Koreshan SP (Dec 26-Jan 8)

Thursday - We had a good trip down with no problems. We are in and set up at 2 PM in site 14. It is warm and rather humid and feels like it could rain, although there is a nice breeze.

Friday - We put our kayaks in on the Estero River here in the park with our friends Mary and Dave from Canada. We decided to target tilapia with the same set up we were successful using on the Myakka River. John caught two fish that resembled tilapia except for coloration. They had black and white stripes running laterally along their bodies. He also caught two tilapia one small and one somewhat larger, while Joan caught one that was about the same size as John's larger one. Dave unfortunately did not catch anything. There were many Kamakazi kayakers out on the river today plus bigger boats that don't seem to understand what idle  speed no wake means.

Saturday - Since there is forecast that storms are headed this way, we decided to put the kayaks in again while we can. We tried fishing for saltwater species with bigger flies, but never got a hit. It was also harder with even more canoes and kayaks out and more wind. 

Sunday - Raining here. It was a very nice service this morning at the Estero United Methodist church, not far from here. After the service, it was still raining a little, so we went to Bass Pro Shop so John could get some needed fly tying materials and we could just do some looking around. Before heading back, we stopped for veggies at a roadside stand and then went to Publix for some needed items. John had to follow the Bears game on his iPhone app, because by being in the Tampa area we were forced to watch Tampa Bay get killed by New Orleans. Sadly the Bears were able to make a game of it but not quite pull it off. 

Monday - We put in on the river again, and hoped that by going out earlier, fewer people would be on the water. However, this was not going to prove to be the case. There were still way too many kayakers for good fishing, but we enjoyed the paddling anyway. A family passed us and one of them had a Downers Grove North t-shirt on, so John enjoyed meeting a family from his home town. We also enjoyed watching some manatees on the river. John managed to catch two tilapia, but  were too small to make them worth while filleting. John tied four Clouser minnow flies with new craft fur and dumbbell eyes he got from Bass Pro Shop.

New Years Day - Happy New Year friends. This morning we drove over to Ding Darling wildlife refuge, which is on Sanibel Island with our friends Mary and Dave. We launched our kayaks at mile three on the nature drive. Dave is beginning fly fishing and John fixed him up with one of his Clouser minnows. He managed to catch several fish including a couple of trout, but they were too small to keep. John also caught several fish with the trout coming up two small as well. This is a beautiful area with no buildings anywhere to be seen, just hundreds of birds. On the way back, we stopped at Bowman beach to check it out and get our feet wet. It was way too crowded.

Thursday - Again, since we have a cold front coming in tomorrow, we have adjusted our kayaking schedule around that. We put in at Lovers Key State Park Kayak launch with our friends Mary and Dave. We paddled and fished for two hours in this beautiful place, but never got a hit. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the scenery and especially seeing a dolphin swimming around. On the way back, we decided to go through Ft. Myers Beach, which was a huge mistake. Traffic was bumper to bumper and it took us an extra hour to get to Skip 1 seafood restaurant where we met for a delicious grouper dinner.

Friday - We got rain and wind in the night, which was quite noisy since we are camped under a monkey tree that has huge pods that dropped on our roof during the night. Thankfully there was no damage and we awoke to sunshine and a very cool breeze, with temps in the low 50s. Chicken and rice on the Dutch oven today. Yum!

Saturday - Thankful for playoff games as it is cold and rainy. 

Sunday - We got a reprieve in the weather today, so after a wonderful worship service, we decided to go back to Lovers Key and launch the kayaks again. The first thing that we noticed when we got there was that wind had stirred up the water and made it very murky. This did not exactly increase our confidence for catching fish. We finished for two and a half hours without a single bite. To console ourselves, we stopped for pizza at Enzos on the way back.

Monday - Cold here by Florida standards. We did some needed cleaning and light maintenance and watched the BCS Championship Game. Yeah Noles! 

Tuesday - Sunny, but still cold. B&N trip to use wi-fi. 

Wednesday - It sprinkled in the AM with wind and warmer in the PM. We got things ready to leave here in the morning. 

View Pictures: Click Here

Oscar Scherer SP (Dec 16-25)

Monday - We got here in about an hour, got set up, had dinner, then went over to North Jetty to enjoy the sunset and full moon rise. They are doing a lot of construction in the park and we're not quite sure what it will look like when they are done. John fished from the jetty, but without any success.

Tuesday - We took a long hike this morning on the Green Trail and around the campground. It was quite cool, but nice. We then went to the coffee social and saw some old friends and met some new ones. Late morning we launched the kayaks in on South Creek here and fished going out and along the residential canals. Joan caught a nice jack crevalle and a ladyfish while John caught a ladyfish, several small snook, and a couple of small mangrove snapper. It was good action, but nothing for the table. The temperature was perfect while we were out there. For dinner we went to our favorite pizza place here in the area Fratelli's, but it was no longer by that name, but is now now El Panificio. However it was still quite good.

Wednesday - This morning we went on a hike with the ranger on the Green Trail. We hoped we would see scrub jays, but they didn't cooperate. Instead we did see a bald eagle on the nest and another in a dead tree. In the afternoon we launched the kayaks in the park again. John did all the catching today with a 20"+ snook to the boat, another that broke off, and still another that came unhooked. John caught a good fighting fish that we have not yet identified. It was a beautiful evening. Snook must be 27" to keep.

Friday - We hiked our normal 2 miles on the green trail, had breakfast, then drove south of here to the Englewood area and put in at Lemon Bay Park. When we got there we discovered that it was very windy. We decided to put in anyway and let the wind blow us south and fish along the way. John managed to catch a small Jack Crevalle and a very large ladyfish that gave him quite a fight. It turned out to be about 20 inches long, but unfortunately they are still not to eat. We talked to a man who kayak fished and did quite well. He paddled across the bay to an area that he says has harder bottom. We will remember that the next time we go there.
Saturday - We enjoyed the kayak trip we did last year about this time with the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, so we decided to do it again this year. We launched very near the entrance to Neil preserve at the bridge that goes to Amelia Island. We headed north and paddled couple of miles very close to where it enters into Robinson Preserve. It was very windy, so we didn't miss not being able to fish, although the area look very promising for trout due to the nice seagrass. We met and talk to some very nice people on the trip. Brad who is a teacher at Sarasota Mote Marine Aquarium led the trip and was very informative. On the way back we stopped at the Seafood Shack for lunch. We both had the grouper sandwiches which were excellent.

Sunday - We attended a very nice contemporary service at Vamo United Methodist Church. The music was excellent and message very appropriate for the season. We were very impressed with the food distribution that they have for folks in the area that are in need. It was very windy today so we stayed close to the campground.

Christmas Eve - Is there room in your inn for Him? 

Christmas Day - Merry Christmas friends. We hope you are enjoying this blessed day. We drive over to Myakka State Park to enjoy dinner with our friends Tom and Jane, who are camping there and Skip and Shirley who drove down from Zephyrhills. We shared a wonderful meal with perfect weather outside at their campsite, then went down to the river and caught a whole bunch of tilapia. Four were quite large, so they went home with Skip. Tom says he has caught some there that are huge. Maybe next time. John was using a green weenie tipped with a small piece of Gulp worm. Joan quit fishing when some really big gators came around. 

View Pictures: Click Here

E. G. Simmons County Park (Dec 9-15)

Tuesday - After watching the Chicago Bears beat the Dallas Cowboys that we had recorded from last night, we put the wheels under the kayaks and walked them up to a place to put in. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning, but the fishing was rather slow. We saw quite a bit of action and some manatees that were in the area. John was the only one to catch anything, but they were not eaters. He caught one ladyfish and two Jack Crevalle.

After dinner we drove over to an area we have fished many times. Joan had the hot hand landing six ladyfish. John hooked a few but either got cut off or spit out. We enjoyed watching several manatees in the area and a gorgeous evening. 

Wednesday - What a gorgeous day today. The humidity has dropped and the temperatures have fallen a little. We drove over to Apollo Beach to see if there is a good place to launch the kayaks. We would have to put the wheels under them and pull them a little ways, but there is a nice beach area to launch. Most important, there is a restroom. While we were there we joined watching a group of people who were fishing from shore and threw in for a while. No one including us caught anything. On the way back we stopped at the grocery store, the veggie stand, and for Chinese. The Chinese was okay except Joan found a bug in hers. We probably won't return. Even worse, we went to McDonald's for an ice cream sundae and to use their Wi-Fi, but their ice cream machine was broken and the Wi-Fi was slow. In the evening we went back to our spot and fished for a little while before it got dark. John caught four ladyfish and Joan caught one. They were bigger than others we have been catching and gave us a very good fight.

Thursday - Our friends Mike and Christina that we met at Little Manatee River State Park last year, came and joined us. They are camping in the site next to us now. We fished for a while at the same place by the sandy beach and caught several ladyfish. Later we came into our motorhome and shared crackers, sandwiches, wine, veggies, strawberries, etc. The temperature has dropped here considerably.

Friday - Skip and Shirl came down in the afternoon to check out this place and kayak a bit. We put in at the far end of the main road near where the water faucets are for rinsing boats. Skip and Shirl trolled up and down the channels while we casted under the mangroves and around points and channels. The fishing was very slow today but the scenery was beautiful. S and S do not like Mexican food, so we went with just our friends Christina and Mike. Siri told us that the best one around was Los Amigos in Ruskin. She was absolutely correct, as it was outstanding.

Saturday - Today was the day to set out wreaths on all of the graves at Saratoga Natuonal Cemetery. We had no idea what to expect, but it's far surpassed our highest expectations. 1500 people, including at least 1000 motorcyclists helped in setting out the 6500 wreaths. This activity was followed by a very moving service to honor veterans and their service. On the way home we stopped at O'Brian's Farm and had our lunch at their picnic tables followed by one of their wonderful strawberry shortcakes for dessert. Next we stopped at Hamer Park near Parrish, Florida and fished from their dock. John caught a hard fighting Jack Crevalle while unfortunately Joan lost whatever she had on.

Sunday - We attended the contemporary service at Sun City United Methodist church where we went when we were staying at Little Manatee River State Park last year. The music was great and the folks here very friendly. We fished at our spot again, but very little action. John caught a lizard fish and had one bigger big fish on, but it got away.

View Pictures: Click Here

E. G. Simmons County Park (Nov 21)

We returned to the park and began fishing before we launched the kayaks in the channel.  We very quickly got hit by quite large ladyfish. They are not good eating, but do they fight. The first thing they do is jump right out of the water. We were mostly looking for some trout to bring home for dinner, so we headed out into the grass flats around the channel. However, all we came up with were more ladyfish. It got to windy and we got tired of fighting that, so we headed into some of the back channels. Joan landed a flounder, but it was too small to keep. We got into an area where there were hundreds of mullet. They are vegetarian, so they will not take a fly, but we were hoping that there would be some redfish mixed in with them, but it was not to be. Nothing would bite. Our bottoms were getting sore after about three hours in the kayaks, so we stopped and had lunch where we launched. After lunch we fished from shore for a little while more and caught a few more ladyfish and a saltwater catfish, which also is not good eating. When we were loading the kayaks on the truck, a couple of guys offered us a trout that they had caught at Fort Desoto but didn't want to take home. We gladly accepted and enjoyed it for dinner.

E. G. Simmons County Park (Nov 14)

Even though it was supposed to be windy today and a cold front has just gone through, because it is supposed to be rainy the next couple of days, we decided to go ahead and get out and fish. We began by launching at their very nice kayak launch. It started out very slow for us, and no one was catching any fish, when John caught a sheepshead. It fought  real hard even though it was one inch short of the 12 inch requirement for being a keeper. In A little while he caught two flounder that had the same problem of being one inch too short. It was very tricky fighting the wind and trying to fish,  so we cut the day a little short, washed the kayaks, had lunch, then headed home.

View Pictures: Click here:

Faver-Dykes SP (Nov 24-30)

We are in, set up, and showered. We are hoping we can actually spend seven nites here and not get kicked out due to storms like last year. After dinner, we walked down to the boat and enjoyed a fantastic sunset.

Friday - About noon we launched the kayaks at the boat launch. We headed out towards the flats, and because the tides were coming in, we figured we would not have to paddle against the tide coming back. We saw a lot of baitfish action, where they were swimming here, there, and everywhere. John started things out with a redfish, that was about 13 inches long. Not big enough to keep, but still fun to catch. John won the numbers game, but Joan came up with a redfish of her own, which was about 15 inches. Still not big enough to keep, they need to be 18 inches, but she really had a good time landing it. It was very windy out there today, making it tricky to fish, but we still did quite well. In the evening we attended a program on owls that was put on by the Rangers here. It was quite good. The highlight was a live eastern screech owl that they had brought with them.

Saturday- We usually don't try to launch the kayaks on Saturdays, but we made an exception today, because we didn't think it would be too crowded on the water. We were correct, unfortunately the tides were not as good as yesterday, so the fishing was very slow. John did manage one inch trout, but that was it. It was rather windy again, which makes it hard to stay in position to fish.

Sunday - We attended a really special contemporary service at Palm Coast United Methodist Church. This was the first time that a guest speaker really impressed us. She talked about the fact that someone is always watching us. The folks there were very welcoming and friendly. The area is very nice and even has an upscale Walmart. It seemed as though every street was a boulevard, with low signs on precisely manicured lawns for all of the stores. When we got back to the campground, the sites that were nearly all filled when we left, were almost all vacant. 

Monday - Put kayaks in here. No tide, no fish. 

Tuesday - We drove over to Green Cove Springs which is halfway between us and our Trackrock friends, to meet them for pizza. We had a great time getting caught up with them, and the pizza was great too. After pizza, we walked down to a pretty little park that is on the St. Johns River.

Wednesday - According to our tide table, this morning would have a high tide, so the tide would be going out when we launched about 9:30. We planned on heading up creek (with paddles) and letting the tide move us back down, and fishing on the way. The wind was not supposed to be a factor until afternoon, but came early. As a result, we were not able to fish the way we wanted. Even though, Joan managed to catch a sheepshead, which is a species we have never caught before. Sadly, it was about 3"  too small to keep. John lost one fish, and that was all we were able to do. It was a disappointing outing again. We will be glad to get back to the west coast, and hopefully will have better success in places we know better. We will be back in our place tomorrow, with a lot of work ahead of us. 

View Pictures: Click Here

Skidaway Island State Park (Oct 17-23)

Thursday - We traveled the 185 miles here without incident. We got here about 1:30PM and were set up by about two. This is a nice place, very shady and quite a few people here. Georgia state parks are a little daunting, because you are not allowed to reserve a particular site. You have to come in and find an empty site. This can be tricky when you don't know the park. I think we did quite well, and were able to find a nice site.

Friday – After checking out the interpretive center, which was very nice, we checked out a place to launch the kayaks and place to pier fish. We might use the kayak launch, but probably not the pier. We then went into town to Bass Pro Shop. There were some fly tying materials that John wanted to pick up, and we just want to look around. We then did a Walmart run, took the food back to the motorhome, then went out for pizza at the Village Bar and Grill. The pizza was okay, but nothing to rave about.
Saturday - One of the main activities in this park is biking, so we decided to follow the trend and bike the local trails. We were glad we have mountain bikes with shock absorbers, because of the many roots on the trail. It was a nice 3.25 mile trail, with some interesting stops, including a lookout tower.

Sunday – Early, we went for a guided bird walk with one of the hosts here. It was a nice hike, but we didn't see anything new. We hiked in the salt marsh, and the tide was high, so there was water all around us. Later, we drove towards Tybee Island, and visited Fort Polaski. It was very interesting and quite impressive. The fort is located in the mouth of the Savannah River, so it was quite important during the civil war. When we returned here, we went on another hike because we thought we could get to the Savannah river and fish. However the water was low and we could not get all the way to the river due to the mud. 
Monday - We wanted to check out Fort McAlllister State Historic Park, so we drove over there with hopes of launching the kayaks and doing a little fishing. The campground looks very nice, and is similar to where we are currently. It was high tide when we got there, so we decided to go up the creek and let the outgoing tide push us back when we were done. We saw very little action and had no hits in two hours of fishing. Others that were fishing headed out into bigger water. We saw no one fishing where we were. Probably says something.

Tuesday - Rainy day today. 

Wednesday - Clear, dry, and cool. Wind gusts to 25mph, so no kayaking today. We found a good spot too. Fishing reported to be excellent. Instead, we hiked a very nice trail at Priest Landing that ran alongside the Wilmington River. 

View Pictures: Click Here

Petersburg COE (Oct 10-16)

Thursday - We had a good trip here and were all set up by 1:45 PM.

This is the view from our site (#44)

It is a beautiful day, but quite breezy. We will be here for one week.

Friday – We are able to put the kayaks in right here from our site. We did that today and fished for a couple of hours. We have never been very successful here, and this time was no different. We can't seem to find where the fish live. We have more days here this time than usual, so maybe we will figure it out before we leave. The weather continues to be just about perfect, with cool nights and warm days.

Saturday – We checked out Wildwood County Park and Mistletoe State Park. Both were very nice and would provide a backup place to stay if something should happen to Petersburg COE. We also made a Walmart run.

Sunday – We went to church with Barbara, I lady we met here three years ago. It was a very nice service, and then head dinner with her at her place. She fixed and excellent roast with all the fixings. We then had a nice conversation with her on her screened in porch that overlooks a nice yard with trees in the background. On the way back, we stopped at Spring Lake COE day use Park and fished for a while and talked to a Korean couple that were there. They caught one Pickerel but, we came up empty again. 

Monday -  awe had hopes of putting the kayaks in this morning, but again it was too windy. Instead we took our cane poles over to the fishing pier with small plastic worms to try there. Again nothing. We then went to a small pond where we have had some success before. Finally Joan caught a bass that was around keeper sized and John had one break off and lost another. We had no way to measure Joan's, so we returned it unharmed. 

Wednesday – The Wind finally quit long enough for us to get out and fish from the Kayaks. We went back to an area that John liked, however, the results were less than spectacular. Joan caught three bream and one small bass, while John came up empty. We certainly don't have this lake figured out. We are starting to get things packed up so we can leave in the morning.

View Pictures: Click Here

Sadlers Creek SP (Oct 4-9)

We had a very scenic, pleasant drive here and arrived about 1:30 PM. It was about 100 miles, and uneventful. We are here because of the closing of Twin Lakes Army Corps of Engineers Campground by our government. We have a very nice site, and can see Lake through the trees. The weather is supposed to deteriorate at the end of the weekend. We should be fine here, however.

Saturday - We had to go over to the office this morning, so we got out on the water a little late. The fishing was rather slow and it took almost until we were ready to quit before John finally caught a bass. They have to be 12 inches to keep, and this one was 11 3/4 inches long. How do they know? John talked to the supervisor at Twin Lakes and found out that they mistakenly put on their web sight that they were closed. She said they would try to get most of our money refunded, but John replied that it was their mistake and we should get a full refund. We later got an email that showed that we in fact got a full refund. Petersburg is open, so that will still be our next stop.

Sunday – This morning we went to church with our friends Tom and Jane. It was an excellent service especially a ladies trio that sang. Afterwords we went out to lunch with them and other friends to a Mexican restaurant. We also made plans to meet with them on Tuesday for a fishing outing. After making a Walmart stop we returned to a nearly empty campground. We went back over to the pavilion area and fished for awhile. We each caught a few bream and redeye bass. We then went back to the RV and watched the Bear's game that we had recorded earlier. Unfortunately the Bears couldn't pull this one out. Very heavy rain and some thunder game in the night, but thankfully nothing severe.

Monday – We had heavy rains in the night, but it turned out to be a very pleasant day. We went on an explore, and checked out a few recreation areas. We fished a few areas and caught some bream. 

Tuesday - We had our plans interrupted by high winds. We had made arrangements with Tom and Jane to go out fishing on their boat, but the high winds came up. We had a wonderful grilled pork tenderloin dinner with them at their place in the evening.

Wednesday - Still too windy to go out on the boat, so we met Tom and Jane at one if their favorite places, The Chicken Basket, and had an excellent lunch. The conversation was also excellent. We stopped at a boat launch on the way back and fished for awhile. John caught a nice hand-sized bream on a chartreuse wooly bugger. When we got back to our campsite , we got a few things ready to leave in the morning. 

Thursday - Moving day. 

View Pictures: Click Here

Standing Indian NRA (Sep 8-12)

We finished packing last minute things like the refrigerator and got off about noon. It is only 39 miles, so it took us less than an hour to get there. We had to fill with water, then set up on our site (12). After having some lunch and hiking around, we fished awhile from the bank. The water was low and very clear in the river, making these spooky fish even more so. We got numerous strikes, but Joan was the only one to hook up on the whole trip, but only temporarily. We only fished within 1/2 mile of the campground and may have done better if we had gone to a place where our friend Steve took us last year, but we couldn't remember exactly how to get to where to enter and exit the river.
We got to know our neighbors, Michael and Rhonda and on Wednesday they took us with them on hikes to Picken's Nose (yes, that's right) and Albert Mountain. These were both wonderful hikes, with gorgeous panoramic views. Albert Mountain is on the Appalachian Trail.
Something seems to be drawing down the batteries in the motor home, so John has been troubleshooting the problem, but so far, no solution.
The weather was perfect and no rain, even though clouds threatened off and on.

View Pictures: Click Here

Great Smoky Mt. Nat. Pk. (Aug 4-9)

Sunday - We drove about 50 miles farther than last time to avoid some of the steep grades and sharp curves, since we were towing the Envoy, but made it here in time to get set up and meet the kids in their rental cabin west of Gatlinburg. It is an complicated drive getting there, but at least we didn't have to go thru downtown Gatlinburg.

Monday- Today was a major hiking day, and the boys were troopers. We did Clingman's Dome and Laurel Falls. These are both very popular for good reason, and therefor also very crowded. The Smokies are the most visited National Park in the country. We also made a stop near the trailhead for Alum Cave falls to let Jake and Josh climb on the rocks in the stream and let John fish the stream. He managed a small rainbow and missed a couple more. 

Tuesday - The kids had plans for today to meet cousins for a day of go-carting, so we were on our own. We woke up and discovered our house batteries were down to 10.2 volts and even after charging with the generator, did not come back up. John figured the older of the two batteries was bad, so we made the trek into Pigeon Forge (yuck) to Walmart to pick up a new one. Hopefully, that will take care of it. We are running on just that one for now, and will reintroduce the other on the way home to let the motorhome charger bring it back up. We fished from the creek banks in the campground and each managed one rainbow. We are using rods that are similar to Tenkara. If you are interested, check out: www.tenkarausa.com. 

Wednesday - Today was rafting day. We drove to the Pigeon River and took the lower class 1,2,3 trip. It was a very nice ride mostly in Cherokee National Forest. On the way back we got stopped by a bad wreck in I-40 and were stopped for over two hours. The boys did great!
Thursday - We fished in the campground in the morning, and Joan caught a nice rainbow. John missed his. We are still using the crappie rods, which are simply 10 ft. 3 piece rods that collapse into one piece that are 3 1/3 feet long. It is like fishing with an old fashioned bamboo pole, but it is possible to use any fly that you would use with a fly rod. This style of fishing is called "Tenkara." If you want more information, you can get it at: Click Here The kids came over after their outings in the morning including zip lining, and waded in the creek. Later, they fished for awhile, but didn't catch any. We all went out for pizza at Big Daddy's in Gatlinberg, which was quite good.
Friday - We left early and came back to Trackrock the same way we went on Sunday. The traffic was much lighter, making the trip much more enjoyable. We had a great time with the kids and grandkids.

View Pictures:

Click Here

Whitetail Ridge COE (March 29-April 4)

We enjoyed the 129 mile drive here thru rolling hills and densely wooded forests, with light traffic. We got set up, had dinner, then fished from shore until dark. Joan caught two nice spotted bass, which John filleted for dinner tomorrow. The weather was perfect with 73 deg. temp and we have a beautiful spot in a nice cove on West Point Lake.
Saturday - We launched the kayaks after a late breakfast and fished mostly in the coves. John had the only action, with a spotted bass about the same size as Joan's yesterday. We had the three for dinner and the were delicious. We launched again in the evening and Joan lost one bass before we got rained out.
Sunday - We got up early and drove over to R. Schaefer Heard COE Campground, where the West Point, Ga. First UM Church Youth Group put on an excellent Sonrise Service. We fished between showers and caught two nice crappie that we kept and a couple bluegill that we released.
Monday - It turned into a gorgeous day today, with bright sun, a nice breeze, and perfect temp. We got the kayaks out from shore here and fished a likely bay for two hours, but only caught one bream. The sun should warm things up some and get the fish biting again. We got out again after supper, and for quite some time saw no action. We were close to calling it quits, when just before sunset, we began seeing some action. We ended up catching one nice bass and several crappie. We kept the bass and the two biggest crappie which were very nice. We continued to use small Clouser Minnow flies John ties on a size 10 streamer hook. Color did not seem too important. We fished again in the evening and caught several crappie and one very large bream, but releases all of them. We've had two fish dinners and will have one more tomorrow. That's enough.
Wednesday - Rainy day today, so we cleaned pollen off the First-Up and awning and put them away so we don't have to do them wet when we leave. The weather is supposed to be rainy and windy on Friday when we planned on our final leg to Trackrock, so we extended our stay for one more day so we could travel with better weather and open up the fifth wheel when it is not raining.

View Pictures: Click Here

Cotton hill COE (Mar 27-28)

We made the 245 miles here in five hours. It was a good trip with light traffic and trucks only on the I-10 stretch, which was short. It was less windy and warmer here than yesterday. We have a nice site (37), with a beautiful view of the lake.
Thursday - We stayed around camp and relaxed.

View Pictures: Click Here

Manatee Springs SP (March 25-26)

The Zephyrhills house is closed and we are beginning our return to Trackrock. We drove about 125 miles and pulled into Manatee Springs SP. The trip was windy, but thankfully uneventful. Our site (#7), is quite nice, especially since it was the only one left and was unknown to us. We got set up and took a walk around the loops and down to the springs and the river.
Tuesday - It was too windy and chilly to kayak, so we did an explore instead. We went towards the gulf to Shell Mound. This is a really pretty area, and would be a great area to kayak and fish if the wind weren't blowing at 40 mph. We were going to meet Trackrock friends in High Springs, so we checked out Oleno SP, which is nearby. It is on the Santa Fe River and is very nice. We were going to camp there, but it was full. We met the family for dinner at Alice's Rest. We had a great time catching up with this wonderful family.

View Pictures: Click Here

2013/2014 Winter Campground Schedule

Note OSSP = Oscar Scherer SP

Rainbow Springs SP (Feb 21-Mar 6)

We had an uneventful trip here and got into our site about noon. Unfortunately John made a big mistake when flushing the black water tank and forgot to open the valve. We ended up with nasty water getting all over the floor inside. Robin Williams has nothing on us. We finally got everything cleaned up and at Joan's insistence, went out to dinner. We had a great meal in the water at Swampy's.
Friday - We met a group of our friends that we kayak with in Georgia, plus others on the river and first kayaked up to the springs, then to the Hwy 41 bridge. The total was about 8 miles. It was a nearly perfect day on the water. We then had lunch at the Blue Gator and had grouper salads.
Saturday - We traveled to The Villages and met folks from Heartland and Windsor Vermont for an annual reunion. We had lunch and chatted at a country club there. It was especially good to see Barry and Julie and Bruce and Cheryl, but great to see everyone.
Sunday - We picked up our friends Dawn and Jeff and went to Dunnellon UMC for a great contemporary service. The folks there were very friendly and welcoming. After we had lunch, we put in on the Rainbow for some fishing. John caught four small bass.
Monday - Despite looking like rain, we put in again and John caught six bream and red breasted sunfish. Joan is having trouble navigating the current and fishing.
Tuesday - Rain, rain, rain. It finally stopped late morning, so we drove towards town so Joan could get her hair cut, then hiked a nice trail at Blue Run Park.
Wednesday - We drove about 50 miles to Weeki Wachee State Park and met our friends Paul and Janet and a group they kayak with every Wednesday. After putting vehicles at Bayport, we launched on the most beautiful river we have kayaked in Florida. This part of the river has no development and is gin clear. We have done the lower part of the river that has a lot of development. After we paddled 6 1/2 miles and reached Bayport, we had lunch at Bayport Inn and had the all-you-can-eat fried fish, which was excellent.
Thursday - Today was an explore day and we wanted to check out a place to launch the kayaks on the Withlacoochee River at Ike's Lodge (Izaak Walton Lodge). The place they give you is not great, but doable. We also had lunch there, which was excellent and not too expensive, even though they had cloth napkins. We then went down to the end of Hwy 40 at Yankeetown, where John fished a little from the bank. He only managed to catch three small silver perch. They only get to a max of about nine inches, but if we were looking for dinner, would have made a tasty meal. The temperature was quite pleasant, but too windy to enjoy fishing from the kayaks.
Friday - We returned to Yankeetown with every intention to launch the kayaks at the place John fished yesterday. When we got there, sadly, it was way too windy. Instead, we donned our waders and wade-fished for about an hour and a half, when we got too cold and the fish stopped biting. Our catching was limited to the same kind of fish as yesterday, but still fun. Later, we picked up our friends Dawn and Jeff for dinner at Swampy's. This time we chose to eat inside, as it had gotten chilly.
Saturday - Cold and very windy today. We took walks, then went to an open house at the place where Joan got her haircut. We had great shrimp, meatballs, and cake. Later we went over to Dawn and Jeff's for delicious baked spaghetti dinner.
Sunday - We holed up today in the warmth of the motorhome.
Monday - It got down to 27 deg last nite and our water supply hose froze up in the nite. Thankfully, it all thawed out about 10 AM with no damage. We should have disconnected and drained them before retiring. By 11 AM it was warm enough to sit outside in the sun. Later in the afternoon, John was able to split some logs a previous camper had left and make a nice fire. Dawn and Jeff came over and helped us enjoy it. Joan is struggling with pollen allergies and taking Micinex DM and Sudifed to survive.
Tuesday - We hung out today. Too windy to fish.
Wednesday - Cooler and still too windy to fish. We said goodbye to Dawn and Jeff. They are heading up to the panhandle.

View Pictures: Click Here

Little Manatee River SP (Feb 7-20)

It was a short 21 mile drive here from Lake Manatee, so we didn't even bother to hook up the Envoy to tow. We are in site 23, which is nicely shaded, large, and level. We took a walk down to the river, but it didn't seem too inviting. We checked out the restrooms, washers and dryers, and all seem quite adequate.
Friday - We wanted to check out a local lake here, so we took our hike there, it is a beautiful spot, but a long trek to wheel the kayaks. We will bring the rods and try an area from shore. Afterwards, we took our lunch to Ft. Hamer park, then fished from the dock. No success. It is cooling down some here.
Saturday - We went on a hike with Chip, a park ranger on the Oxbow Trail, which runs along a part of the Little Manatee River that was left when the river changed course hundreds of years ago. It was a very interesting experience. In the evening the same ranger led a fireside chat at the amphitheater on white tail deer.
Sunday - We attended a wonderful contemporary worship service at Sun City Center U. M. Church. We met some nice folks from Michigan, worshipped our Lord, and heard a great message about serving. After lunch we checked out a few places to launch on Bishop's Harbor and Terra Ceia Bay. We also looked at Frog Creek RV Park, a good place to settle down some day. Finally, we had BBQ dinner at Kojak's in Palmetto.
Monday - We took our coffee to the amphitheater in hopes of seeing deer passing thru, but saw birds and pigs instead. Wild pigs are a major problem in Florida because of the damage they do rooting for food. They were brought here by early settlers and extensive efforts to control them have been unsuccessful. We also saw a red-shouldered hawk and a red-bellied woodpecker.
Tuesday - Finally, we put in at Hamer Park for some fishing. Joan started things off with a needlefish, a ladyfish, a redfish and a sea trout. John followed with a redfish about the same size. He had three ladyfish on, but they got away. The redfish and trout would have made a great dinner, but they were a little small to be legal. We found a good area that has to be walked at low tide. We were the only one fishing there.
Wednesday - In an effort to beat the bad weather coming this way, we headed over to E.G. Simmon's County Park near Ruskin and fished from shore. The area we usually launch the kayaks turned out to be protected from the high winds we had today. John did the catching today, bringing in three ladyfish and a stingray. Sadly again, nothing for the table. While we were fishing, we saw two dolphin and a manatee swimming only a few feet from us.
Thursday - We took our usual morning walk down to the river and lake. The mostly sand road to the river had received enough rain to make it a great media to receive fresh tracks from the local fauna. We saw those of deer, hogs, a fox (we think), and ants. click "view pictures" to see. The weather has deteriorated some, so we are doing alternative activities. Our friends, Pastor Dave & Shirley called, so we met them at Ruby Tuesday's for dinner. It was great to see them. Afterwards we did some shopping at the mall, John's Valentines gift to Joan.
Saturday - Our friends, Ray and Fay, in Floral City were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, so we drove up to other friends, John and Vicky's place in Spring Hill to drive the rest of the way with them. We also stayed at their place overnight, so we wouldn't have to drive back late today. We also stopped to see friends, Gene and Lynda's new place, which is on the Withlacoochee River. There is so much water around their place, it is almost like being on a houseboat. The party was great and we felt honored to be able to share that special time with them. Special thanks to John and Vicky for sharing their beautiful home with us and putting us up for the night.
Sunday - With temps only in the low 50s, we are limiting our activities and staying close to the motorhome.
Monday - It dropped to the low 30s in the night, but warmed up to near 70 in the PM. It was too windy to put the kayaks in, however.
Tuesday - We drive about 50 miles to Myakka SP to visit our friends Tom and Jane who were camping there. We had a great visit and even did some fishing in the Myakka River. John caught a couple small crappie, a couple small rock bass and an even smaller tilapia. Tom caught a small tilapia. The new area of the campground is nice, the older part not so much. We enjoyed the warmer weather and our friend's pups.
Wednesday - We drove down to Hamer Park and launched the kayaks. We paddled to the same area as last time, where there was a shallow area that opened into a bay with a good hole, and caught a few ladyfish. After returning to the launch area, we had lunch, then returned to the river near the launch and fished some more. We each caught several more ladyfish and Joan also caught a couple of small trout.

View Pictures: Click Here

Lake Manatee State Recreation Area (Jan 24-Feb 6)

It was a short trip here, so we took our time leaving, which worked out great. We had a nice pancake breakfast at the nature center. We also ran into Lee and Mary Lou, a couple we met at Ft Clinch SP and parked our motorhome in their yard when we were in the Adirondacks. We got set up and found out there was a potluck and movie in the pavilion this evening. Joan whipped up a great fruit salad to bring and we had a great evening meeting new friends and seeing those we have met before.
Friday - After a great bacon & egg breakfast, we drove over to and launched on the Braden River. This is the closest place to the campground where we can launch. There are a lot of places to fish and at some, the current can be quite strong. Joan started off the action by hooking, but losing a ladyfish. John caught a nice, but too small to keep redfish, and a ladyfish that he foul hooked that made if feel like a much larger fish. We have not seen any signs of red tide here so far. John read on Florida Sportsman web page that it is from Sarasota south. We stopped at O'Brian's Farm and had our dessert first by enjoying a strawberry shortcake each. Delicious!!!!
Saturday - It was a beautiful day today, so we launched here in the park on the lake. The crappie were not where we caught them last year, so it was slow. Joan caught a bass and a nice pumpkinseed sunfish, but John never got a hit. We will need to figure out where they went this year.
Sunday - It was a great service at Bayside Community Church. In the evening, we visited with our new friends Dawn and Jeff. They are new full-timers in their beautiful Cameo fifth wheel.
Monday - We went with our neighbors here (Dawn and Jeff) to Robinson Preserve to fish and kayak that gorgeous area. The guys had the hot hand today with a snook and ladyfish (John) and a flounder (Jeff). It was breezy, which kept us from getting too hot. Our friends had some shopping to do, so the two of us stopped at Applebee's for our usual 2-4-20 steak. Joan has allergies kicking up, so we stopped at Walmart for meds.
Tuesday - We are having a down day today. Joan is still struggling with allergies despite medication.
Wednesday - Skip & Shirley got in last nite, so we went over to see them. We were shocked to see that they had gone to the RV show and bought a new trailer. It will give them more room, and be rosier to set up. Since the weather deteriorated, we decided to go to the Red Barn Flea Market. We bought some veggies, but could not find anything we needed.
Thursday - We got some rain in the nite and the day started off cool and sunny. The wind picked up as the day went on. Two young men came over to S&S's site and asked us if we could take them to a bike shop to get their bike fixed. They are from Germany and are touring the country on bike and camping. We took them and got that taken care of. They have plans to bike to NYC by April 1 and fly back to Germany from there. We are not sure they understand what weather can be that time of year and discussed that with them.
Friday - It was still cool and windy, so we opted to go on an explore for launch sites. We picked Jigg's Landing on the Braden River. We had to drive thru a residential area, but it is not too far from the campground. It turned out to be a beautiful place with a great launch on a lake that was created by a dam on the river. We fished from shore for awhile, but with no success. We actually talked to the man who organized the design if the park. We will come back and launch for sure.
Saturday - It got warm enough and the wind calmed down, so we were able to put the kayaks in the lake. We fished in the bay, then down nearly to the dam, But managed only one small bream. In the evening, we went down to the pavilion and listened to Mike, a ranger, give a history of the area and sing and play the guitar. It was quite good.
Sunday - Another great worship service at Bayside Community, then watched Superbowl.
Monday - We drove thru Bradenton and across the causeway and launched on Palma Sola Bay from Anna Maria Island. The tides weren't great and the water still cold from the fronts we've had, but we were getting itchy to fish. It was predictably slow, but we each managed one trout that was too small to keep and John got the junk-fish slam with a lizard fish a pin fish and a needle fish. It was beautiful out there and we enjoyed watching two dolphin swimming around nearby.
Tuesday - Down day today. We enjoyed sitting outside with a nice breeze and warm sunshine.
Wednesday - We said goodbye to our friends Dawn and Jeff, then went on another explore. We checked out Rye Preserve, which has a launch, but would be difficult to get the kayaks on the water. Next, we went to Ft. Hamer Park, which was really nice. We were here a few years ago, but it has recently been updated. On the way back, we stopped at O'Brien's Farm and picked up veggies. We also enjoyed strawberry shortcakes for before dinner desserts, which is ok to do if you're old.

Oscar Scherer SP (Jan 10-23)

We arrived about 12:30 and quickly got ourselves set up. We needed supplies, so we did a Walmart and veggie market stop and John picked up his new glasses we ordered when were here in December.
Friday - We have wanted to fish Lemon Bay, so we made arrangements with new friends we met at Koreshan (Dave & Mary from Canada) to meet there. Sadly, we discovered there had been some red tide that had come through and chased many of the fish away. John had a large fish break off, but other than that, only caught a lizard fish. Dave had to settle for a needle fish. Not a productive day, but a good paddle anyway. We saw two dolphin and a bald eagle. On the way back, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner. We ate the fish we didn't catch.
Sunday - We attended electronic church at Bayside Community. Great music and message. Joan's brother Skip and Shirley came in this afternoon and plan to be here four days.
Monday - The four of us went over to Blackburn Point and launched kayaks and fished for a few hours. Skip and Shirley caught a few trout, with one being a keeper. We came up empty. They were trolling near the boat channel in their Hobie.
Tuesday - Shirley needed some down time, so the three of us headed off for a kayaking/fishing adventure. Joan had heard that a great place to get on the Myakka River was where Hwy 41 crosses it about 25 miles south of here. When we got there we could not find a place to launch. We decided that plan B would be to put in at El Jobean, which was not too much farther. We put in and headed down a residential channel that made its way to the river. Skip trolled his way towards the Hwy 776 bridge while we fished around the channel near the canal. He was to call us if he got into fish. The call never came. Joan did a great job landing a nice sized cat fish, but would have much rather caught a trout or red fish. This was a long trip for one cat fish, but good to see a new area.
Wednesday - We successfully made our reservations for here next December. While we were driving out of the campground, the instrument panel lit up, reset itself, and the speedometer read 70 mph while standing still, the tack read 5000 rpm when idling, and the temp gauge read max. John called the dealer where we had this replaced and he said we could take it to any GMC dealer. Since there was one not far from here, we called them and told them our situation. He said to bring it in tomorrow at 9:00 AM.
Thursday - We brought the Envoy into the dealer and they checked it out. They confirmed that the instrument panel we just had replaced was indeed defective. He said they would order one and we could bring our vehicle back in at 2:30 tomorrow and they would replace it. We are not sure why we had to leave the car when they replaced it in Naples and not this time, and even when we asked, he would not commit to why. Anyway, we are hoping it will finally be fixed tomorrow. John baked an awesome loaf of bread in the Dutch oven over & under charcoal.
Saturday - We drive through downtown Sarasota and met a group at Coquina Beach to kayak. This outing is organized by the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program. Our leader was Brad, who also works at Mote Marine Aquarium. He was very knowledgable and pointed out many interesting marine animals. It was very windy, but we all managed quite well. It got much quieter back in the mangrove channel. On the way back, we stopped at Applebee's for our usual 2 for 20 sirloin. In the evening, we walked over to campfire circle for a presentation by Ranger Wendell on birds of Oscar Scherer SP. It was very enjoyable.
Sunday - in the morning, we walked out and checked on the baby eagles. They are really getting big. We launched here in the park and fished to the channel. John caught 2 snook, three mangrove snapper and a small toothy barracuda. Joan had a nice one break her off. It was really nice on the water.
Monday - Since a cold front is approaching, and we might not be able to fish for a few days, we decided to put the kayaks in again. Joan started things off with a jack crevalle. John followed with a couple of ladyfish and three mangrove snapper. All were catch and release, but fun. We also saw an osprey catch his dinner and another fighting with a bald eagle. We also saw an immature bald eagle flying high overhead. Afterwards, we made a Walmart run, then took a campground walk. There are a few families here because of the MLK holiday.
Tuesday - Mostly hung out around the campground. We went to the coffee social and met some super people.
Wednesday - Since the red tide has the fishing pretty messed up, we decided to go on an explore. We started by going back to Lemon Bay Park. We went into the information office and talked with Jack, a volunteer there for about an hour. Since he lives in the area and has worked in many of the natuaral areas, he was a wealth of information. He also was a social worker, so he and John had a lot in common. We then hiked the trail there that includes a boardwalk that extends out into the water. It was very nice. We drove through Englewood and stopped at Indian Mound Park and enjoyed watching a group of dolphin. This also would make a good place to launch and fish, or fish from shore. Driving further south brought us into Placida and Gasparilla Sound. We went out onto the fishing pier to get a sense of what was happening there. Two men had caught large stringers of sheepshead. John talked to one of them and he said that they just began hitting today, otherwise the fishing has been terrible. Sheepshead mostly hang out where there are barnacles on pilings or shorelines. The will eat crabs or pieces of shrimp, but are tricky to get hooked. The fly rods probably would not work well. We have never caught one on a fly. Finally, we stopped at our favorite pizza place (Fratelli's) for a slice of Sicilian pizza each. It was a beautiful day, with temps around 70 deg and sunny.

View Pictures: Click Here