Sometimes the best part of the trip is getting a turn at the helm.
One of the things I’ve always enjoyed about charter fishing is taking kids out on the water.
I’ve been fishing around Cape Cod for more than 50 years, and I’ve caught an awful lot of fish in that time. But there’s still something special about watching a kid catch one of their first fish.
Sometimes I think the kids get more excited than the adults.
Then again, sometimes I’m not so sure.
For a lot of families visiting Cape Cod, taking the kids fishing is something they’ve talked about doing for years. The parents may have grown up fishing themselves and want their children to experience it, or sometimes nobody in the family has ever been fishing before.
That’s perfectly fine with me.
You don’t need any experience to come aboard ReelEzee. I enjoy showing people how to hold the rod, what to do when a fish hits, and then watching what happens when that rod suddenly bends over.
That’s when things get interesting.
Every once in a while, the fish looks almost as big as the young angler.
And every once in a while, a young angler ends up fighting a striped bass that looks almost as big as they are.
Those are the pictures that tend to stay in the family for a long time.
But I’ve learned that kids don’t necessarily remember only the fish.
They remember being out on Cape Cod Bay.
They remember seeing seals, whales and birds.
They remember riding in the boat.
And sometimes one of the biggest highlights of the whole day is sitting in the captain’s chair and getting a chance to take the helm.
I especially enjoy that part.
Fishing gives families something that’s getting harder to find these days – a few hours together without everybody rushing somewhere else.
Some days we catch a lot of fish. Some days we have to work harder to find them.
That’s fishing.
But when a family walks back up the dock at the end of the trip and one of the kids is still talking about the fish they caught – or how they got to drive Captain Joe’s boat – I figure we had a pretty good day.
If you’re visiting Cape Cod and have been thinking about taking your kids fishing, bring them along.
You never know.
You might be introducing them to something they’ll enjoy for the rest of their lives.
– Capt. Joe Francis