Fishing the Crystal Coast with Cap'n Jess

Could it have been only a couple of weeks ago that I was in North Carolina?  Pre-Irene, pre-move to Boston, pre-work?  It feels like ages ago.  But it's more than worth revisiting.

While we were there we went on a fishing tour with Captain Jess Hawkins.  Captain Jess has over 30 years of experience studying fish and marine biology and knows the North Carolina coast like the back of his hand.  As fish jumped out of the water, flashing only the briefest glimpse of scales, he could name them with perfect precision.

We went fishing and even us land-lubbing Yankees were able to catch a few.  Even I caught one, although I was mostly happy to be the expedition's chief photographer.  The key is to learn from the birds -  find where they are gathering for their meal and then fish for your own.

Once you've found your prey, just cast it out and reel it in.  Okay, it's not quite that easy, and we may have knotted up a fishing line or two, but we still managed to catch a nice variety.

Spanish Mackerel

Bluefish

Sea Robin

We also went to look for sand dollars and Jess brought us to a shallow area where the water is perfectly clear and we picked up one after another.  Together Jake and I found about 16, although most of those were his finds.  We gave some back to Captain Jess to give to kids who don't find any on their tours.  I still have a few that I plan to turn into Christmas ornaments and general keepsakes.

It was great fun and we'd do it again!