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!
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