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  • Anglers Journal

    The Bait Lady

    Jul 09, 2019 5 minutes
    STORY BY CAPT. BILL PIKE
    PHOTOS BY AUSTIN COIT

    One fine Florida morning this summer, photographer Austin Coit and I eased quietly down the Homosassa River toward the Gulf of Mexico on a rented pontoon boat. Unlike many Florida rivers, the Homosassa is rocky. As we purred along, wending our way through a maze of sloughs, false creeks and dead-end bays, the limestone outcroppings on the sides of the serpentine channel made me nervous. The rental contract I’d signed said I was responsible for any damage that might befall our outboard’s nether regions. And even 30-hp outboards these days are pricey.

    I looked astern to gauge our position in the channel. Warm, low light illuminated the sawgrass vistas, and eagles and ospreys surmounted the countryside we were moving through, with its shadowy palm-tree hammocks and colorful hardwood swatches. We were en route to meet Bonnie Van Allen, known locally as “Bonnie

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