FANTASY FEST BOUND.....

Wednesday brought more wind so we decided to head to Key West for the day to check out Fantasy Fest. Since we were going to just go down and back I volunteered to be the DD! I know....kind of scarey, huh!!!! Well, I must confess....part of my heroism was due to being overserved by all of those overzealous bartenders on Tuesday during our Happy Hour Bar Hopping Extravagenza so not drinking anything on Wednesday sounded not only O.K. to me but APPEALING! :)

First stop was No Name Pub on Big Pine Key for some of their world famous pizza. It was delish!!!! Hummmmm.....this bunch looks like they NEED a Happy Hour to get happy or maybe they were overserved by those same overzealous bartenders :)

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Well, Lanell is ALWAYS happy!!!!

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Ahhhhh....finally getting happier AND smarter at the Sunset Pier (not sunset, however)!!!!

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Now, let me just say this about the rest of the day.....my camera would have exploded if I had taken pics of all of those painted boobs!! It was Wednesday of Fantasy Fest and all of the young girls were working so the only painted boobs were on the retired gals who weren't at work..... I will leave that up to your imagination!!!! The later it got the more interesting it got :) We finished up our visit to Key West and Fantasy Fest with a fish basket at B.O.'s Fishwagon....again....DELISH!

Lynda's Mom had a little health issue so they headed north on Thursday morning to be closer to home in case they were needed. I am happy to report that in the words of my good friend Leann...."It's all good!" She is home from the hospital and doing fine!

Thursday was CTM's birthday and since the wind was STILL blowing Roger, Lanell, CTM, and I took a boat ride in the T/T Feeding Frenzy up to Lorelei for Happy Hour....IMAGINE THAT!!!!

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Obviously this was on the way to Happy Hour because CTM doesn't look happy OR smart!

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On the way back....R and L are very happy AND very smart!!!!

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Friday the winds finally calmed so we got to go fishing :) I am sad to report that we got skunked :( So we came in early to celebrate Roger and Lanell's 6th wedding anniversary. Six years before they were married on the back of Feeding Frenzy II in the basin just outside of our canal at sunset. It was totally AWESOME!!!!!

We celebrated their anniversary and last night in town at Whale Harbour. Congratulations Roger and Lanell on 6 years together!!!!

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We said goodbye to Roger and Lanell Saturday morning and we spent the day doing boat and condo chores..... :(

Catch you on the flip flop....

CJM

WHAT WE DO ON WINDY DAYS.....

On Monday, October 24th, CTM and I flew into Sanford, FL and Roger and Lanell were there to pick us up. We headed south and got into Islamorada late on Monday. Buck and Lynda had been there since Saturday so they had made all of the happy hours prior to our arrival :) Just a side note.....two years ago Buck and Lynda came to Islamorada for a visit and the wind blew over 20 knots the entire time they were here. We were unable to go out fishing the ENTIRE time! So....I suggested we keep it a secret that they were visiting again this year so the "Wind Gods" would not know. Well....someone let the cat out of the bag and not only has the wind been blowing AGAIN but for a couple of days we monitored Hurricane Rina's movement watching and wondering if it was going to head our way! So....since it was windy on Tuesday, we decided to do the Happy Hour circuit. First stop was the Islamorada Fish Company for "foundation." We all enjoyed their fish tacoes....DELISH!

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Next stop was Rumrunners at Holiday Isle.....the view was worth the stop!

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Next stop was Island Grill and mass quanitities of their 35 cent wings, shrimp, & conch fritters. This was "dinner!"

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Next stop was Hog Heaven....hummmmmmm.....what is going on here?????

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Would this be the Three Musketeers or Three Stooges????

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From Hog Heaven we headed down to the Safari Lounge a/k/a the Dead Animal Bar (close to home) to finish out our day....

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Uh oh....time to go home!

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Catch you on the flip flop....

CJM

NO PICS TO PROVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!

That's right we don't have any pictures to prove it, but CJM and I, fishing with one of our new neighbors, Bob Robbins, had an incredible afternoon of fishing Friday. To start from the beginning...last year we had planned to spend most of the month of September in Islamorada because in 2009 we had a GREAT fishing trip there with our good friends, the Petersons. Well, low and behold Lola showed up on September 3rd so needless to say our September trip in 2010 was put off. This year we vowed to spend 3 weeks in September fishing in the Keys. Well, this time our new little building project got in the way. We almost cancelled our trip altogether, but having left CJM's car there and the Feeding Frenzy out of the water, we decided to make a very short trip of it mostly to check on FF III and pick up the car. We, of course, had some maintenance to do to both the FF III and the T/T to FF III. We replaced the trim tabs and shaft zincs and put in some new damp rid bags in the big boat and put a different prop and an additional fuel tank on the little boat. We caught a couple happy hours on Tuesday and took the T/T FF III out Thursday for a nice little run up to Hog Heaven and Island Grill. We checked in with our new neighbor, Bob Robbins a GHS graduate a couple years older than me and he invited us to go fishing with him on Friday. He had a few things to do that morning and none of us wanted to make a big deal of it so we went out about noon. He has a 30' Grady White with twin 250 Yamahas. It will run about 45 mph or so and if you know Bob, he always runs his boats WOT. We were still in sight of land when we came upon a huge weed line with boards in it and birds working it and fish everywhere. This was no doubt a Guy Harvey picture opportunity under those weeds as the fish bit immediately and were everywhere. Every time we put something out, we got bites. Most times before we could even get the baits out on the riggers, they were getting hit. We kept only one Mahi and about 3 or 4 Wahoo as Bob did not want them and we were leaving the next morning, but we caught and released a LOT of fish.......all very nice keeper Mahi. We also got bitten off 4 or 5 times by Wahoo. Twice we dropped big 5" spoons down and they were both bitten off almost immediately. We were very short on wire leaders so could not really see what all was there, but it was truly a "feeding frenzy." Finally we all said "enough", Captain Bob called "lines up" and we were back in by 4:00. I guess that day you did not have to be the early bird to catch the worm. It just verifies that September is a great fishing month in the Keys. So I'm giving notice....next year no building projects allowed in September. And...Caldwell & Kate and Matt & Jabet, if you are thinking of making any babies, please plan accordingly!

CTM

BELATED FISHING REPORT

Since we procrastinated the entire time we were in Islamorada and never posted that promised fishing report.....here it is! We went offshore in the Feeding Frenzy III twice. The first time we caught a skinny little blackfin tuna (but enough for a fresh seared tuna dinner) and a buzz! For some of you older folks...remember that Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds"? I felt a little like I was in that movie at one point :) There were so many birds we could pick them up on our radar!!!

From 2011-08-18

The second day was considerably rougher offshore. After trolling for several hours we did find a nice weed line with debris and managed to catch about 8 or 10 mahi mahi. Only 3 of them measured (20 inches to the fork) but they fed us for several days :)

The rest of the time we spent piddling, bike riding, on boat projects, and managed to make several Happy Hours:) Sometimes we feel like we get in a rut so made a pact a couple of years ago to try one new place every time we go to the Keys so as to branch out a bit. This trip we decided to head down to the Safari Lounge (the locals call it the "Dead Animal Bar") and give their Happy Hour a try again. We had been there a few years ago and didn't like the place so never went back. Well, it is now one of our favorite places AND is only about 1/2 mile from home!!!! We now are on a first name basis with the two bartenders...Etta & Tim!



When we left Irene was bearing down on the keys so we pulled Feeding Frenzy III out and put her on dry dock for safe keeping until the next trip. Thankfully Irene turned to the east but better safe than sorry! To quote Roni, our FAVORITE bartender at Hog Heaven....we thankfully avoided the "CONE OF DEATH!"

CTM did call our good friend, Freddie Rolle, in Bimini to see how he and his family made it through Irene. According to Freddie, they only had a light breeze...40 to 50 knot winds :) and (quoting our good friend Leann) Freddie reported, "IT'S ALL GOOD!" He did report that Cat Island and Eleuthera had over 100 knot winds and had suffered substantial damage :( CTM and Freddie did manage to chat about winter wahoo fishing during their conversation. I think the ole FFIII will be crossing that Gulf Stream one way or the other come New Year's :)

Catch you on the flip flop...

CJM

ROAD TRIP......

We took a "road trip" getting to Islamorada this time.... First stop was the Margaritaville Beach Hotel on Pensacola Beach.

Heading to Land Shark Landing for a Land Shark...

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Wishing I was there...

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CTM wants to take a walk on the beach so I said, "Goodbye! I'll stay safely here on the step at Land Shark Landing cause you know I HATE THE BEACH!!!"

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CTM coaxed me off the step with the promise of a frosty Land Shark....

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"Come on...YOU CAN DO IT!"

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This one's for all of you beach lubbers out there! I'll probably have to have counseling after this :)

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After the walk on the beach we had dinner at Frank and Lola's Cafe, hit the hay, and headed out early on our road trip. Next stop was Madeira Beach.

Happy hour at Scully's...

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Captain Morgan and Captain Morgan :)

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We struggled a bit finding accommodations. Finally ended up at a hotel in St. Petersburg. Now, from our experience when we used to travel with Forrest and recently with Oscar we found that the only hotels that took pets were SHITHOLES.... When we walked in the door we were greeted by a giant hounddog of some sort and the place reeked of cigarette smoke. I looked at CTM and announced we were staying in a SHITHOLE! His comeback was..."Well, if it is any consolation to you....if you could you would fire up a cigarette and have Oscar by your side." Touche! As it turned out it really wasn't bad at all :)

The next day we continued south and had lunch at the Sandbar Waterfront Restaurant on Anna Maria Island...it was GREAT!

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O.K....now I'll confess....the whole point of this "road trip" was to end up on Friday night at Bert's Bar in Matlacha, Florida to see our favorite entertainer....JIM MORRIS!!! Wow! Matlacha was a really cool little town....kind of a combination of the Keys and Pontiac. There were no "chain" hotels or anything for that matter. We stayed at the Bridgewater Inn so we could stumble back after Jim and not have to drive anywhere. It was a really cool little hotel. It was "Inn the Water" and they weren't kidding!

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The hotel was literally on pilings and people came there to stay and fish off their porch!

Phew! Our road trip was finally nearing an end. Next stop....ISLAMORADA! We spent a couple of days chillin' and finally went fishing on Tuesday...stayed tuned for fishing reports!

Catch you on the flip flop....

CJM

CARDINALS VS. CUBS

Last weekend we were fortunate to have tickets to the Cardinal vs. Cubs in St. Louis on Saturday.....my first Cubs game. We met some old (not "old" in the sense of "age" :)but "old" in the sense of "long time" :) ) friends and Caldwell and Kate there. We had tickets in the Powerade Plaza which included all you could eat and drink....we definitely got our money's worth! A good time was had by all and we beat the Cubs 13 - 5 which was an added bonus!

CTM & John getting their money's worth!!!

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And...Sherry getting her money's worth!!!

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Yummo!

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And...Carol getting her money's worth!!!

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The Newlyweds!!!!

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Knowing hot flashes and 100 degree heat don't mix, Sherry furnished all of the gals with a "Mr. M & M Man Fan!" Here is Tom, Carol, and Carol's new best friend.....

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Kate especially loved CTM's blue and red shirt :)

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As you can imagine....Brittany and her friend (two college gals) certainly got their money's worth :)

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What a difference 40 years makes....the "Whitegate Four!" A side note....there were so many Whitegate roommates over the years I would have had to get out my wide angle lens to photograph all of them!

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How did those guys manage to pick up those "HOT" CHICKS???? Those "Mr. M & M Man Fans" worked pretty well, but, it was nearly 100 degrees! :)

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My "favorite daughter-in-law!" I love saying that!!!!

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Somehow I failed to get a picture of Ian and his friend at Busch Stadium. I think it is because since Ian just turned 21 he was standing in the beer line the whole game getting his money's worth! ":)

And..."The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree!"

From 2011-08-03

Catch you on the flip flop....

CJM

SO FAR, SO SO

I've spent about 10 hours the last couple of days working on "Two Thirty". I cleaned the big locker out on the dock it is parked in so I would have somewhere to go with the junk I'm not taking directly to the dumpster. It will likely all end up there but I have a bad habit of throwing everything away to begin with and then have to buy another one later. So, I will hold on to the better junk for a while. The boat had a built in fold out bed in the front and a dinette that made into a bed in the back. They are both out of the boat now and in waiting for the dumpster. I ripped the carpet out of most of the boat. That was really fun wrestling that nasty carpet up and out. It went directly to the dumpster. There were a couple soft spots in the ceiling around the A/C and in one corner so I started disconnecting the A/C and opening up the ceiling and found that it is a lot more than just a soft spot. I loaded up a second load of trash and junk into our work boat and have the windows open hoping it will air out and dry up when I can get back to the project in a few days. Tomorrow I plan on captaining the "SS Grasshopper" to catch up on my real job of keeping everyone's grass neat and tidy. Here are some pics of what I have found so far and of my progress.



CTM

TWO THIRTY SOMEWHERE YOU SAY???

If you haven't heard that long-winded story yet, here goes. We have had a small houseboat in the dock for about ten years now. The boat is a 1970 30' Gibson that used to belong to "Dive Shop Randy." He sold it to another guy who kept it until recently. The latest owner got into some legal trouble and quit paying rent about 2 years ago. The lawyer he owed money to got the "Arkansas registration" signed over to him. Titling a boat in Arkansas is a joke. No titles for motors at all and only a little 2" x 3" registration on the boat. The registration got "lost in the mail" so when we ordered a duplicate we were able to put it in PCM's name so we would have a Missouri title to transfer when we sold it. The rent was continuing to rack up on the boat and the lawyer wanted out so we made him an "offer he couldn't refuse" and are now the proud owner.

Jabet & Matt agreed with me that it would make a fun little day cruiser that would be easier to handle than the "Five O'Clock Somewhere" so we have decided to keep it for now and fix it up. The boat is one half the size of "Five O'Clock Somewhere" hence the name "Two Thirty Somewhere." I have been wanting to sell the "Five O'Clock" for some time now and CJM says she isn't willing to let it go until she sees and approves of the finished "Two Thirty."

So, today I got started. First order of busines was to buy several bug bombs and set them off inside the boat to hopefully get rid of the wasps and spiders before I start digging in the cabinets and ripping out the carpet.

I have included some "before" pics. Stay tuned as I progress toward the "after" pics :)

CTM

Reflections on Cruising

Well, we have been off the boat now and home for a couple weeks. It was really good to see Lola and her Mom and Dad and Oscar again. It was also good to have a Just Jackie's pizza and a few beers and see everyone there. The fireworks were great and we got to see a few more people at the music jubilee that afternoon. I wonder what they think of our 4th of July celebration in the Abacos since many of the early settlers there were British Loyalists who left America for the Bahamas because they did not want to support the revolution?

I'm already starting to miss being on the boat. But, there are a few things I don't miss. Here are a few of them......

1. All the steps, one or two up to the side of the boat during times of high tide or one or two down at low tide, two steps down to the rear deck from the side of the boat, 8 steps up to the bridge, 5 down to the engine room or "basement" as we call it, 2 up to the main salon, 4 down to the v-berth and bathroom. I wonder if they make a boat in kind of a "ranch style" with no steps for senior citizens.

2. Bumping my head everywhere. Although, my most serious head injury came from bumping my head on the roof of the golf cart we rented in Treasure Cay but I'm pretty sure that was Don Lupe's fault:)

3. Tight, hot engine room and on my hands and knees to do any service on the boat, including pumping the holding tank.

4. Cleaning the shower sump.

5. Feet hanging off the end of the bed about a foot.

6. Digging in the spare bedroom for supplies.

7. Anchoring.

8. Fretting over whether the toilet is going to flush all the time.

Here are some things I will miss.....

1. The most beautiful blue water I have ever seen anywhere.

2. Trolling, sometimes for hours, in search of that elusive prize catch.

3. Experiencing new islands with quaint little villages and friendly people and all the cool bars and restaurants.

4. Fishing with Freddie.

5. Staring out at the ocean for hours, cruising from port to port never knowing what you might see.......turtles, dolphin, whales, marlin, birds, that magical piece of debris, waterspouts, or maybe even an unseaworthy vessel with a lot of people on board which we heard the Coast Guard talking about on our crossing back home.

Since we have been home the news is filled with the Casey Anthony and Rod Blagojevich trials and the fast approaching debt limits for the federal government:( Obama's fund raising and campaigning, already. The list of Republicans lining up to challenge him keeps getting longer. Is there really time to govern with all the time they spend campaigning? You know our national news is like watching a soap opera. You can miss watching it for six weeks while cruising the Bahamas and when you turn it back on it's the same old s%@t. Come to think of it, I miss all the things about cruising, even the things I didn't think I would miss. It is going to be difficult to wait a whole year to do it all again. I will just have to find something to keep me busy until then. Maybe it's time to get to work refurbishing the "Two Thirty Somewhere." If you are really bored sometime you might check our blog as I will try to keep you posted on the progress of my newest project...

Until then, I will leave you with an Irish toast, "May the holes in your net be no larger than the fish in it." :):)

CTM

Fishing the Abacos

Kind of out of sequence...but here are some thoughts on fishing in the Abacos....

Every year on these trips to the Bahamas I learn so much about fishing. On our first trip here the largest rod, reel & line combo was a Shimano TLD25 with 40# test line. Gary P. did reel in a Blue Marlin with that rod the first day out on that trip, but Freddie told me, "you need heavier tackle if you want to fish here." We did not make a clean release of that fish and he took the only lure I had that resembled a "Big Fish" lure. I now have a couple rods with 60# line, a couple with 80# wire line and a couple Penn 80's with what we think is 100# line. They were used when I bought them (E-Bay) and already spooled up. The Worldwide Sportsman said their line weight tester did not go that high when I had them checked out. I also have a box full of large trolling lures, heavy leaders and humongous hooks. Freddie still says, "heavier hooks, heavier trolling feathers and nothing smaller than 30# test on spinning rods." Don't get me wrong, we still reef fish for Yellowtails and other assorted small reef fish, but you just never know what you might catch. Here is a review of how we did this year.

Dolphin......the bite was really slow this year. The best chance we had to load up on them was the first day out before we left the US waters near Key Largo. We got on an incredible weedline and caught and kept a couple but since you are not supposed to take fish into Bahamian waters until you have cleared customs and bought your cruising & fishing permit, we drove off and left the best looking bunch of dolphin we have seen in awhile. Other than that, we picked up an occasional fish now and then.

Wahoo.....not the best time of year for Wahoo, but found them in several areas and caught a few nice ones. Not any monsters like last year. Also lost a couple at the boat, one trying to pull through the door and the other trying to gaff it off the transom. I think now the best bet is to try and pull them alongside the boat and gaff them. At least it worked well on the last one we caught with just CJM and I on the boat.

Tuna.....only Blackfins this year, no Yellowfins. The BF's were OK size, good to eat sushi style or seared. A couple times we got into them and could have kept a bunch but only took enough to eat.

Marlin.....we had all the right baits this year including a squid daisy chain as advised by Nathaniel Gilbert from Cat Island. We always had a "Big" lure in the shotgun position. We trolled the edge outside the out islands of the Abacos as suggested by the bathymetric fishing charts. We saw other boats coming in with flags flying during the three Billfish tournaments we witnessed. All that being said, the only one we caught was on a rigged, feathered leadhead on the wire line. Unbelievable!

Snappers.....other than the one terrible day we had near Treasure Cay, the reef catches were very good as usual. In addition to snappers, we caught Big Amberjacks, Big Yellowjacks, Big Muttons and some really nice Grouper.

Grouper.....not only did we catch some really nice ones on the reef, we caught a really nice one, about 30 pounds, trolling with the wire.

Best baits.....Billy Baits were the best for the tunas. Rigged ballyhoos did probably best for dolphin. Obviously the wireline rigs were the most consistent on all types of fish. Good thing I had rigged up a second rig this year. A side note about the wire. I was trying to find 100# wire. The last I had purchased at the Worldwide Sportsman. I asked a guy working there where they kept their wire trolling line. He said, "we don't stock it because no one uses it anymore." I said, "I do." Well, they actually did still have some and it was available on line. Could only get 80# test though. As you might have guessed, I am going to pick up a few extra 200 yard spools before they do decide to do away with it.

CTM

Week Number 5 and a Day

Week number five is on us already. Our time is drawing to an end. Time to catch some fish with Cal & Kate. Not so fast. Our offshore fishing woes continued. We ran to Little Harbour and fished our way back 20 miles or so to the North Man-O-War cut one day and then decided to try it again the next day fishing the opposite direction so we could cover the same ground at different times of the day in case that made a difference. We found weedlines, color changes, slicks and birds. All the classic signs where you should also find fish. No luck. We took the next day off to tour the lighthouse and move to Treasure Cay and let Cal & Kate check out one of the top ten beaches in the world, or so they say. I do have to say I believe it is the nicest beach I have ever been on, but you couldn't fish there so I was ready to get back after them the next day. We went to Stumpy's "can't miss" reef spot the next day and the reason they finally quit biting there the last time we were there is that we must have caught the very last fish on the reef. It was terrible. We weren't able to take Stumpy as we were moving on to Green Turtle which was a mistake. I know we were on the right spot, on the incoming tide with the same bait, but they just did not bite. We finished up the day trolling a couple hours and then moving on to Green Turtle. We had a great afternoon there, bar hopping and moved on to the West End the next day. We had a decent day on the reef there and then we said goodbye to the kids and moved on to Bimini. I'm sure the curse of the Jayhawk must have been part of the problem as CJM did let me troll along a weedline near Bimini long enough to catch one nice Dolphin which we ate on for a couple days, but that was all. One last day fishing with Freddie and a rest day and day 36 of our cruise found us on the way home:(:(

All total we cruised 1310 nm which equates to a little over 1500 regular miles. According to our trip meter our average speed was 10.0 knots and our maximum speed was 33.5 knots. I don't remember the 33.5 but it must have been one of those times CJM made me reel up and head in and I wasn't quite ready. Approximately 640 of those miles were spent fishing and 670 were spent moving from port to port. Obviously we need to spend more time fishing next year. One final note on the fishing, as we were approaching Key Biscayne, in about 1000 feet of water we came upon a great weedline, with birds really working it hard and a boat or two catching fish, I'm sure. I looked at CJM and she gave me a really dirty look and we drove on by:(

Today is the last day in Islamorada for us. We will finish cleaning FF III and getting her ready to sit patiently tied up at our slip for the next fishing trip. I was about to unload the charts and cruising guides to take home and CJM said, "you don't need to take those, we won't be thinking about another trip that soon." Really! While she wasn't looking, I slipped a couple cruising guides in my bag. It took about a year to get ready for this trip, I may as well start planning for 2012 right away. Let's see, how does this sound, Cat Island, San Salvador, Rum Cay (CJM should really like this island) and Long Island.

For now, we are both ready to get home. Summer is in full swing at the lake. Time to hang out on the lake with all our friends and of course see Matt & Jabet. But the most important is to spend time with Lola and Oscar :)

CTM

GOODBYE BAHAMAS....HELLO GOOD OLE USA!!!

We spent our last two days in the Bahamas doing "lasts".....

We rode our bikes down the island for a "last" conch salad....

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"Last" visit to the End of the World Sand Bar and a goodbye hug from our favorite waitress there....Millie :)

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"Last" day of fishing with our very FAVORITE guide in the whole Bahamas...Freddie Rolle :) (See previous post by CTM)

Friday morning we said "goodbye" to the best dockmaster in the whole Bahamas, J.R., at the Blue Water Marina and shoved off for the long ride back across the Gulfstream to our "second" home, Islamorada. We decided to head to Miami and then take the intercoastal waterway in order to avoid bucking the Gulfstream. Well, about an hour out of Miami a "Marine Warning" popped up on our GPS indicating that there could be water spouts around Biscayne Bay and for all mariners to be on the lookout. No sooner than we got that warning the U. S. Coast Guard also broadcast the same warning. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!! And...no sooner than the U. S. Coast Guard broadcast the warning WE SAW ONE!!!! O.K....I had had my fill of water spouts while fishing with Moses.... Thankfully the storm/waterspouts were moving north so we had a fairly uneventful entry into Biscayne Bay.....PHEW! Wouldn't it be cool to live in one of these houses (unless there was a hurricane or a water spout, of course)????

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Miami skyline....

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After enter Biscayne Bay we made the turn to the south and headed toward Islamorada. Card Sound Bridge....

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Ahhhhhhh getting closer......U.S. 1 bridge at Key Largo....

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An hour later we pulled into Bay Harbour of Islamorada. No pics as CTM was on the bow of the FF III sorting out lines while I was driving her in. Thirty six days later....WE WERE BACK IN THE GOOD OLE USA!!! It was a heck of an adventure!!! Now comes the bad part....laundry, unloading, scrubbing, polishing, waxing, cleaning....UGH! I would love to be able to tap my ruby slippers together and say...."There's no place like home....there's no place like home...." but then I would end up in Kansas, Toto (sorry Katie Bird). So....we will keep our nose to the grind and pull out bright and early Monday morning for our "first" home.....MISSOURI!!!! But, before we leave for home....ONE "LAST" HAPPY HOUR!!!! :) :)

Catch you on the flip flop....

CJM

Ballyhoo 24...........Grouper 0 :(:(

We spent our last day in the Bahamas fishing with our good friend Freddie, trolling for Grouper, which is becoming one of my favorite things to do. I'm going to add more detail than needed, but I plan on doing this again and will be able to reference this post. We began the day as usual, Freddie showed up at the boat about 7 AM to pick up the Ballyhoo and the big "Feathered" lures he and I had sorted out the night before to get them rigged and ready. CJM and I wanted to get started early and hopefully have a couple nice Groupers in the box by 2 PM or so and come in early to relax on our last night in town. We started trolling at the south end of Bimini near Turtle rocks in about 40 feet of water. In this area the best rocks are in that depth. As you troll farther south towards Cat Cay, the best rocks are in 70 or so feet of water. In between, the best is 45 or 50. We always want the lures as close to the bottom without getting hung up, which we did misjudge a couple times today. We troll nearly as slow as the boat will go, usually about 4 to 5 knots. The amount of line let out depends on all the above factors, plus current and wind. It is fairly tedious getting the baits set just right. Sometimes when you finally feel the bait bump the bottom it is too late. If you don't get it close enough to the bottom, the Barracuda are more likely to strike the lure. We use 80# trolling wire followed by a 1 or 2 pound trolling lead, followed by a shock leader and then the lure. The shock leader is a 300# mono leader, 15' long which you use to pull the fish in at the end of the battle and then hopefully gaff your prize. By the way, it is generally accepted as a catch once the mate has the leader in his hand or the leader is at least reeled up to the end of the rod.

As you may have guessed by the title to the post, the Grouper won today. They kicked our butts the first few times we tried this in years past, but the last two times we came out on top. Today once again goes to the Grouper. We did however have lots of action. We used 24 Ballyhoo in the attempt. We caught several Barracuda, a Horseye Jack, a large Amberjack....

From 2011-06-25

....and two of the biggest Cero Mackerel I have ever seen, or at least the half I got to see was huge. Freddie said the other half got eaten on the way to the boat by another Mackerel or a big Cuda. All said and done, it was a great day of fishing. We learned more from the master, Freddie. We got to spend one final day on the beautiful waters surrounding Bimini and we will say "goodbye" to her tomorrow. I can't wait until my next trip over.......hopefully before next May. I've got a feeling the old FF III may have to finally make that winter crossing for Wahoo. Freddie and I are already planning the attack and I have much to do between now and then to be ready. I will need a volunteer or two to make the crossing with me as CJM says she will sit that one out and fly over to join me. Can't wait:):)

By the way, Kate, I'm thinking this looks like the likely outcome of the big MU/KU football game this fall. MU 24, KU 0 :):) Go Tigers :):)

CTM

FISHING WITH MOSES.....

Let me just say this...."Let the name of Moses be stricken from every book and tablet. Stricken from every pylon and obelisk of Egypt (well, the Bahamas :)). Let the name of Moses be unheard and unspoken, erased from the memory of man, for all time." So...get my drift? Moses didn't exactly part the water for us.... Basically he "fished" and didn't "mate" like most guides do. We did catch enough Yellowtail Snapper, Triggerfish, Schoolmaster Snapper, and Mangrove Snapper for dinner.

From 2011-06-22

And...if you will notice in the previous picture the storm lurking in the background. Well, I hate storms as much as I hate the beach but Moses kept telling us that the tide was running such that the storm would not come our way. Well, I just finished a meterology class and I can tell you that there was NOTHING mentioned about a connection between tides and storms! We watched several water spouts drop out of the storm :O

From 2011-06-22

To prove Moses didn't know squat here is a picture of the radar JUST BEFORE the storm blew over us! The storm, mind you, that we had watched several water spouts drop out of....

From 2011-06-22

So....as you can see....I was annoyed with Moses in more ways than one :(

The restaurant at Old Bahama Bay prepared our fresh Snapper and it was delish!

Tuesday we said "goodbye" to Caldwell and Kate :(

From 2011-06-22

They took a taxi to Freeport where they flew back to Kansas City. I wanted to jump in that taxi with them in the worst way but CTM needs me :) so we loaded up and made our way back to Bimini. We fished our way to Bimini from the West End of Grand Bahama and did catch two small "schoolie" Dolphin...enough for a "cook your catch" at Bimini Big Game Club. We have hooked up with our very favorite guide in ALL of the Bahamas, Freddie Rolle. He and CTM are on the back of Feeding Frenzy III as I write rigging up baits for one last day of Grouper trolling tomorrow before we head back to Islamorada on Friday :( :) Sad in a way, but ready to go home!

Catch you on the flip flop....

CJM