On The Way, Again

Rog and I took his boat over to Lake Okeechobee (the second largest lake contained totally within the contiguous states. Average depth 9 feet).  We caught a few bass and other fish we couldn't positively identify. There were pike like things that I think were Gar and something that might have been a catfish.  But we let them all go back to doing fish things.

This one was definitely a bass.

We launched at a marina at the south end of the lake. It was connected to the lake by a lock that opened out onto the ICW which crosses the lake.  This state makes Kansas look like the Rockies.  The airport at Sarasota is one foot lower than the airport where we launched.

This was the connecting lock.  It operates when the lake level gets above 15.5 feet.  The current level is 12 feet.

It was nice and calm for the whole trip.

Today we drove to Dothan, AL; crossing the front that has been hammering the Midwest and South this week. Had heavy rain here in Dothan but all quiet now.  Tomorrow it is on to Tuscaloosa and the renown Washburne B&B.

Stay warm.

Doing "Retirement Stuff"

We (Woofus & Sue, Rog & Claire, Teri & I) took a lunch cruise in Rog's boat on the ICW to see if any of the poor folk forced to live on the waterfront (for a few months of the year at least) need any assistance during the cold snap. After all, it got down to the 50's the other day.

Looks like they are managing alright, so we kept moving to keep their security from firing across our bow.

Took a few shots from the road of one of our neighbors up the key.

Couldn't linger, once again leery of alerting security.  Note, either something is going on up the street or they were too cheap to get sentinels looking both ways.

Woofus and Sue are safe and sound back in Tuscaloosa where it was 41 degrees this morning.

Helped (well maybe just took photos and offered suggestions) Rog reinstall his tach (whole instrument cluster) for the Nth time.

He really enjoys getting into his projects. I really enjoy watching.

His project is a rare Shelby 350.

Going up on the auction block soon. If you have to ask how much, you didn't need it anyway.

Rog took a short trip to scout out Lake Okeechobee with some of his Missouri friends.

He claims to have caught this bass and said he'd take me up there and show me how it's done.  Stay tuned!

One more sunset.  Clear and mid 70's today.

Stay warm, I hear it is colder up north.

Too Much Boat

Today Woofus and I went to the boat show at the Charlotte Bay fairgrounds.  The purpose of going to the show was to find a boat for Roger.  You who have experienced my assistance in shopping for something you really don't need can appreciate just how much help I can be with spending your money.  It is a talent I have developed over the years.

We found several good candidates but Roger foiled my plan by bringing a new friend along to play the part of the guy soon to part with his money.  But that is another story.  Along the way I had a flashback to the nineties and one of my first dip netting experiences.

I was new to the Kenai dip netting scene and had just made six new net hoops for the season.  Turns out you have to buy enough material for three hoops (5' diameter) or you'll have a bunch of scrap.  So naturally, I made six.  Anyway Tony says he can borrow this boat and Bill ( the owner of one of the nets) says he is game, so the plan is on.

Here is a shot of a boat exactly like the one Tony came up with.

It is about 10 feet long and had something like a 20 HP outboard.  Most hot tubs are bigger.

Tony sat straddling the center tunnel, I was sitting in the left hull and Bill in the right.  Also, there were two ice chests in there some where.  Then we had the two nets with 8' handles.  No problem, there were still several inches of free board left when we launched.  Even if we swamped the thing, it was guaranteed never to sink, at least no further than a few inches below the water.

Bill and I had our hands full trying to figure out how to handle these giant nets which were, of course, tied to the bow.  Tony's job was to steer the boat and catch the salmon we would toss in the boat.  Then he would bonk them on the head to calm them down while he cut their gills to facilitate the blood letting.  Once that was accomplished, we'd toss them in the ice chests.  Good plan!

Actually, all went very well, considering.  There were several escape attempts even after the fish were safely stored in the ice chests, but we got a bunch of reds.  In the end everything was pretty well covered in slime, blood and scales but we soon learned that was par for all our dip netting outings.  By the time we pulled out there was considerably less of that free board left.  Bill summed it up perfectly when, during a lull in the carnage, he said, "Tony, I think our only problem is we've got too much boat."

That was the beginning of some 15+ years of dip netting on the Kenai.  We made a few changes to our process but still got covered in blood, slime and scales every time.  The one constant; after that trip, we always had a bigger boat.

Going sight seeing on the inter coastal tomorrow.  High forcasted around 75.

Hang in there, winter will end.  Down here, it just never starts.

Stay warm.

Sunset

Went down to record our first sunset of the trip. Went through the usual agony of just when is the peak color.  Only way I know is to take a series throughout the sunset and toss out the worst.

So, here are the winners.

And here is a close up at the same time.  Exposure is everything.

Of course you must properly prepare before embarking.  The correct gear is essential.

Woofus and Sue just arrived in a mad dash to escape the SNOW in Tuscaloosa. More on their stay later.  Got cold just before they arrived, down to the 60s; warming and better for the next few days.

Stay warm; still in shorts and tank tops here.

Update........Everything Works!

Rog put up the canopy and we went for a nice, uneventful cruise down the key. 

Passed a few more distressed properties.

Poor folk, only had room for one 50' ketch off to the right of frame.

Saw lots of wildlife and had a nice lunch at Stump Pass Marina.

We tested out the trolling motor and the wire didn't even get warm.  So he's going with the manual type of relay. Or as it is known in technical circles, none.

That's enough, must rest for the remainder of the day.

Stay cool.

Roughing It On The Water

Went fishing on Sarasota Bay with Roger and friend Bob.

A few of the quaint homes on the bay's east shore. Must be rough to leave them vacant for half of the year.

This little Puffer Fish was living up to his name.

There were still moments of equipment hassles as the trolling motor quit and then later when the big motor quit and we thought that we might be trying out Rog's marine towing insurance.  Turned out the gas line had just detached from the motor (I'm told it usually quits when that happens).  We got home and determined that the relay in the trolling motor power supply had died (rusted through) so we bypassed it and it appears to work fine. Going for a short cruise today so we'll see.  Rog and I agree that if it catches fire that might not be the worst thing.  We might think differently if that happens in the middle of the bay.

Fishing trips with Roger are starting to take on an adventurous flavor.

Here's a shot of our dock in front of our condo.

 This is the view of the Inter Coastal Waterway from same dock.

And our unit from the dock.

Going for late lunch with Roger and Claire in the boat so will pause for now and see if I can get some photos for later post.

Stay cool, weather remains "perfect" here.

Things Rust Here

Roger has been fighting all things electrical.  First the tach in his Shelby 350. Then the trolling motor in the boat.  Seems that leaving the boat down in Florida for the summer wasn't the best idea.  I think that the boat thought it had been left to die here, so it did.

First there was the steering mechanism, all the cables had to be replaced.  Along the way he found his Leatherman was now a pair of pliers, rather than a multi tool.

One side was fused into a solid mass of rust. Now it matches his trailer hitch.

The trolling motor crapped out after just a few minutes of use.  We could hear the motor making dying sounds after it would quit running so we took it to the local dealer for that brand.  After exhaustive testing he said it was fine so Rog took the switch out of the bulkhead.  Sure enough, it was a rusty mess.  So, ten bucks later we were on the way to put it all back together.  That was where I left him 30 min ago.  I'll try to get an update before I close this out.

Meanwhile, right up the channel from the condos we are in is a nice new boat and an interesting dock set up that I hadn't seen before.

The boat sits high and dry.  A lot like the rafts you see for jet skis. Made of permanently inflated cubes, this one has an air bladder under the stern so you drive up onto it and then inflate the bladder to complete the lift totally out of the water.

The owner said they had to push the boat off the dock instead of driving it off so they were trying a bumper in the middle to act as a roller and reduce the friction.  Looked like the whole setup had potential for some interesting pictures, so I hung around to possibly document the event for the insurance company.

Here he is about to drive onto the dock.

And it went very smoothly. Boat ended up in perfect position.  I'll check later and see if the bumper is holding up.

Nothing but sun and temps 10 degrees above normal in the forecast for a few days.  So we are scheduled to try fishing Thursday.  Til then I am going to try for a few sharks teeth.

How about that "Tide".  Crimson, I mean. Update from Rog, it works!

Stay cool.

Safe in the Land of Shorts, T shirts and Sandals

Stopped by Washburne's on the way to Venice.  Woofus is seasoning this wood pile before feeding it to the fire pit.

Yes there really is a log in there somewhere.  Any more "seasoning" and the whole pile might decide to escape.

Finally got to the beach here in Manasota Key.  Got to get to raking for sharks teeth.

The beach is nice and uncrowded.

Going to try some fishing with Rog tomorrow.  I'll try to get some photos of our dock.  We've got tons of birds and a Osprey that likes our tree by the water.

Stay warm, we are.