Florida Gulf

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Racerx

Final Approach
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Dad and sis want to go do something on the Gulf side for Christmas. Mainly to get away from having to deal with a few family members. Was thinking of looking for some fishing charters just for something to do. Not sure if that's a realistic option given the holiday. Wide open to suggestions.
 
Racerx said:
Dad and sis want to go do something on the Gulf side for Christmas. Mainly to get away from having to deal with a few family members. Was thinking of looking for some fishing charters just for something to do. Not sure if that's a realistic option given the holiday. Wide open to suggestions.
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There are good opportunities for fishing shallow flats all over the Tampa area. Redfish, trout, etc. If you're into fly fishing you can have a blast. Of course, there's decent offshore fishing almost everywhere along the FL west coast.

If the fishing is just a side activity and not the purpose of the trip, or if you're not interested in flats fishing, I think I'd consider Venice or the Ft Myers area as Tampa is quite crowded with heavy traffic. Renting a place on Captiva would be excellent, but it might be too late as stuff books early for the Christmas season.

From Ft Myers, it's not too far to drive to the Everglades, and that might be a cool experience for you. A fishing charter to go after tarpon in the Everglades would be a lot different from offshore fishing.
 
If you don’t mind putting up with New Orleans, charters out of Venice in the winter months offer excellent inshore redfish/speckled trout fishing and excellent yellow fin tuna fishing. The weather has to cooperate to go offshore but the big YF move in during the cooler months and it is a short offshore run to get to them. If the wind is blowing too much for offshore, the inshore is always a go.
 
The only thing unrealistic about it is if you’re in snowbird vacation territory on FL gulf side, many of the charters will already be booked due to sheer population increase. But there are vacancies and captains willing to go out around the holidays.

I’ve chartered off of Marco Island a few times. I don’t have any one recommendation. It’s just going to be a pick-up-the-phone-and-call sort of thing to be assured of a response and vibe on the operation. Pick your vaca spot (or sounds like you already have one planned with fam) and then call for charters in the area within reasonable drive (flight)?
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
The only thing unrealistic about it is if you’re in snowbird vacation territory on FL gulf side, many of the charters will already be booked due to sheer population increase. But there are vacancies and captains willing to go out around the holidays.

I’ve chartered off of Marco Island a few times. I don’t have any one recommendation. It’s just going to be a pick-up-the-phone-and-call sort of thing to be assured of a response and vibe on the operation. Pick your vaca spot (or sounds like you already have one planned with fam) and then call for charters in the area within reasonable drive (flight)?
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My sister was supposed to start planning this months ago and only got picked back up at lunch yesterday. It didn't get much further than "let's go to Florida for Christmas to get away from our Aunt" phase.

Sister started looking at places to stay. Then I ask...what exactly is the plan here? What would we do? I got a shrug and a whatever we want response. That's when I suggested a charter. They want to plan something over around wherever they end up staying. But absolutely nothing is decided so why does it matter where we stay? Besides we'd have the plane if something is too far to drive.

I've been tempted to call up dad's og instructor from 25 years ago who now lives in Crystal River and do some coastal sight seeing.

I am intrigued by some of the alternatives being thrown out. Everything is much appreciated!
 
Racerx said:
I've been tempted to call up dad's og instructor from 25 years ago who now lives in Crystal River and do some coastal sight seeing.
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Fun 2 Dive | Snorkel and Swim with Manatees in Florida

Experience unforgettable manatee tours in Crystal River, Florida with Fun 2 Dive. Choose public or semi-private snorkeling adventures. Reserve your spot now!
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If you've never done it, you should.

BTW, if you feel like killing something, all the hunting seasons will be open in December. Deer, dove, quail, snipe, hog, squirrel, duck, tourists, etc.

Stay the blazes away from the theme parks! Everybody thinks it would be a swell idea to take the kiddies to Disney or Universal for Christmas, and the places are total zoos. There's so much to see and do in FL besides the theme parks that there's no reason to put yourself through the misery.
 
Another alternative.

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Air Strip | Westgate River Ranch Resort & Rodeo in River Ranch Florida | Westgate Resorts

Westgate River Ranch Resort & Rodeo boasts a 4,950-foot paved and lighted Air Strip that allows pilots to easily fly-in! The Air Strip also accommodates helicopters and has onsite fuel.
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Half Fast said:
www.fun2dive.com

Fun 2 Dive | Snorkel and Swim with Manatees in Florida

Experience unforgettable manatee tours in Crystal River, Florida with Fun 2 Dive. Choose public or semi-private snorkeling adventures. Reserve your spot now!
www.fun2dive.com www.fun2dive.com

If you've never done it, you should.

BTW, if you feel like killing something, all the hunting seasons will be open in December. Deer, dove, quail, snipe, hog, squirrel, duck, tourists, etc.

Stay the blazes away from the theme parks! Everybody thinks it would be a swell idea to take the kiddies to Disney or Universal for Christmas, and the places are total zoos. There's so much to see and do in FL besides the theme parks that there's no reason to put yourself through the misery.
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Zero interest in theme parks!
 
Half Fast said:
www.fun2dive.com

Fun 2 Dive | Snorkel and Swim with Manatees in Florida

Experience unforgettable manatee tours in Crystal River, Florida with Fun 2 Dive. Choose public or semi-private snorkeling adventures. Reserve your spot now!
www.fun2dive.com www.fun2dive.com

If you've never done it, you should.

BTW, if you feel like killing something, all the hunting seasons will be open in December. Deer, dove, quail, snipe, hog, squirrel, duck, tourists, etc.

Stay the blazes away from the theme parks! Everybody thinks it would be a swell idea to take the kiddies to Disney or Universal for Christmas, and the places are total zoos. There's so much to see and do in FL besides the theme parks that there's no reason to put yourself through the misery.
Click to expand...
Problem with hunting is I'd never live it down once the dog smells birds on me and she didn't go. Plus with my sister going, trying to plan things all 3 of us can do.
 
If you are flying there, you need to be sure to be aware of this critically important safety alert NOTAM - it is easy to miss what with it being buried on page 36 of 46 of a standard briefing:

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Van Johnston said:
If you’ll have a plane at your disposal, hop over to Titusville (TIX) one day and rent a car and visit Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral.
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I'll be flying into Flagler in February for the races and that's on the list.
 
Do you want to just chill on a beach, or want to be busy all the time doing something?
 
Then the Tampa/St Pete would probably give you the most bang for your buck if you’re looking for more to do than just lounge on the beach.
 
Domenick said:
Bring a book. I could make a recommendation.
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There's a reason I graduated high school early only to be a community college dropout. Reading a book is akin to pulling teeth for me.
 
Domenick said:
Maybe you've never read the right book.
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I agree.

Now for me reading fiction was always like pulling teeth. Ditto any sort of biography or novel....
I spent hours reading text book type stuff in school...not really for pleasure though, but I did enjoy the learning aspect in the engineering courses. The humanities electives, Math and English classes, etc. not so much...reading that stuff was always torture
and then later reading textbooks for hobbies and interests such as studying for my PPL and ratings, and for SCUBA were easy... that included things like flying related magazines
but other books, nope. no way.

Then I went to Airventure for the first time. I think I was about 35 years old. One of the presentations I attended was Chuck Yeager and Bud Anderson. Wow what a pleasure. Sitting there just listening to these guys that have done such "bigger than life" things swap stories about rubbing elbows with the Nazi's and all of the other bigger than life famous things that they've done. Just like a couple of good-ole-boys sitting up there, not trying to impress anybody with stories better than any Tom Clancy movie. (yeah, movies. I never read any Tom Clancy books, but I sure enjoyed the movies based on them)

So I went out and bought Yeager's book...couldn't put it down... then I bought Bud Anderson's book...couldn't put it down... and then once I ran out of biographies of WW2 pilots that were easy to get, I started in on Korean war an Viet Nam - mostly aviation but I started to mix in some various other military biographies and memoirs...modern era stuff, WW2 submarine officers, special forces guys, etc...
I've got quite a collection now, for a guy who absolutely hated reading for my first 35 years!
 
Brad W said:
... So I went out and bought Yeager's book...couldn't put it down... then I bought Bud Anderson's book...couldn't put it down... and then once I ran out of biographies of WW2 pilots that were easy to get, I started in on Korean war an Viet Nam - mostly aviation but I started to mix in some various other military biographies and memoirs...modern era stuff, WW2 submarine officers, special forces guys, etc...
I've got quite a collection now, for a guy who absolutely hated reading for my first 35 years!
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Redemption!
 
Half Fast said:
Good point. @Racerx , have you tried reading Fate Is The Hunter yet?
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I just can't get into reading for pleasure. I'm a bit of an autodidact and read to learn something. So if I'm not learning a skill or a hobby, I just can't get into it.
 
Racerx said:
I just can't get into reading for pleasure. I'm a bit of an autodidact and read to learn something. So if I'm not learning a skill or a hobby, I just can't get into it.
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Hmmmm......

Does that mean you actually learn things by reading POA?
:dunno:
 
If you're gonna be in the Tampa area, be sure to visit Ybor City. Lively, great food, and if you like cigars - hand-rolled by some of the original Cuban masters.
 
Racerx said:
I think we've settled on Marathon.
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Good choice. We make a trip there a couple times a year. The keys are best enjoyed from the water, make boating plans. There is some reasonable priced boat rentals available.

You’re not missing much other than weirdos and tourists if you decide to skip Key West. Though the drive down is nice.
 
Drive down to Big Pine and check out the Key Deer. Full grown, size of a large dog.

If you are divers, the Duanne or the Spiegel Grove are always fun wrecks.
 
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tampa area, sarasota area for beaches. spending all night, fishing off the skyway pier is absolutely one of my favorite things to do. Planning on it in january
 
Ed Haywood said:
Lobster season in FL runs through March if you like to snorkel.
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I did see that. Was something I was looking into. Haven't really snorkeled. I haven't done much fishing since elk and upland bird took over. Unless fishing dad's pond counts.
 
Racerx said:
I did see that. Was something I was looking into. Haven't really snorkeled. I haven't done much fishing since elk and upland bird took over. Unless fishing dad's pond counts.
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If you are interested in fishing, call Spindrift Charters. RT (Robert Trosset) has been around a very long time and is arguably the best guide in the lower Keys. He was a contemporary and good friend to both Flip Pallot and Jose Wejebe. I have not fished with him in quite a while but we did fish on his boat, and he on ours, when we had a home on Cudjoe Key. If he can't accommodate you, he will steer you to a top notch guide.
 
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