I left early from St. Petersburg Fl. to head over to my sisters condo on the beach at Ponce Inlet Fl. 11/27/09 The 2 1/2 hour drive to the Atlantic was nice, not much traffic! I figured it would be hell getting over there due to it being the day after Thanksgiving! I had packed my surf rods and tackle. I would be teaching both my sister and her boyfriend how to fish! Since they made their move to Florida a couple of months prior, my life long hobby peaked their intrest and I was happy to oblige. After studying tide charts, solunar tables, & calling local tackle shops the day before to find out what was chewing, the game plan was set. We had about a 45 minute window around 2:00pm when the stars would allign that day. I set everyone up with a basic surf fishing rig for pompano and whiting, as well as some of the other species. While many people use this two hook rig, I usually just use one. I haven't ever felt that I was at a disadvantage with only one hook. I usually use the smallest pyramid sinker that will keep the rig on the bottom with my line tight enough to feel a strike. With the jetty beside us and the Ponce Inlet Light House behind us we started soaking baits! Of course I gave them casting & reeling lessons prior to this! The choice of bait, frozen shrimp! I told them the bite might be tuff due to a nasty cold fron that blew in the day before. I was right, it was cold,blowing, and ruff surf. This makes for newbies a tuff time decerning a bite! Karen, my sister ended up with a very large pin fish, her boyfriend a seagull, "yes, we handled with care" and myself a 20" spanish mack! The bite lasted for only about 20 minutes. However, we still had a great time and that to me is what fishing is really about! Yes, they enjoyed themselves so much that they want to go fishing again! http://www.ponce-inlet.org/
www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=365
