Day 1 of Fishing with Wounded Warrior Scott Lilley (Scott’s Monster Snook)

After cleaning the house all day and making preparation for our Wounded Warrior guest and his best friend, we finally picked up Wounded Warrior Scott Lilley and his buddy Brandon Claussen (former pro baseball player) at the Gasparilla Marina right at 4pm.

After meeting them on the boat ride to the island, we instantly knew that we were going to have a blast with these two amazing guys.

The first stop was the Salt Strong headquarters on Little Gasparilla Island.

We showed them their rooms, dropped off their gear, and the gave them a quick tour of the house and the beach, and then hit the water to see if we could get them on a couple of snook before the sun set.

By the time we hit our fishing spot it was already 5:45, so we only had an hour and a half to fish before the sun went down.

But that was more than enough time for “Scott the Snook Slayer”…

Literally within minutes, he was already reeling in a 30-inch snook…

And within minutes of that one, he landed an even bigger snook (32 inches).

Oh, and did I mention that not only had Scott never caught a snook, he had never even seen a snook before.

What an unbelievable way to catch your first snook!

Scott also landed a huge Jack Crevalle, and his buddy Brandon landed a nice snook as well.

We came back to enjoy a great sunset, had a huge fish feast, and then told stories throughout the night.

What a great way to start the trip!

Luke and I are incredibly blessed to have these two stand up guys with us for the next few days.