They say “Life is not a race but a collection of experiences”. They also say you should “Work to Live; not Live to Work”. “They” seem to say a lot. I am not even sure who “they” are.

I just am wondering what they have to say about making choices. All I know is that sometimes I make good ones and sometimes I make bad ones. Vickie and I chose to buy a house instead of houseboat … a good choice. Speeding on US 41 into Naples last week … a bad choice. Planning and building a dock behind the house was a good choice. Building it myself, without reinforcements, was a bad choice.

The dock building choice can be summed up easily … two smashed fingers, one smashed toe, a sore back, blisters on both knees and ankle that will never be the same. Donations to the waterway included to two tape measures, two auger drill bits, one pry bar, one socket wrench, two sockets, one hammer, one skill saw and several splashes that were never identified! I would choose a different way.

Fishing is full of good choices and bad choices, as well. Fishing with Joe Grande (Cleveland) and Tony Young (Phoenix) we had a double grand slam with tarpon, snook and redfish. One redfish was 40” long and weighed in at ~24 lbs. Good choices that day.

The next day fishing with another group of anglers we were after the only two species in the water … the elusive big snook and the easy to find little snook. What? Is there a full moon and most of the big fish are feeding at night? No matter, keep fishing for big snook … all day … Don’t break the pattern … a very bad choice.

With the fishing as good as it is, I would suggest that you make a good choice and get on the water. Hungry redfish seem to be on every corner. Trout are on the flats. Tarpon are in the rivers. And the snook are jumping into the boat (Well, maybe a bad choice of words.). The abundance of bait fish around should keep the fishing very good for a while to come … at least until the cold fronts start making it down here.