Hello Dolly, Oil Speculation and the Price of Corn-fed Fuel

Many of you may not be aware, but fuel prices have gone up a bit. You may have also noticed that prices for just about everything else, with the exception of the real estate you purchased two years ago, has gone up as a result. Unless you are living in a recycled-materials hut with your pet volleyball Wilson, it has undoubtedly played a part in your personal economics. After all, it is perhaps the single most common denominator affecting our daily lives and there are few facets of business that are not affected as well. As Americans, we too often lash out at those whom we collectively view as being the culprits; that of the Middle Eastern countries so closely associated with the World's major oil production. While this is partially true, (and sure, it IS fun), it is interesting to note that oil speculation, in the form of commodities trading, plays a substantial role in these prices as well. Supply vs. Demand is the most oft-attributed equation in the macro-economics and trading aspect. However, as recent global fuel level inventories have been assessed, they have shown substantial increases. In spite of this, fuel pricing has continued to climb. In 2007, there was 24 billion dollars being traded in the oil futures market. This year, that number has exceeded 280 billion. In 2007, a single barrel of crude was traded an AVERAGE of 911 times before the product was brought to market. Think about that. It's a shot in the dark, but it's a good guess that those transactions cost more than .01 cents per trade. So, when the Federal government levies windfall taxes on Exxon, (who showed 50 billion in profits), perhaps it should also take a windfall tax on firms like Goldman-Sachs, (who made more than 270 billion profits on oil speculation and trading). Hell, at least Exxon had to invest in the rigs, leases, geographic studies, contracts, personnel and technology, in order to actually bring a usable product to market; why shouldn't they be able to profit? Goldman-Sachs, on the other hand........weren't they the money-changers that Jesus threw out of the Temple? Currently there are not less than 15 bills before the US Senate that in some way, shape or form address the newly proposed Federal limitations of oil speculation. Our current commerce Secretary, Paulson, has stated that "oil speculation in no way affects US oil prices." Huh. Really? If so, how does one explain the 12% drop in crude oil prices within hours of these bills hitting the floor? Not once, but two weeks in a row? Maybe it's just us, but while we can fully empathize with all things fuelish these days.......TRUST us........and granted, we aren't math wizards, but just how many continents will have to grow wall-to-wall corn fields in order to satisfy the gross demand of Massachusetts? And now that the ethanol experiment is finding it's demand slipping to the point of oblivion, there are movements to further subsidize the end-product. So, Mr. Gore, now that our tax dollars have subsidized the initiation and manufacturing of this eco-friendly concoction, and the Flex-fuel autos that were also subsidized are being clogged with corn sugars, now that ethanol is being mixed with gasoline in order to fully function as an end-use product and the Mississippi run off has now warranted the description 'kill zone' due to excesses of corn crop chemicals........we know you received the Nobel prize. But while we all stand by the gas pumps watching another $100 bill go into our autos and another grand into our boats, we wonder exactly what it is that we gained from all of this? It seems as if we just received the rear-end of yet another poorly thought-out, knee-jerk plan reminiscent of Superfund. But hey, Al? Wear the medal proudly, will ya? Another job well done. Hurricane Dolly has entered the Guff and is apparently, at press time, slapped around Browsville a bit. The last two days have brought us some not-unforeseen ground swells, but little wind and all in all, the fishing has been do-able and actually pretty good. There are few things that stir up the fishing in the Gulf quite as efficiently as a hurricane. While that shouldn't be interpreted as meaning we WISH they came, just that we are, (as MANY of you know), half-full glass guys. Always looking for the silver lining as pertains to angling. Storms up from the south bring big fish, weedlines, new water and generally just changes it all up. It's a good thing and we are looking forward to the fishing truly heating up. Maybe it will bring us some new oil rigs. Reports to follow. PS: Bobby Cox and the Braves lost again last night. By one run. Again. For the 29th time this season. That has just got to suck. Bobby was unceremoniously ejected. Not surprising really as he leads MLB history in most ejections. What is surprising is that he bought an additional suspension for unexemplary actions and words. Now given what we have actually seen, and heard, him say prior to many previous ejections, what new word did he come up with last night? PPS: shhhhhhhh.........the Yankees have won 6 straight and head to Fenway this weekend to make up some ground in the standings. In spite of the injuries to our heroes, Posada and Matsui, and a bullpen that reeks of mediocrity, they are just finding ugly ways to win. Dunno about the Sexson acquisition though. Does he pitch? Stand bye.

23 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

Trash and the Relative Esoterics of Angling

There is good trash........in spite of the actual existence of it........as in the trash that we find within weed patches and weed lines or as in the floating beach chair where we stopped and hooked two good wahoo. It sucks that it is there at all, and for those of you who have been with us, there is just no telling what you may find out there. However there are often some benificial elements......"one man's trash is another's treasure" and all that. BAD: adjective, worse, worst; 1. not good in any manner or degree. TRASH: noun, 1. anything worthless, useless, or discarded; rubbish. (Webster's Dictionary). Hence: BAD TRASH: bad trash is when there is nothing underneath it. GOOD TRASH: floating stuff that is holding fish. (AFC lexicon of angling knowledge). Trash fish, on the other hand, is really a term up for interpretation, conjecture and abject rationalization. Although there are some species that can only be construed as God's retribution stemming from Eve offering Adam an apple. The gaff-top sailcat is one such nemesis and we cannot think of any reason whatsoever that they might be construed as anything but a nuisance. On the other hand, depending on personal view points and even the situation at hand, there are several species that make up the group - 'trash to some, treasure to others'. Very often, the edible species vs. the inedible species mark the very first line of demarcation within the argument. But equally often this represents a dichotomy in and of itself. Bonita, ladyfish, mackerel tuna, all designated as non-table fare species often fall into this category in spite of their ability to put up a great fight and strikingly beautiful appearance. Granted, we catch bonita regularly while trolling offshore and the strike, lightning fast runs and ensuing battle is greeted with a great deal of anticipation, (our Louisiana customers of course, immediately begin donning aprons, proceeding to the placement of knives, forks and 15 different marinades around the boat), only to experience the definitively manic fall of depression as a bonita finally shows the distinctive color of its identity at the boat. In spite of the often truly oceanic size and the very tuna-like tenacity, true disappointment is felt more often that not. If they were edible, would it make a difference? It would seem so. Sharks. Big, available and often very aggressive, are regularly placed in the piscatorial trash heap given the environment and situation. In others, they can be considered a target species. In the case of makos and blacktips, we can get spectacular, tarpon quality jumps and sizzling runs; with bulls, lemons and sandbars, long, strong runs that are difficult to turn and even tougher to bring to the boat. In either case, you are generally going to 'do time' at the rod. However, they are a true nuisance when they show up as uninvited guests; 'sharking' the hooked target species, often at the strike, but more often at the boat. Tuna, marlin, sails often get a good chunk taken out of them and while it is a highly undesirable initiative, it is nonetheless a spectacular occurence. Interestingly, an enormous bonito of about 25 lbs was hooked this past week and just after the strike a Sandbar shark of the 8+ foot persuasion mercilously and unceremoniously attacked the hooked fish, (although not a target), and managed to get hooked as well. The bite on the bonita was nothing short of epic as was the ensuing battle. In the end, half a bonita was celebrated for just what it was, a cool thing to witness. Had it been a tuna or mahi would the celebration be the same? Probably not. It is often a matter of perspective as we have known people who were thoroughly disappointed to inadvertantly catch tarpon when their target was anything but and others who have sought out kings to be equally disappointed to catch behemoth 'cuda. There are certainly a few species that truly represent all things to all anglers. But in the aggregate scheme of things, bent rods, a good pull and the experience of a good fight, should be considered at the very least worthy, whether they be sharks, mackerel, tarpon or the lowly bonita. In the meantime if there are any good bonita recipes out there, we would love to hear of them. Something along the lines of jambalaya things perhaps? With a sailcat/cigar minnow reduction sauce? standing bye...

22 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

Epic Runs and the Free Agency Report

The search for the blue water this season has dictated runs that have, at times, exceeded 100 miles. Each way. They have most often proven worthwhile, but simply finding blue is no guarantee. Simply putting in time (and effort) is not always a panacea for success; epic though it may be. Like the Jankees, it seems, we have had some ugly wins in late innings in our continued quest for the post-season. Thankfully the blue water has indeed moved inshore over the last couple of days and we have found some very decent fishing much closer to the beaches. Water temps have managed to stay considerably south of hot tub status and with that, the fish have maintained a cooperative countenance. As some of you have noticed Micky and Bubba's renewed prominence within the fleet, the trade deadllines have allowed us to re-sign them both on an ongoing basis; although we have been forced to assign franchise tags to their signing(s). In spite of the rumors and continued retirement flip-flopping, they are not competing for position, nor will either of them be carrying a clipboard or wearing a ball cap from the back-up position. Management will continue to utilize the multiple QB format, imparting an all-things-to-all-fans field of availability and expertise. While we are rooting for Rocco as the dark horse position of winning the British Open, it's not so bad that a pretty serious angler (of 53) is leading that tournament. In the meantime, don't forget to sign your score cards, mate. That is all. Cheers.

20 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

Loss of friends.

There are few phone calls that are dreaded beyond those that come from friends' families. One of those came today and, like those that have come previously, these have once again left us without the words to describe the grief. Sadder still is the fact that we can't even pay tribute to the names of those persons that spend an entire career fighting in a thankless, unrecognized and otherwise unknown battle against those whom would destroy our culture and freedoms. Almost a year after the fact, and only now, are we able to acknowledge the passing of the fallen. We mourn not just the passing, but also the fate of all those who accept such professions and the inherent risk/reward existences that accompany their position. We pray for the families that live with not only the passing, but with a profound lack of closure on a life where they knew only that they served. "for those whom the gods have chosen, grow they forever young"

18 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

The just-after-the-All-Star-break Report

The benefit of staying up and watching all of the extra innings of the All-Star game this year was that some multi-tasking elements, (brining ballyhoos, prepping and rigging baits for the next day's offshore run), allow for some productivity beyond simply putting an extensive, Homer-Simpson dent in the sofa cushions and a equally significant dent in the beer population. Having said that, we were up well past our bedtime and the 0400 reveille came almost as an 'oh shit' moment. We can sleep during football season, so it's ok. In spite of reports, weather , blue water, surface temp data accumulation and decyphering, the collective decision was made to venture offshore and chase the billed thingys along the bluewater breaks. Previous day's weedlines had promised good things and the breaks were still there according to all things transmitted via satellite, cable modem, radio frequency and NOAA. Conditions at the pass showed promise with apparent sublime seas, although a northeastern wind factor prevailed and created some minor concerns as cast and crew headed south. At 35 miles, (with 40 more to go), the wind had manuevered in to a steady easterly direction and a decidedly escalated mph factor providing considerably confused seas, minor-league rollers and wind-blown whitecap conditions. A hastily considered straw poll resulted in the decision to fish short of the ultimate destination in favor of waiting out the wind factor. Hoping for condition changes prior to committing to a 75 mile return in disintegrating conditions. Gut factor, often above all else, plays a very real factor in offshore light tackle angling. The fishing was short-lived and only slightly successful. The rods got bent and bent well, but the conditions continued to deteriorate and reluctantly the boat was pointed back toward the hill. Some man-points were accumulated during the return trip. We subsequently learned of a decidedly non-zephyric freak wind, originally emanating from the Atlantic side of south Florida had crossed the land mass and entered the Gulf, creating a jet stream that managed to completely obliterate any plans we had of fishing the placid conditions of the same area the previous day. Our boats that had gone out in the very wee hours that same day experienced truly crap conditions and a very reluctant yellowfin bite. It is what it is, as they say. In the meantime, our inshore boats experienced a very brief and equally freakish July cobia bite that can only be described as an invasion. Rare indeed, with benign conditions and relatively clean water, the cobia just popped up everywhere in schools not to be believed. The word spread with lazer speed and the following day found the beach front crowded with tower-laden crews scanning the beaches and probing the nearshore front in numbers reminiscent of the tournament season. There were some cobia, to be sure; but the numbers hardly approached the sheer blitzkrieg of the previous day. Should have been here yesterday. An adage that applies to all things piscatorial. Hope, it seems, indeed springs eternal and applies with equally analogous character; not only to all things piscatorial, but to those who find the Jankees back six games at the All-Star break. Like the Bombers, we do still have the rest of the season.....and the post-season to look forward to as well. And yes, we have seen dolphins every day. No, we are not adding a dolphin cruise boat to the fleet. Yes, we are not smart. Common sense would dictate purchasing just such a vessel, loading up 80 tourists per load and touring the harbor, pass and bay at a pedestrian pace while issuing an inanely constant intercom repartee describing the all-too-obvious bottlenose mammalia that take up residence year-round. Our customers would rarely, if ever, be disappointed. We would never have to worry about weather conditions, nor lack of the targeted species and could provide background music a la elevator offerings by Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond and Yanni while we droned on through the microphones as our daily Xanax prescription kicked in....... Sadly, we are somewhat hard-headed; bordering on the stupid, (we prefer defiant). We will continue to push south, driven by AC/DC, the Stones and other aberrant rockers in pursuit of the Chimeras of bluewater in our own inimitable, idiot-savant manner. We'll leave the Xanax prescriptions, (and all the rest), to those who need them more desperately than we do as they are hardly conducive to our chosen profession. On that note, we all wish Ronnie Wood the best of luck in recovery.........third time is the charm, mate. Although we do question the consulting of Keef as your counselor for true rehabilitation. We is what we is........ Standing bye, Micky, Bubba, Gordie

18 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

Moving to Marbella soon, going to be a dental floss tycoon

For those of you who 'got' the Frank Zappa reference, well, you have dated yourselves now, haven't you? Patience is not one of our many virtues and the wait for new boats to appear, seemingly decades after the order(s) and money have been placed in other's over-promising hands, is excruciatingly slow. Given that, rumors have indeed come to fruition and the larger vessels that were promised are indeed en situe and simply await final rigging and sea trials. 29 Palms, at press, has been launched and in spite of dubious and sundry doubts to the contrary, has been wholly acquired and is now awaiting cast and crew. As we said, she is long overdue, more expensive than and time-consuming than anyone would have guessed, but worth the wait, if only for the payoff. Thanks to JR, Patek and several dozen others' mysterious ways, she has at last, finally, made it all worthwhile. Tardiness seems to come in every form this season. The bait was late, the weather in May, (a month we can normally count on like clockwork), was deplorable in every sense; acting very much like March. The cobia may have come through, but who would have known? Seas that would have challenged the HMS Intrepid, were making for formidable conditions that kept us off the water with winds that varied only in their collective ability to turn against each and every tide change. The average wind speed approached 20 knots on a daily basis and.........well........you get the point. .......it sucked. June has improved things tremendously, with the bait showing up, en masse, and the attending predators moving in as well. The tarpon have begun to appear with some regularity and we congratulate a young Master Blake McNeely of Little Rock with his very first. At age 11, he showed promising angling skills and a perseverence that defied his being out-weighed by the fish. The wahoo have shown up and, while they aren't in the numbers we would have liked, they have been truly outsized fish........I mean no-kidding 80s and 90s. A few blues and two sails, some blackfins and a couple of decent yellowfins, a couple of really good mahi.......untold snapper, grouper and amberjack. It's late, but still early in the season The bluewater too, is late, like everything else......but coming in and showing promise of all good things......... .........to those of us who wait, without patience. The Cubs have the best winning percentage in the MLB. The Jankees are some 6 games back and the Rays, yes, the RAYS, are in first place. That is all.

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

the NRA blog (yep, that's what we said)

For those of you.......and we suspect that would mean most of you.......who have a differing opinion, we offer the following speech by the then-NRA President Charlton Heston delivered to Harvard Law School during and invitational forum in 1999. Those of you who have been fortunate enough to have known Mr. Heston, you will undoubtedly, understandably, not be surprised by his rhetoric. For those of you who may not have known all he stood for, we encourage you to read on before passing on any of the preconceived notions that you may have had regarding him, his beliefs and what he stood for. Famous most recently for Micheal Moore's absurdly misleading rants and now, Moore's own admitted mis-representation, it behooves us to examine such a life that has now passed and all it has stood for. After all, preconceived notions are often simply pre-judged thoughts. Prejudiced by any name, is simply that. 'Winning the Cultural War' Charlton Heston's Speech to the Harvard Law School Forum, Feb. 16, 1999 For 50 years, the Harvard Law School Forum has been sponsoring speeches by luminaries ranging from Fidel Castro to Gerald Ford to Dr. Ruth. Sometimes the speeches have generated a bit of media coverage, sometimes not. But one given last month by Charlton Heston has taken on a life of its own. Heston, the actor and conservative activist, delivered a stem-winder to about 200 listeners about "a cultural war that's about to hijack your birthright to think and say what resides in your heart." "He knew he was coming to a liberal environment, and clearly a group of his listeners was conservative and another was more liberal," said David Christopherson, president of the forum. "About half respectfully challenged him during the questions. It generated a lot of debate around the campus. But what happened caught us off-guard." What happened was Rush Limbaugh's radio talk show. On March 15, Limbaugh read the entire speech on the air, only to find himself bombarded with thousands of requests for a copy of it. The same thing happened at Harvard Law. "We couldn't keep up with all the requests," said Mike Chmura at Harvard. "It really didn't have legs and might have been forgotten if Mr. Limbaugh hadn't decided to deliver it." 'Winning the Cultural War' Charlton Heston's Speech to the Harvard Law School Forum, Feb. 16, 1999 I remember my son when he was five, explaining to his kindergarten class what his father did for a living. "My Daddy," he said, "pretends to be people." There have been quite a few of them. Prophets from the Old and New Testaments, a couple of Christian saints, generals of various nationalities and different centuries, several kings, three American presidents, a French cardinal and two geniuses, including Michelangelo. If you want the ceiling repainted I'll do my best. There always seem to be a lot of different fellows up here. I'm never sure which one of them gets to talk. Right now, I guess I'm the guy. As I pondered our visit tonight it struck me: If my Creator gave me the gift to connect you with the hearts and minds of those great men, then I want to use that same gift now to reconnect you with your own sense of liberty of your own freedom of thought ... your own compass for what is right. Dedicating the memorial at Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln said of America, "We are now engaged in a great Civil War, testing whether this nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure." Those words are true again. I believe that we are again engaged in a great civil war, a cultural war that's about to hijack your birthright to think and say what resides in your heart. I fear you no longer trust the pulsing lifeblood of liberty inside you ... the stuff that made this country rise from wilderness into the miracle that it is. Let me back up. About a year ago I became president of the National Rifle Association, which protects the right to keep and bear arms. I ran for office, I was elected, and now I serve ... I serve as a moving target for the media who've called me everything from "ridiculous" and "duped" to a "brain-injured, senile, crazy old man." I know ... I'm pretty old ... but I sure, Lord, ain't senile. As I have stood in the crosshairs of those who target Second Amendment freedoms, I've realized that firearms are not the only issue. No, it's much, much bigger than that. I've come to understand that a cultural war is raging across our land, in which, with Orwellian fervor, certain acceptable thoughts and speech are mandated. For example, I marched for civil rights with Dr. King in 1963 - long before Hollywood found it fashionable. But when I told an audience last year that white pride is just as valid as black pride or red pride or anyone else's pride, they called me a racist. I've worked with brilliantly talented homosexuals all my life. But when I told an audience that gayrights should extend no further than your rights or my rights, I was called a homophobe. I served in World War II against the Axis powers. But during a speech, when I drew an analogy between singling out innocent Jews and singling out innocent gun owners, I was called an anti-Semite. Everyone I know knows I would never raise a closed fist against my country. But when I asked an audience to oppose this cultural persecution, I was compared to Timothy McVeigh. From Time magazine to friends and colleagues, they're essentially saying, "Chuck, how dare you speak your mind. You are using language not authorized for public consumption!" But I am not afraid. If Americans believed in political correctness, we'd still be King George's boys -- subjects bound to the British crown. In his book, "The End of Sanity," Martin Gross writes that "blatantly irrational behavior is rapidly being established as the norm in almost every area of human endeavor. There seem to be new customs, new rules, new anti-intellectual theories regularly foisted on us from every direction. Underneath, the nation is roiling. Americans know something without a name is undermining the nation, turning the mind mushy when it comes to separating truth from falsehood and right from wrong. And they don't like it." Let me read a few examples. At Antioch college in Ohio, young men seeking intimacy with a coed must get verbal permission at each step of the process from kissing to petting to final copulation ... all clearly spelled out in a printed college directive. In New Jersey, despite the death of several patients nationwide who had been infected by dentists who had concealed their AIDs --- the state commissioner announced that health providers who are HIV-positive need not ..... need not ..... tell their patients that they are infected. At William and Mary, students tried to change the name of the school team "The Tribe" because it was supposedly insulting to local Indians, only to learn that authentic Virginia chiefs truly like the name. In San Francisco, city fathers passed an ordinance protecting the rights of transvestites to cross-dress on the job, and for transsexuals to have separate toilet facilities while undergoing sex change surgery. In New York City, kids who don't speak a word of Spanish have been placed in bilingual classes to learn their three R's in Spanish solely because their last names sound Hispanic. At the University of Pennsylvania, in a state where thousands died at Gettysburg opposing slavery, the president of that college officially set up segregated dormitory space for black students. Yeah, I know ... that's out of bounds now. Dr. King said "Negroes." Jimmy Baldwin and most of us on the March said "black." But it's a no-no now. For me, hyphenated identities are awkward ... particularly "Native-American." I'm a Native American, for God's sake. I also happen to be a blood-initiated brother of the Miniconjou Sioux. On my wife's side, my grandson is a thirteenth generation native American ... with a capital letter on "American." Finally, just last month ... David Howard, head of the Washington D.C. Office of Public Advocate, used the word "niggardly" while talking to colleagues about budgetary matters. Of course, "niggardly" means stingy or scanty. But within days Howard was forced to publicly apologize and resign. As columnist Tony Snow wrote: "David Howard got fired because some people in public employ were morons who (a) didn't know the meaning of niggardly, (b) didn't know how to use a dictionary to discover themeaning, and (c) actually demanded that he apologize for their ignorance." What does all of this mean? It means that telling us what to think has evolved into telling us what to say, so telling us what to do can't be far behind. Before you claim to be a champion of free thought, tell me: Why did political correctness originate on America's campuses? And why do you continue to tolerate it? Why do you, who're supposed to debate ideas, surrender to their suppression? Let's be honest. Who here thinks your professors can say what they really believe? It scares me to death, and should scare you too, that the superstition of political correctness rules the halls of reason. You are the best and the brightest. You, here in the fertile cradle of American academia, here in the castle of learning on the Charles River, you are the cream. But I submit that you, and your counterparts across the land, are the most socially conformed and politically silenced generation since Concord Bridge. And as long as you validate that ... and abide it ... you are -- by your grandfathers' standards -- cowards. Here's another example. Right now at more than one major university, Second Amendment scholars and researchers are being told to shut up about their findings or they'll lose their jobs. Why? Because their research findings would undermine big-city mayor's pending lawsuits that seek to extort hundreds of millions of dollars from firearm manufacturers. I don't care what you think about guns. But if you are not shocked at that, I am shocked at you. Who will guard the raw material of unfettered ideas, if not you? Who will defend the core value of academia, if you supposed soldiers of free thought and expression lay down your arms and plead, "Don't shoot me." If you talk about race, it does not make you a racist. If you see distinctions between the genders, it does not make you a sexist. If you think critically about a denomination, it does not make you anti-religion. If you accept but don't celebrate homosexuality, it does not make you a homophobe. Don't let America's universities continue to serve as incubators for this rampant epidemic of new McCarthyism. But what can you do? How can anyone prevail against such pervasive social subjugation? The answer's been here all along. I learned it 36 years ago, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, standing with Dr. Martin Luther King and two hundred thousand people. You simply ... disobey. Peaceably, yes. Respectfully, of course. Nonviolently, Absolutely. But when told how to think or what to say or how to behave, we don't. We disobey social protocol that stifles and stigmatizes personal freedom. I learned the awesome power of disobedience from Dr. King ... who learned it from Gandhi, and Thoreau, and Jesus, and every other great man who led those in the right against those with the might. Disobedience is in our DNA. We feel innate kinship with that disobedient spirit that tossed tea into Boston Harbor, that sent Thoreau to jail, that refused to sit in the back of the bus, that protested a war in VietNam. In that same spirit, I am asking you to disavow cultural correctness with massive disobedience of rogue authority, social directives and onerous laws that weaken personal freedom. But be careful ... it hurts. Disobedience demands that you put yourself at risk. Dr. King stood on lots of balconies. You must be willing to be humiliated ... to endure the modern-day equivalent of the police dogs at Montgomery and the water cannons at Selma. You must be willing to experience discomfort. I'm not complaining, but my own decades of social activism have taken their toll on me. Let me tell you a story. A few years back I heard about a rapper named Ice-T who was selling a CD called "Cop Killer" celebrating ambushing and murdering police officers. It was being marketed by none other than Time/Warner, the biggest entertainment conglomerate in the world. Police across the country were outraged. Rightfully so-at least one had been murdered. But Time/Warner was stonewalling because the CD was a cash cow for them, and the media were tiptoeing around it because the rapper was black. I heard Time/Warner had a stockholders meeting scheduled in Beverly Hills. I owned some shares at the time, so I decided to attend. What I did there was against the advice of my family and colleagues. I asked for the floor. To a hushed room of a thousand average American stockholders, I simply read the full lyrics of "Cop Killer"- every vicious, vulgar, instructional word. "I GOT MY 12 GAUGE SAWED OFF. I GOT MY HEADLIGHTS TURNED OFF. I'M ABOUT TO BUST SOME SHOTS OFF. I'M ABOUT TO DUST SOME COPS OFF..." It got worse, a lot worse. I won't read the rest of it to you. But trust me, the room was a sea of shocked, frozen, blanched faces. The Time/Warner executives squirmed in their chairs and stared at their shoes. They hated me for that. Then I delivered another volley of sick lyric brimming with racist filth, where Ice-T fantasizes about sodomizing two 12-year old nieces of Al and Tipper Gore. "SHE PUSHED HER BUTT AGAINST MY ...." Well, I won't do to you here what I did to them. Let's just say I left the room in echoing silence. When I read the lyrics to the waiting press corps, one of them said "We can't print that." "I know," I replied, "but Time/Warner's selling it." Two months later, Time/Warner terminated Ice-T's contract. I'll never be offered another film by Warner's, or get a good review from Time magazine. But disobedience means you must be willing to act, not just talk. When a mugger sues his elderly victim for defending herself ... jam the switchboard of the district attorney's office. When your university is pressured to lower standards until 80% of the students graduate with honors ... choke the halls of the board of regents. When an 8-year-old boy pecks a girl's cheek on the playground and gets hauled into court for sexual harassment ... march on that school and block its doorways. When someone you elected is seduced by political power and betrays you...petition them, oust them, banish them. When Time magazine's cover portrays millennium nuts as deranged, crazy Christians holding a cross as it did last month ... boycott their magazine and the products it advertises. So that this nation may long endure, I urge you to follow in the hallowed footsteps of the great disobedience's of history that freed exiles, founded religions, defeated tyrants, and yes, in the hands of an aroused rabble in arms and a few great men, by God's grace, built this country. If Dr. King were here, I think he would agree. Thank you.

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

the Existential Cobia angling report

was going to open this report by complaining about the wind, tides and just the inclement weather in general. Yea, there are a few cobia around, but the migration is truly in its earliest stages at this point. With Spring break this year coming so much earlier than normal, the weather isn't out of the norm, it's our clients that are here abnormally early. Such as it is, we have managed to get out and persue our targeted species and the water temps are rising to the point where the anticipation of a full-on run at the cobia-feesh is in the offing........any day now. In spite of the parities of nature and the bitching on our part that winter should be over by now, a phone call this morning places all things into the proper perspective. One of our clients called to inform us that his trip, scheduled for a few days in late May, must be postponed due to a reappearance of a cancer that had been previously whipped into submission. Any success we may, or may not find on the water over the next few days, weeks and months, now seem inconsequential at best. It's not that we won't try of course, nor that we shouldn't. It's just that all things should have their proper perspective. We have had a couple of complete skunk trips this year while persuing the migrating cobia. Some where we just didn't see any to cast to........others that we simply didn't take advantage of the shots we had. That is fishing, but more specifically, this is cobia fishing. As much hunting as it is fishing, our cobia trips during this period of the year require a sight-fishing element that also requires the angler(s) make some accurate casts. Under pressure, this is not always easy. They are generally moving, sometimes under a good head of steam and almost always require a presentation that is at least in the general vicinity of the fish. "Bombing" these fish with a 4oz lead generally is not conducive to an instantaneous strike. Having said that, they can irritatingly ignore the most accurate offering and, in complete contrast, spin and eat the most inaccurately placed bait as if it were the only food they had ever seen. We prefer the truly stupid fish. We explain the methodology of cobia fishing for several reasons. Like big-game hunting, it can be hit-or-miss. There may be dozens of shots and there may be none. The risk vs. reward factor is in the fact that they are generally large fish......often in excess of 70-80 lbs. Many of the gulf coast charter boats will have the mates cast and hook the fish and then pass the rod on to the clients to finish the fight. While there is much to be said for the higher percentage factor, we do not normally impart this sort of angling style on our boats. So........it's your shot, your fish and our job is to find them and play the part of the muse; offering instruction, encouragement and, if all goes according to plan, we will hopefully demonstrate some deft gaffing and fish cleaning skills back at the dock. Of course, if you miss..........you'll never hear the end of it. All things considered and in proper perspective, it's not a bad way to spend a day. It could be worse. My dear friend, the late Gene Hill once told me during a very slow day on the tarpon flats "every moment of every day, someone-somewhere is getting the worst news of their lives". Apropo indeed. Chip, our hopes and constant prayers are with you. Get well so we can go find you a marlin.

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

the Unsolicited Entry (Spring training blog)

May 28 (Ben.........I assume you meant March here, but I realize that y'all really don't wish to observe March. We don't blame you. ed.) Brunswick, ME Dear Mr. Hinds: Yesterday was a lovely, sunny day with little wind and the thermometer nibbling at 50. The angle of the sun swelled the grassy patches around the house. Better still, the world champion Red Sox returned from their silly opener in Japan, loaded for a title defense. Deal with it. We went to bed happy. The baby sounded reveille at dark o'clock and a peak out the window revealed the cruel hoax of springtime in northern New England: 4 fresh inches of snow tacked onto our winter total of nearly nine feet. Immediate action was needed if I was to stop my post-partem wife, whom I dragged here from California four years ago, from stabbing me through the heart with a pencil. Action was taken. I just rented a house in Seagrove Beach for the month of January of 2009. I'm killing next winter in its crib. I surfed around 30A.com and your sensational art work led me to your fishing site. Your writing is terrific, too. And it looks like you know how to catch fish. Too bad you don't know squat about baseball. How else could you pull for that overpaid, ossified band of dullards in pinstripes? What a joyless exercise their 162 has become. Anyway, what kind of fishing can be done in January? I enjoy catching reds but is there anything else going on? I've also got a little guy who will be nearly four when we're in town next year. If the weather forces you close to shore some day I'd be happy to be a short notice back-up plan for a couple hours on calm backwater. Anyway, please put me on your radar screen for January and let's go fishing. If you have a chance to update your blog I'd love to read some new fish tales when I'm done snowblowing the %#@!&* driveway. Cheers, Ben Johnson PS: A-Rod is soooo pretty. (Steroids make them that way. Look at Mark McGwire, he's pretty too. They also allow them to pummel your catcher, with or without gear on. ed.) ________________________________ Dear Mr. Johnson: Thank you for your interest in Angry Fish Charter Co. and our deeply insightful expertise in all things baseball. Yes, I watched the illustrious Red Sox split their Japanese openers with perhaps the youngest and least talented team in the AL West this past week. The self-inflicted base running error in the 10th inning on the part of the Athletics fortuitously spared them a sweep and generously kept your illustrious jig-dancing idiot closer from the blown save column. The time difference from here to Japan allowed me to paint in my underwear, don my Yankees visor, shorts and tee shirt (and copious sunscreen) just prior to joining my clients at the marina at a very civilized time of the morning so that we could go and chase cobia along the beach. While you were choosing just the right shovel from your battery of snow-removal equipment, we were equally enmeshed in the critical debate of which rod/reel combination would throw the proper cobia jig and/or fly. I am reminded of 3 days last July where I spent a month in Bath, Maine with my brother and his family. This is an annual ritual for my brother's family; one which they have done for more than twenty years. It was however, the first time I had joined them. We were staying at the Holiday Inn where the bar features a full-figure cut-out of Johnny Damon in Red Sox uniform and is defaced almost unrecognizably with graffiti; the most obvious being the word "traiter" aptly mispelled apparently for the benefit of the mouth-breathing denizens of the hotel's bar. I couldn't help but be impressed. I entered the bar and sat quietly at one end quietly wearing my Yankees ballcap. Oddly enough, of the three bartenders serving the half-dozen or so locals in the pub, somehow made it too difficult for me to get their attention long enough to ask if I could be helped. After 20 minutes or so, I simply got up and left. As you probably know, there aren't a zillion pub choices in Bath. More to the point, there are very few within walking distance from that particular hotel. The next best thing was to go to the convenience store down the road and procure products suitable for my in-room refrigerator. As my brother's family has made such a tradition of staying at this hotel, they have gotten to know quite a few of the locals and management quite well. The knock on my door came as no surprise, however as my brother entered the room he explained to me that the establishment's manager had come to his room with the offer of the proverbial peace offering. My drinks would be comped for my entire stay if I promised to not wear my Yankees cap in the hotel. It reminded me somehow of a St. Patrick's day when I wore a blaze orange shirt into Paddy O'Reilly's in NYC. No sense of humor these guys. The moral(s) of the story is: beer actually gets colder in the ice in the hotel bathroom sink than it does coming from the reach-in cooler in the bar. It tastes ever so much better when drunk out by the pool that looks into the bar (and from where EVERY customer can see you). The price of said beer is exponentially less expensive and the service more reliable at said convenience store. Everything tastes better when administered while wearing a Yankees cap. Maybe it's the pinstripes..... As for the fishing in January.....I understand your logic for escaping your latitudes in favor of warmer climes. The fishing can be terrific, but, as you noticed, can also be fairly one dimensional with the redfish. The good news is that they are a) very large b) very hungry and c) in no way involve shoveling snow to persue them. On the other side, weather depending, we do get some pretty good trout fishing in and the pompano can be quite cooperative as well. The down side is that the weather can be one of three variables: a) beautiful, b) shitty and c) shittier still. I am more than happy to accommodate you on or during any of the above weather days. We can almost always find something to bend a rod on. In the words of Adam West (Family Guy), "you are a worthy adversary". And welcome anytime. In the meantime, I would appreciate your physical address so that I can forward your wife a sheaf of #2 Eberhards and an electric pencil sharpener. Cheers, gordie PS: The Sox suck and Manny is a punk.

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

the East Pass Entry (long lost blogs)

I doubt that I can convey the humor of this event in words, however it is worth the effort. If I can come close, that is, if I find myself laughing through the tears enough while I am writing this, I will have succeeded. So.....in traffic and coming across the East Pass bridge from the west, I notice maybe a dozen anglers along the bridge, one of which is severely bowed-up, quite obviously on a fish. At first glance, I am doubtful that the lightweight rod is any match for whatever he has engaged some 40-plus feet below. Snickering at that thought as I approach, I am distracted by the motion of another angler running toward the previously described, fish-engaged angler, fully intent of encroaching on the hot spot. His rod fully loaded with a live pinfish, our hero now rears back in preparation for what appeared a Herculean and underwear-wrenting cast into the general region where the bowed-up angler is situated. As the interloping second angler's rod reaches back to fire the erstwhile bait over the side, the terminal end of his gear, along with the wriggling pinfish, wraps itself irretrievably around the antenna of apassing motor home advancing eastward two vehicles in front of me. Unbeknownst to this hapless angler, the bait, and his line, is heading east at approximately 35 mph; a fact that he apparently fails to realize until he frantically looks about in an effort to find the now unknown location of his casted bait. Not seeing it where it should be, he now, somewhat quizzically, and with considerable anxiety, gazes up and around. Somehow he simultaneously, (while I didn't notice him doing it), closes the bail on the spin reel. This act immediately places some significant drag pressure on the rod, albeit now in the exact opposite direction of the cast. Our hero, is now becoming aware of the reality that he is hopelessly engaged to a speeding vehicle is approximately two car lengths in front of me. Unhesitatingly he turns in the direction of the rod's curvature, the eastward-bound bait and hastily departing line. His portly frame, begins running pell mell down the narrow walkway, drag surely buzzing nicely (although I am laughing far too loudly too hear). The rod is now bowed up and well stressed. To give him his due, and in proper fish-fighting fashion, the hero holds the rod up and points the tip toward the quickly escaping Winnebago, obviously in an effort to subdue the untoward efforts of the motor home. By this point, my truck is gaining on him and he is now approximatly 15' off my right front quarter panel. During this portion of the relatively new, but no less epic struggle, he apparently decides that he can somehow gain an advantage by straddling the cement dividing strip that guards the walkover. Thankfully, I am able to dodge just enough to the left that I can accommodate such a surprisingly deft and athletic manuever. Sadly, our hero, mis-judges either the height of the dividing strip or his own athleticism and takes an almost instantaneous punk shot to the nuts that is nothing short of spectacular. Having both hands firmly gripping the rod, raw physics dictate that he has absolutely no chance of attempting in any way to break this unceremonious sucker punch to the groin and plummets in classic, two-part slapstick face down into the concrete divider. The secondary blow to his face being equally spectacular. The nut shot obviously knocks the proverbial stuffing out of him allowing his trajectory follow-through to catapult his mug, at a high rate of speed, directly into a full-on facial into the highest point of what can only be imagined as very hard and completely unforgiving, rebar reinforced concrete structure. I am now laughing so hard that I can't see. But as I am now passing this poor schmuck, his prostate form has disappeared below my starboard passenger door. I am more than a little interested that I don't run over our hero and veer rather harshly into the left hand lane. Just as I do, I hear a substantial crushing sound underneath my rear tire which is joined simultaneously by the very sobering bump that I have run over something.... In the rearview and to my tremendous relief, I can make out the angler and determine more importantly that it is his rod and reel that I have crushed under my tire. Yes, I stopped at the other side of the bridge and marched up to the point of contact to make certain that the dude was ok. He was bitching about the price of his rod/reel rig, and his nose had clearly been broken by a full-on face plant to the top of the dividing strip after he had taken the brutal shot to the groin. No, I couldn't stop laughing. Although I really did try....... at least while I was standing there in front of him watching him bleed. Still can't stop laughing. And no, I never did find out the outcome of the first angler's plight. Somehow it just never seemed to come up in conversation. The moral of the story is that if you are going to be casting in the general vicinity of passing motor vehicles, use monofilament and NOT spectra. Somewhere there is a motor home trailing several hundred yards of almost unbreakable gel-spun line.........accompanied by a very winded pinfish

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

the Pennant Race report

First, let's talk about the Jankees, shall we? Sure, they're back a bit, but not out. We have resisted the urge to talk too much trash this season as our pitching hasn't been the best and, (HATE to say this), the Sux are formidable this year. Having said that, we are ever-confident, but not over-confident. Last night's game, hopefully, represents the surge we have been sacrificing the local feral cats for........tonight: Clemens vs. Beckett........if you happen to hear the muffled sounds of pissed-off cats, it ain't us. We have fortunate in the extreme to have had some significant people cross into our lives over the years; sadly, many of them have passed on to better fishing grounds and more likely better guides. Some office cleaning duties yesterday gave us the opportunity to run across some communications from a few of those whom have touched our lives deeply. Mentors that have influenced us greatly. Sure, the office really did need some significant organization, but an enormous stack of letters, faxes, books, photos and hand-written notes were found and the ADHD factor all of a sudden produced an overwhelming obstacle. Belly up to the bar and indulge in a melancholy musing here......While some of these folks were no one you'd know, they were, and are, nonetheless of extreme importance....... My very best friend, Bob Blesch, lawyer and Notre Dame grad, (yes, I did hold it against him), Gene Hill, noted author and outdoorsman whom I had known since my teens (and whom many have said I spent too much time with), Don Zahner, author, humorist and founder of Fly Fisherman magazine, Peter Hathaway Capstick, my quail-to-elephant hunting buddy, author, historian and brilliant raconteur, Ed Zern, author and columnist for Field & Stream, Sports Afield, etc. and one of the funniest men God ever created. There are others too many to write here, however, the book that began the rather melancholy march yesterday was written by my very close friend, Lt. General George M. Seignious II of Charleston, South Carolina. "Obbe" represented everything that was wonderfully patriotic, devoted, erudite and selfless in life. Highly decorated soldier, statesman, outdoorsman, family man, business man and educator, he had, in contrast, a humility that defied his incredible life experiences. Volumes can, and will be, written on his accomplishments in life that are as varied as the man that lived them: President of the Citadel, Director of the Joint Chiefs, President of the Atlantic Council and generally the thoughtful, uncompromising mind that created and helped orchestrate the demilitarization of conventional weaponry within the Soviet Union. The single most significant element that began the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and all that it stood for. We were ever so fortunate to have ridden horseback alongside him and in the company of some pretty good bird dogs for many years; delighted in listening to his vast wisdom and generally enjoying his shimmering intellect and bright zest for life. Like all of our friends, we wish only that we had spent more time with them and hope, as they move onto calmer waters, that we have somehow been able to contribute some small element of joy to their lives as well. It is nice to know that they are all Yankees fans and undoubtedly exerting what influences that are at their collective disposal up there.......we take great comfort in that knowledge. The fishing, weather and all is exceptional. We need to be on the water. Cheers

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

the Mahi blog and Wild Card Race report

Hurricane Dean left us alone, but sent up a good amount of beautiful blue water and some substantial weedlines within the 30 mile range. The wahoo numbers seem to have diminished, but have been replaced with some of the best BFD's of the season. (For the unitiated, BFD is BIG - and - Dolphin. You can fill in the blanks here). We are talking about SOLID 40-50 pounders here and a veritable riot on light (30 lb) tackle. The Adams group, (a perrennial favorite) managed to bag three good ones a couple of days ago before a freak northeast windage factor forced us to make a rather wet retreat toward the beach. Two subsequent trips found even more mahi and a couple that were sure 'nuff in the 50 lb category. The offshore fishing continues to be our most productive grounds, but the normal runs of 60-70 miles are obviated and the cobalt blue water is reachable within the 50 fathom curve at 30 or so. While it's not a guaranteed bite, it is worth a couple of extra hours, we promise. Unfortunately, the inshore fishing has completely turned to crap with water temperatures in the low 90's is probably the most reasonable explanation. The king mackerel have simply shut down or left town, don't know which; you might try casting around for them in your backyard in Memphis, Dallas, Atlanta or any other suburban frontier as they sure ain't here. Fortunately, some weedlines have been showing on the nearshore breaks and have produced some decent wahoo (20 lbs) as well as a considerable number of junior mahi. Whale sharks have been spotted along the beach with a kajillion cobia in attendance. It didn't last long, but was a nice gig for our clients from St. Louis. Apparently they have very few cobia in Missouri and even fewer whale sharks. We have spotted several individual and small pods of large whales offshore; usually this is a terrific sign of things to come shortly. That being the presence of large bait schools and a harbinger of the arrival in numbers of black- and yellowfin tuna. We have incidentally bagged a good number of smallish blackies in the past few weeks, but the large-whale migration is a good sign that perhaps some more targeted forays in the near future may be organized. Our overnight gigs of late have produced several white and blue marlin as well as a good number of tuna and swordfish in the 180+ range. Again, please be advised, we will not kill swordies or marlin. There is already enough of that going on. Tuna sure. The fishing continues, overall, to be exceptional on nearly every level. This trend should continue through the winter months. October being one of the best months of all to fish offshore/nearshore/anyshore, so come on down. And no, we won't enter our boats in the Destin Rodeo this year. After all, if you did win the division, your GRAND prize would be a $25.00 Penn reel.........woo woo. If you catch a fish that would win you the division, we promise to buy you one; how's that? We consider these prize reels to have the 'highest/best-use' for attaching to broken rods and used to retrieve your kites on the beach. Did we actually say that out loud?? On to baseball. The Yankees are struggling, but not out of the Wild Card. The Braves might be out of the race at this point, however, we are diligently lighting candles in hopes that the glimmer hasn't completely disappeared. Texeira's arrival, while obviously adding some significant clout to the offensive arsenal (as well as providing some much-needed defensive talent to the right side of the infield) hasn't helped the bullpen much. The bloody Sox seem to be unbeatable, but we have already harvested some neighborhood cats in the hopes that some backyard voodoo will assist in the second coming of the next 86-year curse. Hey, we aren't organizing a cat-fighting venue......at least not that we are willing to plea down to......... On the good-news baseball front, the Little League World Series lived completely up to the hype as usual. Several great games culminating in one of the best with our Georgia boys taking the title over the terrific Japanese kids in extra-inning, walk-off fashion. It might be a little downhill from there guys, but enjoy that one. Major league kudos to all those kids. Brilliant play, brilliant sportsmanship, fun to watch athletes that actually play for the love of the game.........no matter what their age may be. By the way and FYI........we actually love keeping our fleet at Legendary marina however the enormous influx of decidedly NON-fishing clientele present on a daily basis at times delivers some unparalleled opportunity for humor..........while some of you (and you KNOW who you are) have intimated that we exhibit some anti-social elements that border on........defiant(?), you should know that there are times when our self-control is not only openly exhibited, but unbelievably challenged. Case in point: while recently stationed at the cleaning station at Legendary, turning some out-sized mahi into grill-ready steaks, several non-angling families stopped to oggle and ask the inane questions so often associated the those who drive Fountains, Carvers, Regency and other Crab Island cruising specials....... Crabs: "what kind of fish are those?" AFC: "dolphin" Crabs: (gasping) "DOLPHIN? Aren't they MAMMALS?" AFC: "no, they are fish. Dolphin FISH." Crabs: (still gasping, but not GRasping) "I thought they were mammals!!" AFC: (rather flatly, but still not aggravated) "you might be thinking of porpoises" Crabs: (flatly and with a disbelieving tone) "........so they AREN'T mammals?" AFC: "nope" Crabs: (the disbelief is palpable) "are you sure? I thought they were mammals." AFC: (still not aggravated-such restraint and decorum)"yep, pretty sure" Crabs: "hmmm.........let's go kids" AFC: (with GREAT restraint-albeit delivered with a slightly sardonic lilt) "would you like some of the blow-hole? Perhaps some bottled nose? We may have killed too many and will just be throwing away a lot of this meat" Crabs: hustling off the children in a somewhat frightened and now very condensed and hastily retreating herd........... Restraint comes in many forms......... Editor: the sarcasm in these blogs may appear slightly larger in your rear-view mirror. Cheers all, gordie

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

A day off and you have nothing to do........but WRITE, RIGHT?

Much appreciated are the subtle, (that's spelled "what's up with the reports, dude?" "Kinda sketchy of late." And the ever-popular 'I used to read your stuff, but you stopped writing, are you still fishing?'), hints and innuendos that we aren't keeping up with our reporting. Yes, we are still fishing. Every day, all day. Suffice to say that should there be a gap in the reporting, it's due to fishing. And it's been all good. The Discovery Channel has 'Shark Week' and we are proud to inform you of Wahoo Season. It's official, it's here and it's been incredible. We have caught them everywhere and in every kind of condition this year. On the beach while king fishing, offshore in 50-100 fathoms and everywhere in between. Blue water, purple blue, greenish blue and just plain green. All sizes with the smallest in the 25-30 lb class; several dozen in the 50-70 lb category and a few that have more aptly been referred to as 'Godzillas'. Two recent wahoo have been weighed in at 72 and 86 with a third that shoud've been weighed, but was considerably larger than either of those. It's been bordering on the absurd...........and that's just the wahoo. The blue and white marlin have been showing up in numbers that are surprisingly high for this early in the season. Traditionally this is a late-season (August) sort of gig, however the entire summer has produced for us. Mahi have been dutifully present and quite cooperative as have the sailfish. Just last week a double on good Atlantic sailfish (75-80 lbs) were caught and released, (nice touch that this catch happened within 50 yds of a 60'+ gameboat with all hands on deck to watch the small boat score from hookup to release......). The week previous two more smaller sails were released just inshore and another good sail was caught by our Cops Show Sergeant from Houston PD with a nice bit of angling skill shown. (by the way, you owe me photos-chop chop chump). There was several, like maybe two dozen youngsters scoring huge this season so far; our fair 10 year old girl from Birmingham scoring a 30 lb wahoo on 15 lb gear.......her first. Our 14 year olds out of Nashville making good on sailfish, wahoo, mahi and a really good blackfin. A West Virginia father/son duo that may have had better fishing than they are likely to encounter in their hometown: 4 wahoo, a white marlin, 3 mahi (35-40) and two mystery bites that could only have been blues or yellowfin and oh yea, Dad got to catch mahi on fly. And lastly, a 5 year old from Arkansas who got sick, puked (more than once), but cowboyed up enough to land his first mackerels and bonita. It should be pointed out that we have had some fabulous youngsters with us this season. We feel compelled to say that as there are times when we wonder if there are any of them out there. We have been indeed fortunate to have well-mannered, well-spoken and delightfully intelligent kids with us......it speaks well of the parenting........so kudos Moms and Dads. We know what a difficult and oft times thankless job it is. On our inshore charters, the kings have been rather large and certainly dependable and the tarpon have shown up in enough numbers for us to get out and chase them successfully a few times. The prevalent, and unusual, west wind has kept us from really making them pay thus far, but when the circumstances present themselves, our anglers have been up to the task with several over the 120 mark. The Dremers from Memphis, (thank ya, thank ya very much) and duo of brothers Smith from Minneapolis (not on the bridge that night, we checked........), who went 3 for 5, and jumped a sure-nuff Kong of a girl.......and by the way, you also owe me photos....... Our returning clients this year, as always, have been fabulous. With the blue water in close, the fishing fabulous, we have been fortunate as to be able to put you all into some personal 'firsts' and 'bests'. We are proud and happy that conditions, tarot readings, Ouija sessions and all-out feline sacrifices have assisted in providing for proper planet allignment and a general exorcism of the karma that SOME of you (who will remain nameless, but whose initialls are Jim Zimbardi and Jim Hinds) have managed bring with you; in some cases for years. We applaud your tenacity and dedication.....whether to outwit.........or outlast. We're not sure that we care which. We have, not-so-subtly, mentioned the need for photos. Personally, we have donated enough digital cameras to the Gulf over the years that re-investment in more seems futile and financially irresponsible.........a phrase that does NOT apply to tackle or boats, thanks for asking though..........We have kindly requested that while running the boat, putting out baits, rigging and re-rigging baits, gaffing, landing, cleaning fish, cleaning boats, driving the boats, moving our clients out of harm's way, (ie: water spouts and other niceties), stand up routines (during the duller trolling moments), playing exorcist, comedian (I am so funny, so there), refereeing, savant, mentor, coach and drill sergeant.....the list goes on........we find that we are rarely in a position to take photos (Gordie's lack of photographic ability pertains as well). You have all, to a man/woman, declared that you would HAPPILY (emphasis) forward all photos for inclusion on the website, advertising, etc. But.......... ...........so. We are begging, please.........if you have a photo, please email to the editor here. gordiehinds@aol.com. We really would love to have them and promise only to use them in 'best light' instances. This applies to all of our clients with the single exception of Tim and Mike, who can keep theirs. Cheers and thanks.

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

the Art of Knowledge in the Face of Reward

With literally tens of millions of factors at risk; factors that can, and do, go awry during the course of long-range, small boat fishing, it behooves us to invest as much effort as is possible into the strategic planning. This envelops a concoction that is divided between the absolute desire and love of the game and a combination of equal parts: gut factor, hard data, common sense, predictability and dynamic response. While we are responsible for our clients, we are equally responsible for ourselves and our livlihood. We drive very good and capable boats, but experience has taught us that sometimes having "enough ship" given the conditions, is a very, very relative factor. This week a long-planned, far-offshore run was planned with some considerably calmer conditions predicted and some exceptional reports. With considerable research, planning and almost constant communication invested, it was finally determined that the tangible hard data did not favor the commitment. As it turned out, in this case, the hand's-on element was indeed correct. The predicted weather patterns, from all sources, called for fishable seas but the decision to cancel was made. The hard data being irrefutable. Weather reports can, and often do, lie. Other boats that made the trip and found the conditions dismal, the fishing even worse. As one of our rather famous clients, trauma surgeon, Dr. Red is often quoted, "I will cut off ANYthing in order to save the patient". Risk assessment and management is just one of the facets of our job. We head as far offshore as we can, every time we can. The rewards can be huge, (as we found out this week). The commitment to the trip however, cannot be overstated nor taken for granted. We hope you understand that when we cancel these efforts, it is without regret and should be received with the knowledge that fishing commitments, irretrievably lost, do not obviate a day on the links. Having said that.........we are headed to the Petronis today as the conditions, data, stars, tarot readings and even the Eight-ball thingy seem to be in-sync. "It's a great day at sea, Sir" Reports to follow. .........and speaking of links, the PGA Open was this weekend and while we didn't have a great deal of time to watch, what little time was spent viewing had us wondering if the USGA shouldn't impart a new ruling that every yahoo that feels the need to scream "GET IN THE HOLE" at every shot hit throughout the event should immediately explode as if fitted with an incendiary device..........and speaking of Losers.......... The Poker Run was in town this weekend, spelling the annoyance of "compensation" craft(s) everywhere doing Jello shooters or other cocktails cleverly named to elicit thinly-veiled sexual connotation that usually only an overserved sorority coed would find amusing. What a joy to encounter and negotiate amongst several hundred 40-70 foot race boats at speeds in excess of 70 mph knowing full well that their collective agenda is racing from bar to bar. Eventually they all floatilla in the parking lot at Crab Island with the rest of the lemmings and losers or simply cruise in full "look at me" mode endlessly about the harbor in full-on Speedos. Oh, and don't forget, these folks eventually drive their Corvettes back home, so if you think you are safe..........consider that. Suitably annoyed, we remain, headed south..........

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

AFC up North?

So the folks are up in Michigan, (Mackinaw Island to be specific), with their youngest grandaughter, Courteney Edinburgh, and they decide to wander into Mackinaw Outfitters. The phone call comes that Court has just purchased an Angry Fish Charters tee shirt. Yes, we are everywhere, just as we are all things to all people, ALMOST some of the time. Omnipresence is key.........

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

Father's Day report

As some of you who have met my Dad know that while I have been indeed fortunate to have a father who was not only a great role model and friend, he introduced my little brother and I to fishing, hunting and the outdoors at an early age. In spite of the rigors of being a career Naval officer, he always found time in his schedule to take us fishing. That I suffered dramatically from virtually EVERY form of motion sickness imaginable, made little difference to me and, in spite of the affliction, I never turned down an opportunity to go out in the boat. Sure I puked and felt awful, but out I went......again and again. This week, a couple of families were out with us and one or two of the boys were certainly suffering. But they went and we caught fish. Somehow their turn at the rod had an immediate, if only temporary, recovery effect. As they went right back to feeling green as it were, they never made a fuss (not that they had the will to do so), and we offer kudos to those who have that sort of fortitude. Not once did they complain or ask for special treatment........troopers all. We hope you have fully recovered and hope that, as in my case, eventually that enough sea time allows the motion factor to pass entirely. (I hope faster than in my case as that took more than 40 years). The bluewater came close enough to find the wahoo inside the 40 mile mark and a couple of trips found us wearing out the 'hoos and a couple of blues as well. Using (not) enough gun, found us entirely under-geared with our 30W into a blue that just couldn't be managed. We had some 6th grade boys that insisted on cranking against the drag on pretty big Kings that resulted in broken 20# line. (do you have ANY idea how hard it is to break 20#????) We take only some pleasure in telling our erstwhile anglers that they suck, but next time, Hannon, we should remind you that we still keel haul out here........ Every week we take some minor umbrage with our anglers who fail to listen during the heat of the fishing; it's mostly good-natured however.........and no rods or reels were lost, lots of fish were boated and some pretty good memories were made.........and that is a good thing. The Jankees are on a roll it seems and while Clemens took a loss, he pitched well and things are looking up for the Bombers. That they are kicking the Mets around a bit is an even better thing as it gives the Braves the lift as their bats are coming around as well. The Astros, it seems, despite the best efforts, keep coming up short. Are there ANY closers left out there??? Happy Father's Day Dad. Thanks for everything.

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

Revel without a cause

Tuesday 5-8:30 PM (CST) Good Captain is prepping for next days' offshore venture: checking weather and bluewater sites, calling known recent denizens of the bluewater hunting reports and weedlines, rigging ballyhoos, re-rigging various and sundry trolling lures and respooling reels....... Tuesday 8:30 PM (CST) A good client here this week and scheduled to fish with us for wahoo and mahi calls to make apologies for last minute cancellation due to family problems. Trip is off. Capt. gazes around office at myriad of lures, lines, leaders, reels and a cooler full of rigged baits. Backup plan NOT in place. Wed, 3:30 AM (CST) Captain makes decision to go fishing as there is nothing worse than wasted bait. Decides that an extra FAD can make the trip truly worthwhile and determines float plan Wed, 5:30 AM (CST) Captain is greeted by one-each Harbor Master at Legendary. The often gleeful and festive Tripp inquires as to plans......and is asked if he would like to join the solo venture. Tripp thinks about the offer........but declines. Boat leaves dock headed for the Elbow, some 60 miles. FAD deployment and fishing if conditions warrant. Wed, 7:45 AM (CST) Deployment completed, the search for structure and weeds continues with wahoo the objective. Scattered weeds over a bottom edge shows little promise and ground swells are proving bothersome. Debate to deploy Ilanders is made, and won........lures are deployed. Wed, 8:05 AM (CST) Long right goes off and Capt discovers strong desire to have mate aboard. Setting hook on long right, manuevering begins to reel in the other 4 baits and commence fight..........long right still going long.....reeling in long left met in mid-retrieve with considerable resistance as second reel enters full-on scream mode. Short baits are retrieved without incident. Wed, 8:30 AM (CST) Two wahoo are gaffed and on ice. Later weighed in at dock at 54 and 62 respectively. New baits are deployed. Wed, 9:20 AM (CST) Three more wahoo of similar dimension to previous two on ice are caught and released.........again.........Capt VERY keen on extra pairs of hands and makes note to self.........releasing is a good deal more difficult than simply gaffing wahoo, but I want my Ilanders back. Wahoo are decidedly NOT happy with my amatuer dentistry. Wed, 10:10 AM (CST) Winds have picked up substantially, approaching shitty, and the now-constant spray is inconvenient and annoying. Both long baits are hit and immediately two juvenile whiteys are in the air, tangling the two shorts and both fish running at the boat. Attempts to set hooks are marred by fouled lines. Chaos, if not already here, is eminent. Short lines are disengaged and retrieved and angler now switches back and forth between two rods, diligently praying for some sort of miracle to untangle the two occupied lines. Wed, 10:30 AM (CST) Prayers, miraculously, are answered and left fish heads south, allowing angler to manipulate right fish to the transom. Billed, angler looks for camera which he now realizes is appropriately positioned about 14 feet away. Wrestling disgruntled whitey to within grasping distance of camera, whitey makes remarkable effort and shakes loose of handhold. (Gloves stupid. You forgot the gloves). Angler now turns attention to second marlin while taking care to position new-found camera within reach. Yea, you guessed it, marlin makes good his escape, throwing hook just prior to angler grabbing bill. Seas now certified shitty. Angler is happy and disgusted at once and realizes that absolutely NO ONE will believe him......... ........such is fishing alone. Wed, 12:20 PM Capt/angler reaches cell phone distance and snaps photo of on-ice wahoo on phone, sending photographic evidence to client that didn't go.........a nice touch really. Wed, 3:15 PM (CST) Back at home, waiting to watch the renewed Jankees take on the Dbacks, swilling beer while wahoo is undergoing cerviche transformation. Cheers, y'all

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

the Ides of June blog

OK, so it's been a while.....we've been busy. Summer season is in full swing and in spite of some tumultuous weather conditions, the fishing has been pretty reliable. All in all, the King mackerel have been most cooperative around the 'naturally occurring" FADs and off the limestone bottom nearshore. Red snapper, of course, grouperfeesh and some VERY accommodating cobia schools have made our spring and early summer fishing a huge success. Offshore is beginning to heat up with some decent mahi and a good wahoo bite. This week, the fairer side of the Green family of Memphis had a good trip with all three girls catching wahoo and the patriarch, Jim, landing a 32 lb blackfin and releasing a 70lb yellowfin off the Elbow. A mystery bite that all but spooled our 50W still has us scratching our heads in collective wonder........Fortunately, an earlier, favorite lure loss has spawned some experimental replacement concoctions that seem to be making the grade. Fortunately, while the lost lure was productive, we have found it surprisingly easy to replace. Reminding ourselves that it's just the allure of the lure.......infatuation, not a love affair. That if you troll it, they will come....... New and prettier/shinier programs that have already been in our tackle boxes can easily be dusted off and drug around for some very productive grins and giggles. Our Indiana contingent today will hopefully add further credence to this assessment. The Jankees are back up to .500 baseball and have cut the Sux lead by 5 games in the past week. Clemens is back, Wang is on top of his game and Rivera seems to be making his cutter work back into the zone. It's been a tough start for the Bombers and we have been hesitant to even talk about it thus far. Still slightly reticent, we are once again hopeful.........more than we can say for the Astros who seemed doomed to the cellar....... On a personal note, our neice Ashleigh graduated from her High School this past weekend and is on her way to Baleteri and Chris Evert tennis in South Florida for the summer before heading off to Clarion this fall. Congratulations on her tennis scholarship, her graduation and just generally being about the finest neice anyone could ask for. We love you. Headed to the water y'all. Cheers, gordie

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

the Spring Break blog

Spring break season is upon us and, as we notice the preponderance of weekly state license plate changes, we also maintain a somewhat morbidly vigil to local newscasts for the latest visiting collegiate endeavors. It's not that we wish any ill-will, but we can't help but wondering just many shots of Jaegermeister the naked male UTenn students needed to consume in order to believe that several coats of orange spray paint would suffice as street wear. Of course there are the annual crowd-pleasing events to be judged: the balcony-to-balcony crawl, (the fall and beach entry is generally judged in this case with degree of difficulty points based on post-mortem alcohol content). Other events include balcony to pool diving events, (decidedly less spectacular than the beach entry, but good enough for some concussive results), as well as the ever-popular, Hwy 98 traffic dodge events, ("if you can dodge a car, you can dodge a ball"). In spite of these generally disruptive events, we still manage to get out and go fishing. March is not our first choice for months to go fishing, but you are here, the kids are driving you nutty, and you need to get out on the water. We are here for you. The cobia have begun to show and we have taken our share of shots at some rather recalcitrant fish this week. A couple of the less ambivalent have fallen to live eel presentations and a smallish single fish ate a jig like it was his last meal on earth........coincidentally, it was. The amberjack on the edge are numbering in the ridiculous and seem to be in full suicidal, jack-mode. The pompano have shown up and the redfish are still making their presence known. Water temps have been steadily increasing to the magic 70 degrees and all seems to be proceeding as it should. Baitfish along the beaches are appearing to school up in numbers sufficient enough to attract the Spanish mackerel that are dutifully showing as well. The annual dense-fog migration is also in full bloom and this makes sight-fishing a bit more challenging. It's hard enough to see the fish, but when you can't see your angler in the bow, we find ourselves even more at odds with the vicissitudes of the weather. It's Spring and all is right in the World. Baseball season's opening day is this weekend and even the Reds and Cubs fans that we fished this week are exhuberant about their prospects. Oh.......to be young and naive........or hopelessly masochistic. On the other sports notes, the Falcons have hired another coach to build yet another team around Micheal Vick. After 6 seasons, we wonder if the rest of the team is curious as to when the franchise might find a quarterback that plays with the team. We seem to be inundated with NFL news of late and question the programming dieties at ESPN. For crying out loud guys, it's baseball season. That is all.

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

Spring training report (pitcher/catchers and charter boat captains)

Ok, so it's bloody cold here.......like 27F and it sucks. That's official, by the way. But there are flies to tie, lots of reels to re-spool and plenty of tackle to repair and replace. Appropriate duties for these days that truly shouldn't be spent out on the water. Besides, it gives us the proper motivation to get caught up on all the news that is.........that's right.........beisbol. The Yankees pitching staff is assembled and throwing and while the heinous, universally despised Red Sox have elected to start late, hanging their collective hopes this year on Matsuzaka. While he seems to be a pretty decent fellow thus far, the Gyro ball is the stuff that we'll look forward to seeing Godzilla Matsui hit into the ionosphere. As for the Jankees rotation, let's see, we have "Crash Test Dummy" Pavano attempting to finally make a stab at living up to his considerable contract, Mussina, Wang, Proctor, Farnsworth and Myers and, oh yea, Andy Pettitte. Kei Igawa is expected to get a good look during the Spring season and while the jury is out at this point, another southpaw couldn't hurt and he does have a wicked slider that could work in middle relief. In other Grapefruit news, the Cubs pitcher, Kerry Woods apparently can't get out of bed without major injury. Perhaps someone should buy this guy a seeing-eye goat. My grandfather, a hopelessly devout Cub fan, is undoubtedly screaming uncontrollably. Obviously he would be doing that in Heaven as all Cubs fans have already done time in Hell here on earth. Cheers

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

The Super Bowl blog

The tuna bite is still on fire with reports from all over the upper gulf......yellowfin and blackfin tuna off the rigs........it's an overnight gig, but a good one nonetheless. Redfish are here in numbers for those of you looking to sample the light tackle nearshore waters. The Super Bowl is over and while we weren't particularly paying the closest of attention here, make no mistake, Dungy & Co. are a class act. So kudos to them. More importantly however, the end of feetsball season marks the harbinger of beisbol's Spring training as well as preparations beginning for the upcoming cobia season. In short, we have to locate the FADs (Fish Attracting Device(s)- see how clever we mouth-breathing anglers are with our acronyms?), that mysteriously occur sometime during the late winter/early spring months. Mostly these are anchored and suspended tarps, umbrella-like shapes that are normally found a few yards below the water surface. They attract the bait, that attracts the feesh and can provide, once located, considerable angling opportunities throughout the year. Inshore and nearshore FADs can provide steady, consistent angling for cobia, kings, spanish, wahoo and even sailfish......along with an abundance of lesser species. The offshore FADs are considerably more difficult to locate given the depth and distance, however they can be equally more productive with tuna, wahoo, mahi, white and blue marlin as well as amberjack and a host of baitfish........and the cycle continues....... Luckily, these do indeed occur naturally, if phenonenally, as it would be illegal to actually construct and deploy such devices. So, if you call us over the next few days and weeks and get the voicemail, please understand that it takes time to locate such spots..........canvassing large areas, bottom machines and radars on the hunt.........you get the idea. Ok, well, we hope you do anyway........it's work, work, work, you know...........preparations are key to ensuring a successful angling environment. As we said, we're ever so lucky to have these naturally-occuring elements, even if we have to venture out in the wee hours in order to locate them. Many of our customers in the past year had the opportunity to meet and fish with Jack, our rather unofficial Great Dane mascot. You have met him during his formative stages and now that he is almost a year old, (and STILL growing), don't be all that surprised if he now looks you dead in the eye and leans his considerable frame against anyone who pays attention to him. Don't ask him to shake your hand unless you brace yourself against the helm first.

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

The New Year (recalcitrant blog)

Ok........so we've been busy.........but yes, we are indeed here and poised for action. Much has happened since our last reports, the yellowfin tunas have kept us quite busy this off season with numerous trips, copious numbers and the odd billfish bite as well. Our 2006 season ended with some substantial October numbers in offshore bottomfishing excursions as well as a good king mackerel bite well into the ides of November. Currently, the big redfish have showed on time and in numbers sufficient enough for double-digit days. Our flyrodding clients have fared well with both streamers and topwater offerings on reds up to 30 lbs. We have yet to catch a redfish during the winter run under 15 lbs with several topping the 35 lb mark. The spring rains have begun, (or is it still winter?), and cobia season just ain't far off. This is a very busy time of year for us, so if you have a notion to come down for the spring cobia season, hollah at some bruthuhs.......early and often........after all, our hearing, (like our eyesight, we're told - source: AMA), ain't gettin' no bettah. For our returning customers who know the drill, it's good to hear from all of you again and we certainly look forward to having you all aboard again this coming year. And let's see.........on the statewide sports front.........the Gators have taken yet another National Title, this time, thankfully, at the expense of the almost-as-hated-as-Notre Dame/Boston Red Sox, yes, you guessed it, the Buckeyes. You named your team after a nut, for crying out loud. Watch for Gators basketball to re-dominate this year as well.........fyi. That gives Florida World titles in all meaningful sports this side of lawn darts and we look forward to crushing your team(s) in the coming year. And even though the Yankees obviously belong here in Flow-id-uh, we should point out that as the pitchers and catchers show up in a couple of weeks for Spring training, that the Marlins have boosted their payroll from a paltry 38.9 million last year, (and damn near got into the playoffs), they have re-signed D-Train, effectively boosting that collective team salary to up and over the 40 million level. No telling what they can do now............ Finally, those of who have owned, trained and loved horses, know unequivocally that such accidents never, ever happen to the bad, ugly, mean or stupid ones, (horses or ex-spouses), but that the brave and wondrous few that capture the moments we all find so compelling do indeed live on. Farewell Barbaro.

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

Ernesto and other niceties

0500 EST........Ernesto has been upgraded to hurricane status and the projected path puts us directly in the line of fire.......and just in time for our Labor Day festivities. It's a ways off yet, but if you are headed this way, check your website data with an eye toward postponing and/or cancelling entirely. We have already spoken to the majority of you that have reservations for next weekend. For those in doubt, no, we don't charge for weather-related cancellations, unlike the rental unit creeps that charge you irrespective of the weather. These storms are normally more of a nuisance than anything and can actually improve the fishing just after they pass through as they push fish up and onto the beaches. We will be up and operating just as soon as the East Pass allows and should you wish, please feel to contact us directly. The Weather Channel, in it's eggregious efforts to sell plywood and generators, often makes these things appear more like Armageddon than not, so if you wish to track our weather with a vehicle far less prone to sensationalism, visit www.wunderground.com and enter 32540 as the zip code. This site is certainly not infallable, but it does without the Chicken Little syndrome that personifies the weather stations. Cheers

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

the Boston Massacre blog

The Good News/Bad News time here for us and elsewhere....... Good News: the fishing is absolutely on fire Bad News: there is no bad news. AFC crews have hooked and released several white marlin over the last couple of weeks and many good sized dolphin and yellowfins and even some sailfish on the offshore front. Now is the time; if you ever wanted a good shot at blue or white marlin and swordfish, August and September are as good an opportunity as you may ever have. The inshore fishing has been stoked with almst automatic king fishing and a preponderance of cobia on FADs and bottom spots. The amberjack have showed up inshore and we are wearing their collective asses out with topwater chuggers and flies. There have been a couple of sailfish hooked nearshore and a few more spotted, so we stay alert for the possibility of those continuing to show up. The Good News: YANKEES SWEEP FIVE GAMES AGAINST THE EVIL AND STUPID RED SUX IN BOSTON AND GO UP 6 1/2 GAMES IN THE AL EAST. Already being heralded as the third coming of the Boston Massacre, it's almost too good to be true. So devastating that the Red Sox owners, along with Theo Epstein, DESERTED Fenway Park before the 6th inning of game 3 on Saturday. Hey Red Sox nation.......you gotta love that sort of loyalty. The Bad News: there is no bad news here. Elsewhere in the NL there is no good news for either the Astros, who lack offense AND a bullpen, or the Braves, whojust lack a bullpen. The Good News: most of the schools reopen and some of us are finally enjoying the life we aspired to; that of empty-nesters. 18 is not an arbitrary age, we love you BUT........ The Bad News: the mothers now have nothing to do but bitch at us about more exercising, fewer martinis, eating healthy and forcing us to watch the Food Network and HGTV. While the grocery bills are now a small percentage of what they were when the "horde" were in residence, the kitchen is now stocked with Healthy Choice and Weight Watchers meals that should be named "Chicken a la Mulch Pile", "Beef in Aged Corn Stalk" and "Shrimp in Crushed Bark with Some Other Ingredient That We Can't Foist Onto the Farm-feed Market". All of these meals are replete with calorie counting aids printed on the boxes and coupons for a variety of pharmaceuticals all designed to reduce aging, promote hair restoration or penile dysfunction and a host of other maladies. These all eminating from the same folks who are heard to parrot statments like: "40 (or 50) is the new 30"...........uh huh. A theory is developing here that borders on conspiracy......we will keep you apprised, but it is being argued, (and will be studied), that these afforementioned "food" products are designed and marketed to bridge the gap between empty-nesters and assisted-living where the food is sure to be even worse. This crap just ramps down your taste buds so that you live long enough, once in the home, that the state can get all of the money your kids haven't already departed with. Otherwise you go into immediate stroke mode and die within a week of entering the home, leaving the state without the funds necessary to give the Marlins a new stadium. In the meantime, we will bask in the glow of the fact that the Yankees are 6 1/2 games up on the Sux and October is just around the corner.

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

The Trade Deadline blog

......as is the fishing. Offshore the white marlin bite has been wide open with multiple shots on a daily basis. If you have ever wanted to add a whitey to your species list, now is the time. King mackerel have been on automatic of late; multiple hookups, good sizes and plenty of bend rods are being had. The weather has been very cooperative with relatively calm seas and predictable wind patterns......for the first time in a couple of years, things are back to normal. It's hot though and boy, we mean it. July 31st is approaching and of course, that is means the trade deadline is in place for MLB as well as Angry Fish Charters. As we already have a good team in place, (and we have all passed our urine tests, although there were suggested elements, of spiked Gatorade levels in several of our Captains), we are deferring all trade offers for hitters to the Astros and pitching prospects to the Braves. In the meantime, all of our boats are having bullpen phones installed and are connected directly to the outfield confines and clubhouses in New York (Yankees) and Atlanta. At this point, for the Astros at least, we must adopt a Cubs-fan mentality and adopt the late-season rally-cap-wearing for ANYone BUT the heinous, fetid and much-hated Red Sox.

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

The Fish Whore photo competition

Jack, the AFC mascot Great Dane has, at 5 months, reached the 4-stone mark and shows no sign of slowing. Although some of his morning marina deposits would suggest a severe drop in weight, this has not been the case. A very brief, 'First Annual Board Short Competition' showed Micky in a substantial lead with two, count 'em, 2, pairs of equally heinous numbers so hideous that the judging had temporarily adjourned to chambers for replay analysis and discussion. So hideous in fact, that it appeared the contest was over and a general doldrum effect had the rest of us simply giving up and returning to some fairly mundane fashion elements with our hopes dashed to ribbons. .......and in this corner........ Until the 'Board Shorts from Hell' were introduced. So obnoxious that words can only scratch the surface. Game. Set. Match. The judges immediately announced that the competition was indeed over. Bordering on Jedi status, these shorts have been deemed, under new rulings, to be banned from future competition. Photos may be reveiwed by request only and must be accompanied by a Physician's bill of health statement. Not suitable for those who are pregnant, or are considering getting pregnant as these photos may cause brain damage. THE AFC PHOTO COMPETITION: In spite of our best efforts, we are not always able to take the photos we need to take at the proper time. We are, after all, trying to land fish, gaff fish, bait and re-bait hooks, tie leaders, drive boats, coerce, cajole and command. Besides, some of us truly suck as photographers. Therefore the following contest has been initiated. Send us your photos. Yes, they must be of your AFC trip(s). We will post them on our website and let the public decide who wins by polling the photos individually. The winners will receive their choice of AFC tee shirts. It's that simple. THE FINE PRINT: there is none. AFC reserves the right to be arbitrary and conniving. We own the right to publish and all copy is at the sole discretion of AFC. So send them on and get a tee shirt. You Fish Whore you. FISHING REPORTS (always a crowd pleaser): Fishing has been superb and continues as of this press release. Snapper bite seems to be automatic. Some light tackle spin and fly fun has been had with the bonita run in full-on mode. Some blackfins have been taken. The tarpon run is here and the Kings continue to be downright ferocious. The Merrikohl II has arrived. A 2007 35' Contender has been added to the fleet and offers the distinction of being the first AFC boat to herald Air-conditioned environs on board. Cocktails will be served in the First-Class cabin only. Cool boat though. The sports front: Barry Bonds is accused of steroid use. Huh....imagine that. The Astros and Yankees begin their post All-Star break with wins and the Evil and Universally despised Red Sox begin the post-break with an extra-inning loss. We, the faithful, deem this to be a good sign. Sadly, we believe that we should send the Braves to Raleigh and bring the Raleigh AAA franchise back to Atlanta. And finally, we who have owned and loved horses, know what the word laminitis means. It never, EVER happens to the ugly, mean-spirited or ill-bred horses. Like an ex-wife, they never die, they just get uglier, meaner and their ill-breeding continues to suck the life out of everyone on earth. Owning a great animal is very often a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Owning a Derby winner of Barbaro's stature is an event most of us can barely even imagine. Our thoughts are with the owners and operators of this fine athlete, hoping against hope that the future is brighter than the prognosis. A US racer leads the Tour de France that is NOT Lance Armstrong (who used the 30A bike path, by the way).

14 Jul 2008 by Gordie Hinds comments (0)

When to yell "Shark" in a crowded theatre

The week of the 4th (July) usually means several things: the Braves are running away with their division, the Astros are making an All-Star break push for the Wild Card spot and it's actually faster to travel by boat than by car.......oh and the tarpon show. Two out of four isn't bad though and the tarpon have definately shown up......along with the requisite bull shark population that follows the tarpon migration. Jason and his crew jumped a very good, 140+ fish that towed them around for an hour and a half before breaking the 20# (no shock tippet) leader. The following day his crew jumped 4 while our other boats landed one and leadered another. It's more fun to jump them, break them off and go back for another bite sometimes. The snapper and king bite has been dutifully responsive and, oh yea, there are sharks about. Did we mention that? A few scattered mid range weed patches have offered up some decent mahi. The offshore fishing has dialed it down a