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.