February 3, Day 223 – Panther Key to Russell Pass (near Everglades City)

We woke to very cloudy skies this morning. This was a surprise as we were expecting sunny conditions today. Gerry checked different weather sources and found many of them to contradict each other. They ranged from warm, sunny and a slight breeze to cloudy, windy and possible rain. To be on the safe side we decided to head on out towards Everglade City once the tide was high enough for us to leave.

By 11:15 we pulled up the anchor and headed out …. under sunny skies … yippee !! Once again, it was a short and pleasant ride. Our destination today was an anchorage in Russell Pass. We plan on going to Everglade City during the time we are here, but will go by dinghy as the channel into the town is quite shallow plus we really enjoy anchoring amongst the mangroves.

We arrived in the anchorage around 1:15, set the anchor and had a quick lunch; then it was off to do a little exploring and fishing. Yeah right, fishing again. Gerry just won’t give up. Talked to some guys in a big fishing boat that had been in the area for a week and they’d only caught 2 fish. Undaunted, Gerry kept fishing and tried almost every lure in his tackle box. We turned the motor off and let the current take us through the mangroves. It was beautiful and very relaxing. Linda snapped pictures and Gerry kept fishing until ……. finally, he caught a fish!!! A nice sized sea trout. We headed back to the boat shortly thereafter so he could try out his “fillet table”. Michael and Jana had also been out fishing and Jana had caught a sea trout too. We’ll all eat good tonight.

We hosted happy hour on the bow of our boat and watched the sunset. The weather was warm with just a slight breeze – perfect!!

Gerry grilled the fish for dinner while Linda made fried potatoes with onions and green peppers. It was a great meal. After that, we watched a movie and then off to bed.

Leaving Panther Key
We had an interesting moth-like thingy that hitchhiked with us all the way to Russell Pass

A shot of the anchorage

Second Star in the anchorage looking through the mangroves off her port side

Out for a fishing trip in the dinghy. You can make out the fishing rod and lure at the top right.

Exploring the mangroves

Gerry had his fishing rod and we'd stop the motor and just drift with the current while he fished

We saw this narrow passage and decided to see how far in we could go

As we squeezed through here, you could touch the mangroves on both sides of the boat. We went to the far end (right about the middle of the picture), but finally had to turn around as we couldn't get any further.

A shot of Monk's Vineyard in the anchorage. Brilliant blue sky.

Can you believe it ..... Gerry caught a fish .... big enough to feed 2 people. It was a sea trout and was pretty darn tasty.

Finally .... a use for the fillet table

Just before dusk, the water and mangroves took on an interesting color

... and the last remaining sunlight peeked through the clouds

... and then finally sunset ... another great day!