Key West - Finn goes fishing with Uncle Harry

Uncle Harry and Finn fishing. Finn thinks he has a catch.

Today was a successful day. First thing in the morning I got to take a long bath because I went up to the locker room showers on shore. Let me tell you it felt amazing. We also went fishing with Mr. Fish. We caught 2 grunts and 3 others I could not remember the names of. He also showed us where he tied up his boat. There were so many iguanas I could not keep track of them. At the end of the day he gave me some equipment for fishing. He said I can fish off the back of the boat here so I know what I am doing Saturday afternoon. We also saw a group of divers that are going to navigate to the beach for an excursion. That’s all I did today.  

His catch. It's mostly hidden by all the hands
tying to keep it and still in the boat.

(This is Rowan’s dad again, writing for Rowan). Today I went for a walk with my parents that was very tiring. I was so tired and hot that I got a key lime slushie with ice cream in it. It was awesome (except for the ice cream)! And yes, I DID really want to ride the Conch Train. (editors note – we have ridden the Conch Train with Rowan for 2 years in a row. To say we’re over it is an understatement, and we are doing everything in our power to not do it for a 3^rd year. Unfortunately, Rowan has the tenacious memory of a terrier). Tonight for dinner we had some fish that Finn caught because Finn went fishing on an actual fishing boat. It was actually pretty great, I liked it! I think that’s all. See ya later, turtle!      

Today was an extraordinary day for Finn. He  fished in the ocean for the first time in his life. Harry is a friend we met in Key West that came from the same county as us in New York. We were practically neighbors but didn't know it. One day he was coming by in his fishing boat and saw the back of Fleetwing with our home town, Lagrangeville, He stopped by and we've seen each other at Key West ever since. We get the freshest fish in the world from him.

Tarpon, these guys are big!

In addition to the fishing, Finn fed the tarpons at Sunset Marina. They have an area right by the marina office where the tarpons congregate. They just love shrimp which is the food of choice. They run up to five feet for the ones we saw, maybe six feet.

Iguanas, big and orange, dozens sunning themselves in the mangroves.

We started out in the Gulf north of Key West and then switched over to the ocean side where Finn caught two grunts which he and Rowan ate tonight. They were good. Back at Fleetwing, Uncle Harry even gave Finn one of his rod and reels! Finn is anxious to try out fishing for himself. He found out that there are some fine points to fishing. You don't just dip the fishing rod in and wait. You have to reach the bottom by feeling the line, then wait for a nibble, and then jerk the rod up in order to set the hook. Otherwise, the fish will just feast on your bait without biting on the hook. Finn watched carefully and he hopes to put his lessons to use off the back of our boat while he's here.