<H3>• #3: Islamorada Journal 2014…03 JAN [The Winds of Castamere*]</H3>

---

The weather blew up nastily today with winds gusting out of the NNE at up to 27 kts. [31 mph] and temps plummeting to the mid-60s. Not quite as bad as what the folk back in Connecticut had to endure…but enough for the National Weather Service to issue small-craft advisories. And us to issue a jacket alert. Click on pics to enlarge So we spent the day getting organized here. Had someone come in to repair the dishwasher which had gone south just before our arrival. Had someone come in to replace the electrical receptical out on the dock so the batteries on Shoo-Fly can be charged and ready to go. Put together 3 spinning rods [10-pound outfits; one rigged with a 1/8-oz. jig, one with a ¼-oz. jig, and one with a wire leader and Mirro-Lure plug for throwing at barracuda] and 3 fly rods [9-weight rigged with floating line, wire leader and red/orange streamer for throwing at sharks, a 7-weight rigged with floating line and an all-white clouser minor for everything else that swims in Florida Bay, and a 7-weight sink-tip outfit with a white deceiver fly in case it becomes necessary to get a fly down deeper in the water column]. Most of the areas we fish here are very shallow. It’s actually hard to find water more than 7 feet deep most of the time…unless one goes over to the Ocean side where deeper water is prevalent. So floating fly lines work most of the time on the Bay side…except for the occasional deeper hole. It was sort of a yawner of a day. Was too windy and chilly to work comfortably on cleaning the boat so that got put off to Saturday…or Sunday. Couple of pelicans dropped by and chased fish in the boat basin for a while. Click on any photo to enlarge. Took some photos of the varied plant life in the yard. That was about it... All except for the sunset... More to come....

---

*Yes, I know it's supposed to be the RAINS of Castamere.

---

• Meanwhile, in other news...

---

• Maryland Changes Striped Bass Commercial Quota System

"Back in the old days — which wasn't really more than five or six years ago—we could fish five days a week and catch 1,200 pounds a day…. Now we can catch in a year what we used to be able to catch in a day….rockfish is a great fish, but you can buy red snapper cheaper." Read the full article at this link: BaltimoreSun.com Me: Perhaps will leave more fish to migrate north…to us? Thanks to Charlie W. for the tip on this article.

---

• Fishing for Tautog: Tips for Deep Water

“Textbooks identify these deep-dwelling freaks as tautog (“blackfish” to Northerners), but in the angling world, these scaly sea creatures are known simply as “tog. ”Deepwater tog can weigh up to 20 pounds, and in some cases, exceed that mark. Fluctuating water ­temperatures in the transition between winter and spring make monster tog even more precocious than their inshore ­counterparts.” Read the full article at this link: SaltWaterSportsman.com

---

• What Kind of Fish Do You Think You're Eating?

“Think you're eating grouper? Nope, it's Vietnamese catfish. What about cod? Could be escolar. "Can you tell the difference between red snapper and rockfish? Farm-raised salmon and wild? "Here's the thing with fish: once you fillet it and get rid of its characteristics, it can get kind of, sort of hard to tell what from what.” Read the full article at this link: sploid.gizmodo.com

---