Jack Hopkins was born in White Plains, New York on October 2, 1923 and is a 63-year resident of Southeast Florida. Starting at 10 years of age, Jack fished the reservoirs and trout streams in southern New York State until he moved permanently to West Palm Beach, Florida after World War II in 1946 and spent the next 50 years fishing the inland waters (namely the Intracoastal Waterway) from Boynton Beach to Big Mud Creek in Fort Pierce. He waded and fished by boat until he finally gave it up in 1997 at the age of 74. He has been written up in the Palm Beach Post on several occasions, as well as in a seven-page article in Florida Sportsman Magazine. Although his numerous trophies, awards, and acknowledgements over the years speak for themselves, this book is his story in his own words taken directly from cassette tapes he recorded for his grandchildren about the big-snook-and-spotted-trout-man, who wishes he could do it all over again.