Water LIFE Dec 2010

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December 2010

Capt Jim From the Ol始 Fishin始 Hole Page 17

Winter Plastics

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Happy Holidays!

Sunfish N ationals at Punta Gorda Page 19

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December

2010

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19700 Cochran Blvd • Port Charlotte, FL 33948

December

2010

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Letters to: WaterLIFE@comcast.net

To Whom It May Concern: My daughter is a student at Punta Gorda Middle School and she is currently participating in the Don Ball School of Fishing program. I just wanted to say a big "thank you!" to all of the gentlemen who serve as instructors in this program and those who continue to fund it. My exhusband passed away a little over a year ago.

He was an avid fisherman and he spent a lot of time with my daughter fishing on the boat. This has been a fantastic way for my daughter to continue to learn the art of fishing and also feel a little closer to her father. She is always so excited to go to class and her smile is even bigger on the way home, because she receives such nice gifts (rod, reel, tackle, etc.) for attending the program. I cannot thank you enough for your dedication to such a wonderful community program!

Sincerely, Amanda R. editor notes* The Don Ball School of Fishing is a program run by the non-profit Charlotte Harbor Reef Association Fishing Class We are trying to put together a small collection to get Capt. Andy (Medina) a card and a small gift, to show him our appreciation for volunteering his time and all his knowledge that he shared with the students at Murdock Middle School.

Todd Haxton, Port Charlotte

E-mail To the County Commissioners:

Dear Sirs I own a 26' boat and enjoy offshore fishing.

I used to park at the county boat ramp in Placida. I've launched my boat there for years.

Then the park was redone. The parking spots did not accommodate my truck & trailer so I

into consideration when expanding the current boat ramp. I believe most offshore boats are in the 24' to 27' range.

Is would be possible for me to park at the Placida ramp now. All they need do is move the concrete stops a few feet. It really burned me up last time I was there to pay my money to park and then receive a $40.00 fine as the rebuilt parking lot could no longer accommodate my rig.

Lester J Kuhn, Harbour Heights

Countyʼs Reply

Subject: Placida Boat Ramp Not long after Placida renovation was completed, we realized that standard 40' spaces were not long enough for the larger boats - and also the longer vehicles that tow them. All boat ramps on the drawing boards (Cattle Dock Point and Bay Heights) now will have 45' spaces rather than 40. To optimize the numSanta Chris grabs ber of parking spaces and cost, that is probably our practical limit. On these a bite at Fishinʼ Franks. If you look carefully you new boat ramp facilities we will set the might see elf-Robert in the backround. wheel stops as close as practical to the end of the spaces. By copy of this email I am asking the pulled over the concrete stop at the end of the Community Services Department to see if parking spot to avoid blocking passage behind any of the current Placida spaces can facilimy trailer. I received a $40 fine for parking on tate relocating the wheel stops closer to the the grass. Since that time I've parked at the ends. private boat launch next to the park. (Eldred's) The property that was purchased at Placida I read that their is a plan to expand the boat is west of the existing boat ramp, not Eldred's. ramp. Is there any plan to create longer parking Plans and funding for its development is as yet spots for those of us with longer trailers? It is unspecified. Thanks for your input. If you have very difficult to find a ramp in Charlotte County any other questions, I will be glad to address that will accommodate longer boats. As a 26 or them.

27 foot boat is probably the largest trailerable David Milligan, Director, boat allowed on the highways (without wide Facilities Construction & Maintenance Dept. load restrictions) I hope the county takes this

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Contributing Editors:

Photography: ASA1000.com Senior Editor: Capt. Ron Blago Port Charlotte: Billy Barton Gasparilla: Capt. Chuck Eichner Commercial Fishing: Kelly Beall Sea Grant: Betty Staugler Real Estate: Dave Hofer Inshore: Fishinʼ Frank Diving: Adam Wilson Kayaks: David Allen Sailing: Bill Dixon Office Dog: Molly Brown

on the COVER

This happy crew came back with Capt. Jim OʼBrien of Predator Charters. Page 17

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Water LIFE i s the o ffi ci al publ i cati o n o f the Charl o t t e Harb o r Reef As s o ci at i o n, the o ri g i nato r o f the Ki ds Cup To urnament and the pro ducer o f the Do n Bal l Scho o l o f Fi s hi ng .

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Swim Baits are HOT for Winter Fishing

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By Capt. Chuck Ei chner Water LIFE Inshore The toughest fishing months of the year are upon us. Cold fronts, low tides and windy days are more common than stable weather with high tides. One fantastic bait to use, now, is the swimbait.

For a bass angler in California this would conjure up an image of a 12-inch handpoured trout-imitating lure that costs 30 bucks, but on Charlotte Harbor a 3- to 5inch bait will catch redfish and trout every day. There are types that can be purchased rigged right out of the pack or those rigged by the angler with a jig head and plastic body. I find they both work equally well.

Common to all types of lure-fishing you have to experiment with size, colors, weights and actions. In my tackle box you will find a large assortment of swimbaits with a swimmer paddle tail, some with a curly twister tail and some that are straight or forked. Storm, Calcutta and Berkley are top manufactures of swimbaits that come rigged right out of the pack and are extremely realistic. Oddly enough, I generally purchase plastic bodies and rig them myself on a variety of head styles.

This way I can choose my personal color preferences such as red head-white body, chartreuse head-white body, etc.

Generally, 1/16 to ¼ ounce weights are all I use in the shallows up to 5 feet.

Pre-rigged are also more expensive and once the tail is bit off it becomes a throwaway. Rigging yourself will allow you to reuse the jig head and also choose (or switch) your own soft plastic tail. Some plastics are extremely soft and bit off easily by snapper and pinfish, others are tougher.

A key to rigging your own is to glue the bodies onto the jigheads before hitting the water. Fishing around structure and weeds your swimbait bodies will tend to slide off the hook which changes the swimming action very distinctly. Short striking fish will also not be able to pull the body off when it is glued on.

To attach a body to a jig head, slide the bait onto the jighead all the way, then back the body away from the head adding a drop of super glue and repositioning. I always do this at home as super glue on your hands and deck has a way of irritating me when I want to fish.

Alternative rigging styles include using a plastic-worm weighted-hook that allows the hook to be buried into the body.

Also, some manufacturers have a built in pocket in the bait where the hook point hides which allows it to slide through the grass. Best to use a plastic worm style hook with those baits.

For the fishing side of things, accuracy and presentation are everything. When fishing the higher tide phases around mangrove islands your baits should land with a quiet splash on the shallowest edge and be retrieved across deeper pockets. Often letting the bait free drop into a hole is deadly.

Deadwood laying in the water is prime habitat for redfish and snook and a well placed cast through the structure will often trigger a strike. For shallow-water lowtide situations, nothing beats a swimbait.

The key here is to cast well past a pot hole with your bait landing over the shallow grass bed and then slow up your retrieve as it approaches the middle of the deeper sand hole. Redfish and trout will mash this presentation!

Swim baits are my go-to bait for trout.

You can cover lots of water and work deeper waters of 5 feet where bigger fish often congregate. The old rule of big bait equals big fish applies here. Using a 2 ½ inch swimbait will catch the numbers but a 5 inch bait will catch the big fish. Lots of small fish will strike short on a 5 inch bait. Speaking of short strikes, snook will often follow a swimbait and quick nip the tail. The angler will feel a small bump now and then and not realize that a snook is mouthing the bait but too smart to inhale. A good trick is to rig a small stinger hook in the tail. Using a small threading needle take 15-pound braid and tie it to a small short shank hook. Run the needle and thread from the tail end of the bait, bring it out and tie it to the jig-

REDFISH YACHT BROKERS

December

2010

head hook. You will be surprised at the fish you have been missing!

The good news for spending a day pitching swimbaits is that you will probably spend less than $10 in lures and cover lots more water. No trip to the bait shop or shrimp to deal with. The fish are almost always mouth hooked and easy to release. Light colored baits for the brighter days and darker colors for cloudy days. Don’t be surprised if a shallow water monster like a cobia or black tip shark rails your lure and rocks the silence of the backwater as these lures ring the dinner bell for all shallow water species.

Capt. Chuck Eichner operates Action Flats Back country Charters and can be contacted for charters at 941-505-0003 or v isit www.back country -charters.com

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December

2010

A Visit to Sebastian

By Mi chael Hel l er Water LIFE Editor Last month I drove across Route 70 to the east coast and then up to Sebastian Inlet to see the FWC sponsored Big Red tournament. The FWC was working with local guides there in a project to collect brood stock redfish in the 40 inch plus range. Forty anglers paid $750 each to fish with 20 selected local guides with a special waiver from the FWC to posess the oversize fish.

The plan was to catch the fish and move them to a hatchery where they would be induced to spawn. The project was made even more interesting by the fact that the FWC has now decided to evolve its Florida hatchery program from one single big hatchery at Port Manatee to a string of smaller ‘grow out facilities’ around the state.

Brett Boston, the coordinating head of the Big Red Tournament for the Wildlife Federation put me in touch with one local guide who agreed to chauffer me around to take pictures. The guide was Capt Warren Wright. Warren and I had a lot of time to talk that day because no big redfish were caught, none at all. The day of the tournament a front was passing, the ocean was 8- to 10- foot outside with the surf crashing white into the jetty. Fshing in general that day was pretty slow for every angler

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Brett Boston of the Wildlife Federation waves hello from the rough surf inside Sebastian Inlet. With the adverse conditions the Big Reds tournament didnʼt result in any fish caught.

we saw, both those in boats on the protected ‘inside’ and those standing on the jettys and bridges around the inlet.

So we made a lot of small talk. Warren was quick to show me a chewed up little green Gamagatzu jig that he said had been the ‘ticket’ all year. ‘Nothing can resist this: reds, trout, flounder, they all love this little lure,’ he told me.

Later I also talked for a little while with Chris Young the head scientist at the FWC hatchery program in Port Manatee.

His take on raising redfish seemed to be that we need more study on individual

sized fish: 2-inch, 3-inch, 4-inch, before we can really release a lot more redfish.

Genetics, he told me still require the state’s different redfish populations to be raised separately.

Mr. Young was not happy that no fish were caught that day. He had brought staff and equipment from across the state. Mr. Young suggested buying oversize redfish for $50 each from commercial netters would be a much more economical solution to obtaining brood stock, even though it would not have the fundraising appeal a successful tournament could

Page 7

bring. “We wanted to have this event in September but some people thought the water was too warm to safely transport the fish,” Mr Young said.

Warren and I walked back to his boat.

We talked about the hatchery plan and what Chris Young had just said. Warren’s take was the same as mine, why not simply raise and release more fish, lots more fish? ‘Like they do in Texas,’ he said, echoing what many other guides around Florida have been asking.

We talked about Charlotte Harbor and the conversation turned to tournaments.

“Charlotte Harbor has a reputation for being a great place to fish,” this guide from across the state told me, but it also has a reputation for “having too many tournaments, – we don’t want that around here,” Warren said.

Sebastian is a nice fishy spot where a deep hole (Shark Hole) just outside the south jetty holds fish for the incoming tide. “When the big fish are here, we all take turns drifting on them,” he told me.

“Normally the fish come in here and move around back over there,” Wright pointed as we idled between the fleet of recreational flounder anglers and then followed along a string of shore islands along the shore.

Even without fish there was the feeling of a nice Saturday on the water. It could have been anywhere. Captains greeted each other, kids were having a good time, everything was relaxed and cordial .... just the way I like it. Happy Holidays to all!

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Stump Pass Dredging to Begin

Page 8

December

2010

On the Line

time we are doing the same thing. It's the increase in rules and regulations of

By Capt Ron Bl ago, all the various government agencies Water LIFE S enior S taff that have greatly added to the cost and Finally; after nearly a one year delay, caused the delay of this project. I am the dredging of Stump Pass is about to confident in saying that this new regubegin. The Charlotte County Board of latory environment has easily added County Commissioners over a million dollars to approved the contract the cost of the project. for $3,763,066.10 durA What happens after the ing their November 9th lighted marker long term permit expires meeting. Construction will be placed in 2011 is anyone's guess; is anticipated to start but if the permitting and the week of November at the regulatory requirements 29th and be completed Gulf entrance keep increasing as they

by March 31, 2011. have in recent years, then This will be the last of I can see a situation where the local three maintenance dredges since 1991 county can no longer afford to keep that were permitted be the state under a Stump Pass open. permit that is scheduled to expire next Southwind Construction Corp. will year. This project was by far the most be doing the actual dredging. They were complicated and difficult to pull off and the only company that met the county's all the county staff that worked hard to requirements for the job. The sand from get us through the maze of state and the pass will be pumped to the north to federal regulations deserve our thanks. re-nourish the state park. This was a The design and dredging of the pass deal done with the State Beach and is pretty simple. After all it's the third

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We made this photograph of Stump Pass on November 2, 2010.

Included in the dredging plan are a string of new markers (see Marker diagram on page 21)

The new outside lighted marker will be at: Lat 26º53.355ʼ Lon 82º20.798ʼ

Shores department in order to get their approval. The remaining sand will be used to re-nourish the Palm Island shoreline. When the dredging is done, channel markers will be placed to mark the pass with a lighted marker placed at the Gulf side entrance to the pass.

We jumped through all the hoops and we will have Stump Pass opened one more time, but what about the future? I hear a lot of comments about a jetty as a solution to our problem.

I'm sure a jetty at Stump Pass will be as effective as the one at the Venice Inlet; but that solution presents another set of problems. A jetty at Stump Pass will cause the accumulation of sand on the north side of the pass, but will cause accelerated erosion of the sand on the south side of the pass.

The people of Palm Island have every right to want their shoreline renourished, but if there will no longer be enough sand from the pass they may have to find another source of sand. It

is estimated that the cost of pumping sand from offshore would be great.

Of course there is the let’s do nothing approach. You always here the “let nature take its course” strategy. If we do nothing the pass will move around, then fill in and eventually close. The water in Lemon Bay will get polluted.

With no flushing action of the pass, the sea grass will die along with the shell fish and game fish. The marinas will close, the fishermen will leave and property values will drop. You get the idea, that's the way Mother Nature works - survival of the cleanest.

That leaves the plan we currently have in place: Do maintenance dredging of the pass as needed - hopefully every four years. Keep kissing the butts of regulators so they will give us permission to do the work; and pray we don't have any hurricanes or storms that can close a pass over night.

In the mean time let's enjoy the pass when it’s opened.

December

2010

Fish Tracking Update

By Betty S taugl er

Water LIFE / Sea Grant

Since 2007 Kids Cup participants have been helping researchers learn more about Redfish behavior and specifically where Kids Cup redfish go after being released at Fishermen’s Village in Punta Gorda. Thanks to a collaborative effort of the Water LIFE Kids Cup tournament, Florida Sea Grant and a number of scientific entities, weighed in redfish were tagged as part of a research and education program during the last four years of the tournament.

During the May 15, 2010 Kids Cup Tournament, 20 redfish were surgically implanted with battery operated acoustic tags (photo at right) and released. Twenty each were implanted in the 2007 and 2008 tournaments and 22 in the 2009 tournament. These tags transmit a signal into the water at random 30 to 90 second intervals. The signal can be received, decoded and stored inside one of our underwater listening units if a tagged redfish swims within 400 meters of the unit. We download our units (13 total around the harbor) to retrieve the data every few months. The tags that we used in 2008, 2009 and 2010 have a battery life of a little more than two years and we do continue to occasionally observe some of our redfish from earlier years.

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Redfish are much like people. Some like to be constantly on the move and others are couch potatoes, hanging out in the same area for long periods of time. Some of our movers and shakers travel many miles in a short time period, but end up really going nowhere while others end up many miles away. Each time we download our receivers a few redfish just stick out as having been very cool. Following is a brief summary of our most recent download in mid November 2010. Special thanks to

A sonic tag like this will transmit a signal for 1/4 mile.

Tags must be surgically implanted.

Capt. Bart Marx and Jared Shackleford for their help with this download.

Let’s start with the mover and shaker redfish of the 2010 tournament which was initially caught by Chance Galloway in the vicinity of Bull Bay. This fish stayed around the tournament release location for about 10 days

Page 9

showing up on several receivers, it then high tailed it back to Bull Bay showing up on our receiver there on June 5, only three weeks after the tournament date.

Chance’s fish stayed in Bull Bay until June 6th and we haven’t heard from it since.

Redfish disappearing from our receivers is a pretty common phenomenon. With only 13 receivers, a lot of the Harbor remains uncovered. Our winner for both the longest disappearance and longest tracking record goes to a 2008 tournament fish initially caught by Randy Sides.

Randy caught his redfish in Matlacha Pass back on April 19, 2008. This fish stayed at the release location near Fishermen’s Village for two days after the tournament and then we never heard from it again. That is until August 27 of 2010, almost 2 ½ years later. We picked up Randy’s redfish at our receiver located near the US-41 Bridge.

Other fish from previous years recently observed include Ryan Moore’s redfish from 2009, which was picked up near the tournament release site on September 30, 2010; Mark Uebelacker’s redfish, which was picked up near US-41 on August 17, 2010; and Kyle Miller’s redfish, which was picked up at Hobb’s Point on June 4, 2010.

We downloaded our receiver at Alligator Bay on November 19th and discovered Ricardo Martinez’s redfish was there just a few hours earlier. Ricardo had originally caught his redfish near Hobb’s. Matt Barton’s redfish was also observed in November. Matt originally caught his redfish near Hog Island. It was picked up on our receiver at Colony Point on November 8th.

This year we are also picking up small tooth sawfish tagged by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in the Peace River. We picked up three of their sawfish at US-41. It is possible we picked up one other at Colony Point.

Redfish from the Kids Cup tournament have also been tagged with externally anchored tags. A number of other fish species are also tagged this way including snook, amberjack, grouper and snapper. External tags are visible to anglers. So, if you happen to catch a tagged fish, please note the tag number, length of the fish and your catch location. The tag should also display a telephone number to call to report this information.

Kids Cup receivers will be maintained for at least another six months before this project comes to an end.

We’ve tracked a lot of redfish over the last four years.

More importantly kids have had the opportunity to be a part of the research. It’s been fun!

Betty Staugler is the Florida Sea Grant Agent for Charlotte County. She can be reached at 941.764.4346.

Sea Grant is part of of the Univ ersity of Florida IFAS Ex tension

Real Estate News

Page 10

PROVIDED to Water LIFE BY: Dav e Ho fer RE/MAX Harbor Realty (941) 575-3777 dhofer@remax.net www.harborparadise.com

Recent area news i tems:

1. Charlotte County is continuing its headlong push into the real estate investment business. This month, it is planning to acquire a beautiful waterfront property adjacent to its boat ramp known as Placida Park at the entrance to the Boca Grande Causeway. The County will pay only $3 mil for this 14 acre jewel.

The property was originally owned

by Brunswick Corp. J & J Homes owner, Jacques Cloutier later acquired this and other major properties during

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the real estate feeding frenzy.

Cloutier bought the property in 2001 for $5.25 Mil. and refinanced the property with Fifth Third Bank in 2006 for $5 Mil. Fifth Third and a number of other banks foreclosed on J&J Mortgages totaling more than $115 mil. Cloutier also lost 2 stores on Marion Avenue's restaurant row and 2 choice downtown Punta Gorda corner lots. His $21 mil in soured loans from Florida Community Bank helped put them out of business early this year.

So, you might ask, what does our County's business plan for this property look like? Never bashful to vocalize his business views, Commissioner Skidmore opined that they " ....

MIGHT spend a little and make a lot...". What he means by a "little" is the $3 mil of taxpayers dollars to acquire this choice acreage and probably several more millions to pave it, and install an additional boat ramp.

And, oh yes, there's eliminating $75,000 in annual real estate taxes currently being paid not to mention the lost opportunity to collect more than $1 mil/yr when the property is ultimately put to its highest and best use by private professionals. What taxpayers get in return is parking revenue... fifty cents an hour on up to 260 more

December

2010

parking spaces.

While this property appears to have considerably more value than previous Charlotte County real estate acquisitions, the question remains: "should the County be speculating on land acquisitions with our tax dollars?"

The Commissioners should be asking themselves whether the cost of this project is justified to its TAXPAYERS, not how much it might be worth to a developer. Between the lost real estate tax income, the cost of borrowing to make the acquisition and development of the property and the annual cost of maintaining it, we're looking at an outlay of more than $300K/yr with only a small portion of that being recouped by parking fees.

2. It looks like Charlotte County will also be throwing some $5.6 million at an intermodal facility to be placed on 20 acres on Rt 17 at I-75.

Desperate to try to help private industries to lure new jobs to the area, the County will be looking to get $800K of this money out of our state pockets.

3. Allen Heise is proposing to develop a marina at the site of the former Port Charlotte Motel on Rt 41.

He will be creating 645 boat slips to be sold on a fractional ownership basis.

4. Sarasota County will be adding $5 Mil. to its incentive fund to add jobs for its residents. Tervis Tumbler, for example, received a county grant of $450K to add 214 jobs to its payroll. Not sure why taxpayers are subsidizing private industry so they can make more money for themselves.

5.

A 135' air traffic control tower is now under construction at the Punta Gorda airport. October passenger traffic increased by more than 25% vs. 2009 to more than 10,000. Three new destinations will come on line in November.

In other news: Two of America's largest home mortgage lenders (B of A & Wells Fargo) have, once again, raised their credit standards.

They have effectively eliminated another 15% of the potential home buyers from obtaining financing.

Australia Yachts will build an assembly plant in Enterprise Charlotte Airport Park. They hope to eventually hire 120 new workers. No details on what taxpayers will be called on to chip in to make this a reality.

Sales Statistics:

Lot prices without water and sewer continued to plummet even below 1990 levels. Competitive construction pricing has lured builders into speculative construction on a few canalfront lots. Activity for existing homes has been well below the $100K mark.

OK to Take Both Claws?

December

2010

By Adam Wi l don Water LIFE Diving Just last week I was enjoying a dive under the Boca Grande causeway looking for, what else, stone crabs, of course. The visibility was not very good, maybe 3 or 4 feet, but I was stumbling across some real nice crabs with colossal claws. It was pretty exciting as so far this crab season I really hadn’t done real well inshore. As I crawled toward the shadow of the next post 4 feet away, I was anxious to see what waited at the base. Sure enough, just like all the other posts I had visited, there was a big crab huddled against it, scurrying around the backside to avoid the strange creature bearing down on him. No such luck for the crab. I waited for him to come back around the other side of the post where I scooped up the startled little guy that thought he had escaped harvest.

He was so big he could hardly move without stumbling over his gigantic appendages. This was the biggest crab I had seen this season so I scooped him up and instead of snapping his claws I tucked him into my mesh bag for a topside photo. That’s when I heard a motor revving.

I ignored the first rev. Maybe my buddy topside was just trying to avoid a bridge piling with the increasing incoming tide. The second rev made me think somebody was trying to get my attention, but the crabbing was so good I didn’t want to break away. Just a few more pilings I thought. It was the third rev that got me. Finally the thought of my other buddy surfacing with an injury or some other emergency snapped me out of my stone crab crazy adrenaline rush and started me heading the 15 feet to the surface world. I thought to myself, this had better be good.

Once I popped up I saw the big center console Charlotte County Marine Patrol boat alongside our skiff. We had a full

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days worth of oysters, clams & some stone crab claws already on board.

Everything was legal and within our limits, so I wasn’t worried, just a little anxious to expedite the process and get back in the water to round out our 2 gallon limit of claws. I guess being unsure of what to make of our multiple buckets overflowing with shellfish, the Marine Patrol officer had called in an FWC officer to go through it all even before I surfaced. Before I climbed up our ladder I informed Marine Patrol of a whole crab I had in my bag. I assured him I would release the little guy post haste, without any claws of course. Shortly before the FWC officer arrived I snapped both claws off my whole crab and dropped him over the side. That’s when Marine Patrol said “Hey, you can’t do that”. I asked “Do what”? “Take both claws” he replied. I assured him it was quite legal and it clearly stated so on the MyFWC website, and that it has been legal, to the best of my knowledge, for maybe 10 years or even more.

That’s when the big book came out.

Oh boy, this was going to take longer than I originally thought. I was now regretting even surfacing at all. As he was thumbing through the regulation book bigger than two telephone directories the FWC officer showed up. Sandwiched between the two center consoles, both officers conversed shortly before FWC decided to call it in as he wasn’t sure either, although he did think it was legal.

Waiting for the reply from dispatch, the usual exercise of measurements, sizes and limits were checked on our entire haul.

Before our quasi contraband could be fully investigated, the call came back from H-Q

that both claws were indeed fair game.

Our seafood extravaganza passed inspection and was deemed ok and legal. After the FWC officer couldn’t re-start his portside motor, he told Marine Patrol “These guys are straight” and headed for the ramp. A quick see ya later to Marine Patrol and we could finally get back in the water.

It doesn’t surprise me that law enforcement can’t memorize every law, nor am I insinuating they aren’t doing their job if they don’t know every line in the giant book of fine print. I don’t think that would be humanly possible frankly.

2011 has some big changes coming for recreational fisherman. Everyone knows gag grouper will shut down in Federal waters January 1st. All groupers will close to harvest from February 1st to March 31st. We are facing a ban on spearing African pompano and permit anywhere. Amberjack will surely see an early season closure. Sector separation could possibly make keeping red snapper a reality only if you’re on a for hire charter boat. On the good side, it looks as if the decades old ban on spearfishing in Charlotte County could be lifted.

According to Jim Joseph of Fantasea Scuba, counties made their own ordi-

P a g e 11

nances prior to the inception of the Marine Fisheries Commission. Without the State requiring such a law, it could soon be done away with by the County Commissioners.

Regardless of what changes come along, it will always be our own responsibility to know the law. I would recommend checking the myfwc.com website before every outing. I would also sign up for the Gulf Council’s email updates (pressreleases@gulfcouncil.org) that inform of closures, openings, and other last minute changes sure to pop up this coming year. Don’t assume law enforcement knows every regulation. From now on I’m going to print out all regulations for whatever it is we are harvesting and keep it in a zip lock bag to assist an officer with regs on what we have or what we are doing.

We knew we were doing everything by the book that day last week. It took two officers 20 minutes to agree with us.

It’s not very often you’re stuck between two law boats and no citations get written. We would never knowingly break the law. It has always been our stand that a fish is just not worth getting in trouble over, or a crab, or clam, or anything else out there. See you on the water in 2011.

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Don Ball School of Fishing Wrapping Up for 2010 Page 12

By Mi chael Hel l er Water LIFE Editor I have to admit I feel like Santa when I walk into class each week carrying boxes of fishing gear for the kids. On the nights when we are giving away split shots and hooks and jigs and swivels and corks and casting plugs and measure tapes and decals and what ever else, we set up tables in a row and lay out what I call the Fishing Buffet. The kids take their utility trays with the tops open and walk down the buffet line getting their fill of tackle and putting it in the little compartments. It’s not just the girls, they all seem to obsess a little about storing stuff in the white plastic compartments and organizing it all very neatly. I haven’t had the heart to tell them it’s going to look ‘different’ after they start fishing with it.

To date we’ve put over 1000 7th grade kids in our fishing program, 113 this year.

They have all received quality rods and reels and tackle bags with the right local tackle to get them started fishing. We get the kids who have been fishing since the 2nd grade and who by now are already experienced anglers and we get the kids that have never fished. We have been getting more and more girls. And we are getting kids helping each other learn.

When they get their rod and reel they have to take off the spool and give it back to us. I bring the spools to Fishin’ Franks where Greg and Mike and Cayle and Robert and Larry have been filling all of them with 15-pound mono. Thanks Frank!

I bring the spools back the next week and the kids must thread their rods. Then we do casting with a casting plug. Kids get dehookers and they get to practice dehooking skills on hooked triangular cardboard Fed-X ‘box-fish’. Thanks to ARC and Betty Staugler from Sea Grant!

The curriculum order varies from school to school, but we try to emphasize why the environment is important to both fish and fishermen. Be the Fish, think like a fish to find and catch fish is the idea.

We show the classes aerial photos of

Charlotte Harbor before and after Charley and how it looks this year, right now. A lot of the aerial presentation is geared to showing where fish might be ‘hanging out’ based on water flow and structure.

A some point we have everyone tie a lure on a leader with a loop knot and tie a leader to their line. One 4th generation fishing family’s 7th grader quickly tied such a pretty little line to line knot of 15 pound Power Pro to 20-pound fluorocarbon leader, I was impressed.

When we have the FWC come in to show the kids how they collect fish samples around the harbor we will ask the speaker to

December

2010

tell the kids what they need to study in school to get a job with the FWC. Kids need that information now.

Having high caliber local guides teaching this course makes it both informative and interesting. A big thanks to Capt.

Danny Latham, Capt. Bart Marx, Capt.

Andy Medina, Capt. Bob DeKeurlenaere, Capt. Rod Walinchus and Capt. Ron Blago. for teaching all the kids in 2010.

The ʻtackle buffetʼ at Port Charlotte middle school.

Parents are encouraged to sit in on the classes with their child. Here a father watches as Capt.

Danny Latham shows how to tie a haywire twist on a leader wire.

Knot Night at Port Charlotte with Capt. Bart Marx

Rod Night at Punta Gorda middle

December

2010

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Page 13

Iʼve Always Got Time for Fishing

By Bi l l y Barton Water LIFE Inshore Well y'all it's the holidays, and you know what that means – Another good reason to go fishin!

As for me, all of my Christmas shopping will be done the week before Christmas and other than that every waking available minute that I have off of work until then will be spent somewhere in Charlotte Harbor or the Gulf of Mexico. That my friends is no lie, and I know it’s what I live for, there is no doubt! This is an exciting time of year to be on the water. I don't like to feel like I'm missing out on big fish. Some people can deal with that, I sure can't!

It can be a little choppy this time of year, and a little chilly at times, but one thing I've learned over my years of fishing is, sometimes you just have to take a little abuse to catch big fish.

Hmmm....

On to the fishin’ – lets see, first let’s talk a little about offshore . I had a pretty exciting day of fishin this month with Capt. Angel Torres and our buddy Matt. We set out early morning to catch some nice sized pinfish and a couple live wells full of greenbacks. Next we set out on our mission, which was to head out about 20 miles to one of the public reefs and get to work on some nice gag grouper

Snook Transitions

Please remember to take it easy on the snook - they don't like winter and they are out of season until further notice.

I sure hope the cold doesn't kill them again this year, that would just be depressing.

I am already more-than-ready to enjoy a snook again in the frying pan, snook is my favorite!

and mangrove snapper if possible.

Sometimes fishing for bottom species can get a little tricky offshore. First you have to get em off the bottom and away from the structure and you have to do this on fairly light tackle. Then, if you do get em off the bottom, it doesn't necessarily mean your battle is over. You still have Goliath Grouper to worry about. A lot of you know this, some of you may not.

These things are underwater Volks Wagons, waiting to inhale anything in a struggle. Needless to say, they get pretty aggravating, but we make the best of it.

We chummed up some big bonitas and some nice sized amberjacks in the 20- to 40- pound range and had a blast. Fishing them on medium action spinning tackle is just a great time. We also managed to hook up a few on the fly rod which was cool, that is until the rod blew-up in three pieces! Yep, and we never landed the fish either! Stuff’s just bound to happen out there!

As for the bottom fishing, we never landed any keeper groupers that day, but we got some good snappers which actually taste better, in my opinion, anyway.

One of the other captains that we spoke to that day had some decent size King mackerel too. He caught them trolling stretch diving plugs - I believe around the 10-mile mark.

When trolling stretch plugs I like to

spread them out in the water column.

My favorite color is the bright pink or anything fluorescent and I would keep the trolling slow, at about two to four knots.

If your lucky you could also catch the occasional grouper!

Last but not least, inshore has really been producing. It's a great time to go out there and have some dynamite action. Out in the middle of the harbor you can follow the flocks of seagulls to experience a whole world of fun with the schooling ladyfish and Spanish mackerel.

These fish feed very aggressively – they could never be boring – they are just exciting! I like to fish for the Spanish mackerel on light, light tackle with a piece of light steel leader about ten inches or so in length. Then with this I like any small silvery shiny piece of artificial.

Throwing with a fast retrieve is a good way to get the job done.

As you go further inshore the redfish action is just hot on the flats. As the water temperature gets cooler this month you'll want to fish these fish slower.

They tend to be in the potholes and trenches, but you will also find them sunning in the shallows.

The whitebait tends to thin out during the winter months so I recommend fishing with select or handpicked sized shrimp. This should bring you success when fishing the reds this month. Or if you choose to throw some artificials, a three inch Berkley gulp shrimp in the new-penny or natural color will get the job done perfectly in the fall. A nice sized trout will never turn down a gulp shrimp either and snook have a hard time resisting them as well. Gulps are a pretty versatile artificial, they work well and I

fish em with confidence.

Once upon a time somebody gave me some insight on fishin. This was more than insight, actually it was food for my passion, food that I greatly appreciated and I'm still gettin fed. Well now I'm feeding others too. That's just the way it goes I suppose.

Take your kids fishin, it'll be the best thing you ever did for ‘em and don't forget if you have a kid to get down there to Fishin Franks and buy him or her a new rod and reel for Christmas.

That's it for me this month.

Wishing everyone the happiest of holidays and the biggest fish ever.

There's no life like the salt life.

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Page 14

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2010

S t aff R eport You have to look at it to see how a snelled circle hook hangs differently. It faces up slightly, because of the way the line comes through the eye. This translates to a slightly different bait presentation, a more fluid presentation, in some cases better.

“I catch more redfish when I tie my circle hooks like this,” Jeff Calkins said one day at Fishin’ Franks last month. Calkins who works at Franks on the weekends, will be happy to show you how to tie a hook like this in person. “It’s a technique popular with local tarpon fishermen,” he added.

A

B

C

D

A: Start at the point of the hook.

Bring the leader through the eye from the point side of the hook.

B: Lay your leader along the shank and pinch the leader at the eye. While holding it make an udersized loop

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December

2010

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Every Day on the Water is Like a Dream Come True

By Mi chael Hel l er Water LIFE Editor Captain Angel Torres asked us to write him a letter of recommendation for Penn reels - actually it’s for Pure Fishing who handle the Penn line. I know this company because we buy our fishing equipment for our kids program from them. They are one of the biggest in the business.

I was going to just write this on our stationary, but I wouldn’t say anything you can’t read, so I’m putting it right here in this month’s publication.

I met Angel in 2002. I remember meeting him at Fishin’ Franks one day. He didn’t have much of a tan yet, but I could tell he was a fisherman because his excitement for fishing showed through immediately. Angel worked his way into the ranks of the busy local guides and I’d see him on the water a lot, often with familys and kids. When our Kids Cup came up in 2004 Angel was there to help us and again every year after that. He’d do whatever we needed. He still will.

At the CCA Banquet, at Boat Shows and at speakers nights in local stores and boat clubs Angel has been there. Whoever is looking at Angel to promote their equipment will be getting a worker. I have seen Angel’s enthusiasm for fishing in everything he does. Around the bait

shop, on the ramp and on the water he has shown to be a professional who always has a smile.

Every Day on the Water is Like a Dream Come True, that is how Angel signs his emails. I know he means that.

And Angel is a great photographer.

Month after month Angel provides this publication with quality photos, fresh photos of just-caught fish....nice big fish too. Those rod-in-mouth shots are also Angel inspired. He has a good eye.

The variety of species caught and clientele he fishes shows that Angel is doing a good job not only of putting his clients on fish, but of helping to keep Charlotte Harbor in the fishing scene.

Look at the pictures to the right: Inshore, offshore, on the beach, these photos weren’t put here to make Angel look good, they are just the normal run of the mill fishing pictures for this month like those we have been getting from Angel for at least the last 4 years. His pictures have provided a good perspective for our readers.

I hope this helps Angel use his hard earned fishing reputation to work with a fishing company of equal integrity.

And I hope it doesn’t cut into his fishing time too much!

– MH

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Page 16

Tournament Merger Could Raise Questions About Cityʼs Policy

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SCUTTLEBUTT

Sometimes Unsubstanciated, But Often True DEER DUMMY (not the photo!)

Officers were working a detail targeting illegal night hunting when a suspicious truck stopped and shined a light at the replica deer. The truck left and returned several times during the night.

During the final stop, a man exited the truck and attempted to stalk the replica deer. When he found out the deer was fake, he grabbed the deer, sprinted back to his truck and attempted to drive away with it before being This guy was hunting by himself when he downed apprehended. this elk. Took pics with self-timer on his camera.

West Marine Roz Blankenship States he about died when he looked at the picwho used to manage the West tures the next morning!

Marine store in Port Charlotte is now running the West store in Venice. Steve Bailey who BROWN COVERED CORAL Government and academic scientists on used to manage the West store in Punta a multi-week expedition to explore Gorda is now running Port Charlotte and deep-sea coral habitats in the Gulf of weʼre not sure yet who will be driving the Mexico have observed corals and asso- boat at West Marine in Punta Gorda. ciated communities of marine life that show evidence of recent damage. Much SPEARFISHING Charlotte County was covered by what appeared to be a Commissioners are about to reverse a brown substance. Ninety percent of 40 1950s ordinance which prohibits spear large corals were heavily affected and fishing in Charlotte Harbor. The rule was showed dead and dying parts and dis- enacted prior to the creation of the coloration. Another site 400 meters FWC, back when all counties made their away had a colony of stony coral simi- own rules. Although gamefish would still larly affected. Scientists cannot be cer- be protected, snapper and sheepshead tain what caused the impacts or whether will be some of the targets. it is consistent with the release from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

December

2010

By Mi chael Hel l er Water LIFE Editor If you go on the Flatsmasters Tournament website it now says the tournament is a subsidiary of Smuggler’s Event Management Ltd. The move comes after the tournament allegedly issued post dated checks for it’s last event and was then unable to fund them. The The grassy swale behind the Crab House is now merger with Smugglers Event subject to a use fee, but should the user be able to Management was reportedly a way decide how much to charge himself? to clear up the elastic check problem. Jerry Cleffi, Flatsmasters gives the park management company the tournament Director will stay on with right to: “allow the manager (in this case Smugglers to manage the tournament and Marina Park Management) to alter rental handle other Smugglers’ events. fees that promote enhanced use of the This new merger further expands a web marina and environs” That should raise of local business ties. The Flatsmasters some warning flags: tournament (run by Classic Tournaments (1) Can the park manager now charge – which according to the state his own event a discounted rate that is Corporation Commission’s website has less than the rate the general public been inactive since 2008) holds its event would have to pay? at the Crab House in Laishley Park. The (2) Did passing this resolution six Crab House and Smuggler’s Event days in advance of the new management Management are sister companies of corporation’s formation give the city Marina Park Management, which runs some lesser level of complicity?

Laishley Park and the marina. Could all (3) Was the specific wording of the this complexity make it hard to track new resolution designed to benefit anyone who pays what for public park use. Was in particular? that the whole idea?

We asked Howard Kunik, the Punta Last month, on Nov 3, six days before Gorda City Manager, what he thought. the new Smugglers Event Management Kunik said the city’s intent with the Corporation was formed, the Punta Gorda resolution was “to establish a fee strucCity Council passed resolution # 2906-10 ture and management practices that mirror in which the City Council approved industry standards, ” but he did not say hourly rental rates for two previously how those practices applied to this unusuunaddressed areas of Laishley Park: the al situation. cobblestone patio (where the Redfish Cup Kunik did note ‘the city monitors their was held in 2006) and the grassy swale performance.’ area directly behind the Crab House where Kunik also mentioned in an email that the Park Management company has the city was considering extending the allowed the tournament stage to be set up Harbor Walk behind the Crab House and for the last three years, without charge. building a stage.

The new rate schedule, on first glance That raised yet another question: appears to be a step in the right direction. Would a stage on city park property It calls for the patio and the grassy swale behind the Crab House restaurant benefit to be rented at $30 per hour, each, for the general public or would it just benefit business events (like a fishing tournathe restaurant itself? ment) and $20 per hour, each, for nonThat question has yet to be addressed. profit events. But the new resolution also

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From the Olʼ Fishʼn Hole

December

2010

Wi th Capt. Ji m O'Bri en Water LIFE Englewood Hi y-all, it's December, only a few days till Christmas. To all you guys out there: you got a little more time to hunker down and be good so Santa will bring that new deer rifle, shot gun, or that new rod an’ reel you wanted.

(DON'T BLOW IT NOW) HA! Ol' Capt. here just lost his mom on October 23 and we didn't get back to fish'n charters until the first week of November, but I can tell y-all it surely feels good to be back on the water an’ snort'n some of that good clean salt air, cuz I needed it. It does a body good, if you know what I mean.

The fish'n has been real good from the inshore artificial reefs to the offshore wrecks and ledges.

I talked with Capt. Todd Gilbert a back bay charter captain on what he has been catching this last month and he told me the Spanish mackerel are all over the Harbor. He has been using white bait free-lined behind the boat. Redfish - there are small schools here and there, the bait of choice is still white bait and live shrimp. He is also catching pompano in the Harbor using silly-willy jigs and other assorted small jigs.

He also has had a stellar month on flounder – he caught one last week that was 22 in. That’s-a-nice-a-flounder, in any ones books.

The inshore artificial reefs, Novak and Trembly, are producing some nice mangrove snapper and a few cobia cruzin’ around,. Use a black and silver artificial eel or a good size pinfish. If you can get

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out early in the morning and target the crab trap buoy’s out of Stump Pass when its almost calm, you can sneak up on the crab trap bouy and you can see the trippletail on a lot of them – not all of them – but a lot. If you don't see or don't get a hit using live shrimp, then move on to another trap, sooner or later you will hit one that could have one or more on the bouy. Make sure you use light line and I always use fluorocarbon leader and I tie them together with a uni-touni knot. I might add you want to have a heavier rod an reel rigged for cobia, cuz if you find tripletail on the buoys, there is a real good chance there will be a cobia under him.

The lil tunny, Spanish, and king mackerel are from about 1 mile to 8 miles offshore. Steve and I have been using the small No.1 and No.2 planners with 3- to 4- feet of wire and a small clark spoon. We use king spoons for the kings, and a good ol' cedar plug for the lil tunny.

There are some snook being caught around docks and bridges.(REMEMBER SNOOK IS CATCH AND RELEASE ONLY) snook is closed untill SEPT.1 2011. Also Gag Grouper will be closed in Federal waters starting JAN 1 2011, and all Grouper will be closed FEB.1 THRU MARCH 31. This means CATCH AN RELEASE - NOT FILLET AN RELEASE. I told you Capt. Steve Skevington and I teamed up on some charter trips, when he has charters I mate for him, and when I have charters he has been mateing for me, and we have been doing pretty good. It's like the ol' salt an the young gun ha! Steve has been chartering for about 10 years, I the ol' salt have been

chartering since 1975 about 34 years.

Back to fish'n. My last charter out we had 5 guys from Saskatchewan that have fished with me the last 3 or 4 years.

These guys are a hoot. In my picture for this month I stop Darrick Dodge holding a gag grouper left, Richard Lillico holding a gag grouper right, Gordin Bueckert holding a nice king mackerel, left front, Lanny Dell holding a gag grouper, and front right, Damin Bailey holding a nice red grouper. Damin was the new guy this year, and did he get picked on by the guys. Ha!, and poor Larry was a fish'n right behind me in the back corner of the boat. He caught a lot of fish on his rod and I was catch'n fish on a light spinning outfit and I was nice, I passed my rod off to Larry so he could keep catching fish. Ol' Larry was so pooped out, I looked back to see why he wasn't catching fish, and he was keeping his bait on the surface. He asked me if we could go back an’ fish in 10- to 15-feet of water.

Another Ha!!

All in all we all had a great time on

Page 17

the water and had a lot of laughs and caught a lot of fish. By the way we were fish'n in 100 ft. of water. We had a bruiser cobia about 4-1/2 feet long and big around. Steve and I estimated him to go 60 - 65 pounds or more. Steve tried live pin fish, large live shrimp and a whole squid but that cobia wouldn't eat anything we threw at him. He just wanted to swim around the boat for 3 to 4 minutes and make us all drool. I would sure like to see that big boy again the next time out.

Well my lips are on the floor, I can't flap them any more.

Remember: Get out and snort some of that good cl ean sal t ai r cuz - i t’s good fer ya!

If y ou hav e any questions or if y ou hav e a good ol' fishin’ story or a recipe for cook ing fish that I can share with our readers giv e me a call.

‘To book an offshore charter with us aboard the Predator II call (941) 473-2150

Give them something to YAK about www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

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By Davi d Al l en Water LIFE Kayaking The Christmas season is a great time to open the pursestrings and set yourself, or a loved one, up for some pleasant kayaking experiences. The possibilities are endless, depending upon the size of your budget, and finding just what you want in local kayaking outlets or online couldn’t be easier. Here are a few gift suggestions which are guaranteed to make your special kayaker very happy.

I talk to a lot of potential kayakers who would like to get started, but don’t quite know how to go about it. I had a phone call this week from a lady who wondered if the kayak club gave instructions. Of course we don’t, but there are two good kayak outfitters in this area that have excellent paddling courses. Bill Godek, at Grande Tours gives lessons each Saturday from 9 to 10:30 AM. Bill is American Canoe Association certified and will give you a good introduction into handling a kayak and

maneuvering the boat effectively under all conditions. The cost is $35, which includes the kayak, paddles and PFD. Call 941-697-8825 for reservations.

Dick Pfaff, with Economy Tackle, gives a basic paddling course in Sarasota each Saturday at 8:30AM. The cost

is $40 including all equipment.

Dick is BCU and ACA certified and has been teaching paddling for many years. Call 941-9229671 for reservations.

I enjoy taking pictures while kayaking; pictures of my kayaking group, birds, the occasional alligator, etc. In recent years cameras, both still and video, have continued to get better and better and cheaper and cheaper. And best of all, you

don’t need a bulky plastic housing to keep your camera dry while kayaking. For still photos, I think the Canon D10 is hard to beat. The camera is waterproof to 33 feet, has 12.1 mega-pixels, a 3x1 optical zoom, is image stabilized and has a 2.5 inch LCD. The picture quality with this high resolution camera is incredible, and the camera is small enough to stick in your pocket. The camera is listed on Amazon for $ 249.

If taking high quality video while kayaking is your bag, check out the Go Pro, Wrist Hero. This camera can give you 56 minutes of quality video with sound, ideal for photographing wildlife in action, or a group of kayakers paddling by.

This gem is so small, you won’t believe it when you see it; 2.5 inches wide by 3.2 inch-

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es high and weights a whopping 4.5 oz. Waterproof to 100 ft., you can take it anywhere on the water, and shoot away. In addition to the wrist mounted version, the Hero can be attached to a kayak deck, a helmet (for hiking or skiing), or just about anyplace you can think of. And all this for $139 on Amazon and other web sites.

For those who find long paddles uncomfortable, no matter how often you change your position, a Skwoosh paddling cushion may be the perfect gift.

These gel padded kayak seats provide support and comfort in any kayak. The non-skid water proof cover stays put in the cockpit, yet floats free in case of a capsize. REI has these at $45.

I cannot wear regular water-

shoes when kayaking due to the limited space for my feet below the deck. The NRS Kickers Neoprene Water Shoes overcome this problem and give me a perfect fit inside the kayak and out. At $35, again, at REI, these comfortable shoes are form fitting, give me good traction in slippery conditions and don’t cost an arm and a leg.

The 3 mm neoprene should last a long time, too.

And lastly, a book I have used for years, but still valu-

2010

able, is Nigel Foster’s, “Guide to Sea Kayaking in Southern Florida”. This guide covers day trips from Tampa Bay to Jupiter Inlet on the east coast; 40 guided tours in all. And the amount of detail on each paddle is amaz-

ing; in addition to the location of launch sites, he provides tidal information, navigation aids, trip planning and precautions to take. For each main trip, he identifies side trips that explore additional interesting areas. And with many of the trips, he includes a few paragraphs of text on an interesting aspect of that particular paddle, be it wildlife or a shell mound or what ever. All in all, a very useful and interesting book to read, even if you never plan to get into a kayak. Available in most book stores.

Well, those are my thoughts on Christmas gifts that some kayakers on your list would be pleased to get this holiday. I hope you enjoy the Holidays and I look forward to seeing all of you in the New Year.

The Port Charlotte Kayakers meet each Wednesday evening at 5:30 PM at Port Charlotte Beach Park at the end of Harbor Blvd. All are welcome to attend. For additional information contact Dave Allen at 941235-2588 or dlaa@comcast.net

December

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2010

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Jeff Olson Wins Spot at World Championship

By Wi l l Whi te for Water LIFE Sailing

Jeffrey Olson of Sarasota ran away with the 2010 Florida Regional Sunfish Championship, sailed on a blustery Charlotte Harbor over the weekend of November 6 and 7. He scored six firsts and a second. Fred Hutchinson of Ft. Myers won the first race on Sunday, the fifth race of the series, but wound up with a seventh for the regatta.

He had to drop out of the last two races Saturday.

Second over all was many-time Masters champ Joe Blouin of Tampa with 18 points, followed by Reid Hutchinson of St. James City, FL with 25. Top woman was Gail Heausler of Tampa, fourth with 37 points. Rita Steele of Sarasota was the only other woman to complete all seven races, finishing sixth with 52 point.

Conditions both days were daunting for many of the 17 Sunfish sailors who registered for the championship.

The launch site was the Charlotte Harbor Sailing Center at Gilchrist Park in Punta Gorda, on the south shore of the Harbor, and the wind was out of the northeast, making for a long starboard tack beat out to the starting line.

Three sailors did not even venture out either day.

Winds were 12 to 16 knots, with many gusts hitting 20 for short bursts. Had the wind held at 20 for any length of time, under class rules the racing would have been halted for the day.

March 19: Small Boat Regatta March 26-27: Big Boat Regatta

Only nine boats finished all four races Saturday, only 10 came out for Sunday's races, and only seven finished all seven races of the series.

Nevertheless,

Jeff Olson with sail 79128 makes a move around the windward side of the fleet at the start

those with the stomach muscles to hold up for two long days of hiking out thought it was a perfect regatta. The sun shone both days, and while the air was chilly for Florida, the water was still warm for those who capsized.

And there were plenty of capsizes.

On a separate course to the west of the Sunfish, there was a two-boat race for Flying Scots. Paul Allesandroni and Martin Holland, both of Punta Gorda, each scored a first and a second.

Will White has raced sunfish for over 50 years. He was the North American Champion when that was the whole world of sunfish. A prolific writer for Sail and other magazines, he edited "The Sunfish Bible" a handbook still available from the Sunfish Class, and used by racers today. Will resides in Arcadia, today he sails a 30' schooner he built in his barn. It's an honor for me to have his writing appear in my column. – Bill Dixon

No rain, but almost too much wind and wave

December cal endar stuff:

Boat parades Dec. 4, 18. Hol i day Regatta, Dec 11,12. Info on these events at pgscweb.com.

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December

2010

The Water LIFE LIFE Distributors Club

Cooks Sportland

4419 So. Tamiami Trail S. Venice 493-0025

Pick up a copy of Water LIFE at any of these and 120+ other locations. Water LIFE is not affiliated with any newspaper or other publication and is distributed FREE at select locations around the state. These free ads to our loyal distributors rotate on a monthly basis.

If you would like this publication for distribution at your business please call us at 941-766-8180

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2010

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New Stump Pass Dredge & Marker Plan

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Fishing Report

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Charlotte Harbor:

Robert at Fishin' Franks Port Charlotte: 625-3888

So far it’s still too warm to know and thats made it tricky.

S heepshead have started to move in significantly, along the beaches and docks in the ICW. They are stacked at the reefs, but it’s too warm for them to move into the harbor. Maybe after a few cold fronts they will start to be more cooperative. The phosphate dock, the Placida trestle, the Tom Adams Bridge are all loaded with nice sheepshead .

Fiddler crabs, sand fleas and shrimp are the bait. They might also take a fresh piece of barnacle meat.

Mostly small redfi sh now, rat reds, with some legal fish in the middle of the slot on the west wall – fish that are either singles or in pairs. Bull and Turtle Bay, and the Myakka cutoff all have the smaller ones.

Shrimp is still working well,

but so is white bait which is still around because it’s so warm. Artificials are OK, but mostly on the early morning bite. Work the lures slow and later stick with soft plastics on a jig head.

S pani s h mackerel and bl uefi sh are scattered throughout the harbor. The bluefish have been exceptional with many in the 4- to 5-pound range being pretty normal. Mostly guys are catching them on spoons and hard plugs with a short steel leader. Look for birds diving and troll or drift along the outside edges of the bar in 4- to 6- feet of water.

Mackerel are also out on the beaches and out on the reels along with some nice ki ng mackerel and boni ta. Look for them around some of the bait schools or anchor on one of the reefs and chum with a chum bag.

Then let the bait fish come to you, that will get the others to hang around. Free line a bait or try using a small split shot if the current has been pretty

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strong. Some giant Spanish - 6 pound Spanish - were being caught last week.

If the weather stays warm it will continue to be a phenomenal season for trolling for grouper and ki ngfi sh. The depth specific lures like the Manns and the Bomber 30, or any of the plugs in the 25 to 30 foot range have been producing gags into the high teens and boni ta and big kings up to 30 pounds. It’s just a matter of adjusting the depth and the amount of line you let out to get the plug to go deeper. Braided line is especially good for this.

Some lures now even have

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2010

different eyelets for trolling at different speeds and depth.

The snapper bite has been very good at the offshore reefs.

As the water cools they will move in closer, it could be changing from day to day now.

There are also some good sized scamp along with porgys and grunts caught with big shrimp. Pompano, whi ti ng and fl ounder will be good as the cold moves in. It’s just a matter of the water temperature dropping a little more, which may have already happened by the time you read this.

Fishing Report Continued on following page

Holiday Lights Cruises through the canals of PGI Departing Fishermenʼs Village at 6, 7:30 & 9pm from Dec 3-31

Reservations Suggested:

639-0969

King Fisher Fleet

Adults $13 Kids under twelve $6

December

2010

Fishing Report .

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The The BIG-4 BIG-4

Fish to expect expect in in Fish to

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December December

Go

continued from facing page

Lemon Bay:

Jim at Fishermens Edge, Englewood: 697-7595

POMPANO Showing and then disappearing near Cape Haze

It seems like when fishing is good nobody goes, but when the weather is crap everyone wants to fish. That, and lately I haven’t been seeing a lot of guides.

Right now there is a lot of redfi sh. The guys are catching lots of smaller 15 inch and up reds. The keeper size fish are still in Lemon Bay and into the Whidden, Bull and Turtle Bay area. A lot of fish are the smaller ones, the big ones go out into the Gulf to spawn.

Guys are catching substantially smaller redfish now than in the early fall. Guys are catching snook but less of them. There are a few fish in the high 20 and 30 inch range but those are few and far between. A guy from Tampa was in the shop and he said there were not many fish up there and not many here either. He said it looked like we got hit really hard by by the cold last year, judging by the number of snook he saw down here.

There is quite a bit of nice trout around. They are only catch and release now but top waters and shallow water No.14 and No.17 Mirrodines are working well on trout.

Offshore there has been a lot of good grouper close in. in the high 20s to 40 foot water depth.

Guys are catching them on Bomber CD 25 and 30 and the Deep Diving Yozuri that has a double line tie and a chin that you can put some extra weight on. They say it will go to 50 feet with the double line tie. Mostly the guys are using them Snook will be closed to harvest until Sept 2011

SHEEPSHEAD Just offshore, some in the ICW

KINGFISH Some here already, REDFISH more rat reds with the best fish on the west wall watch the water temps.

4265 Tamiami Trail, Port Charlotte

941 - 625-2700

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December 4-5 Snowbird Outlaw Nationals, Drag Racing, Bradenton Motorsports Park.

December 4 Lighted Boat Parade, Starts at Edgewater Lake in Port Charlotte Concludes at US 41 Bridge in Punta Gorda December 18 Rim Canal Lighted Boat Parade, Punta Gorda

January 7 Boating Skills and Seamanship, USCG Aux, Lemon Bay Park, Englewood 7 — 9 PM Monday & Thursday evenings - final session on February 17. Call 941-697-9435 to register. Participants receive the Florida Safe Boater Education Card Send your calendar events to: waterlife@comcast.net

Fishing right now:

Excellent!

All photos, both pages, from Capt Angel Torrez

in the shiney colors and reflective finishes.

The boat No.1 Hooker caught a 60 inch ki ng anchored and bottom fishing. It hit a free lined bait behind the boat. The water is still a little warm for them. There are some AJs out at the Boxcars if you want to pull on something bigger.

And still quite a bit of sharks - blacktips. Quite a bit of sheepshead at all the trestles with some scattered. They are still like: here and not here.

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December

2010

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