I had a busy week of Florida fishing planned, but the weather had other ideas.

My old friend John Frank, of Nokomis, was first up this week. I'd been wanting to treat him to some hot redfish action for some time, now I was getting the chance to do it.

We stopped at a snook hole after catching bait, to see if we could pop a snook or two before chasing the reds. We were a little late getting to the spot, but John did catch one 27 inche snook.

Once on the flats, I had to move several times before I found the reds, but find them we did. Once we got them going, John caught 22 reds to 27 inches, as well as about a dozen trout, and a couple of ladyfish. John is one of the most ardent fishermen I know. He's usually got a line in the water before I'm even set up on the hole, and I usually have to plead with him to reel in and sit down so I can move to the next spot. I've seen him cast spoons from a boat moving at 20 knots! He was in heaven catching all those reds.

The following morning I was scheduled to fish Alex Arias, third baseman for the Florida Marlins, and his long time friend Bruce Aucoin. Bruce, who booked the trip, warned me they'd be late. We'll, late to me is maybe 10 or 15 minutes. It seems ball players are on a different time table than are the rest of us. The boys showed up an hour and fifteen minutes late. Bruce said, "I told you we'd be late."

I explained that I had a game plan that I wanted to follow which was critical to our success, but that we would not be able to execute the plan. The tide had already moved in too far, and covered the bars. The bar I wanted to fish is a very suttle one, and you must find it before it covers. My backup spot was already taken by the time we got on the water. A guide who's no doubt seen me catching fish there day after day.

So, it was on to Plan C. Fortunately, Plan C worked. Through the course of the morning Alex and Bruce caught around 20 redfish up to 26 inches, around a dozen snook to 26 inches, and one of the biggest, most beautiful speckled trout I've seen come out of our waters. It was huge. I didn't measure or weight it because I was interested in getting her back into the water. She was a breeder, and we all agreed she needed to go back. I didn't tell them trout are out of season right now, anyway.

Bruce and Alex had a great time, and admitted they didn't think I would actually produce the fish I had promised on the phone. Seems they'd been on several guide trips together, but without much luck. In fact, Alex had never caught a snook, and had only two reds under his belt.

And, then the rains came. I was scheduled to take my long time close friend Lee Dugger, now of Patrick Springs, Virginia, out for a couple of days of much needed rest and relaxation. Lee plays the stock market for a living. Talk about stress!! But, it was not to be, and I seriously considered building an Arc we got so much rain. We spent our couple of days housebound in front of the computer playing with my Web Site and his stock portfolio. He still got his R & R.

Forecast: We're looking at the coldest weather of the year blowing in here by the first of the week. We're looking at the 40's for lows. Long johns weather! That may be enough to send the snook running up the rivers and creeks. We've got some great tides for pothole fishing next week, but there may not be anyone home. We'll have to see.

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