December is normally one of my two slow months of the years during good times. This December is stacking up to be really slow. I had three trips to report on during the week of 12/8, and only one during the week of 12/15, hence the consolidated report.

First up on Monday was my old friend David Jaeger, of Cape Coral. He brought along a young neighbor, Tyler Floyd, age ten. Tyler was pretty excited about going on a fishing trip with Dave. I picked the boys up at the Waterfront Restaurant, and we headed across the bay to Tarpon Bay to catch bait. We quickly loaded up on threadfins and shiners, and were on our way.

We had a super low tide so typical of winter, and I wanted to teach Dave some new tricks for catching redfish and trout on such a tide. We headed to one of my favorite winter fishing areas and set up camp on a really shallow flat. I chummed with live and cut baits, and eventually, we got a bite going. Dave and Tyler managed about nine nice redfish to 31 inches, and missed 3 snook. They also got one flounder and a catfish.

We ended the day back at the Waterfront with a great lunch. Monday evening my old friend Marty Dietz and his 73 year-old dad, Bob, showed up at the fish camp to spend the night and fish the next day. Marty's sweetheart of a wife, Nancy, had bought this trip for the boys as a Christmas present. It was Bob's first fishing trip here.

We got up the next morning and hit the water early. Marty, Bob, and I had gone to dinner the night before, and I began to get an idea of what a hoot Bob was. I knew we'd have fun on the water. We got bait quickly and were off to where I had found the reds the morning before. We didn't have a great bite, but had enough action to keep us going. But, the fun was dicing back and forth with Bob and Marty. Bob was a mess, and kept me going all morning. Through the fun and teasing, the father/son team managed to catch about 5 nice redfish to 29 inches, a couple of snook to 27 inches, and later, in a different area, lots of nice speckled trout. We had a blast.

By the time we got off the water, we were all worn out, and I told Marty and Bob they were welcome to spend the night and go back to the east coast in the morning. They decided to do just that, and the fun and laughs continued well into the evening. It was a great visit, and I can't wait for the boys to come back again.

On Friday, my best bud Capt. Butch Boteler and I went on the maiden voyage of his flats boat with a newly built hot rod Mercury motor. The motor was built by Mercury's best over at the Orlando facility. Wow, is it fast! But, Butch quickly found out that the low water pickup intended primarily for racing, would not work out here on our super low winter tides. We were quickly grounded with a plugged water intake. Fortunately, Butch had the tools necessary to disassemble and clear the mud, but it took about an hour. We had fun, though, and through the course of the morning caught some nice reds on both bait and topwater plugs, as well as trout and snook. Butch went home knowing he'd have to get another lower unit.

My only trip the following week was on Wednesday with my friend Tom Terranova, who came over from Pembroke Pines for some much needed R & R with his friend and business associate, Marlin Bollinger. It was a nice day with southeast breeze at 10, a high of around 86, and easy bait, but the reds just didn't want to play. We only caught one rat red. So, we went pothole fishing for trout just to get some action, and had plenty of that. We had a good time and finished the day with a great lunch at the Waterfront Restaurant.

I'll be taking the next week off for vacation, and probably do some traveling. So, there won't be a fishing report for the week ending 12/22/01. I hope that all my friends and readers have a Merry Christmas, and a joyous Holiday Season.

The downturn in business because of the slow economy, and now further because of the attrocities 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!

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