After breakfast, it was time for the Easter fesitivites on Sampson Cay. At 10am, they had an Easter Egg Hunt for all the kids. There were about a dozen children including ours, a few from the other villas & marina, and a few kids of employees. They seemed to have a good time racing around finding the eggs and even more fun inspecting the contents. Afterward. they had sack races and egg-on-a-spoon races. Afterwards, Michele & I took Brandon & Justin down to our little private beach for a while. We had a nice time swimming, sunning, & just relaxing.
Before long, it was time to head back to the room and get ready for our afternoon fishing charter. First we went back to the restaurant and enjoyed a delicious Easter lunch buffett. Then, we met our guide, "Bonefish" in the bar and headed to the dock.
True to his name, Bonefish planned to help us catch some bonefish. He motored us about 10 - 15 minutes North and picked out a spot that looked promising. He anchored the boat and then found a conch to use for bait. After preparing the bait and getting our rods ready, we jumped out and started walking in the knee-deep water. Catching bonefish is a bit like hunting --you have to stalk them. The bonefish cluster in groups and tend to move in & out with the tide. Every now & then, we'd see some of them nearby and we'd try to work our way close to them without scaring them away.
I must admit, I don't have enough patience for this type of fishing and was soon feeling a little frustrated. I then reminded myself to look around: Crystal clear waters, warm sunshine, Michele & the boys nearby, a cold Kalik waiting for me on the boat...I was quite happy just to be here whether I caught a fish or not. Once I got my attituded adjusted, I was much more relaxed. Soon, we spotted some more bonefish nearby and our guide helped Justin cast just ahead of them. FISH ON --Justin brought in a nice one!
After the excitement, we all went back to the boat for a breather and I suggested we try some reef fishing for a while. Bonefish grabbed a few more conchs and then got us underway. He soon has us anchored near a few coral heads in calm waters. As soon as we casted, we could feel the nibbles right away. The hardest part was waiting for the big one to bite. But, we caught fish steadily: grouper, snapper, grunt --we didn't care. The boys were having a great time!
The fishing died down after a while, so we moved to another spot a little further out into the sea. Luckily there was a light breeze, slack tide, and calm waters, so it was very pleasant. Fishing was great at this spot, too. Roland even had an eel on the line for a while! It managed to get off the hook as it neared the boat and we saw it swim back to it's hole.
As 5:00 rolled around, we decided to pull the hooks in and go for a swim. We donned our snorkel gear and check out the areas where we had just been fishing. It was teaming with life, including a nurse shark and a Pacific Lionfish. Feeling much refreshed, we jumped back in the boat and Bonefish took us home. It was a GREAT trip!
We got cleaned up and came down for dinner. Afterwards, we went back to the room to relax. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset from our balconey. I was tired from another long day and could barely keep my eyes open past 9pm.
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