Episode 54: Capt. Carl Ball – AWOL Fishing

As I stated in the intro to this podcast, Carl Ball has been a true brother for many years. I first got connected with Carl from a fellow guide, John Glorieux, as I was looking for a camera boat operator for my fishing TV show at the time, “Sportsman’s Journal.” Carl and I instantly hit it off, and he was the first to show me how exhilarating tarpon fishing with mullet can be. We would light up a cigar, catch bait in back finger canals, and troll under the metropolitan bridges for the massive silver demons lurking below. The bites were like underwater fireworks that gave me a direct adrenaline rush down my spine. For the next number of years, our friendship tightened and we began poling each other around in the Everglades and the Lower Keys.
Carl Ball was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His passion for fishing came from his grandfather, who was an offshore charter boat captain based out of the Boca Raton/ Fort Lauderdale area in the 1950’s. At the tender age of ten, Carl had an aluminum Jon Boat with a four horse power motor and would explore the canals and waterways in his backyard. He and his buddies would transport their boats on land via shopping carts.
As his fishing prowess inevitably grew, he started mating on offshore boats and eventually got his captains license. For the last twenty years, Carl has been one of the top guides in Fort Lauderdale and Biscayne Bay. I don’t know of anyone who loves to fish more than this guy. Raining, blowing 30mph, cold as Nantucket – Carl is fishing. He lives, sleeps, and breaths fishing. He doesn’t care if it’s a redfish, black tip shark, or permit, his desire just to be out on the water inspires me. He is the epitome of the phrase, “you don’t know unless you go!” We hope you enjoy his story!