2019 - TRIP SUMMARIES AND PHOTOS
Trip Date: 11/7/19
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Trip Date: 10/14/19
I took my great-nephew, Sebastian, his mother, Linda, and my brother, Derryl, on a sightseeing tour today along the St. John’s River. Linda said that Sebastian has been talking about “boat ride, boat ride” since last night! At first, Sebastian was a little unsure of his life vest, but once we got going, he was all smiles! We put in at Lake Monroe Park on the north side of the river. The water level was fairly high, so when we went under the railroad bridge, I had to duck down, otherwise, I would have looked like a cartoon character getting whacked on the forehead. We cruised up to Blue Springs. We didn’t see any manatees, but he saw birds, a turtle, and an alligator! As we took pictures of the alligator, he kept saying, “Alligator, Alligator!” and kept pointing at it. The water was so still, that the alligator's reflection looked like he was holding another alligator upside down. When we started to pull away, he waved, and said, “Bye Bye Alligator!” He waved at other boaters and smiled as they went by. He also got a kick from the whistle that was attached to his life vest. He kept trying to blow it, and with a little instruction from his mom and granddad, he got it to work! It was his first time on a boat, and I was glad to share the experience with him, his mother, and his granddad!
Trip Date: 9/30/19
When we arrived to fish today, the parking lot was empty, which I’ve never seen before. The tides were abnormally high, and with so much water, this may explain why there were no other boaters present. This didn’t stop us from heading out, and the pelicans even seemed surprised that we were invading their feeding grounds. I pulled in a small catfish, but he refused to have his picture taken. Next, I caught a mangrove snapper. Phyllis caught a nice flounder, but decided he would be happier going back to the depths with a story to tell his friends. Even though Debbie didn’t have any keepers, she had a good time introducing her shrimp to the bait stealers below. We completed the trip with a great meal at Captain’s BBQ! It was nice to be back on the water!
Trip Date: 8/22/19
Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day on the water! While everyone else was floundering around, Pam brought hers to the boat. A 13-inch keeper for her to enjoy! She also brought an oyster to the boat, but this time of year, those are catch and release only. Pam's husband, Henry, caught a "purrfect" catfish. After spending time on the water, they enjoyed a great meal at Captain's BBQ.
Trip Date: 8/1/19
Yesterday, I took my other brother, Derryl, out on the water. He broke two records with the fish he caught. His catch was the smallest sea robin ever caught on my boat, and also, the smallest fish ever caught on my boat. It looked like the stork had just dropped it in the water. He did say, “A fish in the boat is still a fish!” Shortly after this record breaking catch, we started to move to another spot when a huge tarpon rolled off the starboard side of the boat. My best estimate is that it had to weigh around 70 pounds. It was a beautiful fish! Then we saw a large ray with a wingspan of 3-4 feet come flying straight up out of the water into the air about 5 feet high. It was a spectacular sight, but happened too quickly to get a picture. We then had to race back to the dock to avoid an approaching cell of bad weather and lightning. Although it was a relatively short trip, we had fun, and finished with a great lunch at Captain’s BBQ.
Trip Date: 7/12/19
I had the pleasure of taking Teresa, Michelle, and Tammy fishing yesterday. Michelle caught the first fish, a dinner plate flounder. Just minutes later, Teresa caught a nice black drum. Michelle caught another flounder, then brought in a jack crevalle. Teresa followed up with another black drum. She then brought a flounder toward the boat, but it must have had dentures, because all that came in was one section of the teeth. Next, she had on what appeared to be a nice redfish, but it threw the hook and got off before reaching the boat. Tammy had some nice bites, but didn’t land any fish. She did, however, land the largest pack of oysters I’ve ever seen caught on rod and reel. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of Tammy’s catch. We did have a great time watching dolphins chase and circle fish. I enjoyed the day with the three friends, and want to thank Teresa for her military service in the army, as well as thanking Michelle and Tammy for the work they do to help victims of domestic violence. While they were eating lunch at Captain's BBQ, I cleaned the two flounder and the two black drum for them to take home and enjoy for dinner. Hopefully they found no bones!