Fish On!!

We tried to catch a shark off the dock behind the house on Saturday night while Brian was here.  I set up a Shamano 50 with a 125 pound test line leader.  The first bait was taken in less then 15 minutes.  I re rigged a similar set up and it was broken off in 10 or 15 minutes.  Sunday morning I rigged up with 30 feet of 200 pound test line and a 3 foot terminal leader or 7 strand wire. I was ready for the late afternoon bite! I set the drag on the reel a little lighter and stayed around the porch so I could hear it go off.  Well... on Saturday I had fresh fish heads and fresh Barracuda as bait, so last night using older bait I was not as confident that we'd get a bite.  In fact, it sat out there for close to an hour and no bites.  Craig, John Paul, Andre, Danielle, and the kids came by to see if we had caught the shark and I was telling them I was going to pull the line in... all of the sudden the line began to rip off.  The black tip shark ran off 50 to 60 yards of line and jumped several times.  He was no match for the new set up and was brought to the boat/dock in just a few minutes.  Craig took this picture.  I was able to release the shark and he took off faster than ever!!!

Happy Birthday

Friday, Britton turned 7! The Tooth Fairy came to visit while he was asleep! He and his cousins are getting ready for breakfast and a good day!

Swimming

Aunt B went swimming with the boys on Friday in the shilly water. Water temp is about 73 degrees too cold for me. We are in Starfish Cove.

Aunt B & Uncle Brain

The Fischers arrived this afternoon around 5pm. We were excited to see them get off of the plane; I saw Bella's pink bow first! Grandma and Grandaddy left at 1pm headed to N.C. ...sad to see them leave.

Coming Home!!

I have spent the last several days... since Sunday in the States... I have really missed Exuma.  It is strange to miss home and long to be in North Carolina, but to get to NC and miss Exuma.  It is the only place where I have ever been that I miss home, but feel at home when I am there.  I look forward to getting back tomorrow and seeing Helene and the Boys. Also, I look forward to Brian and Bellerie being there... and Britton and Bella.  Hopefully we can catch fish.

Just Chillin'

Walton is "Just Chillin"! In the backdrop of Stocking Island, someone has rocked out the "Just Chillin". Can you see it?

Fishing

The Pill Pusher is still out of service not that it matters we would not take her out without Neal, but we do not hestitate to use the back-up! Grandaddy volunteered to take out the crew for a little fishing.

Hold On

Grandaddy and Miller are holding on as Walton takes the helm!

Captain

Walton is moving on in the little dingy! Neal took off on a Delta jet yesterday for the states, so look for him in eastern N.C. We are here still having fun. We went out in the dingy today for Stocking Island and my Dad let Walton take control.

Breakfast and Peace and Plenty

One of the best all around breakfast places in George Town is Peace and Plenty. It may be better know as a Bone Fisherman's haunt, but the bacon and cheese omelet is great. The view is not bad either. I heard today that there are over 300 boats in the harbor and quite a few waiting to get here in nearby spots... waiting on the weather. The sun is shining, but the ocean is rough.. NNE winds 15 to 25 knots over the last couple of days.

UNO anyone????

Very serious game of UNO!!! Miller has had too many ginger ales!!! The sun sets in the background.

Lupper

We wasted no time to get in the car and go to Santana's for a late lunch/early supper. We had grouper and lobster one of Harold's favorites and now one of Granddaddy's too!

Grandma and Grandaddy

Grandma Joan and Grandaddy Truett arrived Wednesday at 12noon from N.C. They flew from Raleigh to Atlanta to Georgetown...nice flight.

Bone Yard!!!

Today Walton and Miller caught the elusive bone fish off our pier!!! Y'all don't tell all the folks who come to the Exumas for the pristine bone fishing and pay big bucks that 2 little boys catch em up off the dock!!!!

Exuma Point

Here are Walton and Miller with their friend Olivier and their new friend. We had lunch Saturday afternoon at Exuma Point. We had great views of the northern part of Exuma and the Exuma Sound. A front came through and the wind really started to blow from the NE... about 15 to 20 knots!!! We came home and had an old favorite... DiGiorno's peperoni pizza... almost like home!!

Island Time

Harold and Susan have been here one week and have adjusted to 'Island Time' just fine. We have been unable to talk them in to staying until Wednesday... I think they are ready to get to cold weather again!!... so we are saying good-bye today. We have had great weather this week and have enjoyed showing them the islands, but are sure going to miss having them here.

Peace and Plenty Breakfast

We all had a great breakfast on Saturday morning at Peace and Plenty. We all ate too much.

Yellow Eyes!!

After fishing the reef for a while and catching a few small ones, we decided to try a deep drop or 2. The deep water... I mean really deep water... is only 1/4 mile off shore here. It drops from a couple of hundred to several thousand feet in less than 200 yards. We dropped 2 lines down in about 500 feet of water. We got tangled, but Harold had this nice Red Snapper on his line. They have a name for them here... Yellow Eyes!!! Wonder where the name comes from? We look forward to pan seared snapper with white wine sauce tonight!!!

Catching this fish reminds me that I sure wish I had brought my/David Cox's electramates... they are all set up and ready to do this kind of fishing. I sure will know next time!!!

Happy Valentine's Day from Grandma Shirley

Miller got his Valentine's card from Grandma Shirley. Of course since we don't have enough rod and reels he had to have this one!!! I admit it is a nice setup for the small snapper and grouper around the dock and Mr. Perry was happy to sell it to us!! Anyway, he caught a couple of reef fish with it yesterday and I'm sure many others will fall prey.

Walton is saving his money... what for you ask??? We don't know yet.

Resting

We are taking a little rest on Hamburger beach after our walk/hike over to the monument. We have started noting an increase in the amount of sailboats and boats in the little bays and harbours. We are told end of February thru April is busy.

To the top

Here we are at the top of the hill over looking Stocking Island. You can see in the distance Chat-n-Chill.

Hiking

Wednesday, we took a hike to the monument on Stocking Island. We have not found information on the landmark. I assume it was used for navigation.

creatures at the dock

Walton and Miller found an octopus this morning around the dock feeding. Walton captured him on camera scooting around.

Looks like home

Today, we headed out around 7am for Long Island to do a little fishing. We caught these 5 dolphin within the first hour. Neal feels much better about himself!!

Happy Birthday Andrea

We like beach birthdays! Andrea invited us to join her and her family on her beach for a birthday cocktails.

Harold and Susan arrive!

Sunday at 1pm, Susan and Harold arrived in Georgetown. The weather was perfect for their first afternoon.Here we are before we head out to the beach.

Lobster!

These are 2 of our new friends. Jay is just to my right. He and his family are here from Fl... getting ready to go back home and have a baby!! Sebastian is beside him. He is from Chicago and originally from Argentina. He and his family are on their way to St. Martin in the Virgin Islands, then on a trans-Atlantic trip for cruising in the Med.

We are eating fresh... very fresh... Lobsters that we, well we were in the water, watched being caught!!! Ollie, another boater, shot 3 for us while we swam around pretending to help. I have yet to spot one on my own.