Day 1: Worcester to Punta Gorda
Historically, our "Man's Weekend" was spent on Cape Cod, fishing for Striped Bass and Bluefish and squeezing in the occasional 18 holes of golf. Now, with the introduction of a Florida vacation condo, the dynamic of the weekend spent away from the wives & children has changed dramatically. For Christmas, Phil, my father-in-law, treated myself, Ben (his son, my brother-in-law) and Marc (his other son-in-law) to a weekend of fishing down in Florida. Golf was removed from the equation this year, but it was replaced with more awesome fishing, awesome scenery, and an overall awesome time.
Our flight on Direct Air from Worcester to Punta Gorda was uneventful, save for the treacherous take off that resulted in white knuckles and an instant loss of dignity. Dignity recovered, we continued flying through the air at questionable altitude until safely touching down in Punta Gorda, Fl. Phil, Ben, Marc and I had now embarked on a new type of fishing trip: we had two days of Florida back-country and flats fishing booked with Florida Light Tackle Charters. We grabbed our rented Kia and headed over to the local Publix to stock up on the necessities - meat, eggs, and beer. After arriving at the condo, selecting our respective bedrooms, and taking stock of how many cans of beer we actually had (we had a lot), we grabbed dinner at Laishley's Crab Houseoverlooking Charlotte Harbor. With Ben, Phil and myself ordering fish, and Marc ordering a steak (at a Crab House?), we were quick to resume the cajones-busting that is common when men get together sans women for an elongated period of time. We had an early rise the next day that would precede a long day on the water, so not too much imbibing took place, and we all retreated to the condo to get some rest.
Day 2: The West Wall
Our guides, Derek and Keith, had arranged to meet us at the boat ramps in Placida Park at 8:30am, and we did everything in our power to be there on time. Didn't happen. Irregardless! Ben and I got on board Keith's 22' flats boat, and Phil and Marc boarded Derek's similar-but-not-the-same kinda boat, and we headed out at breakneck speeds through the hundreds of islands that make up the Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park.
I have no idea where our first fishing spot was, but I do remember what we caught: Snook. I was quick to land two nice Snook, the second one quite larger than the first, and then before you knew it, Ben had landed a nice Redfish. Phil and Marc were also having some good luck of their own, but we didn't notice - Ben and I were too busy catching our own fish. Merely an hour into the trip and all four of us had landed some really nice fish. This trip was quickly turning out to be fruitful for all. After an hour or so there, we headed off to the West Wall, a 15-20 mile coast of mangrove-like vegetation in Charlotte Harbor. We spent the remainder of the day fishing up and down the coast, and had considerable success. We were using what the locals call whitefish or "greenies" due to the greenish-hue of their backs, hooked through the snout and allowed to swim freely. Ben and I combined to catch nine more fish at the West Wall, seven or eight of which were nice sized Redfish. Florida law prohibits keeping a Redfish that is smaller than 18" or larger than 27", so the 24" and 26" reds we caught were thrown in the live well, destined to be dinner later that night. Now, I'm sure that Phil and Marc did pretty good for themselves, but Ben and I will never know. We did find it odd, though, that their fish were already in labeled celophane packages when we got back to the dock. Convenient. All kidding aside, the two boats combined to haul in a hefty number of fish in the seven or so hours we were on the water, and we had sore arms and sunburned necks to show for it. It was a good fishing day for all involved, especially those of us that were giving new gear a test drive. I was using for the first "real" time (not counting 20 minutes on Sanibel Island catching a 1lb. Gafftopsail Catfish) my new Team Daiwa Tierra 3000 spinning reel paired up with a Cabela's Salt Striker 7' Medium-Heavy travel spinning rod. Marc had yet to use his Penn Captiva 5000 on his Temple Forks Outfitters 7' 6" Medium-Light travel spinning rod, and Phil was getting some good miles on his Penn Sargus 4000spinning reel on his Temple Forks Outfitters 7' Medium-Heavy travel spinning rod. (Wow, that gave me a headache typing, so I have to imagine there are some readers out there struggling with slight bouts of nausea after reading those five lines of nonsense.)
With all of our new gear thoroughly tested and broken in, and having spent seven hours being baked under a hot Florida sun, we were ready to retire to the glorious air conditioning of the condo to have a nice dinner of freshly-caught Redfish. Phil and Ben did a great job of preparing a delicious meal, and after washing it down with a few adult beverages, I retired to bed to attempt to finish my latest read, Kurt Vonnegut's TimeQuake. I say "attempt," because I fell asleep six pages in with twenty or so pages to go.
Day 3: Big Reds & Burnt Store
Our second day of fishing started out just like our first, except we were on time. Derek continued to guide one boat, whereas Keith was now replaced with a young lad by the name of Justin, who runs his own charter company, Salt Life Charters. We switched up the teams, so it was now Marc and I on Justin's 23' bay boat, and Phil and Ben on Derek's 22' flats boat.
This time, though, the boats didn't stay together. Justin gauged our interest in catching a lot of fish, which was obviously high, and we headed off to two of Justin's "secret spots" he reserves for VIP guests like myself and Marc. Moments after Justin lowered the PowerPole on his boat, Marc and I were hooking up with over-the-limit Redfish, some surpassing 30" in length. We landed several reds in the 10-11lb. range, and fighting fish on the light tackle we were using amplified the strong fight that Redfish are known for. After an hour or so, Justin told us about a place he loves to Snook fish on the other side of Charlotte Harbor, but because it was so rough, we were asked about our experience boating. Marc and I have pretty lengthy boating resumes, so we were up for the challenge. Twenty choppy and wet minutes later we were fishing for Snook off of Burnt Store, an area just south of Punta Gorda. We (as in Justin) swung the boat around to face downwind with a small island behind us, and within minutes were casting and hooking up with Snook and Redfish. In the two hours that Marc and I fished off Burnt Store, we landed 18 Snook and 6 more Redfish. We were still using the snout-hooked whitefish as bait, this time without corks so we could get more adept at heightening our sensitivities to the bite and setting the hook. Justin was a really professional guide who did what a good guide should do: bring his clients to the fish. There were always three lines in the water, and he made sure to pay attention and talk us through difficult fights in order to safely land the fish. When I go back, I will use Justin of Salt Life Charters.
We strictly adhered to the catch-and-release method of fishing today after keeping five fish the day before. Because Marc and I were so far away from the other boat, we never heard how they did fishing that day. We headed in different directions immediately after leaving the docks and didn't reconvene until the very end of the day, so there was much less communicating and bantering going on. Justin reported via several cell phone conversations with Derek that the fishing was good but a bit slower than the day before.
After a long day out on the water in 90* temps, the only thing the four of us were interested in was an ice cold beer. Phil had a great little bar he wanted to show us, and great it was. TheNav-A-Gator at the Old Desoto Marina was authentic old-time Florida at its best. Mounted fish on the wall, cold beer on tap, live music blasting outside, and good food always adds up to a great time. Because it was our last night in Florida, we shot back to the condo to shower up and grab dinner and drinks out.
We dined that night at Harpoon Harry's on Fisherman's Wharf, which is a collection of shops and restaurants on the water in Punta Gorda. After dinner we slid on over to the rooftop bar at the Wyvern Hotel in downtown Punta Gorda. Our early flight limited our beverage intake, so we ambled back to the condo to catch the last quarter of the Celtics-Cavs playoff game.
Day 4: Punta Gorda back to Worcester
Our last morning in Punta Gorda was mighty uneventful. We merely woke up, packed our bags, and headed back to the airport to catch our flight to Worcester. After getting picked up at the airport, we headed to Phil's house where all of the wives and children had gathered to await the arrival of the mighty fishermen. We all enjoyed a nice lunch together before everyone slowly parted their separate ways. Next year's trip, if anything like this, will be an absolute blast. This is our third year of doing the Man's Weekend, and they keep getting better and better.
Historically, our "Man's Weekend" was spent on Cape Cod, fishing for Striped Bass and Bluefish and squeezing in the occasional 18 holes of golf. Now, with the introduction of a Florida vacation condo, the dynamic of the weekend spent away from the wives & children has changed dramatically. For Christmas, Phil, my father-in-law, treated myself, Ben (his son, my brother-in-law) and Marc (his other son-in-law) to a weekend of fishing down in Florida. Golf was removed from the equation this year, but it was replaced with more awesome fishing, awesome scenery, and an overall awesome time.
Our flight on Direct Air from Worcester to Punta Gorda was uneventful, save for the treacherous take off that resulted in white knuckles and an instant loss of dignity. Dignity recovered, we continued flying through the air at questionable altitude until safely touching down in Punta Gorda, Fl. Phil, Ben, Marc and I had now embarked on a new type of fishing trip: we had two days of Florida back-country and flats fishing booked with Florida Light Tackle Charters. We grabbed our rented Kia and headed over to the local Publix to stock up on the necessities - meat, eggs, and beer. After arriving at the condo, selecting our respective bedrooms, and taking stock of how many cans of beer we actually had (we had a lot), we grabbed dinner at Laishley's Crab Houseoverlooking Charlotte Harbor. With Ben, Phil and myself ordering fish, and Marc ordering a steak (at a Crab House?), we were quick to resume the cajones-busting that is common when men get together sans women for an elongated period of time. We had an early rise the next day that would precede a long day on the water, so not too much imbibing took place, and we all retreated to the condo to get some rest.
Day 2: The West Wall
Our guides, Derek and Keith, had arranged to meet us at the boat ramps in Placida Park at 8:30am, and we did everything in our power to be there on time. Didn't happen. Irregardless! Ben and I got on board Keith's 22' flats boat, and Phil and Marc boarded Derek's similar-but-not-the-same kinda boat, and we headed out at breakneck speeds through the hundreds of islands that make up the Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park.
I have no idea where our first fishing spot was, but I do remember what we caught: Snook. I was quick to land two nice Snook, the second one quite larger than the first, and then before you knew it, Ben had landed a nice Redfish. Phil and Marc were also having some good luck of their own, but we didn't notice - Ben and I were too busy catching our own fish. Merely an hour into the trip and all four of us had landed some really nice fish. This trip was quickly turning out to be fruitful for all. After an hour or so there, we headed off to the West Wall, a 15-20 mile coast of mangrove-like vegetation in Charlotte Harbor. We spent the remainder of the day fishing up and down the coast, and had considerable success. We were using what the locals call whitefish or "greenies" due to the greenish-hue of their backs, hooked through the snout and allowed to swim freely. Ben and I combined to catch nine more fish at the West Wall, seven or eight of which were nice sized Redfish. Florida law prohibits keeping a Redfish that is smaller than 18" or larger than 27", so the 24" and 26" reds we caught were thrown in the live well, destined to be dinner later that night. Now, I'm sure that Phil and Marc did pretty good for themselves, but Ben and I will never know. We did find it odd, though, that their fish were already in labeled celophane packages when we got back to the dock. Convenient. All kidding aside, the two boats combined to haul in a hefty number of fish in the seven or so hours we were on the water, and we had sore arms and sunburned necks to show for it. It was a good fishing day for all involved, especially those of us that were giving new gear a test drive. I was using for the first "real" time (not counting 20 minutes on Sanibel Island catching a 1lb. Gafftopsail Catfish) my new Team Daiwa Tierra 3000 spinning reel paired up with a Cabela's Salt Striker 7' Medium-Heavy travel spinning rod. Marc had yet to use his Penn Captiva 5000 on his Temple Forks Outfitters 7' 6" Medium-Light travel spinning rod, and Phil was getting some good miles on his Penn Sargus 4000spinning reel on his Temple Forks Outfitters 7' Medium-Heavy travel spinning rod. (Wow, that gave me a headache typing, so I have to imagine there are some readers out there struggling with slight bouts of nausea after reading those five lines of nonsense.)
With all of our new gear thoroughly tested and broken in, and having spent seven hours being baked under a hot Florida sun, we were ready to retire to the glorious air conditioning of the condo to have a nice dinner of freshly-caught Redfish. Phil and Ben did a great job of preparing a delicious meal, and after washing it down with a few adult beverages, I retired to bed to attempt to finish my latest read, Kurt Vonnegut's TimeQuake. I say "attempt," because I fell asleep six pages in with twenty or so pages to go.
Day 3: Big Reds & Burnt Store
Our second day of fishing started out just like our first, except we were on time. Derek continued to guide one boat, whereas Keith was now replaced with a young lad by the name of Justin, who runs his own charter company, Salt Life Charters. We switched up the teams, so it was now Marc and I on Justin's 23' bay boat, and Phil and Ben on Derek's 22' flats boat.
This time, though, the boats didn't stay together. Justin gauged our interest in catching a lot of fish, which was obviously high, and we headed off to two of Justin's "secret spots" he reserves for VIP guests like myself and Marc. Moments after Justin lowered the PowerPole on his boat, Marc and I were hooking up with over-the-limit Redfish, some surpassing 30" in length. We landed several reds in the 10-11lb. range, and fighting fish on the light tackle we were using amplified the strong fight that Redfish are known for. After an hour or so, Justin told us about a place he loves to Snook fish on the other side of Charlotte Harbor, but because it was so rough, we were asked about our experience boating. Marc and I have pretty lengthy boating resumes, so we were up for the challenge. Twenty choppy and wet minutes later we were fishing for Snook off of Burnt Store, an area just south of Punta Gorda. We (as in Justin) swung the boat around to face downwind with a small island behind us, and within minutes were casting and hooking up with Snook and Redfish. In the two hours that Marc and I fished off Burnt Store, we landed 18 Snook and 6 more Redfish. We were still using the snout-hooked whitefish as bait, this time without corks so we could get more adept at heightening our sensitivities to the bite and setting the hook. Justin was a really professional guide who did what a good guide should do: bring his clients to the fish. There were always three lines in the water, and he made sure to pay attention and talk us through difficult fights in order to safely land the fish. When I go back, I will use Justin of Salt Life Charters.
We strictly adhered to the catch-and-release method of fishing today after keeping five fish the day before. Because Marc and I were so far away from the other boat, we never heard how they did fishing that day. We headed in different directions immediately after leaving the docks and didn't reconvene until the very end of the day, so there was much less communicating and bantering going on. Justin reported via several cell phone conversations with Derek that the fishing was good but a bit slower than the day before.
After a long day out on the water in 90* temps, the only thing the four of us were interested in was an ice cold beer. Phil had a great little bar he wanted to show us, and great it was. TheNav-A-Gator at the Old Desoto Marina was authentic old-time Florida at its best. Mounted fish on the wall, cold beer on tap, live music blasting outside, and good food always adds up to a great time. Because it was our last night in Florida, we shot back to the condo to shower up and grab dinner and drinks out.
We dined that night at Harpoon Harry's on Fisherman's Wharf, which is a collection of shops and restaurants on the water in Punta Gorda. After dinner we slid on over to the rooftop bar at the Wyvern Hotel in downtown Punta Gorda. Our early flight limited our beverage intake, so we ambled back to the condo to catch the last quarter of the Celtics-Cavs playoff game.
Day 4: Punta Gorda back to Worcester
Our last morning in Punta Gorda was mighty uneventful. We merely woke up, packed our bags, and headed back to the airport to catch our flight to Worcester. After getting picked up at the airport, we headed to Phil's house where all of the wives and children had gathered to await the arrival of the mighty fishermen. We all enjoyed a nice lunch together before everyone slowly parted their separate ways. Next year's trip, if anything like this, will be an absolute blast. This is our third year of doing the Man's Weekend, and they keep getting better and better.