<H3>• #7: Islamorada Journal 2014…08 JAN [The Rains of Castamere—3]</H3>

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Our Keys version of the arctic cold encroachment came in the form of 58° temperatures and winds gusting to 24 kts. out of the north. So Caryl and I went off the the local BassPro shop. Click on any photo to enlarge. Tons of fishing gear, but I didn't buy a thing...one reason being the prices; yes, that's a $768 fly reel. Thing's big enough you could use the spool for a spare in case of a flat tire. I saw a shirt I would really have liked to own, but the price on it, for a short-sleeve, dressy, island-type shirt was 72 bucks! The shirt is not pictured here. Fish in the BassPro tank had just been fed. The brownish-red ones are redfish; the silver fish on the right is a tarpon; and, the one in the upper-right-hand corner with its mouth out of the water is a bonefish hoping for a handout. Another dismal day today, but temps are up in the high 60s and the forecast is improving.

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• Meanwhile, in other news...

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• Could Cost $18 Bil to Keep Asian Carp Out of the Great Lakes

“The most effective methods of keeping Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes via Chicago’s web of waterways could cost up to $18.4 billion and take 25 years to put in place, the federal Army Corps of Engineers concluded in a study released Monday. ”But a corps official cautioned in a telephone briefing for journalists that there was no guarantee that the carp or other unwanted species would not get into the lakes by then.” Read the full article at this link: NYTimes.com