Yesterday, we had a very easy half-day charter on the Reef.
I only had one customer fishing and it was an old high school classmate of mine. I hadn’t seen him in almost 50 years. He just wanted action and hopefully, some fish to take home to eat. The weather was beautiful. The seas were calm and the fish cooperated reasonably well. We did lose a couple of big fish, unfortunately. But it was not through anyone’s fault. Sometimes they just get off. We ended up with a couple of nice-sized Cero Mackerel and some Yellow Tail Snappers. Not a “crush”, but it’s tough to catch a ton of fish in a half day charter on the reef with only one angler. At least they will have a delicious dinner!
It was great to see my old friend and catch up. It was interesting to see where our lives have taken us. Very different directions, but thankfully, both of us took roads that worked for us. The last time I saw him was when we graduated High School in 1974. It was amazing, in talking to him, it didn’t seem like 49 years had gone by. But we packed up like it had only been a couple of weeks or a couple of months. Both of us are Proud grandpas and we compared notes on our grandchildren. I met his lovely wife. She grew up in the same town as we did, but I did not know her.
Dan, My Old High School Buddy. Same Graduating Class, Same Gray Beard after 49 years
All in all, it was a great day. Over the years, I’ve had the chance to catch up with some friends from long ago. With Key West being a popular tourist destination, I wonder how many old friends visited the town and didn’t know I was here. I guess I’ll never know. I guess I’ll just be thankful for the ones that did stop by to say Hello!