11/29/09 BOTTOM FISHING
by Robin

Jack was able to head offshore to fish with friends. I stayed home to take care of sick kids. However, by evening, I was wanting to make the drive all the way to the port to see what everybody caught. When I pulled up to the docks, I saw my man. I could recognize him (& his back) anywhere.



I don't have the complete breakdown, but in short, from what little I heard, they went through dozens & dozens of short red snapper to be vented & returned to the bottom. They caught & kept many large black sea bass, some trigger, lots of lane snapper and two keeper Red Snapper. I was too late to photograph those.



I think I also heard something about a lot of sharks down there.

The guys cleaning fish next to Jack came back with a couple snappers and a cart full of amberjack. I think he said the big one was 40 lbs. WOW. I'm thinking they were off of a big offshore boat.



So, it is short but sweet. Got a few filets for the frig. Many boats were coming back in the dark. It's strange to have such short days when making long runs offshore. All your evening chores are done in the dark, or under lights.



Happy Fishing. Tomorrow is suppose to be a great day on the water, but we'll probably just stay home to get ready for the work week.

GOD HATES SHRIMP - NOT!!

brought to you by Robin

Jack actually made it offshore today, fishing with Mike & Helen on their boat. I stayed behind to sing up at church and then run home to be with my sick boys. I will update you on whatever they catch tomorrow (or Monday).

Meanwhile, I amuse myself with my free time by glancing over various fishing forums to see the fishing reports. I found this little gem that I wanted to link you to.

http://www.godhatesshrimp.com/

BUT.... before you go there, know this... I don't believe this. I just thought it was humorous that somebody had gone through such lengths to condemn shrimp. What's not humorous to me is the twisting of God's Word.

The Old Testament is a beautiful story book of those who had great faith, without seeing. Sometimes it is of those who lost their faith too. It is where the law is given to the Jews. However, (John 1:17) "the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." Jesus came to fulfill the law, so that we may be able to live under His grace.

Paul writes in 1 Tim 4:4 “For every creature of God is good and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving.” I think that if your heart is thankful for the food that you've caught or purchased, that is more important. Secondly, shrimp probably wasn't something that could be preserved well in the OT times, so disease or dissentary may have been a cause of concern. With refrigeration now, that is not a problem for us in contemporary times.

More importantly, dietary laws were made to set apart the Jews from the gentiles. After Christ, the two people groups had to come together since they would become believers in Christ and partners in ministry work for further God's kingdom. In Acts 10, you will see a change from the dietary laws (v12) to (v13) "a voice [came] to him, 'Rise, Peter, kill and eat!'" The dietary laws are gone. He was freed to eat pork, beef and even shellfish. But, he was to do it with a thankful heart. This is also why we say grace before each meal. It slows us down to remember who gave us the food to eat, each day, each meal.

So, does God hate shrimp? I think not. He created them on day 5!! Does God hate us eating shrimp? Not if you're thankful to be eating some of those most delicious, scrumptious, dripping with butter, salt and lemon juice, heavenly shrimp like we do.

Whew!! My mouth is officially watering now onto the keyboard. You see, there's another reason to love Jesus besides saving my soul from hell. LOL

As for this "religious" group of radicals, 1 Tim 4:1 says, "Now the Spirit speaks expressly that in the last times some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Speaking lies in hypocrisy, having consciences seared with a hot iron."

I wish people like this would go spend their time more wisely - - like eating shrimp for dinner.

ACK!!
by Robin

It just occurred to me that I haven't been fishing in 2 months. No wonder I have "the itch" so badly to head offshore, fish and feel the sun on my joints.




It has been far & few between trips this year.




This is the mahi we ate yesterday. It's nice to reconnect with your lunch. LOL

11.27.09 - SITTING ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY
by Robin



Yesterday looked like it was going to be another quiet day after the holidays. The boys both are fighting small colds. Shopping was last on my to-do list, right after emergency surgery. ;o)


Jack and I made a beautiful mahi mahi lunch to go with our holiday leftover side dishes. We did bills. I had just started a grocery list when the phone rang. Our friends were heading to their marina to fish for bait. Saturday, they would head offshore for some nice bottom fishing.


We made the decision to leave our eldest in charge for a couple hours of babysittng and keep the germs contained to our household. Jack and I met our friends at the dock. Most of us had poles w/ little hooks and the fun began.

We brought up little jacks, pinfish, sailor's choice.... and then, the mangrove snapper started biting. Granted, they weren't huge and a few were released, but they were nice panfish overall. A couple hours later, the sun was about to set and the temperature dropped significantly.

We hugged good-bye and parted ways. It was so good to get out, share some laughs and catch bait & dinner. We drove home toward a beautiful sunset. It's little moments like these that make us to glad we live in Florida and are so accessible to great fishing waters. It also reminds me that it won't be long before the beach fishing gets on fire with pompano. I love eating pompano.

Happy Fishing. It should be a beautiful weekend to fish. I'm grocery shopping today and then heading to church tomorrow. Maybe Monday will be nice too.

Robin

THANKFUL FISHING
by Robin

We're closely watching the weather for Thurs or Fri to go out fishing. It has been a LONG time since we fished and we're hoping to load up on some holiday Snapper.

I know to many it may seem crazy to forego the usual holiday traditions; however, we're already traveled to see our families this fall. We're also not much for turkey nor ham. If the weather fails us, we'll roast some chickens, but otherwise, we want to fish. These are the next available days.

(Oh and I'm not much for Black Friday craziness. BUT, I have noticed that many husbands are out there on Friday while their wives shop.)

Psalm 114

The Power of God in His Deliverance of Israel


When Israel went out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
Judah became His sanctuary, And Israel His dominion.
The sea saw it and fled; Jordan turned back.

The mountains skipped like rams, The little hills like lambs.
What ails you, O sea, that you fled?
O Jordan, that you turned back?
O mountains, that you skipped like rams?
O little hills, like lambs?

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Jacob,
Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of waters.

(Highlighting mine to point out how the water even obeys God.)

SNAPPER 'TOWN HALL' MEETING
by Robin

On Wednesday night, Jack attended the SAFMC public hearing to discuss the closure for Red Snapper. It was much different than the one I attended earlier in the year, which was much more civil.



Jack says they used the huge hall which sat a couple/few hundred people. He heard some of our friends speak-out against the proposed closure. Many scientists have become aware of the issue and joined the fight against the full-closure. They brought their knowledge and analysis to the debate. We have a lawyer friend from Orlando who has made this is pet project and he walloped the council with a great speech. There was a State Representative who was in attendance and spoke on the economical impact to Florida. Three news stations covered the event, plus the Florida Today newspaper. Prior to the public hearing, FL Today made this proposed Snapper Amendment their front page story and then announced the time/place of the hearing. Every local angler's club was represented as well. Commercial boat captains came with concern & questions. The average Joe had a voice.

People were mad. Every angle was covered. Bad science was questioned. Fake "green" movements were challenged. It was heated.



Snapper stocks are coming back and people aren't going to take a large closure like this one go down without a fight.

Let me bunny trail here for a moment..... I live in a county where my friends & neighbors are already in a holding pattern about whether or not their jobs at Kennedy Space Center are going to be lost. We're talking several thousand jobs, potentially. Obama/Congress could potentially kill our entire community by discontinuing the space program. Businesses would leave or shut down. Our area exists primarily because of the space program.

So, to tie all this together, people feel like they need to fight for their rights & livelihood. Pressure is building in our community. It's going to escape in some form or manner. I believe in the American people to go with their gut instincts and fight for the truth. This public hearing is simply another outlet for that because we're sick & tired of our rights being taken away from us.

Will Brevard County survive? Will fishermen survive? Will we be able to pursue happiness? Will we keep our freedoms to speak, write, assemble, worship and fish? And while I'm on a rant and it is still my blog, will we be able to call a terrorist a terrorist? Ok, maybe that isn't where I want to go today.

Doesn't the government have something better to pursue than shutting down the majority of bottom fishing in one swift move? They have proposed amendments against kingfishing and upcoming regs on mahi too. Pretty soon, the only thing we'll be able to catch are puffer fish & sting rays. Fishermen are natural conservationist, I believe. We love wildlife or else we couldn't risk our lives and spend our paychecks being in the water or in the woods each week. We have seen redfish and billfish come back to high numbers. It is "poo-poo'd" in the fishing community if you were to come back with a billfish to eat (Swords seem to be the exception to this). Don't even post up your undersized fish on the Florida Sportsman Fishing Forum. You will be called out for not being responsible. We police ourselves because we are a prideful group of scruffy, windblown, salty fishermen. (And I say that with love...) We want to teach our kids to fish and our grandkids too.

Strict Snapper regulations are already in place. Give them a chance to work. Stop mass, indescriminate netting and longlining. But please shut up about recreational fishermen being the major cause for snapper stocks being depleted. That is such a joke since most of us are still trying to figure out how to pay for gas before the banks come and reposess our boats. (not us, just making a point)

I'm just really tired of the lies, and honestly, the fight simply to have freedom. I feel like we've regulated ourselves into a chair with ties on it and the next wrong move we make is going to result in electrocution. I mean, honestly, I'm afraid to exhale or fart because my carbon emission may be measured & taxed.

I'm sick, sick, sick of it. I just want to be able to head offshore on a nice day and pick up a couple fish for dinner. I'm sure many of us want that. I wish those councilmen with hidden socialistic agendas could see that too.

Fight for your right to fish!
Robin

PUBLIC HEARING
by Robin

The SAFMC is having a public hearing today from 3-7 pm in Cape Canaveral. I am unable to go this time. The kids and I were able to do it earlier this year. So, Jack is going down there to give his testimony and let the council know that he disapproves of the Draconian measures to shut down all of red snapper fishing for the entire southeast coastline.

We are seeing scientists come out in helping the recreational & commercial fishermen with their fish against the closure. We concur that previously placed limits are working and the snapper stocks are coming back in the past couple decades.

There are hearings being held all month long. I'm so glad that we are able to actively voice our concerns.

APOLOGIES
by Robin

I haven't forgotten about this blog. I'm sorry it has been rather silent. We've had a variety of things come up from me being in the hospital w/ back pain to Jack getting his entire digestive track scoped, end to end. Not very fun month of illnesses for us. Also, we had hoped to fish last Monday but the weather didn't cooperate and this Monday, aside from my own recovery, Hurricane Ida is passing by us and causing quite the stir. Jack was called into work, so that suited us.

I'm sure we'll return to fishing ASAP. We have some red snapper to pull in once I get stronger. For now, I'm taking life one day at a time. I will be having a MRI soon to see what's going on with my disks.

For now, I'd like to leave you with a photo, posted w/ permission, from friends. They were fishing out of Sebastian Inlet last month and caught a baby Tiger shark!!! He's beautiful right now since he's small, but later, he'll be a terror! He was released unharmed.



I just love his pattern.
Have a blessed week.

Interesting article

http://news.aol.com/article/blue-whale-washes-up-in-california/730540

We have not been fishing in a long time. We did some traveling back home to see our families. That was a blessed time well spent.

Please be in prayer about some upcoming Fishery Management meetings coming up in November that may close down much of the bottom fishing in the entire South Atlantic region. The board seems very bent on putting drastic regulations on all of us who like to fish for bottom dwellers in the winter. Now, with the price of gas & groceries going up, you can kiss good-bye those lovely fresh fish dinners when you come visit Florida or expect to pay lobster-like prices.

Happy Fishing!
Robin

PEELING
by Robin

I sure know how this little guy feels. I look about the same after getting sunburned on Monday while fishing.

Oh and for those of you keeping score. I broked 1 fingernail while fishing. LOL

BLACK SEA BASS - 4 days later
by Robin

Still taste mighty fresh and delicious. Maybe even more delicious than..... trigger........(gasp).

9.28.09 - OFFSHORE FISHING
by Robin

I had to drag Jack out of bed at 6am to check the weather reports. We loaded up slowly and were getting gas by 8am. Not exactly "Crack o'Dawn" stuff. We were clearing the port a little before 9am, greeted by the prettiest high-level clouds. It was going to be a gorgeous, rain-free day. Plus, we were fortunate enough to have some cloud cover for the morning.



Unfortunately, we were also greeted by the occasional 5 ft wave once we stopped on our first site about 17 miles offshore. We caught the usual customers. Black Sea Bass & "short" Red Snappers. We kept a few larger Sea Bass. Then, at one point, we decided to change locations. The 2nd & 3rd locations seem to be the nursery for baby Black Sea Bass which got rather annoying since they tried their best to swallow a lot of hooks or lose an eye w/ hooks. Jack begged me to go further offshore and troll some lines. Since we weren't pulling in those mutton and lane snappers that I so hoped for, I agreed.

He was hit in less than 5 minutes on the first line but we didn't know what hit it. We drove a short distance further to see the waters crashing to the right. (Gee, it doesn't even show up well after all the uploading & downsizing.)



Here it is with some cropping. Very large Blackfin Tuna were in the area and skyrocketing out of the water. We did our best to trolling around for some of them. Nobody wanted to eat OUR ballyhoo.


I think about 45 minutes later, we gave up trolling, but noticed the seas had settled down considerably with the heat of the day. So, we went back to bottom fishing.

Truly, he's happy, but the sun is in his eyes. Poor son. He puked 2x in the morning. I would have too if it hadn't been for the ginger pills.


Jack pulled in a lot of short Red Snappers. This is one of the smaller ones. I just love the color. This color has NOT been enhanced.


Here is our son learning to take the hook out of a fish that swallowed it. We lost so many hooks to save the snapper. I lost a nice circle hook on some monster grouper that rocked up. We're almost certain that it had to be a Goliath grouper (about the size of a VW bug). My Sturdystick rod amazed me by not breaking with that fish. I had my drag on too tight and the fish couldn't pull line off the reel. I had to use my full body weight to keep from losing the rod/reel combo. He was a big'un.



Anyhow, dear son was so careful with this fish. He hated that it was bleeding. I did not because I knew it was good eating size and he was going in the cooler anyhow. The towel is also for our son's protection. I can't tell you how many times Jack and I were punctured by fin spines. The hydrogen peroxide came out a couple of times.


Oh, did I forget to mention that Jack found a nice patch of ground that was holding Triggerfish. I pulled two up back to back. These were really nice eating size.


The kids and I made a deal with Daddy that we would clean up the boat if he cleaned the fish & made dinner. He made some delicious triggerfish sandwiches and deep-fried french fries. YUMMY, especially after a day of being nauseated on the water.

MONDAY!! - I'm so excited
by Robin

We're going fishing on Monday. Everything is timed out together - weather, time, money, fish.



Above is a picture taken last Thanksgiving of the nice haul of Lane Snappers that we picked up while bottom fishing. It's time to fill the deep freeze again with all sorts of species. Our friends picked up some Yellowtail & Mutton snapper last weekend out on Pelican Flats, so that will be on our list of species to harvest. Of course, we'll take any Lanes and Red snapper as well. Or for that matter, Red, Gag or Warsaw groupers are found in the same area, so they can join the others in the cooler.

Gee, I'm catching all my fish before they hatch, but it's the kid in me, with Christmas fast approaching. I'm excited! I haven't been out since JUNE. That's a crime. Plus, we haven't bottom fished, with the exception of the time on Mike & Helen's boat, since last winter. This is a sport that even the kids can help haul in fish. Little man can bring in all the smaller species of snapper & black sea bass he can handle.

Well, I'm off to cook some fish for dinner. We're having company coming over tonight. Be looking for a late Monday or early Tuesday report.

Happy Fishing,
Robin

NAILS
by Robin

I noticed last night how nice & long my nails are getting. It's time to go fishing and have them all break off again.

9.21.09 - INSHORE TRIP
by Robin



Before you get all excited about more fish pictures, let me say, we loaded the boat up for a quick afternoon of tripletail fishing off the beach but the rain clouds had another plan. As we were about to hitch up the boat, a huge downpour came. We waited it out and then cancelled.

I'm just so glad it wasn't quite the downpour that the folks in GA seem to be getting.

So, instead of tripletail pictures today, you'll have to see my artsy picture of a huge needlefish down in the Keys. (Gee, I missed his beak which is the coolest part.)

We'll try again next Monday.

KEY WEST - days 2 & 3
by Robin

I'm not going to show you all 300 pictures that I took in the keys but here are a few more highlights of our trip. There are many photos of Jack's family in the cemetary as well and those are rather private.... and our last name is anonymous on this blog.

Enjoy!


We woke up to a beautiful morning.


We headed back to Jack's home growing up at a kid in KW. We were so blessed that the tenants skipped town the day before and we could take these pictures.


From the house, we went to do touristy drive-bys. We saw the Southernmost house, hotel and then "point". It's rather funny to see a line of people all waiting to do the same thing.


We saw Ernest Hemingway's house, the lighthouse and more chickens. Then, we visited Key West Cemetary and found 4 more of Jack's relatives. One block north is this gem of a deli. Next door was Jack's grandmother's & great-aunt's houses. They'd give birth at home and then take the babies to 5 Brothers to be weighed. My how times have changed. One of the grandsons was not interested at all in the history of his store, but making revenue from us.


After our tummies were filled, we headed 1.5 mi south to White St Pier & saw the AIDS memorial too. These palms were in the parking lot across the way. There was also a white sandy beach but it was so windy, we opted to head back to the hotel pool for cleaner, refreshing water.


Here is our youngest enjoying a creamsicle smoothie poolside. We had such a great 3 hrs of relaxation & the sun stayed out.


By 6pm, we hopped on the bikes and rode 2 miles west to Mallory Square. The "shows" take a rotation. This guy lays on a bed of nails. He later told my boys not to do this at home, do it at school. LOL. I told him we homeschool. Nice.


This guy sita at the entrance and makes robot noises as you tip him. What a tough way to make a living. He was sweating bullets. I hope he didn't give up his day job.


This guy & his assistant were really nice but about as charasmatic as a fly. People left before his show was totally over. The assistant came out of the box and everybody was gone. Ta-daaaa!


We rode the 2 miles back home in the dark, between many cars stuck in traffic. It was actually pretty fun doing down Duval St as a family on bikes. The next morning, we loaded up the car for the drive home. We weren't in any hurry to go home. We stopped by the cemetaries again and laid flowers. We drove past Big Pine Key, over the 7 mi bridge twice and back onto Big Pine. From there, we drove north to No Name Key to find No Name Pub. http://www.nonamepub.com/ They have dollar bills stapled to the walls & ceilings. history of the Pub


Not very long after taking this picture of the endangered Key Deer, we had a torrential downpour. At least we were inside and enjoyed the company of our waitress. Her and our youngest hit it off.

Gee, I'm missing so many good pictures here. I may have to put them up as time allows.

As for fishing........ what's that? ..... (just kidding). I hope that resumes soon.

KEY WEST (day 1)
by Robin

We started with sun, but were soon met with rain once we hit the lower keys.


We did a lot of this and found many of Jack's relatives.


Key West has chickens everywhere like other big cities have their pidgeons.


Sunset our first night. Dinner on Stock Island at Hogfish Bar & Grill. Yummy hogfish & Cuban sandwiches.


Oh it was soooo tempting to take home a living souvenier.


Commercial boats working at night. Oh it was so pretty.


Zooming down Roosevelt Blvd, Key West


A spectacular storm passing by the key before bed.

TWO DAYS & counting ................

The infamous 7 mile bridge.

WE HAVE A WINNER - Ms Renee!!
by Robin

You are right, we're going to the Keys. I'm going to bring you back a souvenir.

I would have called it a vacation, but folks around here seem to call very short trips, in your own state, a staycation. Hmmm...., but we're definitely not staying home. Sorry for any confusion.

Our first clue is of Jack's first house, down in the Keys. He was born & mostly raised in Key West. He roamed the island by bike almost every day of his life. So, we're taking our bikes and going to park the SUV at the hotel.



This is my version of a cheeseburger in paradise. (no cheese) I put it poolside and snapped a shot. Renee, I ate it. I haven't had a homemade hamburger in over 2.5 yrs. It was delicious!! I really can't stand red meat much any more, but this..... well, settled well on my stomach & tastebuds.

My third pic is of the infamous chickens that roam the island. I'm half-tempted to steal some eggs or chicks for my back yard. Maybe that is illegal. I'm not sure. Key West is also famous for a line of 6-toed cats. Funny little island, but I'm very glad observe micro-evolutionary changes. Keys deer are smaller than other deer.

Clue #4 was of Ernest Hemingway's house.

Clue #5 are murals & mosaics that can be found around town. I'm going to steal some decorating ideas for my own house. Maybe even come home w/ some knick-knacks if I can afford them.

Here are a few more pictures I had picked out for the Treasure hunt. Jack wants one of these flags. Conch_Republic This declaration was a tongue-in-cheek protest from 1982.


Fort Jefferson is in the Dry Tortugas which is a National Park out past Key West.
Dry_Tortugas_National_Park Jack's grandmother traveled with her mother frequently out here to take care of the prisioners. One of the most famous was Dr. Mudd who took care of John Wilkes Booth after shooting Abraham Lincoln. The fort was used to house Union Army deserters and held about six hundred prisoners when Mudd and the others arrived. If I remember right, Jack's Great-Grandfather was a guard out here, but when he wasn't doing his civil duties, he was running rum illegally. Yes, we have a little bootlegging in our history. :o) Probably both sides, if truth be known. We will not be able to take the tour boat out to Ft Jefferson on this trip.


We already have a Mile 0 sticker on our SUV, but this is where US 1 starts and then travels all the way up the eastern coast of Florida. I have no idea who the woman is. I got this picture off a travel site.


So, we're counting down the days now. Ten days to go before our mini-trip. I just pray a hurricane doesn't decide to ruin our plans.