NutsBoltsFishingBoating
Vernon Olds - Great Grouper Getaway Finalist
My boys and I had been fishing almost every year out of Carrabelle, Florida with two old sea dogs named Gary and Bob. We chartered with them in May or June every year and every year we caught a solid catch of gag grouper with a few reds in the mix. We enjoyed fishing with these guys whether the catch was good or not. My wife, Faye always booked the trips and made all the arrangements, however she would never agree to go with us because on previous trips with other charters she got seriously seasick.
As the boys grew up and grandchildren came along, I began to encourage Faye to go with us on the annual trips. Of course, she resisted using the seasickness as her excuse. I told her that the seas never got rough enough for her to get sick when we went with Gary and Bob (as if they possessed some kind of magical control over the seas)!
Finally, after two or three years of persistence, Faye agreed to make the trip. As ordered, the two old sea dogs calmed the seas to 1 to 2 and off we go. On board is my sister Syble and her husband Wayne; Faye’s brother Lavon and his wife Janette and of course Faye and me. It is May and the weather is blue bird skies, seas calm and temperatures mild: all in all a picturesque day for Gulf Grouper fishing. Sea sickness is not even considered on this great day. Grouper bite is on at the first stop and everyone gets hooked up with keepers and some shorts. Several grouper go in the box.
Some time around mid-morning, Bob the captain of the Three Cats, decides it’s time to move to another spot. During the break in the action, it becomes necessary to take potty breaks. While we are moving to the next drop, several of us are sitting at the table reveling in our good fortune and embellishing the truth for the shore-side tales that we would tell our friends back home. The stories are rich and flowing freely, when we realize that we have not seen Faye for quite a while. I asked Lavon if he had seen her and he remembered that she had gone below for potty relief but that had been twenty or thirty minutes ago. I immediately went to the door of the potty and looked through the louvers and there glaring back through the louvers is the most terrified woman I have every seen. She was almost hysterical and white as a sheet. When she locked the potty door it jammed and she was locked in!!
Immediately I told Bob and Gary that my wife was locked in their potty and told them that if they wanted to save the door they had better find a way to get Faye out: POST HASTE!! All charter captains should be as calm as Gary was. He went to the ceiling hatch above the potty and very calmly rescued my wife to safety topside.
By the time Gary got her out and Bob found our next spot, Faye had calmed herself down and some degree of order was restored to her disposition. On her first drop after that ordeal, she hooked and landed the beautiful gag grouper she is holding in the picture.
This is a double fish story with a beautiful ending. She caught the fish of her life but Gulf Grouper Fishing also caught her!! After this trip SHE started inventing opportunities to book trips with Three Cats and now with Captain K. So hooked is she, that she has bought a boat for Gulf Grouper fishing. It is difficult to distinguish if woman caught fish or fish caught woman. You decide!
Vernon Olds - Great Grouper Getaway Finalist
My boys and I had been fishing almost every year out of Carrabelle, Florida with two old sea dogs named Gary and Bob. We chartered with them in May or June every year and every year we caught a solid catch of gag grouper with a few reds in the mix. We enjoyed fishing with these guys whether the catch was good or not. My wife, Faye always booked the trips and made all the arrangements, however she would never agree to go with us because on previous trips with other charters she got seriously seasick.
As the boys grew up and grandchildren came along, I began to encourage Faye to go with us on the annual trips. Of course, she resisted using the seasickness as her excuse. I told her that the seas never got rough enough for her to get sick when we went with Gary and Bob (as if they possessed some kind of magical control over the seas)!
Finally, after two or three years of persistence, Faye agreed to make the trip. As ordered, the two old sea dogs calmed the seas to 1 to 2 and off we go. On board is my sister Syble and her husband Wayne; Faye’s brother Lavon and his wife Janette and of course Faye and me. It is May and the weather is blue bird skies, seas calm and temperatures mild: all in all a picturesque day for Gulf Grouper fishing. Sea sickness is not even considered on this great day. Grouper bite is on at the first stop and everyone gets hooked up with keepers and some shorts. Several grouper go in the box.
Some time around mid-morning, Bob the captain of the Three Cats, decides it’s time to move to another spot. During the break in the action, it becomes necessary to take potty breaks. While we are moving to the next drop, several of us are sitting at the table reveling in our good fortune and embellishing the truth for the shore-side tales that we would tell our friends back home. The stories are rich and flowing freely, when we realize that we have not seen Faye for quite a while. I asked Lavon if he had seen her and he remembered that she had gone below for potty relief but that had been twenty or thirty minutes ago. I immediately went to the door of the potty and looked through the louvers and there glaring back through the louvers is the most terrified woman I have every seen. She was almost hysterical and white as a sheet. When she locked the potty door it jammed and she was locked in!!
Immediately I told Bob and Gary that my wife was locked in their potty and told them that if they wanted to save the door they had better find a way to get Faye out: POST HASTE!! All charter captains should be as calm as Gary was. He went to the ceiling hatch above the potty and very calmly rescued my wife to safety topside.
By the time Gary got her out and Bob found our next spot, Faye had calmed herself down and some degree of order was restored to her disposition. On her first drop after that ordeal, she hooked and landed the beautiful gag grouper she is holding in the picture.
This is a double fish story with a beautiful ending. She caught the fish of her life but Gulf Grouper Fishing also caught her!! After this trip SHE started inventing opportunities to book trips with Three Cats and now with Captain K. So hooked is she, that she has bought a boat for Gulf Grouper fishing. It is difficult to distinguish if woman caught fish or fish caught woman. You decide!