Ok gang, every year there are certain events that happen that I try to predict in advance, but often even us so-called “professionals” don’t get it exactly right. Obviously, my crystal ball isn’t 100 percent correct all of the time. Maybe it needs a tune up. Lol!

Things like the giant black drum schooling up, spring cobia run, June tarpon run, fall mullet run, and winter pompano run aren’t things you can pin down to a certain day of the month. I was just telling my clients one day last week after catching a bunch of small trout and a couple of ladyfish that the big uglies were probably going to show up in about a week. I said if they were still going to be in town that they should look at picking up another charter with me towards the end of the week and we may have a shot at catching some much larger fish than the ones we had landed that morning.

Just 5 minutes after saying this, I spotted something unusual about 500 yards up the flat. It was exactly what I had just been talking about — a 300 fish school of 30-to-50-pound black drum. The fish in this big school were happy-tailing and waking as they pushed their way down the flat.

We eased up to them, cast our shrimp in their direction, and as you figured, the battles were on. All three anglers were hooked up to huge drum that had absolutely no respect for them. Drags screamed, rods doubled over, dozens of yards of line dumped off their reels. Grunts and groans were heard between laughter and smiles as they worked to tire these beasts. The boat looked more like a country bar dance floor as anglers shuffled and two-stepped under and over each other in an effort to not lose their prized catches.

We ended up extending the trip from a 3/4 day to a full day outing because each fish took 15 to 25 minutes to land.

he moral of the story? Don’t ever count on fish to be there and don’t ever think that it’s not quite the right time to catch them. The bottom line is just go fishing every chance you get. That is the only way that you can be sure to catch your next memory. If you’re looking for a way to get out on the water more often, please give me a call and ask about my frequent angler discount program. It not only gets you out on the water more often, but it will also help you save some money as well. You can wait for my next report… or we can get out on the water together so that we can catch your next memory!