This week will probably go down as one of the worse on record for bad weather and bad fishing. I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but that's just the way it is.

The week started off with rain, rain, rain. By Wednesday the rain was replaced with gale force winds that gusted to 50 MPH all day long. I drove down to the ramp around 7 AM (sans boat) to see what was going on. Monte Seyer, of Chicago, who had booked well in advance, had wisely cancelled the night before in the wake of a miserable forecast. He'll be back to try again next year.

As I sat facing the ramps laughing at the birds trying to stay upright in the unbelievable wind, several of our other guides pulled in. We all chuckled at the fact that we all had the same idea. We stood around comtemplating when we were going to get to work, and how long it would take for the fishing to get back to normal.

The next morning I met my customers John Bond and Dr. Alan Kingston, of Orlando, at the ramp. We had decided to wait until that morning to see what the weather was doing before we made the call to fish or not. We were still under a high wind alert, and the boys wisely cancelled, and rescheduled for the following Sunday. They were here for one reason, to catch a lot of snook, and we all knew that wasn't about to happen.

Friday, I had a trip with my two new up and coming Captain friends, Tommy Stevens and Al Shank. Tommy had a large party needing three boats, and I was honored to be his first choice. This would be Capt. Al's first official paying trip, and he was so excited his feet weren't touching the ground.

We already had the threat of more rain coming in later in the day, but I figured it would be here sooner, rather than later. We were just hopeful that we could get a morning of fishing in before it got wet. We all met at the docks at 8 AM. The boys decided to put a little money on the big fish of the day. My boys were hot to win the pot. I told them that on a day like this a decent red or snook, or even a big trout could win the pot easily. We collectively decided to go after a big fish, and to heck with the numbers.

So we spent the morning looking for that one nice snook or red. Problem was, my boys hadn't fished in many years, and had plenty of problems trying to cast their lures where they needed to be in the strong wind. We were working mangroves, and deep water canals around the docks and sailboats. Use your imagination.

When our quest for snook didn't produce, I switched tactics, bait, and locations looking for redfish. That didn't work either. One of the boys had a red on for a few seconds, but dropped the fish a big bow of slack line before he ever got the hook set. End of fight! There went the winner! We only managed a 17 inch trout before we went in.

Back at the ramp, Al and Tommy had decided to just go and try to catch anything that would bite, which usually means trout. That turned out to be a good strategy on this day. There were no snook or redfish caught between the three boats, and just as I had predicted, a 20" trout won the pot!! Tommy reported that his three anglers had caught around forty trout, and Al, who was so worried about not catching fish, put around thirty trout in his boat. My guys, who knew that one decent fish would have been a winner, had no regrets in going after the big fish. We all had a great time.

Back in Ft. Myers that night, I talked to Scott Marland, also of Chicago, about our trip Saturday. I told him that it would be windy and cold, with a chance of rain. He said he didn't think it could be that windy or cold, and wanted to go. The next morning, I gave him one more chance to cancel at the ramp. It was already drizzling. He and his lovely girlfriend Jessica still wanted to go, so go we did.

There was a three foot chop under the causeway, and I decided that shiners weren't worth dying for. We also had only a couple of hours of moving water, and I didn't want to waste them trying to catch bait that probably wasn't there, anyway. We went fishing.

It was another tough morning. I had talked to several of our guides that evening, and found out that no fish had been caught by anyone is several days. Steve Waugh, Terry Middleton, Mark Bess, and others, all great guides in their own right, had not produced a fish. That's tough, folks. So I didn't hold out much faith in catching anything, either. But in spite of the odds, Jessica caught a small snook, which delighted her, and Scott caught an 8 pound snook on the Bomber Long A I had him throwing. The fish made half dozen good runs, then tried to wrap him around the lower unit of my Yamaha, but Scott, and experienced angler, handled the snook masterfully. I soon realized that he needed no coaching. Scott was thrilled with that snook, his first, and just couldn't believe the fight.

Not long after that second snook, Scott and Jessica looked at each other and agreed that they were both freezing to death and ready to go home. They'd had all the fun they could handle. They were glad they had taken the trip, but Mother Nature had beaten them down. She'd beaten me down pretty good, too. My hands hadn't worked right for hours.

So, as you can see, sunny Florida has been anything but, and there's not yet an end to this weather in sight.

If you'd like more information about fishing here, or have questions, please drop me a line a capt@barhoppr.com, or call me at 1-800-545-1853. FYI: I have just connected a new local number in Ft. Myers. It is 941-368-0799.

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