By: Caitlyn Gatrell
Hello fellow outdoor lovers! A new month brings new adventures, and what better way to spend some quality nature-filled time than spending a night outdoors. To make it even better, spend a night on an island! It might take you out of your comfort zone a bit, but it’s well worth it. Being immersed in nature while surrounded by marine life and the sound of crashing waves is something special. I recently took a weekend trip out to the islands with my crew, and it was quite the adventure!
I will say it does take a bit of prep and work to go island camping. You have to load up all the necessary gear, like your tent, clothes, toiletries, chairs, firewood, food, drinks, etc, and of course your fishing gear. We typically will get ready a couple days beforehand, that way when it’s time to ride out we are all ready to go. Setting up camp can be some work, but once it’s all finished it’s a great feeling.
Once we got out there and got our camp set up, we headed out for some fishing. We took a ride to some of the local mangrove lines and points, seeing who was hanging around. Despite it being winter, the scenery was gorgeous and the weather was nice. We hooked up to and caught species like redfish, seatrout, and snapper.
It was pretty cool to fish for a bit and then head back to camp for sunset, as we fileted and grilled our catches. Watching the sun set over the water as the wildlife gets active for its evening bite is also a sight to see too. We even brought our pups along for this adventure, where they got to join in the fun. We played games, went swimming, and even went wade fishing during the day and from shore at night. Some seatrout and sharks were caught, adding to the excitement. We also watched the beautiful stars in the night sky as we sat around our campfire exchanging stories.
Clean up time is probably the hardest part of the trip, but as I always say, leave it how you arrived. Throughout exhaustion from the heat and long weekend, we moved slower than before but ensured our island was clean and ready for its next guests. I recommend everyone try island camping out, at least once in your life! It truly is a fulfilling and fun journey, one that I would do again in a heartbeat!