split ourselves. Kharlyiah went fishing on the opposite side by the visitor center and I went fishing in front of the Boston Harbor Cruises dock. Fishing at Georges is very difficult due to all of the boat trafficking of Boston Harbor Cruises and water taxi coming in and out. Somehow where I was fishing, I kept on getting a lot of bites. Every time I had a bite, I would yell out for Kharlyia and she would come running down to me to see if I had caught a fish. Unfortunately, the bites was not what I was expecting. I was looking for some striped bass but I ended up hooking a skate. Kharlyia was brave enough to push down on the spiky skate as I removed the hook from its mouth. At first I thought that the skate did not make it but once we put it in the touch tank, it was alive so we sent it back to the ocean. No mattet which site I go, I always catch skate while aiming for some bass. Its like the skates knows me really well or they just love me. Although its not a bass, I still get excited because I get to tell the kids that we did catch something. The kids finds it really interesting how it looks like a sting rat. ai may not catch what I want but atleast I always end up catching something. I am really loving fishing with the kids. I cant wait to catch more and more stripe bass and skates.

Until next time !!!

- Andrea Lopes

Spectacular Week at Spectacle

Hi everyone,

This past week, All Access Boston Harbor spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday out on Spectacle Island. It was a really great start back on Spectacle. An old friend from high school that I recognized came out with us on Tuesday. On the first day back on the island, we caught two skates and was able to unhook them all alone. The first one that I caught, was during lunch. While everyone went off for lunch, I decided to stay on the dock fishing. Five minutes after casting, I had a skate on one of the rods so I reeled it in as the old friend from high school and her family surrounded me. At first they were all yelling "Eww what is that?" ... "Its a sting ray" ... I tried telling them that it was not a sting ray and that it was a skate. A few minutes later, an old guy joined us and started telling me to be careful with its tail so that I don't get stung and I kept telling him that it does not sting and that it is a skate but he just kept saying "Sting ray, sting ray, sting ray." Moment later, I released the skate and the first group of kids came over to do some fishing. I guided them all and everything went smooth. Towards the end of the day, one kid reeled in our second skate and they were all amazed by it. Most of the kids knew that it was not a sting ray and that it was a skate. I was really impressed.

Old High School friend with her nephew
when I caught the first skate in 5 minutes

Thursday which was the end of the week at Spectacle was also a great day. We had a really great ending of the week out there. The East Boston YMCA came out with us again for the second time. The week before Spectacle, they joined for the Georges trip. Although we did not catch anything on Thursday, I was able to help the counselor reel in the striped bass but unfortunately, the fish kept dragging the line under the dock and snapped it. Another reason why we were unable to reel the fish its because the fishing rod had really short line so with that being said, there was not enough line for the fish to keep dragging. Even though we were unable to reel in the fish, the counselor was excited for just knowing that he actually did have a fish on the line. I was excited as well because I don't quite remember if we ever had a fish on the line last summer and we also caught a little lobster in our crab trap. Overall, everything went great at Spectacle except for the weather that was not cooperating with us.

Second skate caught after a nice swim

Until I catch another fish!!!

- Andrea Lopes

A Minnow Crossing the Ocean

Welcome back to another post from a fisherman in training! The highlights of this week: a big rock crab, two skates, "stickers", and a fractured toe.

We easily average about twenty to thirty crabs a day at Pier's Park. This week in particular we caught a rock crab that spanned about 7 inches length wise! Luckily for this big guy, none of us were interested in keeping him for dinner, so he was released later that day. Before that happened though, one of the staff that we work with at Pier's Park Sailing Center told me that in all the years she has watched over the kids handling crabs, she never actually held a crab herself! I am proud to say that after this week, this staff member can without a doubt tell anyone that she got past her fear of crabs, just long enough to get a photo with one in her bare hands! #UppingSomeonesSelfieGame

On Thursday I had an amazing opportunity to learn about fishing from some amazing people: Bruce, Sam and Captain Charlie! Alongside Maeve, Mauricio, Abel, Cristin, and Ahmed we each adopted a kid or two for the day to aid them in fishing. Once the boat was out in the waters, it didn't take long for me to bond with the crew. First and foremost, Sam, also known as "stickers," is quite a guy! As kids where squirming in place over the thought of just touching a sea worm, Sam made himself known. One of the neat things about the sea worms that we had as bait was the fact that they have pincers. After Sam said something along the lines of, "You guys want to know a trick on how to not get pinched?," he bit off the end of the sea worm that had the pincers. It was barbaric and I loved everyone moment. I just wish I got it on camera. During this trip I caught two skates! I finally figured out the difference between a skate and a flounder! 

When I play alongside the kids in Sharks and Minnows, I try my best to make sure that the kids are safe and that I am also enjoying what I am doing! On a daily basis, that means I am running full speed to dodge the kids from making me into sea weed (and I am not the only staff to do so)! The kids, other staff, and I all have a blast when we play like this! Unfortunately, due to me stubbing my toe last week, I finally had my injury catch up to me while I was running this past Friday. My "ring toe" was aching and was purple by the end of the first round of Sharks and Minnows. At the end of the day, when the kids started playing capture the flag, one team told me that they needed me. Without a second thought, I jumped into the game and played the rest of the day! 

By Raymond Chai