AS SEEN IN THE MARCH/APRIL 2008 ISSUE

Maybe next time…

My wife Charity and I broke through the scraggly, hurricane-stunted live oaks and onto the narrow beach of the Naval Live Oaks Reservation on the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Mirror-like water of Santa Rosa Sound spread before us, as the early morning sun cast a glare across the flat, masking the submerged grass beds. We hiked along the sand until we found an area that was free of the flotsam that washes across the sound from the tourist traps and beach bars of Pensacola Beach.

AS SEEN IN THE JAN/FEB 2008 ISSUE

With the mullet run in full effect and my stomach eager for the seasons’ first taste of butter-garlic snook, my fishing buddy, Eric Linderman (who we all call “Eric Linsidershy”) and I decided that it was prime time to hit the Indian River Lagoon in search of the elusive slot-size snook. The following morning was picture-perfect with diving birds and surface-busting baitfish surrounding us in every direction. Fortunately with signs of life everywhere, it took little time before we found ourselves in the thick of it.

AS SEEN IN THE NOV/DEC 2007 ISSUE

Like my buddy, after a night of partying, I woke with a splitting headache, but I didn’t care. The weather finally calmed and after multiple days of rough seas, the sun was finally shining and the ocean was calm. It was another day in paradise, or so I thought.

On any other occasion, I would have rolled over and hit the snooze button on the annoying alarm clock, but after being landlocked at the resort for the past three days, I was anxious to get out and wet a line. I woke my less than ambitious friend and advised him to be ready in 15 minutes.

AS SEEN IN THE MAY/JUNE 2006 ISSUE

I don’t care how prepared you may be, anyone who spends any length of time on the water is eventually going to come face to face with some sort of trouble. My day came in August, when I got the bright idea of entering a grouper tournament with my father and brother. I attended the captains meeting the night before the big day, and was somehow elected to organize the Calcutta, and hold on to the thousands of dollars of prize money. I remember joking with fellow competitors that I was planning on leaving the money at home. There would be no need to bring the cash to the awards ceremony because the winner already had it.

AS SEEN IN THE WINTER 2004-05 ISSUE

For years I’ve been a dedicated sailfish angler, that is, until a close friend took me down to Islamorada to wade the bay side flats for tarpon. As soon as I released my first ‘poon, I was hooked on silver kings. Watching those prehistoric monsters leisurely roll has become an addiction. My newly set goal was to catch & release a triple digit fish, as my largest tarpon to date was an estimated 50 pounds.

AS SEEN IN THE 2004 FALL ISSUE

Trust me when I tell you, I know what lives in the dark, stained water behind my house. Aside from the usual schools of fleeing mullet, there’s an endless variety of marine critters that routinely visit my dock. I’ve spotted snook, a variety of jacks, sea trout, catfish and even porpoises. These creatures I don’t mind, but there are other denizens that I am a bit more, let’s say, concerned with. Stingrays that are pretty freakin’ big are frequent visitors, trailing stingers large enough to drive a good size hole through any aggressor.