#70 Santa Rosa Island Top 100 Buck- Jeff Watt
#70 JEFF WATT
Now that is a great backdrop for a monster Santa Rosa Island buck! So much so that Jeff submitted a story with photos to Huntin' Fool and this buck made the cover of that great magazine in 2006. If only he had longer G-2's he would have easily passed 220, but there's no sense in lamenting a 210+ buck! Another interesting part of that story was that Tom Selleck and his brother Dan were being guided by Wayne Long on the same hunt. Jeff was out with his good friend George "Dump Bear" Cook on this hunt. George shot a 199 buck on this hunt, though I couldn't guide him on it.
This where the story turns bittersweet. About an hour before this buck gets shot, I learn from my wife Megan that her Dad had just passed. I couldn't get off the Island that evening, so we just continued hunting. Within a half hour, we spot this buck. I've aways called this, "Tom's Buck" after my father-in-law, Tom Garamendi. I felt that a little bit of fate played a part in us finding this buck at that particular time. I left that next morning to be home, so my assistant and long time friend Brian Hodge, took over guiding responsibilities for me, and got George his big trophy the following day. Yes, September 24, 2005 will forever be etched in my memory, both good and bad.
