Florida Fish-In is over ...

[GILs_GONE_WILD]

... for the FL_SkiBum.

Back to work now but had a great time. Though the timing of these fronts is bordering on ridiculous regarding my more recent fishing trips. Saw VERY few fish caught to include the tournament boats in Florida's biggest tournament. Another tournament local to me had 36 anglers with only 8 catching fish and only 11 of those fish were of tourney specs. Tough fishing this weekend for sure.

However, Fish-Ins aren't all about the fish ... thank goodness.

Was a pleasure hooking up with old acquaintances and making new ones.

A special "THANK YOU!" to Saltydancindave for his tremendous efforts. Hopefully for next year we can set the date a little earlier so that many more will be able to attend.

I think the planning stage should begin right now.

And a secondary "THANK YOU!" to Captain Tony Petrella for letting us barge in on his backyard and home for our Sunday afternoon get together.

Philip and Michele and Ken and Diane are continuing on their way for a few more days. I think they are all headed for Matlacha (Mat'-leh-shey). I am jealous. I'll be sorting mail. HA!

Should the planets align themselves again next year, I'll certainly be back.

As short as the three days seemed and was, I enjoyed ALL of the company the weekend offered.

I am very lucky to have been born, raised and still living on the West Central part of Florida in all it's beauty.

Again, thanks to all for making my weekend special.

Gil

[GILs_GONE_WILD]

Oops, almost forgot to mention Kevin from Casey Key Anglers and Outfitters in Casey Key. He stayed open late to let us pirates pillage and plunder his store and cast a few rods.

"Thanks Kevin!"

Gil

[This message has been edited by FL_SKIBUM (edited 06 March 2006).]

[saltydancindave]

Thanks to you, Gil for the sea trial of your kayaks. Might just be the way to fish around here. As for the Flatsmasters catch ratio; out of 127 boats fishing the tourny with a possible total catch of 381 fish , only 103 fish were weighed in by the local pros! We'll have to get together for a kayaking fly fishing excursion when the waters get warmer. Seems fun & sun was had by all, and new friends are the best way to share the experience !

[SW Ladyfish]

Hi y'all!

Returned home late Wednesday from an awesome trip south. No fish were harmed in this endeavor; but, we sure had a good time. While the fish were down, the weather was outstanding. Sunshine, blue skies and 70+ degree days were really incredible for us "snowbirds"!

To Saltydancingdave, Thank you very much for being an outstanding host! To FlatsDude thanks for the gold fly To Michelle & Geezer, Judy & Les...we are going to have to get together again this spring! Ed, you're a hoot and it was a pleasure to meet you. Harold & Mrs. H, who would have guessed that you and Ken would get along so well! To Capt. Tony and Kate, thanks for your hospitality. Same for the folks at Casey Key Anglers...we left a little bit of money with them

A special thank you to Gil for the loan of his kayaks. That turned out to be the highlight of the trip. We are now on an active search for kayaks!!! (Just what we need...additions to the fishing fleet!)

It is hard to believe that all these folks who had never met before (at least some of us) would not only get along very well; but, truly enjoy each others company. This board is a "gift" that has brought us together and we look forward to our next adventure!

Fish On!

[FloridaFlyer]

Diane & Ken, Les & Judy, Phil & Michelle, Gill, Dave, it was a pleasure meeting all of you. Look forward to doing again.

Although next time we should consider inviting some fish too.

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Ed Mercado
[url=http://www.mercconsulting.com:87599]http://www.mercconsulting.com[/url:87599]
Web Design for Central Florida.




[This message has been edited by FloridaFlyer (edited 10 March 2006).]

[saltydancindave]

You just knew how it was going to be with Flats Dude out in the water! The fish must really fear him, because the mangrove snapper was about 500 yards away & forgot to set the hok on the snook before that; and then he probably wasn't in the water anywhere in the state Sunday when the snook finally found some warmer waters & the polar fibre minnow! SW Ladyfish, wondered if you had any luck at Pine-Island, or where ever y'all decided on stopping Monday for hopefully better fishing ? Found the aswf.org sili skin fly page. Thanks !

[SW Ladyfish]

Saltydancindave,

We should have gone to Pine Island! Instead we went down to Ding Darling and Sanibel. Won't do that again! Too many people!

We played around our last day on Siesta Key. Lovely places to fish Will do that again!

Then we had to go back to work! Yech!!!

Di

[Harold Hattaway]

SW Ladyfish

Did you stop by Mote Marine while you were out at Siesta Key? It is only a few miles away.

I wish I had known you were coming into my back yard. I could have given you the original Fish-in maps and all the other stuff.

If you and Ken decide to come back to this area let me know. We will show you some of the secret areas here.

Harold

[This message has been edited by Harold Hattaway (edited 15 March 2006).]

[old geezer]

Michele and I enjoyed the fish-in and all who attended.

Pine Island is a great spot Diane, we stayed at Boukeelia Tarpum Inn(bed and breakfast) and Golden Palm in St James city. The wind didn't cooperate, but its reall fishy. The Ragged *** Saloon is a good spot to eat as well as Reds. It was four days of fun.

Our thanks to Kevin from Casey Key Anglers and Outfitters and Tony for all their help, Great shop.

Later

The Geezer


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Excus my spelling and gramma, I hooked Mondays and Fridays so I could Hunt or fish.

[KPT]

We are back in Chesapeake country and freezing our tail feathers off, it was a balmy forty-six degrees we arrived home, heading in to the seventy this weekend... then back down to the forties! It good to know my ability to shut a fishery down extends to Florida, it's OK to blame me for the cold front that shut down the fishing on the gulf coast.

Dave thanks for all you hard work, putting one of these event is like herding cats! Also thanks for your tutorial on key lime pie, from now on ever piece of key lime pie I have will be judged by your standards!

Harold it was great fun talking to you about fishing and photography. That shot of the dolphin is incredible; I forgot to ask you what lens you used.

Ed, I will send the photos I shot of you.

Les and Judy it was nice meeting you and we will look you up when we are in Roscoe. The discussion on Catskill flies was very enjoyable, as I revisit my trout roots, I may be bending you ear for more patterns & recipes

Phil and Michele, Thanks for all you help and guidance on fishing from a kayak, I hope you finally got into fish on your extended stay. Did you get a chance to try out the creepy crawler?

Gil?Gil what can I say?. you probably cost me a couple of grand! We are hooked we talked about kayaks and where we could fish them when we get back home for the remainder of our trip. Dianne and I both agreed that the most fun we had was fishing from the kayak, thanks for lending up yours for the day, I can see a pair of kayaks in our future.

Oh and when can we expect your new book 1001 Things To Make From A Pool Noodle!

We really had a great time and met some great people