By Christine Patton
Family Fun With the Rod & Gun Club
Want to get to know your grandchild better? Take him or her out fishing and talk to them. That was the advice of Ed Hajim at his Cultural Center talk, “Talk To Me”, and it works for every parent, grandparent and in-law — nothing like the quiet hours between fish with nowhere else to go for hearing about a young person’s plans and ideas. There will be some good excuses to get out on the water in the last week of the year — both the Fish of the Month contest, and the Holiday Tournament offer chances for fishing action and confidences, and we’ll be happy to post photos of the results, or at least of the fish caught.
Sign up with Ken Reda at MarineMax (ken.reda@marinemax.com or 305-342-0658) for the one-day Holiday Fishing Tournament, no entry fee required and on December 28, take out a team of four — members and guests — and unlimited spectators. The goal is to catch as many fish as possible — most every species counts, and points are graded by size — but the prize is a day with family and friends and a delicious haul for dinner. All the details are on the website, RodandGun.org, and there is a Captain’s Meeting in the Fishing Village at 5 p.m. the 27th. Catch a really big Mutton Snapper and/or Kingfish, and maybe you will win the Fish of the Month for December, also determined by a weigh-in at the Fishing Village Weigh Station, where the prize is a $50 gift certificate for shopping at MarineMax.
The Shooting Range is a good place for private conversations as well. Time between rounds can lend themselves to open-ended discussions that reveal hopes and likes; bring the next generation to the range and I assure you, more will come up than a clay pigeon. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for skeet, sporting clays, trap and air rifle, bow and pellet gun practice at a fully-stocked range with a resident Range Manager. For info plus directions, go to RodandGun.org.
Co-ed Clean-up on January 9
The Rod and Gun Club members are joining forces with the Bonefish Bonnies to help clean the mangroves of debris, with the first outing on January 9th, 9 a.m. to noon, meeting at Buccaneer Island. Ocean Reef Club will provide kayaks, garbage bags, gloves and water and we are looking for volunteers to come out and help. Contact Phil French, RGC Events Chair (events@rodandgun.org) if you are interested in taking care of your environment with like-minded friends.
And don’t forget to send your pictures to me at pattonchristine@me.com. Like this one! Bill McGuire caught this nice bull red fish this fall fishing out of Venice, Louisiana… one of many.
