It began with kayaks…………graduated to a boat……………..and now all this extra stuff!  I couldn’t not have guessed in 2001 that going with Eric to Haulover Canal, while borrowing a friend’s kayak would have turned into this.  There are still people at work that upon meeting me can’t believe this part of my life, especially when I show them the epic fish I caught our last day at SGI.  Okay, maybe ‘epic’ is a bit of a stretch, but it was big.  Yes, this is a teaser for a post to come (3rd wave of SGI fishing).  But before that gets posted, the items in the title have become a common and daily occurrance on these SGI trips.

 

A key aspect of fishing is the bait – no surprise there.  When I first started fishing, it was all about hard baits with treble hooks, then we moved up to soft plastics.  Lately, we seem to be primarily using live bait when we can and that takes extra work – hence pinfish traps.

They don’t come with those ‘bars’.  That is an adaptation that Eric added – bars of rebar to stabilize the traps.  One of the first times we used the traps, there was a storm.  The next morning we had a (very) difficult time locating the traps since the waves rolled them from our ‘X’ on the Garmin screen.  One of our godsons had eagle eyes and found the small, brown float we first used, but not any longer.  Notice above, that first float has turned into a larger, white float – much easier to see.

If you’re lucky, this is what you find inside the traps – a pinfish.

It is a process.  After you select your trap, the next step it to find a location to place it.  Generally you look for thick grass, with a slight current 4-12 feet in depth.  Areas near bridge pilings, structures or boat docks are choice.  You can see our buoy along the right side of the photo (it’s that white dot!).

Next step is baiting.  Number 1 choice is raw fish, 2-5 lbs of dead bait.  Fish carcasses are great or if bait is bought, menhaden is a good bet since it is cheap and smelly.  Fish have a strong sense of smell, so the smellier the better – who knew?

Now, you’re ready to deploy your trap.  Hang on, this is exciting.

Put the long part in the direction of the current flow, making it easy for the bait to swim inside.  Don’t (!) check the trap every few hours – 12 to 24 is preferred.  When enough time has elapsed, check your trap.  Eric used a gaff to grab the buoy and trap while our friend Dennis checked out what was caught.

Pretty much we checked the traps in the morning as we were heading out, gathering the pinfish into the livewell.  We baited the traps at the end of the day with our fish carcasses – provided we caught something.  Next up, another bait.

A bait we occasionally use is shrimp.  These we don’t trap, but drive down to the local bait store and pick up (several) dozens.  We put them into another livewell and use them throughout the morning, until we run out.  😦  Oops, sometimes we don’t buy enough.

Speaking of shrimp………………..Gulp Baits are very popular and we used them throughout the week.  Brown (new penny), natural and nuclear chicken being the color of choice.  ‘What has brown done for you?”  is a catchy slogan on TV and yes, we used it thoughout the week.  Brown seemed to be a favorite color our caught fish enjoyed.

Of course, now this made my curious, what are Gulp Baits?  While there is waaaaay too much info on the internet, I boiled it down to a few factoids.

• Company started in 1945 by Berkley Bedell, who had been making flies since 1937, when he was 16 years old in Iowa.
• The company’s first breakthrough was the innovative Trilene in 1959.
• He started making soft plastic baits in the 1980s with his first ‘scented’ bait product in 1985.  Actually the soft baits are not truly plastic, but a water-based resin, mostly biodegradable.
• While the ‘scent’ is a trade secret, the company’s scientists analyzed the chemical make of what fish like to munch and integrated that into the resin formula.

That’s a pretty simple explanation for a highly technical process.  One key thing their website mentions is their continued commitment to research and development.

The last thing mentioned in my title……..Crab traps.  We brought two and the rental has one at the dock.  Our target crab is the Blue crab – considered by many to be the sweetest and best tasting of all.

Crab traps are a bit different than our pinfish traps – square versus round is the obvious difference.  Both require being baited for the targeted species.  A crab trap has the bait (fish carcasses) placed in the center.  Crabs walk around the cage, searching for ways to get to the bait, find the ‘secret’ entranceway and don’t (usually) get out.

The red wire (above photo) seen in the middle is where you stick the bait (fish carcasses).  You want crabs  to get inside the trap to reach the bait and not be able to snack on it from the outside or……………..no crabs!  This guy took the bait.

After you’ve massed enough for a crab boil, you assemble the essential items.  Eric is a fan of Zatarain’s, but there are others.

And yes, you have to have more ‘stuff’ such as this cooker.  I will say that cooking the crabs outside is an excellent decision.  When cooking in the kitchen, the spices get into the air and can get caught in your throat.  Now this means you have to ensure your propane tank is full…………..another oops, sorry guys, now the world knows.

After the water is boiling the crabs go into the pot.  If you don’t want to watch the video, skip past it – sorry Karen.

After a certain amount of time, they are dumped out and ready for the ‘picking of the meat’.

This is one (possible) end result – very tasty!

Next up, cooking and smoking our catches.

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We fished pretty hard the beginning of the week since mid-week the weather is turning against us.  There’s prep work getting the rods ready……….

And hopefully finding some pinfish in the traps………..

We went back to our favorite spots:  marsh island, youth camp and pelican reef.  We brought home a decent haul of fish.  🙂  on this trip.

The top fish is a different species – a bluefish, very tasty when smoked.

We didn’t get home any too soon.  I got a shot of the guys fileting the fish while it was raining.

We took advantage of the down time and drove to the Piggly Wiggly for a few more necessities.  Man – what a wine selection for a small town!

Sometimes there’s a lot of action on the boat, sometimes there’s not.

Sometimes we catch keepers and other times we don’t.

Connor is my buddy and we usually end up sitting on the cooler & cushion in front of the console.  Yep, we’ve got our life vests on.   Safety first!

However, if the ride back is too rough, I head for the seats in the back and hold on.  Sorry Connor.

Eric cropped one of the photos and while I gave him a lot of grief, it’s a really good photo.  Here are ‘The Guys from SGI”.

 

While this post is fairly short, there’s one more wave of fishing coming AND a few other SGI posts.  Patience.

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow!  It rains and EVERYBODY drives to Apalachicola!  It was a bear to park and we took two vehicles – guys & girls- which only added to the parking mess.

I’m going to start with one of my favorite shops (which came back after an absence of years) Betsy’s Sunflower.  Karen and I were shopping  at her original location 20+ years ago.  Then one visit, they were gone. 😦  I found out later that she moved to Maine and has only recently come back to Apalachicola.  I LOVE this store.

We actually ran into Betsy while we were shopping and she shared that last year’s hurricane (Michael) did $50K damage to her first store and they moved to this location in the High Cotton Marketplace building – which stayed dry during the hurricane.  Its a bit smaller than her other store, but she still has some interesting things – at least for me.

Yep, I made some purchases.  Something I did every time I walked into her store, at her first location and once she came back!

Another favorite is Riverlily.  Eric doesn’t love the place since one focus is lotions & soaps and yes, as soon as you open the door it assails your senses.  For years, I always purchased earrings here – that was before Karen and I made them.

Grady Market is a fun place.  I typically found (newer style) t-shirts from Life is Good.  This time I refrained.  There are a number of small vendors that have clusters of merchandise inside the building – some waaaay too expensive for my wallet.

They have some cute garden features out back (sorry Karen I couldn’t resist).

There are a several streets that have storefronts with a variety of merchandise.  Today we didn’t add to their economy, but we have in the past.

Peddlers Alley is a fun place to shop.  They have lots of garden items that add a touch of whimsey.  There are so many nooks and crannies that you could come back again and find something you missed earlier.

Go Fish is a place fun to shop and look, but very seldom have I purchased items.  They have some interesting clothing, but too casual for my work.

There was one cool place we stopped The Tin Shed.  It had lots of nautical items that could be incorporated into a beach-side décor.  Past purchases are sitting in our Florida room at home.

While we were shopping, the guys stopped at Oyster City Brewing Conpany.  Loved their sign out front.

Before we left town, we ate at a new restaurant.  Good food, but the kitchen is still finding their way.  Unfortunately we had been there an hour before the gumbo arrived.

This is near the place that held our boat in storage last year when the boat trailer was getting refabricated.

Eric started with a cup (literally) of gumbo followed by a  (whole) fried flounder and I ordered chicken strips (yep, tired of seafood).

So ends a day of shopping and eating at Apalachicola when rain thwarts fishing plans.

Ginny  

 

 

 

 

 

 

We left Karen (in peace and quiet) while heading east to fish the bay.

We’re motoring to known fishing spots that we’ve all been in the past, usually on kayaks, then beyond those areas.  I’ve heard about Pelican Reef, Marsh Island,  pilot harbor,  East End, Goose Island, Youth Camp oyster bars and the ‘highway of life’ for many years.  Dennis fished them while he lived in Tallahassee.  Eric fished them when visiting Dennis.  Myself and Rich fished some of these points when we joined the ‘kayak fishing  club’.  But it starts with getting onto the island.  This bridge brings us to SGI.

We’re fishing with (1) live bait and (2) soft plastic artificial lures – more on that in a future post.  We have 11 rods between the five of us (trust me, that’s not hardly enough).  Eighty pounds of ice between the drink cooler and the fish cooler.

As in life, nothing is guaranteed and that’s more with fishing that one would hope.  However………………….this first trip we were successful!  Others had put fish in the cooler before me, but this is my first keeper seatrout.

Eric caught this shark………..and released him.

Eventually we were chased off the water by this.

And this, which kind of surprised us as it came from the coastline.  Let me tell you, rain hurts on the boat!  Not the boat – but when those rain drops hit you and you’re going 42 mph, droplets pack quite a punch.

This was a nice Father’s day photo with Rich and Connor.

But overall, this excursion netted us 10 fish and we all put keeper fish in the cooler.  Fish count was 5 seatrout and 5 mackerel.

There’s another key step involved with catching fish……….cleaning and filleting the fish.  Eric is the master (sorry guys, I’m married to him).  His filet competition is Audrey, but she’s not here.  😦  Nor is her brother, Warner.  Not sure if Connor was aware he photo-bombed this shot.

Eric drew a crowd – of the feathered kind.  As he was cleaning the fish, these pelicans (and some seagulls) waited for the fish guts.

Later that day, three of us went back out on the water.  The weather looked dicey later in the week and we want to rack up as many hours fishing while the weather was good. We had another good trip.  That flat fish seen at the bottom of the photo……..It’s a flounder.  We could thank Connor for that one!  It’s my favorite and an elusive fish since we don’t specifically target them.

Swimming in the morning, dinner that night.  That’s the goal for any fish we catch.  The mackerel turned into sushi.

The seatrout turned into Trout Almondine.  Since Eric couldn’t find the slivered almonds he packed, we used  marcona almonds.  OMG!  Those were Italian almonds and I don’t think we can go back to using anything else.

While we didn’t catch these shrimp ourselves, they were locally caught – and very delicious I might add.  Having homemade remoualade and cocktail enhanced their flavor – thanks hon. Love the platter and bowl!

While I can’t take credit for this sunset photo (thanks Karen!) it’s a fitting way to end this post.

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah!!!  We headed to St. George Island for a week of fun, fishing, eating, shopping and exploring.

Pulling the boat, we try to stay off the interstates as much as possible. The little bit we did was crazy!  Too many cars and semis were on the road.  I assume they were all heading up North after a week at Disney and/or the beach.

We had a goal for a roadside watermelon stand and once off the interstate our chances were definitely going to increase.  But what is important to us is that we get one that is seeded.  Success!

Why, you may ask……………..they taste better! While the seedless ones have been the rage for a number of years,  I would rather do without then eat one of those.

But before going on, I’m sharing a few watermelon factoids:

• Florida has a great climate for growing watermelons and is a leading producer for the state (North Florida).
• While considered a summer fruit, growers in Florida can plant it as a winter crop.
• Florida is the only state in the country that produces this fruit December to April.

We’re a little too early to check-in to our rental AND we were hungry so we’re meeting our friend Dennis at Aplachicola’s Hole in The Wall Seafood – a family owned restaurant and oyster bar.

It’s nothing fancy, just good (fried) seafood.  The owner and his wife are practical and no nonsense folks.  It’s not an extensive menu, not much seating, some communal tables and unfortunately no Apalachicola oysters.  The day we were there they were closing early at 3pm to watch sports.  They locked the door with us inside and no one else was served.  There were people trying to get in, but no such luck (for them).   Fried grouper fingers and fried shrimp were our seafood choices this day.

The décor is eclectic – neon beer signs and baseball caps line the walls.

Finally the time came for check-in (4pm).  Man – it was also a zoo at the rental company.  We parked along the side of the road to stay out of the mess. Of course it doesn’t help that we’re extra long with the boat.  🙂

Everyone names their houses and this was no different.  We are staying at Canal-a-Bye.  It doesn’t look like much from the outside………….

But hey, it suits our needs and primarily we are here for the fishing, not luxury accommodations.  Three bedrooms, 3 baths, a porch and most importantly a dock.

And let’s not forget the ‘man cave’.  The guys are keeping a bunch of their stuff in this room next to the garage.

We were able to launch the boat the day of check-in and get it to our dock.

Eric finally gets to use this ‘special’ buoy he got for Christmas.  He has such a good wife.  🙂

The first night is about settling in, getting the fishing ‘stuff’ ready and planning our time on the water. Hang tight – more to come!

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final chapter for this trip.  Yes, it’s about food (and possibly some beer).  🙂

A (Darden) fan favorite is Seafood Seller Café.  It has been a recent find and every trip to Crystal River we stop here – multiple times if we can!

It’s a colorful, New Orleans-themed eatery featuring Cajun-style seafood.  The crawfish draw Eric.  This is 5 lbs.

There’s almost always a wait so we usually eat at the bar.  The tray of crawfish always draws comments and a crowd.  Eric shares with whoever will try a taste – after he gives instructions for the proper way to eat them.  It’s an art and a science.  Next visit, I’ll share details.

Me, I’m drawn by these ‘tomato chips’.  Seems innocent enough, they don’t look like anything special. but OMG!  They are little bits of tasty heaven.

During our State Park travels, we got hungry.  Googled nearby restaurants and found this place called The Freezer.

It was a little casual…………………..

And very popular.  There were no tables available inside and had an interesting ‘decor’.  Yes, those are real dollar bills.

We wandered outside and found a tiki table available.

As I said, things were a bit casual.  Since we were sitting outside, ordering was done in a designated space at the inside bar and brought to you outside.  A variety of things were ordered to appeal to all of our appetites:  fish dip, smoked mullet peel & eat shrimp.

When we left, it was now obvious why this place was called The Freezer. Okay, looking at the photo, maybe it’s not so obvious, but this used to be an actual freezer for their daily catches and now it is a ‘casual’ restaurant.

Another local stop we made was The Plantation Inn.  Years past we stayed here and have enjoyed eating at the bar.  Once again, we began our meal with fish dip, along with crab bisque.

I had this tasty tune & advocado poke dish.

 

Adrienne was ready for something green and got the wedge salad – it looked great!

So I mentioned ‘beer’.  There is one brewery in Crystal River.

Oops, actually it’s a Winery and Brewery.  Something a bit unusual is their tanks are outside and therefore brewing is subject to Florida’s weather.  They do have plans to move to another location, possibly opening this Fall.

Yep, we had a taste of their brews.  L – R:  American Red ale, Centerfield Brown ale, Front: Strawberry Banana Wheat beer.

They had a creative use for their growler.

So that’s my final post for Crystal River………….this trip.  I hope there are more visits but we don’t have any planned for the foreseeable future.

Ginny  

 

 

 

 

 

What to do on a rainy weekend?  Go visit some of Florida’s State Parks – and there’s plenty near and around Crystal River.  But we were also getting passport stamps – more on that later.

Our first visit this day was the Crystal River Archaeological State Park.

As we motor down the river on the boat, we go past these mounds so today was the day to see them first hand.  There is a nice, small museum that orients you before you go traipsing around the grounds.

First on the agenda was the highest mound.

Naturally, there were steps involved.

Before seeing this amazing view.  First shot was looking left, with the second photo looking right.

Interesting view of the back of the  mound as we walked to the river.

Our next park was a small roadside park with a picnic area & grills

They are the remains of a sugar plantation owned by David Levy Yulee, who become a senator when Florida became a state.  They were destroyed in the civil war and was at one time part of a 5000 acre plantation.  The mill was used for sugar, syrup and molasses (which in turn was used in making rum).

We hit one more park on this day…………………

We arrived just in time to see them feed the manatees romaine lettuce.

They had an interesting boardwalk along the Homosassa River.

We found other animals and we definitely made sure to stay out of this splash zone.

Three bald eagles were in this refugee, after being hurt and unable to defend themselves in the wild.  One was photogenic.

What Florida zoo would be complete without these.

This roseate spoonbill was pretty interesting.

At the beginning I mentioned a passport……………….

We have one from years past.  They stopped the program during budget cuts.  Apparently, they’re back.  Adrienne purchased one on this trip which gives her a chance to see Florida in its natural state.

One last post is coming and its all about food!

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

Let me start with saying this is a continuation of our Crystal River weekend………but this post is focused on a place a short road trip away from our rental.  It’s really a continuation of my previous post – if the posts get too long,  problems pop up and my frustration level goes waaaaay up.  That’s not good for me or Eric.

We visited Cedar Key, Florida – approx. 1 hour away.  It’s much closer as the crow flies, but we had to drive.

• It was founded in the 1850s, but its big break was when it became the western station on the Florida Railroad.
• As an important port, it saw some action in the Civil War.
• After the war, the many cedar trees brought prosperity when the Faber pencil company opened a wood mill here.

Today, Cedar Key feels like an old fishing village, with some artists thrown in.  If you’re not aware, clams are big business.  When the gill net ban went into place, the residents of Cedar Key were close to University of Florida and found another seafood industry.  Ninety-five percent of Florida’s clams come from this waterfront town.

 

You could probably say we headed this way due to this food item.

Not specifically the canned version, but this bowl (and hush puppies).

Tony’s Seafood Restaurant opened in 2005 and the popularity of his chowder caused patrons to ask for quantities to take home.  He was asked to compete in the 2009 Great Chowder Cook-off  and won!  He competed the following two years (won both) and his recipe was retired in the Chowder Hall of Fame.

We had two more places to visit in the town.  There’s this hotel with a ‘famous’ (slightly risqué) painting behind the bar.  Eric wanted to stop in for a drink, but alas, it didn’t open until 5pm – next visit.  I found a photo on the internet of what we missed.

I wanted to stop at their Community Garden and the weather held off long enough for our visit.

Several of the beds had success growing veggies (eggplant is shown) and flowers.

I walked up while Eric was talking to this lady (Denise) and joined in with sharing some tips and tricks I learned in my first Disney role.  She had a great looking garden.  You can tell she has a passion and knack for growing.  🙂    That tall plant on the left is kale.

Public Art – I think I notice it more since we saw so much in Iceland. The garden itself had several interesting pieces.

Walking back to our truck, we passed by a wall that contained this painting using a section of tin roofing as their platform – pun intended.  Notice the structure in the bottom corner of the painting?

Loved all of these faces found on another section of the building.

 

Along with this mural.  Once again, that structure is seen in this painting.   I tried to google it, but this time I had no luck.  It remains a mystery to me.

It’s a fun place to visit and to return.  We’ll be back – again.

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We woke up to this.  Red and yellow ‘amoebas’ are coming!  Lots and lots of rain.  Later, purple was added and we had some rough bands of weather.

But we don’t let a little rain (storm) stop us.  I mean yes, it stopped us from fishing, but not from enjoying the day.  Seemed like a perfect day to find a local spot for breakfast.

I got the ‘biscuit barn special (eggs, hash browns, bacon and sausage) and it was mighty tasty while Eric created his own skillet entre (minus the skillet).

Our biscuits came out 4 minutes later.  Our waitress said they were backed up and they would be our shortly.  Aarrgghh.  They were tall, fluffy, golden brown, butter coated, life-changing, great with honey and steaming hot………………yep, forgot the photo.

But I got my selfie.  This was a popular place for Saturday morning!

We needed plan B for today’s activities.  Cedar Key was fairly close and became our destination of choice.  First stop was the Cedar Key Museum State Park.

Cute little museum for this small community.

They have some interesting history.  One of their major industries had been pencil-making, until they deforested the land.

On this site is the homeplace of St. Clair Whitman.  He was interested in the history of Cedar Key and this museum is the result of his interest.  We were able to enter the house for a self-guided tour.

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And we can’t forget this  important part of any household, pre-indoor plumbing.

Since the rain had stopped, we walked this short nature trail.  They had some interesting signs for key Florida  plants (Live Oak tree, yaupon bush and the sabal palm) along the path.

John Muir also visited Florida and stayed on Cedar Key as he recovered from a bout with malaria.

Reading these signs, there is mention of a 1000 mile walk from Indiana.  What???  I had to google it.  Short version of the story:

• Worked in Indianapolis at a wagon wheel factory after being in Canada with his brother.
• An accident changed the course of his life: a tool slipped and struck him in the eye.
• After being confined 6 weeks in a darkened room to regain his sight, he determined to be true to himself and follow his dream of exploration and study of plants.

There’s more to come from Cedar Key:  food, plants & art!  Hang tight.

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

Road trip to the Gulf Coast!  Crystal River is one of our favorite, somewhat ‘close’ locales we like to escape to.  We had a 4-day weekend free and Eric found a AIRBNB rental.  It’s in a different location than what we have rented in the past but still meets our needs.

And here’s a tighter shot……

It’s a cute place:  two bedrooms, two baths and a dock.

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We got the boat in the water the next morning.

I’m waiting for him to arrive at the dock…………..

He says ‘We’ve got a problem, no electronics on the boat – nothing.’  This does not bode well for a weekend fishing trip.  😦  He looks into the well for the battery and finds this.

Huh, oh, this isn’t good.  A few weeks ago he discovered that someone tried to steal our boat from the ‘secure’ storage yard and we’re thinking they tried to steal the battery.  The wires were either cut, or pulled.  Regardless, it spells bad news.

Score one for smart phones.  Eric made two calls, got some advice for a ‘fix’ and the weekend adventure continues.  This part for $6.29 should fix the problem.

Eureka!  Look at that happy face.

Okay, now we can begin.  What happens first, we need gas.

I’m waiting for Eric to pay, then this young kid motored up in this boat.  Wow!  he looked young.  He tied his boat to the cleat and then his dad arrives to gas up the boat.  Says he’s been driving since he was seven.  His son corrects him……………’I’ve been driving since I was six’.

We finally made it to open water.  Unfortunately, the wind had picked up and fishing was tough.  We stopped at a promising spot in the river, and Eric got this shark.  It was a good fight, but not a shark that is typically eaten.  He was released to live another day.

Going back to our rental is a process.  First is this channel off of the river.

 

Followed by several long stretches of more channel.

Going underneath this bridge.

For another stretch of the channel.

Before finally reaching our canal and we’re at the very end.  Yep, it’s a journey, even on water.

Soon enough it was time for today’s main event – dinner.  Adrienne was able to join us this weekend, starting tonight for an enjoyable meal at Vintage on Fifth.

We shared a bottle of wine during dinner.

Before our smoked fish dip arrived – yum.  Loved the capers.

And then came my meal.  I was going for a steak special, but when the waiter described Adrienne’s choice, I was won over.  It was pan-fried grouper with lemon butter sauce.  OMG!

We got to end the meal with one of my top choices for dessert:  carrot cake with cream cheese icing.

That candle you see on the cake is there for a reason.  It’s my birthday.  🙂

 

Ginny