Long Key Part 2

Since i crapped out on loading up my photos last night, i'll have to post with no pics right now and add them later.....The Rays were on and Garza pitched a perfect game up to the 7th inning....take that Baston fan....eh? (what's with this "Red Sox Nation" crap? Where was...."The Nation" when ya'all were stinking the joint up for 80 plus years between World Series victories?)

i'm an early riser and since we usually go to bed early when we're camping, we usually get up early too. This time was no different. i didn't really sleep too well due to the wind shaking the tent all night and the traffic on US 1 rushing by so, i got up with the first sign of the graying sky that proceeds the rising sun....told Mama that the sun was getting ready to come up and she groggily replied "uh...ok...." Fired up the backpacking stove and got some coffee going. For some reason French Press coffee tastes so good when we're camping....not sure why....but Mama got up in time to get her cup and her camera and start shooting the beautiful sunrise. There were some darker clouds in the distance and we could see rain. Mama said "look at those rain clouds Papa" and i replied "weather report said no chance of rain". Sure enough, withing 10 minutes, it started sprinkling and of course we didn't have the rainfly on the tent so we started scrambling around trying to get things stowed and the rainfly on (which was hard due to the gale force winds). And of course as soon as we get everything stowed, it stopped raining....

Mama fixed a nice camping breakfast which was an egg and cheese sandwich on health nut bread....mmmmmmm..... and orange juice.

We grabbed our flyrods and headed out to the flat at our campsite. The tide was coming in but wasn't expected to be high until around 1:00 so it was the perfect time for bonefish. Water clarity was excellent but spotting fish was going to be next to impossible with the whipped up water surface. We were rigged up for bonefish with 10 lb tippets and natural color Crazy Charlies. i decided to switch to a Sweet Ernie (http://www.flyfishinsalt.com/techniques/fly-tying-bench/the-sweet-ernie-1000070702.html) in hot pink/crystal sparkle chenille on a #4 Mustad that i had tied up right before we left on Sunday....only had time to tie one but i had my vice and materials with me. Decided to blind cast with the wind to my back so at least my forward cast would get to where it was supposed to....i figured i'd take 3 or 4 casts in a fan sort of pattern and then move up the flat about a full casts worth and start over. Current wasn't really a factor. There were some nice grassy patches as well as some sand holes and muddy sections with marl.

So we were working parallel to the beach with Mama out about 20 yards further than me and sure enough, i got a take on my 3rd cast.....was a lot of slack on that cast due to the wind and waves so it took off at light speed about 20 feet before i knew he was on it. and spit it before i could get the hook in it....had to be a bonefish though because of how fast it moved. Surprised that it didn't run into Mama on the way out. Tore the fly up by destroying the tail....

Hit myself in the back with with flies all day long and Mama actually impaled herself in the side with one.

After a few hours of no real action (a polite way of saying we caught bugger all) we went across the street and started fishing the flat next to "the hole". i was still using the flyrod but Mama had switched to the spinning gear and shrimp. She wasn't getting anything but bait robbers and i wasn't having any action either so we moved to "the hole" and weren't having any luck there too.
We went back to the campsite around lunchtime and found that the wind was taking a toll on the tent in a very bad way. It's a dome style tent and the way it works is to fasten the long floppy poles to a series of short metal posts at the base of the tent. These are held together by a metal ring. Well, the metal ring looked more like a fish hook, the posts were missing as was the stake to hold it down....more rain sprinkles, Mama rigged it up with some rope and i tied it to the wood fencing surrounding the campsite to secure it. Mama piled some rocks at the base of the poles for good measure. It was a major screw up on my part because i wanted the big window on the tent facing the water and in doing so, had pointed the part without windows at the wind, so it was really taking a beating.....if we had pointed the window at the wind, it might have made it easier on the tent. (here we go with the physics again.....) So between the rope, Mama's rig job, and the rocks, we were hoping the tent would hold up.....sort of like an episode of Star Trek..."Scotty!.....i need....you to keep......the ship togetheraslong as.....you CAN Bones, Spock come with me....."

We ate more rotisserie chicken and tortillas and split a Hurricane Reef. Mama took a nap and i tied a few flies.....

Will the tent and weather hold up? Will our hero's catch something that swims?

Tune in next time........