Since I could never get my Dad into a kayak I decided to find a good charter in the area. I found a great deal on Groupon to go fishing with a guy named Matt from XS Anglers. Me met up at the boat ramp I was familiar with and hit the water. It was my first time fishing the Indian River. Normally I would drive to a boat ramp to get into the Mosquito Lagoon or the Banana River. I was optimistic and curious about what it was going to be like.

As soon as we got to the first spot Matt wanted to take us to we started with some plastics. I was using a top-water lure. Dad was using some kind of jig on a jig head. I was amazed. The both of us were hitting these HUGE trout left and right. Every few minutes we’d get a new hit on the lure and bring a big beautiful fish in the boat.

Look at those potholes! It’s trout heaven!

After a while the sun was up and the trout action seemed to slow down. Matt decided it was time to bring in the heavy artillery. Out came different rigs and huge chunks of mullet. What happened next is a moment I’ll never forget.

I caught my first redfish!