As promised, it was a busy week with six trips run. It felt so good to be working again, but I'm really bushed!

First up was what was to have been the second trip with my friend Capt. Rey Rodriguez, that became the first after canceling Saturday's trip because of weather. We were to pick up his party at the Waterfront Restaurant at 8 AM, and left the dock just before 7 AM to get bait. We headed to Picnic Island, where we were done catching bait and on our way to pick up by 7:50. We arrived at the Waterfront just on time. Rey was unsure the night before just how many anglers we would have but said it could be from 4 to 6. There were 6 to meet us at the dock. I was to take Ian McDonnell and his friend and young son, who was age 4. Rey took off with his party, and left us still waiting on Ian to come back from the restroom. Once he did and we were about to leave, I realized I had no child's PFD on board. You see, it's the law that children under 6 must have a PFD on when underway in Florida. I had not been told there would be children involved, and don't normally keep child sized PFD's on board because of the space required, and the fact that we rarely take children that young. It's just too young for most kids to be spending a day on he water in a boat fishing.

The young lad was really excited about getting to go on the boat fishing, but I had to insist that he not come because of the PFD situation. The last thing I wanted was to get busted for not having a child properly safety equipped. I also knew that we would be fishing Redfish Pass, and that if a youngster fell out of the boat in the strong current without a PFD, he'd never been seen again. The father said it was perfectly OK, and that he understood the situation. He said he would take his son fishing on the pier at Bokeelia, and everything would be fine, and Ian's wife Louise, could go on the trip, instead. So, I wound up with two very nice folks for the day, who were quick to tell me they never caught any fish!!

We had an awful tide to fish, and I felt sure the fishing would be very tough. I elected to first head on to Redfish Pass in hope of finding the nice redfish biting as I had done a few weeks earlier. But, the fish had other ideas, and after several drifts with no action, I elected to move on.

I headed to a nice grouper spot, where we found a great bite, but really tough fish to drag out of the cover. Ian and Louise had lots of really hard hits, and did manage to drag a few gag grouper out of the hole, but most of them that struck broke them off before they could blink and eye. They're really fierce little fish in shallow water!

Once the grouper action slowed, we headed to a nice trout flat to let them tangle with some nice trout that wouldn't be so hard for them to catch. Fortunately, we had a nice bite with the trout and they caught plenty of them, and had a great time. All in all, they had a really fun day, and were fun folks.

Once the tide was done we all met back at the Waterfront for a nice lunch, and everyone declared the day was a great success.

Monday was reserved for my old friends Mike and Joanne McMahon, of St. Leonard, Maryland. I had warned them that it would likely be a tough day of fishing, but their schedule wouldn't allow them to be here during a week with better tides, and they were ready to go and take what ever came their way.

We began the day with bait at Picnic Island, once again, and there was plenty of nice pinfish of all sizes along with some small shiners. It didn't take very long for us to load up and clean up and be on our way. I wanted to see if we could chum up a redfish or two before the water got completely off the flats, so that was our first stop. The water was already getting pretty low, and there were fish on the flat, but they weren't interested in eating anything, so after giving it a good try, we moved on and turned our attention to trout. We stopped on the edge of a flat that usually holds nice trout and some big snook, and did manage some nice trout, there.

I was perplexed at having no action at the Pass the day before, and felt sure the fish would be ready to eat by now. So, once the trout action slowed, we headed back to Redfish. The fish still weren't interested, much to my dismay. Not a thing. I told Mike and Jo about the grouper action the day before, and they were all for giving it a try. So, off we went across the Sound.

Once we were anchored on our grouper hole, Jo's eyes were as big a saucers when the first fish hit and immediately ran her into a buoy floating nearby. I knew it was a good fish, so I went in on the trolling motor and took the rod long enough to show her how to try to coax the fish off the cover. I took about four attempts, but we actually did get that fish out of there, and into the boat. Mike and Jo got several nice fish out of that place, and two of them had my rigs in them that had been lost the day before! It's easy to tell my rigs by the kind of hooks and knots I use.

So, although it had been a tough day in the beginning, it had been a great day with some wonderful old friends who just love to be out there fishing and enjoying what a day on our waters has to offer. Of course, lunch at the Waterfront was the perfect way to end our day, but I hated to see the day come to an end.

Tuesday I had a two boat trip with Brian McGrath, his parents, Dana and Peggy, of Cape Coral, and their good friends who were down visiting, Mike and Hilda. Dana, Peggy, and Brian went with me, and Mike and Hilda went with my good friend Capt. Butch Boteler. We headed to the flats at Tarpon Bay for bait, where we were able to get plenty of pinfish of all sizes, and lots of small to medium shiners. Time to fish.

We went our separate ways, figuring we'd reconnect later to fish together, somewhere. I wanted to try to put a redfish or two into the boat while there was still some water on the flats, so I headed to an area that I can usually find reds until the water gets pretty low. The water was already pretty low with the tide running out, but we did manage to catch one nice red on a piece of cut pinfish before they all left the flats.

From the flats we went pothole fishing, hoping to find some nice trout and a snook or two. The snook didn't materialize, but Brian, Dana, and Peggy caught plenty of nice speckled trout there, and at the next stop. As the trout action slowed, I asked the gang if they'd like to go and try some very tough grouper. They were up for it, and we headed to one of my favorite grouper digs.

There we had good action, but the McGraths learned quickly how ferocious a 20" gag grouper can be in shallow water around heavy cover. Tough! They broke off more than they caught for sure, and kept me busy tying lines, but the also landed some nice grouper.

Once the grouper action slowed we were ready to head to the Waterfront Restaurant to meet up with Boteler, Mike, and Hilda, and have a great lunch. We were there first, and when the others arrived, I realized that Boteler was very under the weather from having a tooth pulled the day before. Everyone had fun, though, and all's well that ends well. I didn't get to spend that much time talking with Mike and Hilda, but I sure enjoyed spending the day with the McGraths.

Wednesday it was HB Enger, and his good friends Junior and Lil Billy, or Anniston, Alabama, in to try their luck. I knew when we met at the dock that morning, these guys would be fun, and we'd have a great time in spite of how the fishing went. It was another one of several slow, twelve hour outgoing tides that are so hard for flats guides to fish productively. We headed again to Tarpon Bay for bait, and were soon ready to fish.

Again, the decision was to chase redfish on the flats while there was still some water there in which to do so. We did manage to get a few fish to bite, but the boys only managed to get one into the boat. We were having fun, though, and the guys cut up and carried on all morning long, and I was right in the middle of it all. As we went from place to place we basically experienced a no bite situation. The fish just weren't interested. The boys did manage to catch one snook and one trout, which gave them a Slam with three fish! Later, we tried the grouper which had been so cooperative, but they were only able to pry one of those rascals out of the cover.

It didn't matter to the guys, though. They were having fun just being out there trying and enjoying the water, the wildlife, and the camaraderie. It was a good time. I look forward to their return.

It was a return engagement on Thursday, for Paul Fasano and his friend Fred, down from Carmen, New York. The tide was marginally better than the day before, and I had hopes we would find some fish that would eat. After catching bait at Tarpon Bay, we were ready to attack the day.

The plan was the same for the first part of the trip; redfish on the flats. We had water on the flats for a bit longer time. We staged on a good flat, and began chumming and putting out baits. It wasn't long before we had our first hit. The first red was in the boat. Then another, and another. There were some misses, too, but by the time the water was getting to thin to stay, Paul and Fred had bagged 5 nice redfish and a snook. It was time to move on.

It was time for pothole fishing on the low water. We headed to a favorite area, and were immediately into great trout action. We had only small shiners, which was fine with the trout. But, I kept seeing bait flashing everywhere, and it appeared to be much larger than our shiners. I decided to make a quick throw of the net and catch some. The flashers turned out to be nice sized threadfin herring, which are great bait, but very hard to keep alive and keep on a hook, as the bridge of their noses is very narrow and fragile. But, once we had the threads we immediately turned them into 2 beautiful 8 plus pound snook that really gave a great fight on the Stella 2500's mated to the new St. Croix Legend Tournament Series rods. Super light! Very strong!

The last stop of the day gave us more nice trout action. We had turned what could have been a very slow day into a very good day with some quality fish, and the West Coast Slam. And the best part is that those beautiful snook and big trout went free to fight another day!

It's Friday. I'm in the home stretch with my old friends Dr. Dave and Anne Kerschner, of Cooley, Ohio. I've known and fished with Dave and Anne for years, and they are among my very favorite friends and customers. They're so much fun, and just love to fish. I hadn't seen them in a while, and was really looking forward to spending the day with them.

The tide was just a bit better than the day before, and before, and I knew we would have some water on the flats for a good part of the morning. I figured we finally had a shot at getting a descent redfish bite going. I wanted to get bait quickly, and no waste one minute of the tide, and we were able to do so again at Tarpon Bay.

I went straight to where I knew there would be plenty of redfish prowling the flats. The question would be whether or not they would eat. They did! It wasn't a raging bite, but a good bite, for sure. It was steady, and for the next several hours Dave and Anne boated 15 or more nice redfish, along with a couple of snook. Dave was in his glory. He loves to catch those redfish, and the light tackle was making it all the more fun for him. Of course, Anne was having a blast, too.

We stayed until we were sure the action was over, and that was the action for the morning. We fished a number of other great areas on the slack water, but only caught a large stingray, which gave Anne fits. We finally broke it off, and headed to the Waterfront Restaurant for lunch and conversation.

Once settled in at the Waterfront, JD, the owner told me he had 10 pounds of stone crabs that I could have if I wanted them. I accepted without the blink of an eye. They were jumbos, and were beautiful claws. The last two seasons have been very poor, and it was hard to find them anywhere. I was thrilled to have some.

It was the perfect end to a long, fun, and great week with lots of super folks. And, it was certainly great to be out there working, again. Next week is pretty busy as well, including three days with more of my favorite folks, Dr. Ron and Pat Kolata. I can't wait. Stay tuned. Ron's a good fisherman.

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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