GIVING THANKS

Home in Port Charlotte
High of 84

For the 4th year in a row, my daughter, Kimber (24), came to Florida for Thanksgiving. We flew from AZ together, did Siesta Key Beach together with my wife, and best of all...we fished together. (Although the drinking beer together all weekend came in as a close second best activity).  Many thanks to Kimber for shooting the new title page photo above, using her new iPhone.

The winds were gusting high so we stayed close to home, pinning the boat down in a foot of water in Alligator Bay at the North end of Charlotte Harbor. The incoming tide and winds out of the southeast were an excellent mix to throw popping corks and have them run a drift past the mangroves but we got no strikes from that method.

As soon as we re-rigged to jigs and tossed them into the 7' deep channel...BAM! Non-stop lady fish action for about an hour. Back home, we cleaned up and went out to dinner at Benedetto's. After dinner we returned home and fished our dead shrimp off the canal behind my house. There had to be 100 giant mullet cruising the light on my dock, with the occassional snook making a strike amongst them. We fished the remainder of our dead shrimp but only landed catfish. Kimber did great casting and landing her fish...which far exceeded my own, as usual.

Here are some pictures from our weekend. I drive her back to Tampa for her flight home today but will get to see her and all my kids/grandkids/parents/siblings for Christmas in Phoenix and New Year's Eve in San Diego.

Yeah, I have lots to be thankful for. And I am. Happy start of the holiday season to all.