I had just slipped the boat in at the ramp , tied it off to the dock and was just starting to pull the trailer up to park when a man walking his dog came up to my anglers, two girls from Connecticut and I overheard him saying to them, Your going 30 miles over to the Everglades in this wind on that boat and paying him. Are you crazy. The gals, Debbie and Lynn from Greenwich, Ct. just smiled and said: We do it all the time, in fact for the last 15 years. What’s a little wind. Of, course it was blowing a gale but we do fish in some amazing weather from time to time. I proceeded to park the truck and trailer and thought about what that fellow said.

We prepared for the journey by slipping on our foul weather gear and proceeded to make our travel across to the mainland. When your running across in tough weather, your smart to run the leeside of the many banks that allow you a  safer ride with certainly less head shaking, butt kickin, water thrashing adventures that might wish you stayed home. After some occasional spray of salt water and a little bouncing, we made the Cape Sable area and proceeded up and into my favorite opening. Here we were now out of any wind, and it felt wonderful. Removing the foul weather gear and checking our joints for any aches and bruises, we began fishing.

And our day fishing would turn out to be spectacular. Debbie and Lynn  would experience a day that would rank as their best in the park. They would catch almost what seemed like an endless amount of backcountry fish with what seemed like they battled one on each cast. By the end of the day, they caught 9 nice Snook, 12 black drum to 16lbs. Add to that 20 trout that were all monsters that averaged 3-4 lbs. And still fight Redfish , Jacks Ladyfish, Pompano, Tripletail and sheep head.  Then Debbie would hook and bring to boat side a 125 lb. goliath grouper just to punish her arms a little more. They were tired, CAPT. RON was tired too.

You know , Ladies today catch their fair share of fish. In fact, over the years I’d  say many can out fish the boys. And  I know why. They are far more patient, listen and learn quickly. They are very easy to instruct as they have no bad casting or playing fish habits so I find this the main reason we love to fish them. You learn right the first time you have a rod and reel in you hands and you are now on your way to years of excitement. Did you ever buy a new reel where in the box were instructions that show you how to use it properly. NO. Fishing captains are there to show you the proper way and we know what were doing. I never  take an angler for granted thinking that because he fishes a lot, he knows the proper casting techniques. First I’m a teacher who wants all the anglers to know the right way. I had to learn from someone. When they depart for there area of the country, its satisfying to know they can feel confident around anybody in the fishing circles.

Later , we arrived back at the dock  fighting the same wind and waves as we had in the morning. Maybe more, but how we wished the man and that dog were still there. We really liked the dog. The man was perhaps not a fisherman, certainly not a rough day fellow. But my girls were fantastic and this guide is so proud of them. WAY TO GO GALS.

Last , I leave you with this: Returning home from a fishing trip, a man stopped at the roadside diner and ordered a cup of coffee. As he attempted to make conversation with the waitress, he said,” It looks like rain doesn’t it?” She promptly replied,” I can’t help what it looks like,we sell it for coffee.”

Courtesy of Captain Ron Wagner from The Weekly Fisherman