January 7, Lake Okeechobee
Dan writes:
I’ve been itching to get out on the water. A big front blew through yesterday, but when I awoke this morning the stars were shining and the winds were calm. Today’s the day.
I spent most of the day just riding around looking at the lake. The water level is back up to where it should be, but because of the extremely low conditions last year, lower than it had been in almost fifty years, the lake has changed a great deal. Some of the grasses, like hydrilla, didn’t like the low water and seem to have died off. Others, like Kissimmee grass and some other that I don’t know, have flourished. South Bay, where in the past you could drift for a mile or more across broad expanses of hydrilla, now is almost totally choked with Kissimmee grass, bulrushes and reeds. It’s was the same over in Pelican Bay, where you’d need a lawnmower now to get into some of the places we used to fish.
Annie writes:
Got up early and went fishing for the day with Dan. I was looking forward to going out. This is my first time in the boat since summer. Seeing that we are in a tent, my options are limited if I stay home, so I will be spending more time helping Dan practice, which I like.
I must say it is not the Florida weather I was hoping for. I went out with two shirts, a sweater, my Ranger jacket, a winter hat and gloves, and I kept them on the whole day. We did not expect to catch a lot of fish with this weather, but it was nice to be out in the boat together.
We are definitely back in our fishing mode now. By the time we get home, we eat, we shower and then go right to bed. The rest of the campground was going to the rec. hall for bingo at 7:00, and we were putting our pajamas on.