We ended up catching a few
12” trout, about a pound or so
each, which Jake licked top to bottom each time his captain
dropped them on the floor of the
boat. Once they were thoroughly
cleaned, inside the gills and all,
Captain Jim put them in the ice
chest, and cast again. Even without limiting out that day, Lindsay
and I both enjoyed every moment
of our time with these two. Cusbeen inseparable ever since. It
makes you wonder who
“adopted” whom.
We had picked up some live
shrimp from the Rigolets Marina
Bait Shop that morning and were
using them with a 1 oz sinker to
drop to the bottom. The water had
zero visibility, but the sky was clear
and the sun was shining, so all
three of us grabbed rods and
began to cast. Captain Jim explained that he and Jake had been
fishing together since they met,
and Jake was the perfect fisherman and best friend. Prior to that,
Captain Jim had run charters
for independent yachts for
many years, so he was never
in a position to welcome a
dog into his life. “Or a wife,
for that matter,” he told us
while laughing. But
now they run Circle J
Charters together,
and they make a perfect team.
We cast for what felt
like hours without a
bite, slowly making
our way around the
sandbars and points,
enjoying the weather
and the company on
the boat. Captain Jim
shared that Jake
often helped out
when there were children on the boat.
Once, a man brought
his child who had
been diagnosed with
autism. The man said
his child had never
touched an animal in his life.
Inch by inch, Jake slowly
warmed the young boy’s
heart, and by the end of the
trip, the boy was petting and
talking to Jake as if they
were longtime buddies. And
that is just one of the heartwarming stories this dog and
his captain share.
tomers who choose Circle J Charters get more than fishing, more
than fish. They get the expertise of
a man who’s been on the water his
whole life, and also the wisdom
and companionship of his best
friend Jake, who crossed an interstate and entered an animal shelter to find his way home to his
Captain Jim.