As we rode down the beautiful white sandy Keewaydin Island beach in the early morning light, headed to load up on bait, Tony, his wife Jenn, and I were sharing some stories as we got to know each other. Inevitably, I had to warn Tony, that couples fishing trips are always fun, but be prepared for the girl to catch the fish. It doesn’t seem to matter what level of experience we are dealing with, or what age everyone is, the girls just seems to out fish the guys out here.
Of course, that generated some banter and laughs as I tossed the net and started to get some bait. Before I could load the boat, however, a fairly substantial morning thunderstorm disobeyed the radar predictions, and we had to scuttle ourselves rapidly to shelter for the next hour and a half while it put on a wonderful show of lightning rain, and all the tropical magic it could muster as it rolled on in towards the everglades.
As the skies cleared and a hot steamy calm morning revealed itself, we were excited to switch gears a little, and do some trophy hunting with the big baits we had, as opposed to heading back out on a bait hunt. The first spot was ready and waiting and Tony hooked a giant snook. But the giant snook demonstrated why it was giant, and dominated all 3 of us as it ripped drag deep down into some underwater structure and cut the line before I could even get out some babbled instruction. Oh well. Lets move on.
The next coupla hours saw Jenn catch several little snook, and a big jack, as we headed towards a redfish spot and start chopping up the threadfin herring we had into chunks so we could get these two a redfish dinner.
Well the tried and true spot did not disappoint. After Tony had fished the far left corner for a while, he rebaited and skipped his bait under the bushes on the right. Jenn got her bait skipped in the spot Tony was in, and within minutes, the line tightened, the rod doubled down, and Captain Babblealot came alive as the big copper brute came up and revealed itself. It actually swam to the boat, kind of irritated, but I warned everyone it was gonna get mad and change the narrative. And it did. The big fish ripped drag in and out of the shoreline, went under the boat, circled the boat, and all kinds of excitement, before succumbing to the net. Boom, Jenn had her trophy. But not her redfish dinner. This joker was 30 inches long, which is 3 inches too big to keep in Florida. So the beast was freed after a round of photos, and we re-baited. Tony went to the corner the big fish came from, and Jenn went back to the right. We were all rooting for Tony to hook up.
But of course, Jenn’s line went tight and her rod doubled back down. She looked at her husband and offered the rod to him, but oof course he refused, and we both gave her the look of shame and told her to get busy. This fish fought like it knew it was gonna be the last battle it fought. But eventually, the net slid under it, and Jenn had her redfish dinner in the boat. 26-7/8 inches long, about as big as a keeper gets! You can see some of the battle on the link below:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/axgyP6x6bNL4f4t57
Well, as time started to wane, we cranked up the music, and started our ride through the backcountry on our way back to Naples. Everyone was smiling, and the day was a success. Couples fishing trips are always fun, and the chance to get on the water together never disappoints. As long as everyone is excited watching their other half catch the fish. Because it’s usually the girl! See the link below for other fun couples fishing trips!
