Fishin' on Newnan's Lake

It is definitely spring. It's very warm and there is pollen everywhere. Last weekend was a great time to go fishing.


I went out to Newnan's Lake with my friend Brandon, who has a canoe. I have never met anyone who likes to fish as much as Brandon. Here is his "I am so happy I am fishing" face.



I really like to fish, and I love canoeing, so I was stoked.


It was pretty much a perfect day, warm and breezy.




We saw and heard tons of birds -- it was actually pretty cacophonous! In the water, there were ducks, herons, and egrets (small and large). We heard a barred owl hunting in the woods. Fishing from high above the water were a bald eagle and a pair of osprey.

We fished for a while near the ospreys' nest. See it? It's on the left, and one of the ospreys is watching over it while the other hunts.


I zoomed in a bit. The nest is in the dead center of the photo, and the osprey is perched on a branch just above it and to the right.


That was a fantastic day.


Oh, Brandon caught a catfish (for a change!), which he threw back, and I didn't catch a thang.

Fishing with John

I went out to Emily's farm this weekend to do some fishin'. It was uber-dry, since we're several years into a drought. (I think we're thirty-some inches below normal.)


That little pond in the background is the last wet area of a huge lake. John says it's a sinkhole that never dries up. That's where we caught a bunch of bottom feeders (catfish). People other than me ate them later.


Also! Genuine alligator faysays sighting! This turd is about the length of an adult finger. Who knew alligator poop was so white? The alligator that begat this one is rumored to be 10 feet long.


Here's a photo from closer up.


That day I also saw tons of sandhill cranes and even a whooping crane! Two sandhills are pictured below, stalking insects and grubs in the farm fields.


The whooping crane was flying away from me, and I didn't get a photo. Sandhill cranes have the most beautiful call. Then again, so do whooping cranes -- I heard one last year on the prairie.

Catch of the Day

I went fishing this weekend. My friend Brandon and I went to Prairie Creek, which is along the Hawthorne Rail Trail. It's a dark creek that drains Newnan's Lake.


Actually, when I ride on the trail, this boardwalk is my turn-around point.


I caught a fish!!! It was a large catfish. I was very excited.


It doesn't look that big in this photo because Brandon has large feet. And it's flopping around.


We gave it to the dude who was fishing next to us. I don't eat fish and Brandon didn't want to skin it, although he said catfish are "good eatin'." I'll take his word for it. (He didn't catch anything.)

What I Love about Florida, Pt. 92

I went scalloping for the first time yesterday. It was really, really fun.

We went to a boat ramp just south of Steinhatchee.


The day promised to be beautiful as we motored out toward the Gulf of Mexico.


The captain ran a tight ship. Here he gives the death stare to an unruly mate.


Everyone was out scalloping! Apparently the Florida Bay Scallop comes from "out there" around now to hang out in the shallows. In the photo below you can see the line of boats on the horizon (we got out of town a little late).


Scalloping involves a snorkel and a net bag (and a saltwater fishing license). You swim around, staring into the manatee grass and turtle grass, looking for the mollusks, which are two to three inches in diameter. Then you dive down and grab 'em! In the below photo that white blob is a scallop.


They swim by opening and closing their shells, so they can pinch you if you're not careful. Some of them, when sensing immanent capture, will try to swim away quickly (it's comical!). And although you can't tell in the below photo, the animal itself is actually beautiful. Scallops are filter feeders, so when their shells are open a sort of shaggy filter is visible, ringed with dozens of iridescent purpleish-blue eyes. I've never seen anything like it.


The water was warm and the swimming was ridiculously pleasant. It was a pretty perfect day. Plus, everyone knows boats are my favorite.


But it wasn't over! Then we went to Fanning Springs State Park, which is a new one for me. (Springs being another of my favorites, of course.) It was very crowded (Sunday and a free entry day). And THEN we got boiled peanuts, my favorite food ever!


Another positive about the day is that I only sustained a few minor injuries (re-tore something in my arm, split a toenail, and got a sunburn on my back). I mention this for those of you who know my tendencies.

Thanks, Pally.

p.s. No, I did not eat any of the scallops.