Hooked Up Designs Magazine December 2016 | Page 48

Johnny turns to us and suddenly the day he had planned has
changing. Instead of going offshore, we now will be fishing inshore. Without another thought, he grabs his phone and calls a
few of the captains he works with to see if any tarpon are still
around or if the reds are biting. Once he hangs up, he gives us a
few choices. This is when my mom looks at me and says, “Please,
can we knock something off my bucket list!” Which immediately got Johnny’s attention. “So, Mrs. T, what are we catching
then?” he asked. “Snook!” replied my mom, almost before he
could complete the question. And just like that we were heading
off to some of his honey holes where he knew they would be.
As we ease up to the first location, Johnny has two Quantum
rods and reels set up and just points to the mangroves and says,
“Over there.” Now, this is the part that is awesome: my mom
grabs the rod and reel from Johnny and with the grace and form
of, well, Gracie Hart, she tosses her bait exactly where she was
told. Sure enough, a few moments later and my mom starts gabbing about how she simply can’t catch a fish, and how they aren’t
here. Johnny and I just laugh, as we both try to coach her on
some of the finer points, like not setting the hook like the Hulk,
and explaining that you have to let the snook take the bait, then

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HOOKED UP

DECEMBE

R 2016

reel. After five minutes of us harassing her and maybe tossing
some bait on her while trying to land it near her bobber out on
the water, BAM! It happens. My mom hooks a juvenile snook.
I grab my camera and immediately snap some pictures of her
holding her first-ever snook.
Finally, we get to throw our lines out, now that she’s caught
the first one. As she resets, Johnny and I rib each other over who
knows better where to cast. This has my mother entertained, as
she continues to throw at the same spot while telling us we’re
wasting our time. As our little battle continued, we boated 20
more. And this is no lie - those Quantums did not stop screaming for a good hour. We floated along the mangroves and by
the end, we were hungry to catch more, and maybe have a few
drinks and snacks, too.
As we leave, Johnny is telling us of a few other places he
normally has success. Now, when I say it was a “little shallow”
where he wanted to go, I mean it was registering .6 to .9 feet on
his brand-new Lowrance depth finder. Normally that isn’t too
bad, but in a 24-foot boat, that might sound a little frightening.
Sure enough, we glide over and then kill the engines. Johnny
slips off the boat and begins pushing us since as he says, “Noth-

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