Water LIFE Dec 2011

Water LIFE Charlotte Charlotte Harbor Harbor and and Lemon Lemon Bay Bay Keeping Boaters & Fishermen Informed Since 1997

D e c e m b e r 2 0 11

The official publication of the Charlotte Harbor Reef Association

Camo Line Page 10

Plenty of Snook Page 13

What the..? Page 4

Tournament Thugs Page 9

Picture your fish BIGGER Page 23

w w w. W a t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m

Always FREE!

Online every month!

Page 2

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

December

2 0 11

Inshore & Offshore Headquarters

Water LIFE Magazine inc.

Letters to Waterlife@comcast.net

www.waterlifemagazine.com Michael & Ellen Heller Publishers Hello Capt. Ron, Just read your recent article in the (941) 766-8180 e-mail Waterlife@comcast.net November Water LIFE. All I got to say is Mail: 217 Bangsberg Rd. Port Charlotte, FL 33952 keep ʻem coming. I had a letter published in the News Press trying to make the same TOTALLY INDEPENDENT points. I asked some questions of the freakNot affiliated with any other publication ing manatee lovers and never got a Vol X No 12 © 2011 www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com response. They want to bury their heads in No part of this publication (printed or electronic) may be copied or reproduced without spethe sand, or some body orifice, and sing cific written permission from the publisher.

Kumbyah. Growing up in Iowa I learned a Contributing Editors: little about raising animals and the proper way to do it. Here are a few questions for Real Estate: Dave Hofer Photography: ASA1000.com the manatee lovers: Inshore: Fishinʼ Frank Senior Editor: Capt. Ron Blago 1. Any farmer or rancher knows exactly Offshore: Capt Jim OʼBrien Charter Fishing: Capt. Bart Marx how many animals of any species can be Diving: Tommy Davis Port Charlotte: Capt. Billy Barton raised, or supported, for each acre of land.

Kayaks: David Allen Punta Gorda: Capt. Chuck Eichner What is the number of manatee that can be Sailing: Bill Dixon Commercial Fishing: Kelly Beall supported for an acre of water?

The Snake Island crew at Venice e-mailed us what an Occupy Office Dog: Molly Brown Sea Grant: Betty Staugler 2. When that number is reached here, Snake Island Protest is like. They went home that night. what do we do? In the midwest and other on the COVER: Capt Glen Ballinger of Venice sent us this big red places when an animal population grows Mike, snapper from one of his trips. For Christmas, we changed the color of the more than the land can support, they kill them. Thatʼs why they You might not remember, but I met you have deer and duck seasons- to keep the population in check. shirt, from blue to green. last spring at the Beach Complex Kayak Your point about the warm water releases was right on.

Festival. I am the current president of the The animals stay there, strip the bottom of all grasses, and get Charlotte CCA Chapter and was just this sick. There was an interesting report I read a while ago about weekend at a state CCA meeting in autopsies on dead manatees. A lot of them had mud in their Orlando. One of the things we talked about Charlotte Harbor Reef Association gut from trying to eat what little grass was left. I live on a basin was the Federal Government trying to

by Matlacha, and during the winter there can be 20 or more of impose more restrictions on boats to "prothem here. The tourists come and take pictures of the animals. tect" manatee in Crystal River. A lot of simiWhat they donʼt see is the lack of fish in the basin from overlar issues could end up our way some day. Ted Forsgren of To Water LIFE grazing. No grass, no small fish, no large fish. Well catfish are CCA was discussing the history of manatee in the Crystal I see no reason for you to write this story (Monkey there, but they donʼt count. They also donʼt see the constant River area and some of the discussions he has had with reguBusiness, November) other than to just show your students flow of manatee excrement floating by. If there are 20 animals lators over the years. One of the things that got my attention what poor sportsmanship is all about. It is clear to me that you in this basin, and they eat normally, each will excrete (Iʼm was no one on the regulatory side seems to ever talk about are just trying to bash T Brantley. There is nothing in the photo what the carrying capacity is of the environment for manatee guessing here) at least 20 pounds per day. Thatʼs 400 pounds to show when or even where it was taken. Just because it was and are increased deaths possibility due to the fact that we per day, or a ton every five days. If the marine patrol sees me posted the same day as a tournament doesn't mean it was are nearing or exceeding that capacity? part of the tournament. Clearly you have another agenda. Your with my butt hanging over the side I can get a ticket, but itʼs Manatee are an important part of our ecosystem, but they gonnaʼ have to provide a lot more than one photo to prove any perfectly fine to have tons of manatee poop in this small basin. are a part, not the (whole) ecosystem. "monkey business" was going on to me. The only "monkey Letʼs hope people start to realize this.

Thanks, business" going on is slander of a respectable fisherman.

Thanks, Dan Ferraris CCA Charlotte Chapter Susan Baggett Mac McCarthy

Water LIFE is also FREE ONLINE every month

ADVERTISE HERE

$99 per month!

Water LIFEʼs 1/8 page ad (this size)

still just

call 941-766-8180

Your effective and economical month-long advertising solution

4- C O L O R is always FREE If you want to reach people who love the water...we are IT!

www.waterlifemagazine.com

Charlotte Harbor Reef Assn

Hurricane Weather Links

Kids Fishing Classes

Electronic Fish Tracking

School Workbook pdf.

We don’t just count the people we reach, we reach the people that count

Tides

Weather

Manatee Myths

Aerial Tour

Hot Rods

Photography

December

2 0 11

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

Page 3

Not the Christmas Story

Page 4

By Mi chael Hel l er Water LIFE editor My pool guy, Ron Bates is a cartoonist by trade. He told us about a Punta Gorda man who wrote a book based on his own sexual encounter with a dolphin.

Knowing Ron, I’m sure he had a funny cartoon image in his brain. Then, several of my other friends, it turned out, had heard about the guy on a local radio talk show.

“Do you think it’s true?” my wife asked me, so I told her to Google sex with a dolphin and see what she got. She got some NFL players at first, but then she found it. “It’s right here,” came Ellen’s voice from the other room and sure enough, there it was, a column from the Huffington Post’s News of the Weird about the book Wet Goddess.

A place called Floridaland, in Venice, was mentioned as the location of the fishy-trist which took place 40 years ago. While my wife was reading the story I got on my own computer to look for pictures of Floridaland.

When I was growing up we lived on Normandy Isle on Miami Beach. This was before Disneyland was built.

Florida had a bunch of animal attractions. There was a restaurant at the beach that had sea turtles in a big tank so diners could pick one to eat.

Shops on Collins Avenue where all the big hotels were located sold live little alligators that vacationing family’s took back up north.

There was Anieama, Gatorama, the Chimp Farm, Bongoland, the Monkey Jungle, the Parrot Jungle and a long list of other roadside attractions up and down both coasts. Animals were a drawing card that people paid to see. I found a posting about Floridaland by some fellow named Jim: I lived on South Creek in Osprey. Floridaland was right next to the Holiday Inn of Venice - it was in Osprey near Oscar Scherer park. There was a gulf station north of the Holiday Inn, A round fiberglass S aucer home stood out front, then Floridaland. A guy named Robbie was the dolphin trainer. He also had a license to catch wild dolphins for training. We would sneak into the park (I was about 14 at the time). Robbie would let us feed the dolphins in the morning. (He lived on his boat moored near where the dolphins were). He did let a dolphin out, it would put on a show in the bay and return to the pen. We hated it when the park closed. After the park closed but before they bulldozed the wild west town, we had a shoot out. We used our Whamo wrist rocket sling shots to shoot out every window in the western town with marbles. After the park closed they

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

December

2 0 11

had a caretaker on the property for a while. His daughter was my first real go to the movies date. (My dad had to drive us to S arasota to see the movie). Great times, and great people.

Floridaland was real and apparently they were letting outsiders backstage, so this man in Punta Gorda, who said he had consummated a relationship with a dolphin, was probably for real too.

I reached for the phone. It was a local call.

Was one of these dolphins the animal that Malcom Brenner ʻlovedʼ 40 years ago? The I arranged to meet Floridaland attraction was in Nokomis, Brenner now lives in Punta Gorda.

Malcom Brenner the next day at noon at Elaina’s. like a human woman,” he said. That was it for me. It “Want to join us?” I asked my wife, but she shook her was getting too weird. head no. “It’s a little creepy,” she said. “Maybe I’ll go “What do other people say, scientists, people who and sit in the booth behind you to hear what you are work with dolphins when you tell them about this anigoing to ask him,” she said. I wasn’t mal?”

I asked. Brenner corrected me immediately, “not sure of that myself. How does anyone an animal, a dolphin,” he said emphatically, almost write a book about sex with Flipper? proudly. “They can look you in the eye and figure out Malcolm Brenner was waiting what is going on in your head,” he told me. when I arrived at Elena’s, a tall, quiet Brenner said he told his friends in College about the gentleman in his early 60s. On the ‘affair’ and they were all ‘very supportive’. “It was the table lay a copy of Wet Goddess, his 70s” he said. book.

“I have met other people who have had similar experiMr Brenner didn’t want to discuss ences,” Brenner told me, “They just chose not to talk the details of his dolphin relationship about it.” I didn’t need any more information. in the restaurant, so after lunch we Floridaland was sold and Dolly was shipped to an went to Gilchrist Park to talk. oceanarium in Gulfport. Mr. Brenner said Dolly died less According to Brenner, a dolphin than a year after the last time he saw her. “I grieved for 5 named Dolly at Floridaland was years after she died, Brenner said. “I really loved her.” extremely smart. She was, he told Brenner, who admits he wasn’t much of a lady’s man at me, the same dolphin that was the time, said his relationship with the dolphin was allowed to swim out into the Gulf more than physical. “Maybe I am off the wall, someand she would always return. “Dolly times I think I may be a little crazy, but this wasn’t beswas a very social,” he told me. tiality. People have a lot in common with dolphins.” he Brenner said she ‘courted’ him.

Initially, he said, she started bumping said. Brenner’s book also mentions his first lover, when his foot. "She became more and more he was 12 years old, the family’s apricot poodle.

But Dr. Denise Herzing of the Wild Dolphin Project, aggressive, but over time, Dolly then which researches communication between dolphins and became more gentle, opening her humans, said a book aggrandizing a human-dolphin sexumouth and running her teeth, ever so al relationship could send a dangerous message. gently, along his arm or his leg. "I found that extraordinarily erotic," Brenner said, admitting “Glorifying human sexual interactions with other species is inappropriate for the health and well being of any anithat he was smoking a lot of marijuana at the time and mal.” “It puts the dolphin's own health and social he wasn’t dating. behavioral settings at risk.”

“The look in her eyes, I remember it so well,” "They didn't see me interacting with the dolphin.

Brenner told me he was in his 20s. “She looked so...

They weren't there. These creatures basically have free sad,” he explained. I had heard a similar story, years ago, will."

Brenner says. "What is repulsive about a relationfrom a lonely sheep rancher in New Mexico but I said ship where both partners feel and express love for each nothing, that time either. other?" It was a rhetorical question so I didn’t answer, “I didn’t get into the water with her for a couple of but I could have. months,” Brenner told me, as if that period of time “After we made love, the dolphin put her snout on somehow made it more proper. A courtship of sorts. my shoulder, embraced me with her flippers and we Brenner was initially at the Floridaland park to take stared into each others' eyes for about a minute." Brenner photographs on an assignment. He described how during said.

- “This was not some dog trying to hump my leg, one visit the dolphin named Dolly was put into a differokay?

This was a 400-lb. wild-born female dolphin. She ent pen, one with a male dolphin. “The male didn’t like was an awesome creature,” he said. it when I got into the water, so Dolly squeezed through a Wet Goddess: $16.95 on ebay, Amazon, Smashword wooden gate” he said... and into a secluded area where and locally at Sandman Books on Burnt Store Road. they were alone.

We would not recommend it for your children.

That’s where it happened. “A dolphin is anatomically

RED Grouper is still Open

December

2 0 11

By Capt. S teve S kevi ngton Water LIFE Offshore That,s right, red grouper season is still open. The gag grouper are closed till at least the first of the year, but that's ok grouper’s still on the menu.

In fact, the federal government has upped our grouper bag limit to four per person! And yes I know what your thinking this is the same Gov that told us Red Grouper were over-fished just last year,....now suddenly there are plenty.

Let’s not open that can of worms here though, let’s just celebrate the fact that they haven't taken away all our grouper fishing at the moment.

In fact we can still keep black grouper, although rare around here we do catch a few. And let’s not forget about the scamp grouper,...these are perhaps the tastiest of the grouper family and we are still allowed to keep them!

But alas if you read the local paper, or watch the 6 o’clock news, all you'll hear is "grouper season closed." Now keep in mind what they said is "gag grouper season is closed," but that's not how we tend to hear things, we all watch the news with a bit of a white knuckle feel, always ready for the bad news...so sometimes that's all we are able to hear.

Catching big red grouper in the winter

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

is not at all that hard. We fish them the same way we would all summer. We just happen to spend a bit more at the fuel dock to do it.

Running offshore 30 miles or more is no problem for me. I have always enjoyed the opportunitys the deeper Gulf tends to serve up.

Huge amberjack and tuna, kingfish and some of the biggest snapper around.

All of these fish are out there all winter long, that's great news if your running offshore for red grouper because if the reds don't bite, most of those other fish will.

For the red grouper I like finding hard limestone bottom at least 100 feet deep.

Start out just offering them fresh cut baits, what kind really don't matter much.

Just be sure that it’s fresh. If you’re catching smaller fish, just go to bigger baits. This is truly bigger is better.

While your sitting there catching your red grouper, don't forget to run a free-lined bait out behind your boat. This is how I catch most of my tuna etc.

For those big snapper try the wrecks such as the Bayronto, sometimes the bite here can be slow... but it’s worth the wait. There are lots of yellowtail snapper there this time of year. They respond very

Page 5

well to a few bags of chum hanging off the back of your boat. Dont forget the Amberjack! I don't care what anyone says these are a great eating fish and a well managed one too! (It’s hard to get me to say that, BTW) Just one per person, and it must be at least 30' to the fork.

What that means is everyone gets a 30 pound fish! Wow that's just a lot of meat for the Christmas smoker. The amberjack like their food fast-moving, so trolling around a couple deep diving plugs is a great way to catch em.

Merry Christmas!

Capt. Steve Skevington, Paradise Charters 941-575-3528

Do Drop The Cooler Lid

Page 6

By Capt. Chuck Ei chner Water LIFE Punta Gorda December will be a month when you fight strong easterly winds and extreme low tides. If you fished much in November and half of October you will be well-rehearsed in dealing with those conditions. I am already looking forward to the calmer winds of May. Occasionally you will have a day where the winds are kind to you and more often than not this day will occur unexpectedly. I was really fortunate to experience such a day with two top anglers that live in Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys.

Bob and Kevin Eichen (nicknamed Bunky) a father and son team, joined me for a day on Charlotte Harbor leaving the blue waters of their home located within sight of Coupon Bight, one of the most beautiful locations I have ever seen. It was full of bonefish, permit, tarpon and only a 5 mile ride to the reef. They hoped for redfish and a few snook which are not frequently caught where they live.

Leaving my dock I ran to a nearby spot on the east side to catch the final part of the outgoing tide. I explained to Bunky to be very quiet closing cooler lids and walking on the boat as we ever-soquietly worked our way to the sweet spot.

Moments before casting a bottlenose dolphin appeared out of nowhere and charged right into our honey hole.

Shaking my head in disgust we packed up and with light winds shot across the harbor towards Bull Bay. Upon passing Turtle Bay we saw oyster bars standing tall above the flats. A typical sight this time of year with an extreme low tide.

As we approached a sandbar I suggested we cast in open water as I hoped for trout and ladyfish to be piled up, forced from their grassy flat dining room on the low waters.

About every cast something was hooked and we boxed up a bunch of ladies and released a bunch of trout. Easing to the bar we cast the edge and banged a couple of chunky small redfish. On Bunky’s suggestion we diced and sliced some lady-

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

fish, staked out the boat and bottom fished. A bit boring, but we talked the time away. Bunky was a hungry one this day and after snatching a snack from the cooler he would drop the cooler lid again and again. Bob and I “shussed him” telling of the weary redfish, but in short order we put a couple of nice fish on board. Bunky caught a beauty around 26 inches. Needless to say he let us know that dropping the cooler lid was calling the fish in! Then Bob had an incredible hit and his drag started spinning.

I was excited to see a nice bonnethead shark, but he was unhappy about it because the Florida Keys are full of them and they are a nuisance. I explained that we don’t catch them every day in a foot of water and it was a real treat to add that species to the list.

So now, with a strong incoming tide we carefully sped into the backcountry of Bull Bay and fished several of my favorite spots. We fished large shrimp on a 3/0 bait holder hook and a split shot and cast and retrieved in lure like fashion as we covered flats and undercut mangroves.

An 18 inch flounder made it on board destined for the dinner plate, however my spots were not producing. Then, unknown to my guests we fished a couple of flats and sandholes that I was unfamiliar with and Bob had a big bite.

Rearing back, his drag was burning and rod buckling back and forth like a Florida cracker’s bull whip. Bunky figured it must be a big snook, however I with my infinite wisdom, indicated that the water was too cold and it had to be a shark.

The fight wore on for quite a time and the fish then ripped drag heading into a mangrove island. Luck was with us because the fish was so big it did not have enough water to get into the bushes and we saw a monster snook on the line! Holy smokes, talk about lighting up a boat!

With a lot of skill and a little luck Bob

hoisted this big one carefully on board, its weight pushing 20 pounds. Bob’s personal biggest snook in a fishing career of enormous accolades!

Several more redfish came aboard as the flats filled up with water. To make things interesting we left the backcountry and headed to open water hoping for fast action on lures to round out the day.

Grassbeds in 4 feet of water with a strong incoming tide generated a lot of bites from trout and ladyfish. We cast plastic swim baits, Gulp shrimp and a few other lures and all got bit. We would drift a quarter mile and come across a batch of fish and then reset our drift. I had one incredible whack on a jig and the fish

December

2 0 11

fought super strong pulling drag on my 10 pound outfit. It turned out to be a 22” bluefish pretty big for Charlotte Harbor.

Bunky rounded out the day with another 18” flounder and by the end he was still dropping the cooler lid dispelling the quiet approach to fishing, at least for that day.

This was one of those rare days where the wind was kind and showed us there are a lot of fish in a lot of different places. I will remind myself of this next trip and may need 2 anchors to hold on some of these places but the fish are there if you can deal with the wind.

Capt. Chuck Eichner operates Action Flats Back country Charters and can be reached at 941-628-8040 or www.back country -charters.com-

December

2 0 11

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

Marine Recreational and Commercial Industries and Activities: Economic Consequences and Impacts

By Betty S taugl er

Water LIFE / Sea Grant

Economic impacts measure the level of economic activity in a given area.

They may be viewed in terms of: (1) business output (or sales volume), (2) value added (or gross regional or domestic product), (3) business taxes, (4) personal income (including wages) or (5) jobs. Any of these measures can be an indicator of economic well-being (source: Economic Development Research Group, 1997).

Recreati onal S al twater Fi shi ng Acti vi ti es –

In 2010, 22,323 recreational saltwater fishing licenses were purchased in Charlotte County resulting in over $600,000 dollars in sales. This does not include any special endorsements like tarpon tags or crawfish stamps (source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission – Charter captains in Charlotte County purchased 163 units of fishing licenses for either the captain or vessel in groups of 4 or less, 6 or less, 10 or less or 11 or more passengers resulting in over $40,000 in sales (source:FWC).

In Florida, recreational fishing resulted in over $5 billion in economic impact and supported ~50,000 jobs during 2009 (source: FWC).

In southwest Florida (Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Desoto, Lee and Collier counties) recreational fishing activities resulted in $1.3 billion in sales and supported 14,530 jobs in 2007 (source: FWC and NOAA Marine Fisheries).

In Charlotte County, artificial reef activity resulted in $22.7 million dollars in economic output and supported 306 jobs in 2009 (source: Florida Sea Grant).

Commerci al S al twater Fi sheri es Acti vi ti es –

154 commercial fishermen held saltwater products licenses in Charlotte County during 2008/09. There were 15 wholesale dealers, 2 processors and 46 retail dealers over the same period (source: FWC and NOAA Marine Fisheries Service -MFS).

Total docksi de val ue in 2010 for Charlotte County landed products was over $1.1 million (source: FWC).

San Carlos Island Shrimp harvesting and processing resulted in $54.9

An ospry and his fresh mullet lunch.

million in economic impact for Lee County and supported 1,555 jobs in 1998 (source: Florida Sea Grant).

In Florida, commercial fishing and seafood production resulted in $12.9 billion in sales and supported 64,744 jobs during 2009 (source: NOAA Fisheries of the US).

Boati ng Acti vi ti es –

20,968 vessels were registered in Charlotte County in 2010 (source: Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles – DHSMV).

In Florida, boaters spent $3.4 billion on boating trips in 2007 and $5.2 billion in watercraft expenses, which together supported 97,000 jobs. The economic effect of these same activities in Charlotte County was $86.8 million in trip spending and $103.9 million in watercraft spending, together supporting 2,703 jobs (source: FWC).

Economi c S ummary –

Florida’s coastal counties account for 79% of the state’s overall economic productivity (source: National Oceans Economic Program, 2010).

In 2004, there were 3,883 coastal and ocean related firms in Charlotte County supporting 41,961 jobs, over $1.2 billion in wages and over $1.8 billion in gross domestic product (source: NOAA State of the Coast).

So there you have it clear as mud, the economic realities of boating and fishing related activities…looks good.

Betty Staugler is the Florida Sea Grant Agent for Charlotte County. She can be reached at 941.764.4346 Sea Grant is part of the Univ ersity of Florida IFAS Ex tension

Page 7

Page 8

A Message to Kayakers

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

Consignment Boats Wanted 2003 Action Craft Coastal Bay-

2003 26' Maxum 250SE -

220hp 5.0 MPI Mercruiser, GPS, Dual Bimini, $31,990

2008 Sai l fi s h 2 1 8 CC -

150hp Yamaha 4 stroke, trim tabs, light blue hull color, T-top

REDUCED! $32,990

2006 Century 1701-

Yamaha 4 St 90HP, trolling motor, depth/fish finder -

See all our boats at

2 0 11

On the Line

21' with 2006 225hp Verado, trolling mtr, jack plate-

$32,990

December

$15,990

Bayshoremarinefl@yahoo.com

941-627-5777

23269 Bayshore Rd Charlotte Harbor

By Capt. Ron Bl ago Water LIFE Senior Staff Recently I attended a joint advisory board meeting in Port Charlotte to discuss water related matters in Charlotte The Marine Advisory Committee meeting room was packed with kayakers after word cirCounty. Everything went well until culated that money hungry Charlotte County was thinking about a licensing fee for kayaks. the end of the meeting when the subject of kayaks came up.

There was an angry discussion about That power belongs to the State and so ship that can speak with authority on the number of non-motorized boat fatal- far they have left kayakers un-taxed, but what you want and don't want from ities and the cost of providing emer- don't think for a minute that can't county government. It was quite a shock to hear some of the people at the meetgency services used to rescue kayakers. change.

A quick look around Google and I ing stand up and say they didn't need any Some people just didn't believe the numbers or the cost estimates. The facts found five States that already register services from government. I'm sure that are there on the FWC's boating fatalities kayaks (OH, Wis, Minn, PA, and Mich) was of particular interest to the assistant which is published each year and it's I found a handful of other States that county administrator and the Parks and pretty obvious that the number of dead require registration of kayaks used for Rec officials at the meeting, considering kayakers popping up has been increas- hire, for safety issues. Most of the reg- all the planning, advertising and money istration fees run between $5-$11 per that goes into the Bluewater Trail. ing each year for sometime now.

One guy said the only thing a kayakSome of the people at the meeting year.

Florida kayakers may feel they have er needs is access to the water: and that's thought that pointing this fact out was found a loophole in the law that allows the real problem.

If you have access you really a plot to have kayakers register their vessels. I want these people to put them to use the water and not pay for the need parking; if you need parking you down their torches and pitchforks and privilege, but it's only a matter of time need land. Who should pay for it?

If you get that access, then you get realize that no county in Florida has the before some State official sees the power to require kayaks to be registered. increasing number of kayaks, canoes and all those environmental regulations that paddle boards and wonders why these go with it. Don't touch those manfolks aren't paying. groves, make sure you have a buffer The water your boat is on is mostly zone near the water. Where is the handiState property and they impose the rules capped parking, or the water retention and regulations on all users and they ponds? Remember it's expensive to be want your money. Someone has to pay environmentally correct, so get ready to for the marine patrol, fire and rescue, pay. water quality testing, manatee protecKayakers have to ask themselves tion, sea grass monitoring, red tide what are you willing to do to make research, turtle protection and all the things better. As they used to say in my other water related activities the State generation – are you part of the problem controls. The State is a big monster or are you part of the solution? Either who must be fed money. way you're going to pay.

Capt. Ron Blago can be reached for comThe first thing kayakers should do is organize and form some sort of leader- ments or questions at: captronb@juno.com

Website Offers Medical Lab Tests Online

S t aff R eport This is worth mentioning. Private MD Labs is a relatively new online business that gives you the opportunity to schedule your own medical tests without having to go to your doctor first. The online service offers hundreds of different tests ranging from a simple Lipid Panel With LDL:HDL Ratio for $47.99 to a complex Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Quantitative, Real-time PCR (Nongraphical) With Reflex to HIV Ge for $1850. Payment must be made from the user and not an insurance company.

To use the service go online (www.privatemdlabs.com) select your test and pay for it. The company then sends you a form that you take to your medical lab. (Lab Corp is a local Charlotte lab) The results are then sent to you via email as soon as the test is completed. The company advertises a staff consultant to talk with if you have questions about your results.

December

2 0 11

Flatsmasters: Retribution or Bad Luck?

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

941-625-5367

COMMENTARY

By Michael Heller Water LIFE publisher After last month’s story about a Flastmasters tournament angler posting a questionable photo on Facebook, a photo showing too many fish in a livewell, and posting it with other tournament photos on tournament day... and after some ensuing banter on the internet, tournament director Jerry Cleffi signed on to Facebook and told his anglers to ‘quit wasting time on Facebook’ and to ‘pay more attention to their fishing.’ It was good advice and I was glad to see Cleffi was finally being proactive.

But right after that one of our blue outdoor newspaper display boxes disappeared from Fishermen’s Village. This is the second one that went missing there, the first one right after we published another story critical of Flatsmasters.

I can’t prove anything, but I sure have my suspicions of who is behind this, and I don’t think it is the angler I wrote about.

Every month there are anglers who call me in support of the honesty in reporting and honesty in tournaments we try to represent. But, the problem is, they don’t want their names in the paper. Last month, after our box went missing, ‘Capt.

T’ a Flatsmasters angler called to support us and to complain about the payout schedule changing at the tournament. He too didn’t want his name used. He feared retribution, possibly when it came to measuring his next fish.

Retribution seems to go hand in hand with exposing problems. A previous tournament sponsor told me, (also last month) “Because I was a big sponsor, I could always count on Jerry to make my fish fit” (the measuring board) if it was a little too big.” He didn’t want his name mentioned either.

Capt.T told me ‘Guys can cheat, but they still can’t beat us.” It was a sentiment I had heard before, from several other tour-

All Lines of Tackle nament anglers on teams who continually place in the top spots. The sentiment in that top group seems to be: Cheating doesn’t effect me. I look the other way as long as I am winning.

Attitude is at the crux of the matter.

Even though cheating may not effect you, I told Capt T, it effects other anglers down the line. Knowing about cheating and not speaking up against it is the same as being a cheater yourself. Take a lesson from Penn State - looking the other way is never a good long term solution to problems.

Cheating affects the team that is oneplace out of the money. If someone above them cheats they won’t have enough of a paycheck to recoup their entry fee.

Cheating also takes some teams out of the points race at the end of the season.

Cheating takes an otherwise legal and ethical team off the stage and out of the spotlight at the awards ceremony. Sponsors who continue to ignore these facts also become part of the cheating problem.

I don’t seek these anglers out. I don’t know how I became the Tournament Confessor, the phone rings and I pick it up.

Cleffi’s action on Facebook was on the right track. And, for the record, I don’t think he had anything to do with our newspaper box disappearing either.

Maybe things are changing. Maybe the new year will bring a new dawn. Maybe everyone has turned over a new leaf... Time will tell and you will always be able to read about it here and make up your own mind.

That’s the way we do it. There is no other way.

Open 7 Days 14369 ElJobean Road

Page 9

Live & Frozen Bait

Cold Cut Sandwiches

Snacks • Cold Drinks • Ice

We also carry an assortment of:

Shrimp • Crabs • Seafood • Fish

Lighter, Brighter, Bigger, Better Page 10

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

December

2 0 11

From Fishinʼ Frank

Braided line is taking over the market, but as we know, fish can see it so color becomes important. You change the color of your lures to get fish to bite, why not change the line color? You gottaʼ figure, with 60 feet of line out, thatʼs a big presence in the water.

One day it might be dark green or moss-green the next day maybe yellow. The trick is figuring out which color will get the bite going that day. When choosing your line, one question we ask is how is your close up vision? Me, I am getting older, so I like the yellow line. I can see it to tie a knot. I am going to go out on a limb here and say the least visible line color for braided line is camouflage, not a single straight line of color. For those really spooky reds in brackish water, this is the best color combination yet. (top spool, left side) Rod and reel technology is changing. Gone are the days where you have a sore arm from holding a 3 pound rod & reel. Now itʼs carbon fiber. Shimano, came out with the CI-4 Carbon reel (right) which weighs 46 one hundredths of a pound. Compare that to a similar size Penn 430ssg (left) which is 62 one hundredths of a pound - the same as the combined weight of the carbon type rod and reel. Both types are good and both are durable, but which do you want to hold all day? Shown: Frank balancing the two reels.

Smoke Carbon Rod from Quantum is The lightest rod in the world at 24 one hundredths of a pound and features micro-guide technology.

An older style guide system slows the line down as it passes through the guides, shortening the distance of the cast. The micro guides (left rod in the photo ) provide longer more accurate castis by eliminating any line slap against the blank.

We all throw soft plastic jerk baitʼs for reds and trout because they catch a lot of fish. Jerk bait are a cross over from bass fishing which has really caught on in saltwater flats fishing. Now you can toss a ladyfish size jerk bait at a big snook, cobia or tarpon. They are made by Hodgy and available in sizes from 4 inches up to 18 inches long. Hey, big bait, big fish !

December

2 0 11

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

Punta Gorda Isl es

Burnt S tore Mari na

Call the Captain! LAKEFRONT POOL HOME! Custom built, 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, den, with over 3400 sq.ft. Beautiful kitchen with gorgeous designer granite, rich wood cabinetry, island and SS appliances. In the prestigious boating and golfing community of Burnt Store Marina. Nearly 1/2 acre of property. $549,999

Pi rate Harbor

C a l l t h e C a p t a i n ! FOUR BEDROOM POOL HOME wi t h a ful l 3 car g arag e! 11 4 ft o f s eawal l wi t h a 9 0 ft . do ck . , deep s ai l b o at wat er, o v ers i zed s el f cl ean i n g , h eat ed p o o l . In s i de feat ures cro wn mo l di n g , g o urmet k i t ch en wi t h 3 s t ai n l es s s t eel s i n k s , wal l o v en , wi n e fri dg e, l arg e cen t er i s l an d, p av er b ri ck ed l an ai . $649,000

P a g e 11

S outh Gul f Cove

Call the Captain! INCREDIBLE NEARLY NEW WATERFRONT HOME! 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage, secluded location, open floor plan, wood cabinets, high ceilings. Fabulous condition. $199,000

Pi rate Harbor

Pi rate Harbor

Call the Captain! PREMIUM WATERFRONT LOT! Fantastic location near Key West syle homes. Quick boat ride to the Harbor and 25 minutes to the Gulf. Situated in a tropical paradise.

Just a short ride to Punta Gorda, less than 10 min. to Cape Coral, and 20 min. to Ft. Myers. $79,000

Just Sold!

Call the Captain! NEW EXQUISITE KEY WEST STYLE HOME- 20 MINUTES TO GULF! Custom home with Million Dollar appointments - 3/3 plus den, 4 car garage! Built in '05', hardly lived in with boat house, 3 porches, RV Pad $499,900

Burnt S tore Isl es

Call the Captain! IMMACULATE GOLF COURSE HOME! This 3/2.5/2 pool home with over 2,000sfAir is located on the fifth hole of the Twin Isles Golf Club. Immaculate $244,900

Punta Gorda

Pi rate Harbor Call the Captain! WATERFRONT LOT WITH

HD BOAT LIFT! No bridges to the Harbor or Gulf. Beautiful homes, sailboats and sport-fishing boats.

Immediate access to Charlotte Harbor. This property has city water and sewer! $119,000

Just Sold!

Call the Captain! ABSOLUTLEY BEAUTIFUL WATERFRONT HOME with quick access out! Huge great room with wonderful views of the water, new paver pool deck, large rooms, modern kitchen, lots of counter space, oversized lanai. Complete with seawall. $209,000.

Just Sold!

Call the Captain! CUSTOM BUILT 4 BED-

ROOM, 3 CAR GARAGE pool home located in a golfing community. Extra features include hot tub/spa, hurricane shutters, irrigation system, outdoor kitchen, outdoor shower. $519,000

Call the Captain! TIP LOT HOME! Approx.

179 ft. of waterfront with this custom built 2/2/2 home. The large living room and a gazebo style bonus room have panoramic views of multiple intersecting canals, pefect for studio or den. $239,900.

Punta Gorda

Call the Captain! LAKE FRONT HOME!

Stunningly beautiful, ‘2007’, 4/4/3 with over 3,400 sq. ft. of living space. Prestigious Burnt Store Marina, rich wood cabinetry, island kitchen, stainless steel appliances. $549,999

Just Sold!

Call the Captain! 135 FT CONCRETE SEAWALL, oversized dock, boat lift with access to Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf of Mexico. This spacious home has a formal dining room with arched window and plantation shutters.

The master bedroom has picturesque waterviews, 2 walkin closets and private bath with dual sinks. $425,000

Call the Captain! INCREDIBLE OPEN WATER

VIEW of Charlotte Harbor! Rare tip lot sold with the lot next to it. Combined waterfrontage of approximatley 262 ft. Located in a protected open water estuary. Immediate access to Charlotte Harbor for world class fishing and boating pleasure. Seawall already constructed. $750,000

Call the Captain! CUSTOM BUILT LAKEFRONT POOL HOME! Deep Creek, 3/2, 2,000+ sq. ft.

Numerous upgrades, cultured marble vanity, dual sinks and garden tub in master, Too much more to list here!

White hurricane storm panels, bevel cut glass entry.

Wired for surround sound. Built in 2007. $249,900

Call the Captain! ENORMOUS TIP LOT! Overlooks large basin, complete with fill and seawall.

Only 5 minutes to open water, 20 minutes to the Gulf, no bridges. $249,999

the Captain! CUSTOM BUILT WATERFRONT POOL HOME Immaculate condition! Very deep water immediate access.Updated kitchen, painted inside and out. Paver driveway, dock has water and electric. $339,000

Pi rate Harbor

Punta Gorda Isl es

Call

Selling your House or Property ? Iʼd like your listing

Let me advertise your property or your house right here – I get results!

Call the Captain Today! 941-833-4234

New Loop Current Eddy Forms in Gulf of Mexico Page 12

Mitchell A. Roffer, Ph.D. November 14, 2011 As we were monitoring the conditions in the Gulf of Mexico this morning we observed several clear indications that a relatively large, clockwise rotating Loop Current eddy appears to have formed. The water of this anti-cyclonic eddy is rotating separately from the Loop Current.

There is cooler water (less red/more orange on the image) from the west Florida shelf being pulled around the eddy. We started to see this formation on November 07, 2011 and the development has continued for a week. Movie loops show the motion. The image is a false color enhancement of a two day (November 13 - 14, 2011) ROFFS sea surface temperature (SST) composite derived from a variety of infrared sensors on the NOAA, NASA and European Space Agency satellites. The smaller images are two independent graphics (NOAA_AOML and Univ. Colorado) derived from altimetry data from a longer period that shows this eddy and circulation field. The Loop Current SST is 27.6°-27.7°C (81.7°-81.9°F) and the eddy is 26.8°-27.1°C (80°.3-80.8°F) .

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

We will continue to monitor this to see if remains separated from the Loop Current.

Presently the eddy is pulling a filament of the Loop Current water around the western side of the eddy, but most of the Loop Current water appears to be flowing eastward toward the Straits of Florida. North of the Loop Current eddy is another counter-clockwise flowing eddy. This situation is very similar to the circulation we observed during the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill episode. We also continue to receive reports of good tuna fishing action along the northern boundaries of the blue Loop Current water from south of the Mississippi Delta and eastward over the Desoto Canyon area.

Charlotte County Posts Iguana Map Google Earth updates Charlotte Harbor Left: The central and western part of Charlotte Harbor is being updated in the Google Earth Mosaic. There is much better detail of the west wall where Tirtle Bay almost connects to the Harbor.

Ri g ht: Everyone knows there are iguanas on Boca Grande. There have been several well publicized reports of capture and kill efforts but the existence of the reptile all around Port Charlotte is not such common knowlege.

Now, Charlotte County has published a map of Iguana sightings on the internet.

December

2 0 11

December

2 0 11

Fishinʼ the Grandmas

By Capt. Bi l l y Barton Water LIFE / Charlotte Harbor It was the end of October when I received a phone call from a Texas area code and one of my favorite customers Linda Grant. I fished Linda and her son David in the springtime for Spanish mackerel and sharks and we had some action packed trips together. She said she'd be back and she was telling no lies.

In our telephone conversation she said she would be here in November with her two sisters. Her sister Sharon would be here for the first two weeks, and her other sister Anne would be here for the second two weeks. Linda asked me how the fishing had been and if I could pick the four best days I had available to take some Grannies out fishing - her words!

I laughed and told her the fishing had been excellent, and that the winds had been tough lately, but I would do my best to pick some good days for them. She was very grateful and I could tell she was excited to get them out there.

Well November arrived and I was booking trips from all angles. I really didn't know how the weather would pan out but I had a couple of days marked on the calender for Linda. I booked her trips during the best possible phase of high tide and I had my fingers crossed hoping that the winds would stay favorable.

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

We met at Ponce Park boat launch for our first excursion. I had a live-well full of good size whitebait and some select size shrimp. The Harbor was like a mirror and it was time to go get the job done.

We arrived at our first spot on the East side about an hour before high tide. I set the girls up with their rods and baits and told them I had a good feeling. First cast both ladies were hooked up with a nice red and a nice snook. Not a bad way to start the day! I landed their fish, took a couple of pictures and they made their second casts. It wasn't two seconds..

Bam!! another double!!! This was gonna be fun!

We sat in that one spot for two or three hours and caught snook after snook after redfish after redfish until hours later they finally slowed up a little bit. "What a rush!" Linda said. We ate lunch and made our way into PGI for the last hour or so where I chummed up some big jacks and some more snook.

From start to finish it was an action packed day. I took the ladies back to the ramp where I cleaned two beautiful redfish for them and they headed home for a fresh fish supper. We had plans to meet almost same time, same place the following day.

I had high hopes of being able to do it again.

I chose to change things up however on the second day. I knew we could catch fish, but I figured a little change of scenery would be nice for them. I brought the ladies to some of my favorite redfish country this time of year, up near

the Myakka River where we spent a steady four hours catching redfish every single cast until every piece of the ten dozen shrimp in the live-well was gone.

We guessed that we brought an easy 60 or so reds to the boat. These weren't your typical winter time rat reds either. No sir, they were good quality fish. After that day I was exhausted, but all Linda could talk about was wanting to get back out there with her other sister to go catch some more fish! That was the plan.

Now I'm trying once again to shorten up what could be a really really long story! I planned our third and fourth trips around the high tide as well. We had two more exciting days fishing the Myakka River, the West Wall, Turtle and Bull Bay.

Page 13

Shrimp was the bait of choice, and once again the fish were very hungry. On the high tides they were up against the bushes, and when it pushed out we fished the troughs and potholes and we put at least another 50 reds to the boat, along with some nice snook, a bunch of trout, some big sheeps, flounder, pompano, and a handful of bonnet head sharks. The weather was perfect, the tides were perfect, and the fishing was perfect. ‘Thank you’ fish Gods! I'm now seven for seven with Miss Linda a.k.a. the Lucky Fishing Grandma. Here's to next time!!!

Capt. Billy Barton runs Scales N Tails Charters. For information, or to book a fishing trip, Capt. Billy can be reached at 979-6140 or at: bartonw24@yahoo.com

Page 14

By guest col umni st Mi ke Busher

Water LIFE Sailing

About 1993 Punta Gorda Sail Club’s Race Fleet Captain, Dave Hansen, decided the club needed to do a fun race overnight somewhere. Cabbage Key seemed appropriate, being a neat place to visit and the right distance for the trip. That first year most of the boats stayed at the dock and the music and festivities were exceptional.

Discussions were held as to what prize the winning boat might receive and it was decided that the club could afford a pitcher of beer for the winning boat.

The following year when notice of the now-annual race was advertised in the clubs news letter, a minor spelling error was made. Since then, the race has been termed the “Picture of Beer” race/cruise.

After a couple years of the annual tradition, a Kool Aid pitcher was found at a garage sale and mounted on a nice piece of wood and this became the traveling trophy for the event with each winner’s name engraved on the award .

This year’s event was held in exceptionally perfect weather conditions with

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

the destination this year being Gasparilla Marina. The sailing team of Panache, with Mary Dorey at the helm, son Chris assisting as crew, and husband Butch issuing orders, won the event, following up on their win the week before of the clubs Moonlight Regatta. Traditionally, the Captain of the winning boat would be expected to chug the Trophy filled with beer, but due to some discussion between the team members of actual assignments, help was solicited from other members of the club to fulfill this chore.

As part of the award for winning this prestigious race, the Doreys will be in charge of organizing next year’s race, which entitles them to make up their own set of rules for the event.

The Picture of Beer race/cruise is one of many fun Sailboat Racing and Cruising events sponsored by the Punta Gorda Sailing Club. Read all about us at www.pgscweb.com.

Our next major event will be the Holiday Regatta, a “Charlotte Harbor Boat of the Year” Regatta on December 17th and 18th. This Regatta is open to all interested participants and is expected to attract sailors from Naples to Sarasota.

Sign on to our web and learn how to join in on the fun. We also have series races about every other Sunday.

Bill Dixon uses his zip code for email: BillD33950@yahoo.com

December

Novemberʼs Moonlight Regatta got started with the sunset

2 0 11

NOTICE: GOLDEN CONCH REGATTA is Jan 21- 22 This is being held on the third weekend in January because IFDS DISABLED SAILING REGATTA is on Jan 14-15 the 2nd weekend

Sto e Cr a n i n S ea b s NOWson !

December

2 0 11

Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve PADDLING

By Davi d Al l en Water LIFE Kayaking Every now and then it's fun to venture a little farther from home than we normally do to explore a new kayak trail.

On a recent Sunday morning, a group from our kayak club decided to check-out a relatively new launch site in North Ft. Myers; the Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve. This 1290 acre tract was purchased by Lee County in 2000 and the park opened to the public in May 2008.

The Park is part of the Great Calusa Blueway, a marked paddling trail of over 190 miles through Lee County's inland tributaries and coastal waters.

The park is very easy to find and only about 20 miles from Port Charlotte, in North Ft. Myers. From the Interstate south, take Exit 143 to Bayshore Rd.,

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

then a quick left onto McDowell and your in the park. There is a parking fee of $1/hr. or $5 max for all day.

The facilities are excellent and extend well beyond the kayak launch area. There are two restroom facilities, picnic shelters and tables, and several miles of hiking trails, including several thousand feet of boardwalk to take you right to the waters edge. Several observations decks are strategically located to allow a panoramic view of the park and the River. These observation decks also provide nature photographers an excellent opportunity to photograph the unusually broad range of water birds and other wildlife that inhabit the area.

Note that the park is named Caloosahatchee Creeks, plural, and with good reason.

Actually, six creeks run through the park and all are accessible from either inside the park or from the Caloosahatchee River.

Popash Creek is the main stream; it runs past the kayak launch area, but the other creeks include Palm, Bayshore, Chapel, Branch, Daughtrey's, and Stroud.

Most of these are short and not too deep.

We only ventured into one of these from the Caloosahatchee River.

There is a road that runs very near the kayak launch area, a small sandy beach

on a bend in Popash Creek and we put-in there.

From the beach, it is about 0.7 miles to the Caloosahatchee River, down a beautiful, windy waterway, replete with a friendly alligator and several egrets flying ahead of us. It was a warm but blustery day, and once we entered the Caloosahatchee and turned north, our forward motion slowed way down. But we knew we'd have a sleigh ride coming back down the river.

Popash Creek enters the Caloosahatchee directly across from the Orange River and the power plant which provides warm water to keep the manatees happy in the winter. But we have been up the Orange River many times and wanted to explore more of the north side of the Caloosahatchee this time.

We paddled under the Interstate 75 Bridge, and as we continued north we saw ahead of us a large flock of birds in the mangroves along the river bank. As we got closer, we could see a flock of about 25 birds; snowy egret, white ibis, but also about six or seven roseate spoonbills. Great! We don't get to see the spoonbills that often and to see six or seven is a real treat.

We paddled a half mile beyond the rookery and turned around. The wind was so strong from the north, we hardly needed to paddle on the return route.

We had a good paddle and really enjoyed the scenery along the creek banks

Page 15

and the river. But the spoonbills were special.

There was only one other car in the parking lot and that couple was hiking the trails. As we were approaching the beach to end the paddle, two kayakers were just leaving. My point is that the park doesn't seem to have a lot of traffic on the trails and waterways. Maybe the park has not been well publicized, but whatever the reason, it's a very interesting paddle with a guarantee of seeing lots of water birds, and maybe a spoonbill.

‘The Port Charlotte Kayakers meet each Wednesday evening at 5:30 PM at Port Charlotte Beach Park. All are welcome. For more information contact Dave Allen at 941-235-2588

Bananas and Bad Luck

Page 16

By Capt Larry Todd Water LIFE Port Charlotte Fishermen and sailors are, without a doubt, the most superstitious group of people in the world.

Since man first took to the sea, stories of disaster and bad luck that befell ships and sailors, were all blamed on a multitude of reasons that soon became superstitions. If a ship was lost at sea, it was because they started their voyage on a Friday, or on the first Monday in April or even on 31 Dec. Sailors believe that Sunday is the best day to start a voyage.

The days are all based on religious belief. If fishermen didn’t catch fish, it was because one of the sailors on board was a redhead and he or she spoke to you before you spoke to them or you boarded your boat with your left foot first.

Women on board would anger the seas but a naked woman would calm the seas.

(This is why you see carved figure head statues of women with exposed breast on the bow of sailing ships. It keeps King Neptune happy and peaceful.

Changing the name of a Ship will doom both the ship and crew. Even black suitcases or seabags are an omen of disaster or death. That’s why film crews were asked to leave their equipment suitcases on the dock when they boarded the crab boats to film THE

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

DEADLIEST CATCH. The one superstition that stands out from all the rest, is, having any BANANAS ON A BOAT. And if you ask any Captain, sailor, or fisherman, most will tell you the same thing “NO BANANAS”.

The Banana superstitions dates back to the 1700s when the Spanish noticed that nearly all their ships sailing from the Caribbean and were lost at sea, were carrying bananas. It was noted that sailors would die from spider bites when they had a cargo of bananas. This would result in the cargo being tossed overboard. The fastest sailing ships were used to transport bananas to reach port before the bananas would spoil in the cargo holes. Sailors would troll for fish while sailing but on these “Banana Boats” they were sailing so fast, the sailors would not catch any fish. So begins the superstition of not catching any fish with bananas on board and that bananas were just plain bad luck altogether.

The “NO BANANAS” superstition is world wide. I have found Fishing Charter web sites from Florida up the coast to Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and from Alaska to Hawaii and on to Australia and all have “NO BANANAS” posted for all fishing char-

December

2 0 11

We donʼt know if there were any bananas on the boat these guys were lanching on the Alafia River last month. The truck rolled in and then ʻturned turtleʼ before it was dragged back up the ramp.

ters. There are also numerous stories on the internet, (both good and bad) about fishing with bananas on boats. (95% are not good). No where is the anti-banana sentiment stronger than in Hawaii. The legend dates back to the Hawaiian God “PELE” and has something to do with his lack of “manhood” and his envy of the banana. You do your own research on that one.

The anti-banana feelings run extremely high during Fishing Tournaments where some anglers go as far as to ban Banana Boat Sunscreen, items from Banana Republic, and Fruit of the Loom underwear and t-shirts. If someone

DOES mention that they are wearing Fruit of the Loom, the tag is removed with a very sharp knife and disposed of.

A note here: Fruit of the Loom does not have a banana on it, but it’s the thought that counts.

Most charter captains have their own stories to tell about having bananas onboard during one of their fishing trips.

Some believe in the superstition and some don’t.

As for me, I am very superstitious and I once threw a “BIG” bunch of bananas off my boat just before we went offshore Grouper fishing. True or not, I wasn’t going to take any chances.

A little Rough... but Fishy

December

2 0 11

By Capt. Bart Marx Water LIFE Fishing December and it is time for Christmas once again. We just finished with turkey and all the trimmings and it is the time of year that we receive calls from some of our repeat customers. We received a call from Steve to set up a trip with his sons and brother-in-law and his son. We agreed on an off shore trip to catch some snapper, grunts, porgies, flounder or some mackerel.

So we met at Placida to start our fishing adventure. We went over near the grass beds and chummed a little and threw the cast net and caught some very nice bait for our angling adventure. We ventured out just a few miles into the Gulf and made our first stop. The day we were fishing was in between two fronts and the wind was a little much. We anchored and started with frozen baits and the bite was very slow. We moved out eight miles or so from the beach and started bottom fishing again where it was pretty rough and was hard to feel the fish biting because the boat was moving up and down a lot.

Then they started talking about getting sick and checking every few minutes if

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

each other was okay. Well that to me just plants seeds in the mind and your body starts feeling the symptoms of sea sick.

Some of them had taken some medication

to help against getting sick and it seemed to work for a while. Then the brother-inlaw went up to the front of the boat to lay down. There was one ill person to start and I never did find out if he was the one that took something for sea sickness.

And some of the others followed. There was a request that we move closer to shore or even into the harbor. We started that way to find out that the winds had picked up quite a bit and there were some good size waves and white caps on top.

We slowly made our way to the Boca Grande channel where we started to troll for some mackerel and the fish were there.

We trolled and we caught quite a few nice Spanish mackerel. We had two hooks on one pole, a jig and a spool. This is very productive, you can catch two at a time and the dolphins follow the fish up as you reel them in. They wait for one to fall off and have an easy snack. We were catching small ones in the beginning and worked our way around the channel to catch some nice ones. We kept twenty two nice ones. They were getting bored with this action so we moved on to another spot about three miles off the coast of Boca where we caught some grunts and a prize of a Gulf flounder. It measured in at eighteen inches. It was getting late in the day and we started back to the dock where we could clean the fish.

It turned out to be a great trip and they had a couple of gallon bags of fish. We caught some other species like scamp or yellow mouth grouper they may be called , some reds, and small gag grouper that were not keeper fish so they were released in great condition.

If you would like to fish with Capt.

Bart Marx on a coastal gulf trip or a harbor fishing trip give me a call and we can get you hooked up. Cell 941-979-6517 to book your next fishing adventure. Give me a call or purchase a gift certificate for a family member. Visit Alpha Omega Charters.com Singing drags and tight lines make me ;-) smile.

Page 17

OFFSHORE REPORT

Page 18

The Olʼ Fishʼn Hole

With Capt. Jim O'Brien

Water LIFE Englewood Hey ya-all can you believe by the time you read this we will only have 24 days till Christmas? WHEH! I haven’t even started Christmas shopping for the wife, but ol' Capt. here has a day set aside to take my wife to Fort Myers to the BASS PRO SHOP. It worked out great last year.

I took her down there (with my Christmas list of course) I got to go in the restaurant and had 2 or 3 or maybe it was 3 or 4 Captain Morgan an’ coke.. ha! while she shopped her little ol' heart out NOW THATS WHAT I CALL CHRISTMAS SHOPPING ha! HA! Well let’s get on to fish'n, don't forget you can't keep gag grouper now, but you can keep 4 red grouper instead of 2 per person as of NOV 2, 2011. Gag grouper next year, unless there are any changes between now and then, will open JULY 1 2012 and close OCT. 31 2012 (open 4 months next year) One of my stories this month took place the day after the closing of gag grouper. I had a charter out and we caught 5 of the biggest GAG'S I have ever seen in a long time. I'am talking 20 to 25 pounders. Every time the mate or I had to release one a tear come to my eyes.

SHEEPSHEAD are being caught on shrimp an’ fiddler crabs around the phosphate dock in Boca Grande Pass, also the old railroad trestle by the bridge going over to Boca Grande REDFISH are chewing real good in Lemon Bay north of the Tom Adams bridge, and on the West Wall in Charlotte Harbor.

KING MACKEREL are running just off the beach in 20 to 45 feet of water. Big king-spoons in cream color an

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

silver are working well. You can slow drift ballyhoo an’ big pin fish for these guys if you can find a day it’s not blowing.

SPANISH MACKEREL and BONITA are all over the place from just off the beachs out to 30 miles. There have been a lot of big schools at 17 to 20 miles – we would go up current on the big schools and drift into them casting a 1 oz diamond jig to them and reel as fast as you can - thats a ball on light tackle. We had big schools of Spanish mackerel and bonita all around us at 30 miles out.

KEY WEST GRUNTS and MANGROVE SNAPPER are still huge out in water depths of 85 to 105 feet, 25 to 30 miles out.

BIG RED GROUPER are still bitting excellent out in 100 feet of water using stink baits like mullet chunks, squid or frozen sardines.

GAG GROUPER was good this year but the gag grouper season is closed now.

My last two charters, the first one was a group of guys from Saskatchewan. Last year in December they was on the front page of Water LIFE, they have fished with me for the last 5 years, a great bunch of guys. We limited out on red grouper got some big mangs porgies lane snapper and some nice key west grunts we all had a good time again this year and they all said ‘we will see you again next year’ the guys were Darick Dodge, Ricard Lillico, Gordon Buecket, Damon Bailey and Lanny Dell The last charter we had out was a group from England that’s fished with me for the last 5 years: Pete Boulton the dad, Matthew Boulton son, Richard Boulton son and George Fuller. Pete is shown holding a big Gag in the bottom photo. This fish gave Pete one heck of a fight. The only problem was the guys caught 5 big gags and we had to throw them all back cause it was November 16,

the day after Gags closed. Thats why I said earlier we all had tears in our eyes when we had to put them back. But all in all they got a bunch of nice red grouper a bunch of big mangrove snapper, one big porgy on steroids and some nice size Key West grunts. We all had a lot of fun on our 5th season out.

Pete had a big fish fry for every one the next day and he said his boys ate fish until they were ready to bust. One of the boys went back to Las Angeles and the other son left for Europe.

Pete’s going back to Europe Monday, but he said ‘I'll be back in January and we'll do this again.’

Well folks my lips just fell on the floor again that usually means I've been RACHET JAWING TO MUCH...

Just one more thing, my wife Debbie and myself from Pedator II Charters want

December

2 0 11

to take this time to wish you and your family Season’s Greetings, a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

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 AND BE SURE TO SNORT SOME OF THAT SALT AIR

Real Estate News

December

2 0 11

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. Cheney Brothers was the sole bidder for the 35 acre parcel of county land on Airport Road and I-75. The former FEMA trailer park was sold for $2.5 Mil ($71K/acre). The County granted Cheney a 10 year exemption from real estate tax assessments valued at more than $1.2 mil as an enticement for Cheney to build a new food distribution plant that will eventually employ up to 600 workers.

Although the County will not collect any more taxes on the property than it has in the past, there will be other benefits to the Charlotte County tax budg-

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

Page 19

et. Among those benefits should be a wake up call to the Tax Assesor's office that highly visible industrial land is worth far more than the $5,500/acre value it has ascribed to adjacent parcels.

2.

Syd Kitson negotiated a $52 mil discount on its $100 mil mortgage which came due in August. His investment group paid $500 Mil to acquire the 91,000 acre Babcock ranch, then sold 74,000 acres to the state for $350 Million.

3.

The Murdock Shopping Plaza at 1100 El Jobean Road is another victim of the real estate bubble. Doppco Development of Cleveland paid $3 mil for the vacant site in 2005. They sold the 28,000 SF center anchored by Mattress Giant for $4 mil. The lender had to write off more than $4 mil of its loan to make the sale happen. Can't quite appreciate what had possessed them to lend almost $300/sf on this center.

4.

The City of Punta Gorda will be tearing up 20 brand new, federally funded driveways to install new sidewalks along Aqui Esta. ... our tax dollars at work?

5.

The Charlotte County Appraiser, Frank Desguin will retire at the end of

Bass Fishing

The new self service ice vending unit is open at the Placida Boat Ramp. The facility operates 24/7 and sells cubes or block ice. The County leased the space to a private contractor who owns the business. Seen here: Mike Boman fills his cooler. Boman said he liked the convenience and the 20 pounds for $2 price.

this current term. Fifteen years of managing this office through an enormous boom and bust cycle has certainly proved to be a challenge. Absent that market volatility, his successor may have more success in fairly assessing properties in Charlotte County. His chief deputy, Paul Polk will be running against John Perez. The primary election will be held August 14.

6.

Xray Industries of Troy MI will buy Arcadia Aerospace for $1.5 Mil. They intend to triple the size of this carbon composite testing facility for airplane parts. Arcadia was $490K behind

on its rent to the airport authority.

In other news: October airport traffic at Punta Gorda Airport was up 133% over last October. Year to date traffic is up 68% from 2010.

S al es S tati sti cs: Prices appear to continue to stabilize for both vacant lots and homes. Foreclosure filings in Charlotte County were 162 vs 166 a year ago. North Port's grim housing market had a huge impact on Sarasota county's rise of 20% in foreclosures vs. last October. Nationally, median list prices were up 14% vs 2010 to $169K.

From Deri ck Knapp We set out for a nice weekend of fishing with no work or school, but as we where making our way down to the lake the sky opened up on Oct.29. Since we where already here my daughters Brooke 9yrs. on left and Rachael 11yrs. on right said it's time to harden up, knot up our favorite rubber frogs and put on the rain gear and Tackle this lake. With all the rain, Rachael was able to crank in a 5'3/4lb. Slob large mouth and Brooke with a 4'1/2lb. Thug large mouth. All and all they caught around a dozen bass ranging from 1-3 lbs.

The rain cleared over night and Sunday was not to bad fishing. The girls where catching so many fish from the dock we didn't even have to get in the boat and burn fuel. The fish were smaller in the 12lb. range but it kept them catching fish all day.

Page 20

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

Water LIFE Distributor 始s Club

December

2 0 11

You can always get a free copy of Water LIFE at these locations

Cooks

Sportland

4419 So. Tamiami Trail S. Venice 493-0025

Water LIFE Distributor 始s Club

You can always get a free copy of Water LIFE at these locations

December

2 0 11

SCUTTLEBUTT

Sometimes Unsubstanciated, But Often True

Dead red, on Boca Grande beach at the end of October.

There waqs still some Red Tide near Captiva and on the Collier County coast at the end of November

GAG is considered overfished (population abundance is too low) and undergoing overfishing (rate of removal too high). The MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires action to rebuild overfished stocks and to end overfishing.

The Council has approved a long-term plan to address gag stock rebuilding through Amendment 32 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico. If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, the 2012 recreational season will open July 1 and close October 31, with a 2-fish bag limit within a 4-fish aggregate bag limit.

LIONFISH, Florida Keys — More than 50 divers collected 312 Indo-Pacific red lionfish Nov. 5 during the final 2011 diver derby to reduce the population of the invasive species in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

The Lower Keys Lionfish Derby attracted 14 teams that competed for cash and prizes.

SEA TURTLE nesting season has come to an end.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and its partners documented a record high annual nest count for green turtles in Florida. Leatherback turtles also had a high number of nests FWC was on foot patrol at the El Jobean fishing pier, when he encountered an individual fishing with a cast net.

A fisheries inspection revealed a 19-inch snook.

The subject admitted to catching the fish with the net and was issued a notice to appear for possession of snook out of season, possession of an undersized snook and taking snook by an illegal method.

Operation Crab Count, an interagency detail to inspect inbound commercial stone crab fishermen near Indian Key Pass, Everglades City inspected 90 boats. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol apprehended eight illegal aliens who were crewmembers onboard several of the vessels.

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

Fishing School : Class Photos and Pizza Party Punta Gorda Commentary

By Mi chael Hel l er Water LIFE editor We have now graduated over 1100 kids from our Don Ball School of Fishing program.

We just graded the tests we gave the kids at the end of their 8 week course.

Grades went up (on average) 30%. Same as last year and we are happy with that. The two problem questions this year were: Which fish is more likely to be caught when fishing the grass flats: Answer; trout, only 61-percent of the students got this right and: What is an ethical Angler? Only 63% knew it was someone who does the right thing even when no one else is looking.

Port Charlotte The two questions that everyone did best on were: What influences the tides the most? The answer was the Sun and Moon - 88-percent of the students go that one correct. The other question everyone did well on was what is the best way to hold a fish/ 94% knew it was horizontally, supporting the belly with your hand.

All the other questions scored in the mid 70-percentile.

This winter we are going to try and contact some of the past graduates to see if they are still fishing and if they remember anything we taught them.

I know Kaelin Olayer is fishing, he graduated 4 years Heron Creek ago, he’s a guide now and he was one of the adult helpers in our program this year at L.A. Ainger middle school.

Classes ended just before Thanksgiving with a pizza party at each school. Luigi’s in Port Charlotte supplied the pizza, the kids supplied the smiles.

We have now posted one of the AV presentations we gave the kids this year at; waterlifemagazine.com. It’s from Capt Bob DeKurlenaere’s class at Heron Creek.

Plans are moving ahead for a Don Ball School of Fishing class at Caloosa Middle School in Cape Coral. It looks like that class will start in February.

Thanks again to Bob, Capt Andy Medina, Capt. Rod Walinchus, and Capt Bart Marx, and Capt Billy Barton for teaching the classes this year. And thanks to my wife Ellen for three nights a week for eight weeks, running back and forth from school to school with rods and tackle and then pizza. It wouldn’t have happened with out all of you. Happy Holidays! – Michael & Ellen Heller

Page 21

Murdock

LA Ainger

In-house Upholstery Shop

Fabrication • Spot Repairs • Major Structural Custom work is our Specialty 1 7 2 6 S t e a dl e y A v e . P u n t a G o rda

Pro fessio na l Qu ali ty Awl Grip Fin ishes Gel Coa t • Free E stimates Mobile Service

S hop

941-

575-8914

Ho me

235-2243

Custom Fiberglass

K AYA K S !

December Fishing Forecast

Page 22

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

Charlotte Harbor:

Frank at Fishin' Franks Port Charlotte: 625-3888

Plenty of pompano right now. The crazy thing is five years ago we never talked about them, there weren’t that many, now the schools are getting huge.

From Venice to Sanibel, right now you are going to find pompano. The north end of Pine Island down to Matlacha - pompano are there. Out front of Bull and Turtle Bay - pompano. Fish a Banana jig or small pieces of live shrimp they seem to be eating them both. And these are really nice sized fish. But there are apparently schools of permi t mixed in with the pompano so watch what you get if you are going to eat them. Pompano are like champagne, permit, not so much.

Out in the Gulf you have S pani sh mackerel , further out boni ta and there are Ki ngs from the beaches out to 15 miles.

S nook are finally starting to eat shrimp. Right now, you can get nice slotsized snook with shrimp. Mostly they seem to pick them up near the bottom, so fish a shrimp with a split shot.

Reds fi s h are also eating shrimp,

either live or dead. A shrimp showing a little red is even better right now. Let the shrimp die and keep it out of the well to get it more smelly.

From Muddy Bay down to Cape Haze, from Pirate Harbor to Two Pine there are nice redfish. Then as you work your way up the Harbor the reds get smaller with only a few slot fish mixed in.

There has been a little mackerel , some whi ti ng and spadefi sh at the Alligator and Cape Haze reefs.

Up at the 41-Bridges and over at ElJobean we have S heepshead but the bigger ones are in PGI and Port Charlotte at the bridges in the canal system. El Jo is moderate, Placida is picking up, but the bridges at the canals are on fire with sheepshead. It really doesnt matter day or night, pieces of shrimp are ok but fiddler crabs are the No-1 bait and they have to be right next to the piling. I like a 3-way sinker rig with a 2-foot drop.

Coming up next month, trout will be back in season. We have been seeing some really nice trout right now, fish in the over 20 inch range; 24-25 even 29 inch trout are here, so get your light tack-

le and small top-waters ready.

Fl ounder are still along the bars on either side of the Harbor. Some of the best activity is inside of Boca Grande. Fish the bottom bouncing a jig tipped with a shrimp and use a heavy, 3/8 or 1/2 ounce, jig. You actually want it to ‘thud’ when it hits the bottom.

My minnow sales are off the chart for crappi e. There are no fishermen more secret than the crappie guys. Fish the dams off Price Blvd at the bottom of the spillways, either early or late in the day. Put a minnow under a bobber, look for the shade until it cools off.

Professional Local FISHING GUIDES

Card Ad AVAILABLE Guides Only $40/mo call 766-8180

Charters

Offshore Fishing Trips: 1/2 day • 8hr • 10 hr • 12 hr We help put your charters together

Shark, Tarpon, Grouper, Snapper, Kingfish, and MORE!

Nighttime Trips Available

Capt. Jim OʼBrien USCG 50 ton license since 1985

941-473-2150

December

2 0 11

Photos: Capt. Billy Barton, Scales nʼ Tails Charters

This should be a great crappie season, we have been seeing crappie up to a pound.

You can go catch a meal right now.

Fishing Report continued on facing page

December

2 0 11

continued from facing page

There are bass in Lake Betty and up on Shell creek, green and blue seem to be the best worm color right now.

Finally, there are still a lot of bo nnethead s harks right now. It’s been crazy with them this year.

Remember, the law says two sharks in the boat total, even though it’s a one fish per angler limit. If you want to catch a bonnethead just put a shrimp out on the bottom and hold on.

w w w. Wa t e r L I FEma ga z i n e .c o m

The The BIG-4 BIG-4

SPANISH MACKEREL In the passes and in the Harbor

Fish Fish to to expect expect in in

SHEEPSHEAD At the canal system bridges

Page 23

December December

POMPANO in the passes and south in the Harbor

Water Temps in the 60s

CRAPPIE bottom of the spillways on Price Blvd

Lemon Bay:

Jim at Fishermens Edge, Englewood: 697-7595

Capt. Glen Ballinger made these fat cobia look great

There has been quite a bit of redfi sh.

Guys are doing OK on the flats of Lemon Bay, above the Tom Adams Bridge, at Oyster Creek, and on the west side of Lemon Bay and down through Widden and Cayo Pelau. The tide have been really low in the morning. If the wind is from the north it depletes the water even more, so a shallow draft boat or a kayak will be what you need to get around.

Fish live shrimp or soft plastic weedless baits. There has been quite a bit of pompano showing up, at all the passes and some l adyfi sh mixed in with S pani sh mackerel .

Fish the bottom for pompano and higher up for ladys and macks.

I have seen some success with snook, working the plugs like swimming Sebille stick-shads or topwater.

Rapallas and Xwraps are good too. The bigger snook are kind of lazy so some guys are using chunked dead bait if they are trying to catch a snook to release. .

The sheepshead are at El Jo and in Englewood and Placida. Live shrimp or fiddler crabs are the bait. Most of the guys are using the fiddler crabs.

There is some tri pl e tai l action if you can get out in the Gulf and run the crab pots.

The last thing is, the fl ounder bite has been really good. Flounder up into the 20’s are coming from around Englewood at Trembly and Novak and any other structure 2 to 5 miles out. Some guys are getting them on the beach. The flounder must be staging up or something. Guys are telling me they are catching flounder every day. When it’s too rough to get way out for grouper, the flounder are closer in.

Capt. Kaelin Olayerʼs nice image with a redfish

How To Photograph Fish

A perfect snook photo before the release

Many guides like a wide angle lens used up close. The key is to have the subject hold the fish with bent elbows so it looks natural. A large depth of field helps to keep it all in focus. When holding a big fish hold it horizontally, supporting its belly so as not to damage its internel organs. Fish are used to being weightless and holding them vertically and out of water is bad for their guts.

Capt. Davis Stephens helps focus on the snook

Bl a ck T i p B a it & T a c kl e Our b ai t i s g uarant eed t o cat ch fi s h o r di e t ry i ng !

with Capt James C Hensler

Li ve S hri mp, Pi nfi sh, Li ve Crabs Ful l Li ne of Tackl e S uppl i es

Good

CORRECTION Last month we mistakenly identified Bill Hoffman as Bill Hamilton. At least we got the flounder right!

Capt. Billy Barton has the technique down pat

Semper Fi Charters

Fishing right now:

(941) 627-0809

El Jobean Open Every Day Mon - S at: 6am - 7pm S un: 6 am - 5 pm

December

2 0 11

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

Page 24