I got one! Oh, wait ... that's just grass

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

As an avid reader of Capt. Rob Ottlein’s biweekly column, and as a proud owner of Sperry’s boatshoes, I consider myself an excellent fisherman.

So, when the opportunity to go flounder fishing this past weekend presented itself, of course I jumped at it.

There we were, the four of us, at 5:20 a.m., in the rainy, cold Melbourne air. Just off a main causeway, we were parked near the edge of the Intracoastal Waterway, using the headlights of the pickup truck to see where the bait fish were swimming. When we saw a school, we tossed the cast net. It took about 50 minutes of tossing, but we ended up with more than 120 baby mullets.

After loading up the boat and stopping for some snacks, we were out on the water by 8:30 a.m., and headed toward the Sebastian Inlet.

As we got to our spot, one thing was obvious: the current was so rough that fishing was going to be difficult. Very difficult.

But it didn’t faze me. I knew exactly what I was doing ... until I had to rig my pole.

After Byron, my old roommate, showed me the trick to tying the perfect knot, it was time to catch my dinner.

We were flounder fishing. I went to go toss the line in the water, but something was missing. I forgot to throw a bait on the hook. I did it on purpose, though, to prove the point that I don’t need bait to catch the trophy fish.

But to be a team player, I went ahead and had Byron grab me a mullet. I don’t like touching those things; it makes my hands smell like fish.

The day wore on, and we definitely caught plenty of fish, including a 4.25-pound flounder that Byron’s dad caught. OK, fine. I didn’t catch a single fish. But my dad, Byron, and his dad definitely did.

The closest I got was a heavy clump of grass and garbage bag that got dumped into the water.

When we got home, I learned how to clean and filet the flounder, which will be consumed at an annual fish fry sometime next year. In all, it was a great day on the water.

And although I went fishless, I learned plenty. I can now tie the perfect knot and bait the hook. We all have to start somewhere, right?