Fishing Spans the Generations and Brings Them Together

This story that I bring to you today has importance on many fronts, but mainly to encourage fishing as a multigenerational activity. I had been planning this fishing trip for over a month and a half, but as I told the manager of the Two Georges fishing boat, everything had to be in a certain order to make it work.

Humans have been fishing for a very long time, spanning generations. You know that in the Bible, Jesus brought fishermen right out of their boats and told them, “I will make you fishers of men!” Fishing is an activity that can be done with both the young and the older folks. But first, a bit about reels.

I actually started out learning to fish in residential canals down in Ft. Lauderdale. “Zebco” is the brand used by many dads who want their young ones to have fun and catch something without the hassle of getting a “rat’s nest” or mass tangle of fishing line on the reel.

My challenge during the trip was to use their model #808 reel to catch as large of a fish as I could and bring it on board without breaking the reel. My aim that day was to use it from the first anchor drop point to the last stopping point before we headed back in. Now, I had a contingency or backup plan just in case. In my “bag of toys and tools,” I had a stout spinning reel set with a 65 lb. test braided line. I had to reach into that bag for a dehooking tool, a pair of fishing pliers, and most of all, new sets of “grouper rigs” (a set of heavy line with a 3-ounce sinker and a #6 hook).

Most of the captain’s stops were over structures coming off of the sea floor that were plentiful in rocky outcrops (where your hook would often get snagged).

Now, getting back to the other theme of generations fishing, my friend John Weipz brought his six-year-old grandson, Dominick Cordero, along to give him a taste of what fishing was all about. I had earlier asked John if he would consider buying his grandson a smaller Zebco reel so that the boy would have more time fishing and less time asking one of us to fix his rig. I must admit that the #404 and the light-duty pole were a bit light for the territory we were going to, but as the saying goes, “small rig, small hook, and small bait, usually bring in small fish,” (which was good for this application).

It turns out that young Dominick was not only able to bring a fish on board the boat but brought in three more fish after that. He probably would have done better than that, but considering the attention span of six-year-old boys (combined with a galley on the boat that had a seemingly endless supply of small bags of chips and drinks), the day was a success! The main take here is that a granddad can make some quality time with a grandson (or granddaughter) in an activity that will not guarantee a heart attack. Grandparents will come out looking like wise old teachers (compared to the bumbling fools that the Walt Disney Corporation depicts of anyone in the family structure over 40 years old).

The Two Georges is an 84 ft long fishing head-boat that pulls out of the docks on the famous Dodecanese Street “Greek” district of Tarpon Springs. At the end of the fishing period (as the craft is headed back to the docks), the mates on board go into “speed fillet” mode. I have never seen so many fish filleted in the time that they were doing it! They had a fleet of pelicans flying behind the boat who knew that fish carcasses would soon be thrown overboard. As a matter of fact, the first mate, Mike, allowed some of us to hold some of these fish “leftovers” up near the upper edge of the deck covering and let the pelicans take it from our hands!

This trip is a fun adventure but does require some sacrifice in the way of sleeping habits. The boat leaves the docks at 8:00 a.m., but it is advised that your party get there around 7:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., as parking spots close to the boat are taken up early. Once you depart the craft, you can take in the plentiful sights, sounds, (and smells) found on that famous Greek-themed street. Taking a fishing trip and doing the plaza afterward also helps this community. I had a conversation with the Two Georges’ “Jack G” while we were heading west to the first stop, and he told me that he and his crew and most of the vendors in that small community were nearly devastated by the “COVID – 19” quarantines. As a matter of fact, Jack mentioned that they lost four months of revenue from being tied to the docks during that “Pandemic.”

I hear many older folk around my age say that they are out of touch with their kids and grandchildren. This is a good way for a family to get to know each other a bit more without the hassle of waiting for the youngsters to give you time in between phone texts. Most of the time you are out there, the phones are out of range of the land-based repeaters. That is a good thing to know, but I would advise against telling the grandkids that! Y’all be blessed, and have a good week!

Steve Goodwin is a recently retired Christian conservative veteran (of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division), who still feels that “duty to country” did not end when the military uniform got hung up. He and his wife Cecelia live on the edge of a beautifully wooded tract of land just south of the bypass, and are involved in not only church activities, but also attend school board meetings and local community action events as well.