# Oriole Beach Boat Ramp...



## Simply Sweet

Hahaha...
Clearly I just want to jump in and post.

My son is 4 and I grew up with a strong love for fishing. So as a single Mom to the coolest little boy, I'm thrilled that he's showing such excitement for something I love to do.

We've been hitting up the boat ramp lately because it's close and the perfect kind of fun for my little guy.

We are catching copious amounts of pinfish with squid which jump on and off the line non stop. Then I'll use them as live bait on another pole to cast out and wait for something bigger to hit. So far we've hooked up with several redfish, trout & catfish. I got my first Ladyfish last night which was super fun to reel in. It was jumping and skipping across the water putting on quite a show with a decent fight.

I enjoy reading your reports and seeing all the pics! For the lucky ones getting to go offshore this weekend for snapper fishing - good luck and have a blast! :thumbup:


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## fla_scout

Awesome! Kid looks like he was having a ball, good on you for getting him out there.


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## BananaTom

That is awesome. Always love it when a kid discovers the joy of fishing.


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## Simply Sweet

Thanks!!! He's good too!
He loves to yell out "FISH ON!" when he's got one and then he'll scream "FISH ON FISH OFF" when he gets a good bite but no fish. That can actually get annoying but I don't tell him so because it's all about just having fun for us.

He even likes to touch them with 1 finger now (a big improvement) and has declared that he is better at fishing than me because the fish don't jump on my pole like they do his! HA!


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## bowdiddly

You are one of the very few single moms, that I know of, that does that for their child. I was also raised by a single mom and she took me fishing and camping too. It is something that I will never forget, and I miss her.

God Bless you and your son.


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## Simply Sweet

Thanks Bow! I'm sure she's looking down on you and is very proud.
God Bless you too!


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## mike_s

That's cool! I like taking my daughter fishing. Nice Ladyfish I haven't caught one of those yet.


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## willie mckoy

What a cool post and great pics! I grew up fishing that same area and the biggest trout I have ever seen swam past the end of the Oriole Beach dock one day while me and my little brother were catching pin fish for bait. That was about 30 years ago and I still catch myself looking for that fish whenever I go there!

Another thing we did at Oriole Beach that was fun for my younger brothers was to wade in the grass at night with a flashlight and catch shrimp with a little dip net. It's good practice for flounder gigging when they get older.

Your little man sure is lucky to have you for a mom!


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## fishmagician

Super, your on the right track with that little guy, keep it up and the rewards will great later on.


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## BananaTom




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## BananaTom

Bout time to that boy on some big fish


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## Jason

Fixed them pics fer ya!!! Dang fine time ya'll had!!! Glad you are spending quality time w/ your youngin' fer these times he will never forget!!!



Caption this: Whad'a ya mean, we are throwing it back!!!:shifty:








LOVE THAT LOOK!!!!


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## Simply Sweet

HA! Thanks y'all! And thanks Jason for the pic fix! On my phone they looked right but on my computer they were sideways! We were there last night too and got a big sail cat but not much else. Did get a nice little vid clip of a green sea turtle that had no fear and was just cruising around checking out the fish filet carcasses in the grass. 

This boy got his lifetime fishing license for his 3rd birthday!! We are waiting for his Uncle to come back in now to check out their haul. I decided to listen to what some of y'all were saying about the chop expected since the boat was going to be packed and I'm recovering from a lower back thing... It's been 9 hours and they still aren't back! 

Hope everyone is catching lots o' fish!


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## Jason

Simply Sweet said:


> This boy got his lifetime fishing license for his 3rd birthday!!


That's an awesome gift that lasts a lifetime, especiallyif your baby sprouts wings and flies to another state in the future! Will be good regardless....all my youngin's got their lifetime sportsman licenses.....Even my baby gurl who only hunts every once in a while!!!

Keep on doing what you are doing!!!:thumbsup:


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## Borty

Brings back memories.... I grew up,on that pier over 20 years ago. Used to ride my bike off the end and practice flips into the water. Caught several trout/ redfish and learned about the water!


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## bowdiddly

Simply Sweet said:


> Thanks Bow! I'm sure she's looking down on you and is very proud.
> God Bless you too!


By the way, would you believe I had hair just like his when I was a kid !
All my cousins called me Curly, some still do even though most of my hair is gone now......


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## orbiting headquarters

hahaha, that kid looks like he is having a blast. Good for you mom! He will never forget!


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## shootnstarz

I too grew up on that pier, or the one before it actually, in the 60s. I am so glad I got to experience the area before the big boom in the 80s.

That's where I caught my first fish, a speck, where I learned to swim and pretty much where I lived all summer long, including spending many a night "camping out" on it. It was the center of my young world.

It's great to see your kid enjoying it as I did over 50 years ago.

Rick

PS: We need to get him a real saltwater spinning rod and reel, let me see what all I have and I can bring one over next time I'm in he area.


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## ANGELEYES

I have seen this kid when coming home!!!! Good job keep him interested in fishing!! Good job mom


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## Rooster21

Simply, a Sweet Thread


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## Simply Sweet

Thanks y'all! 
And... I see what you did there! 
;-)


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## ALtoAK

Great to see parents passing the passion along to kids. 

FISH ON!


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## Yaksquatch

Excellent, starting him off young! I love seeing threads like this on the forum!

Keep up the good work!
Alex

P.S. Just wait till he get's old enough for a kayak. Then it'll be GAME ON!!!


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## Simply Sweet

WOOHOO!
Just got the word that we're going offshore!!!
We're leaving around 1 and going about 15-25 miles out. (weather permitting)
Going to limit out on snapper & whatever else we can catch.
Will post a report once we get back... unless we strike out. Ha... 
The kid spent all last week at Disney with his Grandparents and he's been asking to go fishing ever since he got back! 

Happy fishing!


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## Jason

Simply Sweet said:


> WOOHOO!
> Just got the word that we're going offshore!!!
> We're leaving around 1 and going about 15-25 miles out. (weather permitting)
> Going to limit out on snapper & whatever else we can catch.
> Will post a report once we get back... unless we strike out. Ha...
> The kid spent all last week at Disney with his Grandparents and he's been asking to go fishing ever since he got back!
> 
> Happy fishing!


Good luck, it's gonna be rocky...I came over Brooks Bridge and saw white capin in the gulf! I think I'm waiting until morning!


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## Simply Sweet

I didn't take any pics... But we left around 3 instead of 1. I got skunked with my cast net catching bait... Was so confident I'd have a gazillion but my net just doesn't drop fast enough so I spent about an hour at the OBBR catching bait on the pole. Needless to say, we had to stop on the way out to catch more bait. Found a sweet honey hole and got a bunch in no time on sabiki. The water was choppy going out but the Scorpion cut through them beautifully. The cloud cover was an added bonus making it a nice fishing day into evening. We hooked up to a nice cobia which broke loose at the boat. We did limit out on snapper but ended up having to keep a few small guys since the SHARKS were pleantiful everywhere we went. Think we got cut off by sharks at least 10 times. I personally got cut off twice and sadly - they always went after the only 40 pound snappers we hooked up to... Haha. They felt like the biggest before the Sharks scored easy dinner.

I was able to fight mine the longest but we never did bring them up close enough to the boat to check them out. We filet'd and grilled up the smallest RS and it was delicious with some blackening seasoning on it.

The kid ended up having a great time! He slept on the big bean bag chairs in back of the boat with me and then really enjoyed watching the guys catch the bait. I finally got the hang of that sabiki dehooker so we were getting them in the live well quick.

He was so excited every time one of us got a fish and helped me reel ups small RS. He also enjoyed seeing the small pod of chicken dolphin that swam around the boat. We tossed out some squid for them but they were pretty small and we never hooked up. 

All in all - we had a really great time! It's good to have a brother in law with a nice boat who takes us out every once in a while. We are on standby right now to see if we are going to get out there this morning or not. 

Happy fishing!


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## Jason

This morning was HORRIBLE!!!! Sitting back at the camper drying out!!! Glad ya'll got out yesterday....


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## froggy

you are an awesome mom. looks like he had a swimmingly good time !!


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## dustyflair

This is FISHING at it's purest form. The baby isn't worried about species or sizes or limits. It seems like we all have become infatuated with catching the biggest and limits of our target species. I'm going back to fishing like this young man. I'm just gonna do it for the LOVE of it. For the love of the outdoors. For the love of being alive. Thanks for posting simply sweet, it has made me realize what I have lost sight of.


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## Simply Sweet

Thanks guys!

Jason- not sure if you can remember that day but we went out after all! There were storms all around so we headed out and stopped for bait. Wasn't as bountiful as the day before but we got enough and headed out towards the only little patch of blue sky. But it quickly became clear that we would be surrounded and could no longer out run the rain... We slowed the boat down and the sky opened up!!! It was pouring, everywhere you looked was nothing but grey. The seas were probably 2-3 but with big swells and not the choppy kind I was expecting. But after about 30 minutes we saw some light and next thing you know the rain stops and the seas calm and the sun came out. We got our limit and checked out a few big weed lines. We hooked up into what we were hoping was a big mahi but turned out to be a Bonita. All in all the bad day turned out awesome. Can I post a picture from my phone?


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## Jason

Simply Sweet said:


> Thanks guys!
> 
> Jason- not sure if you can remember that day but we went out after all! There were storms all around so we headed out and stopped for bait. Wasn't as bountiful as the day before but we got enough and headed out towards the only little patch of blue sky. But it quickly became clear that we would be surrounded and could no longer out run the rain... We slowed the boat down and the sky opened up!!! It was pouring, everywhere you looked was nothing but grey. The seas were probably 2-3 but with big swells and not the choppy kind I was expecting. But after about 30 minutes we saw some light and next thing you know the rain stops and the seas calm and the sun came out. We got our limit and checked out a few big weed lines. We hooked up into what we were hoping was a big mahi but turned out to be a Bonita. All in all the bad day turned out awesome. Can I post a picture from my phone?


Man you had better luck then I did last week out there!!! Glad it worked out fer ya.....I'm hoping to get back out this weekend between the rain!!!

As fer posting from your phone, you have to have the APP Forum Runner. It's like $1.99. I use it a little here and there, most times I just send my phone pics to photobucket and go from there!!!:thumbsup:


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## BananaTom

You can tell a great story.


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