The writer's son shows off his catch.
By Pete Gruenthal
To kick off our kids’ summer vacation, a buddy and I decided to hang a “gone fishin” sign out and take our 8-year-old boys bass fishing. My son Jason (pictured) and I were new to bass fishing (Mike and Troy are seasoned fishermen), so we decided to try out Bass Nitro Fishing at Walt Disney World. We booked a 2-hour afternoon excursion from Disney’s Contemporary Resort marina for the waterways of Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon.
We could tell this was going to be great time when our guide Travis pulled up in a tournament-style boat fully prepped with all the gear we needed and stocked with sodas and waters for a June afternoon in the Florida sun.
Travis proceeded to outfit our boys with life vests while explaining their catch-and-release program, the use of the equipment, and fishing with artificial bait or live shiners. It became evident there is some lighthearted pressure on the part of the guides to make sure their guests are successful at catching fish. There was a friendly competition between guides talking over walkie talkies asking “where are they biting?” While no one gave away their best secrets,Travis set us up so we caught 7 fish, with everyone catching at least one.
I learned how fun it is to watch your pole bend and wiggle with the fight of a fish. It was estimated the biggest we caught was around two pounds, yet Travis reported the largest he had caught on the resort’s waterways was nine pounds. It’s funny that over the course of telling others about our day, our catch got bigger and bigger. This is great family fun if you want to do something a bit different on your Disney vacation. To top if off, each excursion receives a one-year membership to B.A.S.S. (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society), including 11 issues of Bassmaster Magazine.
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Pete Gruenthal is a Strategic Account Manager for Orbitz Worldwide and is based in Orlando. His two boys, 5 and 8, love living here with all the family fun to be had, but we also enjoy taking short weekend getaways to see what the rest of Florida has to offer.
Sounds like a great time! Can’t wait to dip a line next time I’m in Flroida.
use these 3 fishing tips too.1. Fish face upstream. If you are behind them, you can catch them directly in front of you.2. If you can see to the bottom of the creek, they can see you! Approaching a creek or stream from the bank often spooks fish.3. It is much easier to cast to a pocket, pool or small riffle from the center of a stream and maintain a slow retrieve. Best of all you are in an ideal position to cast effectively towards either bank.