My buddy Scott (Highlander) and I had looked forward to hitting the sand together again all year. I think we were even more psyched about it with the addition of his son Garrett to the team. Garrett had never been to Florida and had never landed a shark. We were determined to remedy that situation. Scott was kind enough to drive out of his way and pick me up, greatly appreciated Bro.
I am getting better at packing light but still a bunch of crap to haul…
After the endless drive to SW Fla. We stopped a bit shy of our ultimate destination for some “easy” fishing. We were beat and fished a river mouth which allowed pretty easy access. We had not picked up our yak yet so we put baits out using my canoe. This was interesting with a good bit of wind but quite do-able. We had a couple runs our first night and I eventually hooked up Mr. Lemon who taped at 6,6. We were pretty happy to have the drive behind us and one on the sand.
We then met up with my usual partner in crime. Jason chose to shroud himself in secrecy during this trip. Is he concerned that showing up in all these fishing reports will affect his modeling career? IDK, no one can say that I fail to understand Jason. In order to fail one has to try, I just enjoy the show for the most part.
After a hearty feast and our usual reunion celebration we headed further South yet and hit an actual beach. We were greeted by very nice daytime weather but cooler than usual overnight temps. There was a trip to a second hand store in our future for blankets and sleeping bags. Jason scored the most fashionable….
Scott, enjoying some thrift store bought warmth:
Our first night on the beach brought a slow brawl with what I was sure would be a heavy fish. I was nearly out of breath when I eyed my prize, a pec fin hooked 7,3 Lemon!!! Yeah, I was a little disappointed…
Next I hooked up this little fellow, nice to know the bull sharks were there. He taped at 5,10.
Due to boat traffic we more or less lived as shark fishing vampires. We slept and attempted to gather bait in the mornings and afternoons, started fishing around sunset. Speaking of sunsets…..
Jason was up next with a short and decisive win on his new Alutecnos 50W. He put the hurt to this 7,9 Lemon.
Late, late, late our new fisherman got his long awaited initiation. Like any good dad would, Scott hooked up this nice 7,7 Lemon and passed his new 14/0 to Garrett. I think young Garrett wrestled 105 this past year. Is anyone reminded of a chihauha carrying a football or something? Garrett did an awesome job handling the 14/0 and the fish. He brought in his first shark, a 7,7 Lemon with no real difficulty. His dad was justifiably proud.
The following day we had the privilege of meeting up with one of the legends of land based shark fishing, Mr. Norman Bateman. We spent a good while chatting with Norman, asking questions and swapping stories. He is true gentleman and such a pleasant guy. Norman is also a humble man and shrugged off our many references to his great accomplishments. He was also happy to answer our questions and show us his gear/rigs. To say we were honored to meet and fish with Norman would be an understatement. The yak felt heavy with Norman’s bait and massive weight on board, too cool!!!
We all wanted to see Norman hook up and show him what we were made of as well. As it turned out we enjoyed an evening of very nice weather, great conversation and just a couple fish. Norman is an absolute warrior by the way. He spent the entire overnight in a simple camp chair, wearing shorts! I hooked up and bested a little 5’ BT and a 7,9 Lemon that night. It made me grin to hear Norman say “nice fish anyway”.
I was honored to provide Norman a “chariot” to our selected destination that night. Yeah, I had to paddle all that gear in the wind too! Owning a canoe is like having a truck when friends are moving!
The following night our young protégé was at bat again, this time with his own rig. This was kind of cool because it was a rig I gave Garrett for his birthday this past year. It is also the reel I got from Lynn (Nemo) and caught my first shark on. Garrett did an amazing job once again. He used my plate and a cooler to improvise a sort of “redneck fighting chair” . I had to shoot some video during the fight, just really cool to be a part of.
Jason was up next with another nice Lemon (anyone seeing a trend here). He stomped himself some lemonade with the Alutecnos once again, this one taped at 7,9.
And finally, on our last night, during a torrential downpour that had us sitting in our cars by a bridge, Scott hooks up one for himself. Talk about mixed emotions….. I mean, Scott is my tight bud and a great guy but part of me truly did not want to go out in that s**t. It looked like the fish had dropped it so Jason and I returned to the truck to dry off. What do you know, it’s back on and into the abyss we went. Scott put the beat down on this 7,3 Lemon with his 14/0. We managed to get decent pics by holding a towel above the camera.
A note of advice to end: If you find yourself driving through “Waldo” Florida be careful!! It is one of those obnoxious speed traps where the limit changes 3x in 75 yards. Oh, 60 in a 45 in “Waldo” =$244.00!!! Bet they have a nice break room at the PD there, JEEZ!!!!
til next time,
Chris
Excellent post man! I like pictures! 
"Where's Waldo?" Couldn't resist!
love that report lads. that trip looked really cool.
Excellent report and great pictures!