We arrived in Key West on Monday, October 12. As soon as we got settled in at The Mermaid and The Alligator, a wonderful old conch house Bed & Breakfast located one block off the legendary Duval Street, I called Captain Carl Rees, owner of "Looney Tunes" Charters, who informed us that the hurricane had scrambled the fish and the fishermen really hadn't got it sorted out yet, but he thought he knew a couple of places where we might find a few fish.

We met Carl the following morning at the Oceanside Marina, about three miles east of Key West. We boarded his 25' SpeedCraft and set out for a day of deep water fishing in the Atlantic. There was a gentle breeze and scattered clouds, both welcome with the bright sun and high humidity. Our first stop was about nine miles south east of Key West, near the old lighthouse. Capt Carl anchored in about 60' of water and dropped a chum bag over the side.

We rigged up the 12 pound spinning gear and put small pieces of cut bait on and waited for the Blue Runners and Yellowtail Snapper to find the boat. We were fishing for bait to use later in the day. The Blue Runners are a small member of the jack family weighing about 2 pounds and are a hardy favorite bait of the bigger fish we were targeting later in the day.

The first school of about eight Blue Runners showed up and Capt. Carl demonstrated how to catch one by trying to lead the fast moving group by a few feet. "If you don't get the cast right, the bait will drop under the runners and the yellowtails will get it. They may be good eating but they're not as good a bait." On the first cast, Deborah hooked one of the Blue Runners. The little fish ran off line, but she soon got it to the boat where Captain Carl dropped it in the live bait tank. We fished here for about an hour having put over a dozen yellowtail and eight Blue Runners on the boat. The Blue Runners were incredible fighters. The next time I go to Florida I'm going to bring along a 4 pound trout rod for bait fishing! The power and speed of warm water fish never ceases to amaze me.

We cruised another 4 miles out to where the ocean bottom drops off to nearly 200'. There is an old plane wreck that has developed into a small reef and we could see at least 20 BIG fish suspended near the bottom on the fish finder. We put small jigs, 3/8 and 3/4 ounce, and let them slowly settle to the bottom. Carl timed his drifts so that the jigs would hit the bottom at exactly the time they hit the wreck. On the first drift we both got hit. My fish started running for the bottom where it just stopped. I'd gain about 30' and it would just run back to the bottom and sit there. Eventually the fish tired. I got him about half way to the boat and he took off on another long powerful run. Five minutes later Captain Carl pulled the Mutton Snapper over the side of the boat. Deborah had also hooked up and was still fighting her fish. It would make long fast runs, she would gain and then the fish would run again. This was turning into an even match. It took all her strength just to hang onto the rod. Even when the fish wasn't pulling line she couldn't crank the reel. After about five minutes of just hanging on for dear life, she started bringing in line. This must have made the fish mad because it took off on another run. Deborah finally won out and the Amberjack was boated and released. This kind of fishing went on all day. We both snagged once, but otherwise, every drop produced a 15 pound plus fish. On the light tackle we were using, it was great sport. I think Captain Carl is a master of understatement.

On the way back to Key West, Captain Carl saw some surface action and set up a couple of the Blue Runners on trolling rigs. A short time later a barracuda took the bait. I saw him come out of the water a couple hundred yards behind the boat and grabbed the rod. The 4 foot long Barracuda wasn't a strong fighter but it sure put on a good show, coming out of the water at least a half a dozen times before I got him to the boat.

When we got back to the harbor, Captain Carl filleted one of the Mutton Snappers, put about 5 pounds of the fillets in a bag and sent us over to the Hickory House Restaurant, a short walk around the marina. "Most of the restaurants in town will cook your catch, but Spanky is the best fish chef in town. Have him use the Japanese breadcrumbs" Carl's wife, Katie, told us.

We were greeted at the door by Spanky, who snatched our baggie of fish and whisked it off to the refrigerator to keep it as fresh as possible. "You want me to cook ALL this fish?" he asked when we were finally ready to order. We told him to just cook enough for two large dinners and keep the rest. He sautéed one large piece in cajun spices and deep fried the other in the Japanese breadcrumbs. It was the best fish dinner of the trip!

Captain Carl can prepare and ship your fish home for you and Spanky at the Hickory House not only cooks your fresh catch, but will also smoke your fish for free. All he asks in return is half your catch. At the rate we were pulling them up, that would have been the deal of the century.