Yep, you’re seeing a different face at the top of this column. I’m a new resident of Charlotte County and a rookie on the WaterLine team, but no stranger to fishing or writing about fishing. I’ve been doing both for more than forty years.

I grew up fishing the Chesapeake Bay and the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina. I’ve worked as a surf fishing guide and have written a few hundred articles and four books about fishing. Seventeen years ago I started the Outer Banks Surf Fishing School, which I still lead every fall at Cape Hatteras.

Last year, I retired as director of the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island. My wife Nell retired after nearly 40 years as a career educator in public schools. In 2009 we completed the final phase of a 10-year plan and moved from the Outer Banks on the coast of North Carolina to Burnt Store Lakes.

In 1990, Nell and I, along with our children Asheley and Drew, made our first 1,000 mile excursion to Captiva, towing a 17-foot Pro-Line boat with boogie boards strapped to the roof of my Trooper.

Snook, tarpon and spectacular sunsets captured our hearts and subsequent years found us returning to Southwest Florida every summer. Abbreviated visits grew to two and occasionally three weeks in paradise. We met Terry, the former dock master at Cabbage Key, ate beans and rice at Safety Harbor and experienced the thrill of catching a silver king.

But it wasn’t all perfect. Some of my trips involved boat, vehicle and trailer repairs, stolen equipment, lost fish and running hard aground in front of snickering observers. During a particularly maddening week, I spent most of three days trying to catch pinfish and whitebait and the rest of my time trying to figure out a way to keep the river otters from stealing my hard-earned bait.

I was a knucklehead when it came to fishing this area, mostly because for a couple years I tried to do it the way we did it “back home.” Hoo boy, was that a mistake!

Some of those frustrating experiences gave me the idea for this column. Southwest Florida offers some of the best fishing in Florida, but it’s tough to know where to go, what to use and how to catch ‘em — sometimes you just have to charge headlong into it and learn by doing.

WaterLine’s writers are experts and great teachers, and I’ll try to complement what they do. From a new guy’s perspective, I’ll write about my experiences, people I’ve met and what I’ve learned. I’ll also share some of the “bloopers” that occurred while trying to figure out the fishing around Southwest Florida.

Hopefully, I’ll help you catch more fish — or at least have fun trying. I would also like to involve you, the reader, and I welcome advice, information or suggestions and will gladly do requests. Shoot an e-mail to joemalat@earthlink.net or call me at 252-202-4189.

About my name … it’s pronounced “mallet,” like a hammer.

Joe Malat is the author of four books. He writes about fishing and boating and leads the Outer Banks Surf Fishing School every fall on the coast of North Carolina. Joe’s website, www.joemalat.com, features previews of his books, fishing tips and information about his fishing schools.