Stormy Monday (and Tuesday, and Wednesday, etc)

Wow, have we had some weather this week. Talk about stormy Monday!

Because of the weather, I did not fish much. But Wednesday saw me driving to Melbourne, canoe on the roof, to visit Rodney. Rodney loved the canoe, as much of it as he could see, and then we hung out a while for a chat. During the chat, a storm passed.

I didn’t realize what a close call I had.

When I left to go home, I got on 192 west. Traffic was awful. There were downed limbs and leaves all over the ground. The traffic lights were out. As all the vehicles crawled towards I-95, the ground started steaming. There was all this white stuff. What the heck is that?

It was hailstones, piled almost a foot thick in places. It was only a couple miles from where I’d parked. Realizing I’d dodged a bullet, I hoped all the storms were past.

They weren’t. One hit while I was on Taylor Creek Road, complete with hail. I was concerned for the canoe, but it was fine.

Red-breasted sunfish.

I know because I used it Thursday on the Econ. A bald eagle flew over, several times. Red-cockaded woodpeckers were seen and heard. The egrets, both great and snowy, were in their breeding plumage.

Spotted sunfish, a.k.a stumpknocker. A very aggressive creature.

The bass were biting, both worms (spin rod) and gurglers. I got two spotted gar on gurglers. Also fooled were spotted and red-breasted sunfish. My best fish was about five pounds, altogether an awesome morning. And, I broke off a bigger one trying to keep it out of the lumber! I made a conscious decision to not bring a camera, so all pictures are from the file.

You can see this photo in the current Florida Sportsman issue.

The surprising thing is that the river is still low. If the rain keeps up, that won’t last.

There are some amazingly large alligators living in that river.

It’s supposed to rain today and tomorrow.

And that’s the Stormy Monday report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2023. All rights are reserved.