Bruce Cooper had already launched his boat when I arrived at the public ramp at Keaton Beach.

Scenic waterfront home in Keaton Beach.

“Hurry up, Jamie, we got to get going,” said the Florida Fish and Wildlife law enforcement lieutenant. “Get your gear in my boat; the tide and moon are perfect. We’re going to catch some 6- or 7-pounders today.”

With a big grin, I shook Bruce’s hand while at the same time thinking to myself, “Uh-huh, 6-pounders. Yeah. Uh-huh. Buddy, this old boy has been to that dance and heard that song a bunch of times. Six-pounders. Ain’t no way man.”

As we pulled away from the ramp I marveled as much at the look of the shoreline as I did my friend’s promise. Could this be the same place where as a kid growing up in the late ’50s and early ’60s, my family and I had spent so many great summers swimming and fishing? Keaton Beach had sure changed. There is no evidence of the small wood frame cabins or the old pavilion and restaurant. In their places dozens of new waterfront homes have been built.

Minutes after leaving the ramp, Bruce had already shut down the motor and was picking up his pushpole. We were probably less than a quarter of a mile offshore and Bruce began silently poling us even closer. He handed me a plug with instructions to tie it directly to my line, leaving off any leader. The lure was around six inches long, off-white with a dark brown stripe down its back. Bruce was tying on an identical lure. Both looked as if they had been dropped in the middle of an interstate highway and run over by a fleet of semi trucks.

When I questioned Bruce about the lures he said one of his friends had given them to him a couple of years ago. He didn’t have the foggiest idea as to who made them but they had turned out be the hottest trout baits he had ever used.

I had brought along a light spinning outfit and Bruce was using a baitcaster. Both of us were equipped with 8-pound-test line. At the spot where Bruce wanted to start our drift I noticed that the water was shallow, not more than three feet deep.

When I mentioned the depth to Bruce he told me that he always fished for trout and reds in close to shore. The main trick was to keep from disturbing the area you plan to fish, and work the tide right. He wanted to catch the tide about two hours from peak high, then fish until about two hours into the fall. We’d need the water to get the boat in and of the places Bruce wanted to fish. Also, Bruce does not run his motor anywhere close to the area he intends to drift. When trout are up shallow, as they often are in early spring, it doesn’t take much commotion to spook them.

The breeze gave us a nice drift and put a slight ripple on the surface. As we started our first drift Bruce suggested that I cast as far as I could against our drift and then reel fast while working the plug just below the surface.

I made a couple of quick casts to get the feel of the lure and on the third cast I felt a hard hit and at almost the same instant Bruce got a hit. I knew I had a good fish on and I quickly let off a little tension on my drag. My first thought was big red, but seconds later a flash on the surface told me I had a trout.

I got to thinking maybe old Bruce had not been jerking my chain after all about those 6-pound gators. I had not yet turned my fish when Bruce said, “This one might be a good one, too.”