Big Red
August 8, 2007 at 3:32 pm | In Crossroads Fellowship, Men's Retreat, St. George Island, Tournament | Leave a Comment 
Back in April I led a group of eight men from Crossroads Fellowship on our first-ever retreat at the beach. We stayed at the beautiful retreat center operated by First Baptist Church of St. George Island.
The fishing was perfect on the first day. It was hot. The water was warm. The surf was perfect. And everyone caught fish. Then the cold weather came. For the next three days we suffered agonizing cold and north winds in the morning. It warmed up for some fishing in the afternoons.
We still managed to have the tournament that we had planned on Friday afternoon. The rules were simple … catch and weigh in up to ten legal, edible fish. The bite was mighty slow, but I managed to catch 15 whiting. Everyone else caught whiting, too. In fact, they were the only thing biting. I chose my ten biggest fish, and it was enough to win with 6.4 pounds.
But the highlight of my week came on the first morning. We had an ongoing contest for “big fish” that week. Whoever caught and weighed in the biggest fish (of any species) for the week would be the official “big fish” of the Crossroads Tournament/Retreat.
I won with this behemoth 43-inch-long, 32.0 lb bull Red Drum (Redfish). The pic is a bit washed out and grainy … I had to scan a 35mm that one of my fellow fishermen took with his camera. I quickly weighed the fish, posed for photos, then resuscitated and released the fish.
Funny … his old boy makes the 12-pounder on my wall at home look like a wee little baby.
Reel Creative …
July 19, 2007 at 9:39 pm | In Just for Fun, Reel, Toilet Paper Roller | Leave a CommentOkay … I had to post this …
I recently had a water leak in my bathroom. I am actually a man who is blessed beyond measure … I have my own personal bathroom adjacent to my home office. I live in a house full of women, so you can imagine what a blessing this third bathroom really is. Anyway, the leak under the sink ruined my cabinet and floor. I had to replace both.
Once I installed my new sink cabinet, I realized that I no longer had a toilet paper roller. What was a (fisher)man to do?
Well … I had this old bait casting reel that was not usable. It had various mechanical problems. And it simply wasn’t suited to fishing the surf anyway. So I had an idea … how might the thing do as a completely unique toilet paper distribution system?
I broke it down, did a few measurements, cut the center spool in half with a hacksaw, and got the connecting brace in the hands of my buddy, Allen Coleman, who is an expert metal worker. Allen designed, cut, molded, and welded the mount ends on a 6-inch piece of stainless steel. He even drilled two mounting holes for me.
I decided to mount my new toilet paper system in a cool piece of driftwood that I found while beach combing on St. George Island, Florida. The driftwood looks like it has square nails in it, like it could be a small piece of wood from an old ship (or it might just be a piece of a pallet, or remnants from a boardwalk … I don’t know).
Anyhow … here are the pictures of my most unique creation. The handle actually cranks out the toilet paper for me … and I have the anti-reverse turned on. 
The Next Best Thing …
July 5, 2007 at 12:52 pm | In Bass, FOCAS, Fellowship of Christian Anglers Society, Kentucky Lake, Night Fishing, Tournament | Leave a CommentWell, it’s not surf fishing … and it’s not salt water … but it’s the next best thing.
Night fishing on Kentucky Lake!
Last Friday night I fished a night tournament with my buddy, James Shelton. We are both members of the FOCAS (Fellowship of Christian Anglers Society) chapter in Cadiz, Kentucky. In fact, James is the founder and president of the Cadiz chapter.
Our FOCAS chapter hosts several “buddy” tournament events throughout the year. Since I am in the “boat free zone,” I depend upon the charity of others to secure a co-angler’s seat.
Well, James let me in his boat last Friday night … and it paid off. We caught a full sack of five largemouth bass. We caught two keeper smallmouth, but culled them both (one was an unintentional “cull” … it got away while James was trying to hook a cull bobber in its mouth! (Now, that was pretty funny…)
Anyhow, we weighed in a total of 12.46 pounds, including a 4.36 “big bass,” (and also took the “other species” bonus pot with an 11.63 lb drum – ugh!) and took home a total purse of $165.00. Not bad for a night of fishing!
Here is a photo of James and me with our fish prior to releasing them all back into Kentucky Lake.
Spring Retreat Report
June 26, 2007 at 6:33 pm | In Crossroads Fellowship, Men's Retreat, St. George Island | 1 CommentI’m sorry I’ve been away for so long. I will officially declare an end to my blog fast (from surf fishing … that is).
Let me do so with a brief report from our Crossroads Fellowship spring fishing retreat.
We had a great time. But conditions were tough. Our best day, by far, was the first day. It was hot and steamy, and the fish were biting. Everyone caught fish. I caught the biggest redfish of my surf fishing career … a monster 43-inch-long, 32-pound bull red. I only have a “hard copy” picture. I’ll try to scan ASAP.
Surf fishing “rookie” Jeff Hunter (this was his first day to ever “wet a hook” in the surf), caught this sweet 41-inch, 26 1/2-pound red. I couldn’t believe it! It took me two years to hook my first red!
So, day one was awesome … then the weather changed. We woke up early on day two to blustery winds and temps in the 40’s! We called home and found that we had a hard, killing freeze … which took out all of the fruit crop for this year. It even killed trees … almost unheard of in Western Kentucky.
So, we could only fish in the afternoon for the remainder of the week because of the horribly cold temperatures and wind each morning.
We still had our tournament on Friday, as well as our ongoing “big fish” contests throughout the week.
Tournament / Big Fish Results
- 1st Place (Total Weight) – Geoff Baggett
- 2nd Place (Total Weight) – Tony Dothsuk
- Big Fish (43-inch, 32-lb Red Drum) – Geoff Baggett
- Big Shark (Tie) – James Shelton / Stan Rogers
And Just For Fun…
- Rookie of the Year – Jeff Hunter
- Best “Chalupa” – Brad Claussen
- Most Afraid of the “Naked Man Chant” – Brad Claussen
- Most Depressed when the Ski Soft Drinks Ran Out – Jeff Hunter
- Texas Hold-Em Champion – James Shelton
- Biggest Cart – Tony Dothsuk
- Best Quote – James Shelton – “I’ve never worked so hard to catch a stupid half-pound fish.”
- Biggest Appetite – Stan Rogers
- Weakest Stomach – Jeff Hunter
- Best Catch of Non-Fish – Stan Rogers (Geoff’s costly Penn rig that a shark was pulling out to sea.)
- Most Likely to Be Struck By Lightning on the Beach – Tony Dothsuk (15-Foot Pole)
- Longest Span of Time Without Changing Bait (Approx. 3 Hours) – Terry Brown
- Iron Stomach Award / Most Likely to Catch Vibrio Vulnificus From Raw Seafood – Mark Hughes (For eating a raw oyster that he hooked and reeled in … within 10 seconds of taking it out of the water.)
- Biggest Target for Bugs (Especially No-See-Ums) – Geoff Baggett
- Most Prolific Snorer – Terry Brown
Obviously, a good time was had by all. I think we’ll be planning another outing for the Spring of 2009!
Look for new “inductees” into the Kentucky Surf Fishing Club in coming days!
eXtreme Surf Fishing Site
December 18, 2006 at 12:10 pm | In Just for Fun, Resources | Leave a Comment
I found this awesome site today. Though i would share it with everyone. These guys really go after the big ones from the beach!
The “Catching a Gulf Coast Freight Train” article is expecially cool. Enjoy!
Sand Flea Lures for Pompano
December 17, 2006 at 3:27 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment 
I’ve found the only source that I could find for sand flea lures. They are the Carolina Lures Yummee Sand Fleas. These little crabs are the favorite food of the Florida Pompano. You can get this soft-bait version at basspro.com. The come four to a pack, and are 1.5″ long. They only cost $2.59 per four-pack.
I’m going to buy a pack of the 01 (Natural/Orange Belly) because the orange imitates the egg sack on the bottom of the females. Apparently, this is a favorite tasty bonus for the pomp. I am also going to get a pack of the 03 (Natural). You can find these lures here.
North Florida Pompano in April … We Can Only Hope!
December 16, 2006 at 9:52 am | In Resources | Leave a Comment
I found this awesome article on Pompano fishing at St. George Island in the spring time. Those of us going on the Fishing Retreat (see post below) need to read this one very carefully. Give it a look!
I learned a lot … especially the trick of adding a trailer with an extra sand flea behind the jig hook. I’ll be tying a few of those rigs this winter!
Friday is for Fishing Fotos
December 15, 2006 at 12:55 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentFish On!
This is one of my favorite surf fishing pics. My wife snapped this one while I was fighting by first big bull on April 1, 2006.
Crossroads Fellowship / KY Surf Club Road Trip!
December 14, 2006 at 8:20 am | In Crossroads Fellowship, Just for Fun, St. George Island | Leave a Comment
We’re going on the road!
Crossroads Fellowship in Cadiz is hosting a “Fishers of Men” salt-water fishing retreat (just for the guys!) in April 2007.
Here are the details:
Dates: April 3-7, 2007
Location: St. George Island, Florida
Cost: Approximately $350
We’ll be fishing all day and studying God’s Word together at night. Our lodging will be at the beautiful St. George Island Christian Retreat Center, operated by the First Baptist Church of St. George Island. The retreat will include a Surf Fishing Tournament and a Shark Fishing Tournament, as well as a possible day of boat-fishing on Appalachicola Bay.
We have 24 beds for this retreat. A few will probably be available. If you’re from Kentucky, and would like to make some new friends and catch a few fish, e-mail the retreat guide. Of course, attendance at this retreat includes a full membership in the exclusive Kentucky Surf Fishing Club!
Some Good Resources for Beginners
December 12, 2006 at 9:28 am | In Resources | Leave a Comment
Surf Fishing guru Joe Malat has published some booklets that teach the basics. You can purchase them directly from his web site. The price includes shipping. I ordered the books on Pier Fishing and Surf Fishing from him last year. He even autographed both! Pretty cool.
The web site also has lots of other resources. He even hosts “surf fishing schools” on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Might make a good road trip for the club someday. Check it out and let me know what you think. If anyone gets the crabbing book, I’d like to borrow it. I’ve got an interesting story and pictures about crabbing and eating crabs that I’ll post tomorrow.
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