Jakes Outdoor Adventures -- By Jake Worthington

None of us are born fisherman, but we are
molded and educated into becoming one. The
future of recreational fishing are the children of
today, and we must work hard to introduce them
to this wonderful sport. To attract these children,
we must be proactive and get them away from
the computer and the video games. I grew up on
a canal, and my neighbor always let me fish in
her backyard. I spent many days fishing from her
dock catching Bluegills and Bass. However the
ocean was calling me, and I soon began fishing
from the ocean surf, bridges and fishing piers. At
each one of the places, there was always some
older fishermen that gave me tips and encouraged
me to be a better fisherman. My greatest
classroom was the Avalon Fishing Pier where the
“Pier Elders” would share their secrets with us
kids to make us better fishermen and make us
want to keep coming back. One of the reasons I
have my Facebook Page-- Jakes Outdoor Adventures--
is to share my catches with the hope
of attracting new anglers to our sport. I had the
privilege this summer to take one of my FB followers
out on our boat on his first offshore trip on
his 12th birthday.
Isaac Drummond and his Dad joined us on our
boat in August out of OBX Marina, and we left
headed to the Diamond Shoals Tower in hope of
giving him a trip of a lifetime. On the way south,
we spotted a nice grass bed about 8 miles east
of Avon with a school of Dolphin under it. We
broke out the rods and Isaac got his first Dolphin.
When you catch your first Dolphin, it is a once in
a lifetime moment-- and a moment you will never
forget. The excitement on Isaac’s face was worth
a million dollars when he hooked and landed his
first Dolphin. Isaac hooked and landed some
more and then the bite shut off. We headed south
and before we got to the tower, Isaac hooked and
landed some more Dolphins. We next headed to t
he Diamond Shoals Tower, and then Isaac
got to see what it is like to catch and land
an Amberjack. For those of you who have
never hooked an Amberjack, it is a fight
between man and fish to see who can tire
the other one out first. Well Isaac was so
excited; he won this fight and landed his first
Sea Donkey.
We then started trolling for Wahoo where we
spent the rest of the day. We trolled all day but
the fish Gods didn’t smile on us and we never
got one Wahoo to bite. We did get to see a
Sailfish crash our baits, but we couldn’t keep him
on. When the day was over, we now had another
young angler hooked. He was one happy little
guy with the memories he had with his Dad.