You're probably wondering "What's up with the Teddy Bear?". Well, I never really thought of Tommy as being superstitious, except maybe for the NO BANANA rule on his boat and then there's his lucky coffee mug (you've seen it - the old dented up silver one he has used for the past 5 years) The day this photo was taken - that's Bobby Newman of Key West holding the Permit - the fishing hadn't really turned on until they found this bear floating in the water miles from land somewhere west of Key West. Once they rescued the poor saltwater-soaked creature, Bobby started catching fish like crazy. Of course they attribute the good fishing to their new lucky fishing mascot and every photo had to include the bear. I haven't gotten to the best part yet. Tommy brought the bear in that night & made the mistake of letting our little Jack Russell catch sight of it but he wouldn't let her have it. She sat outside the laundry room door where he hid it, for hours. When I left the Keys on Sunday he still didn't want to give up the bear but what can you do when they give you that puppy face? (the dog, not Tommy)

The Keys fishing has been a total success and we are planning to make it a permanent part of the schedule - 6 weeks from the end of January to the beginning of March and maybe even a couple weeks in December if anyone's interested. David Cantor had called me in early February from NY to unhappily cancel his summer tarpon fishing dates and complain about the cold weather, etc. When I off-handedly suggested that he hop on a plane & fish with Tommy the next week out of Key West he was out the door and in the Keys as fast as he could make reservations. David's Dad Lowell used to fish with Tommy about 18 years ago out of the same marina! He had a great 2 days with Tommy (caught a 23 lb Permit) and a blast with Capt. Tom Pierce as well.

Things are finally warming up here in Apalachicola. Trout season re-opens tomorrow and as the water warms up so do (does?) the redfish. Nathan fly-fished Tuesday with Ted Wichmann from IL. They saw probably 1500 redfish in several different schools but the water temperature was unfavorable for getting them to bite so Nathan went to plan B - Trout fishing! Ted caught 8 or 9 four pound fish on fly to save the day. Bay fishing is usually always good in March and if the calls we have gotten all week are any indication (Chad's booked up all this weekend and next) it's going to be a busy month. I'm looking forward to the first reports of Spanish Mackerel & Pompano being caught here and will be passing that info on ASAP.

Everglades - Tommy & Chris make the transition to the Glades tonight & start fishing tomorrow. Chris has a few days available due to cancellations - March 13 - 15 and March 27 - 30. Please let me know if you're interested in doing some Snook & Tarpon fishing.

Tarpon - Peak time is generally from about mid May through Mid August and YES we do still have open dates. Thanks everybody who made reservations for getting your deposits in.

Chili Cook-off is this weekend on St. George Island. Just hoping the weather (rain) holds off for this charity celebration. Have a great weekend everybody!

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