The Wandering Disciple

Venice, Florida: Accessible only by private ferry, South Venice Beach is a quiet tropical oasis distant from the hustle and bustle of busier beaches. The remoteness off the beach is a glimpse back to the coastline before development. A trip to South Venice Beach begins at the ferry launch on the mainland. Here the captain departs with up to 22 passengers every half-hour on a quick seven minute sail across the intercoastal waterway to the island dock. Once the ferry docks at the island, a short walk down the boardwalk will take visitors to the beach. Where the Gulf of Mexico meets the deserted sands of South Venice Beach. Here you can look for shells and sharks teeth, sunbathe or take a swim in the Gulf. When you have had enough of the Florida sun and sand, the ferry will be there every thirty minutes to transport you back to civilization on the mainland. South Venice beach is only accessible via the South Venice Ferry. Yearly passes can be purchased at the dock and is good...

Venice, Florida: After a long hiatus from fishing, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and go fishing. We decided on the Venice Pier for today's trip. We picked up two dozen live shrimp at the pier and headed out to fish. We picked a spot mid-point on the pier and went to work. It was a very slow day on the pier, while I am used to us not really catching anything, but others around us were not having any luck either. We did catch a juvenile Crevalle Jack, a Lizardfish and a crab. While fishing, we watched a pod off dolphins playing on both sides of the pier for much of the afternoon. Since we were not having much luck at the pier, we decided to head to the South Jetty and try our luck there. We had a lot more success there. While we didn't catch a bunch, we had plenty of hits on our remaining bait. At the Jetty, we caught a Mangrove Snapper, Gag Grouper and an unidentified fish. We also observed some Snook near the seawall in which my Dad hooked...