Water LIFE July 2020

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Charlotte Harbor, Lemon Bay, Venice, Estero, 10,000 Islands and the Gulf

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Huge bullshark caught in Boca Grande while chasing tarpon with Nauti Knots Charters.

July 2020

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Michael Cantasano with a150 pound Peace River tarpon, fishing with Capt. Matt DeGaeta Capt. Paul DeGaeta photo

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Fishing buddies, Luke and Easton catching bass in Prairie Creek

First Place yellowtail: 23-inches Sebastian Beadle #329

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Contributing Editors:

Photography: ASA1000.com Senior Editor: Capt. Ron Blago Baitshop: Fishinʼ Frank Upper Harbor: Cameron Parson Peace River: Capt. Dave Stephens Punta Gorda: Alan Williams Estero: Capt. Joe Angius Everglades: Capt. Charlie Phillips Sailing: Fran Burstein Pier Fishing: Bobby Vitalis Diving: Adam Wilson From the Ponds: Nicholas J

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Sunseeker Resort Progress Report COMMENTARY

BY MICHAEL HELLER

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Allegiant Airlines, the parent company of the Sunseeker project in Port Charlotte, ended 2019 1.4 billion in debt. Since then the mostly leisure travel airline has lost additional altitude, financially Allegiant has 86 A300 series aircraft, all are about 15 years old. Airliners can’t just be parked. They require regularly scheduled maintenance. Pilots require proficiency training, ground hubs require upkeep.

Fuel bills must be paid. The Federal payroll assistance plan is helping Allegiant, but when that runs out, then what?

In anticipation, Allegiant has closed its family entertainment The deck forms were removed from one building last month. centers’ in Michigan and Utah to, they said, ‘preserve cash.’

Allegiant’s Sunseeker projto secure it for the long term. ect was shut down in April. Towards the The large metal forms used in the pourend of last month workers were on the site ing of concrete decking for each floor were Dear Capt. Ron In response to "Who Took My Parking Spot" . A person bicycle riding the Pioneer Trail might have taken it. The trail ends almost across the street. It could be someone just taking a leisurely walk. My wife tells me I need 10,000 steps per day. It could be a fellow fisherman in a well decked out fishing kayak.

I have kayaked from this unofficial launch many times, arriving 1.5 to 2 hours before my group launch time. You are correct, I do this to get a parking space. I paddle up Coral Creek with the extra time and have never seen more than 2 people at once on the fishing pier in the morning or early evening hours. If the County blocks this path, I believe the parking lot would be underutilized. We will never know for sure though, unless we

being removed. The cranes would supposedly be taken down by the middle of July.

Lengths of steel re-bar, left extended beyond the top of each wall to connect to the concrete of the next floor when it is poured might be a problem if Mother Nature takes over and they begin to rust. Rust knows no master.

Rust will continue down into the concrete below. And as the steel rusts it expands and cracks the concrete around it. It is a slow and unstoppable process. There is no coming back from rusted steel in concrete, it only gets worse so if they are coming back, they better have a plan for the rebar sticking up right now.

Compounding the ‘better have a plan’ problems currently on Sunseeker’s plate is the Kingsway Golf Course. .Allegiant purchased the golf course and stripped it for a rebuilding. Then the pandemic hit and now Kingsway residents are supposedly bringing a lawsuit against Allegiant because of all the dirt. But that lawsuit will have to fall in behind the lawsuits from construction contractors and sub contractors who are suing because they were abruptly terminated when there was no ordered shut down. So far, the year 2020, it seems, has been good to no one.

spend several hours in the lot over several days surveying the users.

Do you ever launch your two kayaks at a boat launch? I would think anyone launching a power boat would be happy a kayak is staying out of their way by using this unofficial launch.

As far as registering, do you really want the hassle of registering 3 more water craft, applying numbers and a sticker and paying the fees?

There is a large grassy no parking area next to this lot. Perhaps MAC could get the County to expand parking to this area. I don't know what MAC is, but I can applaud some of their efforts. If you really want to see a parking problem, drive over to Englewood Beach after the pandemic is over. :) Sincerely, Dale Nees Note: MAC is the Countyʼs Marine Advisory Committee

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Peacock Hot PAGE

By Cameron Parson Water LIFE It's hot. Super hot. My last column was about summer time fishing spillways and such with the heavy rains we usually get during the hot season. But, we haven't gotten much since then, hardly a drop it seems.

The weather wants to bark more than bite.

But, plenty of fishing can still be done.

For the last few years, I've been hunting peacock bass during the summer months. And for one main reason- they'll eat most all day, even in blistering heat.

The Everglades are a great place to start. There are multiple areas with public access to fishing and trail hiking. And most will have fish in them - most of them within casting range. And most fish can be sight-casted with a small Rapala plug in fire-tiger color... or most anything resembling a small minnow of some sort.

I started off with using live shiners.

They worked, but a lot of fish would simply kill them rather than eat them. So I started experimenting. Small shiners gained more attention than medium shiners. And decent sized minnows gained more attention than any of the shiners. But minnows would often come off the hook when casted. That's when I turned to the fly.

Fly fishing was something that had always been on my mind, but just never got around to doing for one reason or another.

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I started, and it tested my patience, so I'd put it down again for a while. Learning the ways was proving to be a challenge. Then, a local angler gave me a bit of advice... to give myself a target to throw at. You'll learn much faster rather than just practice-casting in your yard.

He was absolutely correct.

My first time targeting peacock was the lure that stuck me to fly fishing. And made me challenge myself even more with snook, redfish, trout, and other species.

So, my good friend Patrick and I pointed the truck to the Everglades.

Remembering that the bait size did matter, I chose a fly that resembled minnow.

We spotted a small school of fish and I tossed in. It worked, well. Almost too well.

Even in the hottest part of the day, most every fish ate it without hesitation. I caught my first peacock on the fly. Patrick decided to give it a shot and did the same with the same success.

Within the next few trips we realized

that most of the fish we caught were well after the sun topped the horizon. We would catch a few early, but the bigger and better fish waited until the sun was shining. You would think that when the overcast rolled in, the fish would keep chewing. Not in this case, they shut off almost immediately. And almost completely. It was a task to get a fish to eat after those thunderheads covered the sun.

Peacock bass hold a special place in my memories for being the fish that hooked me into fly fishing. But, it was after doing some research and talking to other anglers that we found out about targeting fish that eat during the heat of the day. It was something different to do. We didn't know how much of a challenge it would be, but we were up for it. Skunked or not, it's all about having fun and the thrill of the hunt.

Be sure to stay properly prepared in this summer’

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Testing from the Bottom Up

By Michael Heller Water LIFE editor I’m still suffering the effects of a sciatic nerve injury, so while I roll around like an alligator, looking for a position that doesn’t hurt, allow me to tell you about a neat little device that in 25 years of local reporting I have neither seen or even heard mentioned before.

I know, me not knowing about something is not a measuring stick, but still, this could change everything.

Shown here is a Wildco® Alpha Horizontal Water Bottle. It’s very similar to the Kemmerer vertical water bottle - which I also didn’t know about! They are both based on a 1927 design by Dr. George Kemmerer at the University of Wisconsin.

Around the country, limnologists (who study lakes and other fresh water bodies) and fishery biologists, use these devices to collect water samples. An original 50 year old box that one came in says: With few moving parts and a foolproof trip, this device offers a trouble-free life.

The key feature of both bottles are the valves that allow the bottles to sink and then collect water samples from the bottom of the water column.

Why these devices are not being used regularly in the monitoring of our Harbor,

lakes and rivers is beyond me.

I mean, you would think if we wanted a healthy estuary we’d be monitoring ‘all’ the water in it, not just the water on top.

We’d be monitoring the bottom, where pollution sinks and we’d be measuring upstream from where we take our drinking water.

What if we found pesticides, excess nutrients, sewage and phosphate mine residue all combined together down at the bottom? I feel there is a good chance that’s exactly what is down there.... probably in pockets of toxic concentration.

I’ve long advocated we test the bottoms of the rivers and Harbor. I have been looking for reports or papers written about bottom testing in the past, but I have only found two reports and one of those is a proposal for a project not yet started.

We are in a situation where the phosphate mining industry has been given permission by the State to dilute their toxic industrial acidic and radioactive waste and then releases it into our rivers and aquifers. It is released at very small levels but the releases go on continually, 24/7/365 and that has been going on for years.

So my thinking is, we need to look at what’s accumulating down there. And we

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A device like this is used to collects water from the bottom of the water column. We could be using these but no one involved in water testing around here wants to know what is in the water, at the bottom of the rivers, bays or harbor.

need to look regularly. All that solid material is percipitating out of solutions and settling on the bottom. It then mixes with the bottom muck. I used to think the muck should be the focus for pollution study, but muck is too variable and taking core samples involves a drilling rig. Water is easier to test, especially with one of these bottom samplers.

With these collecting devices we could start monitoring the bottoms and begin comparing that water to the surface. A simple wide scale testing program would not be that hard to conduct and the results would be easy to conclude. Either

there is a problem we didn’t know about or there isn’t.

We need to look at surface and bottom water in the Peace River from Bartow down to the Gulf. We need to look at the Caloosahatchee from Lake O to Sanibel.

We need to look at Charlotte Harbor, Estero Bay and the Pine Island Sound. In a week, two guys on a boat could collect a lot of samples. In another week the same two guys in a truck could collect more.

Lets do that six times a year and see what we get. If we do nothing we’re letting MOSAIC get away with murder. It’s time we do something.

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Dollar Bill Challenge 1st Period WINNERS!

From the Tournament Director

Period #1: May 16 to June 15

JULY 2020

Period #2 now fishing: June 16 - July 15

Everyone should have a t-shirt now. If you didnʼt get yours, please let me know and Iʼll get you one.

It is really great to see that the first place mangrove snapper and the first place tilapia came from fishing the pier at Laishley Park. Good job Reid Locke! This proves you donʼt have to have a boat to do well in this tournament! But you do have to read the rules. There are, intentionally, no sharks or tarpon on the list of eligible species. I just feel that all six year olds are not ready to be close to these fish.

If you want to do well in this event you have to keep track of what the other anglers are catching. We will report the longest fish in each species every month, but we wonʼt publish a running total of anglerʼs points until the tournament ends.

Youʼll have to have a game plan and a strategy to win.

If you are a first place winner, we are keeping ʻrod creditsʼ until the end. I am not sure if they will be redeemable at Fishinʼ Franks or if there will be some other way to redeem them. Please bare with us, your winnings are safe either way! BUT.. If you would rather have a Shakespeare Agility combo NOW, for your first place win, simply let me know.

WINNERS: Lures for second place will be ready to pick up at The BoatHouse in Port Charlotte on July 6

myan cichlid

p i n fi s h

mangrove sn apper First Place Mangrove Snapper: 13-inches, Reid Locke #343 2nd: Leonardo DʼOrazio #313, 10-inches

First Place Myan Cichlid: 11.25-inches, Reid Locke #343 2nd: Luke DʼOrazio 9.5 inches

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First Place Pinfish: 6.5-inches Juliana Flores #341

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Dollar Bill Challenge 1st Period WINNERS! Period #1: May 16 to June 15

Period #2 now fishing: June 16 - July 15

sailcat

yellowt ail

tila pia

First Place tilapia: 12-inches Devin Boe #331 2nd:Shawn Boe, #330, 11.5 inches

First Place yellowtail: 23-inches Sebastian Beadle #329

First Place sailcat: 17-inches Ben Koebel #328 2nd: # 316 James Jurisko 16-inches

jack crevalle

trout

r e d fi s h

First Place trout: 16-inches Anthony Rice #320 First Place redfish: 27-inches Ryan Larson #325 2nd: #305 Alyx Schaefer 24.25 inches

Tournament Director notes: Nice trout but towells wipe the slime off a trout and almost assure the fish will die when released. Handle most fish with wet hands and no towells. This will be in the rules next year!

Thank You to all our Sponsors!

First Place jack crevalle: 22.5-inches Dylan Schaefer #304 2nd: #319 Luke DʼOrazio 20-inches

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Dollar Bill Challenge 1st Period WINNERS! Period #1: May 16 to June 15

Period #2 now fishing: June 16 - July 15

snook

JULY 2020

ma ckerel

bass

First Place bass: 16.5 inches Ryan Larson#325 2nd: #330 Shawn Boe 14-inches

Englewood Bait House & the REEF RAIDER offshore head boat

First Place snook: 25-inches Thomas Jurisko #316 2nd: #329 Sebastian Beadle 18.5-inches

First Place Spanish mackerel: 22.5-inches Christopher Perry #303 2nd: #321 Ethan Rice 16-inches

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L a d y fi s h

Gar First Place gar: 25-inches Emma Koebel #306 2nd: #302 Justin Medina 20.5-inches

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First Place ladyfish: 21-inches Gabriel Setser #315 2nd: #340 Jacob Florea 16-inches

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Dollar Bill Challenge 1st Period WINNERS! Period #1: May 16 to June 15

Period #2 now fishing: June 16 - July 15

b l u e fi s h

First Place spadefish: 11.25-inches Dylan Schaefer #304

l ane sn apper

First Place bluefish: 19.75-inches Alyx Schaefer #305

First Place lane snapper: 14-inches Christopher Perry #303 2nd: #327 Julius Acosta 9.5-inches

1516 SE 46th St. Cape Coral, FL 33904 (239) 549-2628

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CHARLOTTE HARBOR:

By Capt. David Stephens Water LIFE Charlotte Harbor It is, without a doubt, summer time and the only thing that can be hotter than our weather this time of year is the fishing.

Over the past few weeks the flats fishing has really heated up.

The snook fishing on the flats has been crazy. The past several trips I have ran, we have managed to put over 50 fish to the boat before lunch. The majority of the fish have been schoolies in the 18-to 24-inch range, however we have been getting some shots at bigger females too.

On a recent trip we sight fished two large snook over 36inches. Live bait has been getting the most bites the past couple weeks for us. Our bait has spawned out, so it’s been on the

smaller side. I’m not a big fan of using bobbers, but due to the bait size, right now it’s a must. The good news is the fish don’t seem to mind.

For the anglers that like to take some fish home for dinner, the mangrove snapper have moved into the Harbor thick. It seems almost any deep point, or mangrove over hang is holding snapper. Also the potholes on the flats have been holding fish. The smaller bait works great

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Still Snook - tarpon moving up now

JULY 2020

As summer gets into full swing we should start seeing tarpon moving into the harbor. The normal places like the deeper holes will be good places to locate fish. I prefer to get out early while the winds are calm and look for fish rolling.

Try to set up with the fish coming to you. It’s never a good idea to chase the school, all your going to do is make it more difficult to get a bite. The chances of you being the only angler on the school is slim, so respect your fellow angler.

Larger baits are often used for these guys. Baits such as threadfin herring and ladyfish. During the middle of summer our water temps can hit the upper 80s, so I recommend using heavy tackle on large tarpon. The faster you can land your fish the better its survival rate is Summer time in South West Florida generally comes with fast moving storms in the afternoon. Be cautious and keep an eye in the sky.

We have a great fishery here this time of year, you just got to be careful of Mother Nature and bring extra water with you. People get over heated this time of year.

If you would like to experience some

for these guys. I recommend down sizing your tackle, 20pound fluorocarbon leader and a No.1 hook. It seems these guys can be a little bobber shy, so I use a small split shot for added weight.

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 backbayxtremes.com

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Rick Abrhams Spanish mackeral

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June with her big redgrouper and Debra with a nice lane

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Scott Lenart with Billy Rack.

Nice mangrove snapper

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Gary Reger with red snapper fishing off Englewood.

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Report from the Ponds:

Ringing the Dinner Bell

By Nicholas J Water LIFE Bass Addict Summer is here now and the spawning cycle for largemouths should be more or less in the final phase... but with the weather patterns, sometimes it's hard to tell.

You will still find big mama bass if you get lucky and there are bank-cruising lunker males who's focus now is primarily on feeding.

The challenge for hooking trophy bass is met by using a variety of soft plastics baits and lures to get the attention of pond Monsters and draw them to your bank location.

I use a technique I refer to as 'ringing the dinner bell' - I will explain that more, later in this report. At this time of year my strategies and tactics change from day to day, due to the erratic tropical patterns and the extreme heat. It’s all been affecting the ponds and the bite for the last few months now.

Massive amounts of water have filled the ponds to the brim quickly. It will take a little bit of time for the largemouths’ equilibrium to re-stabilize and for them to get moving around again and regain their appetite.

Now that there's more bank cover again for bait fish within a few feet of the bank, fishing will get better as time goes on. More cover will definitely draw huge hungry bass to the banks to feed.

The sad news for me is I lost a good percentage of bank space to fish from due to the increased high water levels, so I can't get to my honey hole spots for a while till the water levels drop again.

Water clarity is terrible right now in some ponds that receive a lot of run off.

Polarized glasses are a must, especially on overcast days. Many of my trophy pond monsters I have spotted and hooked have been bank cruisers that I

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would of never have seen without polarized glasses.

The almost daily thunderstorms that begin around sunset (my favorite time to fish) made it impossible for me to get out. The extreme daily heat with feel like temps averaging 105+ degrees was sucking the life out of me while I was pond hopping and casting nonstop in gusty winds.

My arms felt like they wanted to fall off after a 2-hour fishing session The barometric pressure barley stays steady, constantly changing constantly up and down through the day and that is effecting the bite too. My most recent Deptherm reading (left), just before this report, was 94 degrees at 18 ft deep that’s bass jacuzzi water!

I believe bass are staying suspended way deeper then I can cast from the bank. This past month was one of the toughest and roughest for bass fish-

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ing I have had in the past six years, but I still managed to hook a few bass and a few decent lunkers.

The weedless frog, top water action, is starting to pick up again, especially along the banks where there is cover. They are starting to strike the Junebug Sticko again, out deep and close to the bank, I am also starting to get hits on the swim jig with a partial zoom Horny toad attached.

There is a lot of bait fish along the banks right now from all the spring hatchlings like bluegill, tilapia and Myan cichlids so you can try and match the hatch for success now, too.

I believe at night, after the daily storms pass, and it’s finally calm, the big lunker largemouths are moving around and feeding more.

That can be another reason for the very slow day activity.

Earlier I had mentioned my technique "Ringing the Dinner Bell," now let me explain.

When bass are really playing hard to get and not moving around much in the spot you are, don’t give up, just start

PAGE 11

fan casting top water and underwater chatter baits.

Do it repeatedly to draw the attention of largemouths from far and deep or opposite banks of the ponds. With little patience you will get a hungry lunker to come over to check out the commotion and get that strike.

A bass can cover a long distance with little effort when it needs to, or once it gets excited. I have hooked many bass with this technique when all else fails.

You can mix up your retrieval speeds depending on the activity level of bass.

My lunker bass of the month (above) was on June 6 th at sunset on the Booyah Popping frog after a heavy rainstorm and very tough bite session. Unfortunately this past month I lost 3 or 4 trophy pond monsters that could of been the one.... but due to some bad hooksets and off strikes, all I can do is hope for another opportunity to hook them again.

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FISH PIX! 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

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from Water LIFE magazine

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

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6 yr old Easton Weatherholt of North Port using swimbaits to catch these nice bass

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Bruce Barnes did a lot of catch and release bonnet head sharkʼs fishing with Capt. Rick Kelley

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Patty Olson from Orlando, fishing with son Hunter

from Water LIFE magazine

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Hunter Olson, Orlando, Fl. Visiting and fishing with his Mom, Patty Olson

Sophy Matthew's caught this Jack Crevalle in Bull Bay

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Ethan Mix, a young Goliath Grouper

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Ron snapper

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26 inch slot redfish at Boca Grande by Michael Mitchell

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Parker Matthews caught this redfish on Alligator Creek.

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Danny Godwin with 30-pound tarpon caught on a bluegill

Wes Gibson caught this sheepshead in Burnt Store Isles.

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PAGE 13

FISH PIX! 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

Two tarpon caught in Boca Grande Pass with Nauti Knots Charters

In Boca Grande Pass by Nauti Knots Charters

Karine Walters - first tarpon @ Boca pass; 70-inches to the fork

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Suzy Brickel caught this nice snook in Bull Bay!

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Another tarpon caught by Shawn Skobel in Gasparilla Pass

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Ron with Captain Billy

Suzy Brickel caught this grouper in the Boca Grande Pass

A nice Catfish Creek red

by Joe Sheaffer 6/1/20

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Capt. John Osborn, nice redfish from Charlotte Harbor

14

All Manatees Go To Heaven

PAGE

On the Line

By Capt. Ron Blago Water LIFE Senior Staff With the Covid-19 virus quarantine still in place and the extremely hot and humid weather we are having lately it’s hard to get motivated in the morning. On days like these I spend my time doing research on one of my favorite subjects: Manatees.

To get the latest and most accurate data I use the MyFWC.com website.

About a year ago, the FWC revised their previously confusing website and converted it into an “almost impossible to find what you want to know” website. Now it has a lot of pretty pictures, but you have to work twice as hard to find useful data.

All I wanted to know was the manatee mortality data for this year. By using the FWC’s search engine I was able to work my way through their maze and find what I was looking for, so let’s talk about dead manatees.

In the past, the FWC has made an effort to recover all dead manatees and bring them to the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FMRI) in St. Pete to determine the cause of death.

This is where things get a little crazy. The FMRI places all dead manatees in one of nine categories for cause of death. You will be happy to know that no manatee has ever died from old age; it’s not one of the nine categories!

Red Tide is also not one of the categories. They lump them into a category called Natural Other, even though Red Tide accounts for a large number of deaths especially in our area.

Cold Stress deaths is a separate category, even though those deaths only occur three months of the year. So you see, all dead manatees are not created equal, it depends on what category they put you in.

So how are manatees doing so far this year? Well, the data up till

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6/19/2020 shows 329 dead manatees; for all of 2019 there were 606. So far this year there were 8 deaths due to red tide and 38 due to cold stress; for all of last year there were 71 red tide and 64 cold stress deaths. Most of those numbers, I would put in the normal range.

What is not normal is the increase in the Undetermined category. For years Undetermined was the largest single category of manatee deaths. The FMRI has recently expanded the undetermined category by expanding it to three categories; undetermined because the carcass was too decomposed. Undetermined because the necropsy did not show a clear cause of death. The third category has been around a long time, but was not very significant until recently. It is Verified / Not Recovered. The numbers in this category have increased a lot in the last couple of years.

Last year there were 129 Verified / Not Recovered for the whole year, but for the first half of this year there have already been 119 put in this category.

The Verified / Not Recovered category is a mystery to me; what does verified mean ? If you find a dead manatee do they send someone from the Marine Patrol or the Sheriff's Marine Division or the Coast Guard to tell

you that it is a manatee and it’s dead?

Does someone verify it? And what does unrecovered mean: if you find a dead manatee do they just leave it there, now? Do you transport the carcass up to St. Pete, or do you take it to some secret manatee graveyard, or maybe you just cut it up and throw it in the dumpster.

In the old days, they would tail rope a dead manatee and tow it offshore a few miles, cut it loose and let nature take its course . Today it seems that the FMRI is losing interest in recovering dead manatees.

Could it be a staffing issue ? The FMRI only has 600 employees at their St. Pete office and this does not include their staff in the field. Maybe it's a money problem; this year's FMRI budget was only $72,520,820, bearly enough to get by.

The problem is, that by having such a high number of undetermined manatee deaths, it throws off the usefulness of all the data. Take Charlotte County as an example; so far this year there have been 9 manatees reported dead, 8 of them have been put into the Verified/Not Recovered category. This information is both very strange and useless.

Captronb@juno.com

JULY 2020

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

Five year old Logan Karol (top) caught this awesome largemouth bass....

3 year-old Landon caught his bass with a little help from his mom from Water LIFE magazine

Reid Lock with two largemouth bass

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• 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 •

• 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

Warm Water Sparks Fireworks in Shark Fishing

By Capt. John Brossard Water LIFE Sharks With the water up to 89 degrees these days, the fishing is just as hot as the weather.

The evening rain cools it down after the sun sets which also turns on the fishing.

Shark fishing has been very good on the near shore reefs, the sandbars, and in the backwaters of the 10,000 Islands.

There is a variety to pick from, On some trips, we have caught 6- to 8-different types of shark, from 1-foot to 9-foot long.

This time of year is when you never know what will be at the end of your line. From huge stingrays, sawfish, goliath groupers to snook we were surprised by it all last month.

Watch the afternoon rains, then after the rains end watch out! The fish become very hungry in the evening and after dark.

Big snook have been cruising near shore too

Happy sharking and be sure to practice Catch and Release when you are not bringing them home for dinner.

Capt John Brossard 239-777-9279 www.SharkChaserCharters.com

SHARK TIPS:

Tides and moon make a huge difference in any type of fishing including fishing for sharks.

Each month we have a full moon and a new moon. That is when the tides are at their strongest. This is when fish tend to feed the most.

Fishing is always better during moving water.

At slack tide between High and Low, fishing is at its worst.

If you can plan your fishing during a good moving tide, you will be more successful in catching.

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READERʼS PHOTOS Send us ur fish pix! Weʼll use ʻem!! see page 4

"My boy" Tommy with a real nice black seabass after a great day out with the Slim Jim!

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

James Knight nice snook Boca Grande

from Water LIFE magazine

Young Wylie caught a monster peacock bass with Capt. Fred Gowdy, Golden Gate canals

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Steve Henke caught this snook in Bull Bay

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Kim Whitmore from Avon Indiana 26 inch snook at Shell Point

Rachel Camp with Capt Dan Camp and a nice Estero Bay snook

Jen Perkins Shell Creek, 31.5 inches

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Dylan Willis Kingfish

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Paul Fontaine of Lehigh Nice 4.5 pound bass, catch and release

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Reid Lock with a nice tilapia

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Everglades & 10,000 Islands - Still Lots of Tarpon

By Capt. Charlie Phillips Water LIFE / Everglades City June was a great month down in the Everglades and 10,000 Islands. We have had a wonderful bite going on for a variety of species, both inshore and off. In addition, we have finally had the phone ringing and people looking to get out and enjoy a day on the water.

The combination of the two together make for a happy captain I promise.

Looking ahead, July usually starts the slow down of my season as things get steaming hot, but who knows what this year will bring, just have to wait and see. Enough on that, let’s talk specifics.

Inshore, we have been throwing shrimp tipped Don’s Potbelly jigs in the deep channels on the low tides and targeting large mangrove snapper, snook, redfish and trout.

We have had large schools of jacks running these same cuts feasting on the schools of glass minnows present in the eddies that have been a regular catch for my customers as well. Jacks don’t get the appreciation they deserve in my opinion as pound for pound they are one the hardest fighters that swim. I never turn down the opportunity to tell my guest to cast into a school of feeding jacks as it’s a guaranteed hookup.

Lots of resident tarpon thru the area now and they can be targeted es-

pecially well early morning and late evening when the wind is light, and the water is smooth. These fish will feed on the outside flats and points as well as where those channels I mentioned earlier empty into the big bays

they usually lead to. Using live bait like ladyfish or mullet work as well as artificial in the soft plastic and hard bait varieties.

Whatever you choose, match your tackle appropriately as some of these are big fish and if you have too light of gear you increase the stress on the

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fish as well set it up for death by a predator during the fight or shortly after. This should be a good thing to consider in all things you fish for.

Offshore as well has been good for us lately. This month we had solid catches of red and gag grouper. Big snapper in both the mangrove and lane category. Some nice permit, big jacks (some over 20 pounds which are a blast) and a few slot cobia. I tend to look for all these fish around my areas of structure, though the jacks, permit and even the cobia may be well off the actual number itself. If you are set up fishing the bottom. I would suggest always having a chum bag and slick going and keep a flatline out with a livebait as you never know who is lurking just out of sight. And also keep an eye to the sky as it is inevitable that at some point there will be rain. Small boats in big storms are no fun.

Y’all be careful out there, have a happy 4th of July and see you next month.

Capt. Charlie Phillips, President, Florida Guides Assn.

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

PAGE 17

FISH PIX!

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

James Chambliss 30-inch red snapper, biggest snapper I have ever caught!

Greg Kostera, snook, Estero Bay, snook, 29-inches

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18

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

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JULY 2020

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Brandon Walters- first tarpon @ boca pass; 86-inches to fork, 200-220lbs approx.

Noah Brown of Punta Gorda caught and released first big snook, Marco Island

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

My 13 year old son just caught this on the PG Bridge, Kaiden Stanton. He had to reel it all the way to end of bridge walk around and jump in to grab it off his pole!

FISH PIX!

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

The Silver King

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Chuck and the fish is a jack

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Barron Henke caught this nice trout in Bull Bay

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Leader, squirrel fish and Pass Tarpon- Tim Saewert

FISH PIX!

Matt Armstrong Charlotte Harbor from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Christina Nech - black drum caught in canal in Port Charlotte

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Robert Butler PB. # 10.65

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Mike Kusmierek Captiva Island, American red snapper

JULY 2020

Estero Bay:

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Silver Dollars

By Capt. Joe Angius Water LIFE Estero Southwest Florida has officially entered summer and the heat has been here to prove it. Taking safety precautions before, during, and after your day on the water is what could prevent heat exhaustion, along with other potential health threats. It’s important to communicate these conditions to the anglers coming out on the boat because you may not know what underlying conditions they may have already.

A great example is a client that I had booked and their son has a sensitive skin disorder. On my flats boat there’s no cover or t-top to protect us from the elements.

When I reached out to them the day before our trip and notified them of our current weather conditions, they were able to prepare for the day by buying appropriate clothing, sunblock, hats, and sunglasses for their son. To Floridians this may seem like just-another-day, but to others that are not familiar with our way of life can be a rude awakening.

The several mornings this past month I woke up to severe heat advisories from my weather app. Immediately I think to

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myself, “I better do my job and catch a lot of fish before it gets too hot..” Even if I’m doing the best job at guiding, a cloudless day where the bite is just as fast as the

where there’s no relief from the sun, I try to move from place-to-place. By doing this I’m able to cool down my clients by getting on plane with my boat and when we arrive to the new spot, if there isn’t a bite within the first 20 to 30 minutes I’ll continue to move.

wind can really take a toll on everyone’s energy.

I try to plan to fish areas that require more patience at the beginning of our trip.

Using cut baits or waiting for schools of fish to pass a certain areas takes time. Toward the end of the trip, on the days

One of my all-time favorite types of fishing to do during the summer months is evening and night fishing. There’s little to no sun to deal with, the fish can be more active during this time and the best part is you get to sleep in. Any calls about booking an afternoon I will do my best to try and get them on the water later in the day

SCUTTLEBUTT

PAGE 19

and before the sun goes down.

My main focus is on juvenile tarpon, snook, and the occasional redfish when it comes to late afternoon fishing. From now until September is typically the best success for these “silver dollars”. The other alternative to evening fishing is to fish dark and early. By dark and early I mean being at my first fishing spot with bait and my clients before the sun begins to rise. A lot of people love fishing this early with me because for one it’s not as hot, it’s a new perspective on how to fish, and they’re usually back on land in time for lunch and the Price is Right.

The weather is heating up but so is the fishing, so don’t get discouraged when you see the days ‘feel like’ temperatures.

Take necessary safety precautions and be sure to drink water. Avoid drinking soda or sugary beverages and if you decide to drink alcohol, be sure to drink water in between having a drink or two. I’ve witnessed heat exhaustion several times and typically when you realize that you need to drink more water it is already too late.

Enjoy what our area has to offer safely and responsibly when you’re on your next outdoor adventure.

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

Sometimes Unsubstanciated, But Often True

BAY SCALLOP SEASON opens July 1 in Franklin-Jefferson, a portion of Taylor County, & Levy-Hernando Recreational bay scallop season for Franklin through the northwestern portion of Taylor County, as well as Levy, Citrus and Hernando counties opens July 1 and will remain open through Sept. 24. This includes Carrabelle, Lanark, St. Marks, Cedar Key, Crystal River and Homosassa. If you have never been scalloping before, it is a fun day in the water, but be advised, social distancing on land may not be easy. The place gets busy.

Covid hit and the FWC went MIA. Thereʼs hasnʼt been a weekly FWC report since March 19

Six-time Guiness World Record holder and Marine Corps veteran Angela Madsen died last month during a solo attempt to row from California to Hawaii. Madsen, 60, had hoped to become the first paraplegic and oldest woman ever to complete this three- to four-month feat. Angela Madsen last checked in via satellite at 0900 on Sunday morning. In a planned evolution, Angela intended to go into the water to reshackle her bow sea anchor bridle, which had become disconnected. She did not check in again for several hours, and her shore team called for assistance.

Last Month (June) Marked Ken Jonesʼ 27th anniversary of being rescued by the US Coast Guard after drifting without a boat for 15 hours, 20 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.

Ken wrote: “My friend, Jeff Price, and I had taken a day off of work and gone out to do some spearfishing. We were both in the water, 65 feet down when a fierce summer squall, complete with pea sized hail and heavy winds with lots of lightning blew our boat off the anchor. I tried swimming after it but it was just ant sized on the horizon.. We couldn't find a "boat man" to go with us and stay in the boat, so we risked it alone. (Question Later: Did you ever dive again without someone on board?.... “oh yeah, we did, well, you know we were usually pretty careful.”) That lack of caution got us into the predicament. It was a long night. My friend Jeff was scared but all I can remember is the milky way. The sky was so big and bright and alive, There was a good phosphorescence in the water that night after the storm, I didnʼt think I was going to die, it was more of an experience.”

By the grace of God both their wives (both pregnant) alerted the Coast Guard who had also been alerted of their boat found adrift. “We saw them searching that night but they found our boat which had reanchored further north so they were searching too far north from where we were. We could see the helicopter, but it was far.”

The next morning the USS Coast Guard Cutter Point Steele found us.I still think how stupid we were not to have flashlights, whistles, flares, or anything that might have helped us be rescued early...but you get the point. We were lucky, you may not be.

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Salvador holding up his ARS after a day of fishing with Capt Lou Silva

FISH PIX!

Jack Cronin with mom Meredith. We caught this deep dropping in 700 ft off the keys. Not sure of the species from Water LIFE magazine

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READERʼS PHOTOS Send us ur fish pix! Weʼll use ʻem!! see page 4

JULY 2020

FISH PIX! f r o m Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e

FISH PIX!

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Fisher Morris,Goliathd.

32 inch

from Water LIFE magazine

Jerry Jones from Coatsville Indiana

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Dustin Potts and an eater sheep

FISH PIX! FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Ron the shark man

from Water LIFE magazine

32 inch gag, Capt. Billy

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

40 Imperial River Capt Fred Gowdy...cover???

Jack Cronin landed this kitty Mitchell

Brooke Potts with a keeper flounder

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Ron and his daughter Lisa had a great Father's Day on the water

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Diana Uebelacker of Lake Suzy

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ADMINISTRATIVE DANGER! PHOSPHATE MINING HEARING GRANTED ALSO PHOSPHATE BAD

Commentary By Tim Ritchie Water LIFE / March Against Mosaic The Citizens Petitioner's have been granted the Administrative Hearing for Monday August 17, Tuesday August 18 and Wednesday August 19, 2020 in Tallahassee, Florida. The petitioner's have been interviewing attorneys and expert witnesses, a marine biologist, a geologist and a P.E. to appear at the Administrative Hearing.

Citizens petitioner's have started working on first set of interrogatories for petitioner's to send back to the respondant, MOSAIC FERTILIZER

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Matt Armstrong Boca

Reece Willis PB bass

LLC’s attorneys.

Petitioner's have started to work on Discovery & Interrogatories for Respondent's MOSAIC FERTILIZER LLC and Department of Environmental Protection, including Petitioner's List of Witnesses to be called at the MOSAIC Bartow Chemical Plant NPDES Permit Renewal and Modification Administrative Hearing.

The Petitioner's have invited Commissioner's Chris Constance, Joeseph Tiseo, Ken Doherty, Bill Truex and Stephen R Duetsch from Charlotte County, and Charlotte County Attorney

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

John Bunch with big largemouth caught on pond in Venice!

Grayson Hendrix on Little Gasparilla Island.

Everyone in Florida should understand: Mosaic is destroying Florida to send phosphate rock, mined here, to China's largest fertilizer company.

The text below is from a MOSAIC social media post last month.

Overflowing mine site...Photo by Tim Ritchie

Janet Knowlton and County Administrator Hector Flores to attend the hearings in Tallahassee.

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Christopher Birdsall 37.5 in.

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Ruben Imbriaco with a 28 inch snook caught at his step son Luis Suarez, by Harbour Heights

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Brendan Cronin noodled this big blue in Tennessee. It bit

Larry with a nice grouper, 20 miles out

22

Hot As A Roman Candle

PAGE

By Capt. Alan Williams Water LIFE Upper Harbor Summer has arrived at full speed, coming in hot and taking no prisoners. This brings with it some definite changes to our fishing patterns, comfort, techniques and safety.

In the Spring, Fall and Winter it’s easy to fish from dark to dark if need be, but Summer in Florida is a different story.

The best time to catch fish in Summer is the proverbial magic hour in the early morning and evening. Most of the time you will catch more fish during these times than any other…. especially with the right tide. It’s easier and more productive to fish between 5 and 8 in the morning and evening.

Once the sun is up and doing its thing, changes happen rapidly to our bodies.

After 10 am it’s important to drink plenty of liquids and eat protein bars. I found in the hot summer months I don’t hydrate as much as I should because of not wanting to pee with clients on board. This has lead to some medical issues with kidney stones. I know, too much info, but my pain can be your gain. Hydrate frequently!

A lot of the best fishing, like I said earlier, is between 5 and 8 on both ends of the clock. The darkness allows a whole

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

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new adventure to happen. The crowds of the daylight hours disappear and the night shift takes over around bridges, docks and especially dock lights.

Snook and tarpon show up when during the day it may seem there is not a fish within five miles of your location. It always amazes me how active the underwater world is when the sun goes down.

With the summer comes the rains that cause the rivers and creeks to swell and bring dark tannin enriched waters to the Harbor and flats. The reason the Harbor is such a rich fishery is because of this yearly occurrence. It washes nutrient rich waters of crab and shrimp, as well as a snook-andtarpon-loving run of tilapia and armored catfish down the river.

After the spring spawning ritual in the Pass, tarpon spread out to the Upper Harbor and rivers as well as making their migration to the Keys and the Panhandle.

Juvenile tarpon have been showing up

This is Tyler Scott from Burbank, CA. Tyler caught this sea trout near Cabbage Key on 21 July 2020 Editor notes: Towells wipe the slime off fish and that kills them ;-(

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

from Water LIFE magazine

from Water LIFE magazine

in ever-increasing numbers. There have been catches of cobia as far as the I-75 bridge and especially the 41 Bridges. Bait abundance has been reduced by the influx of fresh water from the rivers.

There are still some Spanish mackerel around, but they will be diminishing as the bait moves and the water temps rise.

Right now they’re still around, if you can find any concentrations of bait.

The same holds true of snook and tarpon around the mangroves holding around schools of rain minnows or white bait.

Mangrove snappers have increased in size and abundance as their spawn takes shape.

Black drum and permit have been showing up in the deep entrances of Bull and Turtle Bay. Snook are everywhere in the same areas. Seeing is one thing but catching can be challenging with big schools of snook-submarines swimming around. The right time can make all the difference between seeing and hooking up.

Local spillways are getting active with the rise of waters. Keep a good eye out for the afternoon storms and be especially aware of any lightening. I like to use a lightening detector app along with my radar, barometer, and wind app to keep me ahead of Mother Nature, but sometimes she wins, dumping a good, cool, summer soaking. Stay safe and healthy.

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

Austin Young snook Venice jetty

FISH PIX!

FISH PIX!

JULY 2020

Joshua of Port Charlotte. Nurse shark

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

FISH PIX!

from Water LIFE magazine

Mike Griffey red grouper

Gray Ballard working hard at Area 51

Andrew and Bill Hewitt - 3 photos

Andrew and Bill Hewitt

JULY 2020

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July

TARPON The Silver King has arrived. Pass & Harbor

SHARKS Lots of hungry SNOOK Are on fire. Nice roaming around. Big & Little fish near the coast

BackBay Xtremes

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

Capt Dave Stephens

MANGROVE SNAPPER are thick all around the Harbor

July – Predictions and Suggestions

www.backbayxtremes.com

941-916-5769

Frank reports he has made a deal on a new location, just on the other side of Edgewater, past Walgreens on US 41. ʻItʼs 4 buildings south,ʼ as Frank explained. The address is 4535 Tamiami Trail.

Next, Frank needs to tie up financing and then start on a new roof and floor.

I figure two and a half months from when they sign the loan papers until we will be getting live shrimp at Franks again.

At the end of June, Josh Olive and others put on a benefit catfish tournament for Frank. It was a great thing to do. It kept everyone focused. They had 254 registered anglers and 134 fish weighed in. Thomas Tyler (above) weighed in an 88 ounce specimen (un-gutted), and won the Top Cash Prize, which he immediately donated back to Frank. Nice!

Lemon Bay, Placida, Gasparilla Sound Capt. Kaelin Olayer Flyin’ Hawaiian Fishing Charters With temperatures in the upper 90s and water temps in the upper 80s, deep water has been the key to catching some nice fish lately. Fishing deeper mangroves around Bull Bay and Whidden’s Creek have been producing some nice

redfish and snook. The south part of the west wall and the east wall around Pirate Harbor have been productive areas as well.

The passes and beaches are holding a pile of snook! Target them on the stronger tides with whitebait or pinfish to have a successful day.

Tarpon fishing is starting to slow down a little bit. There have been a pile of sharks that have been chasing the tarpon around. But on that note... shark fishing has been great lately! If you want to catch a giant shark, now is the time do it!

Boca Grande Pass is loaded with sharks that will readily take a big piece of barracuda or bonita. Be sure to use some bigger gear because there are some truly big sharks around right now.

Our weather last month was absolutely beautiful for offshore fishing!

Red groupers have been biting in the 75- to 120-foot depth ranges. We are seeing quite a few lane and mangrove snapper that hang out with the red groupers. Some surprise gag groupers as well in those same depths. There have been quite a few king mackerels around on the wrecks and hard bottom areas out to 100-feet of water. We have also had a bunch of surprise mahi mahi show up as shallow as 45-feet of water!

The red snapper bite has been just as hot as the weather! Everyone has been coming back with limits of them with some giants mixed in. I have heard that 145-feet is the magic depth. Keep a free lined bait out the back when you’re fishing that depth - a chance at a blackfin tuna or sailfish is not unlikely!

Capt. Kaelin Olayer Flyinʼ Hawaiian Fishing Charters Captkaefishing.com & FH Offshore Charters Fhoffshorecharters.com Cell: 941-716-1425

Englewood Bait House

Head-Boat Offshore Fishing 941- 475-4511

PAGE 23

The water is stupid hot!

Nearshore water temps are high 80s Fish are feeding and lazy

95˚ 90˚ 85˚ 80˚

75˚ 72˚ 70˚ 68˚ 50˚ 45˚

FISHING RIGHT NOW:

VERY GOOD

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JULY 2020