Thanks, Captain Butch Moser...

Captain Butch's Fresh Water Extravaganza

By Jan Stephen Maizler

Photography by Captain Jon Cooper

Today was a phenomenal day with Captain Butch Moser and Captain Jon Cooper in the canals of western Palm Beach County. It reminded me of the old days, when fishing was about catching and not just "shots", rods were called poles, and you counted what you caught, ate, or released. I won't likely ever forget that the three of us stopped counting after we reached 125 fish- all of this in a half-day trip.

Captain Butch Moser does his magic by chumming with live bait: oftentimes threadfin shad. He also uses these delicate fish for live bait- and do they ever work! I'd wonder what a fly fisher could do with those big peacocks, largemouth, and Mayan cichlids as they're boiling at live chum barely a dab-cast from Butch's Carolina Skiff. Our catches ran to good sizes: peacocks to 6 pounds, bass to 8 pounds, and cichlids to 3 pounds. In a word, extraordinary, since the heaviest line we used was 6-pound test. I opted for 4-pound spinning and was thoroughly satisfied!

ABOUT CAPTAIN BUTCH-

Captain Butch proudly acknowledges a very long pedigree of fishing in various venues for over forty years since he was a child. He first started fishing as a hobby, but as he grew up, it became his life's work and labor of love. He has had stints as a charter boat captain for private clients as well as commercially hook and line fishing for kingfish, yellowtail, and grouper. About twenty years ago, it became clear to him that the fish stocks off the Boca/Delray Florida coast had declined. This trend made him turn his attention to fresh water fishing for largemouth bass and bluegills in the western canal system of Palm Beach County.

The factor that really turbocharged his freshwater guiding business was the stocking of this canal system with peacock bass. The "peacocks" flourished and created the makings of a "can't-miss" fishery that will delight any angler.

Butch has a specially designed Carolina Skiff that is an excellent and roomy workboat that is far more comfortable and stable than bass boats. The most striking feature of his rig is a massive livewell that's almost as large as a bathtub: this gives Butch the capacity to keep huge quantities of live bait that make his style of angling so incredibly productive.

There was a wealth of wildlife that spiced up our foray into these canals: turtles, egrets, ibis, limpits, iguanas, and all manner of migratory ducks. We even caught a strange yet exotic fish that was called a clown knifefish.

I believe Butch Moser is a guide for all seasons from novices to experts. If you want to give your friends, family, or children an indelibly successful fishing trip, Butch's track record is likely to bring great results!


CONTACT DATA:
Captain Butch Moser
Cellphone: 1-561-254-2790
Home Phone: 1-561-732-5996


Jan