Marco Island is an annual vacation spot we do every year. As a family we have been to Marco 13 times, I’ve been going since my first birthday! If you haven’t heard of Marco Island it is located in southwest Florida, and located near Naples. This year we went to go see sun sets, went paddle boarding, and fished A LOT.
Almost every day it rained and I heard the week before we got there, there was 18 inches of rain. So that means there was a lot of mosquitoes. Everywhere you went there would be bugs, and you would get bitten and it would itch, it was disgusting! When it wasn’t raining we would go to the beach to see a sunset. The sun would make the sky turn different colors such as purple, orange, and pink; it was beautiful. During the day on the beach we went paddle boarding. It was my first time and it was amazing, I recommend going paddle boarding. Where I went the water was clear and I was able to see fish and cool shells, I saw a sting ray, a crab, and a couple of sand dollars.
For the past three years we have done a fishing competition to see who can catch the most fish, and every time I have won. The rental house we stay at has a dock, and we fish out of it into a canal, which eventually leads into the Gulf of Mexico. We usually catch snapper, sheepshead, and catfish. This year we rented a pontoon boat and we went to this small island not far from Marco. When we arrived at the island, I baited my hook with shrimp and started to fish. I caught eight fish, seven whiting and one catfish, which helped me gain points in the fishing competition. I am certain I caught the same exact fish three different times because it was the same size, I caught him in the same spot, and it already had holes in his lip. When we were driving back to the Marina I was given the chance to drive the boat. The one thing I learned was “Red Right Returning.” This means the red buoys should be on the right side of the boat when returning from the ocean. The next day we went on this charter boat to go off shore fishing. We have done off shore fishing before and we catch about 50 fish and keep about 25 fish, and then eat fish for dinner. This year was totally different. At our first stop we were trying to catch snapper and gag grouper. We fished there for about an hour and a half. I caught two fish…… I caught a small snapper which we weren’t allowed to keep because it was too small and I also caught a bait fish. The coolest part of the boat ride was seeing a nine foot tiger shark swimming behind the boat. The captain said that is why we were not catching snapper. The next fishing spot we fished at was even farther out into the Gulf. I caught one fish there, it was a small snapper again and it is called a grunt snapper because it likes to make noises like a pig. We used the grunt as bait to try and catch a big fish. The grunt didn’t catch anything big, but someone else caught something big. The captain said it was either a nurse shark or a goliath grouper that weighed about 100 pounds. Eventually the line snapped and we didn’t know for sure what it was. In total my family caught about 15 fish and we were only allowed to keep four snappers. At the end of the trip I won the fishing competition with 12 fish and my brother came second with nine fish.
So this year’s trip to Marco Island was really fun and I am glad I tried out new things such as, Paddle Boarding and learning how to drive a boat. I know I will be returning next year and I hope to make a lot more memories.
Danger Digs It 