The Magicians Of The Sea

Well, they may not be the magicians of the sea but they certainly are the magicians of the Florida Bay where the dock is that I fish from. I'm pretty sure it's the clever little grunt fish. If you do catch them, they make a funny grunting sound while you're taking the hook out. (I have a catch and release policy so hook out, fish back in the water.)

While fishing with my grandson this week, the little magicians performed their trick of stealing the bait from the hook before the bobber in the water ever indicated that they were even there. The ones that are well practiced get a good meal of shrimp from me. The other ones. . .

I did manage to catch a few who weren't as quick or hadn't practiced their tricks enough. As a matter of fact, I did pretty good for the morning.

My grandson caught a snapper that swallowed the hook really well. He was having trouble getting it out and asked for help. The fish had its jaws clenched tightly. Now normally I would just pry open its mouth with my fingers and I tried that. A little too late my grandson warned me that there were a couple of teeth there. Two pointy "incisors". One of them pierced my thumb. It was like pricking yourself with a needle. We lost the hook when the line broke off but my grandson assured me the fish would eventually spit it out. Okay, if you say so. We tossed him back in.