More Relaxing, Fishing and Enjoying The Sun

Monday the 26th

Today is a quiet day. We do a little housekeeping, a little shopping and in the afternoon we try a little fishing from the pier at the mouth of the Anclote river. Most of the locals are using fresh shrimp, cuts of squid or small bait fish. Fortunately we had purchased bait yesterday. Unfortunately, when we stopped at the bait shop there were no more fresh shrimp so we had to buy a small bag of frozen shrimp.

We arrive at the park, gather up our chairs, cooler, fishing poles, tackle box, cameras, towel and bait and head down the long walk and out onto the pier. Since it's Monday, most people are at work so we have no trouble finding a nice spot with lots of room to cat our lines. The river is shallow, no more than 8 feet deep on the furthest cast and there is a lot of grass and other marine growth on the bottom.


We hook up and put some shrimp on. Tina is out first with a nice cast. I'm next. I send my bait out over the water where it immediately falls off the hook. Hmmm. So I reel it back in and bait it up again. This time I manage to get a good cast with the shrimp still on the hook. The method we're using is a slip weight on the line above the swivel, with a buckshot clamped to the line, also before the swivel but below the sinker. Attached to the swivel is a 15 inch leader with a single hook. The idea is to set the sinker with baited hook out into about 6 to 10 feet of water and let it settle to the bottom where a red or small sea bass will take the bait, pulling the line through the sinker.

Good theory, easy to implement but the fish don't seem to be cooperating. Periodically we reel in our lines to check our bait, usually loosing the soft shrimp in the process. So we don't really know if the fish are nibbling at the bait or if we really are just loosing it in the weeds. After several re-bated hooks and nice casts, I get hooked on a rock. Fearing the worst I wrap the towel around my hand and grasp the line to pull it tight hoping to break the hook free. I don't want to leave 50 feet of mono filament line out there. Finally with a last tug it breaks loose and I manage to reel is in without further entanglement.

Baiting up and casting again I notice Tina is now snagged. Putting my rod in a hole drilled in the pier railing I go help Tina. Using the same process, I manage to break her free. After getting her set up and back in the water, I take my pole and get a strike. Trying not to be too anxious I lightly set the hook and start reeling in my line. Suddenly the line goes slack the tightens again. I finish reeling in only to find someone elses 50 feet of line, a steel leader and hook, two weights and two other leaders all snagged on my line. After about ten minutes cleaning up the mess I'd brought in, I finally got back in the water for another try. Meanwhile, Tina is engaged with a heron who has flown in and perched on the railing next to her. Getting out her camera she quickly snapped some photos. It almost looked like the bird had come in for a photo shoot.

Eventually with no further action and seeing no one else catching anything we decided to quit and try fishing from the bank back at camp later in the day. We packed everything up, trekked back to the car and made the short five minute drive home, defeated but unbowed. It such a nice day, sunny, about 74 with a light breeze that even though we didn't have any luck we still had fun trying out our new gear. Driving back we decided to go into town so I could visit one of the bike shops to check on some road rides. Then we walked across the street for lunch at a place called Danny K's Alley Cafe, a cute spot with tables along the covered alley between buildings. We both had really nice lunches and read about fishing in the area.

The rest of the afternoon we sat outside and read, eventually having dinner and calling it a day.


Tuesday the 27th

Today we were scheduled for a fishing trip out into the gulf on a charter boat. We had asked in Tarpon Springs about half day trips and found out we'd have to go to Clearwater to book a four hour run. All the charters in Tarpon Springs were for a full eight hour trip and we couldn't leave the dogs for that long. So after doing a web search I called Queens Charters on Clearwater Beach and made a reservation for a 1:00 PM trip.

We left home around 11:45 AM for the 15 mile trip to Clearwater and made it to the boat by 12:40 PM. We signed in and paid for our trip then boarded the boat, an 85 foot twin hulled catamaran. We had brought our small cooler with some pop and water and so we could bring home our catch. Getting a pair of fishing poles set up with the sliding sinker we tie them to the gunnel for the trip out. At 1:00 PM sharp, the captain leaves the dock and we start out of the harbor towards the gulf. Since we didn't stop for lunch we ordered a couple of cheeseburgers from the galley and opened a pop. While we ate, we watched the shoreline on both sides of the boat, passing a bunch of private homes with very private docks, lots of boats, hotels, condos and resorts. They all sit a few feet above the water and look very, very expensive.

Soon we pass under the causeway and head out to sea followed by egrets, seagulls and pelicans. We pass through miles of shrimp pots and finally arrive at our first fishing spot. The crew has delivered a small pail of cut bait, large chunks of squid about an inch square. We put a single chunk on each hook and drop them down to the bottom.

We're in about 40 feet of water and before I get down Tina is pulling in her first catch! I help her unhook the fish and we throw it into the catch bucket. Getting her set up with new bait, she drops her line in and heads for the bottom. Meanwhile, I have had a couple of small strikes which I manage to miss. Before I could get my line up to check my bait, Tina hooks another one and brings it in. That's two for her to zip for me. Heheheh.


So I bait her up again, get my line in, re-bait and drop back to the bottom. Finally I get something on my hook, so I reel it in. Unfortunately it's too small so I throw it back. Just then Tina hooks another fish. Since I haven't got back in the water, I help remove her third fish and throw it in the bucket. One of the crew has retrieved Tina's fish and put them on a stringer in a holding tank until we get back to port. As we catch fish, they periodically come by and take them to our stringer line.

Once again I get a fish on and bring it in. Baiting up I go to the bottom and immediately hook another one. Now it;s Tina tree and me two. After we've been in this location for about an hour, the captain moves us to another spot. We bait up and get the lines in the water. Eventually we both bring in a couple more before we have to return to shore. Tina is happy with her success at fishing.

Returning to the docks we retrieve our catch and wait in line for someone to fillet them for us. Eventually we realize it may be another 45 minutes before our turn, so I put the stringer with our fish in a plastic bag and put the bag in our cooler for the ride home. We arrive after dark and while Tina takes the dogs for a walk I get set up to fillet our catch. Using our most flexible kitchen knife I manage to fillet the nine fish in about twenty minutes. The fillets were going into a small bowl while the remains went into a bucket. When I was done I brought the fillets to Tina and the bucket of fish remains down to the river. By the time I finished cleaning up outside, Tina had a mess of fillets in the cast iron skillet getting dinner ready. It was a very satisfying and enjoyable dinner - fresh fried fish, potato salad and french bread. And there weren't as many bones as I expected. After dinner we cleaned up and watched a little TV before going to bed.


Wednesday the 28th

After our normal get up routine we headed into town. We had scheduled pedicures for both of us at the place where Tina had her hair done. Two hours later we came out with brand new feet! One of the stylists had recommended the library as a place to check for books so we went across the street and picked out a dozen used books for $10 - quite a bargain! Then it was off to the Dollar Store where we bought a small $3 lamp to use as a circuit tester. Since it was getting close to 1:00 PM we walked to a local diner and had lunch. Tina had liver and onions, while I had meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy. Very inexpensive, with drinks and tip we paid $12 - but, neither meal was anything to write home about. However, it got the job done and it was only one meal.

Next up, we went across the street and did some grocery shopping then headed for home. When we got there I plugged the new lamp into the dedicated TV outlet. We weren't sure about the outlet dedicated to the TV, so rather than plug the TV into it we checked it first with the lamp. We knew that at worst we'd blow out a bulb if the outlet was bad. It turned out to be good. Then we plugged the TV into the dedicated outlet hoping it would help with the digital reception. It didn't help. But we now have a nice small table lamp.

Later in the day we walked down to the river to try our luck fishing. I used a small bait fish and cut it into chunks. The wind was up making casting difficult but we persevered, each of us moving to the end of one of the docking piers along the bulkhead. Nothing except a beautiful evening as the sun set. Packing up our gear we headed back to the rig for dinner.


Thursday the 29th

We got up late and Tina took the dogs out for their walk. Nothing planned for today as it is supposed to rain. By 10:30 we start to experience some showers and the temperature drops. We had already moved everything under the awning so it was mostly a morning for lazing about, watching TV, reading and playing cards. After lunch, Tina went for a drive while I worked to bring the blog up to date. After dinner, I went out to Hammerhead Billiards and play pool for three hours. Very nice place, over twenty tables all in very good condition. I shot well and was able to hold my own against a couple of very good players. The rain had stopped by the time I got home and it looks like tomorrow will be chilly and damp. No plans yet, but we're here for another two weeks and we have a list of activities to do and places to go.

To see all our photos click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski