Water LIFE April 2020

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The Charlotte Harbor Reef Association

Fishing from Home

April 2020

Favorite Fish sort of a contest, page 3

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Bob Hoinacki with a 26-inch red grouper caught on a shrimp

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Bucky Dennis with a nice tarpon in the River

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Toby Vidlak of Mcfarland Wisconsin got this 28 inch redfish in Estero Bay.

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Slavick Piekh cought his first itʼs a catfish but it still counts

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APRIL 2020

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SUNSEEKER RESORT PROGRESS REPORT

Allegiant has stopped work on the Sunseeker project. That in itself is not anything, other construction has shut down around the country, but will Allegiant use the virus to pull the plug on Sunseeker for good? I want to say no, but Airlines and the Hotel Industry are among the hardest hit segments of our economy.

Today Allegiant was only flying three out of 15 flights into Punta Gorda. I have to imagine the debt Allegiant has on their newer aircraft will be serviced before anything else. Allegiant has to be on a tight financial timeline Unless they do something ʻcreativeʼ, the Allegiant Sunseeker project could sit unfinished for years and all we can do is to hope that doesnʼt happen.

Even before the corona virus, there was concern from the Allegiant Corporate CEO, Maury Gallagher, with the Sunseeker project. The board was worried about capital expenses and Gallagher told John Redmond that in December.

In early 2019 Market analysts pointed out Allegiantʼs short term $300 million debt, due that year, and noted a ʻloomingʼ 1.57 Billion debt package. Analysts wrote that Allegiant ʻonly covered its interest payments 5.4 times, last year,ʼ suggesting that interest on debt was already a burden for them in 2019. That debt, the analysts said, put Allegiantʼs stock in the category ʻriskyʼ.

So Iʼm watching the six big cranes on the Sunseeker site; if the money dries up, those rented cranes will be the first things to disappear – MH

SAILING: Conquistador Regatta

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Water LIFE inc. waterlife@comcast.net www.WaterlifeMagazine.com Ellen Heller Publisher Michael Heller Editor

(941) 766-8180

FishPix, text only number 941-457-1316

217 Bangsberg Rd.

Worked is stopping. These are the ramps of the parking garage

photo and text by Fran Burstein

It was a day for broken whisker poles and a day of torn sails. It was a day that challenged sailors and sailboats alike. The wind blew a steady 22 knots and a sailor reported seeing 30 on the knot meter. The Conquistador Cup is a two-day racing event with a reverse start on day 2.

The first boat over the finish line on day two wins the regatta. The winner of the Cup was Mickey Gregg on Straight Up an S2.7.9 that he trailered from Kentucky to participate in this race. Details and scores by class can be found at: https://bit.ly/PGSC-CCR-2020.

To Water LIFE Ladies and Gentlemen, what are you doing to stop the intrusion of poisons into the Peace River caused by Mosaic? They are appealing to DeSoto County to allow an expansion of their activities, further south into the Peace River basin; which is the source of potable water for the four counties of DeSoto, Charlotte, Lee and Sarasota Counties.

Mosaicʼs activities have already caused homeowners in Arcadia to be unable to get sinkhole insurance.

Will allowing them to expand further south and west toward Charlotte County bring about the same issue for Charlotte County (Sinkholes and no homeowner insurance coverage).

If you arenʼt familiar with the term: "Property Value", let me assure you, sinkhole exposure without homeowner insurance coverage will destroy values and turn our area into the potential for a Love Canal. Well, maybe not that bad, but it will damn sure diminish the quality of our life and make the water taste and smell even worse.

When are you going to expose the political corruption, which has allowed these companies, such as Mosaic to endanger our communities and put lives at risk?

Thank you, Richard Russell

Port Charlotte, FL 33952

Independant - Not affiliated with any other publication!

Vol XIX No. 4 © 2020

NO PART of this publication (printed or

electronic) may be copied, reproduced or re-used in any manner without specific written, witnessed and notarized, permission from the Publisher

Contributing Editors:

Photography: ASA1000.com

Senior Editor: Capt. Ron Blago Baitshop: Fishinʼ Frank

Upper Harbor: Cameron Parson

Peace River: Capt. Dave Stephens Punta Gorda: Position Open Boca Grande: Mallory Herzog Estero: Capt. Joe Angius

Everglades: Capt. Charlie Phillips Kayaking: Bob Fraser Sailing: Fran Burstein

Pier Fishing: Bobby Vitalis Diving: Adam Wilson From the Ponds: Nicholas J

Fishing Fun in Isolation - things to do in the coming weeks ADULTS:

FAVORITE FISH Text us your

Photo from any time, tag FAVORITE

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top 5 catches receive Shakespeare combos!

Kids:

$1Bill Challenge Sign up for the

Tournament runs June-Sept

fish on your own, any time, anywhere everyone gets a T-shirt

Grand champion wins a BOAT

info & sign up: waterlifemagazine.com

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Show Me the Money On the Line

By Capt. Ron Blago Water LIFE Senior Staff

Last month the Charlotte County Marine Advisory Committee (MAC) completed their most important mission; and that is to make recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners concerning funding of various marine related projects for 2021. This is an annual exercise the MAC goes through to try to match the available funds with the government and non-profit organizations that request help in funding their projects. In past years some of these budget meetings were pretty heated affairs with organizations fighting hard to get a share of the limited funds available. In recent years the process of requesting funds and the allocation of funds have been simplified tremendously thanks to our County staff financial guru Jim Darden who handles all the requests and the distribution of moneys and makes sure that the money was used for the purpose it was intended.

This year the MAC had a total of $1,700,000 in their budget. This money comes from three sources.

1- State Boater Improvement Funds; this is money the state gives back to the County from boat registration fees. This year that amount was $450,000.

2- West Coast Inland Navigation District (WCIND) funds. This is a small tax added to your real estate tax each year; last year I paid about a grand total of $4.00 into the fund. This year the WCIND provided $450.00 for MAC funding.

3- The last and largest source of funds is local BIF funds. This is a special tax added to the boat registration fee of all boats registered in Charlotte County.

This year that amounted to $ 800,000 or 47% of all the funding available to MAC. This year there were 22 separate requests for funds from MAC (one was

withdrawn before the meeting) for a total of $717,679. If you do some quick math you will see there is an almost million dollar surplus. This money is in a reserve fund... or call it a slush fund if you like.

Charlotte County learned a valuable lesson from Hurricane Charlie; and that is if an emergency happens and you want to start cleaning up and doing repairs as soon as possible, you better have cash on hand to start the work. The State and Federal governments will reimburse the county for these expenses but that may take years before the county gets that money.

quest was approved by majority vote.

The next item of interest was a request from the Punta Gorda Police Dept for $43,000.00 to start their own derelict vessel removal program. The problem with derelict vessels in the County goes way back. It is the responsibility of the FWC to pay for the removal of these boats. The FWC assigned that responsi-

Let me say here that I am only one of 21 members of MAC and my personal Darcy from Manitoba with a 10# opinion on grant reFISH PIX! jack from Estero Bay with Capt quests is not reFred Gowdy flected by any other MAC members nor bility to the Marine Patrol; they quickly is it the official position of the MAC said that they didn’t have time or money leadership or the opinion of the many to do the job, after all they were really county staff members that help MAC do concentrating on writing tickets to its job. boaters who violated the manatee speed The largest single request for funds zones. That dumped the responsibility on this year was from the Charlotte County the counties and local cities. The MAC Sheriff’s Dept. They wanted $145,371 set up a program and a funding source of for new boat motors, law enforcement about $ 100,000.00 annually to remove equipment plus holiday overtime pay. I the boats in the County, including Punta have never been a big fan of boaters pay- Gorda. Last year FWC finally stepped up ing for the boats and motors the sheriff and took over the funding of the prouses in the marine division. I have algram; but unlike the rest of the County ways felt that those expenses should be the City of Punta Gorda wants to start covered out of the sheriff’s budget, just their own program and unfortunately like they do for their police cars. I have they want the rest of the County to pay strong reservations about the MAC payfor it. ing for any county employee’s salary, As I constantly remind people that overtime or regular pay. The sheriff’s refrom Water LIFE magazine

APRIL 2020

Charlotte County has approximately a population of 185,000 and Punta Gorda has 20,000 or about 11% of the total population. Over the years the MAC has been very generous to Punta Gorda, Since 2015 the MAC has approved over $600,000 for various projects and that includes that over $100,000 spent on a new Boston Whaler Sheriff’s boat that was quickly totaled by a sheriff’s volunteer who ran it into a piling at night. If the City of Punta Gorda wants to run their own programs they should pay for them themselves. Their request for funds was approved by MAC.

The last request of interest was from Charlotte County Parks and Rec to spend about $45,000.00 to repair the two small loading docks on either side of the boat ramp at So. Gulf Cove. Not sure where this is? Don’t feel bad, not many people do. It is one of the most beautiful and least used public boats ramps in the county. It is so unused that after the county installed the parking fee kiosk they discovered that they weren't bringing in enough money to pay a county employee to drive over and collect it; so they covered up the parking machine and it’s been free parking ever since. When asked about spending money to repair docks that are only about ten years old; we were told the county hired a consulting engineer who told them the docks should be replaced. There is an old saying,” never ask a barber if you need a haircut.” I guess you can add to that never ask a consulting engineer if you should replace a dock especially if they are going to make money doing the repairs. This request was approved by the MAC. All of the grant requests were approved with the exception of one. A request from the Englewood Beach Waterfest power boat races for $44,000 was voted down by the MAC who felt it was time for this event to cover their own expenses.

Captronb@juno.com

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Brendan Cronin, age 13, with a 45 pound drum caught in Estero Bay on Gulp Shrimp.

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Information, Observations and other Timely Stuff

By Michael Heller Water LIFE editor Well, this month is on hold... and anything could happen. My printer may be forced to close their plant, my delivery guy might get sick... or it could be something else. A lot of whoknows-what is still brewing and it’s going to continue for a while yet.

If for some reason you can’t find us in print next month, you can always find the current edition and all the back issues at waterlifemagazine.com. And if you get bored, issuu.com, the site that displays our magazine online, has thousands of other titles to peruse.

Issuu is really worth a look.

As we get ready to print, on Sunday March 29, your FISH PIX are still coming in. Awesome, keep it up... but this month, who knows how many people will still be fishing?

So I’m going to add something new.

A little insurance, if you will. In addition to sending your FISH PIX, also send me a FAVORITE fish photo, one you really like. It doesn’t have to be a current photo. Give me a short description. I’ll put as many as I can in a different spot in the magazine and we’ll give away rod combos for some of the best ones. Please label it FAVORITE. For the time being, the places we distribute this publication are changing.

As long as restaurants are closed, and by the time you read this other places may close as well... or reopen, it’s all another who knows, so we are now distributing more printed copies at gas stations and supermarkets. We will adapt.

I’m 65+, the State says I’m supposed to stay home. I don’t mind staying home, I put this paper together at home anyway, and I have a number of other projects I have been working on.

I was working on my Hot Rod early last month (I do a lot of that) when my neighbor Ronnie came out of his garage. Usually he will walk over to chat, but he stayed on his side of the lawn. “Are you laying low, avoiding people,” I asked him. He looked around as if someone else was listening, then he shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

“That’s what I do all the time,” he said.

We both laughed.

On the same subject, my friend Capt. Ron observed “Who ever thought my reclusive lifestyle would become in vogue?” He and I laughed too. But as I write this many other people are not laughing.

“We’ve had about double the normal traffic through the store,” Fishin’ Frank told me on the 18th of March “But by the 24th Frank said business had slowed considerably. “That next paycheck never came,” Frank observed.

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Last month we ran into the FWC staff from the Murdock environmental lab looking for sawfish on a shallow flat off Bayshore Live Oak Park in Port Charlotte. Sawfish come into the shallow waters, at this time of year to birth their pups. Charlotte Harbor, in case you didnʼt know, is a nursery for numerous different species.

I have to wonder how many people will get stimulus checks and waste the money immediately. We see this same mentality after hurricanes. “It’s like the summer of the Red Tide,” one Captain at Bass Pro said to me in mid March. “There was no money, but at least the bars were open when we had the red tide.” I shook my head.

My friend Capt. Ralph owns a tour and fishing boats business out of Fishermen’s Village in Punta Gorda. Ralph suffered collateral damage early on.

His business is named the Kingfisher Cruise Lines. When President Trump came out and told people not to go on cruises, I don’t think he had Ralph’s sunset cruises in mind, but the damage was done. Tour business stopped.

Another thing that apparently stopped was the Fish Florida Foundation. Fish Florida was the state license plate Non-profit, they had the plate with the sailfish jumping. The money they received from the license plate sales went to fund kids’ fishing programs. Charlotte County residents backed this plate at its inception.

Early last month, before the virus hit, I tried to contact Scott Nichols the Fish Florida Director, to talk about a new grant for our summer kids venue.

His e-mailbox was full and my message would not save, there was no reply to subsequent facebook messages or texts, and the recording on the official phone said the line has been disconnected. I don’t know what’s happened, but it doesn’t look good. If you know anything, please e-mail me.

On the brighter side, last month the Charlotte County Marine Advisory Committee approved our local kids program grant request for the 2021 year.

This was a big deal to me since this request was the first time we had asked

the County for funding for the on-line video component of our program. I was all set to come to the MAC meeting and convince them, when I got a message saying I would not have to be present.

It was because of the virus threat.

Will all this social distancing be a shot in the arm for fishing? Will people who once loved to fish get back to it?

Will we see more kids in our $1Bill tournament this summer? Will we see any kids at all? I wish I knew.

The fishing guides who contribute to this publication will continue to write and, so long as it’s legal, many are still fishing. When this is over I hope you will remember them and book a trip.

If there is any potential upside to all this, it might be that Social Distancing could breed Respect and then maybe certain anglers might stop following and trying to horn in on guides whenever they see fish being caught. It’s simple politeness, like not taking all the toilet paper. Sorry, I just had to say that.

As of now, we will still hold our online kid’s $1Bill Challenge tournament this summer. It will be the third year.

The fishing happens June - September.

I’ve already got t-shirts (every entry gets a shirt this year). We have the rods and lures and this year, instead of written questions, the kids have 4 short video quizzes to watch. In our event kids learn a little to win a lot. We’re giving away another aluminum jon boat this summer, along with the rods and lures, so sign up your kids today.

For information about the 2020 $1Bill Challenge for kids, go to

www.waterlifemagazine.com

I will do my part to make it happen, after all, what else do I have to do? I’m locked up at home... and all I’m missing is an electronic monitor on my ankle! Stay safe and wash your hands!

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CHARLOTTE HARBOR:

By Capt. David Stephens Water LIFE Charlotte Harbor Well fellow anglers, the fishing has been some of the best I have seen in several years. I truly believe the closures have helped with our local fish stocks. Before I get into how things have been going, I still believe we are a long way from a permanent fix.

Our local waters at this time are extremely beautiful. The biggest thing missing is our lush grass flats. This time of year, our flats

should be filling in on the warm sunny days. However it has become more evident, with the crystal clear water, how much grass has been lost. I can not stress enough how important these grass flats are to the survival of our ecosystem.

Life for our Harbor begins and ends on these flats. If we don’t heal our Harbor, all these closures will be for nothing. This spring has shown me that we are heading in the proper direction.

Over the past few weeks the redfish fishing has been some of the best I have seen in over 5 years. We have been able to have days that we lost count of quality

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Big Snook over 30-inches

reds brought boat side. I thought days like that would never happen again.

Another fish that has made a major come back is sea trout. A couple years ago our trout fishery was a shadow of what it once was. This past winter we had countless trips with 50+ fish on a half day. This spring has been holding strong also. We have been boating numerous large trout over 20-inches. These big females will ensure our fishery stays strong.

This warm weather has the snook going absolutely crazy. Over the past week we have been catching large snook on a daily basis. This spring it has been normal to boat a half dozen fish over 30inches and have shots at a trophy fish.We have been able to put many of our clients in the 40-inch-snook club this past couple of weeks.

The migratory fish have made their ap-

pearance in the Harbor too. Spanish Mackerel have been schooling around the baitfish. These toothy guys can be a lot of fun to target.

Just be prepared to lose some hooks, use a small piece of light steel leader. You can target these guys many different ways. The most common is live-lining small pilchards. Trolling small spoons around feeding fish is also very effective.

If your out just looking for a fight, the jacks have been school-

FISH PIX! Water LIFE magazine

Jim McCorkle with 33-inch snook caught from a Punta Gorda dock.

ing in large numbers. The residential canals have been holding good numbers of fish. Pound for pound, nothing fights harder than jacks do.

It appears our fishery is heading in the right direction. Our water is the most important resource. If we don’t take care of our waters, it will not matter what we do to preserve our fishery.

If you would like to experience some of Charlotte Harbor’s finest fishing, call or send me an email. All of our charters are private and customized to fit your needs.

Capt. Dave Stephens, 941-916-5769 www.bayxtremes.com

I was fishing for sheepshead and look what I caught! My first snook! Louise Huffman Rotonda

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Hard to Focus On Fishing

By Fisnin’ Frank Water LIFE Baitshop As I sit here typing, my mind keeps switching between, Spanish mackerel, black drum and whether they are going to close my store down. It’s a lot to think about!

There are so many mackerel and so many people having a great time.

They are trolling spoons and Storm twitch-stiks around Marker No. 2 and Marker No. 5. I’m thinking about that and then I get a call saying there are military tanks being moved around in Florida.

Are the people with all the toilet paper planning a revolt? ...Or should I be thinking how cool it is to get a mackerel to hit while FISH PIX! I am trolling. Stop the boat and start casting out shrimp under popping corks, and bam, bam Fish on! Fish on! ... Or do I think about making payroll for days or weeks while the store is closed?

Could be I should just keep my mind focused on the amazing snapper fishing on the near shore reefs, where they are hitting on squid and live shrimp. Shrimp is Water LIFE magazine

really the better option right now as every night, right now, thousands of shrimp are migrating out of the passes on the out going tides and the reef fish are gorging themselves.

So if you drop a live shrimp on a reef

4-3/4lb 25-inch trout on white fluke for Earl Horecky in Eastern Pine Island sound

with about 2-ounces of lead a 2/0 or3/0 hook on a 30-pound flouro leader, you will have dinner for many more than two.

But then again, there is another report of this stupid virus, which was not really that bad at first and is now bad enough to close down entire states. Really? what the heck? I hope by the time you read this we have more answers, because right now all

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we have are questions.

Why the heck would the National guard be in Port Charlotte? Do they think there is going to be a Grey Beard/Silver Hair revolt? Do they figure we are going to attack with walkers and electric wheel chairs?

I’m back to fishing. I think I will just head out around the bridges. Black drum have just started to move around the pilings and all it takes is a chunk of blue crab and a lot of hang-theheck-on, to have fun catching them. Use a chunk of crab meat with a sinker, cast it next to the piling and hope someone has a hold of you!

Or I could head down in front of Turtle Bay or over by the Cape Haze reef, with a chunk of mullet or ladyfish - on a big rod with a big steel leader - and get railed by a 6- to 9-foot shark. No sinker there, just free-lining the Debbie Turpie and Michele Czech, bait; anchored or drifting, either FISH PIX! sisters from Ottawa, enjoy a ladyfish catch! will work. The same is true is in the Gulf. I’ve heard tons of stohandle money or touch the credit card maries and seen pictures of sharks - more chine. Life for the last two years was kind sharks than I have ever seen at this time of of like it was in the 50s when everyone year. So the Gulf is active and tarpon will was looking forward to the future. Now be showing up in numbers soon. the Zombie Apocalypse is back!

Back at the store, we have been sprayFishin’ Frank 625-3888 Fishin@Franks.com ing everyone's hands with Lysol after they Water LIFE magazine

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Now the Bedding Begins

APRIL 2020

feet down and the water temp by the bank was pretty much the same too. It’s bass bath

By Nicholas J bank and weed lines. The bass beds are water and it’s perfect for the Water LIFE Bass Addict all lined up one after another. Even if spawn cycle.

After months of waiting for the you can't see them, they are there. As Right now the morning and spring evolution of the largemouth bass you are retrieving, you glide your bait or evening bite is very good, espespawn-cycle to begin, in the middle of lure over them, just off the bottom. I get cially the sunset bite. Just as it March the weather started to really settle a lot of defensive bass strikes like that gets dark the trophy pond mondown. The cold fronts were being reand more hook ups. sters start slamming the banks placed with constant, steady, warm, days Trying to get a bedded bass’ attention for bait fish. Just make sure you with minimal wind. Then finally and like is the next step. I have been knocking got your skeeter spray on and magic, the bass started appearing along them out with the Crack Craw, zoom also this hot weather has the the pond banks, staging up on their beds. lizard and a small 3-inch Berkeley water moccasins hitting the Now the fun and frustration begins.

Swimbait. ponds now too Top: a defending young male largemouth, hooked Now it's time on a swimbait Below: a pre spawning female, off and gators have to change the bed, caught on a Crack Craw been on the your fishing banks sunning. strategies and So always keep tactics and an eye out while also look at bank fishing! your bait and This past lure choices month was more for staging about quantity bass. than quality for Now you me and that's have to creep because it’s up to the A frog smacking, fatback largemouth and a Berkley Power Swimmer in sun gill color transition time banks like a for largemouth Ninja. Now on the bedding, bass will detect vibration I have a new pole set up I put together bass.

The big mama bucketmouths very quickly, up to 30-feet away, no just for working bedded bass with fiare playing hard-to-get and the problem and they will head out deep, nesse and power. It's a very lightweight slab-side quick. They will visually spot you too, so Bass Pro 6-foot telescopic pole with you have to be real stealthy on bank apflexibility in the back bone and a stiff tip defending proach. with 50-pound braid and a direct tie on lunker Another tip is to pay attention to big swim bait with a 5.1 Abu Garcia Black swirls along the banks. The bass will be Max reel. This set up allows me to dance males playing tag with each other around their my bait in their face untill they strike and are beds... but like I said, your bank apyet I still have the power to drag them on ready to rumble. proach is everything because they will the bank without losing them.

After spook easy.

My bait recommendation this month, months Though the different spawning cycles what’s getting awesome strikes from you will catch the bucks on the bed and lunker bass out far and close to the bank, of being the big mammas will be hanging around is the Berkley Power Swimmer Swimbait patient with the a little deeper out. Eventually they will (Sun Gill Color ) Bass hold on 18-times Another early morning roller pair up, then the female will spawn and longer, it’s a very durable, long lasting, swimbait smacking lunker role on the bed to fertilize the eggs. bait and you can feel the bass tugging on coaster weather and the on-and-off bite we can Then, after that, the females will leave the tail till they take it – great action and put that all behind us. Now we should the beds and the males will take over to great results for hooking lunker bass! have our steady constant sunny warm protect the frys, so there is plenty of opThis is also a great time to try out spring weather loaded with endless days portunities to hook a trophy bass over the other lures too. Experimenting can't hurt of fishing and awesome sunsets. The next 3 months through these cycles. and it keeps you from getting board.

When you are working the pond The last water reading I took just be- weather is setting us bass addicts up for the opportunity to hook a trophy bass of banks try to cast out latterly along the fore this report, was 80 degrees at 10a lifetime, so get out and hook yours.

Report from the Ponds:

APRIL 2020

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Faced with staying 6-feet apart and not touching their faces, resourceful fishermen found a solution

Everglades & 10,000 Islands - Fish are Biting

By Capt. Charlie Phillips Water LIFE / Everglades City The sun is shining, the fish are biting and as of my writing this, the boat ramps are still open. Who would have ever thought that our Nation would be facing a pandemic that would make me wonder what will be open when this article comes to print? Not I for sure, but this is the age we live in and all we can do is follow the directions given and roll with the punches.

This past month has been a good one for us in the Everglades and 10,000 Islands. As spring break fired up thru the Nation, the guides in my world got busy. Both inshore and offshore have been solid choices with me staying in, looking for redfish, snook and trout.

We have been targeting some big snook using soft plastic jerk shad style

baits, rigged weedless and worked around the points on the outside keys.

This time of year, the big girls start making their way out with love on their mind so it’s a great opportunity to catch larger than normal snook.

A big snook in heavy current is a bear, so choose your take appropriately or you will enjoy a moment of the fight without the reward of the release! I like a 7-foot MH or H action rod with a 50series size spinning reel. This is still light enough that I can cast over and over in the day, but it still provides enough backbone to work a fish that is freight training towards a snag.

Lots of good redfish lately as well, though many of the ones we have been

catching have been in the lower slot size.

Shrimp-tipped jigs have been our offering worked in the deeper channels on the low and negative low tides when the fish have few other places to congregate. A trolling motor works well in this situation as it lets you cover water and keep moving and searching. You can do it on anchor if you need to, but you are waiting more for the fish to come to you, so make sure to choose good spots like points, edges of bars etc. Ambush predators look for ambush points, so remember that as you look for where to set up and never forget that you are the ultimate ambush predator!!

A quick note on where we go for April with our challenges from the Corona virus. This is going to be a tough time for us all. As a guide, I am used to something coming in and buggering up the works I have planned for the season: Hurricanes, red tide etc. We will survive this as we have done before, but many in businesses other than just running a guide boat, may not. Do your best to follow the instructions of government and pray for our nation and our state. We will come out of this stronger, it’s what we do as Americans.

Stay safe, stay healthy and well and I will see you next month Capt. Charlie Phillips, President, Florida Guides Assn.

Owner/Captain, Hope Fishing Adventures Everglades City, Florida hopefishing.com 863-517-1829

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FISH PIX!

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Anita Owens caught this snook in the PGI canals

Angling with Adria with nice red grouper caught offshore.

John Vincent, Peacock Bass, Everglades Canal

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READERʼS PHOTOS Send us ur fish pix! Weʼll use ʻem!! see page 5

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Nice Charlotte Country redfish by Big Al.

Viktor Varnaitis from Illinois, first ever peacock bass, Everglades canal

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Jack caught by Dominic DeBona age 6 at El Jobean Pier

Angela Lofton.

With African Pompano

FISH PIX!

Nice Bull Bay snook caught by Joe Sheaffer 3/5/20

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Self Quarantine, Boca Grande, Bill & Aidan Flack , 31-inch redfish

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

APRIL 2020

Michael Collins from Mcfarland Wisconsin caught this redfish fishing out of Goodland

30-inch snook at Ponce de Leon Peir. Logan Earwood

Stacy Katsiyiannis, caught her first convict in Charlotte Harbor.

APRIL 2020

IF

YOU CAN ʼ T GET OUT,

Bryce checking another one off his bucket list.

Boca Grande, via Nauti Knots Charters

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Brandon Walters caught this nice largemouth bass in a canal off of Veterans Blvd. Way to go Brandon

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Cliff Clanin landed a nice 28-inch grouper

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

F OLLOW U S

Randy Robel, Oconomowoc, WI, Jack from Matlacha Pass

Earl Horecky on a Zara Spook near Demere Key.

Sheepshead Roger Wis. Feb 28, Sanibel

ONLINE

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

from Water LIFE magazine

from Water LIFE magazine

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Tom Fischer, Cape Coral, FL, Jack - Matlacha Pass

FISH PIX!

FISH PIX!

@

First sheepshead for Dan Beach... off of Boca Beach

Anthony Martini, Jr. Sheepshead at Placida.

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

PAGE 11

Dave Strachota, Wild Rose, WI Jack - Matlacha Pass

Connor, mother, grandma, from Vermont.

1st sheepshead, Sanibel, Feb 29

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Dave Stewart from Cape Coral with one of many huge mangrove snapper boated west of Captiva Pass in 80 FOW

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

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12

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

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30-inch Snook - personal best, right off the dock!

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

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10 year old Trent with his 10 pound Jack in Shell Creek

APRIL 2020

READERʼS PHOTOS Send us ur fish pix! Weʼll use ʻem!! see page 5

FISH PIX!

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Two brothers with a couple of big red grouper out in the Gulf..

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Tyler Symons, Josh Lohr, Goliath grouper

FISH PIX!

Joe Pulitano 24-pound PGI canal black drum

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Andrew Dans displays his first “nighttime” snook caught in Punta Gorda during his recent visit from New York City.

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Brian from Fishhawk fl. He is my cousin and he owns and captained the trips.

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Gary Reger with nice red grouper off Englewood on 3/13

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Wonderful day on the water.

Good catch Mandy

Carson Carey age 6 of Lake Suzy

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Rolfie C and Tommy D with a 40 inch snook that we named Sean

Aubrey Carey age 8 of Lake Suzy

APRIL 2020

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PAGE 13

• Best Pr ic es and Com plet e Fit m ent Ser vi ce

• B o a t L i f t C a p a b i l i t i e s - E n s u r e P r o p e r F i t m e n t , C o r r e c t To n g u e W e i g h t , E a s e O f L o a d i n g •

SHARKING:

• C o m p l e t e Tr a i l e r M a i n t e n a n c e a n d R e p a ir Pa r ts a n d A c c e s s o r ie s

Big and Little - they are All Here

By Capt. John Brossard Water LIFE Shark Fishing With the water temperature already being in the upper 70s, the sharking has been nothing less than phenomenal.

Whether you’re on a seawall casting out a half of a jack or catfish or on an artificial reef off the coast, 1- to 10-miles out, it should not take too long to get a big bite.

The best time is usually early in the a.m. or before dusk, but with the weather being so nice lately, you can go for an all-nighter and the fish will not let you rest too often.

Finally, the seas have calmed down and we have had lots of winds from the east making it great near shore again, The bigger sharks seem to be close to shore and in the passes from Boca Grande to the Everglades. Monsters were being caught all over the area on the beaches at night before they closed. East winds are great for beach fishing.

On Shark Chaser I have been fishing the wrecks off Marco Island and Goodland and finding huge bull sharks ready to make grown men and woman cry from their power and fight longevity. You should try it!

Capt John Brossard 239-777-9279 sharkchaserfl@gmail.com sharkchasercharters.com

Shark of the month

The Nurse Shark is a coastal shark usually living near a reef or some kind of structure, They are one of the good shark to eat because of their diets, consuming

many shell fish and crustaceans.

54" is the minimum to keep a fish to eat. i do not really understand this because i feel the smaller are better to eat and the adults are the breeders.

When diving around docks or structure, they are seen just laying

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

under some cover not moving, they are one of the few sharks to be able to rest on the bottom without dying.

Do not let their small mouth fool you, they have many rows of sharp teeth and can crush and rip anything they want to eat.

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Alex Takacs, Josh Lohr, Sandbar shark

Max Riesbeck with a Bullshark

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APRIL 2020

READERʼS PHOTOS Send us ur fish pix! Weʼll use ʻem!! see page 5

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FISH PIX!

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Brenna McCorkle with a snapper.

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Snook released.

Tyler C. (5yo) Dad Jamie.

Cape Haze. 3/18

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Eric Dixon, Another great day in the Estates with two

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Brittany Cortes Sheepshead, Sanibel

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Bob Hoinacki caught this 26-inch red grouper on a shrimp.

Beth Long, trout, 3-1-20

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Joe Reding. red grouper.

Caught Friday the 13th

39 inches grass crap, 40-plus lbs.

Safely released Rotonda. Tim Flack

FISH PIX!

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

f fr ro om m W Wa at te er r L L II F FE E m ma ag ga az z ii n ne e

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Fred OʼDell some nice red groupers, Gulf of Mexico

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Rotonda. grass carp, Kacie Flack 30-pounds

Rich Knerr with 24-inch red grouper

APRIL 2020

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SCUTTLEBUTT

PAGE 15

Sometimes Unsubstanciated, But Often True

Bass Pro will build Fishing Resort on Lake O OKEECHOBEE — Bass Pro officials unveiled their plan for a world class fishing resort at the Okee-Tantie recreation area at the March 12 meeting of the Okeechobee County Commission. Okee-Tantie is on the north

shore of the Lake at the mouth of the Kissimmee River.

Bass Pro officials told commissioners they still needed to get permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The commissioners agreed to give the company a 14-month extension to approve the final purchase decision after the Corps Approval.

The resort would include a lodge with 80 rooms in the first phase and expansion to 120 rooms later, a restaurant, RV camping and fancy tents with air conditioning and indoor plumbing.

There will be an Uncle Buckʼs Fish Bowl restaurant that will give diners the illusion they

are under water. The company has already invested $400,000 in payments to Okeechobee County and another $149,450 in site evaluation, topographical survey, geotechnical investigation and planning. They expect to spend another $149,000 in the planning phase, even before permits are complete.

BOTTOM SAMPLING The United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA – NRCS) is working on subaqueous soil surveys projects (Subaqueous soils are soils formed in sediment found in shallow, permanently flooded environments or soils in any areas permanently covered by water too deep for the growth of rooted plants.)

The USDA – NRCS Soil and Plant Science division is now involved in the development of soil survey projects through different parts of the State. Such investigation still a new concept under development and subject to change.

Two Subaqueous projects on their agenda are the; Indian River Lagoon and Charlotte Harbor.

According to one of the men doing the sampling, Indian River Lagoon is the priority and will be the first official Subaqueous project to be started some time this year.

There is still not a time frame of when the project in Charlotte Harbor will start. When completed, the project will have produced new underwater topography surveys.

NO TANKS! The Military Museum at Punta Gorda recently moved from Fishermenʼs Village to a nearby building along Marion Avenue, a place where public visibility is much higher. “We want to put a tank out front on Marion,” one of the Museum docents told us, adding “but the City of Punta Gorda wonʼt allow it.” Evidently there are some homeowners living along the Avenue who think a tank would be ʻdisturbingʼ to their neighborhood.

For the record, we think a tank would be GREAT ... and a helicopter and a Flag!

COVID-19 Leaders of America's domestic fishing industry have appealed to the Trump administration for help with the severe economic hardship created by the corona virus epidemic. With consumers stuck at home and restaurants closed, the $100 billion-per-year demand for U.S. fishery products has evaporated overnight, putting tens of thousands of well-paid jobs at risk. The coalition is calling for about $4 billion in federal assistance to maintain the fishery supply chain until the economy is back on its feet.

We better get some rain soon

Estero Bay: Desperate Times calls for Desperate Measures

By Capt. Joe Angius Water LIFE Estero A difficult situation, where split second decision making becomes essential, is inevitable for the true angler. This month the pandemic crisis of COVID-19 has put everyone in a position of having to make sacrifices. A lot of the local charter captains had to decide whether they should remain open so they can continue to provide for their family or temporarily close their business to help stop the spread of the virus.

As I am one of these captains I had to reevaluate priorities, make difficult decisions, and I am doing my best to discourage practices that could harm myself or others. I am staying away from others but I am still fishing and the conditions for it couldn’t be better.

Fishing has been a great escape from all of the virus-noise and really puts the ‘present’ into perspective.

Big gamefish have been on the prowl with warm weather conditions and an abundance of food. Permit, black drum, cobia, kingfish, and sharks seem to be the most popular out in the Gulf. When we’re

fishing inshore, pompano, redfish, sheepshead and snook are the dominating species.

stubborn fish. There will almost always be live shrimp in my livewell because every fish species will eat a shrimp. Even though this may be frowned upon in more “elite” fishing circles, I’m not ashamed of

Sometimes it’s difficult to figure out which species you want to target for your clients, but no matter the choice, it’s always a good one!

At this time of the year, with the variety of gamefish there are roaming our waters, a plethora of baits is key.

Livebait fishing is often very productive when there are active fish around, but this is not always the case. Having different baits in the livewell or tackle box will only increase your chances of catching

having bait that will catch fish.

Along with the live shrimp, pilchards, pinfish, threadfin, and mullet are all strong candidates to producing a bite.

Now when the situation presents itself and the fish are all around you but aren’t eating, you’ll have a variety of baits to use to try and get them interested.

Artificial lures work well too, especially on days where bait can be difficult to net. My three go-to lures for when I first get on the water are a bone colored

WKRP IN BOISE IDAHO The Idaho Department of Fish and Game recently came across a film they produced in the 1960s entitled Fur for the Future. The film had been mislabeled and misfiled.

The footage chronicles the Idaho Department of Fish and Gameʼs efforts to relocate overpopulated beavers. The relocation involved packing beavers in boxes with parachutes and throwing them out of an airplane over their new home. In a statement issued last month the Idaho Department of Fish and Game said “This type of “dramatic” relocation is no longer used.”

GUN RUNNERS International transfers of major arms during the five-year period 2015– 19 increased by 5.5 percent compared with 2010–14, according to new data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The largest exporters of arms during the past five years were the U.S., Russia, France, Germany and China, and Saudi Arabia was the worldʼs largest importer.

Read that last part again.

ITʼS OUT THERE Pure Fishing, the leading global tackle supplier of brands including Stren, Shakespeare, Abu Garcia etc has closed their South Carolina warehouse due to several employees testing positive for C-V-19.

Heddon Super Spook jr., popping cork with a D.O.A. shrimp two feet underneath the cork, and a 1/8oz Mission Fishin’ jig head tipped with a GULP! jerk shad. Trust me, I have many other lure combinations but I could never leave the house without these three lures tied up. Even though these lures are tailored toward the inshore angler, they can still be used on a whim if a large tarpon were to roll along the beach shoreline or a school of black drum decided to rise to the top of the water column as you were riding out to your destination. It’s always better to be ready for something than to not be ready at all.

As our fisheries continue to heat up, practice healthy social distancing and get outside.

Southwest Florida right now has some of the best fishing and weather to offer. In times like these, small businesses like charter fishing rely on tourism. With season most likely coming to a screeching halt, try and support any local businesses before anything else.

Enjoy your day with a locally guided fishing trip. Support small businesses. Have a great month and wash your hands often!

Captain Joe Angius 727-234-3171 speakeasyfishing@gmail.com www.speakeasyfishing.com

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16

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READERʼS PHOTOS Send us ur fish pix! Weʼll use ʻem!! see page 5

FISH PIX! f fr ro om m

W Wa at te er r

L LI IF FE E

m ma ag ga az zi in ne e

FISH PIX! FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Tony DeStefano caught 2 red grouper out in the Gulf.

With Capt Nick

FISH PIX!

Chuck had a good day fishing with his buddies.

FISH PIX!

Joe Sheaffer with a nice St. Pattyʼs Day Placida snook

from Water LIFE magazine

from Water LIFE magazine

from Water LIFE magazine

Lou Mae Destefano caught this baby goliath grouper in a PGI canal it was released safe

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

APRIL 2020

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Amelia McCorkle with her first snook.

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Jim Flaherty with a Jack at El Jobean

Stephanie Sondock, baby 12-inch bonnet head shark & gator trout with live shrimp.

Right: Joanne Sondock, trout on shrimp fly. Charlotte Harbor in March

Adley Grace Callahan, First fish, blue gill

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Largemouth bass, caught last month, Port Charlotte pond, catch and release by Hans A. Buehler, Oconomowoc Wisconsin

APRIL 2020

IF

Best Bite of the Year

YOU CAN ʼ T GET OUT,

By Cameron Parson Water LIFE Fishing Spring fishing is officially here!

Many species are on their migratory path, both inshore and offshore. Our water is super clear and the temperature is just about perfect for most any type of fishing you'd like to do. My favorite fishing takes place on the outsides of the east and west bars and around the points of the islands where wind creates a current on the incoming tide.

For fishing the bars, I generally have a small arsenal rigged and ready to go.

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One with a pompano jig (silly jig), one swimbait or larger twitchbait (Mirrodine XL), another with an eel imitation, and the last rigged with a short piece of wire and circle hook for a cruising shark. It may seem like a lot, but you'll be grateful to have it just in case a shot at a good fish arises.

Focus on finding big rays (skates, cow-nose, and even spotted rays) as multiple species of fish tend to follow, either under them or piggy backing. The same goes with manatees and even sharks and cobia on occasion. Pompano will sometimes give themselves away when they turn on their side and shine. Silly jigs are a great option to throw-they get to the bottom and cast far with ease. Paddletails or half of a stick bait on a jighead will work in a pinch, if you don't have a silly jig.

Medium to medium heavy gear is all that's required. 10- or 15-pound braid with 30-pound leader will do just fine.

There's not a lot of structure on the outside for fish to get hung on. Bigger gear such as a 5000 or 6000 sized reel with 40- or 50-pound braid and 50- or 60pound leader is ideal for tarpon and

Mosaicʼs Toxic Timeline

Commentary By Tim Ritchie Water LIFE / March Against Mosaic The Mosaic Green Bay Chemical Plant and Mosaic Green Bay phospho-gypsum Gypstack facility is approximately 2,545 acres and is located at 4390 State Road 640 West, in Bartow Florida.

The Mosaic Green Bay phospho-gypsum stack system is 833 acres. The Facility began operations in 1965 under the ownership of Farmland Industries, Inc. Primary operation at that time included one production line for manufacture of Phosphoric Acid. In 1971 a second fertilizer production plant was constructed within the Chemical Complex. In November 1991, a joint venture known as Farmland Hydro Limited Partnership was formed between Norsk Hydro USA, Inc and Farmland Industries, Inc. Farmland Hydro, LLP purchased Ammonia Terminal and Pipeline from Seminole Fertilizer Corporation. Farmland Hydro, LLP manufactured sulfuric acid (SAD), phosphoric acid (PAD), diammonium phosphate (DAP), the facility and monoammonium phosphate (MAP) products.

Effective June 1, 2004, Cargill Fertilizer, Inc transferred and conveyed to Cargill Fertilizer, LLC substantially all of the assets and liabilities compromising Cargills phosphate mining and manufacturing business with IMC Global, the name of Cargill Fertilizer, LLC was Changed to Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC. Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC is the 100% Owner of the Green Bay Facility.

In 2105 Mosaic Fertilizer Green Bay Facility was the major portion of a $1.8 Billion dollar Environmental Fine for violations only 75 miles up the Peace River, that is the

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sharks (use a small piece of wire) if one were to come by.

When I'm on the inside, I prefer the incoming tide to fish mangrove points.

The Gulf breeze creates a small current around these points, which creates a

PAGE 17

cooler water flow. Redfish, snook, trout, and snapper will use these areas to ambush bait and cool off a bit rather than stay in stagnant water that's much warmer.

Use your trolling motor to spot the fish. Come back around and anchor up if you see them. Try chumming them with whitebait to get the action going. Shrimp and chunks of mullet or ladyfish will also work just fine if the fish want to be lazy.

This tad bit of current will wash the scents of your cut bait into the bushes and around the island...drawing the fish to you. Feeder creeks are also a great place to soak baits on an incoming tide.

There are plenty of islands to search around. One may have a good amount of fish around it and the next few may have none. Just remember, if you see fish there, they are there for a reason. It's about putting a pattern together from season to season.

Fish are feeding on both tides, both inshore and outside the bars. Find clear, cool water, and you'll find the best bite of the year. Catch some fish!

Cameron Parson can sometimes be found at Rio Villa Bait and Tackle in Punta Gorda: 941 639-7166

DANGER! PHOSPHATE MINING Watershed to Charlotte, Desoto and Sarasota Counties.

Only six months later an Environmental Disaster happened whan a sinkhole opened at the Mosaic New Wales phospho gypsum Gypstack and Mosaic New Wales Chemical Plant MOSAIC IN THE NEWS LAST MONTH

Harde County Fire Rescue crews battled an early morning tanker truck fire on US 301 south of Rhodine Rd. The tanker was carrying molten sulfur, but the fire was fueled by the cabʼs nat ural gas tanks which were venting when we ar rived on scene around 2:30 this morning.

Mosaic trucks molten sulpher for the chemi cal cocktail that they use in the benification process to separate the phosphate from the matrix. Mosaic hauls millions of gallons of concentrated molten sulfur through our neigh borhoods by Railway and trucking almost daily.

MOSAIC WILL NOT DISCLOSE WHAT THIS COCKTAIL CONSIST OF. Mosaic claims this is proprietary knowledge and the public should not be made aware of what is in their backyard.

Facility, only 10 minutes from the Mosaic Green Bay Facility. Over 215 million gallons of Blended Acidic Radioactive Wastewater burned through the Florida limestone then dumped into the Florida Aquifer. It was 19 days before Mosaic, FDEP and the EPA notified the Public.

Then on December 12, 2018 Mosaic Fertilizer LLC announced it found a 6 inch wide crack that was 100 feet long on the Mosaic Bartow South phospho gypsum Gypstack,

They manufacture acid from tankers of hot sulpher in order to to process their ore. This is the chemical plant.

and in February 2019 they announced they had found more Cracks on the Slope of the Mosaic Bartow South Gypstack.

Then in October 2019 Mosaic Fertilizer LLC made an announcement that the Mosaic Bartow South gypstack was leaking into the original old phospho gypsum stack next to it and that stack WAS NOT LINED and was instead open to the earth below.

This is why on Tuesday January 14, 2020, I requested that the Charlotte County BOCC file a Lawsuit against Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC, Polk County, Hardee County and Manatee County because everyday they are continually discharging 2.6 million gallons Blended Acidic Radioactive wastewater into the Peace River from the Mosaic Bartow South Gypstack – that's 78 Million gallons per month into our drinking water. And that’s not counting what is leaking into the aquifer, through the crack.

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Good or Bad? Superstition or Science?

PAGE

By Alan Williams Water LIFE Upper Harbor How many times have we had a great day fishing and thought how lucky we were to catch fish on every cast? Was it luck or were the stars and moon lined up in perfect unison?

I’ve noticed for many years that there is an invisible thread that runs through life. Cows know it as well as the birds and most importantly, the fish. Is it science or superstition?

One of my earliest memories as a young fisherman, growing up in Alabama, was my Uncle who would go outside of his brick home and touch the bricks to see if it was too hot to go down to his pond to fish. He also would observe the cows in the field to see what they were doing. If they were laying down, it wasn’t a good time to fish, which coincided with his “touch the brick” philosophy. But, if they were standing up and feeding, along with

APRIL 2020

the cattle egrets walking along with them, then it was Game On at the pond.

Many years have transpired since those early days and many days of time on the water. I have made numerous observations of nature coinciding with fishing.

Most have an easily understandable explanation, but some defy logic. However, that is the beauty of superstition. It can give you unbridled hope or dread.

Here’s some of my list, what about yours?

Bananas on a boat: For me it’s pure superstition, but I don’t want to anger Murphy, the Fishing God…so keep them off my boat!

Cows Laying Down – Be prepared to make extra casts and cover more water.

Full Moon equals stronger tides, which is good, but the fish can feed at night due to the light of the moon. The next day can be a tough bite. I like three/four days before or after the full moon or cloudy nights. My favorite moon is the new moon, which has all of the moving water benefits without the light.

Moon Up During the Day: This affects the tides in a weird way, I’m sure, but for me it’s an unwelcomed sign.

Bugs on the Water: This can be bad if they’re spread out which is a sign of no water movement. On the other hand, it’s a good sign if they’re bunched up and tight to the mangroves. This is a sign that cur-

rent is present.

Blue Bird Sky: This is a sign of high pressure, which affects the swim bladder of the fish, making them uncomfortable, keeping their strike zone small and not actively chasing baits.

Birds sitting high in trees: This is just like the cows….not a good sign for feeding.

Cormorants diving: A good sign that there is life in the area.

Alligators present: They’re never too far from the food source.

Osprey Nests: Again, they will be in an area with good potential for food.

Dolphin in the Back Country chasing bait: They are doing the same thing we are doing…Hunting fish.

Surrounded by Dolphin/Manatee Herds: Not a good sign, Keep Moving.

White butterflies on the Harbor: It’s Springtime and most importantly…Tarpon Time! When they show up the tarpon are close behind.

Those are my good and bad observations. I’m sure we all believe in some more than others. The bottom line is to be observant when you’re on the water. Nature can show you the way to a good day of fishing and most importantly, more bites! See you on the water!

Capt. Alan Williams 954 -347-5275 awilli9412@aol.com

APRIL 2020

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Fish with one of our Guides Youʼll learn new things and youʼll catch good fish!

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SPANISH MACKEREL In the Harbor in the Passes

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Fish you can expect in

SHARKS Lots of hungry roaming around

April

SPOTTED TROUT Big trout around the Harbor

JACK CREVALLE lots of nice jacks inshore and off

April – Predictions and Suggestions

Peace River Charlotte Harbor Frank at Fishin’ Franks 941-625-3888

Fishing is pretty good, I think. With snook, redfish and trout closed, I’m going to do an Eatin’ Fish Report.

Let’s start with tripletail. There are some around the Markers and traps in Charlotte Harbor. There are still a few in the Gulf, if you can find debris you’ll find them. The markers in Boca Grande Pass are holding a nice amount too.

Black drum, the good eating size is 20- to 24-inches. There are some in Ackerman and some at the 41 bridge. I heard there may be some close to Sanibel too, but I can’t confirm that.

Cobia are in the near Gulf on the reefs, the guys are having a ball with them.

We’re seeing some in the Harbor too, up to the Alligator Creek Reef. From Mkr No. 5 to the Cape Haze Reef, to Boca Pass and then out into the Gulf, there are cobia wanting to eat threadfins and gold spoons.

There are a few decent mangrove snapper at Cape Haze and you really want to hit the near shore reefs like Mary’s and Power Pole where there’s a lot of 12-inchers. Boca and Captiva have some too, on south side, in 30-feet of water.

Spanish Mackerel are in pretty much most of the Harbor and out in the near Gulf from 5-miles out where there are still some good fish schools.

Sheepshead at Placida are still pretty good, but not great. At Bull Bay, there have been some under the shacks and on structure, they are bigger as up around Lemon Bay. Some of the biggest sheepshead I’ve ever seen this year.

Flounder are on the flats at Cape Haze and just north of the Phosphate Dock. Not great, but in fishable numbers.

Whiting are up by the 1-75 Bridge.

Pompano are fair along the beaches and out in front of Bull and Turtle Bay. Freshwater is going crazy Bluegill, tilapia and largemouth bass are the three main species. Bass average about 4 pounds. Fish June bugs, Texas rigged, bottom bouncing.

Tilapia and bluegills are eating wigglers, usually under a float or free lined with a casting bubble. Don’t try any artificials, wigglers, that’s what they want!

Lemon Bay, Placida, Gasparilla Sound Capt. Kaelin Olayer Flyin’ Hawaiian Fishing Charters 941-716-1425 Spring is here and fishing is great! The water is warming up to the mid 70s, bait is showing up all over the place and the fish have been eating well.

Inshore fishing is getting really good now that the whitebait is thick. The snook are starting to come out of the creeks and rivers and stack up on the outer bars and islands. Fishing both the east and west walls of Charlotte Harbor, as well as Turtle and Bull Bay can be a good place to start when targeting snook this month.

The outer islands around Boca Grande and the islands and flats along the ICW in Lemon Bay have been producing some nice fish as well. There are some big snook around, so don’t be surprised if you hook a 40-inch-plus fish! There has been some nice redfish hanging along the same areas.

Whitebait and pinfish are the most productive baits.

The Gulf fishing has been on fire as well! The spring migratory fish have showed up in full force! The water is gin clear and there is bait everywhere. On the near shore artificial reefs, you can expect to see some cobia, permit, barracuda, bonita and Spanish mackerel. I have even heard a few reports of sailfish sightings in close!

Right off the beach, there have been acres of Spanish mackerel and a few kingfish chasing baits. Trolling spoons around the pods of bait can provide great action and some good eating fish! The same pods of bait have been holding a lot of sharks as well. We’ve been catching some blacktips, spinner and even a few hammerhead sharks near the mackerel.

Red grouper have been biting in the 70-to 100-foot range, along with a pile of lane and vermillion snappers. Live pinfish have been the ticket for the grouper.

There has been some blackfin tuna, kingfish and cobia showing up in this depth as well, so always keep a freeline bait out while bottom fishing. The deeper wrecks have been holding a pile of amberjack, some kingfish and cobia, along with some barracudas. Sharks and goliath groupers have been fired up on those wrecks!

Stay healthy and safe, there will be plenty of hungry fish when this is over.

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Nearshore water temps are now in the low 70s Fish are moving around

95˚ 90˚ 85˚ 80˚

75˚ 72˚ 70˚ 68˚ 50˚ 45˚

FISHING RIGHT NOW: EXCELLENT! Englewood Bait House

Head-Boat Offshore Fishing 941- 475-4511

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APRIL 2020