Smoked Turkey Sandwiches and the Tarpon

I was making myself a Smoked Turkey Sandwich and my mind started wandering, as it is prone to do recently, and remembered this moment from many years ago in my other life.

That particular smoked turkey sandwich will always be te STS all the STS are and will be compared to.

Thick mutligrain bread with tons of seeds, mayo, avocado, Sriracha (or was it Sambal?), good turkey,purple onion, tomato lettuce and sprouts... No matter, though, how great I would make it, it would always miss one ingredient : lunch break under a bridge around Sugarloaf watching the storm clouds moving in from the Atlantic. 

I used to book my fishing escapades through an outfitter in Big Pine and  this time she set me up with her father in law.

He was an imponent older guy with long white hair and a huge white mustache, cut off jeans and a t-shirt; the old fly guide stereotype before dry fit polo shirts, Simms shorts and Patagonia shirts became the uniform.

At the end of the skiff ride, as we took position, me at the bow and him on the platform above the large outboard, he told me "Give me your best cast. And make it a good one because I am going to take 30% off it." the reason being he knew I would mess it up when a large tarpon would swim into casting range. 

The previous night I ran into a little "accident" at the Green Parrot and didn't have time to stop by the Circle K to pick up a bag of fried chicken for boat lunch and my guide, so kindly, shared his with me.

I remember that unwrapping the sandwich he told me about the Post It notes his wife would place inside the aluminum foil wrapping. She would later ask him about them just to make sure he read them. I found it extremely cute, and perverted.