Fishing yesterday, etc.

So it’s been a few days, shop has been busy and I have been doing less fishing than in weeks prior. The timing of my slight hiatus, however, was actually quite fortuitous. The wind arrived last week after my trip with Aaron on Thursday night, and only began to let up yesterday, when I was invited to fish with Captain Bruce Chard as a guest of Steve Jacobs.
We began at a reasonable 9 AM, and made a decision to focus on finding a 6 lb fish. I mention this to point out not only the concession we made about where to fish (in 6-friendly places) but also to again thank Steve Jacobs for his patience and kindness in letting Bruce and I try to get something done.
Our first stop gave us only two shots, one of which landed on target but didn’t get grabbed. The second spot gave us one, the third two–a pattern that would continue throughout the day: many spots, all good for the 6, but only a few fish in each of them.
Our penultimate stop gave us a show of a few free-jumpers, and even a good shot into the glare as a giant cloud passed overhead, but the clouds (both overhead and on the horizon) precluded the good fishing that, we all agreed, was right in front of us and obscured by pesky clouds.
We moved away from the cloud-factory assembly line, and pushed an edge for 30 minutes, where Steve had a great shot at a large fish. The fish didn’t eat, and he stayed on the bow for another few shots; this time, the fishing seemed to be heating up and the tarpon were just getting over their post-wind blues. I was up next, and after a few shots that got leaned to, finally fed a fish–a 50 pounder that threw the fly after a few jumps and a less than deliberate hook set–we knew there were some monsters around (we had seen a few contenders) and continued to fish until we lost visibility and headed home. A great dinner (again, thanks Steve!) with Don Jackson and Bruce followed at the Square Grouper, and I was home by 9:30. A long day, full of great fun.

Here’s a photo for your viewing pleasure, of Howard “Great White Shark” Davis getting it done with Aaron Snell over the weekend:

Next week I fish on Wednesday with Howard Davis and Drew Delashmit, and another day on Saturday with my good friend Michael Hetzel and Captain Robert Monroe. Reports to follow of course.

Over the weekend I attended the memorial for Jose Wejebe in Dania Beach. It was amazing (and of course saddening, given the circumstances) to see the great outpouring of support for such a great man and the passion he cultivated. The Angling Company wishes his family (both extended and personal) the best in their time of loss.

Regards,

ncl