Deb at Sister Creek beach (that's the Atlantic in the backround)...I always wonder who she gets to take these pictures of her when I'm not around?
That's me, at the mouth of Sister Creek, (in the Atlantic) trying to catch some fish
On the way back from the beach, we helped some kayakers by towing them against the tidal current
They did not know where to go, so I towed them back to my favorite fishing spot back in the mangroves
At one point the mangroves open to a small interior lake...that is where we dropped them off
This guy on the shore has a tarpon on his line...but he didn't catch it.
One last shot of the mooring field in Boot Key Harbor...a couple hundred sail boaters spend their winters here.
Log 108
Day 298
Sunday, March 15, 2009
7:00 AM EST
Location: Sombrero Resort and Marina, Marathon, FL.
Weather: 72 with gusty winds out of the ESE...the forecast is for 83 today with moderate winds
Saturday...spent most of the morning doing chores to get the boat ready for cruising again. After lunch we decided to head to the beach at Sister Creek, where we would drop off Deb, and I would go fishing in Sister Creek for a couple of hours. Deb really enjoyed the beach, but the fishing was not that great. I caught about 6 fish, but all were fairly small. On the way back to the boat 2 cool things happened. First, I saw a couple of kayakers who were trying to fish from their kayak, but were having trouble paddling up against the current (from the outgoing tide) so I asked them if they wanted me to pull them way up in the mangroves and they could fish as the tide brought them back out. YEA...was the response, so that’s what we did. It was fun to see how excited they were.
After dropping them off, we went back out to the main channel, and were heading back, when I saw a big splash off the point ahead. Normally when you see that, it’s a big pelican, or other large bird diving for fish, and I was waiting to see what it was, when out of the water jumped a large tarpon (which is what I saw the first time, but didn’t know it). Deb was facing the wrong way to see the fish, so I was telling her how big the tarpon was, and I was going to throw a lure in the water as we passed the area where I saw the tarpon jump. Just as we were getting to the spot a guy on shore yelled at us to stay back...because he had a large tarpon on his line (ok...now we know where the tarpon came from). The problem was the guy did not know what he was doing, and did not keep the line tight. At one point he yelled to us that his line was “stuck on the bottom” (as he was yanking his line like he was trying to free a snag). I told Deb...”I think he still has that fish on”. Then all of a sudden the guy yells “no...I still have him” and starts to reel like crazy, and just then the fish jumped straight out of the water...right beside the dinghy. If I would have stretched way out, I could have grabbed the fish. And as quick as it started...it was over. The guy let slack in the line, and the tarpon got away. But for a couple of minutes it was exciting. Sorry...no pictures. Back at the boat, we had a very relaxing afternoon and evening. For dinner, we had pork chops on the grill, rice and sweet corn. The movie was We Are Marshall...great.
Today...we plan to head north. The winds are much greater than forecast, with gusts of 17 out of the South Southeast. That being the case...instead of heading out in the Atlantic and up Hawks Channel where the waves are going to be 2 to 3 feet, we are going under the 7 Mile bridge and on the Gulf side, and work our way to Miami that way. It’s a lot shallower, and harder to navigate...but also much calmer, and we won’t be bounced around. It also means we won’t be going to Key Largo tonight, because you can’t get to the Key Largo marina from the Gulf, so we will need to come up with another plan. I have a couple of options in mind...we’ll just have to see how far we get. You know me...always flexible. Right.
I’ll keep you posted.
Bob
No comments:
Post a Comment