TwoGether

Monday 1/23/12.      There was a slow start to the day.  We slept in until 9:30A. 

We decided today is meant for fishing.  By noon everything is loaded in the dinghy ready to catch a world’s record!   The preferred course was to the northern entrance to Pelican Bay and see if it is calm enough to fish Quarantine Rocks just inside Boca Grande Pass. 


The dinghy motor was a bit bulky to start this morning, but once it was going it seemed to run fine.   Then about 200 yards from the boat the engine sputtered and died.  Prime, pull …putt.  Prime, pull…putt.  Prime, pull… no putt.  We were just about ready to commission the oars when we noticed a gentleman headed our way in a dinghy.  When he arrived he said “I had a choice; eat my turkey sandwich or give someone some help”.  Jim introduced himself and said he and his wife, Sue, will be here for the next week.  They are locals just enjoying the great weather. He handed us a line and towed us back to the boat.  We thanked him and he returned to “Bear 2” in hopes his turkey sandwich hadn’t disappeared.

Linda handed me tools as I worked on the engine and Little Buddy supervised from about ten feet away.  It seems the fuel pump diaphragm gave up the ghost.  This is probably another victim of ethanol gasoline.  So that pretty much ends any fishing trips unless we row to the edge of the mangroves.

It was too breezy to row around today so we decided to just fish from the front deck.  Today’s mix was 6 Pinfish, 1 Squirrel Fish, 1 Jack and 8 Hardhead Catfish.  The Cats are of no food value but do give quite a tussle on the end of the line.  One thing to be aware of on Hardheads is the venomous spines on their pectoral and dorsal fins.  One easy lesson and you quickly learn how to hold them so the fins don’t find you. The other fish were turned into cut bait and frozen for another time. 

We fished until 5:00P and went in for a spectacular feast of Dinty Moore.

Every night as the sun sinks below the horizon someone on the island blows a Conch Shell Horn signaling the end of the day.