Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lester has to be hoping that he handles the Miami Marlins in Wednesday night’s game like he handled Miami’s peacock bass Monday morning.
Fishing with Capt. Alan Zaremba in the C-8 Canal, Lester caught several peacocks, including a 5-pounder on one of Zaremba’s custom-made AZ Jungle Jigs.
“He’s a really, really nice guy,” Zaremba said. “He can handle a fishing pole just fine.”
Zaremba, of Hollywood, said Lester caught the big peacock pitching the jig with a baitcaster.
“It was a very enjoyable day,” said Zaremba, who got Lester’s autograph for his sons Sal, 15, a talented second baseman, and Rich, 19, whose baseball career was cut short by a knee injury. “It was nice to talk to him about baseball and fishing and hunting.”
The trip was a last-minute affair. Lester, who had never caught a peacock bass before, had asked former Marlins pitcher Brad Penny who to fish with. Penny said Drew Gregg, but Gregg hasn’t fished in a while, so he told Lester to call Zaremba.
The Cubs arrived in South Florida around midnight Sunday. Zaremba and Lester didn’t get on the water until about 8 and they fished for a little over two hours.
Last week, Zaremba guided the Goff siblings — Grant, 19, Quentin, 17, and Julia, 15, — of Hot Springs, Ark., to 22 peacocks up to 4 pounds in the C-4. Yvo Wick and Stefan Stocklin, both of Switzerland, caught 26 peacocks up to 5 pounds on a morning trip in the C-2. Gudo Conillano of Key Biscayne and his grandsons Alex, 11, and Will, 9, of Atlanta, caught 16 peacocks up to 3.5 pounds on a morning trip in the C-4.
David Castlen of Palm Beach caught 38 largemouth bass and well over 100 panfish on a morning fly fishing trip in the L-6 with Zaremba. Tim Gray of Coral Springs celebrated his 57th birthday by catching 57 largemouths in the L-6 swimming plastic worms on the surface.
Fish of the week
James Sloan caught 21.71 pounds Saturday to win the One Man Elite Tournament out of Everglades Holiday Park. Jason Bringhurst was second at 18.67 and had the big bass of 8.11. Danny Shelton was third at 17.89.
Dean and Ken Belits caught 25.32 pounds Sunday, including the big bass of 7.46, to win the Bass-N-Fools club tournament out of Everglades Holiday Park. Paul D’arcy and George Williams were second at 18.78, followed by Joe Moran and Gary Dew at 14.76, Tom Trapani and Brandon Rose at 13.58 and Mark Escobar and Greg Moule at 11.83.
Young anglers did well in Saturday’s 30th annual Ladies Fish-Off out of Pompano Beach. Ashley Lauren Kidwell, 16, of third-place Tax Relief was the top angler with 93.3 pounds of fish. Katy Sapp of top boat Native Son was second at 84.5. Julianne Petro of Reel Tension was third at 45.7.
Jordan White, 13, of second-place O-Sea-D was the top junior at 48.8, which included the tournament’s biggest fish, a 32.9 blackfin tuna. Coral Slingsby of Fish N Chick was second at 40.8. Lizzie Conversi of Reel Jack’d was third at 25.8.
Kiara Stephens was the top Pee-Wee angler at 15.6. Lorelei Bennett of Fin-Sanity was second at 12.6. The Tom Tucker Family award went to O-Sea-D, which featured three generations of the White family.
Lou Volpe of Southwest Ranches caught a 90-pound Warsaw grouper, his first, using a bonito as bait in 500 feet in the Dry Tortugas on Marlin Monroe with Charlie Thompson. Volpe’s son Lukas used shrimp to catch several hogfish on rod and reel in 55 feet.
Rick Cummings assumed the lead in qualifying for the South Florida Dolphin Challenge with a 43-pound bull that he caught Saturday. Vic Pumo slipped to second with a 40-pounder. Visit southfloridadolphinchallenge.com.
Dolphin tournament: The fifth annual Joe and Joe’s P.I. Dolphin Tournament is Saturday. Entry fee is $175 and $225 at Thursday’s captains meeting at 7 p.m. at Joe and Joe’s P.I., 9121 Taft St., Pembroke Pines. First place pays $1,500 for the heaviest total weight of three fish. Call Joey Varner at 954-850-3498.
Mako tournament: A Mako Owners Tournament, which is open to all Bass Pro Shops customers regardless of their boat’s make, is Friday and Saturday at Miami Beach Marina. Participants can fish for inshore, nearshore and offshore species. Top anglers and catches will receive plaques from King Sailfish and framed art by Carey Chen and Thomas Kraus. Entry fee is $100 per boat, which includes T-shirts and meals for the crew, and each captain receives a goody bag valued at $200 and a $50 Bass Pro Shops gift card. The kickoff party is 7 p.m. Thursday at the Bass Pro Shops store in Dania Beach. Register online at funaments.com.
Snakehead tournament: A JD’s Custom Baits Snakehead Round-Up is safe light to 2 p.m. Saturday out of Veterans Memorial Park, 7044 NW 1st St., Margate. Entry fee is $40 per angler or $40 per two-person team. Payback is 100 percent, with first place winning $420 with 20 entries. Call 754-816-2248. Other tournaments are July 11, Aug. 15 and Sept. 12.
swaters@tribpub.com or Twitter @WatersOutdoors
