This is really about how hard it is to find a dependable fishing partner.  My favorite fishing partner is my wife, Sandy.  However, she is a very busy person and is often not available to go with me when the urge to fish happens...which is almost daily.

I realize that I am old...and that my doctor just looks at me and shakes his head in disbelief.  So, I am naturally hesitant to take one of my boats out alone anymore.  It is true that they are all equipped with radios and I have my cell phone and have a full membership with Towboat US.  But I keep reading these stories about elderly people who go out alone and just disappear.  They typically find their empty boat with a shoe and a life jacket inside and a half-empty can of Bud Light.  It really is very frustrating.

It simply is not easy to find a person who is compatible, enjoys fishing and being on the water, and is ready to go at a moment's notice...or a day's notice...or a week's notice.  Believe me I have tried.

For years, my two partners (who live in Tampa, Florida) and I have taken our sport fishing boat(pictured above) to the Bahamas to fish for the entire month of May.  We are all "over the hill", so every year we try to find a fourth person of a younger age to go along.  Getting the dinghy over the side at anchorages, hanging the outboard on the dinghy, diving to bury the anchor in a difficult bottom, unhooking a 300 lb. marlin, crawling around in the engine room to replace a faulty solenoid, are just a few of the things that we have suddenly found to be very difficult.

Most young people work and can't get off for a month.  Or, they have a family that they can't leave for a month.  And, they certainly can't afford a couple thousand dollars to contribute their share of the boat expenses.  However, back 5 or 6 years ago we found one.  He was in his mid-forties and on a sabbatical.  He was a chaplain for a medical facility and he had been riding his bicycle down to the marina on a regular basis and chatting with us as we worked on the boat.  When he learned that we were getting ready for the trip he said he wanted to go.  He had the time and the money!

The day of departure he showed up with his bicycle, which he insisted had to go with him.  No room for it but we hauled it aboard anyway.  That year we had decided to fish the Keys rather than the Bahamas because we thought diesel prices would be real high over there.  As it turned out they were only about 25 cents per gallon higher than we paid in the Keys.

By late afternoon we are anchored in Pelican Bay...just inside Boca Grand Pass.  It is Sunday and there are lots of boats anchored in there.  You just can't be too careful when boating and one of our greatest fears was that we would get scurvy.  After extensive experimentation we discovered that we never came down with scurvy if we drank large quantities of Bahama Mamas.  So, upon anchoring we commenced  medicating.  The chaplain made it clear that he would rather risk contracting scurvy than drinking our proven preventative.

Then a small cabin cruiser pulled in very close to our stern and anchored.  Lounging on the deck was a young woman who was topless with only a very skimpy bikini bottom.  A big hairy guy emerged from the cabin and announced that "she will dance for you" whereupon she stands and dances to loud country music.  Keep in mind that this is on a Sunday evening in a crowded anchorage.  This is way "over the top" for the chaplain who scrambled into the cabin and went all the way forward to the chain locker to get as far away for this event as possible.

It becomes very obvious that this guy was marketing this woman.  It was also possible that he was a cop going after a little entrapment.  Anyway, after about 20 minutes of this entertainment they up anchor and go seeking more likely prospects.  That was a first for me but apparently the chaplain had the idea that it must be a routine part of cruising.  He was very unhappy.

Later in the cruise as we enter the area around the Dry Tortugas we really start to catch big fish.  We are out to fill the freezer so this is serious business. One of us is fighting a fish, one of us is driving the boat, and one of us is gaffing the fish then whacking it with an aluminum bat and blood is everywhere.  The fourth member of the crew (guess who) is once again up forward cowering by the chain locker.  It is clear that not only is the chaplain not a fisherman but he doesn't even want to be around fishermen.  Obviously a bad choice as a fishing partner.

When we pulled into Key West the chaplain announced that he was leaving the boat.  He rented a car, hauled his gear off and was gone.  Although we lost a younger crew member and his share of the expenses, we were not overly sad to see him leave.

The message here is that if you have a dependable, compatible fishing partner you are very fortunate.  If you don't have one, you need to start right now on an earnest search.  It might take a while.  LET'S GO FISH'N!!