Well, I just got back late last night from the days that I attended and figured I'd give a little recap on the trip. It was a blast and I'd strongly recommend members to try and make it next year. This will serve as a generalization as to what went on. More specifics will be given once everyone returns.
Members in attendance:
neoprodigy
Deathcurl
varanio
rayman45
milkman407
milkman's dad
Day 1 (Thursday, May 15th):
This was everyone's arrival day. rayman45 and I flew in from New York City, landing about 7:30PM in Ft. Lauderdale. All went like clockwork for our trip down except for the fact that rayman45 had to delay the taxiing of the plane because he drank too much at the airport bar and had to pee. We were supposed to be meeting neoprodigy at the airport, renting the van and going to the hotel in Miami Lakes, however, we got word that he missed his flight and had to go on standby. This ended up leaving us stranded at the airport. After a few last minute phone calls, varanio was kind enough to pick us up on his way to the hotel from where he was. We ended up getting to the hotel around 8:30PM, checked in and wondered what we were going to do as neoprodigy’s status was still up in the air. Milkman and his dad arrived shortly after we did, so we elected to go grab a quick bite to eat, get some beer and chill out in my hotel room until further notice.
Being that there was a possibility of not getting onto a flight until the next afternoon, neoprodigy ended up using a different airline and caught a late flight, putting him into Ft. Lauderdale at around midnight. After he secured the van, he finally was able to get to the hotel around 1:30AM.
After checking in, he came up to our room and what did he find? A bunch of drunken MFKers, hurling abuse at him, hahaha. By the end of the night, we had gone through two 18 packs of Heineken, between varanio, rayman45 and myself, along with half a Corona for milkman. We were all happy that he was finally able to make it, hung out until about 5AM and we all passed out in our respective rooms.
Day 2 (Friday, May 16th):
7:30AM….KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK at the door. I get up and it’s neoprodigy and varanio. They were ready to fish, so I got dressed really quickly. Rayman45 was in a coma and despite repeated attempts to roll him and prod him with fishing poles, he could not be revived, so we left him. We were all absolutely exhausted, but in the true MFK spirit, we were troopers and marched on. After taking advantage of the free continental breakfast, the remainder of us got in the van and started heading to some local fishing spots.
The places that we visited on this day, ended up having some pbass (both adult and juvenile), gar (all between 12” & 18” or so), midas (adult pairs) , jags (adults and juveniles), along with the occasional mayan cichlid, severum and grass carp sighting. We all caught combinations of each except for the grass carp, who were disinterested in anything thrown at them.
Among the other interesting things encountered, were a 6’ rotting headless alligator carcass in the water that vultures were feeding on at one of the sites and a bunch of areas that were decimated by the wildfires in the region. Very creepy to see indeed.
On a more positive note, we were able to visit a local member who would like to remain anonymous' house to see his collection toward the end of the day. He had a vast array of reptiles and fish that kept us occupied for some time. I would like to extend my thanks to him for his hospitality. It was a pleasure to meet you.
All rayman45 got to see this day was the inside of his eyelids and Outback Steakhouse, where he went by himself to eat during the day, hahaha.
Day 3 (Saturday, May 17th):
This day started on a better note. We all were rested and ready to go. After breakfast, we hit a bunch of other spots that had more of the same species, however, we did visit a spot where there were marine species on one side and brackish/freshwater on the other side of the bridge. Species that we saw on the marine side were some snapper, puffer fish, needlefish and barracuda. The other side had the same species as mentioned before with the addition of some largemouth bass and some softshell turtles. Not much was caught here, but the sight of some different species was welcomed.
Noteworthy sightings besides the above-mentioned, was a group of 4 manatee that were hanging out close to the bridge. They remained there for quite a while, diving and surfacing for air periodically. In addition, there was also a 5’ barracuda that was racing in and out. It seemed curious as to what we were doing.
Day 4 (Sunday, May 18th):
This was rayman45 and my departure date, but since we weren’t leaving until about 6:30PM, we decided to fish for a good portion of the day. Visiting some different spots than the previous days, we saw a lot of the same species as before, but this time, one spot had a few pair of cobra snakeheads that were all paired up, as well as, a number of large plecos. After this spot, we parted ways with varanio, milkman and his dad as they had to go back up north to get ready for work and school the next day.
Looking to kill some more time, neoprodigy put a call into our fellow board member katfishguy to see if he was around. It turns out that he was and we headed over there for a visit. While we were there, we saw his setups and conversed with him and his wife for a couple of hours before neoprodigy was to drop us off at the airport. I’d like to extend my thanks to them for welcoming us into their home, not to mention providing a means of occupying time so we didn’t have to spend more time at the airport bar drinking again, haha.
The flight home was a little rough with turbulence. I had planned on passing out, however, thanks to rayman45 giving up his seat, allowing two 11 year old girls to sit next to eachother and me, I was kept up the whole time listening to them giggle and talk about the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus. To add insult to injury, we were forced by the airport to circle for an additional 25 minutes. This was the flight from hell, but at least we made it back in one piece. After being picked up from the airport by rayman45’s dad, I was dropped off at home and subsequently passed out.
I’m still exhausted from the happenings on the trip, but like I said before, it was a blast and had a hell of a time. I’d like to thank neoprodigy for organizing this….varanio, rayman45, milkman407 and his dad for providing some great company on this trip. I can’t wait until next year to do this all over again.
Once neoprodigy gets back, we’ll have some pictures, videos and more in depth information, so stay tuned.
