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Bolivar Hilton 2019 by Joel Berry

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Was it the 14th or 15th time that I've led this trip? I'm losing track. But as usual, it was a most enjoyable weekend, even though the fish were somewhat few and far between.

The brisk north wind on Thursday made for a very flat surf, and though Frank and I gave it our best efforts, there were no fish taken. That night, the six of us who arrived early, dined at the Stingeree Marina restaurant for excellent meals.

Although fairly high winds had been predicted for Friday, they never materialized and though chilly, the weather was beautiful. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of tide movement and there seemed to be a lot of fresh water, which did not make for the usual Bolivar Hilton meathaul. Bill Leary did catch a 28" Red in the marsh- the largest of the weekend. A few other keeper Reds were caught by Will Henderson and guest Nicky Carnes.

For the first time, a number of us tried an area called "The Horseshoe" located on Frenchtown Rd near the ferry. According to Blake Colburn, it is one of the premier Flounder holes on Bolivar. Joel caught two keeper Flounder on Gulp Charteuse Mullet, fishing from the shore. Bill Leary and Michael Smalley fished from their kayaks, with no success. Bill had somewhat of a close call when he tried to approach a large Black Drum, parked in a small channel at the end of the rocks. He came close to hitting underwater obstructions, which could have capsized him near some strong currents. Fortunately, he made it out OK. Another guest, Lance, wasn't so lucky in the marsh. A large wave from a passing barge hit him broadside, and he capsized into two feet of cold water, Things could have been different if this happened in the ship channel!

By Friday night, everyone was in, and we had a delicious dinner prepared by yours truly, honey glazed curry chicken with basmati rice.

On Saturday, Joel (that's me) had his fish experience of the weekend when I caught TWO huge Black Drum in the marsh. The first one almost spooled me and really put my rod and reel to their limit. It was a real challenge to net him as his head was so big that it almost wouldn't fit in the net. Even though they weren't edible, they were two fish that I'll never forget. Will also caught a large Black Drum on Sunday.

Although Chris Busch didn't catch a lot of fish, he had lots of fun zipping around in his 5-hp Solo Skiff. He was also kind enough to tow me back to the marina!

Fortunately, we did have enough fish for the Saturday night Fish Feast. The Flounder were baked and the Reds were grilled and thanks to everyone's contributions, there was lots of delicious food to go around. And to top it off was Will Henderson's homemade banana pudding! Really great stuff!

Sunday morning, most people decided to head back, though a few returned to the marsh and the Horseshoe to try their luck before heading home. Along with his Big Ugly, Will caught some small Sheephead and other fish in the marsh and Mike caught a nice Flounder at the Horseshoe.

Also joining us this weekend was Eric Thompson Jr and his girlfriend Barbara. Many of the older PACK members remember his dad Eric Sr who was a heck of a nice guy and excellent fisherman. For those who do not know, Eric passed away four years ago.

So even though we weren't blessed with tons of fish, the weather was beautiful and good times were had by all. Joel