The water temperature snuck past that magic 70 degree mark this week, and things are beginning to happen. The fishing was much improved, and things are busting loose!

The first trip of the week was with Jon Waitz, of Ann Arbor, Michigan. I first fished with John about three years ago. He's a great guy who loves fishing, and we had a great time. He was joined by his friend Gary Matthews.

We headed to Tarpon Bay to catch bait as the sun rose. With Gary tossing the chum, it took about an hour, and we were ready to go fishing. We had beautiful bait, but we had a long, slow sixteen hour tide that makes catching very hard, indeed.

Based upon what had happened the week prior, I decided to head straight north into the Sound. It had been very hard to get anything to eat in the south end. At our first stop, Jon and Gary scored several nice snook and a couple of trout of about 5 pounds each. There were lots of scaled baits, as well, which means the fish were interested, but not committing. After fishing the area thoroughly, we moved on.

From there it seemed to be one snook per hole, as we hit several holes catching only one fish at each. With the exception of the first stop, it had been about what I expected, though. Yet, we caught some nice fish, and had a great time. And, it was great to see John again, after several years. You can tell from the smiles in the pictures, John thoroughly enjoys fishing!

Tuesday was my first trip with Todd Smith and his long time friend Phil Buxton. None of us could know as we left the dock that morning that it would be a day that we'd never forget.

The day began in normal fashion. We headed to Tarpon Bay, where we caught bait without too much trouble. We had plenty and were set for a day of fishing. We had a tide that was similar to the day before, but it did have the water moving better very early in the morning until about ten o'clock.

It was once we arrived at the first spot that I realized that these two fellows from Missouri had fished very little, and were complete neophytes to saltwater fishing. So, I began the day with a class that would include the basics of handling open faced spinning reels and high-modulus rods, care and feeding of the bait once it's on the hook, casting, fighting the fish, and so forth. I was at the point of beginning the casting part of the clinic, and had just put a shiner on Todd's hook. I turned around to get a shiner for Phil, when I heard that all too familiar sound of a bait smacking flesh. I didn't want to look. But, I had to. I turned around to the sight of Phil with a shiner dancing around at the end of his nose. His eyes were as big as half dollars, and he wasn't yet sure of what had happened. Well, Todd had accomplished the impossible with a circle hook. He had hooked Phil right through the gristle that is between the nostrils, and the point of the circle hook was exposed on the other side, but the barb was still in the gristle. Damn! Actually, it was the first time anyone other than me has ever been hooked in my boat.

Having been the hookee all too many times in my life, I knew that it probably didn't hurt. It happens so fast that there is usually no pain. It can be very painful later, though. The first thing I did was cut the line and remove the now dead shiner to get the hanging weight off his nose. Once we realized that Phil wasn't mortally wounded we relaxed a bit. I think Phil was as worried about how he looked with a hook hanging out of his nose as he was anything. I tried my hardest to cut the Owner Mutu Light circle hook, but you ain't about to cut that with fishing pliers.

"Does it hurt, Phil?"
"No. I really can't feel a thing, and it's not bleeding!"
"Good! We fish!" I told the guys.
"What about the hook?" Phil asked.
"We'll get it out later." I replied.

And, we fished. AT that first stop the boys caught three big ladyfish and a couple of snook. Enough to get their feet wet. But, the bite was short lived. We headed north, settling on a beautiful mangrove key that is great for spring snooking. And, it was great. Todd and Phil caught several nice snook and one redfish. By this time, Todd had gone from the apologetic mode to the laughing mode, and every time he looked at Phil he'd start to giggle. And, as the day went on it seemed to get funnier. That was aggravated by the fact that Phil couldn't quit messing with the hook, although I kept telling him to leave it alone. I figured at some point it was going to begin to hurt.

Once things slowed there, we moved on further north to a favorite spot of mine at the top of the tide. The wind was perfect to be able to fish it from a long way off. We had a great bite there. Todd and Phil caught lots of fish with several of them almost at 28 inches. The boys were having a blast. Especially, Todd. He couldn't look at Phil and not laugh out loud. It was too funny.

By now we were tired and hungry. I suggested we go to lunch at the Waterfront Restaurant in St. James City. Phil shuttered at the idea of being seen with a hook hanging out of his nose until I told him the owner, J.D., might well have a bolt cutter with which we could cut the hook and remove it by pulling it right on through. Phil agreed, and we were off.

As we walked into the Waterfront Phil pulled his hat way down low over his face and walked with his head down, trying to keep anyone from noticing the hook. But, even if they hadn't noticed, Phil was busted. He and Todd immediately went to the restroom, where upon I gathered up the waitresses and told them to be sure to come over and ask Phil about where he'd gotten that neat piercing, and how much it had cost. Everyone giggled and agreed.

So, once Phil was back at the table it didn't take long for the girls to come over and tease him. And, as soon as we'd had our laughs, we asked J.D. if he had something to cut the hook with. J.D. soon reappeared carrying a long set of bolt cutters. The look on Phil's face when J.D. came ambling up to him, a giant of a man that must be about 6 ft. 2 in. and 400 pounds, carrying a set of bolt cutters about two feet long, cocked and ready for action. It was priceless. But, once we got Phil quieted, the cutters laid waste to the hook like it was butter. I then braced Phil's nose with one thumb, and quickly yanked the hook on through. The piercing finally gave up a couple drops of blood, but that was it. All better!

From start to finish the day with Todd and Phil had been a blast. And, I know it's one of those days that they'll talk about when they're together even when they're in a nursing home somewhere drooling on each other. It will be hard to top that story.

But, my old buddy Bo Mack, up on Wednesday morning, and I have a few that do top that story. They're buried deep in the BarHopp'R Fishing Report Archives. Bo doesn't call me Radio Schnoz for nothing! Bo's wife Susan and daughter Erin joined him, and I didn't realize it had been some six years since I'd see Sue. She was slim and trim and looked great.

We headed off to Tarpon Bay to catch bait with the sun rising behind us. It was a beautiful morning, but we got a surprise once we were there and chumming. Bait was very tough. It took us a long time to get about 40 baits. We had a very early incoming tide, and I didn't want to burn another minute of it. We opted to do some serious bait management and no live chumming, and went fishing.

At the first stop way north in the Sound we had a bite, but didn't get a fish into the boat. It generally takes folks a while to get dialed back in to the way we fish when they don't get to do it but once or twice a year. I guess we filled them up, as they eventually quit biting.

We headed back south to one of my favorite snook holes, where I figured we'd have enough water to have the fish there. They were. There were more missed strikes, but the Mack gang did put about 8 nice snook into the boat before the tide and the action subsided.

It was time for lunch at the Waterfront. And, you know what everyone was still talking about there, don't you? Yes. Phil with the hook in his nose. He may well live on in infamy at the Waterfront!

It had been a hard but fun day with Bo, Suz, and Erin. Bo and I go way back, and he's been a good friend for a long time. We always have fun, no matter what the fish are doing. It was great to see everyone, again.

I met Tony Formby and his friend Garreth Davies, of Tivoli, New York, Thursday morning. We had fished together last year for the first time, and they had stayed with me at the Fish camp, and we'd had a blast. They're originally from Great Britain, and true to form, I've not met anyone from Britain yet that wasn't just great and lots of fun. Tony has earlier eluded that he'd like to fish with lures this time around, but after I told them how tough the fishing had been, Garreth voted for bait fishing. Bait it was! After catching plenty at Tarpon Bay we were off.

Tony and Garreth were more interested in action than targeting specific species. But, they wanted to do it in the backcountry. Not out off Sanibel. So, after some thought I settled on one of my favorite holes to begin the day expecting to find good trout action, at the least.

We had great action as it turned out. We caught lots of ladyfish and speckled trout on both shiners and lures. The bite went for quite a while before slowing, and we had a good time.

From there we went to see if the grouper would bite on either shiners or lures, and they did. We caught quite a few grouper as well as 3 snook while we were working the area. Those gag grouper are like little tractors in the shallow water, and have lots of power. They have to be turned around quickly or they cut you off in the rocks.

We decided to go to lunch at that point both to beat the crowd and to use the dead part of the tide when nothing would be biting, anyway. As always, the food was awesome. I especially like the new conch dishes J.D. is making.

After lunch we had time to hit another spot on the way home. Again, I was looking for a good pull on their lines, this time with jack crevalle. But, the fish had other ideas. We had plenty of fish popping our live chum, but they weren't about to eat one with a hook in it. So, we finished the day with no more fish, but it had been a great day with my new friends.

Friday was reserved for my buddy Jim Turman, of Manchester, Iowa. He's a big rig driver and more fun than a barrel of monkeys. This year Jim brought along his sister Gwen, and her best friend Sue, both as pretty as they can be. And, our trip was to be a combination of shelling, fishing, and dining at the Waterfront Restaurant. The only problem with the plan was that the wind was howling, as it had for most of March, and that I wasn't too sure about making the crossing over to Cayo Costa Island and having to come back running right up a 25/30 knot wind.

We began at Tarpon Bay catching just enough bait to fish with for a couple of hours, but not wasting too much of our time. We went straight to a great trout hole, where everyone had a great time catching and missing and trying to learn how to hook those fish. The girls were just crazy fun, as is Jim, and I can't remember when I've had so much fun. And, they caught lots of trout and ladyfish. Once the action slowed there, we moved to another hole nearby and caught a few small trout before heading across the Sound to the beach.

I decided to opt for taking them to North Captiva Island instead of Cayo Costa, because I knew all the passes would be treacherous with the wind howling against a strong incoming tide. I wasn't looking forward to the ride home. Once there, we landed in a small lagoon where the island is only about a hundred yards wide, and let them off. I stayed with the boat. They had about an hour of actual shelling time if we were to keep our schedule at the Waterfront, and arrive ahead of the crowd. I laid out and took a little nap.

The gang was back right on time, and we got going. I decided to make the run back south staying on the west side and running parallel to the big chop until I got to the narrowest point in the Sound to make the crossing. It was a good plan, and not as bad as I had thought it would be.

We arrived at the Waterfront shortly ahead of noon, and there were still plenty of seats. We had a fabulous meal and fun chatting, and of course, old Hooknose Phil was still the topic of discussion around there!

With lunch enjoyed we headed out to fish one more spot before heading home. But, once we got there and were preparing to bait our hooks, I found everything dead in the bait well. Apparently, someone's knee had bumped the bait well switch and turned it off, and with it closed there was no way to know. So, seeing that, we decided to just head on home and call it a day. And, a fun day it had been. The best part is that Jim and the girls and I have another trip next week.

That's how it went. Now that the water is warming things are beginning to bust loose. I think we'll see the snook and other fishing improving from here on out as long as we don't get any freak late season cold fronts that push this far south.

Be sure to check out www.BestFishingBooks.com, Books and gifts for fishermen from my friend Jim Dicken!

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