Charlie and I went scalloping on the 4 th in Lanark Villiage [ Thanks Mike of the Village Fina ,for the hot tip!] and we had a grand time with a good score on the first stop and plenty of boiled peanuts and beer between dives . It really doesn’t get much better than that with a pair of limits in a couple hours , scallops between 3-5 feet down 90% of them large size , clear water, and families having a blast all around us . We had so much fun we rented a slip for the boat and will be going back this morning with some other folks to enjoy the harvest . The new reports are good in St  Marks and Lanark , but still sparse in Port St Joe . Thank goodness for the highway system ! Today we travel East ! Ceviche tonight !

Marc [the fistales man ] and fish eater

I know I am . Scalloping is one of the exceptionally fun family things to do on the water here in the Panhandle . The reports I have recieved  for all of our local areas including Lanark Villiage, St Marks as well as Port St. Joe are great with lots of Scallops. I make a point of going a few times during the season by water from Apalachicola through the Intracoastal Waterway and down “the ditch” into St Joe Bay . Its a beatiful ride and if you are good scallop cleaners and have the right amount of people to clean your catch , you have it all done before you get home .You of course can go by car and scallop on foot , but what fun is that ? No boating in the mix .

A Bimini Top is a must for that long day in the sun and plenty of liquids and some lunch make a good day on the water.

I use one fin and a mask and snorkel as my preferred equipment , some like no fin and some swim with two. Dont forget your dive flag and mesh bag for the little critters . Marine Patrol is out there checking . Here are the regs;

Open harvest season for bay scallops along Florida’s gulf coast begins July 1 and runs through September 10. State waters in the Gulf of Mexico open to scallop harvest extend from the Pasco-Hernando County line (near Aripeka—latitude 28 degrees, 26.016 minutes North) to the west bank of the Mexico Beach Canal in Bay County (longitude 85 degrees, 25.84 minutes West). It is illegal to possess bay scallops on water outside open harvest areas. It is also illegal to land scallops outside open harvest areas. For example, it would be legal to take scallops from waters off the Hernando County coast, but it would be illegal to dock your boat in Pasco County with the scallop catch onboard.

Recreational harvesters are limited to two gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell, or one pint of bay scallop meat, per day during the open season. In addition, recreational scallopers may possess no more than 10 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell, or ½ gallon of bay scallop meat, aboard any vessel at any time. Bay scallops may be harvested only by hand or with a landing or dip net. They may not be harvested for commercial purposes.

Have fun and be safe !!!!!

Marc [ the fistales man ]

So here at Wefing’s Marine we have been looking for some very good quality yet very simple and economical bay and river boats for the quality and service minded customer . Not the person looking for the cheapest boat , but the guy looking for a quality Skiff or Vee Bottom [with ten year factory warranty] at a reasonable price with great Wefing’s service to go with it . For some of those very same reasons we also chose them for our new rental boats. Their website is www.sundanceboats.com

I have known Seaborn Bell [ owner of Sundance boats ] for some time .I always wanted to do business with them as I saw them as straight shooters in our dealings in the past . It just took about 6 or 7 years for all the stars to align. They are located in rural southeastern Georgia ,Blackshear to be exact, and make what they call “the better skiff” . I made a visit to the factory today to pick up a new boat for our rental business[ www.apalachicolaboatrental.com] and get the inside scoop on how they were made, and take a few pictures, something I always like to do as the guy who is responsible for what he sells and rents .

I was impressed by the cleanliness of the factory , the intelligent layout and design ,long term skilled employees and the overall consistent production . The boats looked good every step of the way , from the molding of the hulls and caps or decks[depending on model] ,plumbing and wiring, to the final assembly and rigging . It was very systematic and efficient. The operation was a good example of focused efforts resulting in a consistent product.

We will have the rental boat available starting Sat 6/21 . It is a B22 CCR , which is Sundance’s largest and most finished Skiff . It is powered by a 90 Honda which is still one of the more fuel efficient motors around . All the info is on the website .

We are really looking forward to selling and renting these fine boats . Please stop by and take a look if you are shopping or just in the area .

Marc

I was surrounded by golf carts today just driving down the street I live on. I had to make a few turns to dodge the slower than slow traffic. I saw 6 on my way to work. Including my next door neighbor. Is it a trend that will continue to grow? Someone told me there were over 100 registered around here now. Will we all drive around in golf carts to the store, the post office, out to dinner or just to participate in the good old Franklin County tradition of just simply driving around ?I sincerely hope it doesn’t replace boating as our population gets older. I suppose it’s a good thing environmentally, with the relatively miniscule energy use compared to the traditional auto, but I still like my vintage Honda 70 Passport Scooter better. I just haven’t trained the dog to ride on it yet , and I have not figured out how to put a cooler and bait tank and rods on it to go down to the Marina and hop on the boat to fish with proper gear yet . I suppose unless I get a trailer for the bike, we will have to get a cart of some kind. Here is a transcript from the Franklin County Board Of Commissioners from 1/2/08.

Public Hearing – Golf Cart Ordinance (10:30 AM)

Pierce discussed the proposed St. George Island Golf Cart Ordinance.

Commissioner Crofton stated some of the issues with the golf cart usage on St. George Island.

Commissioner Parrish expressed his concerns regarding the regulations of golf cart rentals. Commissioner Crofton stated some of the reasons for the restrictions on rentals of the golf carts.

Roy Solomon stated that the City of Apalachicola requires each golf cart to be registered and also requires safety reflectors on the golf carts and suggested that the County consider these requirements.

Board suggested adding the registration of the golf carts to the ordinance as reflectors are already a requirement.

Attorney Shuler suggested having the office of Planning and Zoning handle the registration process.

Attorney Nick Yonclas, representing Jerry Ison of the Jolly Roger Beach Shop, stated that his client rents “gem carts” which are golf carts that can be licensed to drive on Florida roads. Mr. Ison discussed his business further. Attorney Yonclas stated that the passing of this Ordinance, specifically the restrictions on the rentals section, will discriminate against his client.

Attorney Shuler addressed some of Attorney Yonclas’ concerns and statements and stated that the primary purpose of this Ordinance is safety.

Commissioner Crofton stated that the main reason for the restriction on rental in the ordinance was to gather statistical information for the Board to review and restrict the amount of golf carts that would be on the roads in St. George Island.

Mr. Ison stated how the rental restriction would affect his business.

Commissioner Crofton stated that the restriction actually doesn’t change the status quo regarding rentals.

Commissioner Sanders stated that she was against discriminating against the businesses.

Angela Troy, of St. George Island, stated that the ordinance was only needed to allow golf carts to drive on the Island but not to restrict the rentals of golf carts.

Commissioner Sanders agreed with Ms. Troy.

A resident of St. George Island offered some suggestions for amending the proposed ordinance.

Russ Boyd, of Apalachicola, discussed his experiences with driving a golf cart in Apalachicola.

Mr. Pierce stated that the registration should be done on the Island such as the Sheriff substation or the Visitors center.

Motion by Sanders, seconded by Crofton, to authorize the Ordinance with annual registration, similar to the City of Apalachicola, eliminate the rental restriction (Section 8), and include a limit on rentals to 5 per business until statics are reviewed during the first year; Motion carried 5-0.

Maybe we should sell and service Carts , perhaps it would be the cutting edge thing to do ?????????

Marc

So my wife is walking the dog today and is walking along the marsh near our house in downtown Apalachicola . She sees a police car on her normal dog walking path and asks the officer “what, are you staking out alligators now ” ? and he replied “no a 350 pound black bear”. Thats life in our very beautiful and very rural Apalachicola .

Did some fishing on Sunday and had an exceptional day on the water . In keeping with wild things as the theme of this post , we were looking for the elusive and endangered Federal Red Snapper as it was opening day for our new “Mini Season” with the new “Mini Limits” . So we are out about 8 or 10 miles past C Tower , looking at the bottom machine for a good place to start and we run across some floating buoys and alot of commotion on the surface around it which turned out to be some good size schools of small baitfish . I had a feeling we should put out a few trolling lures just in case there was something making this bait act like it was, other than the krill it appeared to be feeding on . There were a couple of pretty small but very new and functional Penn 209s with little noodlish rods and 20 LB test line on them set up for trolling so I clipped on a green and yellow dolphin lure and a black and purple jet head cedar plug and set the drags kinda loose and let em out . First pass nothing and second pass the starboard side with the cedar plug took off at high speed . Line was dissapearing fast and we quickly cleared the other line and put both Suzuki motors in reverse . I was the angler and Tony was the captain and Charlie was the mate and we worked it like we had done this together before ,but we hadnt . I kept steady pressure and we kept line on the reel and slowly gained on the mystery fish and then it would take off again . Thats where well maintained equipment [thanks Tony!] and patience pays off .About twenty minutes later the fish was down and stopped it’s runs and it was then a careful lifting game . When we finally saw color , my suspicions were confirmed . A big Wahoo !

It was whipped, thank god, because the cedar plug just fell out of its mouth when I slacked the line a little bit as Charlie was there with the gaff . For some strange reason before I left the house , Charlie checked the gaff on the boat which was a short one and called me on my cell to ask me to bring a long gaff . I thought to myself , I rarely utilize a gaff bottom fishing and one short on is usually fine but why not ? I threw one in the truck . Well Charlie was quick with the short one getting a gaff in the now free floating fish and Tony grabbed the long one , got a good headshot and they lifted the 60 Lb fish into the boat . There was the obligatory high fives and utter amazement at what had just occurred , and then another thing occured to me . I had filled a 200 Qt SSI cooler with ice the day before at the fish house and instead of transferring the ice to Tony’s smaller cooler in front of the console ,we put the 200 Qt.cooler on the boat and left the smaller one at the dock . Another premonition? Maybe . The Wahoo stuck out on both ends of the cooler but with the sloshing of the ice and saltwater we added , cooled the fish completely , head to tail.

So then its off to bottom fish for the elusive and endangered Federal Red Snapper . There was not a lot of activity on the bottom according to the Lowrance bottom machine at the Wahoo site , so we continued out to 20 fathoms to a place called the Greek Thumb. Its a coral bottom with lots of contours and valleys . We saw activity on the bottom and dropped baits . We had live cigar minnows ,hardtails,sqirrelfish as well as dead squid and sardines . Well, it did not matter what you lowered towards the bottom as you would instantly get hooked up to an endangered Federal Red Grouper. It was nearly impossible to catch a snapper the endangered red grouper were so thick . Every once in a while an endangered red snapper or triggerfish would push a grouper out of the way , but we got more practice with the required venting tool [ a turkey injector] than we ever anticipated. The three of us were now fighting over the venting tool as we were getting frustrated over the fact that we quickly reached our limit of one red grouper apiece and all were pretty good size . All but one or two snapper we caught were of legal size as well .The venting tool rule is a good thing . Its wild that there is data that says these fish are scarce . There are more and larger Snapper and red Grouper now than any time I have fished here in my almost ten years of fishing the northern Gulf . All of my commercial fisherman friends agree , and most have realized that conservation is what will keep their careers viable. What this tells me is that the policies that were in place before our “mini Limits” and “mini seasons” worked . It also tells me that the rulemakers dont fish. I will step down from my soapbox now .

We headed in to look at other bottom and found massive piles of beeliners mixed with endangered red snappers to easily finish off our “mini Limits” .

We stopped at a popular and well known wreck on the way in and caught ,vented and released more snapper and picked up legal size Amberjack or as Tony calls them “reef donkeys” .

It was a wild day on the water in a wild place and it is why I fish , not to mention the Wahoo we have been enjoying wildly .

Marc

The work is finished on the Ten Foot Hole boat ramp renovations and the ramp is now open. Our congrats to Polaronis Construction for doing such a good job and finishing it within the original 8 weeks estimate. We used the ramp this weekend to launch a couple of boats, the C-Dory 25 Cruiser album in our classified section has some shots of it. We’ll leave our map of alternate launch sites up online for reference. The new 10 Foot Hole Ramp is the largest and best in the area and is still available at no charge to the public. However, there are many other places in our area to put a boat in the water and enjoy easy access to the river, bay, and Gulf of Mexico.

See you on the water!

(post by stunt blogger “Fishin Fool”)

The news is floating around the world of boat building that C Dory Marine Group , with one of the most classic products and  rabid owners group followings in the Marine industry has been outright sold to an equity partner ,leaving the company with new management and ownership. As I saw it , producing a boat was getting more and more difficult , as parts and supplies became less available , with money owed to suppliers and delays of shipments due to missing parts . Fortunately the boats that were shipped were of good quality and we continue to sell them with confidence . Unfortunately when a company is in trouble they will do things that are ill advised to raise immediate cash , such as open unqualified dealers with more money than marine experience, ship incomplete products , and put boats on dealers floor plans [dealer's inventory financing] long before a boat is ready to ship . All signals of a struggle to stay  in business as long as possible before liquidating .

We sincerely hope that C Dory will do the right thing for their customers [both dealers and end users] and listen to the dealers that have marine experience, and their customers as to what they need to do to renew their success in the Marine Industry. I am certainly open for a dealer council to address these issues , I hope the “New C Dory” is as well . It could be the dawn of a new era of success , or a prolonged downward spiral . We hope it is the former .

Marc

It appears that the weather gods will be with us for the weekend providing warm temperatures , moderate seas ,and great boating and fishing weather for those so inclined . It may finally be “air conditioner” weather at night ,but I know I am thankful for the long respite we have had from the big energy bills soon to come . A long spring we have had . I was talking to one of our motor manufacturers in Texas and he said it went from 60 to 90 in one day ! Not so for us .

I hope you all have a very safe and enjoyable weekend and remember those that gave their lives for our freedom !

Marc

With our “uncontrolled controlled forest burning ,and neighbors to the north that dont share well , the lack of rain is quite worrisome .We will see the radar on the computer or T.V. and a perfect lookin no kiddin marching red and yellow rain band seemingly comin our way , but No………..stops at Panama City and dissipates ! Seems like every time ! Baffling to me .

There are many things in the world that are baffling right now , like as the world is seemingly going its separate ways, that people dont work together more for common good instead of less .

That we fight ourselves and take advantage of each other is baffling . Even within our own communities and places of businesses. Baffling .

We claim to be religious and that one religion is better than the next . Baffling

This was a complex set of circumstances that inspired me to write this . Ask me sometime………….

Marc

A whole nother week with lows in the 60s , I like that ! , a prolonged break from the air conditioner and humidity . Makes one want to be outside ! We will be hoping to see some boat shoppers and users take advantage of this perfect weather cycle , as we are due for a sauna session soon . I am hoping to get a boat in the water for after work use this week as we have plenty of light in the evenings and its not real windy . The 10 Foot Hole  Marina project makes that a little more difficult , but I think it will all be worth it in the end as we will have a nice smooth ,long ramp for the bigger boats and some very sturdy docks as well . It would be really nice if we had floating docks , but I dont think it is in the plans .

Marc