It was another week of great fishing, and great customers, but we had some goofy weather early.

First up on Monday were Dr. Mike Connors, a dentist from Orlando, Florida, and his friends Jimmy, and Jimmy's son Jim. Bait had been easy last week, and I expected it to be the same this week, but that didn't turn out to be the case. Bait was tough. Worse than that, once we got plenty of bait, it all wanted to die. I had to have Mike continually stir the bait and keep it from laying down in the bottom of the well until I could get us out into better water. Once we were out near Redfish Pass, the bait seemed to come around, and was OK for the rest of the day. There definitely seemed to be something wrong with the water on Chino.

The snook didn't disappoint us, though. From the first cast to the last, the action was fast and furious. The boys had the usual difficulty with waiting on a tight line before striking the fish, even though I rode herd on them all morning trying to get them to wait, but still put nearly 70 snook and 4 speckled trout in the boat. It was a great morning of fishing, and they kept me so busy, that we really didn't have time to chat or socialize much.

Tuesday was a surprisingly different day for me. Jim Crawford and his good friends Bob Wagner and Darrel Schuller were over for a day of fishing from Fellsmere, Florida. Jim and Bob are experienced BIG snook fishermen, and were interested in getting Darrel, who lives in Nebraska, on some fish. Jim said he's been coming over here 40 years, and this was the first time he'd been out with a guide.

We left the dock at the Waterfront Restaurant where I picked them up Tuesday morning under threatening skies. There was a large area of rain covering a good portion of the southern part of the state, and it was right on our doorstep. We went for it, and headed for Chino. Bait was once again hard to get chummed up, but once we got it going, we were able to load up with plenty. At least it didn't try to die on us as it had the day before.

Once we got out to the Stickbeach, which is the name I gave it because it reminded me of Farm Pond 13 near Fellsmere, where these fellas are from, I realized what an enjoyable day it was going to be for me. Jim and Bob wouldn't let me do anything for them. They are experienced, avid snook fishermen, and wanted to do their own thing. They tied their own lines, baited there own hooks, and just did it all. They insisted that I fish, and even got bait for me. I didn't know how to act. It was great, but I couldn't help feeling guilty. It was hard for me to remember that I was with experienced snook fishermen, and even harder for me to keep my mouth shut and not try to coach them, because I'm so used to having to do it.

We all had a great time. Although I think these guys could have set some sort of record for snook in a morning if they had chosen to try, they were very laid back about the trip. They'd catch some fish, then sit down and drink a beer and BS a little, then go back to fishing. All the while we were all figuring that the big black frontal cloud that was hanging just to the east of us would unload on us at any time. I don't know how many fish we all caught, as the boys just didn't care about counting.

The weather held out until late morning. We ran out of bait at around 11:00 AM. It had started sprinkling lightly for the last half hour. We decided to head back to St. James to try to beat the bad weather that was imminent. We were OK until we turned east through Redfish Pass. We didn't realize how hard it had been blowing out of the east because we were protected by the tall pines, but it was blowing a good 25 knots, and the sound was white with caps, and we couldn't see the other side. I ran down the back side of Captiva, keeping the BarHopp'R in as shallow water as I could, until I reached the narrowest part of the Sound for the crossing. I was a rough, wet, miserable crossing, in the rain. I couldn't believe I could be so bone cold in the middle of June.

We were all soaked when we reached the Waterfront, but it had been a great day with a great bunch of guys. I'll probably never see them again, because they really don't need to hire a guide when they're here each year, but I can always hope I'll see them again.

As I left the house in darkness at 4:30 Wednesday morning, I could see lightning on the horizon south, east, and west. It looked like it might be a repeat of Tuesday, except with lightning and thunder. There were very few other guides at the ramp, as apparently, many had canceled due to the threat of more bad weather. Josh and Stacey Walters, honeymooners from Orlando, Florida, were already there waiting, and were ready to go fishing, regardless of the weather threat. I told Josh how lucky he was to have a gal who was not only willing to go on a fishing trip with her husband on their honeymoon, but was also absolutely beautiful.

As we gathered bait at Chino, we could hear the thunder and see the lightning off to the west. I wondered how long we might get to fish. After gathering about 250 baits, I suggested we head for the Stickbeach and try to get some fish in the boat before the weather came in on us. We were off!

We were the first boat to the Stickbeach, and I wondered if we might be the only boat, but several others eventually showed up. We had non-stop action for most of the morning. Stacey sat down to rest after catching a dozen snook, saying that she was worn out. Josh stayed on the fish, and I joined him. We had a blast catching and releasing snook after snook. Stacey made the observation that most of the other boats weren't catching much, especially the one just off my starboard side. She said that she noticed that they would stop and just watch us from time to time. As the bait began to thin in the well, Stacey joined Josh for a few more snook. She finished up with 15 snook caught, and Josh had somewhere in the neighborhood of 30, plus a half dozen or so trout.

It was only eleven o'clock and we had been hit on every bait we threw into the water, and now we were out. I suggested to Josh and Stacey that they would really enjoy finishing up the day with a lunch break at the Waterfront Restaurant. So, off we were. We could see new storms popping up as we rode across the Sound. Lunch was terrific, as usual, and the Walters really enjoyed the Waterfront visit.

It had been a great morning of fishing with some real fine young people. Josh and Stacey vowed to be back for some more BarHoppin as soon as possible. I can't wait.

I could see a definite change in the weather as I drove to the ramp Thursday morning. There was no lightning around, and no threatening clouds as the sun came up. I had enlisted my good friend Capt. Tom Stephens to do a two boat trip with Bill Stewart, his son Josh, and their friends Roger and son Wesley. We would have a little friendly competition.

Bait was easy for a change. It took no time at all to get them chummed up, and I was loaded with three throws of my net. I was glad to see there was only one boat at the Stickbeach when we arrived, but was really surprised to see how many showed up later in the morning. I counted fourteen boats on the beach when I left.

From the time I took up position on the beach until we left, we had fantastic action. Bill is a very experienced angler. Although this was his first snook fishing experience, his years of experience really showed. He had little trouble adapting to the techniques we use here. Josh, at age 14, is already quite a good fisherman. It took him a little longer to get dialed in, but he did just fine, and caught plenty of fish. My boys said they'd never even caught bluegills that fast, and that it was the best fishing they'd ever experienced in their lives.

Tommy had a bit different situation with Roger and Wesley. They were brand new to fishing, with no experience or angling skills, and they had a very tough time getting their snook out of the heavy cover. They had tons of hits, but weren't able to put a lot of fish in the boat. My boys were the hands down winners of our little contest.

At around eleven o'clock I suggested that we go inside to the flats and see if we could catch a redfish or two before going home. Bill and Josh were all for trying that, as they had put 29 snook and 3 big trout in the boat. I had also managed to catch 4 snook while I was goofing around between baiting hooks and tying lines. Actually, I think the boys were glad to have a chance to rest for a while. Catching fish like that is fun, but it is work, too. Especially in this summer heat!

I pulled anchor and idled over to Tommy's boat, and invited them to join us on the flats. They were all for that, and we were off. Once on the flats, Tommy's boat struck first blood when Wesley caught a small redfish with a shiner under a popping cork. A few minutes later, Bill struck what turned out to be a 6 pound redfish, and after releasing her, we called it a day. That was my first trip with Bill and Josh, and they were a lot of fun. They assure me that they wanted to make it an annual event.

Finally, Friday rolls around, and I'll soon be resting my body on a short vacation. My customer for Friday was Russ Hubbard, who is one of my very favorite people to fish. There's never a dull moment with Russ in the boat. He brings people like his suppliers, customers, boss, etc. to fish. For weeks before the trip, he tell his guys that I am this maniacal captain who will make them walk the plank, or worse, if they do something wrong. He phycs them so bad sometimes, I'm surprised they even come with him.

For this trip, Russ brought his boss Gary, and one of his suppliers from Dixie Plywood, Rollie Mowery. Russ had Gary convinced that I would bite his head off the first time he missed a fish, or something. Of course, as the trip wore on, Gary realized that I am just a big teddy-bear, but he still had that lingering doubt in the back of his head. Gary is pretty new to fishing, so I definitely had some fun with him.

Russ had set a goal of putting 60 fish in the boat. That's very definitely doable. The boys fished hard. Russ and Rollie are good fishermen. Gary proved to be a good student, and improved his angling skills as the morning progressed. We started out with over 300 baits, and had burned every one of them by eleven o'clock. They had landed 52 snook and 5 trout; 3 fish short of their stated goal.

I had arranged for my customer Dr. Ron Kolata, from Cincinnati, Ohio, to fish with my good friend Capt. Tommy Stephens, since I didn't have any dates available to fish with Ron when he contacted me. This was Ron's first high intensity snook trip. Ron has only been back into fishing for about two years since he was a child, but he had great form as we watched him fighting snook from the deck of Tom's boat. Ron missed a ton of fish, but still managed to boat two dozen or so snook.

With everyone near heatstroke and exhausted, yet basking in the glow of such a great morning of snook fishing, we all headed to the Waterfront Restaurant for the perfect end to the day, and to rehydrate our bodies. During the lunch, we relived the morning's experiences and told jokes, and had lots of great laughs. Gary and Rollie had to admit that Russ had set them up pretty good. Gary was amazed at how much he had learned in one session.

For me it was the perfect end to a great week. Russ and I have been fishing together for quite a while, now, and it's hard for me to think of him as a customer. He's a good fishing buddy who just loves to beat me up. I love it. Thanks to all of my angler/customers for making it such an enjoyable week.