The work week began with Sunday, and made for a long week, but it was a week filled with old friends and some pretty good fishing.

Somehow, I let Matt Steinman, of Atlanta, Georgia, talk me into working Sunday, since it was the only day I had for fish with Matt and his brothers Steve and Andy. I had fished with Matt before, but not his brothers. I generally hate working weekends, but we got started early, and it wasn't too busy. We had a brisk 15 knot breeze out of the north, signaling the passing of yet another front. I hoped as we left the docks that the fish would eat. We chummed up bait at Picnic Island, and we were off .

We didn't find a roaring good bite, but the Steinmans were a lot of fun, and we caught enough fish to keep most people more than happy. The boys caught 5 or 6 nice reds to 26 inches, broke off a couple, and missed a few, too. They also got at least a half dozen snook, one trout a big stingray, and a nurse shark. Of course, we had fun busting each other when someone pulled the trigger too quickly and missed a fish, but by the time we had fished the tide, I was glad we had gone. It had turned out to be a pretty nice Sunday.

Monday saw both BarHopp'R I and II in service as Capt. Rick DePaiva and I did a two boat trip I had really been looking forward to with my friends Rich and Liz Lewis, of Orlando. I had fished with Rich and Liz a couple of years ago, along with their friends Matt and Brenda, and had a great time. This year, Rich and Liz had a large group of friends all sharing a home on North Captiva, and six of them wanted to go on the trip. Rick used BarHopp'R II, and took Matt and Brenda and their two friends.

Since we had to run all the way to Safety Harbor to pick them up, I decided to gamble on catching bait way north, and after picking up the crew we all headed north to Cayo Costa. We found beautiful, big, plentiful shiners, far superior to any bait I had seen in the southern end of the Sound, and far easier to catch. It wasn't long before we had both boats full of shiners and were on our way. I decided right then and there I'd keep going there for bait as long as it remained there. It was Rick's first time in a tunnel boat, and he was just amazed at the room and stability of BarHopp'R II as he easily accommodated four anglers.

Well, we all had a blast and caught lots of fish, although we had a pretty stiff 15 to 20 blowing out of the east. That made it the perfect day to start on the outside for snook. There were, of course, lots of trout on the beach, too, if you fished off the beach a little, so it was easy for Rick to keep his four anglers in lots of action. Rich and Liz caught around a dozen nice snook, and half dozen nice trout. Rick's gang of four caught a couple dozen big trout and one nice redfish. Once we ran back inside, Rich and Liz caught several more snook, and ended the day with several nice keepers to nearly 29 inches.

The Lewis party wanted to keep enough fish to keep everyone fed for the week, so Rich and Liz kept some nice snook and trout, and Rick's gang kept nearly 20 big trout. When we arrived back at the dock we looked like a commercial fishing operation unloading our catch. It had been a great day, and wonderful to see the Lewis again.

As I left the dock to pick up my friends and loyal customers Kevin Haag and Jim Dougall, of Cape Coral, at the Waterfront Restaurant, I could see that the breezes were swinging a little more southerly, and hoped that the effect on the fishing would be positive. After picking up Kev and Jim, we headed north to Cayo Costa again. I'm sure Kevin wondered why we were running so far for bait, but I assured him it would be worth it. It was, and we were soon exploring Stickbeach for some new snook spots.

The beach was completely rearranged by all the late season near misses and winter storms, and is badly silted in as well. The result is that not one piece of wood is where is used to be, and we're having to learn it all over again. We've had so few days when the weather would allow us to get out there that at this point none of us who fish it are very familiar with it. On this day, we had a good bite, especially trout. Kev and Jim boated more than 20 big trout to four pounds, and 6 to 8 snook to 28 inches. Once things slowed on the outside, we headed inside to try for some redfish. With some chumming we soon had a good bite going and the boys boated 12 to 15 redfish to 27 inches, and broke off 3 big stingrays. Now, that's a pretty good day of fishing with multiple Slams!

I left the dock Wednesday morning knowing we had a great tide and some good weather, and feeling good about the prospects for the day. I was with Russ Hubbard, who's name you've read many times on these pages, and who is one of my most loyal customers and friends, and his customers Andrew Kuperman, of Ft. Myers, and Jeff Stevens, of Naples.

We made the long tide to Cayo Costa and were soon baited up and on our way to the Stickbeach. The bite was slow and the boys only boated around 6 snook, 6 trout, and a mackerel. While we were fishing I kept watching tarpon roll only 100 to 200 yards behind up. They were everywhere. As we weighed anchor to head inside for redfish, I asked Russ if he'd like to catch a tarpon. He quickly assured me that he'd love to hook a couple and jump them, but had no interest in fighting one to the boat. It's too much work. I assured Russ that our chances of doing more that jumping one of the silver kings on 12 pound snook tackle were slim, anyway.

We pulled near the first pod and Russ launched one of the huge shiners we had in front of them. Boom! The line snatched tight, the drag let out a scream of shear panic, and the rod lurched toward the water as the tarpon of around 110 pounds launched herself skyward like a Polaris missile leaving the bowels of a Trident sub. She spit the hook, and Russ was happy with a successful launch.

We got back on a new pod and tossed another big bait. It was immediately consumed by another poon of around 115 pounds. Skyward she went completely out of the water, but she didn't get rid of the hook. She jumped again and took off southward down the beach. We were still connected and loosing line of the Daiwa Emblem Z 3000 quickly. I fired the engine and idled toward the fish so Russ could get some valuable line back. Russ had been trying to get rid of the fish, but at this point realized that he might have to fight her to the finish, or at least until the 30 pound leader or #1 Mustad short shank hook pulled or straightened. She jumped a third time, and still was connected. Russ just couldn't shake her. Russ had beaten down lots of tarpon, and know how to do it. Even though only armed with this light snook rig which was mounted to a St. Croix 7 ft. Premier rod, Russ quickly had the fish turned over and at the boat. He broke her at boatside, and I guess the sting sent her into the air for a fourth jump. We headed inside for redfish, and what was still the best to come.

Once on the flats and chumming, we had a heck of a redfish bite. It was hard to keep track but the boys all figured they caught at least ten reds a piece, for 30 or more, and we hooked and broke four stingrays. It had been a fantastic day of fishing, and Russ had gotten a Grand Slam. I forgot to ask him if he'd ever gotten the Grand Slam before, but it's not easy to do. Now, how's that for a great 50 fish day of fishing??

What a difference a day can make. Bill Alexander was over for two days of fishing for the first time in a while. Seems every time Bill is scheduled to fish with me, the weather turns nasty. This time the weather would cooperate, but the fish wouldn't. Oh, we caught some fish Thursday, but after the spectacular bite of the day before, it was very slow. Bill had his friend Jeff Hill with him, whom I'd referred recently to Capt. Tom Stephens in Sarasota for a day of cobia fishing from Jeff's boat. Jeff told me it was his best guided trip ever, and he caught 8 (I think) nice cobia. Of course, I had visions of making one of our two days his best trip ever, but the fish had other ideas.

We got our bait at Cayo Costa once again, and although I chummed hard, and tried every trick in my book, Jeff and Bill only caught 5 redfish and 4 snook. I've had many people tell me that would be a great day of fishing, but I wasn't happy with it. But, compared to Friday, it was a great day. Talking about Friday's trip is a bit like stepping into the confessional and talking about all your sins. We had beautiful bait, and decided to stay on the east side of the Sound to try to get something going, but by day's end we had only caught 3 snook and lost 2. Tommy's best trip title is safe for now. Bill, Jeff and I did have a great evening and dinner Thursday night at the Seafood Center and Crab House, just up the street from my fish camp.

And, that's the way it went; four days of great fishing, dropping off to very slow at the end of the week. And, as a preview of next week, the slow bite lasted through Monday, then things heated back up again. Go figure! I guess it's just further proof of why they call it fishing, not catching.

Note: Those of you who have trips booked in the future, or who may want to book, should note my new phone numbers. Home/office is 941-415-7282, and the new cell phone number is 1-239-633-5851.