The Last Post

This will be the last post for a blog of a very enjoyable two weeks fishing and photography trip. The fishing was great, maybe not the biggest of fish were caught but the variety was enormous, which for me, was more important. Tim and I had a great time taking the photos, some of which are included on this blog. In all we took over 1300 photos. Tim was using a Canon EOS 400D with a 200mm Tamron zoom Lens, I was using a Canon EOS 400D with a 300mm zoom lens. Most of the fish photos were taken with a Pentax Optio W60, a fantastic little camera.

Spending two weeks with anyone can be a challenge but I enjoyed Tims company enormously. I think there may have been times when I got on his nerves. He being a very accomplished fisherman and me being a bit of an amateur. At one time I remarked that fishing with me was like taking his kid fishing. Tims reply was that his kid was actually quite good. Ouch..

Our journey back to Miami was quite interesting. We made a stop along Alligator Alley as we were ahead of schedule. We got to see some real live wild Gators. Tim had an urge to do his Crocodile Dundee impression. He managed to lean out and touch one of the brutes after a mental take two.

The journey back with American Airlines was a real eye opener to see how the other half live. Me with my upgrade to first class, Tim in the cheap seats flying economy. He took it very well and wasn't the slightest bit jealous.

All in all a fanastic trip, probably never to be repeated.

The end is near....

So here we are all ready to leave. Yesterday was chill out day. The fishing was half hearted, it was more a case of relax and see what we could get in the way of photographs. We got some nice ones I think. We had a nice meal of surf and turf at a nearby restaurant and a some wine to wash it all down followed by more wine at the villa. Problem is if I buy the stuff I just can't bring myself to leave it behind. We have been in this posh villa with pool for 2 weeks and neither of us has been in the pool. We have either been too smelly from the days fishing or just too busy. I did use the pool once to test my lure so I guess it wasn't wasted.

So in a few hours we fly home, me first class , Tim below in the cheap seats. I had a bit of a problem with my leg last week which required a visit to the local hospital. To cut a long story short I was told I needed an upgrade so that my leg could be rested. Who am I to argue?

Last Day of Fishing

Today we must make the most of the fishing time we have left. Yesterday we caught more Blacktip Shark and a few other strange looking fish. It would be nice to finish with a bigger fish but even if we don't  I feel this trip has been a great success. It will probably never  be repeated but we have the photos and the memories.

It's all coming together.......

.......................and soon we will have to leave. Over the last 11 days or so we have lost fish, messed up photo opertunities and struggled at times getting it right with the boat. Anchoring and docking in the strong winds has been difficult at times. Now with just a couple of days to go I think we are beginning to get it right. We could do with a couple of weeks more just to prove the point.

 Today we caught more Black tip shark, Mackeral and the usual baitfish. Tim lost a very good fish, we'll never know how big but it had to be bigger than anything else we have managed to get into the boat so far.

A good day

Today was a good day. It wasn't the size so much as the number of different species. We started with a Spanish Mackeral, followed by Ladyfish, Lizard fish, Grouper, Blacktip Shark, Snapper, Gaftail sail Catfish, Common Catfish and an Atlantic Croaker. But the best thing that Tim captured was an image of a Osprey adult with chick. We still are searching for the elusive whopper. 

No fish on the menu

A bit dissapointing on the fishing front yesterday, just a few small shark. The high winds we are getting is making the fishing a bit more challenging. We are planning a trip to the Bass pro shop today to replace some lost tackle and to set us up for a good day tomorrow when the winds are supposed to drop. So we went out for a meal last night to a place called Hooters, I should have photographed the waitress so you could all understand why it was called hooters. 

On the way back we came across some burried telephones, Tim was overcome with grief.

Since I have no great fishing stories to tell for yesterday I'll tell another about boat refueling. On our first refueling mission we were told that we should visit a fuel station where we would be met by a nice young girl called Red. Slowly I approached the dock aiming to stop at the pumps I could see in the distance. Tim spotted a pump that I hadn't seen so we tied up ready to take on some gas. Red appeared and Tim said, we'd like some gas, is this the right pump? Red replies, you don't want that one honey, that is the shit pump  but you can have some if you want. So we moved on from the shit pumpout and got some gas instead.

Dusky Shark Dinner

This is the first time I have eaten shark and it was beautifully cooked by Tim. This man has hidden talents.