Saturday, January 16, 2010

Partly Cloudy Saturday

The temperature got up to 70 today, but in the sunshine it felt a little warmer. For those of you who wondered if I was stiff and sore from my little bike accident yesterday; I woke up with no side effects, thank goodness! :-) We went for a ride out to Captiva this afternoon with the top down and it was comfortable on the way there. Coming back, it got a little cool, but not bad. There were some bikers on the paths, but there weren't as many people out today. Saturday is a change over day because the condos here usually rent from Sat to Sat. By evening, I'm sure there was more traffic.

This evening I went across the causeway to Publix. The wind had picked up and it was getting cloudy. There were a couple guys wind surfing and a few people fishing on the spoil islands. There really wasn't much activity going on there either.

There's something else that will be of interest to any of you who fish here. Due to the huge number of snook and other species around the state that have been lost during this long cold spell, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has closed snook season until Sept. 1 and also made bonefish and tarpon off limits until April 1. This order went into effect today. Hopefully this will protect surviving snook that spawn in the spring and give our researchers time to evaluate the extent of damage that was done.

The FFW also issued an order to allow people to collect and dispose of dead fish killed by the cold until Feb. 1. That does not include snook, which are illegal to net or gig when stunned by the cold. People taking dead fish are not allowed to trade or consume those fish, and the dead fish must be disposed of according to local safety, health and sanitation requirements. A fishing license isn't needed for the disposal.









This was as much of the sunset as I could see.

4 comments:

Gayle said...

70 sounds so much better for you and the wild life. The drive on and off the island must be bumper to bumper during the busy season. Pretty scenery, though, for those that take the time to relax.

Maria Vincent said...

Hi Toots
Thanks for the brilliant blog - it has been my 'happy place' on the computer for the past 18 months! I have been to Sanibel twice now and am counting down the days to my third visit on the 31st March. I always stay at 'Tarpon Tale Inn' opposite 'Pinocchio's' - which is the most relaxing place on earth! My new hobby is shell collecting (which started after my first visit to Sanibel in 2007) I hunt for shells wherever I go now, including the nearest beach to my home which is about 7 miles away in Eastbourne on the Sussex coast of England. My dog loves to swim in the sea so we visit often in our summer - it is definitely too cold at the moment! I am so sorry to see the Florida wildlife is suffering because of your unusual cold sea temps at the moment - I hope it warms up for them soon. Thanks again for the blog and all of the great photos you post too. Maria Vincent

Tootie said...

Thank you so much for your kind words, Maria. Our weather is definitely improving and March is a great time to come, as you know. Knowing that this blog is a 'happy place' for you, also makes me happy. Thank you.

Linda Jo said...

Sannibel has been on my list of places to go for years! I will eventually make it there. Tampa is the closest I've gotten.