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.

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