Friday, October 31, 2014

Halloween Treats

Up early to fish
Three slot reds at the jetty
And flounder to eat.
14 inch flounder, just right to stuff for supper

I caught 3 of these slot reds; Bill is envious, but he will share in the feasting.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Sunsets

October 28:



Just before sunset
Clouds gathering in the west
Still the light breaks through.















October 29:
Sunset on the beach
Another magnificent
Orange Beach display.
6:13 pm

6:28 pm
Redfish in the surf, only about a foot. He went back to grown bigger.

Earlier in the day, we drove to Ft. Pickens on Pensacola Beach (Santa Rosa Island) to watch another Blue Angel practice session. They flew right over our heads.




Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Four days of fishing

The weather has been perfect for fishing, calm water, light breeze, temperature just right. We trolled and lost another plug on when something took it hard and fast. It eventually broke before spooling all the line. We fished the jetties in the morning and the pass in the evenings, except Saturday.

October 24:
Sunset at the pass
Another redfish landed.
Pattern established.

20 pounds, 35 inches, caught on a pinfish, under the bridge at 6:25 pm

October 25:





When lines go zinging

Never know what to expect.
Two sharks to the boat.




















October 26:
Four hours, four fish:
Pompano, Mangrove Snapper,
Redfish, Bluefish, too.

18 pounds, 30 inches, caught at the jetties on shrimp.
















October 27:
Shark in the morning
Stingray broke the line, that's it!
Redfish at sunset.
22 pounds, 37 inches, caught under the bridge on pinfish at 6:30.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Fishing luck changes

Fishing luck changes
Bill's first bull red at sundown
Big fish, bigger fun.

25 pounds, 36 inches
Caught in Perdido Pass at sundown using live pinfish.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Blue Angels

Blue Angels screaming
Trailing roller-coasters high
Against deep blue sky.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

No luck

No luck catching fish.
Caught plenty of sun and wind,
Lost some tackle, too.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Quiet Sabbath

A quiet Sabbath
The storm of children has passed
Peace and quiet reign.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Oct 15-18 - Matzek Family

October 15: Matzeks and Claire's friend Kenna arrived around 1 pm, just as we were leaving at Johnson Beach. Of course, the girls couldn't wait to get on the beach and in the surf. We spent the afternoon enjoying the beach and surf fishing.





October 16: After a morning on our beach, we took the Matzeks to Robinson Island in Perdido Pass. They call it Hermit Crab Island, because they remember that they can find "gazillions" of hermit crabs there. They spent the afternoon exploring and playing while we fished nearby (no luck). After we picked them up, we went for a very successful dolphin ride along the back of Ono Island.






Snorkeling!

We got very close to the dolphin group.
Dolphins feeding!

October 17:  Bill and I got up early on a very calm morning to try our luck at finding the Minton East Reef. After much trial and error, we found the reef and found Red Snapper easy to catch. However, it is not Red Snapper season, so we couldn't keep them. We decided not to continue fishing there, since that seemed to be the only species to catch. After lunch, we took the Matzeks to the island again and fished the jetties. We caught several small pomano, blue fish and gray snapper, but no keepers.





October 18: Saturday and last beach day:




Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Windy Days

October 14: Stormy weather passed through Monday night, leaving wind and big waves in its wake:

Surfers at sunset
Not a good indicator
For fishing success.


Project for a windy day:




October 15: This morning we got the boat back in the water, having pulled it out for the bad weather. Later, we walked about 30 minutes from the end of the road along Johnson Beach in the National Seashore park to watch the Blue Angels practice. Laura and her family arrived before we got back to the condo.

Blue Angels flying
High over Johnson Beach dunes
Spectacular sight.




Strange objects wash up,
Barnacled sunglasses are
the find of the day.





Monday, October 13, 2014

Flounder for Supper

Step 1: Catch the flounder:



Step 2: Clean the flounder:


Step 3: Cook the founder (with crab cake stuffing):


Step 4: Eat the flounder (nothing left to photo)

I'm not just standing here

I'm not just standing here
watching the changeable surf
and listening to its rhythms.

I'm not just standing here
with warm waves washing over my legs
and sand shifting beneath my feet.

I'm not just standing here
with the sea breezes blowing in my face,
with my face warmed by the sun.

I'm not just standing here.
I'm surf-fishing.


Sunday, October 12, 2014

Oct 7-12 - David's family


October 7: Tuesday morning we went to the Naval Aviation Museum. Owen pronounced the experience "incredible."



October 8: After a morning on the beach, David and family headed back home, leaving at 2 pm.

October 9:  Late afternoon fishing was not productive. We came back to the dock just in time to see the moon rising.
Blood moon coming up
Impossibly large and red
Over Perdido.


October 10: Started out early and fished all morning. It was a little too rough at the jetties and beyond so we went to our old standby dock behind Ono Island. Results: 1 redfish at the upper edge of the slot, 1 Spanish mackerel and 2 Black Drum.

Redfish filet for supper, served with crab Alfredo.


October 11: Mississippi State Beat Auburn! Made a good fish salad out of the mackerel.

October 12 (Sunday): At the beach just before dawn for some surf fishing. Caught 3 whiting which were fileted for supper.

Surf fishing at dawn
Worshipping the Creator
In Her Creation.







Thursday, October 9, 2014

Orange Beach 2014 - Week 1

October 1: September went by in a flurry of activity. Our six-week adventure began Oct 1 at 6 am with coffee. By 7:30 we were on the road. At 5:30 we were in our Wind Drift condo.


Summer heat lingers
As falling leaves litter lawns
And geese fly over

First of October
Six-week adventure begins.
Beach sun fish boat fun.

October 2, 6 pm

Storm clouds gathering
Scattered raindrops wet my face
Then quickly over.

October 3:
Allison's first beach
Exploring, discovering
Sand and surf delight.


Owen on the move
Building sand castles, knocking
them down, chasing birds.





October 4:
Cloudless blue above
North wind-calmed sea green ahead
Warm sand underfoot.



October 5: Beach Sunday
Another worship
Not confined by sacred walls
Soul's unbounded awe.


David catches a bull redfish, 33 inches, 18 pounds.


October 6: Feeding the fish and helping catch the bait.


October 7: Sunset beach walk





October 8: Last morning on the beach was perfect, playing in the sand and surf fishing.