Like many Floridians, Tom Mettner looks forward each year to an annual fishing trip he organizes with a couple of buddies from up north. The first week in February means seven days of lazily angling the Peace River with his crew of two on his 24-foot Hurricane, dubbed “Boondoggle.” And like many Floridians, Tom and his crew shut off the outside world, opting to avoid winter crowds on the Harbor and fish upriver. And in response to any incoming calls on his cellphone, Tom simply replies, “I can’t talk right now, I’m busy Boondoggling.”

Tom and mates Jim East and George Krier have been “Boondoggling” for the past five years and have caught their share of what the Peace River has to offer. But this past excursion will be one of those trips that will likely turn into fishing lore — at least among his inner circle of friends and family.