2021 Nov 4 Surf Casting on Manasota Key

After seeing the Snook yesterday, Frank couldn’t wait to start fishing. So much so, he ran out with his fresh water tackle and starting fishing before setting up his salt water rod. Didn’t take him long and something hit his jig! His rod bent sharply and Frank had his work cut out for him with this light rod and 8 lb test line!

Frank watched as his line peeled off the reel almost to the end!

50 mins later Frank is still battling his fish.

Frank gets a glimpse- but what is it?

Success! A stingray!

A crowd had gathered as Frank fought this battle and some even took pictures. Seeing what Frank caught was all I needed. I grabbed my saltwater rod and ran into the surf.

Esther hooks into something too!

Esther’s stingray

It was a lot of fun and I managed to catch 2!

2021 Nov - 3 - Manasota Key Florida

 We are spending a week on Manasota Key Florida and hope to get in some good fishing since we are right on the beach!

Beautiful sunset view from our unit

We did see some really nice Snook when we went to a bait store to inquire about fishing.

Really nice Snook close to shore

We also saw a variety of interesting birds.

Blue Heron

Pelican

Hawk eating his catch!

Fourth of July Weekend - Maine Fishing

We had crazy weather this week before the fourth of July. It started off so hot, we basically stayed inside and enjoyed air conditioning.  A couple of days of that weather and then we got a nicer day and was able to get out in the boat and enjoy the lake.

Esther with a decent large mouth bass

We were treated to a beautiful sunset!

The weather got much cooler for a couple of days with temps in the high 50s and 60s. But the cooler weather inspired the fish to bite!

Esther with her biggest bass of the night, weighing in at 3-1/4lbs

Frank caught a nice one too but...

This one was the biggest! 

Frank beat me again! He tried to get a weight on this last bass, but it was so strong it flipped itself right off the scale and back in the water!

Ending another beautiful day with a gorgeous sunset

 

2021 June 9 - Maine Weekend

We had a few wonderful days in Maine. Weather is warmer and quite pleasant now. Fishing was spotty. June 9th was good and other days were just so so.

Esther with a nice largemouth bass 

We caught mainly largemouth bass this trip. A few pickerel, and a couple of small yellow perch.

Esther with possibly the smallest perch she has ever caught!

2021 - Memorial Day Weekend

 

Beautiful sunset in Maine

We spent Memorial Day weekend up in Maine as we start our fishing season.  The fishing was slow with the weather being cold, but we  did catch a couple of bass and several Pickerel.

Besides fishing, we had a couple of glimpses at some wildlife.  We got a quick glimpse of a black mink running along the shoreline.  Much too fast for my camera to catch.

On another day, we watched a strange looking duck fly around, land in a tree and then down into the water. I did get a photo of this duck and found out it is a Common Merganser.  They eat fish and nest in holes in trees! Very interesting.

Common Merganser

The most exciting wildlife encounter was with a female Mallard Duck.  We  had seen a female Mallard in our driveway a couple of weeks ago.  This time we discovered her on a nest of about 8 eggs, hidden under the branches of a small hemlock tree. right next to our driveway. When she is on the nest, she is almost invisible. The color of her feathers blends right in with the ground.

Duck Eggs in the nest with down feathers

Mother duck on nest.

2021 May 13 - First Fishing Trip of the Season in Maine

 

Esther with her Bug Suit on and a large mouth Bass

Frank with his headnet on and a Smallmouth Bass

Early fishing in Maine and the black flies are biting like crazy! Wish the fish were biting like crazy, but it is a little early for that.  We did manage to catch a few bass and pickerel. Hopefully the next trip to Maine will have more fish and less Black flies!