As of this moment I am done with my 2010 lake management season. All fish are safely nestled in their homes for the winter. Anyhow I leave for Marathon Key first thing in the morning and will be there for two weeks with my family.
First time kids will fly in an airplane and first time in my life going on a 2 week vacation! One of my clients is letting me use his 25' boat with a 225 HP motor and a GPS full of fishing spots and all the gear and tackle I will need. He gave me the key to his storage unit with everything you could ever need for recreation down there and said have fun! The boat will be parked at the house upon arrival!
Anyhow this is my dream vacation and I hope I can post some pics over the next couple weeks. Anyone with any fishing experience down there please chime in and offer some advice!
Well, if Justin is going, please don't let him post any videos of him and his buddies singing weak songs.
Nate, have the time of your life down there buddy!!!
You have worked hard and earned the respect and admiration of both your clients and your friends/peers.
Bravo my friend!
PS....PLEASE ask your mom and dad if they'll adopt me!!! I don't EAT as much as you!...lol 
Well, if Justin is going, please don't let him post any videos of him and his buddies singing weak songs.
Don't listen to Sunil, post any and all weak song links.
Rainman, stand in line!
Natester have a great time and we do expect photos!
Sunil, I will make a video at some point from this trip for you. And yes Justin is coming down on Tuesday. My family always seems to travel in a pack. There will be 21 of us down here for Thanksgiving and we are eating seafood instead of turkey!
Thanks but you really don't have to if Justin is going to be lip-syncing.
It looks like a blast. I prefer seafood over turkey any day! Go find some Tuna or Wahoo, I think Wahoo is the best eating fish out there, followed closely by fresh Bluefin Tuna.
Keep the stories and pictures coming, Nate!! We got a half inch of snow this morning so your pictures look warm!!
Nate you are supposed to lip fish like this one.
Take the kids to the beach at night with a light and a crab net for some fun.
Yes Nate, share the experience!
62F and Rain/T Storms today in Fremont, MI.
Expecting Straight Line Winds to blow through once the cold front hits us
This has been one of the warmest Novembers on record.
Didnt go fishing today, but had fun with the kids. This Manitee was at the boat dock and loved drinking freshwater!
Looking for crabs and snails on the beach:
Eric,
Those small feisty sharks are almost more dangerous than the big boys! They are crazy so we don't usually bring em on board. I had to get a pic though.......
I was surprised to see you holding the shark by the fin like that. Had it gone ballistic , like they usually do , you could have lost a finger , or another appendage as it fell past your waist.
More likely a large gash on the arm or leg.
This is Manatee Season (I don't mean it the way most of you are thinking :)) They are all migrating to the warmest waters so you'll probably see your share of them. Be extra carefull when boating!! Keep an eye for manatees near your house rental. Next time you see one or more hop in the water with them, they are so gentle and the kids would get a kick out of swimming with the manatees.
Sue - who , what , when etc. Are those prop marks on the big manatee ?
Yeah that is pretty cool Sue! Hey if you want to pop on down to Marathon for a day of fishing just holler. We could talk business for like 30 seconds if you need to get away from the office on a work day......
Those Manatee pictures were taken a couple of years ago at my sister-in-law's place in Tavernier Key, just below Key Largo. The manatees always come into the canals and like Nate said, they are attracted to fresh water. That is me and Shannon swimming with them ~ and yes those are prop marks on the mama. You NEVER see a manatee with out those kinds of marks. The baby was scarred up to ~ the water is so shallow in the keys. They post signs everywhere warning boaters to watch out for manatees.
Nate ~ I'd LOVE to come down there for a day of "business talk", but I don't know if I can swing it. Thank you so much for the invite! I am so so so jealous as everyone else is! The Florida Keys truely are paradise!
Keep pics coming Nate we gotta have our saltwater fishing fix. Blacktip shark are excellent to eat if you catch some of those.
Sue I dove with the mantee ouside Tampa in Crystal River. One of the coolest experiecs ever. It was a hot spring in the River and while it was cold out and we wore hoods it was awesome. I was first diver out that morning. It was me and about 3 dozen, they come up to have you pet them, so sad seeing the prop scars.
Justin and my brother and mother went snorkeling for lobsters along the rocks nearby Bahia Honda State Park. They caught 12 keeper lobsters and lots of shorts while I played with the kids on the beach.
Didn't do any fishing today, but tomorrow we are heading out well before the sun rises.
Just to be clear, Justin is your brother, and you guys have another brother also?
yep. his name is chad and he is in the top pic with justin. I also have 2 sisters.
Nate where are you exactly? I'm com in down
Nate what are the lobster rules? When we were in cayman we could only keep a certain size and no gloves only 3 per person. We broiled them with parmesan cheese on each half.
We cal them langust or langostin when they are without claws.
Is it a different type lobster or is it a langostin?
The lobsters need to be 3 inches from something to something and you can keep six per day per person and I dont have a clue what they officially are called or if you are allowed to wear gloves.
James, we are in Marathon off of Coco Plum Drive, let me know when you get here........
What! No Bisque! Say it ain't so!
Minced up Red taters would hurt really well!
Without Lobster Guts in the pan, no glory!
Paul, I don't believe we have any lobsters without claws.
The cool water lobsters have claws (like around New England) and the warmer water lobsters don't. (like the ones that Nate showed and the ones off the coast of California and Mexico) They are called la langosta in Mexico.
Saturday we caught some big groupers and lots of snappers on light tackle. Having a blast catching these fish on light tackle! Plus its 80 degrees outside!!
Saturday we caught some big groupers and lots of snappers on light tackle. Having a blast catching these fish on light tackle! Plus its 80 degrees outside!!
Did ya photoshop that into the picture cause your sister wasn't strong enough to hold the fish up? I mean Nate how could you expect us to miss that with those HUGE fingers on her left hand?
She doesn't look like she's straining at all either.
Whoops maybe this is one of those Condello style in the camera shots which makes her fingers look so big?
Uh oh! Silence. I hope someone didn't take me seriously.
Cecil can't you tell that is one of those stuffed pillow fish.
Grouper is my favorite fish of all to eat. We can only very rarely get it here in the grocery for sale and even then the price is crazy expensive. Nate I am really jealous now. Before I was just kinda jealous. Lobster and grouper how could you beat that?
Nate, this is Pamela, James' wife. Seriously, I need to know where you are. We are headed south for christmas! Your pics are awesome and you look like youre doing our favorite thing. Fishin in the sun!
Cecil, I dont know how to photo shop. Also my sisters are not girly girls. They have big hands and can beat up most guys, especially taxidermists.......
Pamela, we are staying on Marathon Key at
27avenuef.com One of my clients gave me his boat to use for our trip and his local buddies have been showing me the ropes. They have given me the gps coordinates to many awesome fishing and lobster spots.
If your thinking of heading to this area I can definitely get you set up with the right places to eat, activities for the kids, and guys to fish with! There is also a boat rental place, dolphin center, turtle hospital, etc.
Cecil, I dont know how to photo shop. Also my sisters are not girly girls. They have big hands and can beat up most guys, especially taxidermists.......
She can wrestle with me anytime!
