Pink Bubbalicious




The Drought is over (maybe).

Well, it's hot pink in color and really, really gooey when its wet but, it certainly aroused the taste buds of this beauty -- a twenty-five and a half-inch Redfish (Red Drum).  A Keeper that already has replenished the stock of fish in the freezer -- this time mostly as nice sized steaks instead of a fillet or two.

I did make the 20 some mile trip east to Okaloosa Island and pulled in at the west foot of the bridge going into Destin -- the same spot where something broke the hook on me this past Monday afternoon when I had gone there just to explore.  Yesterday, I had also stopped at the Visitors Center some 5 miles to the west on my way to fish and checked to see if there were any other beach accesses and/or shorter routes to the western rock jetty along the channel leading into the Destin Harbor -- no such luck.  So, I made the long walk along the beach and decided to fish at the jetty where some small patches of sand were available for planting one pole support for my large rod while I threw some lures with my smaller rod.  I didn't go to the very end as I thought it more difficult to climb the boulders and more problematic to land a big fish (if I had been so lucky as to hook one).



One Martini to go please.

After about an hour of fishing with no strikes or bites, I decided to backtrack to a point on the beach where it was easier to cast into the channel and its deeper waters and still tested the deeper shallows with my lures.  I had arrived sometime before 11:00 a.m. and as I fished the point with no results, I snapped a few pictures and looked longingly at the large conglomeration of buildings at the harbor's edge to the east -- thinking of maybe quitting early and getting a martini or two before heading back to Navarre.  An older guy in shorts confirmed that it was 5 til 2:00 as he passed by and I leaned more heavily in favor of finding one of those bars I had seen advertised on the local TV station -- maybe one of those special concoctions could kill the disappointing day of fishing.

Well, I gathered my things and moved closer to the parking area and decided to throw back towards the bridge again where that big "something" broke the hook.  I planted my big pole in the support in the sand at the new location and began to throw my lure on either side of my deep line.  After about a half dozen throws to either side, something hit the big rig and nearly pulled the rod support over (I completed the process by knocking it over as I grabbed the rod, set the hook and dropped my small rod to the sand).  Guess that was about 2:30 and the fun was on -- first and only bite resulted in one nice fish.  And I caught it on "Fishbites" (Pink Bubbalicious).

 



View from the bar last night.

Today is Friday and all the working folks should hopefully be working so, that bridge is looking to be the spot to try again for another "Bull Redfish" (30 or 40 pounder perhaps).  The beach tomorrow (with "Fishbites").



Four Beers and a Bottle of Wine

Everything should be fine!  Right?  Well, after getting an early start this morning amid cloudy, windy and chilly temps in the a.m., thought to try fishing again -- with the usual poor results -- no bites after an hour of fishing.  Definitely will be taking this spot off my list of places to stay and fish.

Before heading out this morning, I had put two frozen Blues and a sea trout in the sink to thaw so, had fish to grille this afternoon -- while consuming a few plus beers and a bottle of wine afterwards (still 1/4 glass left of the wine).

Yesterday had been a complete washout with all the 1 inch plus rain but, the day before had a moment of promise when I trekked to the east to Fort Walton Beach to visit a Bank of America and then to Okaloosa Island farther east to explore the beaches and accesses there for fishing (just short of Destin).  Turned out that what had appeared to be some public beaches and accesses along that section of Okaloosa Island have probably been taken over by Eglin AFB under the ruse of some "endangered species" being there and thereby limiting access to the public -- most likely something that occurred shortly after 911 if I would guess.

I only intended to explore the area just short of Destin and the harbor there but, after getting onto the beach and walking to one point of beach near the harbor channels, I decided to get my rods and whatever bait I had to give it a go.  All I had was some cut bait (blue fish) from the beaches back at Amelia Island so, I figured there was little chance of getting some good results with only a couple hours of daylight left and clouds building on the northwest horizon.

After four casts into the channel and following the drifting bait and sinker toward the bridge, with the first piece of bait being chewed up by the sand and drifting in three casts, I walked back toward the area where I had entered and threw toward the pier supports of the bridge and let the bait drift parallel to the bridge.  Then, something seemed to grab onto the bait and began to make a slow drag toward the bay beyond the bridge and I tried to reel in the line or draw it tighter -- each succession of pulling hard and having the drag release some line resulted in the continued pulling on the rod and the continued bending of the rod only resulted in more line being given to whatever it was on the other end of the line.

Then, I decided to tighten the drag and make a stand or break off the line to whatever it was and at that point the resistance dropped as the line returned and the brand new hook I had put on earlier had been broken off.  Fifty pound line and steel leaders had held but the hook broke cleanly.

Guess where I'm going fishing tomorrow?

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

As this gloomy day unfolds and the rains begin in earnest to fall more heavily, I am reminded of the evening this weekend when I awoke in the middle of the night and raised the accordion blind on one of the small windows in my bedroom to gaze at the moon overhead and the stars shining clearly in the distant skies above the beach and the sound to the south.  Having viewed those heavenly bodies above and to the south, I also took note of what looked like some strange clouds out to the south that seemed to have tentacles hanging down from them and didn't appear to be moving too swiftly though, the breezes seemed to be jerking noisily at the awning outside of the larger bedroom window.

I took note of the time (1:04 a.m.) and decided to let some time pass and raise back up on my elbows to see if those clouds had moved off to the east as they seemingly should -- twenty minutes later and they didn't seem to have moved or changed shape at all so, I began to think it rather bizarre (if not impossible).  My mind began to think they looked like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (or my four wisdom teeth coming back to haunt me and climb back into my mouth -- to cause me more pain).  My thoughts also began to think of the "Rapture" (according to end times theorists) but, I figured the twins might be the only ones that would possibly be sucked into the ionosphere -- if not, then they should safely have me around to provide them food as usual (maybe not as much fish though -- due to the poor fishing here).

Then, finally.  Reality and resonable thought had me looking more deeply beyond my poor night vision and at the front of the RV, I discovered the cloudy vision to be just the spindly, twisted trees in the campground that have this uplighting shining on them (metal-halide, quartz or low-pressure sodium light fixtures planted on the ground) and creating this eery look.  Duh!

Everything is normal and my Florida fishing license is good until 12/21/2012 -- still enough time to catch some more fish before heading to Texas.

Got Frost -- But no Pumpkin

First time I've seen frost since early May in southwest Colorado (had snow then too).  It was 31 when I first checked earlier upon getting up after sunrise so, it may have been colder before then.  Toes are still cold so, will not plan to fish until possibly midday from the beach or maybe the causeway -- the beach should be warmer, I think, since the skies are absolutely clear (for the time being).  Chance of rain is expected for tomorrow.

Another Day at Ft. Pickens

Didn't get "spooled" today but, didn't get those big boys on the line either.  I had only one bite and had started reeling something in on my new braided, 50 pound test line but, when I had brought it in more than halfway, whatever had been on the line just dropped off -- my guess it was just a large horseshoe crab and it left my bait and tackle intact.

It was quite a lot cooler this morning and the north or northwest winds kept me chilly most of the 3 hours that I fished from the same spot.  After wading into the waters to cast beyond the sand bar, it would take quite awhile just to get my feet dry and warm again -- had to put my courdoroy pants on (over my bathing suit) and sandals too after each trip onto the sand bar.

When I first arrived at the same spot this morning, there was a boat in the shallow waters and the people were just pulling away from the shore after doing whatever they might have been doing.  No one else was on the beach again other than those in the boat.  I believe their activities over the spot I had fished the day before may have scared off any fish that might have been hanging around.

Maybe I will return there again one more time before leaving the area -- mid week, next week perhaps when the weather is expected to be better and the fishing too.

"Spooled" at Ft. Pickens

Yesterday morning with temps expected to be in the mid 70s, I decided to make the 28 mile one way trip to Fort Pickens at the western end of Santa Rosa Island and hoped to get some better fishing action near the inlet there.  It was about an hour drive as the speed limits are right at 35 or 30 most of the way even though it is mostly uninhabited between Navarre Beach and Pensacola Beach where another bridge crosses the sound.  If I should ever come back through this area, I would definitely stay at the Pensacola end of the island or the Destin end to the east -- both areas have inlets to the sound and the fishing is therefore way better for that reason.  There are also many more bars and restaurants to choose from at either location as compared to Navarre Beach.

It seemed like driving through the snowy plains with drifts piled on both sides of the highway and a couple pull-outs completely covered in sand.  Two or three of the pull-outs had heavy equipment parked in them (bulldozers, road graders and front-end loaders) ready to remove sand from the highway, parking areas and the bike lanes.  Sometimes the piles of sand along the highway were as high as most cars and seemed ready to drift when the next significant wind blows from the south or southwest.

 

I drove around the museum area and passed the little fishing pier on the sound side there looking for some short walk to the beach on the Gulf side of the farthest point -- did a couple exploratory walks without fishing gear before dragging out my rods, tackle, bucket and chair.  I had looked at a satellite image of the point at the park and headed there after about a 1/4 mile walk through the sand, over a fort wall and around a pond near the beach.  I saw the farthest point but, the wind was blowing out of the north and so I stayed away, opting for the second point or sand bar with the hope of casting past the sand bar into the deeper, inviting waters.

There was no one else around and I planted my two pole supports by about 9:30 in the morning.  After baiting the hooks with some nice east coast Mullet, I waded into the shallow waters of the sand bar and cast my big rig as far as I could beyond the sand bar and the smaller rod just to the edge of the sand bar -- planted them in the pole supports and waited.

After about an hour or an hour and a half, I noticed something just starting to pull on my large pole and steadily bending the rod over toward the water so, I grabbed the rod and pulled hard but, only felt I had hooked into a mountain or giant snag.  But, whatever it was, kept moving slowly toward the deeper water to the south and I reeled and pulled in hopes of turning the fish -- my biggest rod was nearly doubled over and line kept going out so I tried tightening the drag.  Then, the line broke and half of the line (20 pound test) disappeared with the fish.

I tied on another steel leader with a 3 ounce weight and a single hook also with a steel leader, baited up and cast again to that deep area beyond the sand bar.  Fifteen minutes later, I saw three quick taps on the same pole again and since I had only half a spool of line left on the reel, I had decided while waiting for the possible bite that I would be heading onto the sandbar and into the water with hopes of turning the next fish.  So, there I went into the water with the rod doubled over again and the fish taking the rest of my line until it all had been stripped off the spool and broke it off again.

Since I hadn't thought to bring any extra 20 pound line from the Jeep, I decided to switch reels from the smaller rod to the bigger rod and try again -- maybe the third time would be a charm.

By 1:30 or 2:00 no more action came so, I decided to pack it in and head back along the road to Navarre Beach -- for a few Yuenglings.

Twas the Night before Thanksgiving

Well, it could be a postcard or a Thanksgiving Day card -- as another beautiful day has passed and the sun went down (No Green Flash).

Another Beautiful Sunset

Still not as enjoyable when you have others around to share such beautiful things -- Tiger and Molly just want the "Fish" or some more grass to chew on.  I didn't expect there was much of a chance to catch "The Green Flash" since there were so many clouds making the colors brilliant and ever changing as the glow of the day disappeared into darkness.  A number of couples made the jump from their RVs nearby with their cameras in hand (and drink in the other) to make the short jaunt to the water's edge to ooh and aww at the setting sun.

Since I had Tiger out earlier before cooking the latest catch on the grille, I decided to stay in and not risk waking the sleeping Tiger for another chorus of his alley-cat's "Owww-meow-owt".

Catching Lots of Rays

Needed lots more of that suntan lotion too as the brilliant, warm sun did shine nicely yesterday and again today.  Finally, caught a fish off the beach here too today -- and a beauty of a Bluefish (some 19 inches and a bit on the fiesty side).  Should make a good meal for tomorrow night and the night after.

Views here at the RV park have been progressively getting better too as RVs have pulled out and left better views of the sound and the buildings out on the beach on the other side of the sound.

Shark Is On the Menu

Well, I didn't catch it but, I will be trying some slabs of Black-tip Shark this evening -- courtesy of a group of fishermen at the end of the fishing pier.  I arrived near the end of the fishing pier, shortly after noon or just before and noticed 3 or 4 guys hauling a shark onto the pier -- couldn't resist going to check it out as it thrashed around and they struggled to somehow untangle and remove the hook from its lower jaw.  Not a task I would have wanted to tackle anytime.  It was about seven foot long.

The group of guys on the end of the pier seemed to be there strictly for the purpose of catching shark as they had a small skid/half kayak thing to motor their huge chunks of baited hooks out to the deeper waters off the end.  Only a few other fishermen or women were intermingled with them and attempting to cast lures and small torpedo minnows in hopes of catching some other species of fish like King Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel or Red Fish.  I decided to keep some distance between me and their position at the end of the pier and fished the west side of the pier -- trying to keep the breeze at my back or off my right shoulder and the sun in my face for warmth.

I had hopes of it warming up again like the day before but, the breeze continued all afternoon from the east, then the northeast with some storm clouds rolling in and bringing chillier temps.  I gave up fishing a little after 4:00 p.m. but, earlier in the afternoon one of the shark fishermen came offering some chunks of the shark to those that wanted some.  It looked like a huge bone-in ham with a black skin instead of the red like a ham.

Shortly thereafter, I hooked and landed an 18-inch Remora -- first one I have ever caught.  It looked like a small shark with black stripes along its body and this weird thing on the top of its body that looked like half of a black sole of a tennis shoe -- huge eyes too (about the size of a nickel or larger).  Didn't keep that fish and later heard they were really not good tasting and most sharks don't even eat them.  A little later (after getting the chunk of shark meat and putting it on ice in my cooler), something big grabbed onto my small mullet being floated deep on my small fishing rod and I set the hook and began to chase along the rail toward the end of the pier with my rod nearly doubling over.  Then the fish headed directly under the pier and broke my line on the concrete edges of the pier.  My guess is that it was a huge Red fish, though I never got a look at it.

Most fishermen that came by on their way off the pier shared the same thought about the big one that got away -- made for a good story at the bar afterwards.  A few Yuengling drafts helped eased the loss and the big space heater at the bar helped to warm my cold hands.

View of the Sound has Improved

The night before last.

Now, if only the weather and fishing would do the same.  When I arrived and pulled into my spot here at Santa Rosa RV Resort, I had partial view of the water and the bridge from the back row I had picked (for reason of cost).  As the days have passed and some of the RVs have departed, our view of the sound has greatly improved as you can see.



Improved view Last night

Tiger and Molly don't seem impressed at all but, maybe they will be more appreciative once I start bringing some fish in the front door -- and get some grilled to share too.  The water on the sound was almost like a mirror last night and the buildings on the other side had been reflecting nicely all along the water front into the evening sunset.  I did notice a guy in one of the RVs last night had a nice fish he pulled from his bucket and he appeared to continue fishing late into the evening from his spot in the row at the waters edge  I will definitely need to check this out further and hopefully get some fish on the table.


Where's the fish?

Cats don't care about the view -- only the fish and getting outside occasionally.

 



 

Navarre Beach - First Sunrise

First Sunrise at Navarre Beach

Had to wait for the sun to work its way over some clouds on the eastern horizon before getting that first, second and third picture of our first sunrise here but, half the fun is the anticipation -- though some rising temperatures would be welcome too.  The stiff breeze out of the north and the dampness from the rains of the day before left some chilliness in the air and dampened my desire to get an early start on fishing (errands in the morning became more desirable and the warmth of the Jeep's heater was welcomed as I drove to the Walmart nearby).
After shoppping and restocking my beer and Gatorade (among other things), I pulled things from under the RV and Jeep and arranged carpet, chairs, Leo and Bear for my initial setup -- to be tweaked as the stay here continues (and hopefully, the winds die down or temperatures rise).

The clearing skies during the day were beckoning me to go fishing but, decided to get Tiger out for his first investigation of the RV park and nearby waters of the sound.  There are lots of patches of grassy plants at the seawall but, Tiger resisted going through them until I drug him through one of the small openings between the plants to gaze upon the waters and the bric-a-brac just below the narrow wooden walkway -- Tiger didn't show any interest in going any farther and instead wanted to head back to where we came from (his ears were down and his tail near the ground).

After letting Tiger graze on a little grassy plant at our site, I got him back inside and headed for the causeway with a bag of the mullet and a Gatorade -- hopeful that the wind would not be too stiff at the water's edge and maybe I could catch a fish or two.  Neither happened so, after an hour or so, I headed over to the beach accesses with camera in hand and decided to check the beach for any anglers to see if they had any luck.



First sunset here.

Met an English couple first and the man had caught a Red Drum before I arrived and released it.  Farther on toward the fishing pier and the next beach access to the west, I came upon a Korean guy who hooked and brought in a Pompano just as I arrived.
Then, I walked back over the nearest beach access/walkway over the dunes and back to my Jeep where I decided to drive to the fishing pier and the bar there -- had a few Yuengling drafts and checked out the latest fishing reports with some of the others at the bar.



Today's Fishing Spot

Today looks more cloudy but, the wind is down somewhat so, I may head for the beach today and fish there with the leftover pack of mullet. There's supposed to be a reef about 100 yards off the beach just to the east of the beach access and my thoughts are to fish from the beach near there -- maybe catch another of those fiesty Red Drums or some of those Pompano.  I already have my bathing suit on under my jeans just in case the sun should make its presence felt (I hope, I hope!).
There's always the bar and that good looking bartender Wendy to look forward to afterwards -- even if the fishing isn't so good.



Parting shots of Bow and Arrow

As I spent most of Sunday and part of Saturday getting things cleaned and repacked for my Third Journey West, I tried to get some more pictures of the campground and Amelia Island -- including some retakes using my new camera at lower resolution for easier attachment to this blog or to an email.  Seems the software with the camera doesn't allow you to save them down to smaller size files -- had to change the setting on the camera itself.

I also had purchased a second carving from Joanne and Jimmie -- this one to put on the picnic table when fish were being served from the grille.  Had my eye on one of their totem poles too but, decided there wasn't enough room in the Jeep for them all.



Leo with sign

Some of the homes along Amelia Island were impressive as I had noted earlier so, I tried to get some more pictures of them after my last few hours of fishing on Saturday (only caught some Blues and one trout too small to keep).  Did get lots of bait fish and froze them for use here in Navarre Beach -- four freezer bags full.

My favorite spot on the beach

My favorite spot on the beach at Amelia Island Park was the point just before the rock jetty and the waves of the ocean beyond (which would drive me from the point once the waves began to roll around the tires of the Jeep).

In the campground, some of the old RVs or buses seemed to have been parked there for some time -- a decade or two perhaps.



Frank Lloyd Wright design?

Just Another Beach House

Joanne and Jimmie's home/shop

Parked or Planted?

Crossed the Florida Mountains

Well, I think they were the Florida mountains but, hills by most people's standards.  First time I have come across from the Jacksonville area on I-10 and the area from Lake City over past Tallahassee seemed to be National Forests and farmland or pasureland with cattle grazing -- some cotton fields too with a few rivers but, no swamps or likely areas with gators that I could see.

Arrived here in Navarre Beach after some 6-1/2 hours of driving and settled in as the rain was starting to fall again -- it was really heavy when I exited from I-10 onto route 87 (which comes directly into Navarre Beach and almost right to the RV park I'm staying in).  Am at the foot of the bridge which runs across the Santa Rosa Sound onto the causeway and to the fishing pier and state park/beach accesses.  Looking forward to crossing that bridge numerous times to walk the pier and the beautiful white sand beaches with the emerald colored waters all around -- as I remember from this past spring.

Tiger and Molly are settled on the red blanket on my bed already and it won't be long before I join them (after I get something to eat).  No fish tonight though I'm sure that will be changing as I hear the Spanish Mackerel and King Mackerel are running.

Pray for the Poor, the Middle Class and the Unemployed

Don't waste your prayers on the group of surly, self-serving politicians we have with any hope they might turn into the Civil Servants we had hopelessly wished for during so many decades of the past -- it just isn't likely to happen.  Instead, pray for all the Poor, nearly starving American families, the hardworking Middle Class like yours and my children (who will likely be strapped for the rest of their lives with ever increasing taxes to pay for our big government's excessive spending and the deficit), and don't forget the Unemployed whose ranks are likely to increase over the next four years.

Pray that these groups of people will survive each day and not become too depressed or fall into hopeless despair or commit suicide because of lack of hope.  May all those people on Welfare and Food Stamps (and the future numbers likely to join them) have the strength to resist spending wastefully on cigarettes, alcohol, lottery tickets and non-healthy foods like doughnuts and wing-dings (should include fast foods like McD's too).

Sure, I'm quite cynical but, it clearly seems to me that something is really broken in America when two Presidential candidates each spend nearly $10 for each vote they received.  That, and the fact they could get bank loans in the Billion Dollar range at sub-prime rates -- guess those loans were guaranteed by the Big Money Donors and Lobbyists who will be looking for their favors (and will most likely get them).

It's just unfathomable and to think of how many soup kitchens that money could have paid for instead of the Rhetoric, Deception and Lies we heard as usual.

Tiger Gets Down and Dirty

While the stock market took more than a 300 point drop (perhaps a sign of the lack of confidence that the economy is going to get any better over the next 4 years) and the chilly winds were blowing in behind this latest nor'easter (Athena) as it headed up the coast -- bringing chilly temps from the north and keeping me indoors to stay warm with Tiger and Molly.

We're still enjoying the fish I grilled two nights ago and maybe there is too much mercury in them and perhaps it's affecting Tiger's behavior.  Too chilly for this old man to stand in the wind near the water and fish so, I have been getting familiar with this new computer and getting my new Nikon digital camera working that I picked out yesterday -- with a break to get Tiger out for a walk.

Yesterday afternoon, he acted especially weird (in a funny kind of way) as we walked on the asphalt road running in front of our RV.  He found a rough edge of the asphalt where some dirt and loose pieces of asphalt were mixed in.  Then, he began to dig at the dirt and loose pieces until he just finally threw himself onto the dirt and rolled over and over in the dirt while occasionally grabbing a couple of the small pieces of asphalt in his paws and tossed them back and forth from his front paws to his back paws.  He also shoved his nose into the dirt at the edge of the asphalt and rubbed his nose and chin against the rough edges of the asphalt -- I thought he was going to tear off his whiskers or part of his face or nose -- as I laughed at him and how he was acting.

Maybe one of the stray cats or one of the many little dogs had pissed there and that got him excited but, he looked more gray than black after his frolicking in the dirt -- thought he wouldn't be enjoying it so much later when he would have to lick himself clean.  He didn't seem to much care about that -- though I did mention that to him.

Now that I have the camera operational and fully charged, perhaps I will give him another go at that spot and hopefully get his picture in the process -- perhaps before I go fishing later this afternoon.

Dysfunctional President Again

Well, I awoke early yesterday morning and said some prayers before the polls opened -- Molly must have heard me whispering them in bed and came to the bedroom and jumped onto the bed.  She however, didn't come to me for her usual head scratch and petting -- instead she settled on one corner of the cats red blankie allowing me to finish those prayers.  I had prayed that more of my fellow Americans would take back their vote as I did, so that we might not have to listen to another 4 years of Obama's rhetoric, lies and excuses for his lack of performance.

In the private work sector a person would be fired or laid-off after such a lackluster or poor performance.  The CEO of a company would have been ousted by  its Board Members after creating such losses or such a deficit.  Obama didn't deserve to get paid anything more than the meager pay some of our school teachers get paid and in fact maybe he should be called upon to do his job for $1 as some of those CEOs in the car industry that he bailed out -- Bankruptcy would have been better for them and our country.  TOO BIG TO FAIL -- Give Us A Break!

By 11:15 p.m. last night, it became known to me that my prayers had been wasted.  Now, Obama will have the opportunity to take this country to the fiscal precipice he has helped to create and down the road to "Greece" -- my road will take me to Colorado for the summer after another month in Florida and a winter most probably in south Texas.  Get ready for a Twenty Trillion Dollar Deficit and no one will be there to bail us out (except maybe for a Chinese buyout).

All those who voted for Obama should now start praying really hard -- I won't waste my time saying anymore prayers -- it's beyond that now.

Biggest Fish Ever

As we all observe the returns for this most important Election Day of recent years, -- barring the results of course, I am hugely concerned about the outcome of this election because of the impact our children will be facing in the years ahead.  After voting for the current president at the last election, I am so sorely disappointed in his performance and have therefore taken back my vote for him in the recent Presidential Election.  Lack of performance equals lack of my vote as in typical reviews of lack of performance for us others in the work field.   This current president didn't produce.

So, I had gone fishing the night before last, and had hoped to catch some  nice fish to put into the freezer for me and the twins to enjoy in the nights ahead.  Since I had already given away half of my freezer of fish to some neighbors as they were dealing with hard times I had hoped to get a restock of my freezer (at the least) so, I had looked at the tides and decided to try some fishing around the sunsets and low-tides.  When I arrived in the mid afternoon, the tide had already been moving out and fairly strong too so just getting some bait fish was a difficult task --  the ideal size even more difficult (3 to 5 inches).

I did get to the point just short of the rock jetty and felt this would be the best place to have any luck in catching those nice spotted sea trout or one of those Red fish.  I had a few strikes and missed most of them (thought they were most likely Blues) but, finally had one blue in the keeper range (above 12 inches).  As sunset drew near I had hoped for a repeat of a previous sunset and those Spotted Sea trout that came rolling in with the ocean waves.  Only one blue had made it into the cooler and I had viewed the beautiful sunset with some hope (though I had been chilled by the cooler weather) -- I had packed all my gear into the Jeep except for my one smaller rig and decided that my last small mullet would  be my last attempt to catch anything for the evening (lose the bait and end the evening).

27 inch Red fish (add 3 inches)

So, the sun had been down for some 15 minutes and I could barely make out the tip of the rod in the minimal light on the low western skies.  As I drug my gear into the Jeep and struggled to fight the chill of the evening, I decided to let this last piece of  bait be the last (it was) and just see what I might be able to catch.  Fifteen after the sunset, something began to nibble at this last little mullet and then it hit really strong and took the bait.  The fight was on and I had to play with the drag adjustment a few times as I struggled to fight the obviously large fish -- every time (approx. half a dozen) that I brought the fish close to the waters edge it would make a run to head for deeper waters and I would have to give it some line to run.

After running the beach up and down to follow the fish. it finally had tired enough to get it onto the beach and the exhilaration was unbelievable -- I let out a huge whoop before measuring the beautiful fish.  It measured over 30 inches and therefore required that I return it to the waters.  What a beautiful fish and I felt fortunate to have caught it and to have the glory to release it back to the waters I had brought it from.  Its strong tail wag seemed to say come catch me again.  I wish.

Only wish I had a camera to take its picture (and others) but, will hopefully have one soon.

Great Day - Good Fishing

While others to the north are still digging out from the mess left by Sandy and struggling to stay warm without power in their homes (if still standing), yesterday here was beautiful and the temps nearly normal (high 70s).  So, I decided that since the westerly or northwesterly winds were below 20 mph that I might as well spend the $2 and get in an afternoon of fishing -- thought of fishing the afternoon until sunset since the low-tide was to be at 6:23 p.m. (same as the sunset).

I arrived at Amelia Island Park around 2:00 p.m. and expected to be fishing the outgoing or changing tide with some hopes of getting to that point where I caught that beautiful Red fish (or Red Drum).  First task as usual was to pull-in to the shore and catch some of the little mullet for bait before heading to the point where the currents run swifter and made casting the net more difficult.  After a couple throws, I had ample bait for getting started and continued on along the beach toward the ocean.  Since the point was still covered with water and lots of Pelicans and Seagulls, I chugged along the sand until I reached the rock jetty where I made a u-turn and followed the narrow strip of sand on the ocean side of a long, deep tidal pool that stretched back to the point I had my sights on.  The narrow strip of sand by the ocean was already occupied by a couple of 4-wheelers and fishermen were in the waters up to their knees -- casting for bait or fishing the surf.

I'm pretty sure that stretch of the beach, (where the outgoing tide meets the ocean waves) probably had lots of Blues chopping through the waters -- sharks too with the high tide having just occurred.  I focused on getting closer to that point with some hopes of another big Red fish or some Spotted Sea trout so, I continued along the edge of the tidal pool until I felt it to be not too risky for the Jeep to sink in the sand (with the water still splashing ashore -- and slightly around the tires).

Content that I had gone as far as I could with the Jeep, I began to pull rods, supports, bait and coolers to the water's edge on this beautiful, sunny and pleasant day -- stopped to lather up with sunscreen first.  I already had changed the rigging on both lines earlier in the morning when I had Tiger and Molly on harnesses and leashes outside the RV and I changed out the reel on the longer surf casting rod to another backup reel (with lighter test line).  Both lines now had one ounce egg sinkers with steel leaders and a single hook for the bait fish, allowing them to float down the beach and hopefully entice a nice Red fish or big Flounder to chomp down (day before I had seen another guy next to me land a nice 5 pound Flounder from the point).

Well, the first thing I caught was a three foot sand shark -- beautiful looking but, lots of those teeth and a nasty disposition.  Fortunately, I had dug out the rubber/cloth fishing glove (one of two I had bought a week or two earlier) and should have had it ready the day before to unhook the two foot shark I caught then -- had a real mess getting that one unhooked and untangled from both lines.  This time, it went much quicker and more smoothly to get the shark back in the water and swimming away -- after it seemed to swim the shallows in front of me looking to bite me first before heading back out to feed some more on the mullet.

A little later in the afternoon, a few older people arrived on the other side of the tidal pool and setup chairs by their vehicle and seemed to be watching me as I leap-frogged one pole after the other, walking them up and down the beach from one pole support to the other.  Eventually, I did hook into another Red fish and brought him in to unhook and measure -- only measured 16 inches so I released the beautiful fish back into the shallows.  During some of the slack times or inactivity, I walked the shore and cast my net into some of the small holes in the sand by the shore to replenish my supply of live bait.  On one of these casts with the net, I brought in the biggest mullet I had ever seen -- it measured over 16 inches and it had some of those larger scales on its body like the Red fish so, I decided to let this one go too.

As the sun dropped toward the horizon in the clear blue sky over the river, the trio of older folks folded up their chairs and departed -- maybe I had entertained them enough or maybe they were headed for an early-bird senior special at some restaurant nearby.  Though I had been happy earlier about wearing my bathing suit on such a beautiful day, the early evening seemed to be bringing a little chill even with the sun still a half hour from setting.  I remained hopeful, though I avoided wading anymore in the water (alert too for any shark coming through the shallows), and the rewards finally came with the gentle waves from the ocean as they began to lap onto the shore and into Nassau Sound.  No longer drifting on the current of the out-going tide, my lines were now holding straight off the beach and the action began on one rod and then the other as the hungry trout began to arrive and feed.

I missed a couple but, managed to hook and land three really nice Spotted Sea trout -- all over the 15 inch minimum size.  I reluctantly fought the impulse to stay and fish into the darkness but, my already slightly chilled body told me to pack up and head out while I could still see the fringes of the hole the tidal pool had created.  Only two other vehicles remained as I pulled away and skirted the edge of the two or three foot deep hole in the beach.

Now if only I could have found my camera, I would have attached some pictures of the bounty of fish I had caught or the platter filled with headless trout ready for the grille (tonight).  It seems I have permanently misplaced the camera or someone stole it from my Jeep while I had been at the beach.  Luckily, I still have my wallet and cell phone (knock on wood).

Today, I will spend cleaning and hunting both vehicles again for that missing camera -- I know it had been in the RV where I had last taken a couple pictures of Tiger occupying the driver's seat.  The pictures aren't in the folder so, they must still be in the camera -- perhaps Tiger didn't approve them and has hidden the camera from me (I know he likes the little string handle it had too).