Wa t e r L I F E
Welcome Back! Catch Up page 20
Keeping Fishermen and Boaters Informed since
1997
The Don Ball School of Fishing
November 2013 Remora stuck to T-Top
INSHORE
More Weird Stuff Page 9
How Long Can This Last? Page 11
Sailfish off Venive – Gulf is ALIVE! Reports & Pictures Page 23
Net Pull Just For Kids!
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Inshore / Offshore / Freshwater LETTERS
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New Crew Coming Aboard
Hey Michael, I have tons of pictures for your magazine. I picked up a copy on my way home and think itʼs awesome! I caught this cobia less than a week ago. I will only send you recent pictures. If you are on facebook, please visit my Gasparilla Big Game facebook page. Thanks Capt. Orion Wholean
Water LIFE inc.
www.www.WaterlifeMagazine.com Michael & Ellen Heller Publishers
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Editor notes* You might know Capt. Orion from his appearance on NBC, Fox News and some other media outlets last month. Heʼs the guy who jumped in the water with a bull shark to resuscitate it after a long fight. The shark was then released alive. Capt. Orion will be joining the Water LIFE writers and photographerʼs team starting next month. You can check out some of his other catches and adventures now on his facebook page. Welcome Aboard!
Vol XII No 11 © 2013
No part of this publication (printed or electronic) may be copied or reproduced without specific written permission from the publishers.
Contributing Editors:
Capt. Orion and the shark, in a frame from his nationally-aired video
Great Big Mangs! The snapper picture (L) is from Glen Ballinger. Glen is a regular Water LIFE contributor out of Venice Inlet.
Photography: ASA1000.com Senior Editor: Capt. Ron Blago River and Shore: Fishinʼ Frank Charlotte Harbor: Capt. Billy Barton Family Fishing: Capt. Bart Marx Punta Gorda: Capt. Chuck Eichner Venice: Geln Ballinger Kayaking: David Allen Sea Grant: Betty Staugler Real Estate: Dave Hofer Offshore: Capt. Jim OʼBrien Gulf Fishing: Capt. Steve Skevington Circulation: Robert Cohn Office Dog: Molly Brown
on the
COVER:
Capt. Billy Barton put Linda Kopecki on this beautiful redfish. The sailfish and remora are from Capt. Joe Miller.
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Little Things Mean a Lot NOVEMBER 2013
By Michael Heller Water LIFE editor Since Charlotte Harbor is a vital Estuary and an important nursery for numerous species, looking at the little things is often key to monitoring and sometimes effecting the Harbor’s overall health. The picture at the right is a tiny blue crab. The crab was one of numerous samples collected by the Don Ball School of Fishing students from the 7th grade class at Punta Gorda Middle School, last month. The students pulled a 100-foot seine net at Ponce Park,
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under the supervision of FWC staff biologists Chrystal Murray and John Hadden. That’s John’s hand holding the little crab (There are more pictures of the kid’s outing on page13). The students set up the net in the shallows along the shore. While the FWC normally collects bigger fish further out, the kids collected the smaller creatures, pinfish and anchovies, needle fish and tiny crabs and such, creatures that were near the shoreline. And then they looked at their samples closely. When I took the picture of the crab,
John was explaining that a tiny red spot under the right claw-arm of a small crab tells us it is a blue crab and not one of the three or four other crab species found here. The lesson was: if they look closely and examine things carefully they will see the health of the Harbor in everything they touch. The importance of learning more about things they were seeing was part of the process. The kids caught on quickly. The photo to the left is Sea Grant agent Betty Staugler’s hand, holding some tiny bay scallops about to be released, also last month. If you read this publication regularly, last month you saw some of these same little animals as scallop ‘spats’- nothing more than post-
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microscopic tadpole like translucent orbs. A month later these little guys have grown enough to be recognizable as scallops to the naked eye. (One is under Betty’s fingernail) In a year the scallop’s lifespan will expire. Betty was going to spread 12,000 little scallops, including these, around 5 different locations in the Gasparilla Sound and Lemon Bay. It wasn’t that long ago when a thriving scallop population existed in those areas, so Betty is trying to jumpstart a scallop renaissance of sorts in Charlotte County. Watching and understanding the little creatures is the key to preserving the health of the entire Charlotte Harbor Estuary.
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NOVEMBER 2013
How to Hold A Rod This is not a baseball story
By Fishin’ Frank Water LIFE Baitshop Back in the days of mono line, Me like many people, really wanted to be able to catch fish, big fish, with light line; twopound test mono was the line I wanted to catch snook with. I thought, how cool would that be? What a nightmare! Every time I’d hook a fish, snap, the fish would break off. I knew it was possible so I figured I must be the problem. So the first thing I set-off to learn about was the rod. Line-class on the rods was not really about how much the rod would handle before breaking. With a 6-to 12-pound-class rod, the lower number tells you that if you use less than 6-pound test line it will break/snap when you try to set the hook. If the rod was not "soft" enough, when you pulled back, the rod would stay straight, not bending and reacting fast enough, putting too much tension on the line, causing it to break. I found rods rated for 2-pound test too soft for me to get a hook set, so I looked for rods with a 4- to 10-pound rating and adjusted my wrist not to set the hook so hard, still firmly, but without the hard jerk. Next was the reel. Finding a reel with a smooth drag during the 1980s was next to impossible, so I took a front drag reel, pulled the drag washers out and greased them well. Then I set the drag with a scale to about 1 pound, which would not break the line. Then I would press my fingers against the side of the spool. Using my fingers for the drag I could get instant drag adjustment simply by pressing harder, and I could let go. This solved the equipment problems. Next I had to fix ‘Me’. Light line is no way to learn so I started with 15-pound-test line, trying to learn how to handle the rod better so I could get more control of the fish.
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I was having no luck. My wrist was just not strong enough for a long battle with a snook. Then late one night, watching an old movie on T.V. I saw Errol Flynn was playing the part of a swash buckling Pirate. Watching him fight the bad guys, his sword was just a flash of silver lightning. With his arm out, extended from his body, every time the bad guy thrust or sliced at him he could counter. That seemed perfect for what I was trying to do. Then, by intentional accident, while trying to lift a bucket of water with a fishing rod, I put the butt of the rod against my fore arm and there I found my power grip. This left only my grip on the reel to perfect. I, like most Americans, held everything like a gun. While living on the farm, I had spent many days of my youth practicing a quick draw. This proved to be a problem when trying to cast Fishinʼ Frank helps Tyler Bublitz in the L.A. Ainger class at a fish. By the time I moved fish. When the fish head to your right, if my hand so I could get to the line it was you're right handed, instead of holding the often too late. So I started using 2 fingers rod with the reel down, shift the reel to in front of the reel and then my index finthe outside of your arm and pull to the ger was right there to get the line. I started left, creating opposite pressure. This is turning the bail with my left hand and as done by steady pulls not jerking the rod. the roller came to the top, I could grab the line with my finger and cast in one-third the time. Now that I had my grip, rod handling evolved by visualizing the back-bone of the rod itself. Every rod made of graphite has a back bone, much like a human one. It can bend sideways or even backwards but it bends forward best. So combining the sword play of holding my arm out from my body and keeping the butt of the rod against my fore arm, I started turning the rod while I was fishing so the guides would always be in the direction the pull was coming from. By using sword fighting tactics you can be putting opposite pressure to the
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If you jerk the rod, the hole where the hook went into the fish will get larger and if you get any slack in the line, your hook could simply fall out and then so much for the catching part. Keep in mind when I was figuring this out there was no cable TV and no internet down here. It was only after VCR tapes came out that you could even see fishing shows. So was all this a waste of time? No, not at all. It only took me about four years, to figure it out, but in the end I was able to go from 15 pound test to 12, then 10 then 8 all the way to 2 pound test. Having the right rod and reel and understanding how to use it was critical in my quest to land big fish on light line. Catch & Release has changed the way most people fish. Today every one talks about what to do when you release a fish, but the first part, the catch part, fighting the fish too long or ripping them in too fast can be just as bad as poor handling after you bring the fish to the boat. By using your rod and reel to its best advantage you will have a sporting fight, lose less fish and when hooked, you will land the fish in a more reasonable time. Better for you and better for the fish. Have fun be safe out there. Frank@Fishin’ Franks.com 625-3888 FISHIN’ FRANKS
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Artificial Reefs PAGE
ON THE LINE By Capt. Ron Blago Water LIFE Senior Staff It's been a while since Charlotte County had anything new to brag about when it comes to artificial reefs, but soon we hope to have a major addition to our collection. The old shrimp boat Seminole Trader at the Placida Fisheries is scheduled to be towed out to the Capt. Jeff Steele reef site and sunk in about 60 ft of water. The steel hulled vessel which is estimated to be over 40ft long will be one of the larger additions to our artificial reef inventory. The boat will be flooded rather than exploded with the hope that it settle on the bottom deck side up to make it more appealing to divers as well as fishermen. Since 1999, the FWC has had the responsibility of permitting and monitoring artificial reefs in Florida. As of April 2013, there were 2700 artificial reefs with 300 active permits in the pipeline. Charlotte County only has 33 sites listed in the State index which is pretty puny when compared to the 116 listed for Lee County and positively embarrassing next to the 162 listed for Sarasota. Why does Charlotte County have so few artificial reefs as compared to our
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The shrimp boat Seminole Trader behind The Fishery restaurant in Placida for years, will soon be sunk onto the Capt. Jeff Steele Reef near 26° 55.674N and 82° 35.832W.
neighbors ? First, we got off to a pretty slow start. Our neighbors have been building reefs since the 60s and have always had good cooperation between public fishing groups and county government. Charlotte County on the other hand, basically felt it was a lot easier to fish our neighbors reefs than make our own. Second was bad timing. By the time Charlotte got up and running, a whole new set of State regulations went into effect that made getting a permit very hard. In the old days, you just dropped a pile of old concrete off shore and there you had an instant reef. Now you have to survey your site to record what is currently there so you don't disturb natural reef material
or commercial fishing trawlers. If you drop your material in several small piles rather than one large mountain, this will actually bring more fish to your site and keep fishermen spread out. Then you must have to have a program in place to monitor your reef on an annual basis. Other counties, like Sarasota, have a number of inshore reefs which are referred to as fish havens. These have been very successful in attracting fish as well as fishermen. They give the guy with a small boat who can't get off shore the chance to get some good fish. You would think that Charlotte Harbor would have a similar program, but they don't. The last artificial reef deployed in Charlotte Harbor was the Cape Haze Reef of the south
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end of the West Wall back in the 80s. The reason is that all of Charlotte Harbor is part of the State Aquatic Preserve, managed by the Florida DEP and those folks just don't want artificial reefs in their preserve. I think we are missing out on a great opportunity there. Several years ago a diver’s group came up with a plan to put several large reef balls at Englewood Beach to be used as snorkeling sites. That plan never went anywhere at the time, but now might be a good time to bring it up again. A reefball reef would bring another recreational activity to the public beach. I could see a number of these mini-reefs running down the coastline that would benefit both snorkelers and fishermen. Each year the Charlotte County Marine Advisory Committee budgets $40k for artificial reef building and monitoring and each year we ask is that money well spent. Well we now have an answer. Last year State Sea Grant published a report on the Economic Impact of Artificial Reefs in South West Florida. They estimated that 81,549 people fished our reefs last year and spent a total of $27.96 million. Sarasota brought in $32.82 million and Lee brought in $59.77 million. It looks like more reefs equal more money, so let’s get working on more reefs for Charlotte County.
Transition Time on the Harbor NOVEMBER 2013
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Weird Stuff: The tail apparently was bit off and healed back cleanly. The fish was very healthy and made a nice redfish dinner. The stomach was full of thumb-nail sized crabs. This fish fought like any other red.....interesting! Below: Capt. Billy Bartonʼs wrapped line hookset.
By Capt. Chuck Eichner Water LIFE Charlotte Harbor November is the big transition month on Charlotte Harbor where easy fishing with light winds will be replaced with challenging fishing with strong winds and chilly temperatures. Typically this occurs right around Thanksgiving and sets the pace for December with low tides, strong east winds and cold fronts that force the fish to move in less predictable ways. For sure, speckled trout now become settled in to grassbeds in 3-5 feet of water and make for easy fishing. The one fish that can tough out the weather fronts and low tides is the redfish. The lower tides will see the redfish forced to the outside of the sand bars that run the entire length of the east side of the harbor. These fish are spooky but can be caught with persistence in casting lures or live shrimp on a weighted hook. Casting to the first set of troughs you can reach, closest to the shallow bar is where they will normally be found on the lowest of tides. On high tide phases, these same fish will scour the mangrove edges and adjacent oyster beds for food. The west side of the harbor bordering Turtle Bay is a bit trickier as the redfish that love the mangrove edges on high tides have two choices of where to scatter on low tides. The outside of the bar which I find them to be near impossible to locate or they can drop to the opposite side of the mangrove wall, which is the inside of Turtle Bay. There are plenty of little creeks that allow them easy travel between the west side and the inside of Turtle Bay. Lures and weighted shrimp are the bait. Places that many don’t consider redfish territory are the rivers. Tons of redfish here and Hog Island and the Myakka River cutoff are good places to start. Low tides will drop the fish into the deeper pockets of the winding river like channel that makes its way between the
Peace and Myakka Rivers. Further up the river, the habitat is endless for the redfish and once above the I-75 bridge you will find beautiful deep water mangrove banks. These fish are less tide dependent because there is generally plenty of water. The glory to fishing any of these spots is that late season snook will hit the same lures and shrimp intended for redfish. You may be surprised to find plenty of speckled trout in the river and of course, on the east and west side of the Harbor. Bonus fish can be expected including flounder, black drum, ladyfish, sheepshead and snapper. Occasionally, we will see extended summer weather in November and when this happens it is time to fish near Boca Grande Pass where you can expect Spanish mackerel to be abundant and don’t be surprised if 4- to 5-foot Kingfish show themselves within a mile inside the ICW. I have even caught bonita there in November that were being chased by sharks! Gag grouper will make a strong showing in late November at the public reefs and lingering in Boca Grande Pass and Redfish Pass to the south. There are many great fishing options in November but the weather and water temperature will dictate your fishing methods. Stop into your local tackle shop to get the latest fishing report. There is no better place to help you narrow down your options then these guys. Capt. Chuck Eichner operates Action Flats Backcountry Charters Call 941-628-8040 or visit www.Backcountry-Charters.com
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You Gotta Know How To Hold ʻEm
By Capt. Billy Barton Water LIFE Charlotte Harbor Important parts of a fishʼs anatomy and its survival are its scales and its slime. When I was a young man I used to be a land fisherman. I can't tell y'all how many times I've seen people just whip their fish up onto the fishing pier and then let them flop around on that dry wood until there's no slime left and half their scales were missing. Then when that fish is tired and done flopping around they take the hook out and throw him back over. Now I see the same thing when I'm out on the water and someone just whips a fish out of the water and lets it fall to the deck of their dry, hot boat. Then they take it off the hook and throw it back. Literally THROW. Really!!?? At least hold the thing in the water for a few seconds, try and revive it ... maybe give it a chance! I'm trying to figure out, is it just ignorance or
NOVEMBER 2013
stupidity? Quit fishinʼ if you're that guy or change your ways. Really! Please!! Sad fact, but that fish is dead. Fish are delicate. They're much more prone to bacteria and infections in the water than we are. They don't have an immune system like we do. That slime and those scales are Mother Natureʼs way of protecting that fish from harm. Dry towels or even wet towels are a no-no on my boat. Fishing gloves are ok if they have rubber on the inside of the palm. If you do insist on wearing gloves it's better for them to be wet rather than dry. This is why you are now seeing rubber mesh dip nets on the shelves at tackle shops all over the place. The wet rubber does a lot less damage to the fish than the "old school" netting mesh. Every little bit helps. Capt. Billy Barton, Scales and Tails Charters. 941-979-6140
Many of our fish are subtropical and only semi-tolerant to the winter cold. They can't just throw on a sweat shirt so needless to say, everything and I mean everything inshore and offshore, is on the move this month
Gills are a fishʼs way of breathing and pulling oxygen from the water. Gills are very delicate. When you hold a fish vertically, with your hands all up inside its gills, it's a sad fact, but you just killed that fish.
Goinʼ Fishinʼ – Placida, coming out of Eldreds Marina, 6:45 a.m., October 2013. Livinʼ the Dream
Fish Out Of Water
NOVEMBER 2013
Water LIFE Staff Report Fish gills are composed of a gill arch which gives the gill rigid support, numerous pairs of gill filaments and secondary lamellae. The lamellae are where the oxygen exchange takes place. The blood flows thorough the gill filaments and secondary lamellae in the opposite direction from the water passing over the gills. This is very important for getting all of the available oxygen out of the water and into the blood. If the blood flowed in the same direction as the water passing it, then the blood would only be able to get half of the available oxygen from the water. Blood and water would then reach an equilibrium in oxygen content and diffusion would no longer take place. By having the blood flow in the opposite direction, the gradient is always such that the water has more available oxygen than the blood, and oxygen diffusion continues to take place, even after the blood has acquired more than 50% of the water's oxygen content. The countercurrent exchange system gives fish an 8090% efficiency in acquiring oxygen. When fish are taken out of the water, they suffocate, not because they canʼt breathe the oxygen available in the air, but because their gill arches collapse and there is not enough surface area for diffusion to take place. How long can a fish, especially a redfish, out of water? At last monthʼs IFA Redfish Tour, (photos) most fish were kept out of water for 2 minutes or more. According to Chrystal Murray and John Hadden, FWC staff biologists in Charlotte Harbor who sample fish every day, the answer is ʻabout one minute.ʼ “Figure as long as you can hold your own breath,” John said and Chrystal agreed. “It takes about a minute for the gills to begin to dry out,” John added. Out of water, the lamellae which normally stand up, begin to lay down and stick together. Then irreversible things begin to happen. ʻFor baby tarpon kept out of water the time is even shorter,ʼ John said. For a third perspective we asked Charlotte County Sea Grant Agent Betty Staugler. Here is what Betty had to say:
How long can a fish live out of water? This is going to depend greatly upon a number of factors including: fish species, life stage, body weight, activity level, environmental temperature, amount of dissolved oxygen in the water it is being removed from, and feeding. Conditions leading up to a fish being removed from the water are very important. For instance, warmer temperatures tend to be associated with a higher degree of hypoxia (low oxygen). Low oxygen is a stressor for fish. Although there are a lot of studies that have evaluated oxygen requirements and the effects of hypoxia on fish, there are far less on air exposure impacts. For instance fish eggs in general require very little oxygen until they hatch. Among juvenile and adult fishes, larger fish use more total oxygen per
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AQUATICA
Laishley Park, Oct 2013 – These tournament fish spent over two minutes out of the water. Combined with stress, this could be a detriment to their survival.
These are mullet gills, once the thin lamallae, or membrane, begins to dry, fish will die
hour than smaller fish do because of the greater metabolic demands of more tissue mass. Swimming fish use more oxygen than resting fish. Fish in warmer temperatures generally use more oxygen than fish in cooler environments.
At what point do bad things happen? What happens first? Removing a fish from the water causes the gills to collapse. This results in a greatly reduced surface area for respiration. Additionally, the duration of air exposure effects cardiovascular recovery time and blood and muscle functioning, that can lead to impaired swimming. In a laboratory experiment involving rainbow trout, extended air exposure after exercise caused higher mortality than when air exposure was avoided. In a pond study of pikeperch, mortality was lowest for fish that were not exposed to air when compared to fish exposed to air for periods of one, two or four minutes. Though studies are limited in field settings, extended air exposure has been linked to loss of equilibrium and post-release predation. Some studies have also indicated that smaller fish have a harder time being out of water than larger fish. In particular how long can our inshore species like redfish, snook and trout live out of water? This is a tough question. There are not many studies
available on the tolerances of individual fish species to air exposure other than for those species that are adapted to it. Anecdotally however trout tend to be less hardy than redfish. What about other fish? What about air breather's like tarpon? A study conducted recently on sub-adult tarpon in Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor evaluated a 60 second air exposure prior to release (roughly the time it would take to snap a photo) and compared that with no air exposure prior to release. In general, angling with minimal air exposure, such as might be required if taking a photograph on a fishing trip, did not appear detrimental to sub-adult tarpon recovery and survival under normal angling conditions. This same study found that fight time was a greater determinant in fish stress and survival than air exposure. The author concluded that sub-adult and adult tarpon can recover from routine angling stress when released in the absence of predators, and that anglers can play a key role in tarpon conservation by using appropriate tackle and gear to reduce fight times and handling. Another recent study on bonefish also concluded that bonefish could recover from limited air exposure; but because they tend to move very little while recovering they are very vulnerable to shark predation. The authors recommended
that anglers land bonefish quickly, and that they be held in a live-well or water cooler for a minimum of 2-3 minutes prior to release to allow for recovery from angling stress and air exposure. Betty also noted: High water temperature, when combined with stress and exercise, often leads to a number of behavioral and physiological changes. Behavioral changes include a lack of movement or equilibrium loss. Physiological changes can include increased heart rate and stroke volume, and changes in blood and muscle biochemistry. Research that examined the interaction between air exposure and high water temperature in bluegill showed behavioral disturbance, such as increased ventilation and equilibrium problems was higher when both stressors were combined as opposed to when these stressors were applied separately. Primary factors that have been indicated as influencing stress and mortality associated with catch and release angling are angling duration, air exposure duration, angling during extreme water temperature periods, gear type, hook location and angling during reproductive periods. Air exposure stress does seem to be better evaluated in freshwater fish species, but again, a variety of factors are involved.
Charlotte Sea Grant Agent Capt. Betty Staugler can be reached at (941) 764-4346
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How It Works: The Purse Seine
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Local FWC Teaches Don Ball Class
Students Sample Fish Fishing Makes Kids Smile
NOVEMBER 2013
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By Michael Heller Water LIFE editor The Punta Gorda 7th grade class in the Don Ball School of Fishing got together last month for a seine net demonstration at Ponce deLeon Park. The demonstration was presented by Chrystal Murray and John Hadden of the FWC. Murray and Hadden work sampling fish for the Fish and Wildlife Re-
search Institute, Fisheries Ind program at the Charlotte Harb Photo 1 First they laid out Seine net on the grass for the Photo 2 Next they stood th how the bottom of the net is w keep fish from swimming und lined with floats to keep the fis
John with children Maddy and Trevor, with daddyʼs snook on a trip last month with Capt. Fred Vandenbroeck and Backdraft Charters
Happy kids with Glen Ballinger aboard the Outcast. Glen wrote: “This trip was one of the most personally rewarding trip I have ever taken. Bait fishing is always a blast for anyone- no matter what their age.” Left: Trevor from San Jose, California catches his first snook with Capt. Fred and Maddy
Maddy with her first fish - a mangrove snapper with Capt. Fredʼs mate Robin
NOVEMBER 2013
dependent Monitoring bor Field Lab. a special 100-foot e students to see. he net up, explaining weighted with lead to der it and how the top is sh from swimming
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over it. Photo 3 Then they showed hoe one end of the net is held in place with a pole, while the other end is walked around in a circle. Photo 4. Then they explained and showed how the net is made ever smaller until all the fish in it were congregated together. Photo 5 And finally Chrystal showed how they
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create a pocket or a 驶purse始 that contains all the catch. The students watched intently and then it was their turn and students, wearing sneakers or other water-friendly shoes waded out into the shallows off the park and set up the net themselves. In the end, they collected a container full of small fish which they brought back to shore, identified and
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classified on printed forms Chrystal and John broght to class. Then they released their catch back into the Harbor. Several parents watched from the shore and a few parents waded out with the kids to see first hand what they were doing. Thanks again to John and Chrystal and the Florida FWC for providing this valuable hands on learning experience!
If you want to see this first hand, the classes from Murdock and Port Charlotte will be at Ponce Park at 10 a.m. on November 9th for another pull. You are welcome to come and watch.
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Offshore Menu Capt. Steve Skevington
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The Offshore Special this month is gag grouper, out anywhere past 30 feet of water. Live bait is the trick with these guys, just drop it on hard bottom and hold on to that rod. We are allowed to keep 2 gag grouper per person... for now anyway! White grunts are a great pan-fish and eager to bite most of the time, a fun fish for everyone from little kids to adults, they put up a respectable fight for a fish their size. And they make a wonderful dinner companion! Mangrove snapper are on the menu, they are plentiful and nothing short of delicious. Small bite-size baits are the key here...frozen shrimp, squid and so on. Offshore these fish can reach 16-pounds and can average over five! Try chumming them up over the top of any wreck, then flatline your offerings out in the slick. Yellowtail snapper are a tasty entree as well. ...make a run for deep water this month and you can load up on these tasty fish. Live shrimp and light lines are your best bet with these finicky fish. Hogfish are a culinary delight and starting to show up on every ledge within sight of land, live or frozen shrimp is the only real "trick". Amberjack steaks will be coming up over top of all the deep wrecks for the rest of the year. Live blue runners get them to your plate fast...heavy tackle is a must. Don’t let goliath eat your amberjack, he can fend for himself! Kingfish are starting to show back up right now...from Boca Grande pass all the way out well past 100 feet of water. Dragging those planers and spoons really works well right now, 8-knots seems to be the speed. Spanish Mackerel are a great option on a windy day...from marker No.5 in the Harbor all the way outside the Big Passes, your mackerel dinner is waiting. Trolling spoons is a fast way to get your meal this month. Capt. Steve Skevington, 941-575-3528 www.paradisefishingcharters.com
Mac Fish
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ByBobby Vitalis Water LIFE Pier Fishing Spanish mackerel are awesome to catch, they are a good fast fighting fish. I caught this mackerel at Sharky's Pier in Venice. I have caught mackerel up to 26 inches in length. I caught mackerel from right before sunrise to about 10:00 a.m. The legal length to keep mackerel in this area is 12 inches or more from the fork of the tail. Mackerel come in schools. If you find one, you are going to find another. The way to catch mackerel is to go spinning for them, because you need a faster retrieve to move a lure at a pace that will interest the mackerel to bite. There are many lures you can use to catch mackerel with. The lure I use is called the GOT-CHA lure. The color is a yellow head with a silver body and red treble hooks. The weight is 1-ounce. It’s model # G502RH. The presentation using the GOT-CHA lure is at a fast speed. As you're reeling it in, give it fast jerks every so often. Some people are using sea striker, clarkspoons, Spanish mackerel sabiki rigs, and tsunami pro zing jag pro lures. I am using 30-pound test spider wire ultra cast invisible braid and 30-pound test SUFIX ADVANCED SUPER line
NOVEMBER 2013
(BRAIDED), as my main line. The reason why I like these lines is because, they have great casting distance. Then, for my leader line, I am using 2 feet of 50- to 80-pound test 100% FLUOROCARBON line which is invisible in the water. At the end of that line, I am using 6 inches of AFW 7x7 26-pound test SURFLON MICRO SUPREME knottable nylon coated stainless steel leader (color camo). Model # DM49-26-A. Note: The reason for using heavy line and wire is because, mackerel have very sharp teeth. They can cut through braided and
mono with no problem. With this method, it would be hard for the mackerel to break off. Some people just use wire by itself. So you can try that too. There are many different wire lines that you can try. Not just this one, pick out the wire line that is best for you. So, if you want to have fun catching mackerel, try my method with the GOT-CHA lure.
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FISHING LOW TIDES
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By Capt David Stephens Water LIFE Inshore I would like to welcome our neighbors back from the north. I hope this coming winter brings you great weather and plenty of big fish stories. One of the main concerns I hear about on a regular basis is the fact that during our late Fall and Winter months we have such low tides. Unfortunately we as anglers have to deal with every Karen + Trent Cheatham show off two pairs, one of reds and another of snook year. I wish everyday we could have perfect conditions, but mother nature since chances are you will burn more gas has other plans. As the old saying goes, on a scouting trip. I also like to bring when you get lemons make lemonade. along a good pair of binoculars. Growing up fishing Charlotte Harbor In order to be very thorough I like to my whole life I have learned this is a pick an area and stick to that area. There great time to do some scouting. When I are several things I promise you will find don’t have a charter booked I will go out during the day that you have looked over on the days that the tides are going to be or just drove right by. One of the most at their lowest. As hard as it is to say, noticeable is what I call fish highways. generally fishing is not my main priority Generally when the tides are the lowest on these days, but by no means am I saymost of the local sand bars will be exing leave your fishing gear in the garage. What I do recommend you bring with you posed. Well if you pay close attention you will find areas that may still have a little are a few things that I promise will help water moving through. This is the area you in the future. A chart of the area you fish will use to travel from the flats to plan to scout. A note pad and yes something to write with. Also a full tank of gas deeper water. Also these are great spots
because the forage that most of our game fish feed on gets flushed in and out with the tides. Another thing that you notice is oyster bars. Oyster bars are a great place to catch all of our inshore fish, from snook to sheepshead. All of our game fish love to eat little crabs and shrimp during the winter months. It might even be a little scary to know how many times you ran over or right by them and did not know they were there. One other thing I look for are troughs along shorelines, this is the hardest to find. Since we are out on the lowest tides it is hard to get on the flats so this is
PAGE 15
when those binoculars come into play. Get as close to the shorelines as possible and glass them. Look for any kind of movement, mullet, fish feeding and even wading birds. If you take the time to scout an area that you plan to fish I promise it will pay off with big rewards in the future. If you would like to experience some of Charlotte Harbors best fishing give me a call or send me an email. All of our charters are private and customized to fit your needs. You can also follow me on Twitter for fishing updates and catches of the day. You might just see your picture on there. Capt. Dave Stephens 941-916-5769 www.backbayxtremes.com
Real Estate News
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Provided to Water LIFE BY:
Dave Hofer RE/MAX Harbor Realty (941) 575-3777 dhofer@remax.net www.harborparadise.com
Recent area news items:
1. Having heard public input, the Burnt Store Isles canal maintenance commission will be voting in November on widening the abandoned lock opening to Alligator Creek from 17 ft to 21 ft. Opponents of the proposal site claim the $100K cost to be an unnecessary expense. Proponents favor the improved boating capabilities and broader appeal to large boat owners.
2. Foreclosure filings edged up in September to 76 vs. 54 last September. Sale prices for distressed homes have risen about 10% vs. last year. The inventory of these properties has been steadily declining during the past year.
3. Portofino's on Bayshore Rd in Charlotte Harbor has defaulted on its $1.4
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million loan on the 8,450 sf restaurant. The owner has, in the past, forfeited ownership in several properties on Rt 41 and is considering his second bankruptcy filing in an effort to keep from losing Portofino.
4. The successful bidder for the Warm Mineral Springs resort is trying to renegotiate his deal. Although he had agreed to pay the City of North Port and Sarasota County 24% of gross receipts during the term of the lease, he would like to get the first four months free of charge. He has not yet posted the $100K bond that is required under the current deal. 5. Our Peace River Water Facility is in need of a $13 million rehab. Although Charlotte County is only using 49% of the output from the facility, the multi county Peace River Water Authority is asking Charlotte to pay for 79% of the rehab cost. 6. The Turtle Club is asking the City of Punta Gorda to lease the brick courtyard that it owns behind the shuttered restaurant, to enable it to offer outside seating after its long hoped for reopening. They are requesting a one year lease with options to renew.
NOVEMBER 2013
A new outside deck off the right side of The Fishery restaurant in Placida is under construction. The bar inside the restaurant will become an outside bar with a new wall of windows separating it from the inside dining rooom. The restaurant is open Thursday through Sunday during the construction which should be completed by December.
7. Punta Gorda residents will be choosing between Charlie Counsil and Nancy Prafke for the newly vacated city council seat on November 5. In other news: Monty's Pizzeria is planning to open its new facility in November at their original location on Rt 41 across from Publix Center. Pies and Plates has abandoned its attempt at securing a new location in the Herald Court Parking Garage and will be putting the restaurant/bakery up for sale.
The owner's husband, Dennis Murphy, has found his job as City Growth manager being eliminated. Lulu's restaurant on the first floor of the Wyvern Hotel will be reopened as a more casual "bistro". Sales Statistics: Lot and home prices appear to have bottomed and are rising from their depressed levels. Inventory of upper end homes is extraordinarily low, as is demand.
Time to Troll NOVEMBER 2013
By Capt. Bart Marx Water LIFE Fishing Bud, one of my customers, bought a new 29 ft. Cobia boat with twin 300 Yamahas, big screen electronics, a T-top and spreaders and invited me to go fishing with him. We started around 6 a.m. leaving from Bass Inlet P.G.I. and by 6:45 we were at Boca. Our goal was to go to the wreck Fantastico where the depth is 105feet. As we cruised up the beach from Boca to find some bait it was too windy and the bait was hard to see. We ended up casting the net in 25feet of water, where we caught 100 thread fin herring. It was time to punch in the wreck and get under way, about 45 miles to the site. It was a good ride, we never got any spray and the boat never caught any air. We approached our fishing site and about a half mile away we slowed and setup the out riggers and got some lures dragging. It wasn't too long and 2 of the rods went down and we caught some bonito. The rods reset, we trolled over the wreck. One of the rods went down, Bud grabbed it and it was fighting good, then it seemed as if it was swimming to us. Bud got it to the boat and there were a school of cudas chewing on half a black-fin tuna. We put it in the box anyway and got the rods set back to troll. We turned the boat back over the wreck again and got another tuna. Another turn around and another tuna, both half eaten by cudas.
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We made one last pass over the wreck and another rod went off. It was Capt. Bart’s turn. I had the biggest rod on the boat. It was a 2-speed on hi retrieve and I was cranking, it was another tuna but this one was fast enough to out run the cudas. We slid the tuna in through the back door as the boat went down in the rolling seas. As we were trolling we marked a nice bottom spot where we went and anchored up and started bottom fishing with frozen baits. We caught some small stuff and got broke off a few times. Then we started putting down some of those live baits, and wow! Bud yelled I got something. I looked, he was holding onto the rod for all he was worth. The rod was bent over the side of the boat but Bud was turning the handle and gaining line. After a few runs we landed a nice fire truck red grouper that measured 31 in. It was getting to the time we had to run back to the dock. That was a great day. I caught my first tuna and Bud caught a really nice red. On another trip on my own boat with one customer we trolled and caught some nice bonito and a keeper king mackerel. We also bottom fished for a short time and caught some white grunts and porgies. On another trip in our 25 ft. Wellcraft with our neighbors and some of their relatives and I cleaned 1 gag grouper, 20 mangrove snapper, 4 lane snapper and around 60 white grunts. I took an hour to clean all the fish they had and they wound up with some nice bags of fillets. It was a rough trip but they were still some happy customers. Catch ‘em up!
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If you would like to book a Florida fishing adventure with Capt. Bart Marx call 941-979-6517 or e-mail captbart@alphaomegacharters.com Remember that singing drags and tight lines make me smile.
The Olʼ Fishʼn Hole
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By Captain Jim O’Brien Water LIFE Offshore Hey ya all! Well the weather has been absolutely great, a little rain but the winds have stayed down. The fish'n has been great too. It won't be long before the smoker kings come down, just let the water temperature get down to 72 to 74 degrees. There are a few being caught now but no BIG - UNS. I want to see them big boys, so I'm getting my trolling stuff together now and you should too.
NOVEMBER 2013
then we cut him loose. Now I got to tell ya all if that would have been a black tip shark I would have invited him home for dinner ( know what I mean? ) the ol' Capt. here likes a good shark dinner. Bill Sadler broke his record on mangrove snapper. He caught one that went 18 1/2 inches and that put a big smile on his face. Tray Cornish caught the biggest grouper, 28 inches, and that put a big smile on his face. Tray come down from Ohio. Everyone said they had a blast and will do it again.
AND REMEMBER, GET OUT THERE AND SNORT SOME OF THAT GOOD CLEAN SALT AIR C U Z IT'S GOOD FER YA ! ! !
On our last charter out we had a motley crew; Tom Casasent, Rick Hubert, Chuck Edmonston, Core Barker, Tray Cornish, and Bill Sadler. My story is of our last charter out, 2 days ago. Well let's start from the beginning. One week before we took our last charter out I left my marker bouy at one of my spots. My marker bouy is a 3 gallon yellow bleach jug you can get from the pool stores. I put 160 feet of line and a 5 pound lead weight
at the other end. The yellow you can see from a distance against the blue water. Well on our last charter I wanted to go out and see if my bouy was still there. On our way out there we got 1 mile away then 1/2 mile away then we got 1/4 to 1/2 mile away from my spot and I looked up and low and behold there was a yellow marker in front of me. I couldn't believe it! No one took it and when I pulled the boat up to it, it hadn't moved a foot. Is that unreal or what? So we fished that spot, caught a few fish then moved to another spot, of course we took the marker bouy with us this time HA! In all we caught 9 red grouper biggest 28 inches, 2 nice scamp, 6 big flag yellow tail snapper, a bunch of mangs that went 19 inches. We got a few lane snapper, 1 jolt head porgie, a bucket of regular reef porgies and 1 trigger fish and oh I almost forgot the 8 foot nurse shark we got. My friend Tom Casasent caught it but he had to give the rod to my mate Brian who in turn needed the belt gimbal. You can see part of the shark in the picture. Everyone got some pictures,
To book an offshore charter with us aboard the Predator II call 941- 473-2150
if you would like to send in a donation or would like to talk to me more about our program: FISH'N FOR HERO'S WOUNDED WARROIRS INC. call 914-473-2150 or call my cell phone 941-468-2566 our chapteris
NOVEMBER 2013
Kayaking
Deer Prairie Creek
By David Allen Water LIFE Kayaking It had been five or six months since our club paddled Deer Prairie Creek, and with good reason. Deer Prairie is one of those local creeks that becomes almost unusable during the rainy summer months; the narrow, winding creek beds become flooding torrents, very hard to paddle against and always eager to fling a kayak, unexpectedly, into a tree-lined shoreline. And, as you progress upstream, you're always challenged by trees or large branches across the stream, even during the dry season. Still, Deer Prairie is one of the most beautiful creeks in the this area. In my opinion, the beauty of Deer Prairie is only rivaled by Fisheating Creek, 40 miles east at Palmdale, Florida. And yet, Deer Prairie is one of the more recent streams opened by the county for kayaking. From 2002 to 2004, Sarasota county and the Southwest Florida Water Management district (SWFWMD) began to purchase land east of the Myakka River with the intent of keeping the land in the public domain and free of all commercial development. Selby Botanical Gardens, the Audubon society and other like-minded environmental groups provided guidance on the protection of wildlife habitats and the preservation of the creek and flatlands. The result of this combined effort is the 10,128 acres set aside for the Deer Prairie Creek Preserve, of which about 6,400 acres are open to the public. And, about 6 miles of the east bank of the Myakka River have been protected from future commercial development. Opened to the public in February of 2011, Deer Prairie Creek can be easily accessed from Highway 41 just west of North Port and Warm Mineral Springs. In
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addition to the beautiful creek, the Preserve has over 70 miles of unpaved trails for the use of hikers, bikers and even equestrian users. As paddlers, we most often see turtles, an occasional alligator, and a variety of wading birds. At the south trailhead off Highway 41, there is a very large parking area with Porta-Pottie, and a picnic area. But, to get back to the paddling aspects, the launch area is about 100 yards from the car/trailer parking area, so we usually bring a kayak caddie to carry the kayaks to the beach. Located just above a small dam, the launch opens into a small lake before narrowing into the northward stream and in warmer weather there are usually rafts of water lilies to paddle around or through. We even encountered some small patches of water lilies just several weeks ago. The creek narrows almost immediately after leaving the lake and gets more and more beautiful as you move further upstream. The stream twists right and left every few feet, and there is something interesting to see around each corner. Plan on staying in your kayaks for the up and back trip as the banks are covered with vegetation and are difficult to access. And as mentioned earlier, be prepared to "schooch" over and/or under the fallen trees and branches. On our most recent trip, the water level and current were such that the paddle upstream was fairly easy. At a moderate paddling pace count on about 45-50 minutes of paddling to get to the northern sections of the creek that are completely blocked by trees and branches. The trip downstream is a little quicker. All in all, it was a great paddle and the first time since May that we had enjoyed this beautiful stream. The Port Charlotte Kayakers meet each Wednesday evening at Franz-Ross Park, adjacent to the local YMCA, at 5:00PM. All are welcome to attend. For more information,
call Dave Allen at 941-235-2588 or email to dlaa@comcast.net.
PAGE 19
Even if you don't own a kayak take advantage of this beautiful preserve and hike or bike some of its many trails.
20
Welcome Back
PAGE
Hereʼs What You Missed
The Charlotte chapter of the CCA disbanded last month. Too many Indians not enough chiefs. Fishing has been incredible. Snook over 40 inches have not been uncommon this summer. At a recent redfish tournament the top two fish weighed in at almost 18 pounds! Trout over 6 pounds and tarpon over 175 have been common. The tarpon jig controversy evolved into a FWC hearing in Tallahassee and a ban on bottom-weighted jigs like the PTTS tournament anglers use. As part of a $500,00 lawsuit by PTTS against the Save the Tarpon group, one advocate launched a slur campaign against the PTTS directorʼs sexual preference. We are eating their ad-sales lunch so the
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Charlotte Sunʼs Waterline section has been copying everything we do, trying to confuse readers. Donʼt be fooled. There is an infestation of spiraling white flies which are coming up from the south – you can spot them on the underside of your palm leaves, they like malaysians and coconut palms best. When you hose them off they fly away in a big spiraling white cloud. Federal flood insurance premiums are about to go way up. A recent story on Bloomberg cited a seven time increase coming for older waterfront houses. Florida legislators are trying to hold off on the federal mandate. Montyʼs pizzeria is about to reopen on its old site in Punta Gorda after Hurricane Charley moved them out. Gators, in Port Charlotte is opening a second location in Punta Gorda. The commercial landfill at the headwaters of
Shell Creek, proposed by the Laishley group, was defeated after public outcry this summer. Donʼt be surprised if this idea resurfaces next summer. Local real estate prices are still unremarkable, Punta Gorda is doing better than Port Charlotte. Vacant land and high end house sales are still flat. And my problems with Punta Gorda continue. I was run out of Laishley park by the police, for the third time, this last incident for taking pictures of children playing in the fountain. The cops thought I might be a sexual predator! On the reverse side, the 300 plus parents and kids in 12th year of our 7th grade Don Ball School of Fishing classes are thankful for my wife and I being involved.
NOVEMBER 2013
The fishing has been great this summer. Here is the Wymer family with some nice reds caught with Capt. Dave Lowrey last month.
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PAGE 21
SCUTTLEBUTT
Sometimes Unsubstanciated, But Often True
WE ARE FUKUSHIMAED Right now, a massive amount of highly radioactive water is escaping into the Pacific Ocean from the ruins of the destroyed Fukushima nuclear facility in Japan. This has been going on all day, every day for more than two years. The enormous
lantic,” said Dr. Gary Nelson, who works for the Massachusetts State Fisheries Dept.
THE BILLFISH CONSERVATION ACT, signed into law by President Obama on October 5, 2012, prohibits the sale of all marlin, sailfish, and spearfish in the continental US. It may be implemented soon.
amounts of tritium, cesium and strontium that are being released are being carried by wind, rain and ocean currents all over the northern Hemisphere. Over the coming years, this ongoing disaster could potentially affect the health of millions of people living in the northern hemisphere, and the sad thing is that a lot of those people will never even know the true cause of their health problems.
LEGS TO STAND ON You are not likely to ever see a tripod fish, much less reel one in. These little-known animals perch on the ocean floor on three elongated fin rays and wait until prey come near. The specialized fins are flexible, yet also stiff enough to support the fish in the abyssal zone up to 4,700 feet below the oceanʼs surface.
LONG RANGE BASS Experts say it is a once-in-a-lifetime catch, but not because of its size or rarity. In fact, Martin Whiteʼs two-pound, seven-ounce striped bass is not all that extraordinary to the casual viewer. What does make it remarkable is that White found it more than 3,000 miles away from its natural range, off the coast of Dover in southeastern England. “Itʼs unheard of for a striped bass to travel all the way across the salty At-
FUTURE BOATS? Zaha Hadid created a concept for a 128metre yacht (middle picture) while Mercedes Benz is circulating an image (top picture) that could become a power boat design. The bottom image is another Hadid design that has actually been built. Five of these are on the water NOW, but none are nearby. GILL NET BAN OVERTURNED In late October a panhandle judge ordered a halt to enforcement of Florida's constitutional amendment limiting gill net fishing in state coastal waters, which could affect local fishing statewide. The FWC is appealing the ruling. The CCA has not yet commented.
IGFA CALL TO ACTION Recreational anglers can help end the waste of bluefin tuna in the U.S. and ensure that surface longliners – not sportsmen – are held accountable for incidental bycatch. The International Game Fish Association has sponsored an online petition and is asking for anglers to sign on at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/618/212/596/ to urge NOAA Fisheries to strengthen their current proposed rule for bluefin tuna by reducing longline bycatch and protecting bluefin spawning.
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TURTLE INVASION The number of green sea turtle nests in Florida this year was more than double the count of the previous highest year. FWC bilolgists have documented more than 25,000 green turtle nests on 26 index beaches in the state in 2013.
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November Fishing Forecast
NOVEMBER 2013
Charlotte Harbor
Frank, at Fishin’ Franks 941- 625-3888
Let’s start with freshwater. Bass is doing real good. We sold out of inline spinnerbaits this week. That’s a good sign. I haven’t heard much bluegill and crappie, but thay can’t be far off now. In the rivers we have plenty of big snook. Casting the deep holes with Rattletraps or trolling Bombers is the river snook plan. Once you get up into the canals mangrove snapper is doing well and we are even starting to see sheepshead already which is a sign of a good year to come. The Kickin’ Shad from Storm Lures is slaying the canal snook. Once it’s evening, fish a shrimp on a free line cast under the docks. Try three casts and go to the next dock. Out on the flats it’s prime temperature for white bait, if you can find them. Pirate Harbor, Jug Creek and Devilfish are the places to look. Behind the bar you’re going to find trout, redfish, snook and sheephead along with fairly decent snapper populations. There are flounder at Alligator Creek, the Cape Haze Bar and on the Gulf side of Boca Grande as well as along the beaches. Spanish mackerel, ladyfish and tarpon are still out in the middle of the Harbor. The nice daytime temps and the cool nights are keeping the Harbor at the prefect temperature. There are a gazillion sharks out in the Gulf not far off the beaches, say from 30 feet on out deeper. Some you can catch on the beaches are blacktips and smaller bulls. There are also a lot of sawfish in the Harbor right now. If you start seeing a lot of flounder you’ll see sawfish because they like the same habitat. If you go out in the Gulf there are plenty of snapper and grouper and also Spanish, King mackerel and amberjacks. Keep your eyes peeled in the passes for mahi mahi usually they stay out 30 miles, but every few years this happens and this is one of the good years for mahi. Going through the passes keep your eyes open for their green and yellow translucent color. If you go out 30 miles you can actually target them right now. We have had different billfish, sailfish and oth-
Meat Eaters
Left: Dennis Roughton two Red Grouper. Above and Right: two anglers from Wisconsin with Capt. Joe Miller out of Venice. Check out Capt. Joeʼs facebook page : Fish Galore Offshore
ers too. These fish are not migrating, it’s that the Gulf doesn’t have a lot of temperature variation. The water is getting really nice and clear and with the rain backing off we are seeing a lot of these fish coming in close. After the Deepwater Horizon spill a lot of the bait that was in the middle of the Gulf is no longer there, so the pelagic fish are coming in closer to shore looking to feed. Same thing for cobia. Everything is perfect for cobia in the Harbor from Marker No.2 up by the 41 bridge, Marker No1, Cape Haze and all over the near shore reefs,
Capt. Tom Fisher and Fishbone Charters sent us this photo of Steve Duke with a beautiful snook and Chandler with a fat red
Charters
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Shark, Tarpon, Grouper, Snapper, Kingfish, and MORE!
Tony Bants with a Harbor snook caught with Capt. Dave Stephens. Snook are on the move to the protection of creeks and Rivers now.
all of it should have cobia. They spawn often during the year, so if you see them going in a circle they are doing the baby dance. And we have nice sized triple tail, fish close to 30 inches, around the markers. Look for something floating in the water since triple tail like to stick their head in the shade. Choice shrimp on a No. 2 hook (a little tiny one) or the smallest white bait you can find is the plan for tripletail. They will take a small bait over a large one.
Nighttime Trips Available
Capt. Jim OʼBrien USCG 50 ton license since 1985
941-473-2150
BackBay Xtremes Capt Dave Stephens www.backbayxtremes.com
941-916-5769
NOVEMBER 2013
The The BIG-4 BIG-4
MACKEREL Spanish in the Harbor. Kings are coming
Last month Capt. Billy Barton put his ʻguyʼ on this golden Harbor Redfish
Lemon Bay:
Jim, at Fishermen’s Edge, Englewood: 697-7595
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Fish Fish to to expect expect in in
SHEEPSHEAD Large schools moving in from the Gulf
November November
GROUPER are still thick in the near shore Gulf
Don Ball School Students
Gulf Temps are 79 and cooling off. Migrations in progress
Left: Gabe Layne caught a 31 1/4 inch to the fork King Mackerel in the Gulf Of Mexico, off of Placida, Right: Cooper Alterio with a 38 inch and 13 1/2 pounds snook caught last month.
Some charter guys say it’s been too good. Within an hour they limited out and then it’s ‘what do we do the rest of the day?’ Trembly and Novak reefs are loaded with porgy and grunts. One guy caught 64 grunts the other day. A couple of guys said they got cobia, both inside and offshore along with really big mangs and yellowtail off 50 miles. Still some scattered tarpon too. This is the best fishing of the year... until the first big front.
Its been reel good. I’m seeing so many fish pictures; king mackerel to 28 pound on swimming Yozuri plugs. Spanish and bluefish are all over the place - near shore, outside of Stump Pass and north to Manasota Key. The cooler temps are bringing fish down the coast and closer in. Inshore has been really good snook, trout and red fishing. There are still schools of redfish, the snook are on the trestles, piers and inlets. Guys fishing the south end of Boca, throwing plugs, are doing really well. Everyone has monster snook pictures, fish over 40 inches, really nice ones, are being caught, Pompano is taking off and flounder to 22inches are being caught in the surf within casting distance of the beach on shrimp and little bucktails. Sheepshead are starting to show up now. I’ve seen them in a guys cooler already. Grouper fishing has been good with Stretch 25s or Bomber CD 25 lures. Use anything that will get down deeper. Try the Rapalla Mag This cobia measured 48 inches and was caught 13 miles off trolling for grouper or catching King mackerel Venice by Kiersten Herr on October 12.
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SNOOK Moving into all the creeks and rivers
PAGE 23
Below: Larry Schmitt of Lancaster NY shows off his 36-plus-inch cobia. As a participant in the Sport Fish Tag and Release Program for the University of Southern Mississippi, Capt. Fred of Backdraft Charters quickly tagged and released the Cobia
FISHING RIGHT NOW: Very Great!
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NOVEMBER 2013