Rob couldn’t understand why he wasn’t hungry this morning, until he pulled a wing and tail from his mouth. After hatching late last night, mayflies have plagued our vessel!These insects, Mayflies or shadflies, have a very short adult lifespan living from a only few hours to a day. Some consider this good luck, others use them for bait, BarrelRaftBoys use them for breakfast. Shoot, you could put Mayflies in anything: Mayfly soup, Mayfly kabobs, Mayfly stew, Mayfly salad, Mayfly burger, Mayfly sandwich, barbecue mayfly, sautéd mayfly, or just eat them raw.

AHH I CANT EAT ANY MORE!!

We had a wonderful evening in the Winona Marina last night. After putting in 30 something miles yesterday, we thought we deserved a break and pulled off to relax and avoid Saturday boat traffic. We’re finding out that these marinas are awesome little communities on the River, where everyone has a laid back attitude and welcomes you in like family. Met some terrific people yesterday…Rick and Jennifer were our neighbors for the night aboard their large boat and were absolutely great company the whole evening and morning. Thanks for the steak and garlic bread guys!! You were so kind and thank you so much for the words of wisdom on the river ahead. Really hope you can find the time to do the “great loop” someday (down the Mississippi, up the inter coastal and back through the Ohio). Hope to hear how that went someday! Also met an extremely talented guy last night, Eric Schandelmeir who’s got crazy skills with a paint brush and tattoo gun. Man, you’ve got an amazing aura around you and put out some amazing work and I can hardly put into words how much your artwork stands out from the rest. Not many people can twist feelings with a stroke of a brush, but you can and I wish you the best with whatever comes next. Joe, appreciate the fishing tips! With your advice we were able to pull in our first two fish of the trip! 2 Bluegills maybe totaling a pound served as our trophies for the day 🙂

We were planning on saving them for breakfast, but a HUGE muskie decided he was hungrier and came up to our boat and started gnawing on our fish. Maybe a more weathered pair of Barrel Raft Boys could have harpooned this monster with little effort and nothing more than a banana peel and spoon, but we still have much to learn about this River and sadly, let Mr. Muskie live to see another day. We will NOT forget, my friend…we WILL be back.

Today we are making the push to LaCrosse, WI. Right now, the weather is great. A slight breeze from the south but nothing that will stop us from putting in 20 miles or so. Had hot shower and toilet facilities at the marina, so we’re ready to go! Thanks for reading talk to you soon!