Season Opener

As mentioned in the last post, we've been land-side for two weeks! Well today, the skies cleared, the winds and seas calmed and we were finally able to fish! And so our fishing season has officially begun.

It looks like we were dressed for snow rather than fishing, but it was in the high 50's this morning when we left the dock.

Sunrise over the 'fish camp' in Stuart.

Still the same sun, this time along the St. Lucie river heading toward the Atlantic Ocean.

This is a VERY good sign! We can easily fit under the blue bridge, but not the little one. So seeing that brown rail in the air is good news that the train isn't coming.

By the time we got to the inlet, it was still a bit choppy, but that wasn't going to stop us! There were only a few boats on the water and nobody was finding live bait. So, we headed south and started making our way back. Lots of sea turtles, a few flying fish, but none of the usual flotsam-and-jetsam. Chatter on the radio from the other captains was minimal, which can be good news or bad news. Most of the captains in Stuart are pretty forth-coming with where they are having success.

Needless to say, it was quite a while before we got our first hit. Unfortunately, we don't know what it was, but we're pretty sure it was big. A little while later, as we were changing out the baits, a stupid ramora snatched our fresh squid! (Those things are so ugly!)

We were getting pretty frustrated! Finally....FISH ON! Something good hit and Frank got a chance to work the rod! Everything happened pretty quick and we had a fish in the box. :o)

St. Lucie Inlet on the way back from fishing.

Frank and his Season Opener Catch!

And we're heading back for more (and larger) tomorrow.