Kayak Fishing

After waking and doing our morning German lessons, we had a breakfast of cold cereal then took to the dogs for a morning walk. Even early in the day, the temperature was in the upper 70s when the sun came up, and we knew it was going to be a warm day.

Mary and Cindy left for The Villages around 9 am. They were going to meet Mark’s sister, Jodie, for hair appointments and some shopping. Mark and I configured the kayaks for single paddlers and prepared to launch from the new Seahorse Kayak Launch that we installed last week. We made a quick trip to McRae’s at the public boat launch to pick up some tackle and frozen shrimp.

We gathered our fishing gear and boating needs but were delayed by the people across the canal who were having difficulty trailering their crab boat. Keeping the engine running was part of the problem, and aligning the vessel on the trailer was another. Once the boat was loaded, the truck struggled to get back up the slick ramp. We left by 10:30 and had lines in the water by 11 am.

We paddled around several of the islands, casting crankbaits that are also used for freshwater bass fishing. Mark caught and released a ladyfish and later a 20+ inch snook. I only caught a small pinfish on a spoon lure. We changed to shrimp in the afternoon and had several bites but didn’t land any fish. I caught a fair-sized blue crab, whose pincer was caught on the hook.

We returned to the house around 4 pm, shortly before Mary and Cindy returned from their outing. We all unloaded and put things away before cleaning up for dinner.

Mark grilled a small, well-seasoned tri-tip that was excellent, and we finished up the baked beans, broccoli slaw, and other leftovers. Everything was good.

We took the dogs on their evening walk as it was getting dark, then returned to the house for brownies and ice cream while we watched an episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries on Acorn.