The boys from Newcastle

Now the pressure is on, not to catch fish-we already did that-but to write about the past 3 fishing trips with Neil Watson and his crew from Newcastle, England. Well, let's just say it was action-packed, and that the 'boys from Newcastle' are some of the finest clients a charter captain could ask for.

Day one was hot and steamy, and with no wind, Phil, young Philly, Tiger, William, James and Fergus did their best to keep the sweat out of their eyes-and handled it like pros! Big Gag Groupers made a strong showing...along with Porgies, Snappers, these fish were iced down and prepped for a session at Sea Critter's Grill on Pass-a-grille, St.Pete Beach.

Day two was similar to day one with the exception of wind speed, oh, and a few crew members. Neil Watson joined us in Phil Sr.'s place, and Patty took Tiger's place....poor Patty. The wind and seas were up, Patty tried like a champ, but eventually he had to succumb to nature's force, but he did chum up a nice mixture of big Gag Grouper, Red Grouper and Snapper-with a big Flounder as the bonus fish of the day. Tight work boys...let's eat!

By day three, we were down to 4 crew members. Neil and Fergus Watson, Ross and young Philly-angler extreme! I think we wore a few guys out, and though this was our third and final trip, we had a special plan to 'finish em off' in a big fish way. A cooler full of fresh Shad, Sardine and chum, plus a live well with some very nice Pinfish, Pigfish and Croakers, etc. gave us the perfect opportunity to target some big 'beach' fish. I was not expecting the first fish in the boat to be a Gag Grouper, a 24' Gag...hello. Next fish...yep, another Gag, this one weighing in at a solid 15 pounds-we just can't seem to get away from this 'endangered' species. Philly battled a monster stingray for a half hour and Fergus battled the last fish of his vacation...a young Goliath Grouper. Check out Father and Son Watson with another catch of a lifetime, and one more species to add to the 'caught' list. Great job 'boys'!

From St.Pete Beach to Newcastle...looking forward to next year 'boys'. Cheers, and happy fishing. Capt.Dan

Special Note about the above photo: typically a large Goliath Grouper is not removed from the water just for the purpose of taking a photo, however, it is common practice to 'boat' a smaller Goliath in order to properly remove a large hook that could hinder it's future growth and well being. This fish was carefully handled, supported as pictured, measured and immediately released back into the water where she was held until kicking away with definite vigor.