Tuesday, December 16 - We got up about 7:00 AM and started getting ready to leave. We said our goodbyes and were ready to leave at 10:07 and 75 degrees and arrived about noon after driving 61 miles and encountering a traffic jam near the skyway due to an accident. We got set up, had some lunch, and launched the kayaks from the shoreline near our campsite for some late afternoon fishing. We saw a lot of action, but did not even get a hit. John will get a fishing report and we will try again tomorrow.
Wednesday, December 17 – We took our coffee walk around the campground, which is nearly empty now, and then returned for a pancake breakfast. After cleaning up, we launched the kayaks for a day of fishing. John caught three trout and a large ladyfish and fought a very large trout that took our all the fly line to the backing before getting off right at the boat. Oh well, he was going to release it anyway. The season for trout is closed until January. Joan is having trouble casting the heavier flies that John had success on today. We are really enjoying being out on the water with temperatures around 80 degrees and bright sun.
Thursday, December 18 – We decided to take a break from the kayaks, so after breakfast we headed over to the beach for some surf fishing. We wound up on the channel that goes by the beach and fished it for some time. We met a couple, Ray and Loretta, from St. Pete who we talked to and fished with. They caught a few whiting, but we came up empty.
Friday, December 19 - After breakfast and our usual coffee walk, we launched the kayaks near our site for some more fishing. John caught three trout in edges of deeper areas. He rigged Joan with a little heavier Clouser fly that had fairly sparse material. After a few casts, Joan landed a very nice (about 18 inch) trout. It was a beautiful day on the water.
Saturday, December 20 – Not a quiet night. We got new neighbors, a couple of high-schoolers, who talked loudly most of the night. We have decided to avoid this park on the weekends and just come Sunday thru Friday. This morning Bruce and Cheryl came out for some kayaking. Bruce and John fished while Joan and Cheryl paddled and talked. John caught a 2 pound ladyfish that gave him a very good fight and a flounder that was a little too small to keep. It was another beautiful day on the water.
Sunday, December 21 – Today was a down day for us and an opportunity to do a little clean up. The night was a little quieter, but we were awakened by a very noisy cleaning crew working on the restrooms about 6:30 AM. We walked over to meet a couple (Bob and Judy) who let us know on http://rv.net/ that they would be here and to come over for a burger. It was a little early for that, but we enjoyed talking to them. Bob has many innovative ideas to solve various camping problems. We watched a football game in the afternoon and then after dinner, took our fly rods over near the office where there is room to fish. After several minutes, John hooked up with another 2 pound ladyfish with a very appreciative audience of young ones. They were very excited to see someone fight a fish on a fly rod. Just after dark we took a walk along the shoreline and the RV section and talked to a couple who were sitting by their fire. He was a minister for many years and now leads missionary trips into Canada to start churches among the Native Americans there. They were very interesting to talk to.
Monday, December 22 – It was a bit cool and windy here today, with a high in the mid 60’s, but we did fish some. We started out by walking up the road to the boat ramp near the bridge that crosses Bunce Pass. We stopped several times to throw in on the left side of the road, and tried around the boat ramps. John caught a very small trout by the ramps. Other than that it was just an opportunity to get some good exercise walking. We came back and ate early as Joan wanted to get the fridge cleaned out. John cleaned the bed end tops to get some unknown substance off them and we got a few things ready to go tomorrow. We then went back to the sea wall in the pet area where Joan caught a flounder, but it was too small to keep.
View Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoanW/FtDesotoCountyParkStPetersburgFLDec1622?feat=directlink
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