still around

Am still working for BP. Doing very little fishing. Can only get out for about an hour after work once a month if lucky. A lot of us Captains have even fished off the road or under the lights from the parking lots.

A new contract will be offered after Thanksgiving. As far as I know I will have 3 days off at that time. Have been working 7 days a week since about the beginning. With all the downsizing many of the guys are getting out fishing. The fish have been impressive. I will keep doing this as long as I can. There is talk of it lasting for a few years but the way BP is trying to run out I think it will end soon. TIRED a lot. Boat holding up. Things are going well for us.

Life is Good!

For all the work and effort you have been putting in, you deserve a free full day fishing trip.

Actually the 3 days after Thanksgiving if the weather is good I have a group of guys working down here that want to do a charter trip. Will have to set up the boat for fishing again. Everything fishing had to be taken out of the boat to work for BP. We have to run to the truck and load equipment, get bait, and ice when we get back in early and have a time frame that we can fish till dark.

BTW I got 2 bluefish the last time I fished for Red Snapper. Also got my limit of red snapper.

Could be doing this for 6 days or a long time. Would love to get back to posting reports but either way---

Life is Good.

Hoop be glad you left the eagle. They are adamant about getting rid of letter 22 in the contract. If they do then they can do whatever they want on a whim. You remember those December's with all the drama? Otherwise that I will say life is good but just a stressful time.

Nice hearing from ya Hoop

Thanks for the update Hoop, glad things are going well down there.

Hope you can get some good fishing in after the new contract.

Good to hear from you. Been wondering about the real story down there.

Jees I thought they said the fisery was not going to come back for generations Typical b.s....Larry I`m glad you are doing ok...

Larry thought about callin you the other day,..please know that I as well as many others think about yal' down there often and would love to come down for a trip!!!! Take em for what they wanna give ya!!!

As far as leaving P&WA when I did without waiting for a contract package or any other thing it was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. The timing was right and I do not have a single regret about that move. I do remember the contract time and the problems it caused every time. "VERY GLAD" I am out of there.

This contract is just to define the pay and a few other details. Nothing drastic. Of the hundreds of boats working on the spill there are only a few left. There were only 12 of my style on the job and they started cutting some of them the first of Nov. I am one of 3 fiberglass cat boats still on. The oil is starting to show up in the Fla. panhandle as tar balls. The cleanup on the beach is easy and does not require boats. There are no beaches here just marsh and bayous. Boats are required and at times the areas can only be reached by air boats and at times they can not make it. Have seen them stuck for a long time before getting out. Once the winter fronts finish doing what they do we can get a better handle on what has to be done from spring on thru the summer.

As for the fisheries;
There has been little pressure on the fish and the big ones have survived well. What happened to the eggs, larvae, and juveniles still has to be seen. Some of our oyster beds died but not because of oil. The ndied because all the spillways from the mississippi were opened to keep the oil from comming into the open bays and lakes. That rush of excessive fresh water saved the area from being oiled but had an effect on the oysters in some areas. It was the lesser of two evils. The rebuilding plans for the oyster beds is already under way. What oysters being harvested are all good.

Would love to get a call from any of you any time.


Life is Good!

Even an arse like moi?....

Damn Hoop u r like a cat w/9 lives...I love your positive attitude, bless you for sharing it with us.

Oh and please say "hey" to Joanne.

A belated Thanksgiving to you both and best wishes for a merry Xmas and a happy new year.

The new contract is a mess and is not good but I will ride the tide for a little while and see what happens. I am only getting calls for one or two trips a month which would not make it feasable to drop out at this time. Don't get me wrong I can walk away from this today and have no regrets or problems from here on out but without no customer base and not being the best time of year to get things working I will ride the train for a few more runs.

Bob
Jo-Ann said hello and hopes all is well with you.

I should be running fishing trips from April on and may also have an inshore type boat so I can also run specks and redfish charters as well as nearshore and offshore trips. Looking for a bay boat but tossing around the idea of just buying a bare boat, keeping my 2 150 Yamahas for it, and putting 2 new 4 strokes on my Glaycier Bay. Not enough business and not young enough to invest in a new offshore boat but having the complete fishing option available seems like a sound idea. If the offshore gets too tough on me I will always have inshore to continue with. Don,t get me wrong-----At 68 and counting I am not ready to quit the offshore charter fishing just looking down road a little.

Life is Good!

Happy B lated Thanksgiving, Larry, and Jo-Ann ! Glad to hear you guys are doing well!!