rubble Posted December 26, 2019 Report Share Posted December 26, 2019 Took off to the ENP on Friday with my son and bro-in-law (BiL). We planned on getting out of CIP at 9am and catch the water at High tide and travel with plenty of water but some unexpected delays put us in the water around 11 and we were losing water plus facing a North wind. Had to idle across Choko bay and down most of the first part of Lopez. Was a PITA but good experience as we learned a few things. Had issues all through the back country. Not much water. We were running with a full load of gear and an additional 20 gal of fuel. We planned on staying at Rogers but the wind was brutal. We saw the board at the Ranger Station which showed hardly anyone out on the Chickees. After dropping off everything at Rogers Chickee we took off to Camp Lonesome to check out the conditions there. Wind was so bad that the bugs didn’t seem to be an issue so we ran back to Rogers to pick up our gear and headed back to Camp Lonesome. Didn’t see many boats out there but saw plenty of gators and a few crocks. We fished a little Friday night and caught some snook, trout and reds. Nothing to write home about but got the skunk off and started the trip with a slam for the boat. Next morning we took our time and took off to the mouth of the Broad. Early that morning, my son took a trip to the porta-potty. It was so bad he said he wanted to prop the door open so that’s he could handle the smell. We said go ahead that nobody would be coming up the river. Guess what, a boat ran right by him. We asked what he did and he said he just waved. So if anyone saw a Pathy at Camp Lonesome and a young man hanging out in the porta-pot, yup; that was a few KY Hillbillies. Did well at the mouth fo the Broad. Got one keeper Red and lots of small reds, snook and trout. Fished around the rivers up at Camp Lonesome and picked up a few more fish. Came in and had fresh blackened red fish. During the night, I woke up to a noise by my head in the tent. I could hear something moving around right outside the tent. Was still half asleep and awake. Heard it against the tent so I slapped at the tent. It came back and I caught a smell of fresh bread. I grabbed the flashlight and sat up taking a swing at the side of the tent. Felt something on the other side. Pulled back the things stacked in the corner and found a loaf of bread under some hats. When I pulled the bread back I found a hole in the side of the tent and the bag. Another lesson learned. Next morning we woke up to a steady rain and broke down camp. Made the trip back to Choko with a rising tide. Took about 2 hours covering about 40 miles. Not one issue coming back. Not one bump on the lower unit. We had enough on the trip out. So much that all 3 of us had to get out and push the boat off of a bar at the 101 marker. Not my F150 lower unit clearly looks like it has spent some time down in the ENP. Thank goodness we came in Sunday as there were some nastyh storms out there Sunday night. And as luck would have it, they moved out in time for me to catch up with Hon for some back country fishing Monday morning. We had a little mist early but it wasn’t bad. Mostly overcast with light winds. We fished from Lopez all the way to Rogers River Bay. Didn’t bring in a ton of fish but stayed busy moving most of the day and picking small snook about everywhere we went. Ended up with one really nice snook and one really nice red. Great trip with Hon. I highly recommend him if you are looking for someone to guide you in the back country. To sum it up, the ENP didn’t disappoint. If you haven’t camped in the ENP, it should be on your bucket list. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubble Posted December 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubble Posted December 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubble Posted December 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted December 26, 2019 Report Share Posted December 26, 2019 Wow....what a great report..... I was a bit confused....was Honson camping with you or only guiding on a few days.... dc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted December 26, 2019 Report Share Posted December 26, 2019 10 hours ago, rubble said: If you haven’t camped in the ENP, it should be on your bucket list. Years ago in the Marine Corp....I filled that bucket way too many times :) As I have said before, my camping is Everglades City Hotel (two room suite) or the Holiday Inn in they keys :) dc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubble Posted December 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2019 Came back to the Glades to fish with Honson. Just a day trip. I’m not a big camper but when fishing deep in the glades, it beats the long drive over a multi day stay. It’s cheap; lots of rice and fresh fish. Nothing replaces a nice hot shower but baby wipes sure work wonders in a pinch. It is a pain having to haul all of the gear around but it’s all a part of the experience, I guess. staying at CIP and eating at the Cuban place are also great options! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coto Posted December 26, 2019 Report Share Posted December 26, 2019 I'm glad you had a good time considering the crappy weather we have had this week. I had the whole week off and was upset that I could not have one decent day to go out. I did go through a bottle of Woodford Reserve though to ease the pain...😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubble Posted December 27, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2019 You didn’t do too bad then Coto. KY Brown can help get thru a lot of weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted December 27, 2019 Report Share Posted December 27, 2019 11 hours ago, rubble said: You didn’t do too bad then Coto. KY Brown can help get thru a lot of weather. You nose dats rite Hope to get out with DonH tomorrow.....let's see... dc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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