Fishing in Homosassa with no luck

We slept well and woke before 5 am. We did our morning language lessons and had morning beverages. Once Mark and Cindy were up, had cold cereal for breakfast then took the dogs on a walk on Standish Drive.

Fishing near Homosassa

Mark has been hoping to learn some of the advanced capabilities of his Garmin chart plotter. We used the Garmin Active Captain app to connect Marks iPhone to his Garmin boat plotter and experimented with syncing waypoints, tracks and routes to his phone and computer. Mark was especially interested in bringing tracks to his computer for viewing on Google Earth.

Kenny with a small lizardfish

Kenny came over at 9 am to fish. We loaded the boat with our gear, including the reels that we cleaned last night. They seemed to work very smoothly after cleaning and lubricating. We fished the shallow water around Homosassa and up Battle Creek for 7 hours. In that time, we caught and released a lot of undersized redfish and a few ladyfish. Kenny even caught a small lizard fish that was hardly bigger than his lure. We caught no snook and no fish of edible size. We had to get out of the boat on several occasions to push the boat through shallow water. We also had to get out a few times to retrieve snagged lures but not in deep mud like yesterday. While fishing we saw three adult porpoises and two young.

We were out until nearly 5 pm without catching much to speak of. After we returned to the dock, we cleaned saltwater off gear and cleaned boat deck and seats. We ate a leftover dinner of shrimp from The Freezer, snook from Tuesday’s fish fry and salads. It was all good.

After dinner Mark and I went to Home Depot to get a disconnect box for the HVAC. We hoped to replace the exterior electrical box on Friday. Back at the house we tried searching online to figure out why the lower icemaker wasn’t working on the refrigerator.

We watched episodes 1 and 2 of season two of Clarkson’s Farm on Prime TV.

Fishing with Mark & Kenny

Steve with a small ladyfish

As usual, we were up early, so we did our language lessons and had morning beverages before going downstairs after Mark, Cindy and the dogs were up and moving around. We had a cold cereal breakfast working toward finishing the Chex and Great Grains boxes that we brought from Kentucky.

Kenny came over before 8 am, and we loaded Mark’s boat with fishing gear to try to catch some snook. We fished hard for over six hours catching and releasing 10 undersized snook, several redfish under the keeping limit, and many ladyfish. We had no keepers.

While retrieving a lure from the mangrove snags in two feet deep mud, I took a spill landing on my rear. Watching me trying to stand up provided great amusement for Mark and Kenny.

Steve in the mud retrieving a snagged lure

By the time we returned to around 2 pm, the temperature was in the upper 80s. We were all pretty hot and had been in the sun enough for the day. We washed salt from fishing gear and scrubbed the boat to remove the mud that I brought on board after my fall.

We planned to meet Jodie and Grant at Marguerita Grill. When we drove up Hall’s River Road, we saw that they were closed on Wednesday. After talking with Grant and Jody, we went to Crumps Landing a little over a mile west of Marguerita Grill. We had never been to Crump’s Landing before, but there was plenty of parking, despite being very busy. We were seated at an outside table by the dock across the water from MacRae’s.

Jodie & Grant at Crump's Landing

Mary had a Cuban sandwich; I had the clam basket with chips.  Several of us had margaritas, and Cindy had a mojito. The meal and service were good. We really like the atmosphere at Marguerita Grill, but Crumps’s Landing is a good alternative.

Before we drove back, we made a side trip to Monkey Island near MacRae’s. Monkey Island is built on a rock outcropping near Homosassa that was a frequent hazard to boaters. In the 1960s a developer had a crew add material to the rocky structure, forming a small island. The developer had a lighthouse and other structures built on the small island and planted trees and other plants. He also obtained a few spider monkeys and squirrel monkeys, placing them on the island. Today the island is inhabited by five spider monkeys living in very nice accommodations providing great amusement to Homosassa’s visitors.

Monkey Island

Back at the house, Grant and Jodie played Phase 10 with Mary, Mark and Cindy. I fell asleep upstairs for a short nap.

I awoke when Grant and Jodie were preparing to leave. Mark and I went out to his garage workshop to disassemble a fishing reel that wasn’t working. After cleaning, greasing and reassembly the reel seemed to work well.

We strained the peanut oil from the fish fry on Tuesday evening. We returned the used oil to the original plastic jugs. Mark keeps the oil in the chest freezer above the garage for the next fish fry.

While we were working on the fishing gear and straining the oil, Cindy came out and told us that the air conditioning in the house wasn’t working. After testing connections and attempting to locate the problem, we heard a snapping sound coming from the connection box on the side of the house. Mark worked with HVAC a good deal in their 40+ years of owning and operating McDonald’s Restaurants, so he knew that the connection box was the source of the problem. We found that the disconnect box was arcing and that made the air conditioning unit stop operating. The box had been immersed in saltwater several time during hurricanes and other tropical storms, so it was not surprising that the box needed replacing. We temporarily wired around the disconnect, and the unit worked well until we could replace the box.

By the time we finished it was getting dark, so we came in and watched the final episode of season 1 of Clarkson’s Farm on Prime TV. We all turned in by 10 pm.

The Freezer with Jo-Anne and T

A return of my sciatica pain kept me from sleeping well. I had gone through a bout of sciatica in 2021 during Covid and for some reason it seems to have returned. I got up at 4 am and did language lessons before getting our morning beverages at 5 am. I went outside to check the location of the moon since  a full lunar eclipse was to occur at 6 am on Tuesday.

Strickland's Convenient Store

We had a breakfast of Great Grains cereal then took the dogs on a morning walk. Mark and I got the bait bucket and drove to “Strickland’s Convenient Store” for two dozen live shrimp. Back at the house, we loaded fishing gear and life jackets into the kayaks. When I pushed my kayak into the canal a little water splashed onto my life jacket causing the CO2 cartridge to inflate the PFD in the rear of the kayak. We paddled out of the canal a little after 8 am.

We paddled out among the islands in Mason and Battle Creeks casting Johnson Silver Minnow spoons hoping to catch sea trout, redfish or even snook. We were disappointed to catch a few small snappers, one undersized snook, one small redfish and dozens of ladyfish. All of these were immediately released. The ladyfish were fun to catch. The spirited, slender fish put up a good fight and even take to the air giving them the name “poor man’s tarpon” for their fighting. On more than one occasion, a hooked ladyfish would come out of the water and shake the hook loose. The lure would then be quickly taken by another ladyfish.

Mark fishing from his kayak

While we were out, Mark had a text from Cindy at 1:30 that our company, Jo-Anne Potter and her partner, T, had arrived. It took about 40 minutes to paddle back to the house. Upon arriving at the dock, we washed saltwater from the fishing gear and the kayaks and put everything away. It was really great to see them. I worked at Cabell Midland High School with Jo-Anne from 1994 until I left the school in 2007.  She and I were close friends at the school and did a lot of outdoor adventures together on weekends.

We sat on the back porch and visited with Jo-Anne and T for about an hour. Since we had all missed lunch, we decided to have an early dinner at The Freezer. Jo-Anne and T rode with us for the short drive, and we met Mark and Cindy in the parking lot.

The restaurant wasn’t crowded but was still busy. The only outside tables available were in the sun, but we watched until a group left then quickly got a table with an umbrella. Each couple ordered a full order of steamed peel-and-eat shrimp which is a large Styrofoam clamshell filled with shrimp along with cups of melted butter and cocktail sauce. There was a comfortable breeze as we ate shrimp and enjoyed each other’s company.

After dinner we walked out to the observation tower on the Salt Marsh Trails area of the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge. The walk was short, but it was good to move around after our large shrimp dinner.

After the short walk to the Salt Marsh Trail, we returned to the back porch of Mark and Cindy’s house to chat. We enjoyed hearing about Jo-Anne and T’s move to Florida last October and learning about the Del Webb community, Sun City Center, where they live. They said that their house is about 50 years old but has been well kept. Their $600 per month HOA fee covers mowing, landscaping, water, sewer, internet, exterior painting, roof and gutter replacement as well as roads and community centers. They seem very happy there.  We are really glad that they have a nice place there and can maintain their active lifestyles.

Mary, Steve, Jo-Anne & T

After visiting until nearly 5 pm, Jo-Anne and T left for their room at the Comfort Suites in Dunnellen. We walked the dogs then watched an episode of Dark Winds on AMC and one of Clarkson’s Farm on Prime TV. We turned in at 10 pm.

Kayak and boat fishing

We woke at 5 am, did language lessons on Babbel and had our morning beverages until we heard Mark and Cindy moving downstairs. Mark made biscuits while Cindy made sausage gravy; both of which were delicious. Mark and I took Jade and Sage out for a walk in the neighborhood while Mary and Cindy loaded the dishwasher and cleaned up after breakfast. Then they took their own walk. While the wives got ready for church, Mark and I went out in the kayaks to fish.

Kenny with his 30 inch snook

We paddled up Battle Creek to fish around some of the oyster bars in the stream. Mark suggested a hole near an oyster bar that might hold fish. He recommended that I beach the canoe and fish from the oyster bar. By the time I made it to the spot, two teenagers were struggling to get their small aluminum boat through the shallow water. Soon thereafter, an airboat circled through the area and attempted to fish. I waited until everyone left, then casted a gold colored Johnson spoon into the pool catching several ladyfish of all sizes. These ladyfish are not considered palatable, so I turned them loose as soon as I caught them. While they aren’t good to eat, the ladyfish are sometimes called the “poor man’s tarpon “ because of their ability to leap from the water as they attempt to throw the hook. They put up a good fight and are fun to catch. Mark caught a 15-inch sea trout.

Mark and Kenny on the boat

Back at the house we cleaned the kayaks and fishing gear and replaced line on one reel. We cleaned the sea trout that Mark caught and bagged it for a meal later this week.

As we were finishing, Kenny came over with a 30-inch snook that he caught this morning. It is the first day of snook season and only fish between 28 and 32 are legal to keep. We made plans with Kenny to go out in the boat at 3:30, so we had a quick lunch of salad, deli ham and corn chips before we loaded the boat for our evening fishing.

We headed out to try to catch a few redfish from around the mangrove islands in the area. We moved around a lot looking for fish trying the Johnson weedless spoons and plastic paddle-tail jigs. We had a few strikes, and Mark and I caught sea trout that were below the legal limit.  We released them immediately. Kenny caught the only keeper, which was a 21 inch redfish.

Mark retrieving a snagged lure

We fished until the sun was setting around 6:30, then we took the boat back to the dock behind the house. We once again hosed the saltwater from the gear and boat including purging the engine’s water pump. Kenny cleaned his redfish, and we put the equipment away.

We invited Kenny and Jodie to come for fish tacos for dinner in 30 minutes. We cleaned up quickly and came to dinner.

We enjoyed the redfish tacos and the roasted vegetable mix that Jodie brought. We had margaritas that Jodie made and had great conversation over dinner.

After dinner Mark, Cindy, Mary, Kenny and Jodie played cards, while I sent pictures to Kenny and caught up on this journal. We are looking forward to seeing Joann and T tomorrow for a visit then dinner at The Freezer.

Fishing

As usual, we were awake by 5 am. We did a few language lessons on Babbel then went downstairs for breakfast. Mark made egg bites and bagels for breakfast, then he fed and kneaded the sourdough that he started yesterday evening. After breakfast we took the dogs on a short walk on Standish.

We planned to meet Kenny at 8:30, so we came back to the house to prepare for fishing. We loaded life jackets, fishing rods and baits along with sunscreen and water for our morning on the water. Since the morning was damp, we dressed in layers with long pants and long-sleeved T-shirts. The three of us piled into Mark’s boat and went out of the canal into Mason Creek and the surrounding islands.

Redfish

We were casting Johnson  Silver Minnows, weedless spoons, into the oyster beds and near mangrove roots for redfish. The water was very shallow, making maneuvering even the tunnel hull shallow water boat difficult. After fishing for nearly an hour Kenny had caught a ladyfish, an undesirable species which he released, and I had hooked a small sea trout that got off the hook as it was at the boat. After another hour I caught a large 26-inch redfish that put up quite a fight, especially as it neared the boat. It didn’t tire easily and made an exciting time until Mark was able to net the fish. After removing the hook and measuring, we put the fish in the live well, but we were unable to get water to flow into the live well or bait well. We could hear the pump working, but water wasn’t entering the tank. We poured buckets of seawater into the live well until we could figure out the problem.

Sea trout

Mark caught a beautiful sea trout that was just under the 16-inch limit so he released the fish. Kenny caught another ladyfish, then I hooked another large redfish. This fish fought even more than the previous fish, but we were able to net it more quickly. This fish measured 24 inches so was within the legal limit of 18-27 inches. We fished a little longer and caught no more fish. I had a strike that felt like a large redfish, but the fish didn’t stay on the hook. Because Kenny had promised to take his wife, Jodie, to the Homosassa mullet festival this afternoon, we came back to the dock behind Mark’s house by 1:30.

Redfish

Mark and I sprayed the gear with freshwater to clear the saltwater and cleaned the boat. Mark filleted one of the redfish as I assisted, then I filleted the other fish with Mary assisting. Mark looked at the live wells. For some reason that we don’t know, the pumps to the live wells began working as they should. Mary bagged the fish fillets for freezing, and we took our fishing clothes in to be washed.

Lunch was a garden salad with deli turkey and potato chips. The rest of the afternoon we relaxed or napped since we were both very tired. I called Steve Minor to see if he had a good birthday on Wednesday. Mark did the final kneading of his first batch of sourdough bread and put the loaves into large bowls for baking.

Mark and I took the dogs on a quick evening walk then came in for a meal of smoked turkey that we brought from home, a garden salad and plenty of Mark’s sourdough bread. Everything was delicious.

After dinner, Kenny and Jodie stopped by for a short visit. Jodie will go to church with Mary and Cindy tomorrow. We plan to fish with Kenny tomorrow afternoon, although Mark and I may go out fishing tomorrow morning.  I renewed my Florida saltwater fishing license for another year since we were hoping to come to Florida earlier next year.

After Kenny and Jodie left, we watched an episode of Clarkson’s Farm on Prime TV then an episode of Astrid on PBS. This season Astrid seems to have left the original format and become a bit far-fetched. We hope that the show hasn’t “jumped the shark”.

Fishing in the Lower Zambezi River

Large crocodile across from Sweet Potato Camp

When our valet, Ashsefu, came to wake us at 5:30 we were already awake and dressed. We went to breakfast and enjoyed the eggs made to order. Mary had a breakfast wrap, and I had a ham, cheese and mushroom omelet. We got in the truck with Clement at 6:30 am to drive around Lower Zambezi National Park. This 1,600 square mile national park was established in 1983 as a game reserve to be protected from mass tourism and to allow native game to thrive.

Our safari vehicle at Potato Bush Camp

We saw several birds that we hadn’t seen including the trumpeter hornbill, goliath heron and crested guineafowl. There were a number of water bucks, kudus and warthogs. A troop of baboons, that certainly had over 100 animals, included many mothers with babies clinging to their backs. Impalas frequently travel with baboon troops to better look out for predators to the benefit of both.

Waterbuck

Waterholes in the area are drying up at this time of year, but the Zambezi River is near. One remaining water hole had four crocodiles basking in the sun as wading birds walked among them. One crocodile was half submerged and had its mouth open exposing the bright yellow flap preventing water from entering.

We followed some lion tracks for a while then started looking for a leopard but had no success with either. We stopped for a tea break and gave Clement our lunch order from a menu. We then drove back to the camp arriving by 10:30.

Cindy & Mark relaxing at the tent

We changed clothes at out tents since the day had warmed since we left this morning. We walked back to the lodge at 11:30 for lunch. Mark had a large burger, Cindy ordered a salad with grilled chicken, Mary had an open-faced roast beef sandwich, and I had a chicken schnitzel. Dessert was chocolate mousse.

We went back to the tents where we read, napped and wrote in the journal until Mark and I were scheduled to go fishing in the lower Zambezi.

Mark with a 10# tigerfish

Mark and I met Lazarus at 4 pm and went out on the Lower Zambezi River to try to catch some fish. We were hoping for a tigerfish but with the lack of success on our two previous fishing trips, we would be happy to get a bite from any kind of fish. Mary and Cindy stayed at the lodge and played cribbage.

On the way to selected fishing spots, we passed several large pods of hippos. We also saw a few Cape buffalo and crocodiles along the banks. Once at a spot, Lazarus either tied off to a limb or embedded the lower unit of the motor into a sand bar to anchor the boat. We used cut-bait on a large stainless steel hook on a steel leader and rigged with a slice of fish. The reels were loaded with a strong braided fishing line.

Steve with an electric catfish

We stopped in several spots, allowing the current to take the bait and hook downstream. We had no luck at the first two places we tried. However, at the third spot, Lazarus hooked a fish then handed the rod to Mark. The fish fought well and even went airborne once before Lazarus was able to net the large tigerfish. The nearly 10-pound tigerfish had a mouthful of sharp teeth that meshed together for a bite that could be dangerous. From looking at the teeth, it was obvious how the fish earned the name tigerfish. We weighed and photographed the fish before releasing the tiger fish back into the Zambezi River.

A few minutes later I felt some bumps on my line and assumed that I had drifted into a branch on the river bottom. However, when I retrieved the line, I saw that I had hooked a catfish. The fish was olive in color and was covered with darker spots giving it a leopard-like appearance. When Lazarus came to net the fish, his eyes widened and he said that it was an electric catfish. These fish are capable of producing several hundred volts of electricity and can easily knock an adult out. The catfish uses the shock to capture prey as well as to avoid predators. Lazarus told us that he was knocked out by one of these fish as a youth.

Once on the boat Lazarus used needle nosed pliers to remove the hook from the deeply hooked catfish. He was careful to use rubber handled pliers and to not touch the fish with his hands.

Relaxing at the tent

We returned to the dock a little after 6 pm so we could shower, watch a horticulture Wednesday webinar and prepare for our short night game drive. The webinars would be inaccessible outside of the US, but we used the VPN to connect through Atlanta with no problem.

Clement picked us up in the Safari truck at 7 pm and drove away from the camp. Along the way, we saw a genet running along the ground. This cat-like mammal is related more to the mongoose than to cats.

As we drove along, we spotted lights and a fire. Clement told us that he needed to check on the people since camping is prohibited in Lower Zambia National Park. As we approached we saw that it was a setup for an outdoor dinner where we would join Sausage Tree Camp for the meal. It was a nice surprise.

We sat around the fire with a group of Belgians who were staying at Sausage Tree. We enjoyed drinks and conversation until the soup was brought to us. The split pea soup with curry was quite good. After soup bowls were collected, we had chicken, beef, lentils and salad from the buffet. Dessert was a tasty macron with chocolate filling.

We left the dinner around 8:30 and saw two more genets on the way back to Potato Bush Camp. We turned in as soon as we were escorted to our tents.

April Fool's Day - Not feeling well - Staying in

We were awake before 5 am, had our morning beverages and did our language lessons then went downstairs where Mark had made oatmeal. Mark had arranged a fishing trip this morning with Kenny from across the street and several of his friends who were also involved in the iron mining industry in Minnesota. Kenny would be in Mark’s boat with us and his friends had their own boat. They would show Mark some of their favorite fishing locations in the area.

As the departure time neared, the less confident I became that I had the stamina for a 6–7-hour fishing trip. I felt like I was getting over whatever was bothering me this week but still wasn’t quite right. Mark left to pick up Kenny around 11 but I stayed upstairs and napped most of the morning. Mary and Cindy worked outside moving plants to areas where they might not be damaged when the house is lifted. They also relocated many monarch larvae to milkweed plants with more leaves.

We had deli ham sandwiches on sourdough with potato chips for lunch. Mary and Cindy showered after lunch then we all went out to run errands. We stopped by a gas station but saw prices had raised 40 cents overnight so we decided to put off filling up until later in the week. At Walmart we got a few grocery items and some postcards for the grandsons.

We returned to the house where I called Huntington Federal savings Bank and made arrangements for some banking to be done next week.

Mark and his neighbor, Kenny, returned around 6:30pm having caught only one fish in the seven hours that they fished. The others from their party in the other boat caught nothing as well. They reported that none of the boats that they observed appeared to be catching fish. Kenny filleted the 18-inch sea trout while Mark and I emptied the boat and rinsed seawater from the gear.

When we went inside, Cindy had warmed to the leftovers including the seafood from Stumpknockers for dinner. We found that the air fryer made the fish and seafood very crisp and delicious.

After dinner, Mark and I sat on the dock behind the house and used the leftover shrimp and cut bait to catch several catfish from the canal. My first cast produced a large cat that gave me a great fight.

We came in around 8:30 to shower, clean up and prepare for bed. I took what I hope was my last dose of Nyquil. We watched a few minutes of an old Johnny Carson show on Roku then turned in.

Preparing the boat for fishing

I felt a little better when I awoke not knowing if I was getting over what I had or if it was just the NyQuil that was making me not feel as sick. In either case I was happy to be able to move around. We all had cold cereal for breakfast then Mark and I started installing the swing out shelves on the corner cabinet.

We finished about lunchtime for a deli ham sandwich on sourdough with potato chips.

After lunch, we experimented with the Lowrance and Garmin displays on the boat to be able to follow safe boating paths in the shallow waters and to be able to mark points of potential danger or good places to fish. We saw a porpoise in the canal by Mark’s boat.

We sprayed down with Skin So Soft to repel the no see ums and went out to try the navigation systems. While we were out we saw two feeding porpoises

Back at the dock we renamed the tracks and readied the boat for fishing tomorrow.

Dinner was a delicious lasagna with a garden salad. Once again, I went to bed early after taking NyQuill.

Kayak Fishing near Homosassa

We awoke to the smell of bacon frying in the kitchen. Mark had made omelets with bacon for breakfast. It would be easy to get used to Mark’s excellent breakfasts.

After breakfast and a short walk with the dogs, Mark and got fishing gear ready and kayaks outfitted. Mark drove us the short distance to Strickland’s convenient store where we bought 3 dozen live shrimp for bait

Paddled up Battle Creek to fish along some oyster bars. The tide was dead low. We caught some small catfish in the shallow water before Mark caught a red drum that was under the slot limit. I caught a 21” red drum on a dead shrimp. Since one legal drum is the limit, I changed to a white plastic swim bait to try to catch sea trout. I caught another red drum that was under the limit and released it.

We watched as a large boat became stuck on an oyster bar in the low water. There were lots of airboats out causing a good bit of turbulence for us. We started back as the sun was going down. I was having a great deal of trouble paddling against the current when I realized that the large fish in the mesh bag on the side of the boat was acting like a sea anchor. After I lifted the bag with the fish into the kayak, a was able to move forward normaly.

I was starting to feel like I was getting sick, so mark cleaned the fish while I took first shower. Cindy and Mary had made pork loin, air fried potatoes and garden salad for dinner. After calling to wish Gran a Happy birthday, I went straight up to bed at 7 pm and slept until 4 am.

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.