Fishing Report for Pine Island Sound to Sarasota Bay, Florida

Capt. Butch Rickey
February 11, 2004
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report

REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING 2/7/04 by Capt. Butch Rickey

It was a great week of fishing with some great folks. The weather was also great, as we saw a warming trend set in with the beginning of the week. But, the warming weather brought lots of moisture into the atmosphere, and fog became a problem.

I woke up Monday morning and began preparing for my first trip with Beau Jones, from Atlanta, via England, where he now works. His brother and a friend were also to join him. But, when I walked out the door I could barely see my van the fog was so thick. I convinced myself it would soon lift, or not be as bad once the sun was up, and continued with preparations.

Everyone else that was working that day was sitting tight at the ramp. I thought surely I could feel my way along the river and work my way to the ladyfish grounds so the guys could have some fun while we were waiting on the fog to lift. The guys were game to try it so we pulled away from the dock and quickly disappeared into the soup.

The tide was blowing out of the river at a quick pace. I found out that it's impossible to navigate against such a current at idle speed in the fog. About 20 minutes into the ride, we detected a faint light on our left. I told the guys there were no lights on the left up the river until we got to Cape Coral. As we worked our way closer, we saw more lights begin to come into dim view. It looked like a large vessel, or a group of vessels. Perhaps they were all anchored waiting on the fog. No! As we got cautiously closer one of the guys said it looked like a hotel, and then I realized we were back where we started in front of the Sanibel Harbor. The current had spun us around at some point and brought us back down the river without any of us having any idea.

We decided to try it again! We managed to find an occasional manatee buoy or marker, but visibility was zero. After idling against the current for around an hour a small mangrove key came into view. I recognized it but couldn't put my finger on exactly where I was. Then I saw a series of oyster bars peaking at us through the fog as we worked our way closer. I couldn't believe my eyes as I realized where I was. I was way up in the mouth of Matlacha Pass.

I decided it was time to anchor and wait on the fog to lift. We waited and waited, and saw no improvement. Finally, around 10:30 I realized the fog may indeed not lift, and thought it might be prudent to try to find our way home. Before we'd gotten far, we discovered a herd of about six manatees playing in about 4 feet of water, and stopped to let the guys watch them. They had never seen a manatee, before.

We moved on, following the current rip on the backs of buoys and markers, knowing the with the incoming tide I would eventually find my way back to the mouth of the river. As I did, the fog lifted enough to see a couple hundred yards. We were able to navigate our way back to the ramp, and since the tide was done moving in the Sound by noon, decided to try again on Thursday, and scheduled a two boat sightseeing and shelling trip on Friday.

The forecast Monday night for Tuesday was much more of the same. I worried that I might not get to spend the day with my good friend, and long time customer Bob McGuire, but come Tuesday morning when I peaked reluctantly out the door, it was clear. I couldn't believe it! Bob and I were both happy. Bob loves to fish, and loves to catch whatever is game to bite.

We decided to head up the river to warm up with the ladyfish. After all, they're a blast to catch, and a great way to polish up your skills after being absent from the water for a while. Bob didn't need any warming up to get back into the groove. He caught them on nearly every cast for an hour or more before we headed up into the Sound to stalk speckled trout.

I headed to the area I had done so well in the previous Monday. We spent the rest of the morning hopping from pothole to pothole, catching small, medium, and large trout as we went. The weather was gorgeous! Bob caught at least 70 of the speckled beauties, and we went home with a limit of keepers. I love fishing with Bob, and part of the reason has to be because while we're out there he tells me often how much fun he's having. Then when we're done and having lunch and riding home, he tells me how much fun he had. There's never any doubt about whether Bob is happy, or not. And, in all the years we've fished together, I don't think I've ever seen him not happy!! Thanks, Bob!

Wednesday, I had my first trip with John Nash, and his good friend George, of Joliet, Illinois. It promised to be another beautiful day. John and George had never done the ladyfish thing, and in fact, neither had ever really used open face spinning reels. George had only used closed face reels, and John was a fly fisherman. So, we parked on the big school of ladyfish and had a fishing seminar of sorts, teaching the guys the fine art of spin fishing. They caught on quickly, and within a half hour were boating ladyfish on nearly every cast. After an hour or so of ladyfish action, the boys were ready to go chase trout. After all, they wanted to feed the gang dinner.

The tide was still seriously low, so it was pothole fishing. Again, we hopped from pothole to pothole, but in a different area than on the previous day, catching nice trout as we went. By the end of the morning, John and George had amassed a total of 70 plus trout, and had a limit of keepers in the well. They had a blast, indeed, as did I. They were great!

Thursday morning, I was met only by Beau Jones. His brother and friend slept in, absolutely worn out by a day of offshore fishing with my friend Capt. Hand Vankesteren. But, Beau was there with bells on, and ready to go. Beau is a fishing fool. My favorite kind of customer!

I knew Beau would get a kick out of warming up with the ladyfish, so it was up the river, again. The weather was beautiful once again, as we began our day of fun. Beau had come to me by way of England, and I knew from all the email correspondence we'd had that he was really wired about this trip, and that he would be a great guy to spend the day with. And, I was right on both counts.

Beau caught on very quickly, and loved the gear I put into his hands. He caught ladyfish steady for about an hour and a half, before we decided to head into the Sound and go for trout. I was less than happy to see a boat parked right in the middle of my holes. Unusual, because I never see anyone fishing there. I figured it was someone who had seen me there the day before catching trout left and right.

It didn't matter, as there are plenty of potholes in the Sound. In fact, it may have even been a blessing. I elected to fish another series of potholes some distance away, and that choice was the charm. The fishing had been great all week, but the trout fishing for Beau was nothing short of stellar! After hitting three or four potholes, we anchored on the edge of a large pothole that was just full of big trout. For the next couple hours we caught trout after trout on nearly every cast. The amazing thing was that of a total of some 75 trout, there were only four or five that weren't slot fish. It was an unbelievable day of trout fishing.

Beau had a smile that was permanently engraved on his face the whole day. He was in utter disbelief at the number and quality of the fish. He couldn't wait to get back to the motel and tell the rest of the gang. But, we weren't quite done, yet. I wanted to get Beau on some redfish, and I hoped that the south wind that had kicked announcing the coming of the next cold front, would push the water high enough for the reds to come onto the flats and feed. The reds did show on the second flat we visited, but they weren't about to eat. We threw spoons at them for nearly an hour without so much as a hit, but they were there. I guess that leaves something for Beau to experience the next time around. Besides, we had a limit of beautiful keeper trout for Beau to take home to the gang.

We had originally planned to do a two boat sightseeing and shelling trip with the whole gang on Friday, but in an effort to save Beau some money, I arranged for my friend Capt. Ben Chancey to take the whole gang out in his 22 ft. Shearwater, instead. I wanted to meet the rest of Beau's family, so I met them at the ramp Friday morning, and saw them off after a couple of pictures.

The front was bearing down on us now, and the wind really kicked Friday morning. I guess it proved a bit much for one of the girls, who was expecting. But, they had managed to get in a morning of fun and sightseeing, and had a great time.

That's how the first week of February went. It was a warm week, and brought the water temperature back to around 71 by Friday. If the weather holds, and we don't get colds, this should be the beginning of some great fishing on the good tide days. We'll have to see how the week plays out.

REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING 1/31/04 by Capt. Butch Rickey

I ended the month with a slow week, getting on the water Monday and Friday.

Monday was primarily a check ride and launch for the new Boatmaster trailer I put under the Maverick. With the exception of needing a longer bowline to launch, it was perfect. It was blowing like crazy from the south/southwest with the approach of yet another cold front that sent the low temperatures plunging into the 40 for most of the rest of the week, and the highs barely in the 60's until Thursday.

I wanted to do a little fishing from the Maverick, and headed straight up the west side of the Sound along Sanibel to try to keep out of the worst of the rough water. The Maverick really does handle the rough stuff quite well for a light 17 ft. skiff. When I arrived in the Blind Pass area my glasses were pretty nasty with salt spray, and I took them off. That was a mistake! You don't realize how different your view of the shallow water world is without those good polarized lenses. Well, I quickly found the running limit of the Maverick, not realizing the water was as shallow as it was. I stuck it. With my glasses cleaned and back on I was amazed that I had gotten into about 7 inches of water without realizing it. She was floating as soon as I got my big behind out of the boat, and I was able to push her to deeper water.

I was now sitting at the edge of some potholes I've often seen and made a mental note to fish someday, but never had. I decided this was the day to fish them. The first cast with my favorite Stella/Legend Elite combo and a Bass Assassin yielded a 3 pound speckled trout. Nice. Second cast, nothing. Third cast a 4 pound trout. Hum. I was on to something. I spent most of the rest of the morning going from pothole to pothole catching trout one right after the other. I moved to another series of potholes about a mile away and had the same results. Great trout fishing.

Eventually, the south wind managed to push what was a very low tide up enough to entertain chasing redfish. I eased on to a nearby flat and found myself smack-dab in the middle of a big school of big redfish, not the puppy drum you normally find this time of year. Although they were thick as thieves, they weren't in much of an eating mood, and I only managed to catch half a dozen.

It was a great day of fishing, save for one thing. I hadn't brought the pushpole off the Talon, and unlike most flats boats I've been on, the Maverick does not have the Accon sty pop-up pole holders. They're permanently up. Well, don't you know as I was running quickly back to the stern to anchor with a new gadget I have, I banged the middle pole holder and broke my left index toe. It turned black within a couple hours. See! And you thought I got through a week without hurting myself!!

More about the gadget. My good friend and fellow guide Capt. Bobby Dumont fabricated a thing called a "Cajun Anchor", which is for all intents and purposes, and poorman's Power Pole!! He fabricated a very nice stainless steel rod about 4 feet long, tapered, with a point at one end and knurling and a stainless eyebolt at the other on which to fasten your rope. When you're ready to anchor in the shallows, you simply shove the stainless rod into the mud (just like the Power Pole does), and tie off to a cleat, and you're anchored. I might add that it did a great job of holding the boat in the horrific wind that day. Much better than the old stake some of the guides use.

I was to do my first trip with Todd and Lynn Wallsmith, newlyweds from Knox, Indiana, on Thursday. As the week progressed the weather folks were saying that Thursday would be a cold day, and Friday would be much warmer with the approach of another front. We opted to move our date to Friday, but of course the weather guys got it wrong, and Thursday turned out to be the warmer, dryer day.

We met Friday at eleven o'clock. The plan was to take them to a remote island while the tide was laying flat, and let Todd and Lynn have a private picnic on a remote beach. We would then fish the afternoon, and catch a great sunset as we rode home.

Well, it was sprinkling when I got to the ramp, and the revised forecast was for heavier rain late in the day, early evening. We weren't to be denied, and were off to make the best of the day. Of course, by this time the wind had kicked out of the northwest, and I opted to take them to North Captiva instead of on the outside of Cayo Costa. I dropped my honeymooners off and left them for an hour and a half to enjoy picnicking on the beach.

I spent the time scouting for fish. We had an awful tide, with very little movement, and I knew the northerly winds would cause it to move even less. That's disaster for the fishing. I did manage to catch one redfish off the fallen sticks on the inside of North Captiva, but I didn't see another fish.

After retrieving Todd and Lynn, I decided to take a look at the same potholes I'd had such great success in on Monday. Because the tide was held back, the tide was still fairly low, and I figured the fish would still be staged in the deeper holes. They were. But, it was blowing and raining harder and harder as time slipped by. It was miserable, and we were cold. We again hopped from hole to hole, catching a few here and a few there as we went, but the last hole on the tour was the gravy hole. We caught lots of 3 pound trout from that one. Once we decided to move on to redfish we each had our limit of four nice keepers, with each with a fish over 20 inches.

The water on the flats was very skinny; maybe a foot. We eased onto a nearby flat to see if we could find any redfish. I really wanted Todd and Lynn to experience the great pull of these fish before we tossed in the towel. Well, don't you know I parked right in the middle of them once again. They were all over the place, and they weren't spooked. They were just all around the boat. We had them follow our spoons and jigs, but had not a hit. I had brought along some frozen Spanish sardines, and figured they would surely eat those. I chopped up a bunch and slung them out for chum, and to try to hold the fish there. I put two out on circle hooks and held my breath. Finally, one of the line began to move tight. But the redfish on the other end was just curious. He moved the line around for a good five minutes, and never ate the bait.

We worked them hard until five o'clock, at which point we were all weary of being cold and wet. We headed for home. It was a cold, miserable ride home with the rain stinging wherever it hit our exposed skin. Even in such miserable conditions we'd had a great time. Todd and Lynn were great, and real troopers. They did very well considering the day we had drawn.

Hopefully, this multi-day wet pattern we're in will be out of here by Monday, for my first trip of next week. It's a fairly busy week, and I'd sure like to see some warming weather.

REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING 1/24/04 by Capt. Butch Rickey

The week began with four trips on the books. The week played out with two trips run because of weather and folks with changing plans.

The week was to have begun on Sunday morning with my favorite fishing buddy, John Hitt. But, Mother Nature had other ideas. I went straight to the computer and checked the radar at 5:30, and didn't like what I saw. There were storms and cells of rain blowing up just offshore in the Gulf. We were right in the path of the oncoming weather, so I called John, and we agreed to wait and see how the weather played out. Well, it was a good call, as it wound up raining for a good part of the day.

Tuesday, after a day of cold wind, I was back on the water for my first trip with Lou Mitchell, who now lives in Naples, and his good friend Stephen Sneider, of St. Louis. I brought along a flyrod for Steve to try, but it was still pretty windy for flyfishing. We headed up the river to the ladyfish grounds to let Lou and Steve get familiar with the equipment, and catch a bunch of fish. Steve had no experience with spinning gear, but was willing to give it a whirl, and was soon casting well and catching fish. Within 15 minutes or so, they were both catching fish on nearly every cast. They had a big time with the ladies, and caught a nice trout, as well. Eventually, we decided it was time to move out to the Sound and try to catch a limit of trout.

As I began to clean the ladyfish flood and poop off the Talon deck, I got a big surprise. Lou went to make a cast, but forgot to look behind him, and buried a 3/8 oz. Cotee jig in the middle of my chin! It happened so fast that even though it was buried clear to the lure, it hurt very little. Actually, at first I thought I was just tangled up in his line, because the lure was below my line of sight. I couldn't see it, so I knew I wouldn't be able to try to remove it, and Lou and Steve weren't about to, either.

Poor Lou! He was so embarrassed. He beat himself up unmercifully, even though I tried repeatedly to assure him that it was OK, and that I was all right. He just kept saying that he couldn't believe what he had done. He and Steve wanted to take me to the emergency room to have the lure removed, but I wouldn't hear of it. I didn't want to ruin their trip, and assured Lou that I would be fine. We headed up into the Sound, confident that Lou had the biggest catch of the day.

With the water temperature once again near 60 degrees, the trout bite wasn't a fast one, but we did catch plenty of nice trout, and a limit of keepers for Lou and Steve. All were caught on Bass Assassin jigs matching the color of the water as closely as possible.

By the time we'd caught our limit the lure in my chin was beginning to be bothersome and the tide was about done, so we headed in. I wanted to make sure I had time to clean fish, clean the boat, and get myself clean before going to see my doctor. At the ramp, Lou cleaned the fish while I cleaned the Talon, so that I could get on my way sooner.

Wednesday, I gave my chin a rest and took the Maverick to Boatmaster Trailers to have her fitted for a nice used Boatmaster trailer. John and the boys had done all the changes for the Maverick, and were ready to put her on it and do the finishing touches. The trailer is a major improvement, especially for me. It is a float off, drive on, originally built for a 20 ft. Action Craft, so it's a bit more trailer than the Maverick needs. But, the benefit is that it is longer and keeps my vehicle farther away from the salt water. It will also back easier than a very short wheelbase trailer.

Thursday, I had my first of several trips with Bill Odell, who is in the process of retiring here from New York. I knew from talking to Bill on numerous occasions he was a nice guy, and that we would have fun together. But, once I met Bill at the ramp, I knew it would be better than that. He was so excited about getting out and learning about our waters, he was like a kid with a new toy. I really got a kick out of his excitement.

This was to be primarily a learning trip, and the -1.0 tide was perfect for that. You rarely see the water much lower than it was on this day. We began by going up the river to catch ladyfish. Bill was really glad to see that there was such a tremendous fishery just around the corner from where he currently lives in Cape Coral. Bill, a good angler and a quick study, quickly got the "knack" for catching the ladies. He had a blast with them for a couple of hours. In fact, Bill said that just knowing where he could always catch those fish for his friends and family was worth the cost of the trip.

But, there was much to do and teach, so we headed up into the Sound. There was still no water, so we began by showing him Long Cut. The tide was so low that the fish hadn't even staged there, yet. For the first time since I've been fishing there, we caught no trout. We moved on. I showed him places to catch flounder, grouper, and did some looking for redfish. As the water began to move in the Sound, I introduced Bill to pothole fishing, and showed him the secrets to choosing good potholes. The water was really cold, and the bite very slow, yet we managed to catch some trout, and got a limit for Bill. We had some fun with the "knack" theory, as Bill challenged me to catch fish on the jig he was using and not catching with. I did, to his chagrin. There definitely is a knack to jig fishing, and the knack can change from fish species to water temperature changes, to weather conditions.

It was fun for me to watch Bill falling in love with Pine Island Sound, and the fishing prospects that abound here for him. He also absolutely fell in love with the Talon, and with good reason. He quickly realized that his Grady White, although a wonderful boat, is not the tool for the job, here. I expect I'll be introducing him to the great folks at Talon once he gets settled here.

Another important item for Bill was the location of the Waterfront Restaurant that he has read about on my site so many times. So, we finished the day with a stop there for a great lunch, and Bill was not disappointed.

Bill and I are fishing together again on February 10. I hope the weather warms considerably between now and then, and makes shiner fishing a viable option. I want to teach Bill about this, our mainstay for most of the year. He also wants to learn how to throw the castnet, which I will teach him.

I popped the cable snuggling the Talon up on the trailer at the ramp that afternoon, so Friday it was back to Boatmaster for some quick repairs. Kevin installed a new, heavier cable on the winch, a new set of chains, and a new bow strap. Folks, if you don't have a Boatmaster under your boat, you're missing out. They're not only the finest trailers made in this part of the country, but the finest folks to deal with.

Well, that's it for the week. It continues to be cold and windy, well for us! But, there is a warming trend due to begin on Sunday, and rain later in the week. Weather is always an issue, and always claims plenty of trips this time of year. We'll have to see how the week unfolds.

REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING 1/17/04 by Capt. Butch Rickey

It was a pretty busy week, and the water was cold, but we managed to do pretty well on average.

The week began on Sunday with my old friend Chuck George, and his good friend Paul. It was the morning after the passage of a cold front Saturday night, and the wind was howling pretty well from the northwest, and it was cold. Around 40, I believe.

The boys wanted any kind of action I could provide, and this time of year that often means ladyfish. So, we headed up the river to the land of ladyfish, where Chuck and Paul had a blast catching about 70 nice ladyfish for a couple of hours.

Around 9:30 we decided to head out to the Sound, and I suggested we stop at the Waterfront Restaurant along the way to see if the crew was there setting up. I knew that if they were, they would let us come in and get a cup of coffee, even though they weren't officially open. But, I found quite a surprise as we pulled up to the dock. The restaurant was jammed, and there was a big sign on the rail indicating they were now open from 6:30 AM for breakfast. Well, I have to tell you we decided to go in and have breakfast and warm up a bit. It was great, and the hot chocolate is the best I've ever had.

After a nice rest and plenty of warm fluids we were ready to brave the cold again. We headed into Long Cut where we found even the trout were not interested in eating. I'd guess we caught 12 to 15 nice trout, including 3 keepers. After trying a few other spots with no luck, we decided to call it a day, and went home happy.

I met Elmer Richie, of Glasgow, Kentucky, and Moore Haven, Florida, on Monday at 10:00 AM, for our first trip. Elmer is an avid freshwater fisherman, and has tournament bass fished. He has a vacation home in Moore Haven, and loves to come over to our area to saltwater fish. However, he doesn't know the waters, and is concerned about running around out here on the very low tides of winter with his 22 ft. boat.

So, our main emphasis was on navigating the waterways, and fishing spots, rather than on catching fish. I introduced Elmer to pothole fishing, and showed him what to look for, and some of the best areas to look in. I also showed him around in the river a bit. Through the course of the morning he caught ladyfish, speckled trout, a puppy redfish, and a flounder, and seemed quite happy with what he'd learned once we were done. Elmer was a funny guy, and I really enjoyed the day with him.

Tuesday and Wednesday were my first two trips with Tom Ashby, of Evansville, Indiana. Tom had rented a house on North Captiva in Safety Harbor, which meant I had to travel there to pick him up. It makes for a long day, but there are very few options. I met Tom and his son-in-law Mark, on the beach in front of the runway on the bay side of the Pass.

It was a day for pothole fishing with a nice low tide, so I headed to one of my favorite areas. But, the fish had other ideas. We caught some fish, but they basically just didn't want to eat. The water was very cold, and certainly the culprit. I knew I had to find warmer water to find fish that would eat, so we headed to Long Cut. It's a long cut (thus the name) connecting St. James City to the Sound. It is a couple of miles long, narrow, has lots of deeper blowouts, and has a nice mud bottom, which holds heat well. Usually, if you work at it, you can find plenty of trout and ladyfish there in the winter, as well as sheephead if you're inclined to fish for those.

Well, we found the trout. Tom had no problem catching them right from the start. Tom and I really hit it off. We share very similar politics, ethics, etc., and a love of fine fishing tackle. In fact, he brought along a Shimano Stella 1000 mounted on a long, limber 8 ft. rod, and although the rod was a bit heavy for the tiny reel, it was a perfect setup for fishing winter trout. Tom and I were catching them on every cast, often before the jig could reach the bottom on the cast. Of course, Tom let me use the tiny Stella, and it was a wonderful reel, unbelievably smooth. I have been considering tooling up with such tackle just for winter fishing. Scaling down the tackle to the fish available makes the fishing that much more fun. It's a major investment in gear, but now that I've fished a 1000, I'm definitely going to do it before next winter.

It took Mark a little longer to get the hang of fishing with the jigs, but then, it was Mark's first ever fishing trip. But, once he did get the hang of moving the jig slowly along the bottom and reeling into the fish, he just had a blast. He repeatedly said how much fun he was having. To be honest, I don't think he expected fishing to be that much fun. Well, by the time we were done, Tom and Mark had caught probably 50 to 60 trout, several ladyfish, and a couple of flounder. We headed back to North Captiva with a limit of keeper trout.

We fished Tuesday out of the Talon, so I thought it might be fun for Tom to fish out of the Maverick on Wednesday so he could get an idea of the differences in flats boats design. We were going to begin an hour earlier so that we could run back to ladyfish heaven with Tom's daughter Jennifer aboard. It would be the first time to launch the Maverick from it's freshwater roller style trailer by myself, and I knew I couldn't do my usual guide launch. So, I tied the bowline to the ladder on my van to keep her from coming off the trailer, and backed her down to the water. Well, as soon as the trailer tilted, the Maverick took off on the foot of slack I had in the rope, and ripped the ladder off my van and snatched the back doors open. It's amazing the momentum a boat can attain in one foot!

Well, at least she was in the water. But, my woes continued when I tried to start her. She had a fresh charge on all her batteries, but after two minutes of grinding, the battery wouldn't turn her over any more. My good friend John Hitt often tells me, "A lesser man would really be pissed off about now!" And, at that moment, I was a much lesser man. So, I composed myself, put her back on the trailer, and took off to get the Talon. After moving everything back to the Talon and calling Tom to tell him I would be late, I was off to North Captiva.

Because I was now an hour late, I had to change my plans for Tom and his beautiful daughter, Jennifer. I decided to fish waters closer to North Captiva, which means lots of beautiful potholes in crystal clear water straight across the Sound. But, the cold nights had really cooled the water, and the fish had other ideas about eating. We fished hard without so much as a hit. Finally, Tom caught a flounder or two, but that was about it.

We moved south to see if we could find some gag grouper, which are usually willing to bite a TerrorEyez or Rattletrap. They didn't want to eat, either, and Tom caught the only one. Geez! With time growing shorter Tom and I agreed that we needed to go back to Long Cut, and hopefully find the trout there willing to eat, again. I wanted to get Jennifer into some fish in the worse way!

Well, we didn't find the non-stop action of the day before, but we did find fish close to where they had been the day before, and caught plenty. We had lots of nice keepers once again, but Tom didn't keep any. We finished the day with 4 flounder, several ladyfish, and several dozen trout. It had been a cold day from start to finish, but we had a great time. My gut tells me those two days were the beginning of a long fishing friendship.

Thursday was maintenance day. I took my Boatmaster trailer in to be fitted with new skins and aluminum wheels on the right side, and to have the brake pads replaced. You can bet that I also am talking to the boys about a used Boatmaster trailer to put under the Maverick, and it looks like Joe and John have something that's just right. The folks at Boatmaster are great, and if you are in need of a high quality trailer for your boat, this is the only place to look.

We have another front coming in Sunday night that could well set the tone for the next week of fishing. We'll have to wait and see how things play out.

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