Lake Manatee SP (Dec 29-Jan 7)

Monday - We made the short (33 mile) trip in good shape and got set up on site 41. We stopped by our friends Tom & Janes site and visited for awhile. In the evening, Tom joined us down at the boat ramp and fishing pier to fish for awhile. He caught a small crappie and John caught a small bream. It was rather slow.

Tuesday - We were going to head over to Ft. Hamer Park with Tom and put the kayaks in there, but the morning was quite foggy with a band if rain heading in. Instead, the four of us went to O'Brien's Farm and had BLTs followed by strawberry shortcakes. T&J had some errands to run so we went down to the docks here and used the new Clousers John tied today. The white with red eyes won with a 13 1/2" bass a 13" crappie, a small crappie and a small bream. The chartreuse/white with chartreuse eyes only caught a small crappie. 

New Years Eve - It was a cloudy, windy, spitting rain day. 

New Years Day - We fished the pier for awhile, but it was only casting practice. We had a wonderful pork tenderloin and sauerkraut dinner and visit with our friends Tom & Jane. 

Friday - We fished again in the morning, but again, nothing. We then said goodbye to our friends, who are moving on to Myakka today. 

Saturday - We got up early and had breakfast at Cracker Barrel, then headed over to Coquinta Park south of Anna Maria Island to kayak with the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program. We have done several of these and really enjoy them. We meet great people and always learn something from the guide Brad who works at Mote Marine. We paddled just under four miles, with some of it fighting a strong headwind. Next, we had lunch at the Seafood Shack and enjoyed their grouper sandwiches. We stopped at Jiggs Landing on the Braden River to check out plants we helped put in last year. They didn't look great, but this isn't exactly the growing season. Lastly, we stopped at O'Briens Farm and split a strawberry shortcake. 

Sunday - It was another really nice service at Sun City Center UMC. 

Monday - We got an early start and were on the water at Ft. Hamer Park near Parrish by 8AM. We paddled to a back area, and because the tide was out, we had to get out and pull our kayaks to a hole we have found. Joan started things off with a nice redfish, then a nice snook. We both caught several ladyfish and John also caught a couple of reds. We then came back out in the river and caught some larger ladyfish. John then hooked a 42 1/2 inch Florida gar that gave him quite a ride. Skip and a couple of friends showed up and they caught several jack Crevalle and ladyfish. 

Tuesday - We got on the water early again at Ft. Hamer Park to fish for awhile before meeting our friends (Bill & Karen) from our northern kayaking group to paddle with. John caught a few ladyfish while Joan wrestled with a large catfish. When we went down River with our friends, Bill said he would really like to see John catch a ladyfish on the fly rod. In two casts John obliged with one that came out of the water twice. He also caught a nice snook later. We had a nice 4 mile paddle down River and back. It was great getting to visit with them and then sharing BBQ in Parrish. The weather today was perfect with lower humidity, 75 deg, and a nice breeze. While we were out on the water, we saw dolphin, a roseate spoonbill, bald eagles, and a tri-colored heron.

Wednesday - Today is cleanup and get things ready to leave in the morning. We also stopped at O'Brien Farm to pick up veggies and have their awesome Click HereBLTs and strawberry short cake for dessert. We will have to do without for two weeks. 

View Pictures: 

Oscar Scherer SP (Dec 15-28)

Monday - We arrived and were set up on site 5 by noon. We had some Christmas packages and envelopes to get in the mail and needed to do a Walmart run. Hunger hit so we went to Joseph's for pizza. In the evening we tried fishing in the lake here and John caught two small bass, one on the Tenkara using a greenie and one on the cane pole using a plastic worm.

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.

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. 

View Pictures: Click Here

EG Simmons County Park (Dec 2-14)

Tuesday - It was a nice, one hour trip down and 50 miles. We got in and set up before a quick rain shower hit. We drove to Publix to pick up a couple items, then into Ruskin and had excellent Mexican at Los Amigos. Finally, we came back into the park and fished at the inlet. We first tried cane poles with Gulp, but that didn't work, so we switched to fly rods with white Clousers and caught a few lady fish. Fun to catch, but not good to eat.

Wednesday - We Didn't get started too quickly this morning, so by the time we were ready to put the kayaks in, it had gotten too windy. Instead, we drove over to the place where we finished last evening and tried there. John decided to try the Tenkara rod and was rewarded with an 11 inch flounder. One inch too small to keep but a good sized fish on the light rod. We are having to use Avon skin-so-soft repellant to combat the no-see-ums, which have been pesty. It works. The wind slowed down in the evening, so we launched the kayaks and fished until the sun went down. John had the only action with a ladyfish that delighted some kids who were with their parents onshore. He also caught a spotted sea trout that like the flounder earlier was an inch too short. They need to be 15 inches to keep. It was a beautiful evening. 

Wednesday - We put the kayaks in the same place as yesterday and fished out in the flats, in the channel and didn't get bit until we went into a back bay not far from where we launched. Joan landed a nice, but too small flounder, while John landed a ladyfish. We watched another kayaker land a quite large black drum in a back channel, where we were seeing more action disturbing the water. In the evening, we wore the ladyfish out in our spot from shore and lost count.  

Friday - Skip and Shirl joined us today for a day of kayak fishing. Sadly, we never found the fish. It was a great day to be on the water anyway. They also brought pot roast done in the crock pot to us which was delicious. 

Saturday - We wanted to check out a local flea market, but were disappointed. They really loved their junk. We picked up some veggies, then returned and biked around the park, to check if anyone was catching fish. Not so much. John tied some flies, mostly repairing some the ladyfish tore up. He decided to use mostly flash material instead of hair to see if it would hold up better. After dinner we returned to our channel, and caught a couple of ladyfish. The new flies seemed to hold up better. It was very windy fishing as a front seemed to be coming through. 

Sunday - This morning we attended Sun City Center UMC contemporary service. This has become our favorite when we are in the area. The music was wonderful and the pastor's wife did a narration as Mary, and what she would remember of her early years. It was very moving. In the evening we returned to our channel. Joan had a large fish on that showed itself, but it broke off. Nothing else was biting except the cold wind. We gave it up early.

Monday - Rainy, windy, and chilly, so we stayed close to camp. 

Tuesday -  We made a Walmart run, and after lunch fished with cane poles and Gulp from the closest fishing pier. The cold front has the fishing shut down for awhile it appears. 

Wednesday - We put the kayaks in on the other side of the park and fished for a couple if hours. John caught one ladyfish. We got no other bites. It is still windy and cool. 

Thursday - W kayaked again along the new trail and fished some of the areasalong it. Although the tide seemed to be perfect and until the end, less windy, we got no hits at all. The cold front that persists has shut down the fishing here. We had dinner at Beanies south of Ruskin at the recommendation of friends Bill & Karen. They were right, the food and service was great. 

Friday - We drove over the Skyway into St. Pete to Bill Jackson's and picked out nets and anchors for the kayaks. We have lost fish trying to hand land them and the anchors will help us stay on the good spots. We had larger ones, but they were just too heavy to deal with. These have claws to dig in to the bottom.

Saturday - Today was the laying of wreaths at the national cemeteries, so we got up early and drove the 50 miles down to the one in Sarasota. This is an awesome event that we look forward to every year. There were about 2000 people there to lay 5000 wreaths. On the way back, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for a nice lunch, Walmart, a veggie stand, and Ft. Hamer Park to fish for a few minutes. Joan caught a snook that was only 20 inches too small to keep. The season is closed anyway. 

Sunday - Sun City Center UMC is our home church when we are here, at Lake Manatee SP, or Little Manatee River SP. Instead of the usual contemporary service , they had a Christmas Cantata. It was called Love Came Down and was superb. The church was full and very appreciative. After lunch, got some things ready to leave in the morning. In the evening we fished our spot one last time which allowed John to catch a nice sized ladyfish that fought more like a large trout. Disappointing!

View Pictures: Click Here