I had three trips on the books for this week, and got in two good ones before the big front arrived and ruined things.

First up for the week on Tuesday was my old friend John Hitt, president of UCF, in Orlando. What a great guy to fish with. We had a falling tide for the whole trip, which I don't like, but it was what Mother Nature gave us. Bait was a snap at Tarpon Bay, and after catching bait, we hung and caught some fish on the flat. There were lots of ladys, jacks, and trout busting the bait we were catching.

But, I wanted to see if we could get on some reds while the water was still up, so we headed to redfish country. The fish were there, and we were tossing topwater plugs to them. The reds gave us lots of follows and swirls on our plugs, but just would not eat. So, as the water receded, we turned our attention once again to the feed that was going on out a little deeper. We caught bunches of ladyfish, jacks and several trout, and then decided to turn our attention to snook. John didn't know it at this point, but I was saving the best for last. After striking out in several spots, we headed to the 18th hole.

The hole gave up more jack crevalle, but also gave John his biggest snook to date, a beautiful 32 inch, 11 pound snook. Not long after catching that snook, an older gentlemen in a Genoo came around the corner paddling against the wind for all his was worth. He hollered to us for help for an old man. We pulled anchor and went to see what was up. Turns out he had rented the Genoo, and the trolling motor batteries immediately went dead on him, leaving him with paddle only. We towed him the couple of miles back to his marina, then called it a day.

Thursday was my first trip with Jim Gallagher and his friend Don. It was a beautiful morning with hardly a whisper of air moving. Bait was plentiful at Tarpon Bay, as were trout, ladys, mackerel, and jacks. Jim caught a few while I was chumming up the bait. Once we had the well full, we headed out to fish for reds and snook on the first of the falling tide. We only managed one redfish, and missed a couple of snook.

I could see the birds working fish about a mile from where we were, and decided to take the boys for some fast action. Jim had told me he'd like to catch some mackerel on topwater plugs. The action was so fast and furious I committed a cardinal sin. I forgot to mash the barbs down on the treble hooks. We were catching macks, big ladyfish, jacks, and trout as fast as we could. I had just told the boys as I was unhooking a ladyfish from the Mirrorlure Top Pup that these fish hurt more anglers than any other fish in our waters because of the way they shake and thrash around either throwing the lure, or burying it outright into the anglers hands, when the ladyfish managed to bury a treble hook into the side of might right ring finger. It was way in there, and not about to come out. Plus, I still had a flopping ladyfish connected to me. After a lot of pulling and pain, Jim managed to get the fish freed from the hooks. It was now just me and the lure. We tried to no avail to get the hook out, but it wasn't coming. I nearly passed out once as I pulled on it. Finally, I remembered that the rear hook on the Mirrorlure screws into the lure, and had Jim unscrew it, relieving the weight of the lure from my hand. Finally, he managed to get the points of the other hooks turned in so that I wouldn't be too likely to get another finger involved, and have a real mess on my hands.

When I cranked the boat to catch back up with the big feeding school, Jim and Don thought I was heading in to go to the emergency room. I assured them that we were fishing, and that I would be OK. The first thing I had them do was to mash down all the barbs! That's the first time I've been hooked since I was around sixteen. Lesson learned! We finished the day back on a great snook hole, but the fish just didn't want to play on that tide. All in all, it had been a good day with lots of action.

Back home, I called my buddy Capt. Rey Rodriguez, and he referred me to his doctor, Phil Davis, who's office is just down the street from me, and who is an avid fisherman. That's the right man for the job. He said he'd removed hundreds of hooks, and used the monofilament method. A quick pull and it was out. It's all in knowing how. After a tetanus shot and some antibiotics, I was on my way.

Another of my favorite fishing friends, Eric Wickstrom, arrived Friday night for two days of fishing over the weekend. I won't tell you what he does for a living, but since 9/11, he has been wicked busy, and was ready for some R & R. I knew his R & R was in jeopardy, though, as a big, nasty winter front arrived with Eric Friday night. We talked, and decided we were fishing, regardless! We met Friday morning with a howling northeast wind, and the temperature in the tall 50's. I was wearing long pants, long sleeves, and a jacket for the first time since last winter.

We headed to Tarpon Bay for bait, and I planned to just slip back into Tarpon Bay to fish afterward, keeping out running in the really nasty seas to a minimum. After a couple of attempts at anchoring, we were finally stationary, and bait was easy in three throws of the net. We had mackerel and trout jumping and busting bait all around us, but I'll be damned if we could catch one of them once we were done with bait. We threw live bait, Clark spoons, topwater plugs, Yozuri Crystal Minnows, etc., without so much as a hit. I figured I'd rather not catch snook that not catch trout and mackerel, so we went back into the Bay.

The wind was relentless, and as the morning progressed, the wind seemed to continue to kick. According to my weather software, we had winds gusting to 30 MPH. I had plenty of bait, and I knew there were plenty of snook in our hole, so I chummed them on a regular basis. We managed a couple of jacks, a couple of cats, and a couple of descent snook, and lost a couple of good snook.

Around eleven o'clock, Eric decided we should try to make it up the wind to the Waterfront Restaurant. I got the boat ready for the ride and hit the starter and the motor wouldn't light. Damn! I finished off one battery trying to get the Yamaha cranked, and switched to the other. She just wouldn't even try. But, we could smell the strong smell of gas every time I tried. I knew she was flooded. But, I wasn't sure I had spark.

In the interest of time, I decided to begin sailing toward the little marina/rental shop at the back of Tarpon Bay on the wind, using the trolling motor to keep the Talon on the right course. It was a couple of miles away. By the time we got there, the troller batteries were on their last legs, and the Yamaha still wouldn't light. We sailed in to their dock on the trolling motor and push pole without incident, and I wound up shallow water anchoring the boat in front of their ramp so that we could swing to the dock, and hopefully be right at the trailer once I got it there and into the water.

Now, the damnedest thing happened at that ramp. There was an old fellow with a tin boat and an Iowa registration that offered to take me to Punta Rassa ramp to get my van. Remember, he offered! We did not ask. I had already called Rey Rodriguez, and he said he would be happy to come pick me up and take me to my van. Well, I called Rey back and told him I had a ride. The old fella said he'd take me there as soon as he got his boat out of the water.

So, we watched as he pulled his boat and drove out of site, thinking he went to drop the boat before driving me to the ramp. Well, after about half an hour, we realized that he had just kept driving, and said to hell with us. I called Rey back, and as we waited on Rey to arrive, Eric and I plotted and schemed what we would do to the old duffer if only we could find him. Can you believe that?

Rey finally arrived, and was good enough to come back with me to make sure we had enough hands to handle a powerless boat in a 30 knot wind. I got her on the trailer without incident, and we were off to Punta Rassa ramp. At the ramp, we did some diagnostics. The plugs were black, one was whiskered, and they were all wet. That meant we had plenty of fuel delivery, the plugs were too cold, or the ignition weak. We tested the ignition system with Rey's spider, and although Rey was convinced the spark was weak, I was convinced that it was fine enough for a mag driven ignition, and enough to run the engine just fine. The spark was jumping a 1/4 inch gap! We also did a compression test, and all the cylinders were 110 to 120 pounds. Perfect! I just kept thinking about the black plugs, and all the idling we are now forced to do because of all these damned manatee zones.

When I got home, I called my new mechanic Josh RacKay, at 574-4250, in Cape Coral, to find out what spark plug was supposed to be in my engine. I suspected the plugs installed were too cold. He told me the proper plug was a B7HS10. The plugs in my motor were B8HS10's; a heat range colder. That's fine when you're out there running hard all the time, but not going to work when we're now forced to do so much idle speed running. The old two-strokers just don't like that slow speed stuff. Josh said he was sure a new set of B7's would cure the problem, and he was certainly correct. As soon as I had them installed and hit the ignition key, the motor lit. So, if you're a local reader, you might want to check out your own spark plug situation before you have a problem.

So, that's how the week went. Never a dull moment, huh! I have another full week coming up next week. Hopefully, this big front will not keep things screwed up for too long, and we can get down to some catching.

So, that was how it went. Pretty much as I had forcasted a couple of weeks ago: a busy week with some great fishing. Who knows what next week will bring?

The downturn in business because of the slow economy, and now further because of the tragedy of September 11, has had me and some of my friends brainstorming how we can generate trips, generate cash flow, and therefore stay in business through the tough times we have ahead of us. Here are the first two ideas I will put forward. First, since December and January are normally my only slow months of the year, I am fearful of just how slow they could be this year. I am going to roll back the cost of my half day trip to last year's rate of $325 for anyone booking in December and January. Further, if you would like to prepay your trip, no matter when you have it booked, either in lump sum, or in three or four installments, I will discount the trip by $25. Your trip must be paid at least a month in advance to earn the discount. With the market in such a slump and interest rates still declining, that's a much better return on your trip fee than leaving it in the bank until trip time.

So, come on folks. It's time to get out and enjoy your favorite pastime, in your favorite vacation destination. Let's show Osama Bin Lunatic that he can't beat us with economic terrorism, either.

I have now posted the final thumbnailed pictures on the Talon Page of this website, for those interested in seeing how one of these jewels goes together.

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!

Go to NEXT

Go to PREVIOUS

Or, call 1-239-633-5851.

Gamefish Diaries! You'll love these great fishing stories from my good friend Chic McSherry.

TRIP INFORMATION [Site Index] [Highlights] [Capt. Butch Profile] [About the Boat] [Kayak Fishing] [Customer Fishing Testimonials] [Booking Tips] [Weekend Policy] [Great Rates] [What to Expect] [Cheap Accomodations] [Send Email] [What to Bring] [Directions to the Ramp]

WHAT WE CATCH [Snook Fishing] [Fishing Redfish] [Tarpon Fishing] [Trout Fishing] [Jack Crevelle Fishing] [Chasing Tripletail] [Customer Tales]

THE CAPTAIN TELLS ALL [Florida Fishing Reports] [Fishing Reports Archives] [TV Quality Video Clips] [Articles] [Newsletters] [Hurricane Fund] [Angler of the Month] [Angler of the Year Awards] [Manatee Zones] [Sell Your Gear Here!] [Tackle Service Center] [Shop the BarHopp'R Tackle Shop!] [Hot Links to Cool Sites] [Send Email] [Back to Home]

LOCAL DESTINATIONS! [Fishing Sanibel Island] [Fishing Captiva Island] [Fishing Pine Island] [Fishing Sarasota]

OTHER FUN STUFF TO DO! [Shelling & Sightseeing Trips] [Dolphin/Manatee Watch Trips] [Lunch & Bar Hopping Trips]