~ STORY BEHIND THE DAY ~ EPISODE THREE “RIPPIN LIPS WITH EASTON CORBIN”

~ January 29, 2021 - Hawks Cay Resort - Duck Key, FL

Captain Brandon Simmons - A week prior to January 29th I received a phone call from the Hawks Cay “VP Managing Director” Sheldon Suga. He called about a special guest who would be down for the “Keys to Country” event that Hawks Cay was hosting. It’s a new country music concert series that Hawks Cay is hosting and the first of many more to come. Sheldon never gave me the name of who I would be taking fishing so I wasn’t sure who it would be until the day before. The guest was headlining the concert and his name is Easton Corbin. Easton is a country music veteran who has been making top country hits for almost 15 years. Songs like “All Over the Road”, “Roll with It”, “A Little More Country than That”, and so many more… Easton is also a native Floridian like myself and has the same passion for fishing, hunting and the outdoors like all of us Florida boys. Sheldon, Easton, and the two other guys joining us for the day, Justin Epps “VP of Watermark Capital Partners”, and Josh Cleckner owner of “LIVE Watersports” met me at the dock. My original plan was to take the 26 Yellowfin Hybrid that I run charters on, but when I arrived to the dock in the morning the wind had dramatically changed over night. One thing every fisherman knows is that you can’t control the weather but you can always adjust your plan and make something happen if you are on top of your game. I reached out to Into the Blue host and long time charter captain Scott Walker about using the 36 Yellowfin that they film the TV show on. It is docked at Hawks Cay and I have fished on it plenty of times with Scott. Without hesitation Scott said go for it. Any captain understands that 26 feet compared to 36 feet is a huge difference when dealing with offshore winds out of the East over 25 mph. So I had to unload and reload all the rods and tackle, fill the coolers with ice, fuel up the beast and think of a new game plan. We got the guys on the boat and headed out offshore. I went to one of my favorite hard bottom spots in about 90 ft of water to start the day. Tossed the anchor and dumped the chum bag over. The Yellowtail Snappers were swarming within minutes and the guys were hooked up. We caught our limit fairly quick and I decided to move out a little deeper to see if I could get them on some bigger Mutton Snappers. We dropped a live Pilchard down and put out two flat lines on the surface for a King Fish. The first Mutton was on ice in the YETI and the drags were screaming on the surface rods. We landed two nice Kings and got them in the cooler.After that I thought why not get the “Chicken Rig” out and see if we couldn’t get some Porgy or Trigger Fish on the bottom. The Chicken Rig is always fun for any angler, multiple hooks and baits go down and most of the time multiple fish come up making for an exciting scene if you have never done it. Easton hauled in two nice Triggers and Justin got to catch his favorite fish, the Porgy. The Wind never died down but seemed to just keep blowing harder as the day went on and the guys were ready to head back to Angler and Ale for a fresh “Catch and Cook” fish lunch that Angler offers. With the box full of a variety of fish I went to the cleaning table to get started on filleting so the guys could go eat. I guess the moral of the days story is that some days you never know what will happen and have to make last minute changes. Thats why always being prepared for anything, knowing what’s going in the fishing community, and staying in touch with other guides whether it be inshore or offshore makes a big difference for any fisherman who spends everyday on the water!

Easton Corbin performing one of his first #1 country hits “Roll with It” at the first ever “Keys to Country Concert” and Hawks Cay Resort.

Hawks Cay Resort Marina cleaning station ( Pictured in photo Left to Right) Sheldon Suga, John Cleckner, Easton Corbin, Captain Brandon Simmons, and Justin Epps. The guys standing in front of their days catch while filming Episode Three of Guides and Tides.

The crew enjoying a break between tackle changes. Everyone needs a break when they fish with Captain Brandon… He puts you to work when you fish with him because he is always in the fish and the action never stops! Like Easton said in Episode Three while he was fighting a big Mutton Snapper in 135 ft of water…“Man this is a workout!”