In The Fishing Zone

By Capt. David C. Dillman galvestonbaycharterfishing.com (832) 228-8012

Have you ever felt as if everything you touch turns to gold? We've all met some folks that have a knack to turn what seemingly is nothing into something. Whether it's a business venture, household project, or a garage sale find that's worth way more than they paid. Speaking about turning nothing into something, that was the case when I was invited to fish with Captain Derrick Greene, owner of In The Zone Charters. Before I write about our fishing adventure, let me give you, the reader, a little background information on Captain Greene. Greene grew up in south Houston and graduated from Madison High School in 2001. Greene could have easily gone on and furthered his education, but the salt air and his love of fishing kept calling his name. Shortly thereafter, Greene move to the island and began working at the former Uncle Buck's Bait Camp in Galveston. When he wasn't at the camp, Greene could be found fishing off the piers in Galveston and surrounding area, with his compadres of "In The Zone" pier fishing team. Although pier fishing and occasionally working as a deckhand on other boats satisfied his urge to fish, it still wasn't enough. Greene had a vision, a vision of owning his own charter boat company.

That vision became brighter when Greene went to work for Jimmy Garner of 3G Charters in Galveston. Then in 2009, Greg Ball of Wave Dancer Charters gave Greene a opportunity to jump aboard with a offer of a full time job. A few years later, his vision became a reality when he entered into the charter boat business and "In The Zone" began operating out of the former Galveston Yacht Basin, now the Galveston Yacht Marina. It wasn't easy, but Greene's trust in God kept his path straight through some turbulent times. My fishing experience with Greene was phenomenal. I was invited to tag along on a charter with two of his long time customers, LeRoy and Tammy Schriver. It was a blustery morning with strong winds from the northeast, as I arrived at the marina right before dawn

We exchanged pleasantries and I climbed aboard his big Grady White, powered by twin outboards. As we rounded the base of the Galveston South Jetty, Greene powered up and the nose of the boat pointed directly to the North Galveston Jetty.

Once we arrived, Greene directed his deckhand, Mohammed Ghani, to lower the anchor. Once the anchor was set, I glanced over the side of the boat and the water color reminded me of a cup of coffee mixed with cream; not good. There was a patch of green water about 50 yards from where we were anchored. Greene said, "You see? You see,

that green water will move this way when the tide changes." I didn't question him. After all, he's the captain. Ghani quickly baited two heavy rods with cut mullet, casting them out, off the stern of the boat. Greene handed us light tackle spinning rods, instructing us to bait up with live shrimp and cast towards the rocks. It wasn't long before Green hooked up on the first slot redfish of the day.

Then a big rod doubled over, and Schriver's wife, Tammy pulled the rod out of the holder and the fight commenced. After a few minutes, the first bull redfish of the day was netted by Ghani and hit the deck of the boat. Bites were slow, but that green water kept moving slowly closer to where the boat was anchored, just as Greene hooked up on another fish. Then another big rod doubled over, this time, Mr. Schriver grabbed the rod and soon after another bull red came to the boat.

Leroy and Tammy Schriver

The bull red bite turned on so did the slot reds on the light tackle just as the green water surrounded our boat. For about a hour and half, it was all the redfish you wanted to catch. Once we had our limit, Greene pulled out some dead shrimp and instructed us to bait up and cast not far off the side of the boat. Black drum after black drum were being hooked and landed. As other charters boats arrived Greene loudly stated, "We're in the zone, baby!" Ghani was up in the front of the boat, taking a count of the fish. He looked at us and said "That's it folks, we reached our limit." I glanced at my watch, it was 10:00 a.m. Winds were still gusty, and we had full limits of bull reds, slot reds, and black drum, as the anchored was pulled, and Greene eased out away from the rocks, before jumping up on plane. Once back at the marina, I left him and Ghani before the real work began. I know that game well. Greene has three boats in his fleet, with Captain Bobby Hall running trips with him. Ghani is in the process of obtaining his captains license. If your looking for something to do over the next couple of months or better yet Spring Break, I would suggest a charter with In The Zone, especially if you want to fish the Galveston jetties. Greene is a absolute professional in the fishing industry.

Capt. Derrick Greene, Leroy and Tammy Schriver

Capt. Derrick Greene, Mohammed Ghani, Leroy Schriver, Tammy Schriver