Last couple days lobstering with the Swains and new guests

Wrapped up our 2 weeks with the Swains yesterday, but hard to believe 2 weeks can go by that fast! We had a great time and really enjoyed having them down with us. It’s a great time each year here with them and look forward to many more annual trips to the Keys with our families.

The weather had been a tad bit windy on Thursday and Friday so we stayed on the bayside and lobstered both days. Explored some new ground a bit further out in the gulf and paid off with nice larger lobsters.  Also had good luck finding red groupers hanging out around some of the bigger ledges and holes.  Put the pole spear to work a few times along with the scuba regulator and were able to get a few groupers to join us for dinner.

On the search for white spots in tough conditions being windy and overcast.

The run and gun method of lobstering: find a white spot, put on a mask, then dunk over the side to check it out

Lobster with strange markings, almost albino-like

A nice cooler full of lobsters and 2 red groupers

A crowd favorite were the fried grouper bites

Michael and I woke up early on Saturday to get out for his 2012 Keys fishing trip for a couple hours. Paid off nicely with some good action of a snook, jack, ladyfish all caught by Michael. I couldn’t seem to connect with fish on the topwater lure, guess I need some more practice over the next few weeks.

We said our goodbyes around noon, then found out that my parents were on their way down from Cape Coral. They plan on spending a few days with us and looks like the weather will cooperate nicely for their first trip to Marathon. Cindy and I had a few hours to burn before they arrived, so we loaded up the boat with a few rods, chum and cold beverages and drove out to the patch reefs for some yellowtails. No luck at the first spot, so we moved on to another spot which we marked a few years ago. Ended up boating 3 nice yellowtails and took em over to Burdines for a nice dinner with my parents.

Cindy gettin the hang of yellow tailing on the reef

Keep in mind that sitting outside for dinner around sunset with light winds is a bad idea in the Keys, a lil’ animal called a no-see-em can really cause an unpleasant experience at a dinner table.