9-Year-Old Finds First Catch

Ashton Smith wanted his daughter’s first saltwater fishing trip to be perfect.

He weighed the merits and demerits of a half-day trip and at three-quarter-day trip. Smith thought the three-quarter-day trip might be too long a day for his nine-year-old daughter Annika, but decided he would leave it up to her.

Annika didn't hesitate, choosing the longer trip on the boat Enterprise.

The father-daughter duo from Palos Verdes had to get up at 5 a.m. on Saturday and head down to Long Beach Marina Sportfishing.

“That was not too fun,” Annika said. “It was still dark outside.”

Smith introduced himself to Capt. Frank Savino who welcomed the pair on board. He told them that after picking up live bait, they would be traveling about an hour to the fishing grounds.

The target fish was rockfish. Not big fighters but excellent tablefare.

The travel time on the Enterprise was a good excuse for Annika and her father to dine on breakfast burritos and play cards. Savino was on the ships speakers pointing out pods of dolphins and mentioning Annika by name: “Annika, take a look off the starboard side and you’ll see a pod of dolphins headed right for us.”

After an hour, Savino pulled back on the Enterprises throttles and told the anglers on deck to get ready. Annika was first out of the galley with her father not far behind. They baited their hooks and sent them down 240 feet where the rockfish live.

Before long, Annika was catching fish.

It was quite a feat to reel back 240 feet of line with a heavy sinker on it as well as the hooked fish, but Annika just kept turning the handle. At first, peering down into the water, the fish appeared as a red blur moving closer and closer to the surface with every turn of the handle.

Before too long, Annika would lift another rockfish over the rail. The catch was as diverse as ever and Annika wanted to learn the names of the various fish she was catching.

“We caught sculpin, treefish, grouper, red snapper, and lots more," Annika said on Sunday evening's Fish Talk Radio with Philip Friedman on AM 830. "Just seeing all of these creatures has taught me how important it is to take care of the ocean.”

Annika was not only excelling in the fishing department but was also winning the Enterprise crew over. On the trip home, Savino put Annika at the helm and had her pilot the mighty Enterprise back to port for a 4 p.m. arrival. With the vhf radio blaring in the background, Capt. Annika took hold of the giant steering wheel and headed the ship back to Marina Sportfishng in Long Beach.

“There were a few times when I was getting tired and had to drag myself out of the galley,” Smith said. “But Annika was the first on deck, ready to fish every single time.”

Just when it seemed this adventure was about to end, Annika and her father returned home to share their bounty with family and friends. They transformed the fish they had plucked from the sea just hours earlier into delicious fish tacos.

“People just couldn't believe how fresh and tasty the fish was,” Smith said. “It was the perfect end to Annika’s first fishing trip."

And the crew hopes Annika and her father will be back.

“I think we hooked her,” Savino said. “She is an incredible little girl with a great father that we hope we will be seeing again very soon.”