My son Dave is a pilot; he flies cargo-filled 747s all over the globe. But there was a time when he was a little kid whose idea of adventure was going fishing with his Dad.

He was about 7 or 8 years old when we entered a local ocean fishing derby. We had a small aluminum skiff on a trailer beside the house, and we got it all ready to go.

We lubed up our fishing reels, checked the guides on our rods, sharpened our fish hooks, bought bait and packed a lunch.

Launch time for the fishing derby was 6 a.m., and that is when we were at the Santa Barbara Launch Ramp. So were many other entrants, and all of them had bigger fancier boats. Others were maneuvering their yachts out of their harbor slips.

Outside the harbor, throttles went down, RPMs went up, and numerous boats roared away headed for island hotspots or honey holes way up the coast near Hollister Ranch.

Our little 15HP outboard didn’t sound quite as mean, nor did we go very fast. But we had a solid plan.

I knew some local structure spots, which were sunken boats or other items around Fool’s Anchorage outside the harbor. It is one of the few remaining designated free anchorage areas along the coast.

Dave and I used every fishing secret and trick we knew. We fished all day, and because we stayed close by, we put in more fishing time than those big boats that made runs for far off destinations.

One of the tricks I used was the power of fishing the tide for certain fishes which feed during specific tidal phases. High tide that morning was about 7:30 a.m. and we were fishing it hard while many of our competition were still racing for the fishing grounds.

Late in the afternoon the competitors gathered at a grassy spot near a marina gate to compare catches and determine winners.

We hauled our cooler to the spot and set it down with a groan, which caused the big boat guys to laugh.

When Dave opened the lid of our cooler, the laughing suddenly stopped. We had our legal limits of fish, and they were delicious species. Other derby entrants gathered around as we emptied the cooler.

When the weighing and measuring was finished, I won the prize for  the biggest fish, and my son won the prize for the most fish.

What surprised everyone was that we never went more than a mile away from the harbor to win the derby.

That fishing trip was a special bonding moment for Dave and me. Oh, and the whole family ate well for a few days.