Living the Life in Cape Coral, Florida: February 2009

Well, I'm well behind in my posts because we've been so busy. I'll try to catch up.

On Monday, February 9th, I went fishing with Brian from the Yard Dogs. He's a hell of a fisherman and I'm glad he invited me to join him. I learned a hell of a lot from Brian, to include the fact that I was using the wrong kind of reel on my rod, which I was holding upside down! He was kind and didn't laugh too hard.

We met at El Tropical Cuban cafe on Hancock Bridge Parkway and had some great omelets and Cuban coffee. The price was great and the food even better! From there we headed to the Sanibel causeway for my first attempt to catch that monster shark. Didn't look like anybody there was catching anything, but when Brian through out his first cast he managed to bring in a little Jack fish.

Then Brian got into the Trout big time! I think he caught about 13 of them. All identical and just short of keepers. He must have been casting into the same school each time he through his lure.
I hadn't caught anything yet. Probably because I couldn't cast as far as Brian with my screwed up set-up. Then it hit! This monster little Jack - my first salt water fish! I fought it for an hour or more (okay, maybe it was about 3 minutes). I was really happy to catch this fish. I didn't want Brian to think he was a less than adequate teacher.

We decided we had fished out the area so Brian suggested we venture over to Bunch Beach and try some wade fishing. I was all for it. Now I figured wade fishing meant wading into the surf to about knee high water level. I was in for a surprise. We walked out the beach and then out a sand bar. When I first stepped into the water and felt how cold it was, I was sure we wouldn't be going that far out or staying in that long. The tide was going out and the high tide hadn't been that high so we waded out about 10 miles or so (okay, maybe about 1/2 mile), but far enough to be able to cast into some deep water. I got acclimated to the water temperature and after a while wasn't even thinking about it. I was only thinking about how much fun I was having!

As soon as Brian made his first cast, he was on the Lady fish! The guy's amazing! He ended up with about 12 or so Lady fish.

And then it happened! Again. I hooked my first Lady fish! The fish actually did put up a decent fight and jumped a few times. It was great! I landed it, took a few pictures, and released it.

This fish really made my day. After wade fishing for about an hour or so we headed back in.

This was a fantastic day of fishing! I can't wait to do it again! Next time with the right rod and reel. Total fish - 1 Lady fish 1 Little Jack. Brian's total - about 32. Oh well... Guess that's why he's the pro.