Well, here we go again. This week started out like so many others this winter. John Bond and Alan Kingston, who had canceled for weather last week, were supposed to try again Sunday. But with a cold 20 knot wind blowing, and hardly any fish being caught, we all agreed it was no time to try to bang a bunch of snook. It just wasn't going to happen. So, we canceled for a Friday in June, which is right in the middle of snook-mania.

Monday, Pat Hanrahan and his friend and partner Kirt, attorneys from Mentor, Ohio, were out for a second day of guided fishing. Sunday, they had been out with Capt. Doug Objardle, a very good guide who I've known for some time, and didn't have so much as a hit. I though to myself, surely that couldn't happen to me, or happen two days in a row to these poor fellas, but you know what....it did! We couldn't beg a fish, and we worked hard at it. Back at the ramp I only heard of one snook being caught all day. I really felt sorry for these guys, and told them that if I didn't put them on fish the next trip, the trip would be on me.

My "Angler of the Year" Steve Bronstein was scheduled for a fly fishing trip on Tuesday. We'd been keeping in touch and keeping a close eye on the weather. Monday night we rescheduled Steve for February 25th. There's no way he would have been able to flyfish in the wind.

Thursday belonged to Art Kuh, of Sarasota, and his son Glen. Glen was down from the north country to visit his folks for the first time since they had moved to Florida. I knew that although it would warm into the 70's, it would be another tough day as far as the fishing went. I was right. The fish just wouldn't eat. Art did manage a redfish, and Glen lost another red, and Art caught a flounder, and that was it for the day. None of the other guides I talked to back at the docks had caught a thing! Unbelievable!

I've never been a superstitious person, and Friday was the 13th. My good friend and customer Kevin Grover was scheduled for a trip. But, as the clock kept on ticking past 9 AM there was no Kevin. I'd been in the water since 6:30 AM, and figured he might have broken down or something. I didn't have a contact number for him, so all I could do was wait. I finally gave up on Kevin around 10 AM and decided to go see if I could sight any fish. I did see a lot of snook and reds, right where I often catch them, and caught a couple of large trout at another spot. By noon I was back at the dock. Once home, I called Kevin's secretary, and she said that apparently she was supposed to cancel his trip, but had failed to do so. Oh, well.

The last trip of the week was with Rusty Hausman, and his wife Michelle and sister Cathy, both lovely girls, from Lauderhill, Florida. Rusty said they mostly caught catfish when they went fishing back home, so I knew that even if the fishing continued to be lousy, I could teach them a lot about how to catch something other that cats. It was supposed to be a halfway descent day, but in fact, we had a northeast wind at about 15 knots, and were all freezing to death. Goosebumps and chattering teeth were the order of the day.

After an hour or so of attempting to catch bait, I suggested we go on and fish with shrimp and lures. After all, even those guides who had been spending up to three hours to catch bait had not been catching any fish. I figured it made more sense to go fishing. Turned out it was a good call. The trio got 4 small snook and 2 trout up to 21.5 inches. We also caught one catfish! Those fish were all taken on shrimp handing under a popping cork. Back at the docks, I soon found that we had managed to catch more fish than anyone else I talked to. Rusty, Michelle, and Cathy all had a great time, and that, after all, is the most important thing.

If that's not enough, it looks like it's going to be another week of same old, same old. It's the holiday Monday, and we are under a tornado alert as I write this. Will it ever end?

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

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