My Bus partner's dad has a boat 26' Twinn Vee cat 2 140 4 strokes meow!
Neither knows much about fishing nor do they have much gear.
I am enlisted as mentor, tutor, coach, and adviser.
I do a fair job inshore and have pulled on my share of grouper.
I have not purchased an offshore boat I do not feel qualified to captain one.
I do some research and find a charter captain / commercial fisherman to go with us to teach us some basics and make sure we are safe.
The owner is given a list and we provision the boat.
We are to fish Thursday and Wednesday I get a call he is running behind because his truck crapped out.
He is late but not bad we will just use my truck no problem.
We get in my truck and go to get the boat from his sons in Adel we are leaving they point out I am low on fuel.
I tell them I have plenty and I'll stop in Thomasville. I run out in my 3500 Diesel just after passing the third place I could have got fuel in Pavo.
I very nice man stopped and helped out we are back on the road in no time, yes they told me so.
He wanted me to go the bypass and I did not so I clip a curb in T-ville and bend a rim on his trailer.
We get to The walley world in Tallahasee and figure out they wired the truck wrong and I can't back up because of the surge brakes.
We arrive in Medart at RMS to Pick up the anchor chain rope etc.
Departing for an ice house that is down the road and closed.
I get pulled in wrong we are stuck and have to unhook the boat remember I can't back up we are having fun now!
At Sea Quarters we take on ice and bait off we go to arrive at our hotel in Apalach.
The Oyster Stew at the Red Top is it the best I have ever eaten or I am delusional from having not eaten the whole day?
We change line on a reel go to bed and get up before the alarm rings.
We are off to get breakfast the place is not open, we go to BK he won't serve us he was late so he will not open for 1/2 hr.
Finally at The Piggley Wiggley we get something after an hour of hunting and waiting.
We get to the ramp and meet our Guide / instructor for the day Blaine who say's you can call me Bubba.
We load up and haul azzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! This is what its all about!!!!!!!!!!!!
Salt spray, markers flying by, not a cloud in the sky, it makes me want to cry. (sorry I get carried away)
We stop before the cut to make bait the dang pin fish will not bite, we see tarpon rolling within 100 yards awesome.
My bud catches a catfish I must say while he has many skills and is a great guy when it comes to getting a fish off the hook he is useless.
His dad agrees to help and gets finned twice.
Bubba finally takes over (sorry dude you knew I was gonna say it) he drops the catfish which lands upside down on you guessed it my foot.
He stands there and looks at it and I am like will you please get that thing out of my foot. (notice I didn't say off of)
I am now bleeding like crazy no I did not let anyone piss on my foot.
No I did not squeeze the anus of the fish and rub my foot with it.
I did however happen to have an EMT on board (Bubba) that had some wonder salve that was supposed to make it stop hurting immediately.
It did not and I would have let any of you pee on my foot that wanted to and even let jumptrout rub his anus on it if I was certain it would have stopped the pain.
I have always had a very high pain threshold I can't imagine what it would have been like were I average in that regard.
We give up on pin fish and head out the boat is not handling the chop like I thought it might so we are lumbering along.
I see a great show on the bottom machine and away go the Sabiki's hello Squirrel fish the live well is about to bust thank you Jesus we are going to kill them Grouper.
Goodie goodie goodie it's going to come together.
The boat owner heads to the head when he returns you can see it on his face before he says I don't feel good.
I think I am going to be sick, I am so hot, I feel strange, my hand and feet are tingly.
Bubba asks what do you want to do? We crank up and ride around hoping the breeze will help cool him off but it is still early.
We can't seem to get him to feel better. Bubba the emt asks if he has any health conditions?
He was medically disabled due to a bad heart. When this come out you can see the concern in Bubba.
Wee Haa I get to drive a really nice boat really fast Bubba has them roll a bus we will meet them at the launch.
He is shouting the motors are not broke in slow down I am thinking if he is really having a heart attack the motor won't matter but I slow down so he won't flip out.
We get there they load him up and haul him off to the hospital A.S.A.P.
Bubba and I load the boat secure the rods and oh well once again all I have is a sad story to tell.
At the Hospital they say he is released and they do not think he had a heart attack.
They don't know what is wrong with him it's now lunch time so back to the Red Top the stew was ok maybe I was delusional the night before.
We go back to the ramp to get under the bridge in the shade we put up all the gear and secure the stuff for the long trip back.
As we are driving along he comments that in recent years his reaction to skeeter bites has been dramatic compared to prior to his heart problems.
That is why the questions about toxins in the catfish I think he was having a reaction to getting finned.
We head back and I - 10 looks like traffic is stopping so we dart off thru Quincey and the back way.
Originally when they had told me what kind of boat he had I had said that this type of fishing was work and not relaxation.
I also said that with his heart condition that it was a bad choice and might would be the death of him.
I promise I will not say I told you so about heart conditions and offshore fishing, so long as they don't say I told you so about running out of fuel.
