E. G. Simmons County Park - Ruskin (Nov 5)

We got to the park about 10:30 and launched the kayaks from shore at the end of the road past the boat ramp and playground. We went out into the flats and fished around the channel. John had the hot hand today with three keeper sized trout, one small and one keeper sizes flounder. John measured the fish according to the small paddle we use to position the kayak while fishing and the trout were about 15". We like them to be about 16" or larger, because they are easier to fillet. taking pictures of trout is quite difficult, because they never stop fighting, and are very hard to hold onto. Both of us caught numerous ladyfish, which are a lot of fun on a fly rod. the first thing they do when hooked is to jump way out of the water. We became interested in a group of manatees that were very active at the far end of a bay we were fishing. There was a lot of churning waters and flailing flippers. We thought it was most likely mating activity and confirmed that by looking it up when we got home. It was a gorgeous day, with temp in the upper 70s, with hazy skies. This is a beautiful park, with many bays and channels to fish. We stopped for Chinese on the way home.

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