It's Fish Bucket Time

B-U-C-K-E-T - pronounced Bouquet

-and if you don't know that silly reference, you don't watch enough British Comedy

While the beach was sure pretty to look at yesterday, it was dangerous to set foot in. So OC my son came home and announced that he wanted to go fishing. Sigh. I've created a monster!

I did ask him if we could wait until the heat index dropped below 100, to which he said "yes". So at 430pm we packed up and hit the pier. I love that Pier! Long story short, it was a super evening of fishing. We had super company and great conversation. (ICK ALERT) We also rallied when a woman put a two in long tri-hook into her index finger! I steadied her, while the Florida Fish and Wildlife guy pushed the hook all the way through, and then used my pliers to cut off the barb and then back the hook out. Phew. POOR thing. We watched as she and her DH left the night of fishing for a tentus shot.

While we went out for Kings and Spanish, there were only a few to be found. One man did take home a 42" plus King. So we opted for bait fishing. I'd much rather be catching bait, than nothing at all. Boy did I put my foot in it with that comment! We caught over 80 fish in 2.5 hours! All hardtails, but for one ramoray and one 10 inch hyperactive Bonita. We were giving out bait fish as fast as we could pull it out of the water !

Last night's sunset was stunning, and the moon rise was glorious! It was big, full, and BRIGHT orange!

Y'all have a great and safe day!


A big HELLO to our new visitors from Brazil, Germany, Russia,  and Austrailia! WOW! We're popular there!

Good morning all !

It seems we had 7 views from Latvia last night! Interesting.  Labdien! Kā jums klājas?
Thunderstorms should be bopping around our area all day.  Strong winds from the south will keep the surf high, but it shouldn't be AS bad as it has been the past few days.  The Rip Current risk is still HIGH.  And as for an added bonus, the temps are going to start climbing again, mix in the higher humidities from a surface low pressure system, and we're going to start looking at heat indext temps near 110 again.  I know, I know, just keep telling yourself it's AUGUST in Florida. 

Coastal state waters offshore of Escambia County are now reopened for harvesting of finfish, crabs and shrimp, but NO to oysters.

BP clean up crews continue to patrol the beach.  Yesterday they worked from late afternoon until the weeeeeee hours of the morning.  They are watching for and cleaning up any old weathered tar that comes ashore from our latest high surf action.

While out last night, I saw amazing things again.  People in the water, with red flags flying, no lifeguards in the towers (after hours).  These were not just the surfers that come out with every storm, but families with small children.  I kept waiting to hear screaming over the roaring surf.  Thank goodness it never came.  They were lucky. I don't know what the solution is, but there has to be one.  Maybe if the flags were lower, like at some of the condos so they actually smack people in the head? Force them to take notice?  Probably not.  Ocean blindness.

Anyway, on this slow day, I leave you with some closing shots of Navarre Beach.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.  Perfection.

Little 10 inch bonita.  You should have SEEN the number of baby sharks caught last night! I stopped counting at 10 in one hour.

WOW! This old TD5 is a royal pain in the patootie!  Not only has it angered my arthritis and an inner ear condition, which makes me fairly grumpy and therefor not much fun to be around, but it doing a number on our beaches!

High and rough surf has been battering our beach for days! We've had winds from all directions this week but due West.  That will come later today/tonight.   I noticed what had been a quiet slope to the water's edge down by the pier is now a drop of 3 feet, and that was Saturday.  Today the ocean is really rocking again.  Winds are HOWLING out of the South as the old TD travels into MS and LA.  Our sands are a shiftin' for sure! But that's what sand does! Semper gumby folks!

If you get out today, please continue to inform guests on the flag system.  RED flags continue to fly.  It continues to astound me that people either don't even SEE the flags, or don't know what they mean.  When visitors come to the beach, they get what I call "Ocean Blindness".  They are so excited to see the ocean, that they bound from the car, and focus on the water, blinders on, missing everything around them.  That includes the GIANT signs all over about the flags, the blinking super sign on the bridge, and the flapping flags on the beach.  There was a drowning this past week down near PCB, vacationer, family had no idea about the flag system.  His son and friend went in the water on DOUBLE RED FLAG.  He went in to save them and he drown.  It sounds like the lifeguard had no picnic trying to save him. 

Anyway, keep an eye out for old tar washing in.  With the surf as heavy as it is, it would be hard to spot before it was whisked out again, but the chance of old stuff washing in and up is higher with the wave action as it is.

On the fishing front, the Spanish mackerel are making their presence know around the pier, that is, when the water is in decent calm conditons to fish.  I had a lovely one on the line on Saturday, when one of those sharks with a cup holder, ummm I mean Dolphin, decided "Mackerel, it's what's for dinner!" took it, line, $8 lure, fish and all! ARGH!

Back to the blowhole gang that infests the Pier!  :) ( Doesn't that conjure funny images?  Upright dolphins, wearing short jackets, headbands, blowhole rings, and cans of spray paint in their flippers, tagging the pier ! HA!) Yes, I LOVE Dolphins, I really do.  When I"m NOT fishing!  BOY OH BOY did they have a show this week for the tourists on the pier!  Saturday night there must have been half a dozen.  While diving and rolling, chasing fish, stealing fish, and blowing porpoise hork in the air, a few decided to entertain the crowd with amazing leaps, twirls, and belly flops.  I was starting to wonder if the tank at the Gulfarium had a leak and an escapee or two.  The crowd of course enjoyed this free entertainment to no end.  I was, however, starting to wonder if the Dolphins have figured out that if they jump and twirl, the people cheer, take pictures and clap.  Hmmmm......who's entertaining WHO?

Sadly, I have no photos of that.  I was busy tying a new lure to the line.

Also on the beach critter front, we have two nests in the 40 day incubation area.  I will report back later on their move, IF they move.

On to the area of PEOPLE food.  I need a headcount for FRIDAY night's dinner.  It sounds like we're going to do pizza or sandwiches with salad.  But that head count is important.  I am going with whatever is in my email box by NOON on THURSDAY the 19th.  If you want to bring a dish to share, that's super too.  If the weather holds, we're going to get the kayaks to the sound and such, and you can bring your snorkels!

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Due to what's left of TD#5 spinning over sweet home Alabama, my joints are screaming.  And, oh joy, it's going to spin there and twirls down over PCB, and across the GOM again, and then over LA again.  So, I'm making this easy on me today.  Here is the Santa Rosa County Action report from yesterday. Enjoy! (Now where's the Tylenol?)
==================
Deepwater Horizon Incident Update #75


(Highlighted sections indicate new information)
· As efforts to stop the oil spill have been successful to date and impacts to our area are expected to be limited to sporadic sightings of tar balls and oiled debris, Santa Rosa County's response to Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident will right-size efforts accordingly. The emergency operation center is expected to return to a level three activation, or monitoring phase, on Friday, August 13. Staff will remain engaged in daily operations as needed. Beach video updates, Mediacom Channel 27 presentations and news releases will end to correspond with the lowered EOC activation level. Web site updates will continue at www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill.
· Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners and their staff are committed to ensuring that long-term recovery efforts are taken to restore our shorelines and economic, health and environmental needs are addressed. In the event of any new major developments, emergency management will activate the emergency operations center and its support functions as needed and news releases will be issued as warranted to safeguard our county.

Situation Update· Navarre Beach and Santa Rosa’s entire coastline is open for swimming and fishing. Two links to live Web cams on Navarre Beach are available at www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the “Links for Visitors” tab.
· There are currently no swimming or fishing restrictions on Navarre Beach or anywhere in Santa Rosa County.
· Today, August 12, a post storm assessment by the BP contractor reported that tar balls were spotted on Navarre Beach. Clean up crews responded.
· BP will host an Oil Response Information Fair on Saturday, August 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Gulf Breeze Recreational Center located at 800 Shoreline Drive. The fair is meant to create a comfortable environment for the public to have one-on-one conversations with representatives about oil spill response efforts. The fair is free to the public and will be catered by Billy Bob’s Beach Barbecue from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information contact Molly Patterson at (850) 691-9116.

Health
For more information visit www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the “Health” tab.
· University of West Florida shoreline water samples for August 9 showed no dissolved petroleum contaminants detected above what is normal at the Navarre Pier or at Santa Rosa Island.
· The August 10 water sampling report from The Department of Environmental Protection showed that there were no dispersants found on Navarre beach and no petroleum-related contaminants found by Navarre Beach Park.

Booms
· All boom has been removed.

BP Claims
For more information, including how to file a claim, visit www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the
“Claims” tab.
· BP claims in Florida total 37,835 with approximately $68,278.617.48 paid.
· BP claims in Santa Rosa County total 5,170 with approximately $9,645,146 paid.

Small Business Disaster & Bridge Loans
For more information visit www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the “Business” tab.
· Total Loan Applications: Issued: 756 Accepted: 258 Declined: 104 Approved: 49Loan amount approved: $4,715,700.00

Fishing

For more information visit www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the “Boating, Fishing and Wildlife” tab.· All Santa Rosa County waters are currently open to fishing.
· NOAA re-opened 5,144 square miles of area it had previously closed for finfish only on August 10. Fishing for non-finfish species, such as shrimp, is still prohibited in this area. The area closed to all fishing now measures 52,395 square miles and covers about 22 percent of the Gulf of Mexico economic zone. All commercial and recreational fishing including catch and release is prohibited in the closed area. For more information visit www.santarosa.fl.gov/oilspill under the “Boating, Fishing and Wildlife tab.”

I know, I said I was going to cut back.

But it's just too much fun.

Golly Gee Willikers did it rain this morning?  Talk about tropical rainfall!  I wonder if when it's raining THAT hard, when a dolphin comes up for air, do they choke a little.  I'm sure not, but it's something to ponder.  I mean, when access to your lungs is on the top of your head and it's raining.....hmmmmmm.

Anyway, since our downpour, the skies are clearing up.  There remains the chance for showers and thunder all day, again.  Of course the heat and humidity will be ever present as well.  And again the atmosphere is ripe for waterspouts.  So if you go out, keep your eyes open.

The entire weekend is setting up to be a carbon copy of today.  I hope many of you choose to schedule yourself some time on the beach.  The breeze is actually making it tolerable down there. And don't forget to say HI to the AmeriCorps Volunteers.

The beach is lovely.  The June Grass continues and has moved into the swim zone.  There are some clear areas out there, but for the most part, where there is JGrass, it's heavy.

The concrete kill of the well head is so far so good.  Let's continue to keep our fingers crossed for the effort and for the continued fair weather in the GOM so they can keep working.  We have been SO lucky so far on that front, it makes me want to go out and buy a lottery ticket !  They expect the relief well to be finished sometime next week. 

Snatched from the Santa Rosa Site- Turtle nest information

Turtle nesting from 6/22 (day 45 of 60 day incubation) Three turtle nests including a rare Kemps Ridley nest

Turtle nesting from 7/03 (day 32 of 60 day incubation)

Turtle nesting at P2 7/16 (day20 of 60 day incubation)

I was able to take advantage of yesterday evening's cooler temps.  The heat index was only 103', so I took the boy out fishing on the Pier.  King Mackerels are still hot for the lines.  The pompano are starting to make a better show.  The bait fishing was slow the first hour, but really picked up the second and third.  We pulled in over 25 LARGE hardtail, over 10 inches nose to notch, and 5 12 inch plus ladyfish.   The guy next to us, only halfway down the pier, was shark fishing.  Again, that warm fuzzy feeling.  Yes, I know they're OUT there, but I don't want to KNOW they're out there! LOL!  I think I've watched too much SharkWeek this week.  Do you think bull sharks can come up the shower drain? hmmmmm.........

I'd like to wave to our imaginary friend that's logged in from furthest away so far, HELLO SOUTH AFRICA !

Ladyfish

On that note, I'm going to pop off line to vacuum, dust, and do the laundry.  See?  I'm NOT at the beach all the time! Have a wonderful weekend, stop by the firehouse and sign up for a couple of shifts, stay safe and have fun!