Tuesday - Our day was filled with coffee at the Nature Center, talking with new friends, Don and Allen, and a few maintenance items on the MH. Later, we took a walk on the South Creek Trail to the picnic area.
Wednesday - We ran a couple errands, then drove down to North Jetty Park where John fished but didn't catch. We had lunch at the little cafe there which was quite good. We then checked out a park along hwy 681. It looks like a promising place to launch the kayaks on the nice lake there. Skip & Shirley arrived and will be here for a few days. In the evening, we enjoyed a fire with Skip & Shirl.
Thursday - The four of us launched at Blackburn Point. We saw a lot of bait action but the only hookups were Joan with a 3" too small sea trout and John with a lizard (junk) fish.
Friday - We all put in here at the park by the rangers station and headed out across the Intercostal Waterway. John led the catching with an 18" snook (too small to keep and out if season anyway) and a very nice pompano that took several minutes to land. Skip caught a couple of Jack Crevalle. The ladies let the guys do the catching. The pompano will be dinner tomorrow because John's chicken and rice in the cast iron Dutch oven was on the menu for tonight.
Saturday - We fished fresh water today at Scherer - Thaxton Preserve, just a few miles from here. The only way to access the lake is with a kayak or canoe. John was the catcher with two bass < 14" and a bream, which was eating size, but not worth the trouble alone. This is a beautiful new park, and a great place to hike. No pets though, and no restrooms.
Sunday - The four of us drove down to Estero to meet Joan's cousins at Stir Crazy Restaurant. We had a great time visiting with them and catching up. The food was great too. On the way back we stopped at Bass Pro Shop and got a new Tilley hat for John, using a gift card, and new two-way radios to replace one that broke.
Monday - We said goodbye to Skip and Shirl. Too windy to kayak so we stayed close, hiked and visited.
Tuesday - Still too windy. We drove to Venice-Myakka River County Park and fished the Myakka from shore. Only caught a couple small bluegills. We then drove to Snook Haven County Park and walked around there. John fished and caught two bream. We had a very nice lunch at the restaurant on their deck overlooking the Myakka River.
Thursday- Merry Christmas friends. Today we drove over to Deer Prairie Creek Preserve to check it out. This is a beautiful area that offers hiking, biking, fishing, and wildlife viewing. We fished it with various gear and John managed to land a 15" LM Bass on a June Bug Kanami worm. We decided that since we had steak planned for dinner we would let it go. We saw a lot of fish action that looked to be talapia, but were unable to get them to bite. There are plenty of alligators, but enough room to give them a wide berth.
Friday - We launched the kayaks at Blackburn Point and headed north along the ICW to start. There was no tidal flow, which might explain the lack of action. We headed into a back bay and Joan promptly hooked a nice snook, which gave her a good fight, coming out of the water once. It measured 18 inches, which is quite respectable on a fly rod. This was her largest snook. In a few minutes, she landed another that was smaller, but still gave her a good fight. John followed shortly with a 16 inch redfish that gave a good pull. It needed to be 2 inches longer to keep, and snook are out of season, but need to be 27 inches to keep anyway.
Friday - We launched the kayaks at Blackburn Point and headed north along the ICW to start. There was no tidal flow, which might explain the lack of action. We headed into a back bay and Joan promptly hooked a nice snook, which gave her a good fight, coming out of the water once. It measured 18 inches, which is quite respectable on a fly rod. This was her largest snook. In a few minutes, she landed another that was smaller, but still gave her a good fight. John followed shortly with a 16 inch redfish that gave a good pull. It needed to be 2 inches longer to keep, and snook are out of season, but need to be 27 inches to keep anyway.
Saturday - It was warmer today. We had a great breakfast at Scrambles Cafe. Next we drove down to the Venice Boat Ramp and watched the boats. John fished from shore and caught a few pinfish on the a tenkara. In the afternoon, we put the kayaks in here at the park and paddled over to a spot where we have been successful in the past. Unfortunately, it didn't produce anything except a small mangrove snapper for John. We tried a few other areas, but nothing was producing today. There was a lot of mullet around.
Sunday - We attended a very nice contemporary worship service at Venice-Nokomis UM Church and met some friendly folks.
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