After having Sunday off, I was supposed to fish the first of two trips with Jim and David Miller. The forecast was for lots of wind, though, and David and I decided since they would be here for quite a while, we'd reschedule the trip for April.

Tuesday it was still blowing pretty good out of the east/northeast, but Jeff and Bob Hank, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, were ready to brave the wind and fish. With the combination of east wind, low tide, and anglers new to our brand of fishing, we decided that trout fishing would probably be the most productive thing we could do. I had shrimp in the boat, as well as a tackle box full of lures, and we were able to get shiners at St. James Creek. We should be able to get the trout to eat something!

We were off to some of my favorite potholes to start the day. As I anticipated, the bite was slow, but through the course of the morning, we boated a couple dozen trout. Of course, Jeff and Bob needed some coaching, as does nearly everyone until they get the hang of it, and there were lots of fish missed. Still, we had a great time, the Hanks did just fine, and they kept 7 nice trout up to 3 pounds to take home and feed the family. There weren't many snook being caught, and I think doing trout fishing was a good call.

Wednesday, I met Phillip Watts and his young son, Brian, of San Antonio, Texas, who were ready for their first BarHopp'R trip. When I fish kids, I always tailor the trip for the youngest angler aboard. You really have to, but many parents don't realize that. Phillip did, and was happy to take Brian trout fishing. I figured we'd hit a snook hole along the way and give Phil a chance to catch a snook or two!

After catching bait at number eight, we were off to do some pothole trout. The boys missed a lot of trout, which can be hard to catch until you get the hang of it, but did boat a dozen or more fish, along with a founder. We did make that snook stop, and Phil caught three or four snook, the largest at 29 inches. He really enjoyed the snook fishing part of the trip. Phil and Brian were a pleasure to have aboard, and did their best to follow my coaching suggestions.

Once Phil returned home, he wrote me a very nice email, which will soon be posted in the testimonials section. He said that because of me, he was now going to be forced to buy a boat!

Thursday was an unusual trip. I had booked Dr. Ron Kolota, of Cincinnatti, Ohio, well in advance for a trip in Sarasota Bay, thinking I would have BarHopp'R II back on the water in plenty of time. It was not to be, and the remodeling of BH II has seen lots of delays. So at the last minute, I called my good friend Capt. Kevin Chamberlain in Sarasota to see if he was available to do the trip with me, so I wouldn't have to drag my boat all the way up to Sarasota for one trip. He was. I headed to Sarasota sans boat.

We met Dr. Ron the next morning at seven. He was a very nice, easy going, laid back guy, who immediately took the pressure off Kevin and I to produce lots of fish. He said he wasn't worried about how much he caught, he just wanted to enjoy the day on the water. Enjoy it we did! Enjoy it, I did!

We headed up to the area known as Long Bar, which is a great area for reds most of the time. As Kevin poled us into the shallow stuff we realized we had reds all over the place. Kevin really does love to be on that platform poling, and has a great eye for spotting the fish. He gave me the day off. Ron and I did most of the fishing that morning. We were throwing spoons, and had fly gear along, but Ron was quite content to stick with the spoons, and through the course of the morning, we boated 6 beautiful redfish to 30 inches long. Ron was very pleased with the results, and said it was just what the doctor ordered. I think all three of us had a blast that day, and it definitely was relaxing. Thanks, Kevin!

Friday was another great day with some great folks. Mindy Moon, of Oviedo, Florida, had booked the day as an anniversary present for her husband, John Moon Sr., of four years, and also as a birthday present for John's son, John Jr. Smart girl, killing two fish with one bait!

I seem to recall that bait was tough that morning. We got some bait at around 47 and 48 of the third span of the causeway, but my good friend Capt. Tommy Stephens, who was down doing some sportfishing, saved the day when he ran us down with a boat full of bait. He had remembered that I told him bait was out on number 8, and had gone to check it. He scored big, and shared with us. Baitwells full, we were off to a secluded snook spot. The spot didn't produce much in the way of snook, but Mindy did catch a 6 pound jack and a nice gag grouper that was nearly big enough to keep.

We moved to the flats with the incoming tide, and then got the action going! Mindy got the biggest snook of the morning at 30 inches. John caught the rest of the 6 or so snook caught. The both caught around 15 beautiful trout weighing up to 5 pounds. What beautiful trout. We had a great morning. Mindy recently sent me a wonderful email thanking me for the trip, which I will post in the "testimonials" section when I get a chance.

Well, there you have it. I have a much needed weekend off. Days off are going to be few and far between here shortly.