Naples Florida 2015

A high school buddy of mine, Bryan Romane, called me and asked if I would be interested in helping him move his Aunt and Uncle from Orland Park Illinois to Naples, Florida. They reside in a two bed/bath condo on golf course and have a car for us to use. They will fly us back too. You guys know the answer to that question. Within minutes I put in for vacation time at work. I then called my cousin Capt Patrick Gould owner of Fishing Adventures and set up a charter to chase Snook, Jacks, Reds, Tarpon and anything else that would bite our line. I couldn't wait to get home and pack my fly rods and gear. On Tuesday we picked up a Uhaul, loaded up his Aunt's stuff and hit the road. First we had to fill our bellies with food at Chicago Bears player Steve McMichael's place "Mongos" in Romeoville. We drove til we hit Paducah, KY. We crashed in the truck for the night at a Walmart. The next morning I told my buddy I was buying breakfast, so we walked over to the hotel, walked in and ate breakfast.. lol. We made to Naples, Fl without issue. We fished off the docks at my cousins houses, catching Mangrove Snappers and Snook. We fished along the ocean and down to Gordon's Pass. Once on the rock jetty, I was able to land about a dozen fish on a Murdich Minnow. Mostly Jacks and Snappers. I had a 2 foot Barracuda break my line. Bryan was behind me spin fishing along the rocks in chest deep water. The water was so clear I could see 10 ft down to the bottom. I looked back at Bryan when something large in the water caught my eye. It was moving towards Bryan slowly. It stopped about 2 feet from him and surfaced. It was a juvenile Dolphin. So cool! About 10 minutes later I saw a very large dark object slowly approaching Bryan. I yelled down from the rocks, "Don't panic but there is something large swimming towards you".  Bryan stood still as the large dark object broke the surface about a foot from him. It was a 500 lb Manatee. It looked at Bryan and swam off slowly. Holy crap, good thing it wasn't a sand shark! Patrick took us out at night to fly fish for Snook under the dock lights. If you have never done it, it's a rush! I caught a bunch. The next morning we hit the water at 3:30am to chase Tarpon on the fly. It's a lot harder than you think to cast in the wind under a dock in the dark at a 75-100 lb Tarpon. I had a couple lookers but no takers. Maybe next time. We then fished until noon catching many fish as we worked our way south to Isle of Capri/Marco Island. We stopped off for a bite to eat at Pelican Bend on water in Isle of Capri. (Pic). As we cruised back to Bayview Marina in South Naples, we stopped to give bait fish to another charter captain my cousin knew. He had a father and son on his charter that were real quiet. We asked how was your fishing? The captain stated he was at ten different locations and did not catch one fish. We drove away and could only smile and laugh because our shoulders were sore from catching a ton of fish! What a blast! I have been down here numerous times and I would have to say this was by far the best time. The food and nightlife was excellent. Pincher's in Tin City South Naples over looking the inlet and Doc' Beach House in Bonita Springs overlooking the ocean are a couple good spots. Can't beat the sunsets! The Blue Martini Lounge was one of the best nightclubs I have been to. If you ever want a great time catching a bunch of fish in South Naples Florida - check out my cousin Patrick. NIFTY member Jim Gould.