This report consists of two trips. The first one was with Robert Corrado from New York. The second is with Dave, Donna, Devin, and Drew from Maryland.

      Robert didn't know what exactly he was getting himself into. He wasn't sure if we were going offshore fishing, inshore fishing, or just flats fishing. Little did he know we were going to do all three. I picked Robert up at the Sanibel boat ramp and we headed to the Causeway to get bait for the morning. Fortunately we were able to load up quickly and get to my new favorite spot. I had told Robert about a whole bunch of Snook I had found holed up. There have literally been over a hundred Snook between 8 and 20 plus pounds. When we arrived at the spot I gave Robert the lowdown on what to look for and expect. I handed him a Cape Fear/Fin Nor combo spooled with Fins 30 braided line.

Out of the blue the Snook appeared right before our eyes. They were everywhere. I had Robert bring me his rod and I cast his bait towards the fish. Bamm!! Fish On!, Robert was hooked up with the hardest fighting fish of his life. The Snook took off a good 30 yards and Robert just sat there in amazement trying to do everything he could to gain line back. Robert turned the Snook away from the docks but was unable to keep it from wrapping around the dock on the other side of the canal. I quickly jumped to Roberts side and untangled the line from the piling and handed the rod back over to Robert to finish his fight. Robert coaxed the fat Snook to the side of the boat and we got this great picture before a quick release. You can tell by Robert's smile how happy and proud he was of his catch. Way to go Robert and I hope to see you again in the near future.

          My second trip was with Dave, his wife Donna, daughter Devin, and son Drew. Dave was interested in catching big fish. He wanted to get a big Snook. However I had to tell him Snook are a little tough this time of year and may be hard to get to eat. I did give him a second option of Jewfish though. I told him we could go after Ladyfish for Jewfish bait. I knew his kids would love the constant action the Ladyfish would provide at the mouth of the river.

We made our way up the river and the bite was slow until I found where they were schooling. Once we were on fish Drew, Dave, and Devin all landed their fair share of Lady's. Before long we had four or five nice ones in the boat that we would save for later.

      Next we gave a couple of spots in a nearby creek a shot but the fish just weren't interested. Then I decided to take the family to Robert's Snook hole to see if we could get them to play. Sure enough they were there and Dave hooked into one nice one that was probably 8 to 10 pounds. Unfortunately Dave quickly lost the fish on a hook pull.

Finally it was time to see if something was willing to eat those big Lady's we had put in the well from earlier in the day. My first stop wasn't as successful as it usually is but that didn't stop me. I took Dave to the next spot and it was the hide out we were looking for. I drop Dave's bait down in the hole and it gets smacked almost immediately. For some reason though, the hooked pulled. Dave dropped the bait down again and the same exact thing happened. The bait was inhaled but the hook pulled. I checked it to make sure everything looked right and it did. Down we dropped another Lady. The same thing again. Instant inhalation and a hook pull. I bet Dave missed 8 in a row. Dave dropped the bait down again and WALA!!, Fish On!!, Dave was in the battle of his life. He was huffing and puffing and putting the power to the fish. Then all of the sudden the fish surfaces an Dave said it was only a small one compared to the previous ones he had hooked. My estimation was it probably went in the 35 pound range. The are such thick fish. Drew was ecstatic about his catch and the first thing he asked after he released it was, "Can we do it again?"

Once again Dave dropped down the lively Lady and it was engulfed almost immediately when it hit the bottom. The fight was on once again and Dave was on the bow of the boat battling tooth and nail. I wasn't sure if he would land this one because he looked like a very strong fish and Dave had just finished landing a nice one. Dave showed me though and put this hefty 50 plus pounder in the boat. Dave simply couldn't believe the battles these fish put up. It was great to see Dave catch another big Jewfish.

     To conclude, the big fish are finally deciding to eat a little and maybe I can start posting some pics of some big fish in my upcoming reports. This is a great start to the upcoming warmer weather. Be sure to check out my last showing of "Addictive Fishing" at 10pm Friday the 27th on OLN. Till next time keep those drags screaming.          

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