Reel Serenity at Fort Morgan was inevitable. I first met my good buddy James 15 years ago. Since then, we've shared many a day on the water chasing green bass across the Southeast and Mexico to the bright green, iridescent dolphin fish (mahi-mahi) in the big pond known as the Atlantic Ocean. Over the course of those years, we often talked about buying a place on the coast from which we could launch our next fishing adventure anytime we wanted. This year, we finally pulled the trigger and purchased the ultimate "fish camp", though the wives prefer to call it the "beach condo", known as Reel Serenity.
Now, when James and I get together for a few days of fishing, it always promises to be...memorable . I don’t necessarily mean that in the quantity or size of fish we catch, though we usually do manage to find a willing fish or two (he’s a great angler and a privilege to fish with). But, for all the success we’ve had with the actually catching fish over the years, fishing with James is more about the experience than the actual catching. A good example is when he recently brought his crew and his flats boat down to join my bunch for a few days in Perdido Key (and ultimately contributed to the decision to buy our own place from which to fish!).
Allow me to illustrate what I mean with a timeline of our fist day...
4:15 AM - Despite my assurances that the ramp isn’t far from the condo and we should sleep another hour, I’m ultimately convinced by James that we need to leave for the ramp now.
4:24 AM - We arrive at ramp - even after stopping for gas, snacks and drinks.
4:27 AM - Learn that the running lights have malfunctioned (really wish we were still in bed now).
4:27 AM - Confined to the ramp parking lot for the next hour, we rig our arsenal of rods with every conceivable bait combination that we might need for the day.
4:38 AM - Done with rigging...now what?
4:42AM - Might as well prepare boat for launch. Remove tie-downs - check. Unhook bow eye strap - check. Load cooler, drinks and snacks - check. Keys in the ignition - check. Prime gas bulb...2nd problem of the morning.
4:46 AM - Begin investigation as to why no gas is filling the bulb. Ah...cracked fuel line at connector. Cut bad line and replace clamp. Still no gas - figured that was too easy.
4:47 AM - Option #2, apply the brute force theory - turn the starter to see if we could force gas to the engine as I pump bulb. Yeah... seemed like a good idea on three hours of sleep and no coffee.
4:49 AM - Open rear hatch and discover fuel/water separator hasn’t been changed since Nixon was in office.
5:00 AM - Despite various attempts to remove rusted fuel/water separator, conclude we’re screwed.
5:07 AM - Weigh options - return to the condo for sleep or launch boat anyway? We launch boat anyway...cause that’s just how we roll (we are going to fish, regardless).
5:28 AM - Darkness gives way to faint light and we begin troll to nearest island across the Inter-Coastal Waterway.
5:41 AM - After exhilarating ride (from fear of being hit by boat or barge as we crossed the channel at 3 miles per hour), we arrive at island.
5:50 AM - Can’t believe it, but the one island within our reach is suddenly boiling with bait chased by hungry sea trout...only with James.
9:17 AM - Catch the last, and largest (29 inches!), of the sea trout that fell for our mostly bass lures, a few of which have never seen saltwater before - but they certainly worked!
9:20 AM - Time to troll back.
9:51 AM - Cause problems at the ramp as we hold up traffic trying to power load with a trolling motor.
9:55 AM - Finally get boat on bunks, but winch strap breaks with a loud crack that makes folks hit the deck - still four inches to go to complete the load.
10:00 AM - Fixed, but substantially shorter, winch strap finishes the job.
10:01 Am - Lead truck in the long line waiting on our slot speaks to us in sign language as we pull away from the ramp - understood.
1:30 PM - New fuel/water separator purchased.
2:00 PM - Can’t fix boat yet because we’re strongly encouraged by the better halves to go to beach.
3:30 PM - Finally, James and I leave families at beach to fix boat.
3:35 PM - Informed of the “no boat/no trailer in the parking lot” policy by an irate condo resident as we approach boat. James sweet-talks her out of calling the sheriff.
3:39 PM - Hoses off of old separator, started assembling new. Need crescent wrench.
3:39 PM - James hands me rusted crescent wrench that, unfortunately, is seized in the wrong gap for new fitting.
3:40 PM - Despite James throwing wrench on ground repeatedly to break rust loose, salt water and metal result in a “stick” that Super Glue only hopes to achieve.
3:41 PM - James departs in search of place to buy operable wrench on Redneck Riviera.
3:50 PM - While guarding boat alone, second resident bluntly informs me of the “no boat/no trailer in the parking lot” policy and provides multiple eyewitness accounts of boats being towed.
3:56 PM - Family calls and needs help carrying crap from beach...but I can’t leave for fear of boat being towed.
3:56 PM - Consider option if boat is to be towed - with no cash for bribe, best I can come up with is use my body as speed bump.
4:02 PM - Still looking for tow truck to arrive when wife calls again...apparently serious about my assistance at the beach.
4:03 PM - Consider options. Tell wife to deal with it herself or stay with boat?
4:04 PM - Sprint to beach.
4:10 PM - Return relieved to find boat still in parking lot.
4:12 PM - James arrives with new wrench as third resident emerges and asked, “have y’all heard about the no boat/no trailer in the parking lot policy?” (apparently, they are serious about this thing).
4:13 PM - James entertains third resident while I finish assembly of new separator...never thought James would come in handy during a mechanical repair. I stand corrected.
4:15 PM - Finished. Pump a few times and we have gas!
4:45 PM - Drop trailer off at storage facility as James drives boat across the lagoon back to the condo dock...all is good.
For most folks, when it rains - it pours, but there’s generally sunshine ahead. However, when James and I get together, we’re never quite in the sunlight. It always seems to be partly cloudy, at best. I’ll spare you the details of the next few days, save for a couple...
It’s a good thing we got the big motor running because the very next day the trolling motor quit working - not even kidding.
Another thing about my trips with James, there’s a good chance someone will find themselves in the water. Unfortunately, that someone is almost always me. While attempting to secure the bow of the boat to the dock, James kicked the boat in gear with the wheel turned to the right - and I kicked hard left. I’ve always taken to water well (had lots of experience) and quickly recovered from the plunge, but apparently BlackBerry’s do not. As if the loss of my work phone wasn’t enough, James’s uncontrollable laughter was simply too much - I busted out laughing myself. This was no less than the third such phone I had lost during an impromptu plunge in his company. (The most exhilarating was no doubt while gator hunting several years ago - probably my best unassisted re-entry into a boat - ever!)
Regardless of the trials and tribulations that attempt to keep us from fishing, we usually catch fish. On this trip, we managed to land thirteen different species (not including my favorite Costa sunglasses) and brought home enough fish to feed a platoon of troops for two nights. Needless to say, we were pretty pleased.
Par for the course, it was a great time with James and his crew. We caught lots of fish, had a fabulous time on the beach and shared many a laughs. Despite the inevitable rain clouds that are sure to make our trip interesting, I always look forward to our next adventure. Fortunately, we have a great many more in our future from our home base in Fort Morgan.
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