After enjoying a four day weekend, I was ready for action on Wednesday morning. It had been a good couple of days to be off the water, as it had been cold and blowing from the north. We're having some very unusual weather very early in the year. Wednesday morning was no different. When I met my friend and regular fishing buddy Gilles Boudreau and his business partner Dave at the ramp that morning, I half way expected them to cancel, even after driving over from the east coast. We had underestimated how bad it would blow, and how cold it would be. We were all underdressed, but decided to go for the gusto!

The ensuing trip was a lot of fun. Dave and I had a lot of laughs at Gilles' expense. Gilles and Dave had a lot of laughs at my expense. Gilles said he couldn't wait to see how I wrote up the fishing report for their trip. I told Gilles that if he wanted to, he could write the report for the day. Gyles took me up on the offer, and his report follows.

Here's my fishing report for Wed. Nov. 3rd

My partner Dave and I were the first trip of the week. I had spoken to Butch the day before about the weather. We knew it was going to be cold, but decided to go anyways. When we met at the boat ramp, it was a little colder then expected. Not to say the wind was also blowing a good 15-20 knots. At this time we were already committed, so if you're diehard you'd understand !

Our first thing was to catch bait, to fish the last of the falling tide. We only had a few hours left so we had to move quick. After a freezing ride in the BARHOPPR I, which is not the driest boat in the world. We arrived at our bait spot. I was lucky enough to play with the Purina POO POO. It didn't take long before Butchie had our bait well full. So we pulled anchor and went to find snook. Just a few minutes after we anchored we got some action. Dave which is semi-new at this type of fishing, brought in a couple of snooks. There was alot of hit and miss. The snook were picking up our baits and spitting them instantly. The wind also made fishing conditions tough.

I guess the highlight of the day was when the three of us were fishing on the bow of the boat. I saw Butch to my left, take a step back and then disappeared. It sounded like he went through the deck. His fishing rod hit Dave in the head and then went for a nice dip in the water. Butchie's fall scared us for a little while, it wasn't a nice one. He proved to be a tough old cookie as he shook it off. We were also lucky enough to retrieve his Diawa Emblem Z out of the water. After a few laughs with my old friend, I realized my semi-new at this type of fishing partner had not talked all day. He just concentrated on putting fish in the boat. I guess he handed it to me on a silver platter. When the tides died so did the fishing. We boated about 15 snooks, 1 trout, 1 redfish, and 1 catfish. We also lost more than our fair share of fish.

On the way back to the dock, we finally got to eat at the famous Waterfront Cafe. The food was very good but, I still think Butchie owns stock in the cafe. We had a fun day regardless of the weather conditions.

Thanks Butch,

Gilles Boudreau

PS I found out on the way home, Dave was so into his fishing because he was afraid to make a mistake and get yelled at!

There you have the first fishing report ever written by a customer. Gilles did a good job, and only had a couple of inaccuracies in his account. First, the wind was at 25 to 30 knots! It was howling, folks. Second, there is not such thing as a dry flats boat in that much wind. Third, I ain't as tough as I used to be. Fourth, I don't yell, I enthusiastically coach!! Great job, Gilles.

Thursday morning things had moderated a little bit. Our temps would range from 48 to 72 for the day, and the winds were down to 15 from the northeast. This was the first trip in some time with my friend Bill Chaney, of Cape Coral, who's a mountain of a man and as fun as he can be. He brightens my day almost every day with great jokes via email. Bill had his friend Jack Hanzek, also of Cape Coral, and Al, from Wisconsin. This trip was for Al. Bill wanted Al to catch all he could.

We got good bait on the flat at the entrance to St. James Creek without much ado, and were off to fish the first part of the incoming tide. The first stop was the charm; full of snook. I tried to help Al hook all the fish he could. Jack fended for himself, and Bill sat out most of the morning. He was enjoying watching Al and Jack catch all the fish. The fish are usually big in this spot this time of year, but for some reason, none of the fish were keeping size on this day. Some were close, but no matter. Al was having a blast! I figured that as long as Al was having fun, we'd stay right there until it was over. When it was over, the boys had 29 fish in the boat; 1 redfish, 1 trout, 1 jack, and 26 snook.

We headed to the Waterfront for lunch. Everyone but Al had been there, so this was his introduction. After a great lunch we headed for the ramp. I told Al he could probably catch a keeper right there at the ramp, and he was all for that. I spread some chum around, and it wasn't long before Al had his biggest snook of the day at the dock; fish number 30! It had been a fun day with some great guys, and I believe we sent Al back to Wisconsin with a smile on his face. Bill also told me that I had restored Jack's faith in guides after his having several bad experiences. Sure made my day!

Friday, however, was another story. The wind was back to around 20 out of the northeast, and everything had changed. My customer was Gene DePoris, from Sarasota. I had taken Gene on a trip nearly five years earlier, and it had been a stinker. We had bait problems, net problems, and the fish wouldn't play. We'd caught a handful of fish and called the trip after about three hours. I had promised Gene a makeup trip. Problem was, I hadn't heard from Gene in all that time, until one day he just popped up out of the blue.

I had high hopes of duplicating the previous day's results, but ultimately, it was not to be. I guess the constant wind and high pressure had finally taken their toll. I went to St. James Creek hoping to get descent bait. We got two shiners after a lot of chumming and throwing. I knew there was bait back out on the beach down from the lighthouse, but I also knew it was tiny. The bait I'd been getting on the inside was beautiful. I opted to forego the beach and head north in search of bait. I didn't want to have to do a crossing of the Sound in so much wind, so I stopped at Chino Island and chummed. Nothing! We made the long, bumpy ride across to Foster's Point, feeling confident that big bait would still be there. Boy, was I wrong! It was not only not big, it was non-existent. We couldn't even scare up a pinfish! I went out on the beach south of Redfish Pass thinking surely there'd be bait there. Wrong!

At this point, I knew I was about to miss the best part of the tide. I suggested that we take our two shiners, several mojarra, and bunch of pinfish and do the best we could with them. Gene agreed. At the first stop one shiner was broken off by a big snook, and the other was outright stolen. But, can you believe Gene caught a snook, a redfish, and a trout, for a Slam on mojarra? That was it; three fish.

We headed to the Waterfront after a morning of trying hard. There, and back at the ramp, we ran into several of my guide friends, who all had the same tale of woe to tell, even those who had gone to the beach and gotten shiners. It had been a day of nothing doin' no matter what you were throwing! But, to my mind the trip had been a great success in one way. Gene and I spent a couple of hours at the Waterfront just chatting. I realized what an interesting, fascinating, and funny man he is. I had enjoyed spending the morning with him, and hope we'll get another chance to do it again under better circumstances. Gene promised we would.

Saturday proved to be an interesting day, indeed. I guess I officially became a senior citizen; I bought a second van. I traded away my strap-on crotch rocket that I thought I'd own until I die. I loved the car. But the experience with a bad alternator on my van a few weeks ago, and having to miss a trip, brought home the fact that I have double redundancy in everything except my way to get to work. I had spent my early week off days shopping locally for a new Dodge van. The local dealer just didn't seem all that interested in dealing. I remembered receiving a letter a few weeks back from a fella named Rusty Holmes. He had introduced himself as a native Floridian and avid fisherman. I figured that if he was a fisherman he couldn't be the stereotypical car salesman and gave him a call.

Rusty turned out to be a really nice guy, and after a lot of fish talk, he agreed to do the deal I wanted before he'd even seen my trade-in. So, Saturday morning, on Rusty's promise to do the deal, my wife and I headed for Carlisle Dodge in Clearwater. After looking over an album of fishing pictures, I realized Rusty was an accomplished snook fisherman, and we got down to business. I looked at a couple of vans other than what Rusty had quoted me on, but eventually came back to the original van. I liked the flare/running board package and overall look more than the others. It also already had a Draw-Tight receiver hitch installed.

Rusty ran into big problems when my car didn't appraise out for what he needed to do the deal. Complicating things further, his new Dell computer didn't show $1000 worth of RO's like rust-proofing, scotch-guarding, etc. So, Rusty was upside-down in the deal with a car that didn't appraise, and goodies that weren't on the dealer invoice. But, like myself, Rusty is a man of his word, and sent me home with the van, without having the deal officially approved.

Folks, I sold cars in my younger days, and the only reason I didn't stay with it was because of what we were expected to do to the public to sell cars. I couldn't live with that. Now, it's many years later, and I'm sure there are some new tricks that I don't know, but I'm here to tell you that if you are in the market for a new vehicle, Rusty Holmes is the man you need to deal with. You won't be disappointed. He's a man of his word. As I wrap up this report it is late Wednesday night. My credit union is still waiting on the purchase order and invoice so they can fund the deal. Rusty assures me he is close to getting it done. Meanwhile, I've added my business graphics, hitch accessories, and bug deflector to the van. The dealer would have to buy it back, now!

I talked to Rusty tonight. He assures me that he's close to having the deal completed, as he thinks he's got my trade sold for enough to cover his short money. He said he's been on my website every day this week, and is loving learning how to use the computer. If you're in the market for a new car, van, or truck, be aware that you may be able to buy at fleet prices, and call Rusty Holmes on his cell phone at 1-727-709-1652, or at his office at 1-727-539-7444, ext. 413. Rusty will bend over backwards to get the job done, and afterward, you can go fishing with him.

Now, as wintry as it's been for the last couple of weeks, guess what's brewing in the tropics? That's right! Next week's report could be another strange one.

If you have any questions or comments, or you'd like to book a trip, please email me at capt@barhoppr.com.

Go to NEXT

Go to PREVIOUS
Or, call 1-800-545-1853.

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

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

THE CAPTAIN TELLS ALL [Fishing Reports] [Articles] [Newsletters] [Angler of the Month Awards] [Angler of the Year Awards] [Cool Stuff For Sale] [Hot Links to Cool Sites] [Send Email] [Back to Home]