Our hearts were pumping as the sun came up and we drove through the open gate. That beautiful blue green water was all we could see.  We made it to warm and sunny Florida to fish with a friend.  This was something we’d been waiting for for quite some time.  We couldn’t wait to get out and feel the warm ocean breeze blow over us and the enjoy the texture of the boat deck under our bare feet.   What more could one ask for? We parked and exited the car to be greeted with a fierce burning sensation to every exposed body part not covered by clothing. The massive American flag was not peaceful hanging a top the flag post it was ripping in direction the windy was taking it. Straight out to one side without waver.  The cold fierce wind made your eyes water.  This was not the warm sunny fishing trip we had envisioned. More of an early spring trip in Maine.  Mother Nature brought a little bit of Maine to Hudson, Florida that day.  49 degrees and whipping winds made stringing up rods and tying on flies a lot more painful.  My hands ached as I pushed through moving a little faster than usual.  Stac made her  retreat to the car to stay warm.  Needless to say we were not prepared for these conditions.  Shorts and flip flops were not going to cut it that day! 

We started making plans for this trip several years prior when I met Rich on my UPS run.  He had a bass boat sitting in his yard so of course we started talked about fishing. He moved to Florida not long after and got his captains license. He began guiding( https://www.fishresponders.com) and when he heard we were heading to Florida,  he reached out and offer to take us out fishing.  He was guiding out of Hudson,  Florida, which I had never heard of. Hudson is two hours west of Orlando, 50 minutes north of Tampa and 45 minutes south of Homosassa. He informed us that he had private access to some flats that don’t see many fisherman.

Rich was waiting at the gate, when we arrived. He wasn’t joking about the private access and honestly, I was a little jealous. His boat was in the water waiting for us. After painfully putting the rods together and coaxing Stac out of the warm car, he pushed off the dock. He immediately instructed me to start casting.   The winds were not cooperating so each cast was painful.  Despite the conditions I had a snook 5 casts in!  We slowly worked our way out to open water, casting up under the mangroves and getting snook or at least a follow every cast.   The temperature was coming up but so were the winds. 

Rich said it was just a teaser and that he had something up his sleeve. We approached what looked like a  sink hole and saw tarpon just rolling.  There were five that we could see. My heart was beating out of my chest.  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  It was unreal.  I cast and cast and couldn’t get them to eat.  I threw everything at them.  I had a couple of eats and a few follows but brought nothing to hand.  I felt as if we were there only a few minutes but in actuality is was more like a couple of hours. 

Rich took us back to the canal in hopes of getting out of the wind but it wasn’t happening. Stac got a few snook and hooked into a huge red fish and lost it.  It ran and took out line but she didn’t get a good hook set and it popped off.

We only fished for a few hours but so much happened in that short amount of time. We hooked fish only feet from dock, saw a sinkhole with rolling tarpon and hooked a huge red fish. We made memories that will last a lifetime but the thing that stands out the most for both of us is the monster alligator gar that surface only feet from the bow of the boat. We guessed it was  at least 4 feet long. It was one of the coolest things we’ve ever seen.  

The Florida flats are so beautiful.  I love that they keep you on your toes.  We saw a multitude of marine birds, turtles and hundreds of stingray.  I wondered if we were on a nursery or spawning grounds, either way it was a amazing to see. We were like a couple of kids on Christmas morning.  

We were very impressed with Rich’s knowledge and enthusiasm for his home waters. He had a great attitude and was easy to fish with. His boat and set up were top notch and you won’t find a nicer guy.  Fishing with Rich Doherty of Fish Responders Charter will now be a must when we go to Florida fishing.

I almost forgot, after you go out fishing with Rich, insist on buying him a beer at his favorite local brewery, Craft Life Brewing.  The beer is amazing and refreshing after a day on the water! Not only did Rich hook us up on some private waters to fish, he hooked us up with a special before hours entrance to the brewery.  Cheers everyone!