STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

Tell us about it

• What would you add to this story? Tell us what we missed.
• Do you have photos from this event? Documents we need to see? Share with us.
• Upload photos & videos
• More ways to get your stuff online and in the paper.

More Fishing and Boating

• A not-so-lovely weekend for a regatta
• Seaworthy: Starting the season off right
• Seaworthy: Start the season right

Share and Enjoy [?]

Just getting from where you are to your favorite fishing hole in the backwaters can be end up being the overriding event of your fishing day.

In those beautiful waters dotted with picturesque mangrove islands, that stretch from horizon to horizon, there lies big trouble that just waits to spring its trap. It’s name is very familiar to anyone who has spent even a modicum of time back there fishing among the trees — it’s called the bottom!

If you have fished the backwaters ‘round these parts or know anyone who has, and you, or they, profess to have never put the boat there you might want to check to see if el schnoz is growing — if you go to the best fishing holes you’ve been aground. Amen.

What gets you there? Foremost reason may be not paying attention. You know, talking to your buddy instead of making a left at Marker Six. Also on the list is running through unfamiliar waters at mid to low tide — if you’re “running” fast enough you’ll end up with everyone looking at you from the bow of the boat.

Now charter guys will never (well, almost never) admit that they have “put ‘er on the sand.” How unprofessional can you get!

Well, in this quiet moment of self-censure, I will finally admit that I’ve grounded it a few times. Most were minor events and were self correcting with a jaunty wave of the hand and a tilt up of the engine. But the one I’m going to tell you about, that happened some non-forgetful years back, wasn’t so jaunty — it was downright embarrassing.

Before we begin, let me refresh you on two sparsely used, but super important factors influencing your direction of travel on the water. One is called set; and the other drift. Set is the direction your boat will be pushed by the tidal current and drift is the direction your boat will be pushed by the forces of the wind.

Pretty simple, stuff, right? You decide!

It’s a late spring day and I have this senior couple on board who just love the backwaters here for the natural beauty and abundant wildlife; but most of all for the light tackle fishing.

As is typical, that time of year brings us some fierce fronts as we glide through the change of seasons. This day was perfectly typical! The sun was sparkling bright against a cloudless blue sky and the only thing that impacted this near nirvanic setting was a frontal wind of at least 25 knots beating the water to a muddy froth and sending four foot breakers down the river.

Add to this equation the fact that we are on a full moon low tide and the ebbing water was showing more subterranean real estate that I had ever seen before.

At times like this, my best shot has always been to stay near the river where the water is deeper and find a clean water hole to do our fishing.

But not today. For folks who wanted their pure backwater fishing and a little sightseeing the only place to go was north. We would transit the Intracoastal Waterway and then tuck ourselves into some nice little hole and have at it.

So off we go! I can still remember how many new sandbars I saw alongside the edge of the channel that morning. Precise navigation from marker to marker would be primary as we made our way north.

As we swung around one section of the IC, I saw the next red and green markers about 200 yards ahead and zeroed the bow between the markers and read the GPS heading of 035 degrees. We’d hold that heading religiously and be through this narrow channel. Right?

Wrong! As we made the turn into this section, the wind suddenly gusted and hit us broadside and set (there’s that word) us to the right with our heading still showing 035. In a heartbeat, I first felt the bump of the engine skeg as it sliced into the sand, followed quickly with a engine shut down and, finally, what you’d politely classify as a sudden stop.

No jaunty wave this time. We were in the accursed sand but good.

The senior couple were fine and had a look on their faces that centered between, “Oh boy, a new adventure” and “how did he do this.”

I apologized till they asked me to please stop.

I called the towing service, hoping for a quick extraction only to find they were digging somebody else out of a similar dilemma south of the island.

It would be six hours here on the sand bar, with the now antsy senior couple, until the tide would be high enough to float me off. Whoa is me!

Just then I got a call from a fellow charter captain who saw my predicament from afar and asked if he could help. Jumping at the chance, I pleaded. He maneuvered up astern and off my sand bar close enough, swim ladder to swim ladder, where we could transfer my two seniors to his boat, with but a few chilly steps through calf deep water.

The seniors would fish this second boat joining the two or three people already aboard. I thanked my fellow captain and watched them sail off to their delayed fishing adventure.

Sitting there, embarrassingly waving to boats passing in the channel, I made believe I was fishing. All the while thinking how I disappointed my seniors were and I had just ruined their special fishing day.

I finally got the boat afloat mid afternoon and sheepishly made my way back to the dock very quietly and with little fanfare as possible. I kept wondering how terrible my seniors must feel, so I called them at their condo just before dinner. My 400th apology was quickly brushed aside as they both got on the line and went into supreme accolades as the great fishing trip they had on the other boat.

“We caught redfish and some small snook and even had a manatee come up and nudge the boat. What a day we had! We even booked another trip with that captain. Thanks for hooking us up!”

“Don’t mention it,” I said tongue in cheek, “maybe I can do it again.”

The phone went silent.

•••

Species In The Spotlight

Name: Spanish Mackerel

In season: Year round. But likes water under 70 degrees.

Florida Regulations: Must be 12” to the fork. Limit is 15 per person per day.

Habitat: A schooling fish that will hold and follow bait. Can be found just about everywhere (offshore, nearshore and backwater). Pelagic species that can be found at any water depth.

---

Capt. Bill Walsh owns an established Marco Island charter fishing business and holds a current U.S. Coast Guard license. Send comments or questions to dawnpatrolcharters@compuserve.com.