Fishy Fishy

This past week the weather cooperated for Captain Keith to do some dinghy fishing.  Here in the keys it is a bit different than what we are used to in North Carolina and of course it is different than the fresh water fishing he did in Canada this past summer.  Many fishermen use a chum bag and they also use a steel leader so the fish do not bite through the line when they take the bait.  Chum is bait that is most commonly made up of fish parts, bones and blood but other things can be used.  This is hung in a mesh bag over the side of the boat in the water to attract fish.   Keith did get a steel leader but decided to try his luck without chum.  Here are some of his catches.

A Jack Crevalle

This is the common jack of in shore oceanic waters.  It has a wide range from as far north as Nova Scotia, Canada to Uruguay including the Gulf of Mexico and the West Indies.  Although it can be eaten, this fish is not typically valued for food.

Another Jack

A Blue Runner (also a member of the jack family of fish)

A Ladyfish, mostly considered a "junk" fish, but fun to catch

These fish are generally used as a bait fish or for fish meal.

A Mangrove Snapper

This type of snapper does make for good eating.  We did not keep this one however.

At one point he started to catch a number of ladyfish.  These fish then attracted several sharks that decided to try to eat the ladyfish off the end of his line.  The result was instead of reeling in a ladyfish, Keith reeled in a shark.

Keith's Black Tipped Shark Catch

Black tipped sharks are generally considered to be timid and wary of people, however they can be aggressive when food is around (like the Ladyfish Keith was attracting).  Luckily Captain Keith was able to cut the shark free and continue his fishing uneventfully.  He said it took him about 15 or 20 minutes to get the shark to the dinghy.  It pulled off over 100 yards of line.

This is Keith's favorite store on Marathon

The Tackle Box

After all this fishing it was time to do some entertaining.  We had friends Rich and Maggie Selo over for dinner one night.  It was decided before dinner we should have a Vodka tasting.

There were 7 kinds of Vodka we tried.  Unbeknownst to us, Pengi was finishing off what was left in the bottom of the small bottles.  We figured it out after he started tipping over.  He slept really well that night as did we all.

Pengi with the vodka samples (notice he is a little tipsy)

And speaking of dinners, I also wanted to post a picture or two of the wonderful lobsters that Keith's parents sent to us as a Christmas gift.  We asked them to wait until we had settled here in Marathon before sending them.  They arrived the other day and Keith and I had a wonderful meal.

Before cooking (sorry guys)

After cooking (Yum)

Once again we are at the end of a week.  We are expecting friends for this weekend and are very excited.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate.  This was the lighthouse one evening this past week with the full moon overhead.