Mike was hooked up with one of the hardest fighting fish my home water’s has to offer. Drag was constantly paying out line…I had to crank outboard to assist him …. that’s one of the reasons I have him sitting on the ice chest. The other reason, to conserve Mike’s energy. Guys, we went back and forth with that Volkswagen of a fish for over 30 minutes. After recovering over 200 plus yards of line, we managed to catch a glimpse of the fish! It was a monster Jack Crevalle that looked to be well over 30 pounds! Dang, if Murphy’s Law didn’t rear it’s ugly head. We continued searching for a school of feeding fish blowing up at the surface, but decided it was best to change gears. Finished up the remainder of the trip with everyone catching multiple fish…cats, reds, pins, and croakers. And still had a blast!

Fished where we could as we waited for the wind to lighten up yesterday afternoon. Caught a few fish till the time was right to try for some legends. We cruised out to where I wanted to go. Dropped a few choice baits. Within 15 minutes, she was hooked into a hoss on light tackle... man, what a battle as that rascal made some long, hard runs. Initially, she thought she got broke off. Didn’t sound right as I knew which way the fish was swimming. Had her wind faster till she caught up to him! Awesome time and I managed to get some video footage before having to turn off camera. Snapped a few shots and released a healthy redfish. I was glad to be able to finally share this location with my wife. And happy she caught another big boy! Approximately 10 minutes later, I got bit on a special rod and reel (my Dad had it custom made for me for Christmas in 1990... it’s made to get big fish up and away from structure). Getting a little carried away here, but rest assured I would not have landed that fish on light tackle. Several times during our battle, I felt him run into the structure. Numerous hard charges towards the structure and i finally managed to get him next to the boat. My wife netted him. Once I saw him, instantly, I knew she was going to have her hands full picking up the net! That red was unique in that his tail was massive and shaped different than other big reds I’ve had aboard. Folks, i love doing what I do and welcome all!

Hey, guys! This beauty is my wife. Like many of you, she works hard and has little time off. And will jump at the chance to fish and learn some of my tips. Today was her day of chauffeuring me around and reeling in the big ones. To get her back in the grove, we went in search of trout. She caught 8/9, two of which were in the slot. That bite was diminishing so we went to some flats and continued tossing artificial lures. I made a cast, twitched the bait a couple times, and WHAM... drag started screaming and then that horrible sound as the line snapped. Knowing a few things, i quickly told her to cast where I was hooked up. One twitch of the lure and Bam!! She was hooked up with a fish the size of which snapped my Iine. After some coaching during her grueling, 20 minute battle, I landed her 38”, 20lb bull redfish. She claimed the brute wore her out, but I believe it was all of the gleeful jumping and skipping around the deck that did her in. All in all, it was an awesome time together as she caught her biggest speckled trout and redfish in the same outing with her birthday rod and reel. Life is good!!

Took my father out for his maiden voyage aboard our new boat we are grateful to run charters out of. While out that afternoon, I saw a big change in the bay as there was an influx of baitfish. After observing the tide and bait, i knew we wouldn’t have to travel far to get hooked up! Dad caught a few trout and I landed a respectable redfish from the waters I was raised on!

With such an enthusiastic and happy smile, I’m reminded of the best part of this business!! Thanks, Albert, for the refresher... it’s not always about the biggest or most fish.

Scott’s wife called me to set up a surprise birthday trip for her husband and their oldest son. After giving her my opinion, she decided a kids trip would be perfect as it allowed then time to get the family together around midday. The boys came aboard and had a great trip. I’m not sure who was proud of his son... not only did he catch the most fish, but he also caught the largest redfish! What a great way to start your 51rst birthday!!