18 June 2013

I was off on a soundside adventure this morning with the Argents from Asheville, NC: Mike, Sharon, Hannah, Reese, Ryan, and Andrew.

The sky was starting to cloud up as we headed off to Pelican Island. We had a nice trip there and saw an Osprey with a nice trout in its talons as we motored by its nest.

After looking at the birds, we stopped and got out for a collecting hike. The kids found loads of things to check out: hermit crabs, oysters, limpets, barnacles, assorted shells, and a piece of what appears to be a turtle shell. Hannah made it into some cool boat art. We released the critters and found a fishing hole.

Ryan started things off with a nice sea mullet. It wasn't long after when Ryan's rod just doubled over. I helped him a little but he brought a 20-pound Atlantic stingray to the boat in short order. All the kids got to feel what it felt like to hang on to that sea monster. We released it unharmed as we always do on these trips.

Everybody went on to catch some fish. Andrew started slow but caught up quickly when he brought in two at a time. We ended up with the ray, some Southern kingfish (sea mullet), Atlantic croakers, and some Pinfish. We made it off the water just as the rain started.

Good timing guys! It was a great morning with some great folks.

Northern kingfish
Northern kingfish
Atlantic stingray
OBX Atlantic stingray