Florida Keys Fishing - Another Fishing Trip in Paradise

My charter yesterday after noon was wet but fun. A small cold front came through and we got soaked. The wind was strong enough that my crew, a young Navy guy stationed at Boca Chica and his two friends from out of town, started shivering. So we left a great wreck we were fishing to hide in the lee of Demolition Island. They caught plenty of Snapper for dinner and had a great time, wet or not. My crew was new to fishing and was a little rough on my gear. One of my rod guides messed up so I'll be fixing that this afternoon. That got me thinking.

I've had these rods and reels for over 5 years now. Fished an average of 275 days a year for that time and have only had four guides break. That ain't bad! The rods were custom made for me, from Ugly Stick blanks, by Rick at Key Largo Rods. Now the finish on the rods is pretty rough, but they all are still in use. The reels are Daiwa BG30's and BG60's. These have been used hard, were flooded by hurricane Wilma, basically have been through the mill and they are all still in service. They don't look a pretty as they use to, but they're still catching fish. I have to clean them more often now, and I have two bearings, thanks to Wilma, that I'll need to replace soon, but they still catch big fish. Tarpon over 100 pounds, sail fish over 90 pound, Amberjack over 70 pounds, Dolphin over 50 pounds, Permit over 45 pounds, and sharks over 300 pounds, all on my custom Ugly Stick/Daiwa BG series Spinning outfits.

I can complain a lot about the weather, but I can't complaint about my tackle.