Thursday, April 30, 2009

Back on Thursday

We are approaching the Friday, it being only ten hours away, endure the work day and we will see freedom in approximately 26 hours.

Went to a planning meeting for the weekend trip. There was an excellent presentation by Revere Supply Co, makers of fine life rafts and other marine survival gear.

Was that supposed to be some sort of foreshadowing moment? It's only a thirty mile jaunt offshore...

This trip is to be a cruise/fishing contest. Bring in the biggest five fish (excluding barracuda, bonita, sharks, remora) and who ever has the heaviest aggregate, wins.

What? Like I really think I can catch five fish, much less excluding all those other fish listed in the parentheses. I haven't caught five fish in six years, much less expect to do so this weekend.

The thing we are looking forward to (as if you didn't know it) is the thrill of getting underway on Saturday morning, watching the sun rise up as we traverse the thirty miles to the ocean. Or to the Intracoastal waterway, and heading South in a gloriously warm Spring day.

I expect to see this:

View Larger Map

St Augustine is on the South Eastern corner and we will begin the trip by the bridge on the St Johns, Buckman Bridge. Sixty miles, overall.

There is a couple of offshore poles available to me, I have some fine larger Rapala lures and I hope we can somehow score a nice Dorado that will serve as the main course ofr Saturday's dinner. But we shall bring some frozen steaks in case the fish ignore my weak catching skills.

After we do the post weekend report I will return to Southampton England (via memory lane) and catch everyone up on the continuing story of the Wildebeest III, "The Journey to a new home".

3 comments:

LL said...

My children used to brag to the other kids at school how they ALWAYS caught fish whenever they went out. This is how they did it.

I took them to Catalina Island (30 miles offshore) and anchored in a great spot where palagic fish came up a canyon to feed in a kelp bed that ran down about 100 feet. We anchored off the kelp about 50-100'.

I baited the hook with squid, took the monofilament line (and a uv light so I could see the line underwater) and kicked over the side with some frozen squid in a pouch.

I stood off the kelp maybe 25' and slowly chummed with the squid. As soon as a fish I thought suitable appeared, I released the baited hook, pulling the line if an inferior fish tried to grab it. Once hooked, the kids hauled the fish to the surface.

Bottom fish like halibut were easier because I'd measure them against my fin to insure they were legal size. Then I'd drag the squid in front of them as they lay on the bottom and they ALWAYS bit.

When my oldest was in sixth grade she learned that our family method of fishing was not the method most people used. Up until then she presumed fishing was a simple matter of hauling up a large fish that Dad selected.

Barco Sin Vela II said...

L-L; Hilarious!

Back when I bait fished in the St Johns, I would use shrimp and generally caught three or four an evening. Even the last time, back in 2002, I caught at least three.

Been a long drought, especially because I will troll with lures, if we go offshore.

Buck said...

Good luck on the fishing. I have less than nothing to offer in this space, seeing as how it's been about 30 years since I dropped a line in the water. I lead a sheltered life...