Florida 2014 - Anticipation!

OK, Florida is not Costa Rica, but once you start thinking about it…it’s still pretty darn attractive, especially when compared to Late Winter in Michigan.  As we made our family holiday plans, various options were in the mix.  Unfortunately, both time and money remain limited and our families are awfully spread out.  We’re all on different schedules, and there was no pleasing everybody with any single plan.  Most destinations within realistic consideration didn’t offer the required seasonal allure, were too difficult to reach, or had too much uncertainty with winter weather and associated travels.  A family vacation to Costa Rica is still in the cards; just not right now.

But the Middle Keys are bathed in warmth from the nearby Gulf Stream; have inshore, offshore, reef and bridge fishing opportunities; are somewhat familiar; and are within an easy day’s travel (given good connections and flight schedules.)  So when we* found a suitable boat rental opportunity; available lodging in a prime location; and coordinated flights within our constrained schedule, it was all too easy to succumb to Florida’s temptation.  We’re Do’ers; it’s booked.  We’re going.  Marathon, here we come!  And so now I get to enjoy the Anticipation! Phase of the trip.

First; can you imagine stepping out the door to your boat, already docked in the water and ready to go?  Can you imagine the boat being a suitable platform for any of the fishing opportunities mentioned above?  Can you imagine bait-wells and outriggers, appropriate anchors and GPS?  I envision this 22-foot Dusky center console (AmyBaby22!) as my admission to Fishing Graduate School.  I’m going to have to put my book learning to good use and produce some tangible fishing results.  I’ve got a week to graduate from this intensive program.

I’ll be bringing my own equipment (I think), but of course traveling with fishing gear is difficult.  I’ve got to be smart about what I take with me.  I’ve got some fine gear, but a lot of bases and possibilities to cover, so most everything I bring will be put to multiple uses.  I’ve got access to much of what I’m thinking about at C’s, but I also know there’s a Bass Pro Shops/ World Wide Sportsman (and other local options) just down the road from where I’m staying.  Should I procure it now or later?

Where to start with the actual fishing?  In my dreams, I’m offshore with appropriate bait, and sailfish and dolphin are the targets.  Tunas and king mackerel are welcome, too.  Heck, Atlantic Sharpnose Sharks, jacks and bluefish are welcome.  If I catch it offshore, fair and square, for myself, I’ll be pleased.  Will I be trolling or power drifting?  I don’t know; it will depend on the availability of bait.  Will the bait be caughten or boughten?  Fresh or frozen?  I just don’t know.  I’ll simply have to deal with the situation at hand at the time.

I know the sea conditions might be iffy in February, and I can’t be too crazy with my efforts, so near-shore patch reefs and bridges might be my best realistic option.  Free-lining some shrimp, pilchards or silversides should bring a piscine cornucopia into the boat, and I hope I’m prepared for the occasional pelagic or grouper that might stumble by.  Should I encounter any barracuda, I hope to enjoy their fight, but then put them to work as bait.  I love working up the food chain as I fish, and this will be a new one for me.

And of course, there’s always the back side of the Keys and the inshore opportunities these present.  Navigation here (and lack of local knowledge) might be my biggest obstacle on this side, but this will also represent my safest refuge from the weather.  Whether I end up covering structure, channels and mangroves, or pulling some schooling fish (Spanish? Blues?)  into a chum slick out in the open water, what a fantastic Plan D (or E or F!)  

It’s not as if my Anticipation! is not accompanied by some Trepidation!  I can’t help but think it would be a bummer to spend all this time, effort and money, only to have the fishing fall flat.  Weather is probably my biggest enemy; but believe me, boat problems, missed opportunities, gaffing gaffs, and general confusion and lack of proper execution have all crossed my mind.  I’m just committed to doing the best I can with the conditions at hand, and to be pleasant to those around me.

I sure hope my girls join me (at least occasionally), and I hope I can provide some good memories for them.  I hope they have lots of fun without me, too, because I expect to fish a lot during my boat rental period.  After all, in addition to having just a week to make hay and explore new waters, there’s The Kingfish Bet that I’ve entered with a co-worker.  “Best” King Mackerel (or, in their absence, Spanish, Cero or Atlantic) of 2014 wins a free lunch.  Different water, different boats, different schedules; all that’s required is photographic evidence of a single, legally-taken specimen of the agreed-upon species and a Gentleman’s Agreement at the end of the year as to whose is “best.”  Size matters most, but we’re willing to incorporate other mitigating factors such as tackle, conditions, acrobatics, etc.  I haven’t lost a similar bet to my co-worker yet (carp, smallmouth bass, brown trout and northern pike have all been kind to me), and I certainly have no plans to lose this year.

I expect to return home dead tired, but motivated to finish off winter.  I hope to have my diploma in hand, ready to take on a local Post-Doctoral Opportunity in Muskellunge or Salmon.

*By which I actually mean A.  She’s awesome.