About Captain Craig

My name is Captain Craig Hensel. I am the owner of AWOL Fishing Charters with Captain Craig Inc.  My Journey started when I was 5 years old, my father and grandfather introduced me to the most amazing sport in the entire world.  Fishing!!!  My grandfather took my dad and me fishing on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, AR on his Hydra-Sports boat. The boat was so fast and at 5 years old I felt like I was on a rocket ship.  When we stopped at our first fishing spot,  I remember my dad rigging a purple and pearl rubber worm on a small hook and showed me how to cast it. "My first cast" my dad made was against a bank that had rocks everywhere. It was no longer than 2 seconds it seemed that I saw the line twitch. Dad pulled back on the rod and handed it to me.  "REEL HIM IN", he said.  As he's helping me bring the fish in, its splashing and jumping all over the surface.  I'm on top of the world!!  The fish comes up beside the boat and its the biggest fish I've ever seen. Before dad could reach down to grab it, there was one more splash and the line breaks.  He's gone.  I looked at my dad and was highly upset and a bit confused. Dad said, "Well, we will never see that fish again."  I wanted that fish soooo bad!! Now I'm mad.  I thought to myself are you kidding me.  I think from that day forward I got my determination to fish the way I do.  Dad made it look so easy and I knew I wanted to be as good as him and a tad bit better.  I am sure that is where my competitiveness came from too.  So for the last 32 years, I have spent countless hours on the water learning how to catch different species of fish.  I've kept a written log of trip after trip on weather patterns, wind directions, moon phases, barometric pressures, time of day, just to name a few.  I have gone back year after year and looked at my recorded data on days I am fishing or days leading up to a fishing trip.  I have learned how to pattern fish through changing of seasons and weather patterns.  To this day, I am still learning on every trip.  By doing this, it has made it a little easier to put you as a customer on fish. We will have even more help along the way with the use of state of the art Garmin electronics.  As your Captain, my goal is having a fun, safe trip first and foremost.  Second is putting you on a fish of a lifetime. Third is making sure you leave with a smile and a memory to pass on.  So check out what package fits you or your group the best. Call anytime to talk fishing or to ask questions about rates.  Again thank you for stopping by and checking us out.  Lets get on the water!

Qualifications/Experience