I had a free day and invited 2 of Shannon's daughters to spend the day with me on the water. They were right on it. I went to an area that was doing well a few days ago. Conditions were good and we soon found some fish. Lonasia was the first on the board.



There were a lot of small fish to be had. We caught trout, croaker, redfish, and catfish. Some small enough for bait. Yes we actually had the hook in the mouth of this monster.



Early in the day the Bowers sisters teamed up with a very nice double.



Lonasia had the biggest of the day on the hook but half way through the fight she was ready to pass the rod. Being her first time fishing she did very well. Her sister Layla did not want any part of this monster but wanted to net it. I finished off this 29 incher and had my net lady do her job.



The search for good size fish did not fare well for us but we still had some meat in the box with 4 reds, 2 flounder, and unfortunately only 1 keeper trout.



It was the first time for Lonasia and only the second time for Layla. You will be hearing more from this dynamic duo soon. I will make a point of that.

The next day I had Jon from Texas. He is on the Texas Fishing Form and has never been fishing salt water at all. He wanted to bring his own setup which I had no problem with. After looking at what I had he decided to leave his bass setup in his truck.

I had an issue with my boat because of something I left on. After I bought the new battery we were all set. On the way out I stopped at one of my go to places but conditions were not right yet. would check it after the tide changes. His first fish of the day was a decent sheepshead. Every fish he was to catch today would be a first for him.

Little did he know he was soon to be introduced to the inshore monster. It was a sudden shock when a big bull red nailed a white Vu Du shrimp and started hauling the boat around. I got a quick glimpse at it and figured around 40 inches. He lost it before it got to us but he had a good 5 to 7 minute fight. I explained that he most likely pulled the hook when he dropped the rod giving a straight line to the fish. It was a learning curve and the student was very willing to learn. He was amazed at how hard the fish fought but still did not know what it was or how it looked. As we kept moving and at looking for some other places I noticed some bait in the water and signs of some feeding going on. I make a turn and stop in the area. It is not long before it is time to see how well the student listened and learned. This time Jon was the victor with a 38 incher for his first redfish ever. What a way to start!



We were going through a lot of live shrimp feeding short fish. We were also using Gulp shrimp and Vu Du shrimp under corks. It seemed the gulp shrimp were the ticket this time. A few flounder loved them as well as the bull reds.



I may have missed a few fish by wanting a quicker or better bite but the shorts were out feeding in force. Although Jon was full of bull reds one other bull decided to attempt to win a battle over him. This one almost got the best of Jon. I thought the battle would never end and enjoyed every bit of it including the disgusted look on Jon's face when the fish got next to the boat only to make another drag burning power run away from us. Both were getting tired but neither would give up fighting. After we conquered this 42 inch 33 pound monster Jon took a well deserved break and an ice cold water.



Our day continued with us putting a pair of black drum in the box.



He was happy for the way the day went but I told him I was not happy. I had wanted more fish in the box. All we found today were small ones. The few we had I made sure were all filleted well. Each fish ended up a market cut. Nothing left on the racks. At least he had some good action.



Life is good!

Fishing is not a matter of life or death. It's more important than that.

CAPT HOOP -- OUR FREEDOM

Awesome post and some nice fish. Good job.