Out of School

School is out here in Sarasota for the summer.  Imagine the feeling of freedom these young guys must have had to be on their bicycles, poles in hand, cutting through downtown as they headed to Sarasota Bay.  I guess they were searching for a different kind of school -- a school of fish!  We're still busy here at SDP Headquarters.  I wish there were many more hours in the day so I could shoot and post daily, and visit and comment on your blogs. I hope all is well with everyone in the blogosphere!

Nothing To Lose Your Head Over

I encountered this great blue heron fishing near the Siesta Key bridge and I was rather perplexed when it caught this fish sans body. After a few minutes of watching the bird (which seemed equally perplexed and aware that something was missing), I realized some nearby fishermen probably had chopped off the heads of their catch and tossed them in the bay. He seemed to want a whole fish --- and a live one that would put up a bit of a fight --- because over the course of the next 15 minutes, it couldn't decide what to do: eat it...or leave it? Time and time again, it pulled the head out of the water, shook it, and walked around with it, only to drop it back in the water with an air of disappointment. Finally, though, it must have figured the fish head was at least an appetizer and **gulp** down the hatch it went, in one big, disturbing swallow. Wow.

Lady in Pink

It's not every day you see a woman fishing from a pier with nicely manicured nails, and sporting a bright pink bandanna.  Do you think she was there just looking the part of a fisherwoman?  Heck, no.  Donna informed me she's been fishin' for about 60 years, but she prefers fly fishing.  She's from Maine (says she belongs to a ladies' fly fishing club there and the A.G. goes out with them occasionally) and like many northerners, she's now happily splitting her time between there and Sarasota.  Welcome...and happy fishing!

Bad Day Fishin'

It's a bad day fishing when you toss your pole in the trash. Sarasota Bay looks beautiful here, but it was so bright and blazing hot, the fish weren't biting, which may explain this trash can scene.  It was so miserably hot in the direct sun, I was wondering why I was schlepping around in those conditions.  

Baby Shark

This baby lemon shark was caught by a fisherman who was wading in about 3-feet of water in Sarasota Bay near downtown.  To avoid predators, like ospreys and hawks, baby lemon sharks hide in mangroves.    So, I wasn't too surprised when this one was hooked, since there are mangroves nearby.  It was about 8-inches long and if you look closely you can see razor sharp teeth already protruding.  After a few photo opps. the shark was safely released back into the bay.  Swim Sharky swim!

Side by Side

These two anglers on the Saprito Fishing Pier near downtown amused me -- the way they were standing next to each other gazing into the distance willing fish to appear.  Is it me or do they seem to have the same look on their faces?

Fish Tale

I was walking on the Saprito Fishing Pier when I heard a fisherman holler, "JOE!  JOOOOOOE!  It's HUUUUGE!"  This, naturally, piqued my curiosity.  Joe, as it turns out, was about 50 yards away. He also was the shouter's fishing partner and 16-year-old son.  And, his help was needed to reel in whatever was hooked on the end of the line.

So, Joe ran up and took over.  He pulled and tugged and grimaced and reeled for about ten minutes.  Both he and his father were convinced that the mystery creature must be at least 15 pounds and...well...huge!

The fishing line bended and curved until at last the sea creature surfaced for a split second.

It was...

..... a stingray!  

Stingrays are one of my favorite sea critters.  I especially love to encounter them at depth when I'm scuba diving.  So, I was concerned about the well being of this ray.  It was quite big and putting up a heck of a fight.  I didn't want it to die because it chomped down on a grunt which actually was a fisherman's bait.                     

Joe maneuvered the hooked ray and walked it all the way down the fishing pier.   During the 45 minute adventure, the ray continued to thrash and Joe struggled to hold on.

At last he and his father landed it.  They measured and weighed it (57 inches, 17 pounds!) and avoided getting stabbed by the ray's stinger.  Then, they dropped it back into Sarasota Bay, where it swam away quickly.  Yeah!

Not only was it nice to see the stingray released, it was great to see this father-son team in action problem solving together.  Their congratulatory high-five at the end said it all.

Well done!