Steve Stinson & Steve Goodwin HHA Report
Posted: June 14th, 2009, 12:53 pm
Good things happen to good people. You won’t find a better example of that theory in action than the Hands Helping Anglers fishing event.
To be honest, my HHA started off at a low point last Monday morning when I got my annual phone call from Calvert Durden, my HHA client for the past several years. I had to tell Calvert that my boat was in the shop, and I wasn’t really sure I would have it back in time for HHA this year. I could hear the disappointment in Calvert’s voice, so I asked him to let me make a few phone calls and call him back that evening. I called the shop and they quickly confirmed my fears - the boat was going to take a while to fix. Then I put up a post on this website asking for help and good things began to happen. By that evening, I had two offers from fellow NFGFC members to take both me and my HHA clients out, and two more offering to just let me use their boat. Now my boat is in the shop due to damage sustained when I hit a rock and I did the same thing to the boat I had prior to this one….twice, so borrowing somebody else’s boat is probably not a good idea for me at this point. Steve Goodwin was the first person to call in response to my post asking for help, so I returned his call, and our game plan began to come together.
Steve and I had never met, other than to pass each other at a NFGFC meeting or tournament weigh in. He wanted to fish the HHA event, but has not been fishing the area very long, and was not sure he could find some fish for the guests. Within a few phone calls, we had everything worked out. I picked up Calvert Durden and James Johnson (Calvert’s Father-In-Law) at their house, then headed to Jerry’s bait and Tackle where Steve met us with the boat in tow. I need to pause here and give a huge THANK YOU to John McBride, Casey Cook, Jerry’s Bait and Tackle, Shield’s Marina, and whoever else worked behind the scenes to put all this together. We were greeted with free ice, free live shrimp, free drinks, and more free sack lunches than you could possibly eat in one day. Within ten minutes, we were off to Shield’s Marina to combine our gear and get the boat launched. Despite our best planning effort, we discovered that we did not have a landing net, so I quickly ran up stairs to the marina store and bought one. It was only about the size of a NBA basketball, which would become a critical factor later in the day.
We rode down river, then East without incident and began fishing for trout in about five feet of water. Just like last weeks tournament trip – the tide, wind, and fishing were all slow. We moved a couple of times, but only managed a few small trout. I rigged a small hook on a spinning rod and began to catch pinfish for bait. We came across Sea Spot from this forum, who graciously offered to give up his fishing spot so our clients could have a shot at a redfish. Despite our efforts, we only put one good trout and about a dozen pinfish in the boat. It was time to try something different.
We moved out to deeper water and anchored on a rock pile to try for sea bass. Things began to happen quickly. James Johnson was in the front of the boat wearing out the sea bass. We had several larger fish break our clients off on the rocks. Steve and I stayed busy rigging poles. We pitched out live pinfish on a couple of larger rods, and chaos ensued. Two cobia hit at the same time. There couldn’t have been more action in that boat if the center console had been on fire. Steve and James managed to land their cobia, which turned out to be undersized. I let Calvert get his tangled in the anchor line and we were not as lucky.
We took a few minutes to get reorganized, then went back to fishing. Several Spanish mackerel, sea bass, and small grouper were landed, then another big strike on the pinfish rod. I set the hook and passed the rod to James. Another cobia broke the waters surface out in front of the boat, then pulled a lot of line from the reel. This time we were better prepared. Steve and I quickly pulled the anchor, and the now-strong breeze moved the boat away from any underwater obstructions. James did a great job of fighting the fish, which we could tell was a keeper. With no gaff on board and only our puny net, Steve proclaimed several times “I don’t care what it takes, I’m getting that fish in this net!” The cobia finally tired, and rolled on its side next to the boat. Steve lunged quickly with the net, and managed to get its head in. I shoved on the tail, then grabbed the front rim of the net and both of us heaved, holding each end of the over-stuffed, very small net. In one quick motion, it was over. The cobia was over the gunnel and flopping on the floor of the boat. Big smiles, high fives and handshakes ran through the crew. The cobia, at 35” was a keeper.
We landed some sharks and a couple of other fish, but the highlight of our day was done. The weather was also deteriorating. Whitecaps bobbed our boat, and lightning began to flash toward the shoreline, so we packed it up and began a slow, wet trip back to the ramp. Our spirits could not be dampened though. We arrived safely back at Shield’s Marina still smiling and discussing the days events. Our tally for the day included several small grouper, three cobia (two of which were landed), several keeper sea bass, a few Spanish mackerel, one keeper trout and a couple of sharks.
Thanks to Steve Goodwin for helping me out and making a memorable day for all of us. For those of you who have not participated in HHA, you should give it a try. Good things do happen and your faith in your fellow man will be renewed.
Good Fishin’ – Steve Stinson
The HHA Crew, from left to right Steve Goodwin, Steve Stinson, Calvert Durden, James Johnson:
To be honest, my HHA started off at a low point last Monday morning when I got my annual phone call from Calvert Durden, my HHA client for the past several years. I had to tell Calvert that my boat was in the shop, and I wasn’t really sure I would have it back in time for HHA this year. I could hear the disappointment in Calvert’s voice, so I asked him to let me make a few phone calls and call him back that evening. I called the shop and they quickly confirmed my fears - the boat was going to take a while to fix. Then I put up a post on this website asking for help and good things began to happen. By that evening, I had two offers from fellow NFGFC members to take both me and my HHA clients out, and two more offering to just let me use their boat. Now my boat is in the shop due to damage sustained when I hit a rock and I did the same thing to the boat I had prior to this one….twice, so borrowing somebody else’s boat is probably not a good idea for me at this point. Steve Goodwin was the first person to call in response to my post asking for help, so I returned his call, and our game plan began to come together.
Steve and I had never met, other than to pass each other at a NFGFC meeting or tournament weigh in. He wanted to fish the HHA event, but has not been fishing the area very long, and was not sure he could find some fish for the guests. Within a few phone calls, we had everything worked out. I picked up Calvert Durden and James Johnson (Calvert’s Father-In-Law) at their house, then headed to Jerry’s bait and Tackle where Steve met us with the boat in tow. I need to pause here and give a huge THANK YOU to John McBride, Casey Cook, Jerry’s Bait and Tackle, Shield’s Marina, and whoever else worked behind the scenes to put all this together. We were greeted with free ice, free live shrimp, free drinks, and more free sack lunches than you could possibly eat in one day. Within ten minutes, we were off to Shield’s Marina to combine our gear and get the boat launched. Despite our best planning effort, we discovered that we did not have a landing net, so I quickly ran up stairs to the marina store and bought one. It was only about the size of a NBA basketball, which would become a critical factor later in the day.
We rode down river, then East without incident and began fishing for trout in about five feet of water. Just like last weeks tournament trip – the tide, wind, and fishing were all slow. We moved a couple of times, but only managed a few small trout. I rigged a small hook on a spinning rod and began to catch pinfish for bait. We came across Sea Spot from this forum, who graciously offered to give up his fishing spot so our clients could have a shot at a redfish. Despite our efforts, we only put one good trout and about a dozen pinfish in the boat. It was time to try something different.
We moved out to deeper water and anchored on a rock pile to try for sea bass. Things began to happen quickly. James Johnson was in the front of the boat wearing out the sea bass. We had several larger fish break our clients off on the rocks. Steve and I stayed busy rigging poles. We pitched out live pinfish on a couple of larger rods, and chaos ensued. Two cobia hit at the same time. There couldn’t have been more action in that boat if the center console had been on fire. Steve and James managed to land their cobia, which turned out to be undersized. I let Calvert get his tangled in the anchor line and we were not as lucky.
We took a few minutes to get reorganized, then went back to fishing. Several Spanish mackerel, sea bass, and small grouper were landed, then another big strike on the pinfish rod. I set the hook and passed the rod to James. Another cobia broke the waters surface out in front of the boat, then pulled a lot of line from the reel. This time we were better prepared. Steve and I quickly pulled the anchor, and the now-strong breeze moved the boat away from any underwater obstructions. James did a great job of fighting the fish, which we could tell was a keeper. With no gaff on board and only our puny net, Steve proclaimed several times “I don’t care what it takes, I’m getting that fish in this net!” The cobia finally tired, and rolled on its side next to the boat. Steve lunged quickly with the net, and managed to get its head in. I shoved on the tail, then grabbed the front rim of the net and both of us heaved, holding each end of the over-stuffed, very small net. In one quick motion, it was over. The cobia was over the gunnel and flopping on the floor of the boat. Big smiles, high fives and handshakes ran through the crew. The cobia, at 35” was a keeper.
We landed some sharks and a couple of other fish, but the highlight of our day was done. The weather was also deteriorating. Whitecaps bobbed our boat, and lightning began to flash toward the shoreline, so we packed it up and began a slow, wet trip back to the ramp. Our spirits could not be dampened though. We arrived safely back at Shield’s Marina still smiling and discussing the days events. Our tally for the day included several small grouper, three cobia (two of which were landed), several keeper sea bass, a few Spanish mackerel, one keeper trout and a couple of sharks.
Thanks to Steve Goodwin for helping me out and making a memorable day for all of us. For those of you who have not participated in HHA, you should give it a try. Good things do happen and your faith in your fellow man will be renewed.
Good Fishin’ – Steve Stinson
The HHA Crew, from left to right Steve Goodwin, Steve Stinson, Calvert Durden, James Johnson:
