Into the Mist

Sea fog rolling across Sarasota Bay last night and blanketing the Ringling Bridge.  Although it was spritzing a bit and the temperature was dropping, this pelican seemed to be patiently waiting out Mother Nature to resume flights.  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sushi Appetizer

Some of the more lackadaisical birds here in Sarasota like to hang out at the Saprito fishing pier and gobble up any handouts that might come their way.  This great blue heron scored a tidbit when an angler tossed some bait to it.  I've seen great blue herons swallow an entire large fish in one gulp.  So, this morsel really must have been just an appetizer.

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!

Lighthouse

This is a different kind of lighthouse!   Every time I go to the Saprito fishing pier near downtown, I see this great blue heron (or one of its friends/family) sitting atop this street light.  I can only imagine the view he has up there, gazing off into the distance over Sarasota Bay.  

Watery Wednesday - Dinner Time

                               

I spotted this great blue heron at the Saprito Fishing Pier near downtown at 6:15 last night  --  dinner time.  A large, unidentifiable fish was protruding from its beak.  Not only was  this bird a good fisherman, it seemed to be following an I-just-caught-a-big-fish-for-dinner ritual.  After displaying its prize for all to see for several minutes, it flew to a nearby secluded alcove where it dunked its meal in Sarasota Bay not once but twice (pausing each time to enjoy the anticipation of  a hard earned meal) and then -- **gulp** -- down the hatch!  One bite.  That's some kind of dinner.   To see more fish dinner pics check out my Flickr page.  And, more Watery Wednesday photos from around the world are posted here.

Clumsy Heron

This great blue heron at the Saprito Fishing Pier had been sitting quite agilely, with its large claws wrapped around the aluminum railing, watching over Sarasota Bay with an air of regal authority -- until this young fisherman approached.  The bird was so startled that it lost its balance and nearly fell right off its perch.  The boy's expression was priceless:  "You're a bird.  What are you doing?!"

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!