I'm a little late for the review, but I've been running at the speed of sound since we got back…read more But OMG, what a time.
Usually a long holiday weekend in the Keys is a challenging thought, as the traffic and weekend warriors tend to make a 4 hour trip into an 8 hour one, but given the break in the work schedule and the weather report, along with a highly recommended fishing charter operation out of Summerland Key, it was time to test the traffic gods and head south for a few days.
We made it in record time, amazed that we arrived in time for sunset! We found our accommodations, settled in for the night, and enjoyed the most beautiful sky full of stars that can only be seen in these "away from the city" places, where the background light doesn't affect your view of the heavens.
The next morning, we met up with JT and Debi Gabriel, gathered our belongings, and boarded the "fishing machine" for our day on the water. , being fair skinned Canadian and a desk jockey, completely covered myself in SPF80 sunblock for the day out on the water. The boat was roomy, had all the modern conveniences (we were able to charge our phones, enjoy our choice of music, enjoy beverages and lunch, fully equipped with all the modern navigation technology you could imagine). After helping load the bait wells with bait (fun!) we left on our adventure.
The bay water was like a lake, calm, not a ripple. We stopped for gas at a local marina, where I picked up a pair of surf mocks/water shoes for $14 as my original footwear was not appropriate for the journey, as I was forewarned my apparel may be adorned with souvenirs of our trip, like fish blood and guts if we haul in a monster. Glad I did.
We headed out east/southeast, for the first time in my life I was in a boat (other than a cruise ship) offshore out of plain sight of land. We crossed not one but two shipping channels as loaded freighters were heading south, and spotted a huge sea turtle along the way (very cool!).
Finding frigate birds and weedlines we slowed down and hit a school of Dolphin (Mahi Mahi), where JT and Debi helped us with rods and bait, and before we knew it, we're reeling in fish in a fishing frenzy! We boated a few, kept the legal sized ones (one HUGE fish), and continued on for a while.
Finding a fishing spot he knew from before, JT employed a power reel/rod combo for deep water bottom fishing. An impressive technical rig of multiple hooks, lights, etc. As we couldn't believe how calm, serene, and flat the ocean was today, and the partly cloudy skies gave us a little bit of relief from the powerful sun and heat, we enjoyed lunch and beverages waiting for our "guests below to announce their arrival". Next thing we know, JT's reeling up the line, and we have a beautiful tilefish in the cooler. Fifteen minutes later, a good sized snowy grouper!
We realized the time and began to head back in, slowly trolling in the hopes of catching something, when we saw porpoises breaking the water in the distance. We slowed down and found huge (OK, 14 feet of shark is huge to me) sharks slowly circling the boat. We needed to empty the bait well anyway, and it was happy hour for the sharks, as the small bait fish hit the water, the graceful creatures helped themselves to our hors d'oerves. We soon had four to five of them, almost like a water ballet, circling on both sides of the boat, keeping us company while we had fish to offer. It was very impressive, and a memorable moment.
We headed back to the dock, where JT cleaned/filleted the fish, and Debi cleaned out the boat and helped us gather our belongings. We cleaned up ourselves and were invited for dinner where we enjoyed the fish caught on our adventure, along with a few cocktails. The stars were out again, and some celestial event with Mars and Venus took place, and were clearly evident and visible to the naked eye. An absolutely amazing day and night, I highly recommend Boneafide Charters for anyone wanting to enjoy their day on the water in the Keys, for fishing, snorkeling/eco trips, and more.
