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February 15, 2007 - A Florida fishing taleI OA • The Suffolk Times • February 15, 2007 A Flo We have tried for some time to get a day's fishing in down here in Florida, but up to now our efforts 1 been thwarted by wind or rain. Ew the predictions for today were beu threatened by cold, windy weather "Let's stay in the bay and not shoe for the Gulf," all agreed, including captain of our 24 -foot custom spor fishing vessel powered by a LSO hp Yamaha. I was dumbfounded at where we were taken to �'�' fish. We guile FOCUS up, you might ON say, in someoi front yard. Ot NATURE fishing equip- ment was a lil by Paul spinning rod stoutenburgh and reel with 10-pound yeg monofilament weighted down with split shot. Bait was shrimp; they looked good enough to eat. We were told to cast out to- ward the dock pilings, as the fish would probably be around them. I was lucky. I caught the first one: a good -sized sheepshead, something like a big porgy but with dark bands around its body. It had those devilish sharp spines that make handling them a bit tricky. Then Peter and Tom got into the game; two redfish and a drum were brought in and it took an hour - plus to just get them. Whcncvcr we go fishing, it's more Suffolk Times photo by Paul ­J Barbara Stoutwburgh One never tires watching the pelicans down here in Florida. This adult pelican has just feasted and Is enjoying a quiet moment In the sun after his meal. than just to get fish for me. It's the thrill of having pelicans glide by you, so close that their outstretched wings almost make you duck. Then when you toss an old piece of bait over the side, out of nowhere drop two or three or more laughing gulls that swoop in and snatch the morsel before it reaches the bottom. The laughing gulls are probably the most common bird we see along the wa- ,; �I Annual I WIN 1 I=K C.:LtAKANLC t �► T n . TAKE AN 0 /O OFFFE&17-FEB.23 ALREADY REDUCED INVENTORY ADDITIONAL Come see what's new for Spring 120% OtU any one regular -priced item with coupon - expires March 4 I 477 -9612 ! 199 1VTain Street, Greennort 1 r terways down here. Some already have their black heads, which tells us it's getting close to courtship time. They, like most gulls and terns, will lay their eggs on the ground. Notice I said "most gulls and terns," for I know of one tern in Hawaii, the fairy tern, that lays its single egg on the branch of a tree. Yes, you read it right, on the branch of a tree. We were heading home after camp- ing in Australia, New Zealand and the islands of Hawaii and had an hour to kill before we had to be back in the airport. We'd been told these dainty white terns nested around the Queen's Palace near the airport. You know, people must have thought we were crazy and I guess we were but just a little bit. We asked someone walking along the street, "Do you know where the fairy terns nest around here?" or "Have you ever heard about the tern that lays its eggs on a bare limb ?" No one had ever heard of such a thing. Time ticked by, until we had only a half hour to find our fairy tern, so what could we do but search the trees and hope for the best. If we found our tern we'd have only minutes left to get to our plane. We thought, What's the use? This is impossible — and then, there it was! And with another look, there was one on an egg and, yes, it was sitting there with not a stick or blade of grass for a nest. What a way to end a trip! We headed to the airport, our heads in the clouds. Now, let's get back to our fishing trip down in Florida Our captain pulled up the anchor and started up the engine and we headed across the un- dersized We anchored again — a few redfish at this spot — and we moved on. All along the channel were warning signs to watch out for manatees. Sorry to say, we saw no manatees but did see dolphins cruising along the west shore. At one spot there were long docks jutting out into the bay and on one, shorebirds had gathered to rest. They were so tightly packed together there wasn't room for any new arriv- als; newcomers would have to settle for the end of the line. These must be birds that will be moving to the north on their annual migration to nesting grounds along the vast, treeless tundra. This resting and foraging is part of the prepara- tion for the big push. What tells them to move on is a complicated story that involves times of the year, tem- perature, wind, available food supply, and — probably the most important — that mysterious inner urge that tells birds it's time to head north We tried fishing where the birds were resting on the docks, but no luck. Our captain blamed our poor luck on the cold water temperature. Even with our layered shirts and sweaters, we were still chilled by the cold wind We were a bit disap- pointed in not getting many fish, but wed each have enough for a couple of fish fries. Back at the boat ramp our captain cleaned the fish. His skillful hands made it look so easy as he filleted our catch. I might add we weren't the only ones watch- ing. In the water were six to eight brown pelicans squabbling to get in the best position. Flying overhead at arm's length were laughing gulls hop- ing to grab any parts left over from the cleaning operation_ Evidently, they know whenever a boat comes in there will be free handouts from the catch. To me our fishing trip was a suc- class; we'd have enough fish for a couple of dinners and I'd seen a part of Florida that can only be seen from the water. Besides, I was able to see lots of birds I wouldn't have seen if we hadn't gone fishing. Whenever we go fishing, it's more than just to get fish. Catch Paul Stoutenburgh every week in TIMES /REVIEW NEWSPAPERS. The Suffolk Times • February 15, 2007 Flom fishing tal. / 14 v" Suffolk Times photo by Paul and Barbara Stouti One never tires watching the pelicans down here in Florida. This adult pelican has just feasted and is enjoying a moment in the sun after his meal. We have tried for some time to get a day's fishing in down here in Florida, but up to now our efforts had been thwarted by wind or rain. Even the predictions for today were being threatened by cold, windy weather. "Let's stay in the bay and not shoot for the Gulf," all agreed, including the captain of our 24 -foot custom sport fishing vessel powered by a 150 hp Yamaha. I was FOCUS ON NATURE by Paul Stoutenburgh were taken to fish. We pulled up, you might say, in someone's front yard. Our fishing equip- ment was a light - spinning rod and reel with 10 -pound yellow monofilament was shrimp; they looked good enougl to eat. We were told to cast out to- ward the dock pilings, as the fish would probably be around them. I was lucky. I caught the first one: a good -sized sheepshead, something Re a big porgy but with dark bands around its body. It had those devilish sharp spines that make handling ther a bit tricky. Then Peter and Tom got into the game; two redfish and a drur were brought in and it took an hour - plus to just get them. Whenever we go fishing, it's more than just to get fish for me. It's the thrill of having pelicans glide by you, so close that their outstretched wings almost make you duck. Then when you toss an old piece of bait over the side, out of nowhere drop two or three or more laughing gulls that swoop in and snatch the morsel before it reaches the bottom. The laughing gulls are probably the mos common bird we see along the wa- have their black heads, which tells us it's getting close to courtship time. They, like most gulls and terns, will lay their eggs on the ground. Notice I said "most gulls and terns," for I knov of one tern in Hawaii, the fairy tern, that lays its single egg on the branch of a tree. Yes, you read it right, on the branch of a tree. We were heading home after camp ing in Australia, New Zealand and the islands of Hawaii and had an hour to kill before we had to be back in the airport. We'd been told these dainty. white terns nested around the Queen's Palace near the airport. Yo know, people must have thought we were crazy and I guess we were but just a little bit. We asked someone walking along the street, "Do you know where the fairy terns nest around here ?" or "Have you ever heard about the tern that lays its eggs on a bare limb ?" No one had ever heard of such a thing. Time ticked by, until we had only a half hour to find our fairy tern, so what could we do but search the trees and hope for the best. If we found our tern we'd have only minutes left to get to our plane. We thought, What's the use? This is impossible — and then, there it was! " And with another look, there was on on an egg and, yes, it was sitting there with not a stick or blade of grass for a nest. What a way to end a trip! We headed to the airport, our heads in the clouds. Now, let's get back to our fishing trip down in Florida. Our captain pulled up the anchor and started up the engine and we headed across the bay. We anchored again — a few un- dersized redfish at this spot — and we moved on. All along the channel were warning signs to watch out for manatees. Sorry to say, we saw no manatees but did see dolphins cruising along the west shore. At one spot there were long docks jutting out into the bay and on cne, shorebirds had gathered to rest. They were so tightly packed together there wasn't room for any new arriv- als; newcomers would have to settle for the end of the line. These must be birds that will be moving to the north on their annual migration to nesting grounds along the vast, treeless tundra. This resting and foraging is part of the prepara- tion for the big push. What tells them to move on is a complicated story that involves times of the year, tem- perature, wind, available food supply, and — probably the most important — that mysterious inner urge that tells birds it's time to head north. We tried fishing where the birds were resting on the docks, but no luck. Our captain blamed our poor luck on the cold water temperature. Even with our layered shirts and sweaters, we were still chilled by the cold wind. We were a bit disap- pointed in not getting many fish, but we'd each have enough for a couple of fish fries. Back at the boat ramp our captain cleaned the fish. His skillful hands made it look s easy as he filleted our catch. I might add we weren't the only ones watch- ing. In the water were six to eight brown pelicans squabbling to get in the best position. Flying overhead at arm's length were laughing gulls hop- ing to grab any parts left over from the cleaning operation. Evidently, they know whenever a boat comes in there will be free handouts from the catch. To me our fishing trip was a suc- cess; we'd have enough fish for a couple of dinners and I'd seen a part of Florida that can only be seen from the water. Besides, I was able to see lots of birds I wouldn't have seen if we hadn't Bone fishinu_ Whenever we go fishing, it's more than just to get fish.