I had a full week on the schedule, but fate had other plans. Boy, getting old ain't what it's cracked up to be, so far!

I had Charles and Don Ruston scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. They're always a lot of fun to fish with, and some of my favorite folks. Don is a bass fisherman, and loves the way our redfish pull. I forgot that Charles had called me at around 10 Sunday night, just after I'd gone to bed, and asked me to pick them up at the Sanibel Harbor dock. I was half asleep, and by morning I had forgotten. So, I sat at the dock until 6:20 wondering where the Rustons could be. I feared they had broken down, and I was really worried about catching some ladyfish for bait before the sun came up, so I headed to the ladyfish hole by myself. I got there on a flat tide first thing in the morning on the night of the full moon. The ladies, trout, and even catfish weren't biting. I was only able to put one ladyfish in the boat. I turned my cell phone on once I arrived at the ladyfish hole, and it rang immediately. It was Charles and Don at the Sanibel Harbor dock, wondering where I was. I felt like a moron!

I picked them up on the way back. Only one ladyfish meant I had to stop at Chino and get shiners and pinfish. I hadn't done that in a while.

That full moon always presents problems with getting the fish to eat in the morning. Yes, it usually blesses you with a great looking tide, but the fish have full tummies from dining all night, and it's hard to get anything to eat before the tide quits. I hoped that stinky one ladyfish we had would give us an edge over pins and shiners. We did get a slow bite going, and had 8 reds on, and landed 4. Don got the biggest at 13 pounds. I think that was his biggest red. I didn't think much of it at the time, but early on, as I was throwing chum with my bait bat, my feet came out from under me, and I almost went down on the deck. Looking back, I would probably have been better off if I had. I didn't know it then, but I tore ligaments in my left knee. By the end of the day, it would be getting my attention.

We finished the day at the Waterfront Restaurant with a great lunch. I threw the girls off their rhythm when I ordered the hotdog they call "The Homewrecker". If you could see this weenie, you'd understand. It's huge! The girls wanted to know what Charles and Don had done to me to cause me to order something different than the shrimp or scallops I usually order.

Tuesday morning, when I got up, I could hardly walk. I could barely bend my leg! I had forgotten about the slip on the deck, and couldn't imagine what was wrong with my knee. There was no option; I had to be there. I picked Charles and Don up at the Sanibel Harbor, and we were off to ladyfish country. What a difference a day and being on time can make. We had a great ladyfish bite, and put 7 in the boat, along with 2 jacks, 2 gafftop sail cats, and 6 nice trout. We had plenty of bait to chum and fish with, plus we'd had fun catching it.

I knew the redfish would be tough, and as I explained to Charles and Don, we'd have to be patient and wait for them to get into the mood to eat. We were on fish all morning, but outside of one keeper first thing, we had to wait until late in the morning for any more action. The boys got a snook, a big ray, and Don got a 16 pound nurse shark. The redfish action never came, even in all those fish, so in desperation, I headed across the Sound to one of my favorite redfish holes. Thank God, we had a good bite from the first cast. We also had line problems. I had just respooled most of my Daiwa Emblem Z reels the night before, and I was near the bottom of the Ande filler spool. Apparently there was some bad line at the end of the spool, as we broke many fish off, that should have been landed. I was able to easily break some of the line with my hands, as it felt like it was 2 to 4 pound test. We had a good 20 redfish on the line, but only boated 8 fish, many lost because of the line problem. I was not happy, but it didn't seem to bother Charles or Don.

We ended a great day back at the Waterfront where I further threw the girls off when I ordered one of their fabulous 10 oz. burgers. I was in extreme pain with my knee, and could hardly walk. I wondered how I was going to get through Wednesday, and what I could have done to my knee to cause so much pain.

I talked to my long time friend and customer David Bernot that evening, and explained the situation. We were to fish Wednesday. David agreed to help take some of the burden off me by acting as first mate. My biggest problem was getting up and down off the decks. I could keep the pain to a minimum as long as I could keep my knee locked in the straight position.

On the ladyfish hole Wednesday morning, David and his 10 year old son Chris caught 4 nice ladyfish, 5 trout, and a bluefish of about 4 pounds. We were all set. Would the reds cooperate? Once at the redfish flats we got our answer. It was a resounding, "No!" We caught one ray and lost a snook before I made the move across the Sound to the same place I'd scored the day before. The wind was all over the place, and we had a heck of a time trying to get the bait to where the fish were holding, but we managed, and the boys hooked at least 10 reds, landing 5 of them. Young Chris got the best fish at 10 pounds, and really did a great job of fighting it. We missed a lot of other hits, as well. Although a slow start, we had a great time, and finished at the Waterfront. I ordered another fabulous cheeseburger, and the girls aren't sure what's wrong with me.

I hated like hell to do it, but I knew that if I didn't get off my knee I might risk permanent damage, and I was practically in tears when I bent it. So, I called Andy Lutkoff, my party for Thursday and asked if we could reschedule him for later since he is local. David and Chris were scheduled to fish again on Friday, and agreed to move to next Wednesday since they would be here next week. I rearranged the rest of my schedule to give myself six days off the water, in hopes that my knee would be on the mend by then. I figured if it wasn't getting better by Monday, it would be time to involve a doctor.

Who was it that dubbed the years after age 55 the Golden Years?