Well you sure couldn’t have come up with more varied weather than we had over the last month or so. With only a few days off in the last two months (and even fewer in the near future!), I ran trips from spectacular 80 degree days with light winds to a stint of 30s and 40s with winds to match! We literally had three days of fishing during a cold front with gale force winds all day. I think all five of us on the boat those days suffered from severe wind burn (even INSIDE my ears). Our reward was that we put the hurt on some fat Redfish from 9-12lbs and some gator Trout to almost 8lbs. The calm days provided some offshore deep jigging action on light tackle that really lit up the Amberjack. We had a couple nice days with at least several dozen AJs to 1-2 anglers. I even managed to land one! Those of you that know me will understand how strange that is considering I never wet a line on a trip unless goaded to the point of tears first.

The weather definately plays a huge part in when, where, and how we fish. More importantly it can dictate what we fish for as well. Its tough to be in a position where people plan a vacation around a fishing trip several months (or even years!) in advance and they arrive at the dock and you have to burst their bubble about some rotten weather. I think most people realize it, but you know fishing is not exactly a cafeteria. You don’t get to walk through the line and choose: Giant Tarpon…..in January….in Boca Grande….on Fly…on Sunday….at 3pm….you get the point! Being on the water everyday, coming from a diverse fishing background, and loving what I do really makes me a pretty versatile and flexible guide, but there are just some days there is not much you can do.

I had some folks in from Ohio who really had their sites set on offshore, inshore, and the infamous Goliath trip. They planned their trip well in advance and we talked several times in preperation. We were all pretty excited. They arrived to find temps in the 30s, winds at 25-30knts, and a tide that just wouldn’t budge. It was pretty obvious that we werent going to get the offshore trip done, but we banged out heads against the wall that is Mother Nature and tried the Goliath trip. We slogged our way across Gasparilla Sound to BGP and tried a couple drops, but it just wasnt going to happen in that mess. The trip ended up pretty good, and I think everyone had a good time. So all is well that ends well I guess as wel did manage to get into some really nice Reds all three days, with an average of around 9-10lbs, only a few slot fish, and some monster trout. We did put a hurtin on a few of the close spots to keep from getting frozen and blasted by the wind, but that is what they are there for!

I am pretty tired from chasing Goliaths around the docks all day, so I will just cut to the chase. Fishing is definately not a cafeteria, but is a lot like a drive-through window at a fast food resteraunt. You have a plan going in, you place your order exactly as you had seen it in your mind, you pay for your food, but then after you drive away and open the bag you realize you were given chicken nuggets instead of a Big Mac and what was supposed to be a Diet Coke was a Hawaiian Punch!!! You get pretty flustered and upset, then remind yourself…hey, chicken nuggets and Hawaiian Punch sure beats working at the office!

So next time you find yourself in the middle of a double hookup on 10lb redfish and wishing you were catching Goliath Grouper or Amberjack…just think “Chicken Nuggets.”