Restoring old fishing memories with new ones

For the past few months, Elliott (my son), David (my brother) and I have been restoring my father’s old Kenner Pro Skiff. In the years since my dad passed away, the boat had fallen into disrepair. The engine was inoperable. The steering was locked up. The trailer was a death trap. Literally, nothing on the boat was in working condition. 

 

However, the three of us thought it would be pretty cool to fish out of my dad’s boat once again. So, we put in the time and effort to bring it back. Last week, we completed the replacement of all the major systems. It was time for a shake down fishing trip.

 

We launched the boat into the start of the falling tide. The water was clear and 60 degrees. Perfect conditions for targeting trout with suspending lures. As we idled around for an hour to complete the engine break-in period, we rigged our spinning rods with long fluorocarbon leaders and tied on Lucky Craft Pointer (78SP) suspending lures. To tell the truth, we were so stoked to be in dad’s old boat, that catching a fish would be a bonus. 

 

As we idled around, Elliott noticed a small creek draining over an oyster bar. It just looked too good to pass up. The engine break-in would have to wait! I deployed the trolling motor and moved us into casting range. Elliott and David fired casts into the creek mouth and began a sharp twitch and long pause retrieve. Both their lures were crushed by trout. First trip in the restored Kenner. First cast. First fish. You could hear our hooting and hollering from miles away.

 

Being the only one to not catch a fish on their first cast, I became the official photographer and target of many jokes. Were were all laughing so hard, I nearly dropped my iPhone in the water. As David brought his fish to the boat, I commented that it looked like a trout but only smaller. This got us laughing even more.  

 

Restoring the Pro Skiff was a long and arduous process. But we did it together and made it fun. If you see three happy looking Hawaiian guys and a stock-trading dog in a Kenner Pro Skiff, chances are it is us. Hope to see you out there.

 

Contact Captain Greg Peralta at captgregp@gmail.com or call 843-224-0099.