**************Besides the stingray, Jared and Lon caught several sharks. This beauty is a sand shark.
************This one's a catfish; that's why Jared's holding it with a pair of pliers. Notice the extra-long fins which is why it's called a sail catfish.
**********A hammerhead shark looks weird from this angle, but wait until you see him face-to-face.
**************The guys really enjoy fishing in Florida. Compared to angling in the lakes in Wisconsin and Minnesota, they never know what they'll snag in the salt water of the Gulf of Mexico.
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Even a fish shouldn't look this bad!!
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God must have been running out of ideas when he created this face. I mean, I've seen wide-set eyes before, but isn't this just too much?
God must have been running out of ideas when he created this face. I mean, I've seen wide-set eyes before, but isn't this just too much?
***********The closer you get to this sea critter, the more bizarre he looks.
**********Thank God for this side view of a hammerhead shark. At least from one angle he looks sleek and impressive.
His peripheral vision is something else; if I had a choice I'd want to be straight ahead of him when he's hungry and cutting through the water. I'm thinking, he'd blindly run into me, knock himself out and I'd have time to swim away with all my fingers and toes intact!
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Jared spent the better part of three days on this huge pier; it's 720 feet long to be exact. Lon fished with him for a several hours on two days. The first day they caught thirty or forty catfish. On the second and third days they both caught a variety of sharks. Jared caught the stingray late in the day on his second fishing day.
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All of the fish, except the stingray, were released back into the gulf waters. Lon and Jared fish for sport so unless they catch something especially big, which they often have mounted, they catch and release everything they pull in.
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These photos were taken on Jared's camera. He had them developed and I took pictures of his pictures with my camera. Considering their journey, I think they turned out pretty good. I hope you enjoy them.
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IF YOU LIKED THIS, GO TO MY EARLIER POSTS FOR MORE ABOUT OUR VACATION IN SIESTA KEY, SARASOTA, FL
8 comments:
I've eaten grilled stingray before...it's quite delicious! Great weekend Shaddy!!
xo*
Lenore: Really! I've been wondering if it's edible. Darn, I should have hauled it off the pier and stuck it in a frying pan back at the condo. I bet it'd be super fine with mac and cheese! Next year I'll know!!
Treat yourself well.
Re the hammerhead and its eye placement:
All the better to see you with, heh-heh-heh, my dear.
(My word verification is liprecks...)
Thanks for sending these in email dear Shaddy! All I keep saying to Russ as we look at these is OMG. OMG. OMG. Of course Russ loves the fishing thing. I have never seen anything like these in real life, only in pictures. OMG!
OMG!
I just love all the pictures Shaddy. Thank you for taking the time to post them all, and for emailing them to me too. I sure appreciate that.
xoxo,
Sarie
Gully: Those words came to my mind too as I was working on this post. I also considered the challenge those eyes would present to an optician if glasses were needed!
Sarie: I understand how frustrated you were. I can't stand it either when I'm blocked from getting where I want to go on the internet so I was happy to be able to send the photos via e-mail.
Jared came back to the condo after catching the stingray. That same evening, the three of us went back to the pier for dinner at Sharky's restaurant which is adjacent to the fishing pier. Far out on the pier, we talked to a few guys who were present when Jared caught the stingray. "We kept it for you, Jared. It's under that garbage bag right there." Sure enough. Jared lifted the bag and showed us his catch. I'm so glad we got to see it. The guys experiences catching sharks and Jared's stingray catch were definitely the highlight of our vacation this year.
What the heck! Maybe next year I'll tear myself away from the beach, my laptop, books and walks and throw a line in myself.
I know where Jared will be all day, every day from now on when we vacation in FL. I think he should pack his sleeping bag so he can sleep on the pier as well. The pier is in Venice which is about a half-hour drive from Siesta Key. With one rental car, it's a tad inconvenient because we either drive Jared to and from the pier or he takes the car and then we're stranded without a vehicle. It's not a problem really, but my sleeping bag idea is worthy of consideration! Honestly, I'm only kidding about that but I wouldn't be surprised if Jared fished through the night as often as he could. He's a dedicated fisherman, no doubt. He puts in long hours and that's why he catches what he does.
Jared hates it when I talk about him so don't tell him you heard a word from me. Thanks!
"God must have been running out of ideas when he created this face."
You almost made me snort out my coffee laughing at this one.
Great pictures! Thanks for sharing.
dayner: I hoped to make you chuckle but I'm glad you hung on to your mouthful of coffee. Can't waste that good stuff!
Oh I just love the hammerheads, and the even stranger looking shovel nose sharks. I think they are beautiful in that, "only your mom could love you" way. There is such diversity in the natural world. One never gets tired of the exploration and discovery.
Thanks for sharing these photos with us. I feel like a journey to the beach or river is now going to be part of my week.
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