Friday - In order to insure we would get a washer and dryer, we were at the restroom that has them at 6:15 AM. There are only two, so we were there for awhile. After we got that done, we went to Scrambles for breakfast. Joan had the idea to go over to the Venice inlet jetty for awhile. John decided to fish while Joan took pictures. We saw a man land a nice black drum, which was encouraging. In a few minutes, had one on as well. It put up a great battle for John using an 8 wt fly rod. Another fisherman offered us a net and Joan deftly netted it when it got close enough. Many fishermen commented they could not believe John caught a fish that big on a fly rod. We got it back to camp where John filleted it and we had it for dinner. Joan gave it a Perfect 10 score. It measured 23 3/4" and weighed 7.5 lbs.
Saturday - Our day started with a return trip to Sarasota National Cemetery to pick up the wreathes we put out before Christmas. Again, many hands made light work, and we were done quickly. We had plans to meet our friends who are camping, but it was still too early, so we went into the park and explored. After checking out the lake, we hiked the Canopy Trail and the Nature Trail, which were very nice. On the latter, there was an observation tower where we could see in all directions above the canopy. Next we met our friends Tom and Jane and went down to the river to fish. We all caught fish, but not the big tilapia we were hoping for. We then went back to their campsite for hotdogs, beans, and chips, along with a nice visit.
Sunday - It was a really nice service at Venice-Nokomis UMC. After, we went over to the jetty and had BLTs at the little cafe there. It was beautiful and calm there, and warmed up nicely. We didn't fish and didn't see any action by the dozen fishermen there. We watched NFL playoffs in the evening.
Monday - We drove back over to the jetty and fished for awhile, but despite the good tidal flow, we never got a bite. We moved to the other side of the park by the kayak launch but had the same result. Finally, we tried several places along the Intercoastal, but nothing. We decided to stop at Ace Hardware and Publix on the way back and just as we got back, the skies opened, so we watched a movie, then later, the Oregon - Ohio State game.
Tuesday - We put the kayaks in here by the office and paddled out and fished on the way. We were not seeing action until we got into a bay on the other side of the Intercostal. We fished it for quite awhile, but only got some hits, no hookups. We may try this area again on Thursday. We put the kayaks up, showered, and headed to Franky's for pizza. We then took our full tummys to the jetty to enjoy the subset. We were too tired to fish ourselves, but saw one young man who had caught a black drum, sheepshead, and a flounder.
Wednesday - Today we went to the Tampa RV Supershow. We went into at least 1M units, but saw nothing that spoke to us that we needed to upgrade. We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Bradenton on the way home.
Thursday - We put the yaks in at the picnic area and fished South Creek here in the park. We caught several snook, two of which were decent sized. Our friends Christina and Michael surprised us by dropping by. We drove over to the jetty and fished, but no bites. They consented to stay for a few nites and have pitched their tent on our site. We are looking forward to having some time with them.
Friday - Christina had some computer work to do, so the three of us went to the jetty early in the morning and fished from shore. Michael netted some bate and he used them, but had the same result as we did fly fishing and canepole fishing, zip. After a big breakfast, we got on bikes and peddled the Legacy Trail down to the Venice train depot. This was about a 14 mile round-trip but is not too difficult since it is flat.
Saturday - After another big breakfast, we said goodbye to our friends. It was wonderful having them here for awhile. We relaxed today by John tying some flies and Joan knitting. We could hear the bluegrass concert that was going on by the Nature Center from our site, which was great.
Sunday - We attended another nice worship service, then after a Walmart run, went to the jetty and had BLTs for lunch. Too crowded there though, so we will probably limit trips there to weekdays. We watched championship games in the late PM and evening.
Monday - We decided to put in here at the park and check out a bay on the other side of the ICW that looked promising last week. We saw a lot of bait and action. Sadly, today the area was quiet, so we returned to the creek and fished there. John caught a small snook and a small jack crevalle. The slight cold front we had yesterday must have been enough to shut the fish down.
Tuesday - Our day started early (6:00 AM) with laundry, followed by coffee at the Nature Center. Since the weather was unpredictable, we decided to go to Casperson Beach Park and fish from shore instead of kayaking. We tried several places and John caught a nice jack crevalle on the ICW, while Joan lost a flounder on the beach. On the way back to camp, we stopped at Joseph's and had the best Gyros we have had in ages.
Tuesday - Our day started early (6:00 AM) with laundry, followed by coffee at the Nature Center. Since the weather was unpredictable, we decided to go to Casperson Beach Park and fish from shore instead of kayaking. We tried several places and John caught a nice jack crevalle on the ICW, while Joan lost a flounder on the beach. On the way back to camp, we stopped at Joseph's and had the best Gyros we have had in ages.
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