I knew everyone was going to have their perfect plan trying to win Bill's kayak, so I spent weeks trying to conjure up my own. Unfortunately, Plan A didn't seem like it was going to work because Mother Nature wanted to make this weekend's fishing as difficult as possible.
So, get down to a well known island South of Tallahassee on Wednesday night and decided to give plan E a shot. My buddy Lewis from North Georgia who guides on the Ocoee River met me down so he could enjoy a few days of sunshine. :| Lewis isn't much for kayak fishing, but he went out with me Thursday morning to give me some company.
I have a kayak full of fishing equipment, gear and various electronic devices to load, and Lewis brings a PFD and breakfast. What's for breakfast you ask?
The breakfast of champions
Saw a few fish, but an early afternoon hurricane got us off the water a little quicker than we anticipated.
Friday morning, the calvalry joins us to give plan F a shot. The cavalry consisting of Popeye, Millertime, cygraphics, Millertime's brother with ADHD, Goodcall, Cueball, 8ball, Skunky, Shoalmaster, Shoalmaster's wife, Ms. Waltdawg, and Blake.
So we're off to fish, however, Popeye has a slight issue with his truck that required the help of a couple of FCKA 4WD trucks. Its a shame that we never got any pictures. By the time we get Popeye back on solid ground, another hurricane decides to visit, so we head to the hill to talk about plan G.
We did manage to find a fish despite the bad weather, but it was a day early and we didn't have the offical tourney ruler to make it official.
Took off for Medart around 5:30 for the Captain's Meeting because the 500 beers we brought weren't going to drink themselves. Enjoyed some good BBQ and tried to find out where everyone was fishing on Saturday.
Woke up early Saturday and heard the dissapointing weather report. I wasn't happy to hear the tournament was canceled because so many people were looking forward to some friendly competition and so many folks we know had put a lot of time and effort in to it, but I was somewhat relieved. After seeing how the weather behaved the two previous days, I thought the organizers made the right call.
It was good seeing how many folks love this sport as much as I do and I can't wait to do it again next year. Thanks to those of you who made the trip down. I saw a lot of familiar faces, but I met a lot of nice folks from Virginia, Georgia, Florida and other parts of the US that don't get to fish the forgotten coast as often as we do, so I hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as I did. Thanks to everyone who helped organize, and I hope that Liam knows that his low country boil will now be expected at next year's tournament.
Can't wait to do it again.