FISHING SATURDAY, 7/25/09

I started the day off bright and early by rising at 7:00 AM and hitting the road by 7:30 AM. I had packed some sandwiches the night before due to a bad habit of not eating when I fish all day; plus I had even prepared my gear and bait! After a quick stop at Starbucks for some wake-up-juice, and a long stop at Sabalo Boating Center due to chatting with Captain Steve Baglio, I arrive at the marina. Horizon Dreams is gently pulled from her bed in a nice warehouse dry dock, and like a freshly wakened puppy is eager to go out!

After loading all the ice, food, drinks, bait, oil, fuel, and gear, Horizon Dreams refuses to start! Unfortunately, a key piece of the ignition system is missing:

A little bit of a setback to drive home and back, but the missing part is retrieved, installed, and the engine brought to life!

The frustrating part about having to backtrack for the keys is that last night’s preparations have been for naught, as they were done with the express purpose of getting on the water as early as possible! Oh well, no big deal and there is still a whole day ahead. Cast off the lines, push away from the dock, keep an eye out for the resident manatee, and away we go!

The water in the Intercoastal is glassy this morning!

Some nice real estate off the starboard side!

And a view of the back of Sand Key off the port side.

Getting close to downtown Clearwater means it's time to turn 90 degrees to the east – now heading directly towards the Gulf of Mexico via Clearwater Pass.

Entering the pass we have clear skies and a beautiful view of Sand Key buildings

The Sand Key Bridge is an excellent place to fish when the weather kicks up the seas on the ocean, though all I have ever managed to catch here are catfish. Not the tasty kind, either... More like the spiny, venomous kind!

After passing under the bridge, we see the first clear view of the horizon. But wait, what is that in the distance?

OH NO! PIRATES!!!

For some reason trash seems to abound in Clearwater Pass. The two most likely reasons are that 1, this area is a popular drinking and partying spot, and 2, this pass is the only link between the Intercoastal and the Gulf of Mexico, turning it into a giant drain as the tides change. Regardless of the reason for the ever present trash, after 2 short stops and 2 quick dips of the net this plastic bottle and styrofoam cup are removed from the ecosystem and on the way to a recycle bin and trash can!

Looking back out on the horizon, it appears that the pirate ship has disappeared! It turns out that it is now directly to the starboard! While firing a warning shot to keep them at a distance is very tempting, the local tourism board tends to frown on that (as well as the local cops, judges, juries, etc)!

The original plan was to head out to the deeper, bluer water about 15+ miles from shore. But, while not too choppy, the swells are a little bigger than anticipated. The result is that any faster than 18-19 mph is causing the boat to catch some air. Normally not a big deal, but due to the missing keys, I'm a bit behind schedule and anxious to start fishing. So the first spot is about 4 miles offshore in the green water.

The last time I was out (two weeks ago), I caught my first grouper! Unfortunately, he was undersized and only about 12" long. I then continued to catch several more, all in the 10-15" range. Today starts off no different, and I immediately catch 3 small red grouper. I don't feel like wasting the whole day on these guys, so I decide heck with it and pull the anchor to head further offshore. However, when I pull the anchor, something feels funny about it. I can't explain, but it just felt different then usual. When I got the anchor up, it had a substance on both the anchor and the chain that seemed awfully similar to cephalopod ink. With octopi being common in the area, I can't help but wonder if there was one clinging to my anchor? (In the next picture, you can see the inky stuff at the tip of my finger's shadow)

As the water is getting bluer, a flock of birds appears, and they are diving for bait! I stop to observe and see some splashing. However, the culprits of the splashing are a pack of dolphins. When these guys show up, the fishing usually isn't too good. Think of it like trying to feed deer when there are a bunch of wolves running around. So I leave with nothing but a video for my trouble. (Click the video to play, but be warned, I didn't get to close as I didn't want to interrupt them; therefore there isn't really much to see other than a few splashes. On the other hand, it isn't a very long video.)

Continuing the journey and now in some pretty clear, blue water, some more trash is spotted.

However, when I try to net this bag or whatever it is, it is very heavy and a bunch of tiny little fish are apparently using it for shelter! They look like some sort of baby tile or file fish.

So, against my normal principles, I throw the bag thing back; those little fishies were just too cute, I couldn't bear to throw their home away. However, they seem to have found what must appear to be a mansion compared to that little bag they were using as a home! They just love Horizon Dreams! She becomes like a mother duck to this school of fish!

Let's take a closer look! (click to play)

After leaving the little fishies behind as gently as possible, I arrive to some water just over 70 feet deep and start fishing. I get a good bite, and pull up my biggest grouper yet! Unfortunately, he is still a bit undersize so he goes back. I don't pull every fish out of the water to measure, but I need to get a benchmark idea at first. This guy is about 17-18" and now I have a good idea as to what a keeper would look like!


At this point, there are a few things I would like to point out. I have had two dreams concerning boating and fishing since I was young. Over the last year these dreams evolved into goals:

1. Pilot my boat far enough to slip below the horizon and no longer be able to see land.

2. Catch a fish, fillet it, and eat it.


Now, to many old salts around here these dreams may seem trivial; those guys do it all the time. But to me they have become almost magical. Maybe it has to do with many years of surfing, looking out past the breakers as far as I could see, thinking that there is no land between myself and a whole other continent. Maybe it has to do with the fact that growing up I was horrible at fishing. I couldn't tie a knot to save my life, I never seemed to have the proper lure, or I would fall victim to just plain horrible luck. I remember one time when I was 15; I tried fishing for sharks at the beach in South Carolina all summer and struck out every time. Well, my mom felt so bad for me that first she rented a boat for a few hours. After I lost a couple probable bonnetheads due to improper knots, she tried once more and this time chartered a boat with a captain for me. Upon boarding, I warned the captain that I had horrible luck, but he didn’t believe me. It took a fight between the tide and the wind to convince him. This tug of war of wind and tide caused the boat to float sideways against the current, thus preventing him from utilizing the downriggers and putting out 2 more lines. 17 years later I can still picture the captain standing there, telling me he had “never seen this combo of wind and tide at the mouth of Calibogue sound before.” So, I know I've gotten off track a bit, but I’m just trying to provide a history that explains why, at 32, these dreams of the horizon and tasty fish have only become stronger. Two weeks ago I was able to briefly accomplish Goal #1; get out past the horizon, look east, and see nothing but water. I even made it out to the blue water that day, but summer storms were kicking up the wind and the seas were building. So I turned around and stuck to the green water (where I caught all the undersize grouper I mentioned). Today, however, is my first day fishing in the blue water. Goal #1? Check! After catching several more undersize red grouper I am debating on going to deeper water to pursue a keeper. The problem is that I am catching fish, albeit a little small. But if I try a different spot, I could strike out completely. My instinct is telling me to stay where I am, as the fish are not that undersize, and there has to be a few bigger ones down there. Just as I am thinking this, my rod is practically ripped from my hands! This feels different, it is the first fish I've caught that I actually can't reel! Instead, I have to pump the rod up and reel down! This is truly going to be something special. Maybe even a nice fat keeper grouper! Sadly, another red grouper appears out of the blue abyss, and he is just as small as the others. As my disappointment sinks in, I realize that I can't see my sinker - This guy is still 10 feet deep! I bring him the rest of the way up and bingo, I have my FIRST KEEPER GROUPER!!!

Goal #2? A BIG FREAKIN' CHECK! Energy and adrenaline are coursing through my veins and the excitement of the moment causes me to shout at the sky! No words, just a guttural yell that apparently comes from accomplishing a dream that has been lodged in your heart for so long. As I settle down, it occurs to me that I have dinner tonight! After fishing a little while longer something interesting happens. Reeling up another grouper, I see something swimming around it. Turns out it is a remora trying to attach to the grouper. A remora is a fish that attaches to larger fish, hitching rides and feeding off scraps. What is really interesting about seeing a remora of this size swimming around out here is that it begs the question: “what was he attached to before he ended up here?” Is there something very large swimming around under the boat? All I know is that not long after seeing this guy swimming around, I had 3 large bites that resulted in: a broken hook, a broken leader, and a snapped line. Regardless, it is pretty cool to see a fish swimming clearly in this crystal blue water. Cool enough that I thought I would share! (click to play)

I am a sucker for awesome cloud formations, and can't help but snap a picture of this summer storm off in the distance to the west.

I call it a day, point the boat due east, and start heading in. The seas have laid down enough that I can do ~25mph.

Can't see land yet!

The Clearwater Beach and Sand Key skylines appear on the horizon.

A little closer...

Closer still... At this point, the Clearwater Tripod is in view. What’s interesting about the tripod is that when leaving Clearwater Pass, the tripod looks so far out to sea, but when coming back it looks so close in to shore.

The Sand Key Bridge; this is the part where I check my cell phone messages, as I am not only back in range, but also in a minimum wake zone anyway.

Even though I have already had several beers, I crack open one more for the last leg of the journey. I feel very strongly that the operator of a boat should not consume alcohol, but beer and fishing go together like Forest Gump and peas and carrots! I happen to have found myself a happy medium.

I like to think that what N/A beer lacks in taste, it makes up for in lack of manslaughter charges! With downtown Clearwater in front of me, it is time to turn south towards the Bellair Bridge.

Approaching the Bellair Bridge; it is really a marvelous accomplishment. Over 1,000 feet long, high enough to see the ocean when driving over, but only 3 sections! The sections were built on land, and then pushed out over the pilings. This is the first bridge in the United States to be built this way. There used to be a marina with a boat ramp on the causeway section before the new construction, and the plan includes a brand new one when this is complete. Gazing upon a structure such as this truly exemplifies just how far we’ve evolved since the days of cavemen!

Almost home and I can see the marina just ahead!

Docked up, engine off, and today's adventure has come to an end.

In addition to a nice red grouper, I have brought home some other stuff. The white styrofoam cup I grabbed off shore, but the other 3 pieces were all pulled from Clearwater Pass.

I bid farewell to Horizon Dreams; she is all cleaned up and ready to be tucked away. This farewell has no sadness, as we are both looking forward to the next adventure. Neither of us knows where that will take us, what we may encounter, or what memories we’ll gain. None of that matters right now, as the memories made today are all that matters. Funny thing about memories, they are so cheap to attain, but so valuable to keep.

After leaving the marina, I stop by Sabalo Boating Center one last time. I had a problem: after years of not catching anything worth eating, I have no idea how to fillet a fish! I had anticipated this, though, and earlier told Captain Steve that if I caught a fish worth keeping, I would probably stop by for a fillet knife and a lesson! I think he assumed I was joking because he seemed a bit surprised that I showed up with a keeper grouper, but he held up his end of the deal! He filleted one side, while showing me what he was doing. I then proceeded to butcher, I mean, fillet the other side! The end result was an awesome dinner! I rolled the cheeks in breadcrumbs and fried them in butter first, as sort of an appetizer. The rest I split in half made to batches: rolled in breadcrumbs and fried in butter, and dusted with blackening seasoning and broiled. Delicous! Thanks for joining me, and until next time, keep dreamin' of the horizon. I know I will be ;) Special thanks goes out to Sabalo Boating Center at the corner of Walsingham and Ulmerton. And, of course, to Captain Steve Baglio for all his help, his website can be found here.