Have you ever had one of those days that you just couldn’t buy a bite, no matter how much you were willing to pay? You know, one of those days when you had to pull just about every trick you’ve ever learned from reading WaterLine (and other less informative publications) out of the bag. A day when you go to where your buddy said the fish were practically jumping in the boat yesterday, or where a local fishing report told you they would be on the only day of the week you were able to get out on the water. A day when you think the moon and stars have aligned in perfect harmony, just for your special day of fishing, but the fish forgot to show up. This is what I like to call The Trip of a Thousand Casts, and for the most part it’s a trip most fishermen can live without — or is it?

I’ve been a guide here in Southwest Florida for quite a while now, and I’ve been a fisherman for quite a while longer. One of the hardest things I’ve had to learn over the years (especially as a guide) is that not every trip is going to go as planned, no matter how well I prepare for it. Some of you may have noticed that I have written a few articles in the past explaining some of the reasons I feel a day of fishing can go, well … fishless. For example, our beautiful and cloudless bluebird sky days when almost nothing will eat the baits you’ve chosen for your day on the water. And, of course, those days your buddy decides to inflect the curse of the banana on your boat because he fells his system is running low on potassium (or just to mess with you). But what do you do on those days when the weather is perfect, the tides are right and the fish are biting for everybody — everybody, that is, except you?