Learning Red Neck?

        I by far am not a pretty pretty princess, nor am I a lumber jack kind of a gal either. I guess I fall somewhere in between like many ladies do. As a kid I remember going fishing, and going often. I can't say I remember baiting hook, taking a fish off the line, but I'm pretty sure I caught one or two back then. Dad would take us to the beach, or back bay somewhere and we drop lines. I remember sitting on the dock as a young child fishing in Maryland off gramp's friend's dock you see they were commercial crab fishermen. So, when Special K said I'm taking you surf fishing cause you won't teach me how to ride, I decided I better learn to surf fish. I want folks to learn the right why how to ride and not pick up any bad habits I have developed over the years. As always I told her you have to take the MSF, once you do that I have no problems helping continue to grow and develop as a rider. I always got the same response from her. There is no way I want to be responsible for not teaching some one something correctly and they pay the ultimate price.
       She came by and picked me up and then we headed up Monument Road, on to Wonderwood, then up Girving on to Atlantic Blvd. She pulled into a little bate shop off of Atlantic Blvd near Ink Smiths and Rogers there bought some bate, and a few other items. She babbled to the counter man what was biting in the surf, on what and blah blah blah, other words things I didn't understand. I've done this before when I was little so I didn't think it would be hard at all. She was thinking about going out to the Jacksonville Pier, but decided to go down to Vero Beach there, in front of the Gate gas station on A1A. We got the crap out and put into Special K's little beach wagon thing, its kind of a nifty. It has pole holders and places to stack chairs on it with room for one big cooler or two little ones, we went with the two little ones. Beer and fishing might go together but I really don't want to mix me bottles with the bate smell ya know.
      We crossed over to the beach found the board walk, picked a spot on the beach. Set the chairs out, got the pole out and then she handed me this thing that was heavy sort of with this big loop, and "little wire legs". She says, " slip this throw the line, then pull it through again, we aren't going to tie this on we want it to allow the line to flow freely through it. This weight ought anchors  itself in the sand and doesn't let the tide push the line in. Now for the hook. She handed me the hook with a latch type looking thing on it, and stated that she usually didn't use this kind because no self respecting fisher man uses this kind of loop/hook thing. To tie it on its 11 loops around not 8 loops around, then pull tight. Well she was out wadding in the surf casting away, and I was wrestling with them 11 loops. Finally, I managed to get the dam thing knotted and tied. Next lesson Baiting the hook. No problem I'm sure I've done this before I remember using bread or corn for little sunnies.  I look up and few of the other folks fishing was kind of watching.
          Reach yourself in there and grab a shrimp, ok no problem, ewww god the things is big not the little shrimp cocktail kind. She says," big bate bigger fish" So, I tried to jam the hook into the head she says "no, no no what are ya doing? I thought you've done this before?" I shrugged at her I mean I have done it I just don't remember right. I just stare at her my eyes must have been huge, "what" she says, "ya gotta rip the head off before ya can put it on the hook. I will not rip the head off your shrimp you are going to have to do it."  I ripped the head off the shrimp and all this golden brown junk comes out then I jammed the body onto the hook like I was shown. Man that is freaking gross! I've noticed that the guys that were close to us on the beach kind of picked up and mover further away, this bate thing really kind of goes against the person I am ya know. So, all bated up I march out to the water take a few moments of casting instructions and, cast away! YAY!  The bait flew off the hook landed on the man's hat next to us, my line some how twisted all around his, geeze I guess there's more than one way to catch a man. He says,"yep, I didn't mover far enough down the beach from you I knew it." As I look up and down the beach all the guys are grabbing their gear and well marching further and further away from us. "Great, says Special K, now we be marked from now on". The guys were giggling I could see them I knew they was just making fun of this Yankee Girl and pitting my poor friend.
        I was trying to untwist the man's line and he just whipped out a knife and cut his line and mumbled something under his breath like "dam yankees aren't bad enough but to bring princess too". We pretty much had no neighbors now so I was sure I wouldn't get all tangled up with any one else's line. I cast a few times and I think Mr Crabbie Dudes got the bait, but on one of the last casts I felt me a jerk and caught me a fish,  Man I was having a hard time bringing it in, once I got it to my shin level in water I picked it up and walked back with it. "Wow, that's a good sized whitey," it was about 8" ,"for this time of year" says K. "Now get it off you hook, just grab em' about the waist and hold tight and work the hook out with the other hand." "What!" I kind of yelled thinking to my self man that dude was right I was a dam yankee princes! No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't grab that little fishy, I had to use the bag from the bait to touch the fish to get it off. The guy that was attacked by my bait comes over to take a peek, shakes his head and says. " I'll be dammed the only one that caught a fish this day and its a keeper too, is Prissy Princess Yankee" He slaps my back, and says "we'll make a neck out you yet girl, ya just got to get over yourself."  Hummm, I should  right, ok so I didn't like ripping heads off and touching the fish and my cast needs some work but dam it, I can stand on the beach with a pole in my hand and drink with the best them. Yankee Princess indeed
           I did go surf fishing again, with Special K a few weeks near the Jacksonville Pier after work on Saturday, I can't say my casting in proved but I can say I hooked a young one this time, you know what I'm talking about ladies he could see his feet, and didn't have hair because he chose not to. Yeah he was just as thrilled as the first guy I caught. Oh well ya can't fault a gal for trying. This time I had a camo t-shirt on instead of pink, cut the head off with me knife, and drank bud out of a can, I will get this redneck thing down if it kills me! Next time I'll get my casting down and the guys won't have to move and point and laugh I might even try to rip the shrimpie dudes head off. Have a great one!  "T"