The Friday afternoon 4 hour charter was reserved way in advance, by a mom looking to create a very special day for her 7 year old son, on their Florida vacation. The weather was warming up nicely when I picked them up at the Carl Johnson Boat Ramp at Lover’s Key just before noon for our adventure on Estero Bay. First up was a quick look for whitebait to gather with the cast net. So we left the ramp and headed towards Big Carlos Pass, where we quickly came upon a group of dolphins who gave us a great show playing and jumping in the wake so close to the boat they were splashing us. After that, we followed some diving birds and got about 6 whitebaits and 2 hermit crabs in about 15 throws of the cast net. Next up was a quick stop at the beach so the young man could stretch his legs and scour the beaches of Lover’s Key looking for treasure. Then it was time to find some fish. The competition between mom and son heated up when mom caught the first fish, a stingray!



Not to be outdone Alec caught one as well. The bite was better at the next spot where we caught jacks,



snapper, and sheepshead.



The 2 of them had a blast catching 1 after another, before we decided it was time to make another run to the beach for another energy release and more treasure hunting.



We fished one last spot to end the day, with mom catching a decent sheepshead, before it was back to the ramp after another great day on Estero Bay.