Today was "free fishing day" throughout Florida. That means anyone can fish without a license. I do have a saltwater license but did not buy the freshwater license, so today was an opportunity to go to Lake Okeechobee to catch some freshwater fish: crappies and bass. The write-ups I've been reading on the web tell of fishermen who catch 30 to 50 bass in a day! The bag limit for black (large mouth) bass is five per day and they have to be at least 18-inches long, otherwise you've got to release them immediately. In fact, Okeechobee is such a phenomenal bass lake that many professional contests are held there every year. Needless to say, I had been looking forward to this 40 mile ride and a day of fishing and sunshine all week.
The people at the bait store were very helpful, explaining that the 20 or so "shoreline fishing spots" on the Corps of Engineers map of the lake "aren't quite right. There are only really two places you can do any worthwhile fishing from the shore. And neither of them are actually in the lake. They're in the rivers, canals and wetlands surrounding the lake. Why don't you try the Kissimmee River?"
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A highway runs all the way around Lake Okeechobee. While the
maps show several places to fish from the shoreline, most of the lake isn't
really accessible. This picture shows a berm just beyond the line of palm trees.
That's the berm the Corp of Engineers built to hold the lake in place.
If you could park and get to the other side of the berm I suppose you
could fish from the shoreline. But I wasn't able to find a single place
to cross. Either there was no parking available or the berm was on private
property.
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OK. I headed toward the Kissimmee River spot, took a wrong turn and stopped at a gas station to ask for directions. A local man said, "Just follow me. I'll show you where to go." So I did and he did. He was so kind to go out of his way! I drove a few miles down a sand road that had little trails leading to the river every quarter mile or so. I found the one in the video below and settled down to "go fishing."
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The river is on the right, through the
trees and bush. This sand road ran
on for miles and miles along the river.
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With no action underway I closed up shop and drove to another bait store. The man there told me of a pier and a place that's "filled with bluegill and bass." He even took time out to draw a map that showed me where to turn, where to park and where to fish! So I headed that way. So helpful!
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View from the pier. These are the wetlands and canals that
surround Lake Okeechobee.
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Just as I was settling in to make my first cast a pontoon boat floated by. Richard (from Kentucky), one of the fishermen on board, asked "Would you like to have some bluegill? I've got four of them and we won't be able to eat them tonight."
"Sure! And thanks so much." The kindness of strangers once again. I fished until late afternoon, caught nothing, got no bites but did enjoy watching the alligator approach my bobber, then veer away when I tweaked it.
Arriving home I cleaned the bluegill, breaded and fried them and chowed down. Not bad.
That was "free fishing day" and, again, I enjoyed "going fishing" -- would have preferred to catch fish -- but had a wonderful day in the sun regardless. Thank you for dinner, Richard!
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| Bluegill with avocado and tomato. Good! |
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| Gorgeous Day :) It was probably close to 90-degrees, but the breeze made for a comfortable day! |
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| Two gators off in the distance |
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As this couple and I approached one another I said, "It looks like a special occasion with all the balloons!" The man
replied, "Yes, it's our son's birthday today. He died last July and would have been 25 today. We thought this was a fitting way to remember him." We talked, I expressed condolences and they made their way to the end of the pier where the man video'd his wife speaking before she released the balloons. Very touching.
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As I drove back into Jupiter I saw this car, apparently driven by a 72 year old man. I can't imagine what the police did
to earn his "advertisement" but there's got to be a story behind it!
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