Thursday, June 28, 2012

HUMILITY LESSON in Fishing Advertising

by Robin

Ok, I know you must be wondering how I can find a lesson in humility in a fishing trip?  I can AND did!!

This truck is bragging about IGFA World Records.  I'm sure it is a big selling point for their clients.  And possibly, they have some IGFA records (that I didn't bother looking up for this blog).  See how he's sporting a nice tripletail in his logo? I'm sure he's a fine fisherman and this is not to put him or his business.  I'm just saying this is what I saw as I looked over the right side of my boat.

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But, I couldn't help but notice that the man who did hold the IGFA record (I think, State) for tripletail was on the left side of our boat.  His record was broken a few years back but he still holds the Port Record for tripletail. 40?? lbs.  Small, unassuming craft.  A little man with a very quiet personality, pulling fish after fish out of his box. 

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Each of these fish is 15- 20 lbs!!  He was telling me his commercial limit was 10 and sure enough, he was limited out.  What a talent.  I can tell you that the day was not condusive for sight-fishing these on calm waters.  This man worked buoy after buoy.  He said they ate a variety of things.  There was no bragging.  He didn't even take the time to look up at me when replying.  He was all about making a living from the sea and getting home to his land life.


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If I had a choice between the two boats to take a charter from, it would be the latter.  This man must have a library full of knowledge on fishing. I could always use some pointers on tripletail fishing when I can sight-fish for them.

So, that is my 2nd lesson on not judging a book by its cover.  It's the quiet humble ones that sometimes have the fullest fish boxes.

Happy Fishing,
Robin

Monday, June 25, 2012

6.3.12 GUYS DAY OUT

by Robin

This was the trip that was on/off-again multiple times.  Finally, Jack had a clearing in the weather and while he doesn't like to fish on Sundays, they took off.  It was Jack's second to last day of vacation and the seas finally flattened out.  Plus, he was working with two other men's work schedules, one military and one medical. 

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Well, like I told you in my Guy Harvey post, they both became very seasick on the trip.  They're brothers but I'm not sure which is older than the other.  Mr. R was VERY sick and couldn't even pick his head up the entire trip except to vomit.  Mr. M did a little bit better.  Couldn't fish at all, but he did drive the boat so Jack could pick up this beauty (below).  Jack also caught a couple porgys for the kids to have fried up.

Back on land, Jack dropped Mr. R off at his house.  He had to crash & burn.  Mr. M stayed with us to clean fish & wash the boat down.  I have to say that M is a perfect example of why you should never judge a book by its cover.  Sometimes, people with many tattoos make me nervous.  Not Mr. M.  We've known him a couple of months now and he is just the nicest person you'd want to meet.  He dotes on his nieces & nephew like they were his own babies.  His dog is treated like a queen.  He works with the sick and elderly.  He's so friendly and easy-going.  Jack invited him to eat supper with us.  He told us stories of how he was once homeless and how grateful he is for every day & blessing now. Really, there was nothing at all intimidating about him once I looked beyond the ink saw his heart.


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And let me tell you, he took half this mahi home.  Some, he gave to Mr. R who's wife grilled it to perfection, like a steak.  Mr. M took his portion home and ate the whole thing raw.  (He's a much bigger sushi fan than I am!)  Regardless of how you eat it, it is always nice to have friends appreciate good fresh fish and see all the cool things we get to see regularly out on the ocean.  It's just a shame that they didn't know how sensative they were to motion sickness before they realized that they were landlubbers.

Btw, I love Jack's beard in this picture.  He's my Ernest Hemingway.  I hated when it had to go away for work reasons.  Maybe I'll see it again in the winter.

Happy Fishing,
Robin

GUY HARVEY - IN PERSON!!

We were fortunate to have Guy Harvey visit our Ron Jon's Surf Shop at Cocoa Beach.  He's most famous for his popular t-shirt & artwork featuring various saltwater fish.  I don't go anywhere down here without seeing somebody wearing his clothing line.  But for me, he's also interesting because of his love of photography, painting and science in various fisheries.  He has a passion for conservation & sharing his love for marine life with the world.  That is something I can relate to.

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So, with various weather changes and scheduling conflicts, Jack ended up taking our neighbors out fishing on Sunday (June 3rd) while the kids and I attended church in the morning.  Then, I took off to see Guy Harvey by myself.  God blessed me with an upfront-free parking spot which is nearly impossible in that city block.  I ran in with 10 minutes to spare and guess what?  The line was closed off for meeting him.  Oh well.  So, I gawked and took these couple pics while I watched him sign other people's shirts.  He seemed like such a nice man.  But, also, it seemed like an obligation he was politely fulfilling and that meaningful conversation I wanted to have about photographing & painting ocean life would never pan out. 


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That's when I beat feet out of there.  I got a newspaper and parked it by the docks to be available for Jack whenever he rolled into port with the boat & guys.  These guys didn't have any idea about loading a boat, which stuck with me.  I'm pretty protective over my boat... Jack's boat.
I got out the newspaper, read 2 paragraphs and the text beep goes off.  It's Jack.  That wasn't a very long wait at all.  He was very happy to see me there & waiting with the trailer as he drove to the docks.  It seems that his friends were very seasick.  Jack caught some nice fish but the other guys weren't able to do much other than lay their heads down.  I'll have to blog on that another day.

God bless & Happy Fishing,
Robin

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

RED SNAPPER IN SE ATLANTIC WATERS
by Robin

About 2 weeks ago, SAFMC (South Atlantic Fisheries Management Committee)  had another series of meetings in the Orlando area to discuss what is going on with the Red Snapper species in the SE Atlantic Ocean.  If you're new to this argument, the nutshell is that SAFMC believes the species is being overfished and they are going to end overfishing it.  They shut down Red Snapper fishing back around Jan 2010, I believe.  Well, all the local fishermen, commercial & recreation alike, do not see it the same way.  The ocean is filled with Red Snapper and the 2 fish/ 20" limit was working to bring back the species to large numbers and huge sizes.  Because of the lack of pressure on the RS, the species has taken over many wrecks & reefs and were even studied as eating fertilized eggs of other species, putting them in jeopardy.  So, back to the meeting, there is a lot of political pressure put onto board members to cave to the fishermen who are sick of the politicians, who are appointing these folks & buying into these lies.

The results of that last meeting was to have two 3-day weekends in Aug - Oct of 2012.  Details have yet to be worked out.  Lottery.  Limits.  Restrictions.  Not sure how that all pans out.  If the weather is bad, they agreed to reschedule the dates. 

So where does this leave us?  We're suppose to be satisfied with 6 opportunities to catch a couple of Red Snapper after a couple years of it being shut down.  ??  Really  ??   Do you politicians think that will make us renew our trust in you and re-elect you for the next term?    Quit lying to yourselves. 

I think there is no greater conservationist than a man/woman who makes their living from the sea. They have everything to gain and everything to lose by what happens in the sea.  They have a love for the creatures held in the waters.  They don't seem to be greedy but rather want to make an honest day's wages while doing what they love to do.  I don't understand how people who come out of left-field, with no experience on the ocean, seem to trump the knowledge of experienced sea men.  Where do they get the power to control the oceans?  Why are fishermen voiceless?

This weekend, we went to Sea World because we LOVE THE OCEAN.  We love sea life.  I have a deep respect and admiration for all of it.  It broke my heart to see the changes in the Shamu show.  The trainers are no longer allowed in the water with the killer whales since the death of one of the trainers last year.  (or was that 2 yrs ago now)  Don't get me wrong, the show was still great, but what I really loved about it was the relationship between the people & the whales.  I think that is why movies like Free Willy and Dolphin Tales do so well.  It's the bond that gives us the warm-fuzzy feelings, not the circus show of jumps. 

And right on cue with the end of the performance, there was the good message about not littering the oceans.  It is a message I wholeheartedly agree with.  I see garbage on the ocean every single time we get in our boat.  Sadly, the majority of it comes from those who sit on the beach or stuff coming off the cruise ships.  But, that's a soapbox for another day.   The second part of the message was for us to be good little citizens and eat ONLY sustainable seafood.  What?  You mean that frozen crap at the grocery store that comes from some foreign country with freezer burn on some unknown species.  I didn't move several hundreds of miles, spend thousands of $ on this hobby, so I could eat spam seafood from Thailand or Vietnam.  No Sir.  I want to eat local seafood.  Catch my own fish.  Eat my own fish.  Help sustain my own fisheries. Help local fishermen survive in this awful economy.  I promise not to take babies or breeders.  I promise not to take too many.  But doggone it, I want my fair share.  You can keep you stinkin' 6 days of lottery tickes, likely to be bought up by every PETA member, so we can take nothing from our own corner of the sea. 

Don't come back to the table until you're ready to REALLY negotiate and address the issue in an honest way.  And seriously, don't expect a vote from me either.  Really now.....

And while you're at it, I have a bag of your sustainable Whiting from Publix to feed you with when you come over for dinner.  I was going to use it for bait, but I think it may be ok for politicians too.

God Bless the USA,
Robin

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Jack's Black Drum Fishing Demo

by Robin

I took this a couple weeks ago when Jack and I were fishing the North Jetty Rocks out of Port Canaveral.  We came home with only a couple of fish to eat but it was so entertaining catching this little guys and releasing them. 




Happy Fishing everyone!

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

MANATEES

by Robin

http://www.raisingfishermen.blogspot.com/2012/06/manatees.html

I put a blog up about the manatees we saw last week in the river.   Feel free to check out the photos.

I will also put in the video here so you all can see a Mama Cow Manatee nursing her baby manatee.



God bless & Happy Fishing.
Robin