Lesson of the Day Leading 2026

Gyotaku fish print of Brennan’s catch done by the captain.

Sunday January 4th, 2026 -

Texted my clients the night before and said “Maybe we should leave an hour earlier at 7am. Someone has been in my spot almost every time and I want to beat everyone to it.”, they agreed.

Fortunately we were the first boat to leave the launch. We did in fact make it to the spot I was telling them about. A.K.A The Honey Hole.

Well it was slow and I had never met these people before. Combine that with the fact I had been telling them it was on fire every single time for the entire year I had been fishing the bridge, not a great spot. Or so we thought.

Let me put The Honey Hole into perspective for you. Ninety percent of the time these sheepshead are on fire and taking the bait as soon as you can get it into the water. This was worse than the other ten percent, this was the slowest day I’ve experienced in the last 10 years.

Dad finally catches one, his first sheepshead. Super exciting for myself as a guide. It was a legal size fish, not by much, and an awesome achievement for any level of expertise behind the rod and reel. This was just enough to warm us up so we could bear the unfair conditions a little bit longer.

Doubt and disappointment started coming into our mind like dark clouds before a storm. Maybe it’s the tide or current. “It was a full moon last night.”, said the son. “Oh that definitely could be the problem.”, I replied. We briefly debated throwing in the towel early.

Persistence ensued.

Then it happened. Three hours into the trip and only one fish into the boat, with little to no action in between. It finally happened. BIG FISH ON! The son stayed collected and controlled. Immediately I put myself into position with the net and started shouting like a wrestling coach, “Get him out of there! Get him out of there! Big fish, nice fish. Get him out of there! OH MY GOSHHHHHHH!”

The biggest sheepshead I have ever seen caught under the bridge and potentially ever in my decade of targeting the convict fish has now taken up the entire volume made of our short net.

Goosebumps rose on my body. We shouted, passed out some major high fives, and all quickly realized the lesson that had been learned.

Sometimes on the slowest days, the biggest things can happen.

This 22+ Inch Sheepshead will live on as a Gyotaku fish print.

Congrats to Brennan with his dad Mr. Michael and thank you for reminding us all that we never know when the big one is coming.