For starters, I’m not superstitious. I don’t believe that catching a fish on the first cast has any “jinxing” effect. Occasionally the only fish that bites just happens to be on the first cast.
That’s exactly what happened to me this week while doing some photo work and fishing on the Georgia coast. I caught a fish on the first cast I made after arriving at St Simons Island, and then I didn’t catch another fish (or get another bite that I detected) the rest of that day or the next day.
The lone fish, a small bluefish, ate a YUM FF Sonar Minnow fished beneath a Paradise Popper popping cork, cast from the beach near the St Simons Pier. Bluefish aren’t usually alone, so I had high hopes of catching more, and I even tried a couple of flashier, faster-moving lures that tend to prompt bluefish attacks. To no avail.
I will say that I didn’t fish an enormous amount on those days. Shooting lure photos was the main objective and my time priority. I fished some in various spots with hopes of getting some lure-in-mouth photos, I think with some quality presentations in good spots. Nothing else obliged, though.
The bluefish did give me my first saltwater catch of 2026, and one fish is certainly better than no fish!
Fishing on Foot 