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It was a busy week with another tragedy thrown in just to keep things interesting. Read on!
The week began with Chic Bruning, of Mount Prospect, Illinois, who I hadn't seen in a couple of years. This time he brought his teenage kids, Rachael and Chez (Charles), for the first time. We had a lousy morning tide, and very little air moving, so I expected a slow bite. We got plenty of good bait at Tarpon Bay, and headed outside to fish the beaches for snook.
To my surprise, the bite was pretty good. Chic and the kids caught about 20 snook and a 4 pound trout before things slowed down. These are not the numbers we're accustomed to racking up this time of year in the past, but still pretty good action. We headed inside to finish the morning off fishing the mangroves, and Chez nailed a beautiful 10 pound snook, and Rachael got a big jack. We capped off the day at the Waterfront Restaurant for a great lunch.
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We had the same horrible morning tide as the day before, but the wind had kicked pretty hard from the east. I figured that since the fish had eaten well the day before, they would do the same on this day, but boy was I wrong. First, bait had disappeared overnight. I don't know how that's possible, but it did! I went to every spot between Punta Rassa and Useppa Island that should have had bait this time of year, and never got a shiner big enough to cast. Wanna see a fishing guide get testy? No bait will do it every time!
I finally told Rod we needed to go and try to catch something with the pinfish we had, knowing full well they weren't likely to catch much. We had also missed the best, coolest part of the day, and predictably, we only managed to catch 2 snook and 3 mangrove snapper using the pinfish. I thought that was about as bad a day as I could have, but I didn't know what was just around the corner. We finished the day at the Waterfront, where Judy and grandson met us for lunch.
It's amazing how things can change from day to day. Wednesday, things were much better for John and Barbara Sofield, who were over from Port St. Lucie, Florida. The tide was marginally better in the morning, and the wind was still pretty stiff right out of the east. We got enough bait to fish with at Picnic Island, and some at Tarpon Bay. We weren't loaded, but we had enough. We headed outside to fish the beaches. Although we didn't have a furious bite, we did see steady action, and John and Barb boated somewhere between 12 and 15 snook. We had a good time, and finished once again at the Waterfront.
Thursday was a day I'll never forget. Mike Hartnet and his friends Paul and Danny were up for a snook fishing trip. We took off at 6:30 and headed to Picnic Island, where bait was plentiful. Go figure. I noticed I had some water in the hull, but figured it could be rain water, or something. I pumped it out, and it seemed OK. Once we were baited up and headed out to the beaches, the boat began porpoising. I moved some weight up front, but it didn't help much. When the hull listed to one side, I realized that I had a lot of water in the hull. I stopped and realized it was a lot of water. I couldn't figure out what was going on. I pumped it out again, and everything seemed all right. I couldn't see that water was entering the boat anywhere while I was sitting. Long story short, this went on all day, water in the hull while underway, but dry when fishing.
The weather was a bit unstable with a tropical low over us, and at around 10:30, with about 8 snook and 3 trout to 5 pounds in the boat, I opted to head for cover. I knew we were going to get one heck of a rain at the very least, and I expected lightning at the worst. I was going to go to the Waterfront, but as we got further south, I could see that the weather was already in the Sound, and the Green Flash became the best choice of places to hide. Man, did it rain! We were there for a good hour.
With the weather deteriorating and another boat taking on water unexplainably, I wanted to just get back to the ramp safely and try to determine what was going on. But, at York Island, after stopping to pump the water out yet again, the motor wouldn't run more than about 1200 RPM. After thinking about it for a while, I figured something in the advancer linkage had broken, but didn't check it since I had no replacement parts, anyway. We idled all the way back to the ramp from York, with fingers crossed that the weather would hold.
Once on the trailer, I pulled the cover off the Yamaha, and quickly found a ball/socket link had separated, and popped it back together. Then I crawled under the trailer to see if I could find something that might be the source of a leak. I crawled in from the starboard side, and didn't see anything there or in the tunnel, but as I worked my way to the port side, I almost cried when I saw the hull had separated right down the edge for half the length of the boat. God, Almighty! Two broken hulls in less than two months! I made a decision right there that moment to never buy another boat that wasn't from a major manufacturer that had been around forever. There is no one for me to go to for satisfaction or warranty.
So, that evening I tried contacting Gary Goodenow and Bobby Dumont. Two customers/friends that had been nice enough to offer the use of their boats when BarHopp'R I sank. Gary was out of town, and I had a trip the next day, and was desperate for a boat, so I drove to Sebring that evening to pick up Bobby's BC. What a life saver, but I can't borrow boats indefinitely, and I doubt that BarHopp'R II is going to be repairable at a cost that makes sense. So, it looks like I am going to be forced to buy another hull, and I think my first choice is going to be an Action Craft. Their reputation and quality is beyond question, even if it's not really my style of boat. I might also entertain a good used rig, so if any of you readers know of something out there, let me know. I have to have a boat!
Friday, I had a two boat trip with my second cousin Sean Middleton as the second Captain. My customers were Ken and Dawn Crowell, their son, and Dawn's brother-in-law and sons. Ken and Dawn fished with me. The weather was still iffy, and I hoped that it would hold for the morning. Bait was pretty easy at Picnic Island, but being in an unfamiliar boat, I had a tough time getting adjusted to throwing off the stern with seats and poling platform in the way. We all headed out to fish the beaches for snook.
At the first stop we had some action, but not steady enough for me. So, I moved to another spot, and there were plenty of fish to catch. When the action finally slowed there, we headed further north, and caught the tail end of a bite there. By the time we were done, the Crowells had boated at least two dozen snook, and 3 trout, and we'd had a good time. Best of all, the weather held. We finished a great day at the Waterfront swapping lies.
So, that's it. I have two boats and both are broken beyond repair. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm being tested!
If you want to be able to continue to fish Florida waters please follow this link, "Manatee Zones: How You Can Help" and please take the time to become involved, even if you don't live in Florida. Let the politicians know WHY you come to Florida on vacation!
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