Water LIFE Feb 2012

Wa t e r LIFE Charlotte Charlotte Harbor Harbor and and Lemon Lemon Bay Bay Keeping Boaters & Fishermen Informed Since 1997

The official publication of the Charlotte Harbor Reef Association

February

2012

Good Offshore Page 16

Can始t always get the BIG ONES ...

Page 11

... But there are QUALITY FISH around

Capt. Ron: My Take on Red Tide

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February

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Pending

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February

2012

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February

2012

Inshore & Offshore Headquarters Letters to Waterlife@comcast.net

Dear Water LIFE Hi my name is Dom Castro. I moved here 8 years ago and since then itʼs been a bit of a hope of mine to be on the front cover of Water LIFE magazine. Iʼll be moving out of state at the end of this month so I see it as my last chance to make this happen. Iʼve been fishing all over Englewood lately almost every day and take pictures of what might be cover worthy. I have attached my most recent and plan to send many more, fishing every day until the end of January.

Please consider my pictures. Iʼll be keeping a hopeful eye on the magazine as always.

Also, any tips on what you look for when selecting cover pictures would be appreciated. Thank You! Dom Castro

Photo Tips: First, try to keep your thumb out of the picture! And watch the background – like for the palm tree behind this fisherman. – MH

Dear Water LIFE Just a quick note to let you know I will not be reading your paper any longer due to your perverted horrendous article (December) promoting beastiality. But I'm sure it's ok since after all we are just a higher form of animals anyway right?

The man obviously has problems and yet you endorse his book and give him place in your nature magazine. It's a shame that you have no better uplifting informative stories to report on. Typical media, reporting on the most outrageous piece of trash out there. Please leave that to the inquirers.

Capt. Brian Editor notes* Yes it was sick, but it was just... how shall I say it? ... tongue-in-cheek.

Dear Water LIFE My 8 year old grandson Isaac Dunson enjoyed pretty much everything about Florida life this time of year during a one week visit over Jan. 1.

This shows him at sunset on Palm Island and "hanging ten" on a skim board in the surf. His other favorite activities were catching blue crabs with chicken parts in a pull-up trap in a brackish pond, and squeezing ragged sea hares to get them to release their blue ink.

Bi l l Dunson

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TOTALLY INDEPENDENT

Not affiliated with any other publication Vol XI No 2 © 2012

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No part of this publication (printed or electronic) may be copied or reproduced without specific written permission from the publisher.

Contributing Editors:

Photography: ASA1000.com Senior Editor: Capt. Ron Blago Charter Fishing: Capt. Bart Marx Port Charlotte: Capt. Billy Barton Punta Gorda: Capt. Chuck Eichner Commercial Fishing: Kelly Beall Sea Grant: Betty Staugler Real Estate: Dave Hofer Inshore: Fishinʼ Frank Offshore: Capt Jim OʼBrien Diving: Tommy Davis Kayaks: David Allen Sailing: Bill Dixon Office Dog: Molly Brown

on the COVER: Greg Whaley assumes the ʻprofessional poseʼ with a tiny snapper caught on a tiny hook while stalking spadefish. See this monthʼs Fishinʼ Frank on page 7 Charlotte Harbor Reef Association

www.waterlifemagazine.com TURN THE PAGES EVERY MONTH: Back Issues Photography Kids Charters Kids Classes Tides Weather Sailing Kayaking Diving

How the manatee became famous

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

“Like a good day on the water”

February

2012

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Who Knows Whatʼs Best for You and Me?

By Mi chael Hel l er Water LIFE editor The following was part of a January press release from NOAA Fisheries: As we begin 2012 and a new leg of this journey, I invite you to reflect on the importance of our collective accomplishment and the strength it provides us to move forward and tackle other issues still in front of us. S ome current challenges include working to further refine our management approaches to better meet the needs of fishermen and coastal communities, building on our world class science to better understand trends in fish populations and ecosystem considerations, and taking stronger steps to preserve protected resources like endangered species and marine mammals.

The words preserve resources always get my attention, especially when they come from a big government agency like NOAA. Preserve ecosystems was the cry we heard from the Feds about manatees.

What we have come to find out is preserving usually comes down to preserving the jobs of the people doing the research.

And that in turn always leads to flawed science.

I had been working on our own website before reading the NOAA Fisheries

press release. I was updating our manatee pages. We have a section entitled: How the Manatee Became Famous.

One focus on our website comes from the United Nations Caribbean Environmental Program in 1995. That’s what started the manatee on its journey to fame and fundraising fortune.

The UN report counseled: "Programmes of environmental education are an integral portion of a conservation programme and should be immediately implemented in areas where manatees occur.

By stimulating appreciation and pride on the species, it may be possible to induce the development of a conservation philosophy and achieve the goal of resource preservation.

By being a high-profile species, the manatee may function as a catalyst in bringing together interested governmental and non-governmental agencies to elaborate comprehensive conservation plans.

Manatees may be instrumental as well in the establishment of sanctuaries and attainment of the overall goal of preservation of coastal ecosystems with all their associated species."

Such contrived sociological manipulation still makes my skin crawl.

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HE KNEW WHATʼS BEST - This looks bad but itʼs really not. One of the sailors in last monthʼs Disabled Regatta waits for a tow before slipping under the US 41 bridge and out into the open river for the races.

More sailing on page 14

Right after the UN suggested: stimulating appreciation and pride on the species, the Save the Manatee Club was formed to carry out their plan.

The manatee issue and NOAA’s fishery regulations share the same approach, one that employs sympathy, emotion, compassion and a significant lack of data. ... populations – preservation of coastal ecosystems – protecting resources – endangered species – appreciation and pride – collective accomplishment – long term benefits..... those are all catch phrases designed to tug on your unsuspecting

heart strings.

There is no choice here. The UN’s Caribbean Environmental program was the first call for ‘sanctuaries’ and now have a manatee sanctuary in Turtle Bay. NOAA wants more regulations and exclusion zones so they just write them. The fact that the science is outdated and the process is overly complex does not matter any more to NOAA than it did to the UN. These are all people who will tell you: “Trust us we know what’s best for you.”

And if you resist, they tell you: “Do what we say or we will put you in prison.”

My Spin on Red Tide

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On the Line

Regional Red Tide summaries 1/27/2012 – Karenia Brevis was not detected in water samples analyzed this week along shore of the Pinallas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte and Lee counties or alongshore of the Florida Keys – FWC website

By Capt. Ron Bl ago Water LIFE Senior Staff I've always felt that it's always best to talk about red tide when there wasn't any of it around. I remember back in 2002 and 2003 when we had a major out break of red tide and people went nuts.

Dead fish were all over the beaches, manatees were dieing, people were going to the emergency room with breathing problems and there wasn't a tourist to be found for six months. People demanded action so local and state politicians threw millions of tax dollars into research and non profit organizations were formed and wouldn't you know it; as fast as the red tide came, it went away and with it went the financing and the interest in red tide.

In my Top 10 Stories of 2011, last month, I mentioned that we did not have a major outbreak again that year. I recently received an e-mail from Dr. Bill Dunson (see right) reminding me of a red tide event around Palm Island in Oct. 2011. Dr. Bill is a retired college professor from Pennsylvania who now lives in the Lemon Bay area. He has done a lot of good environmental work in our area so when someone that smart reads my article and takes the time to comment; I really am flattered and go back to double check my research.

There are many organizations that test for red tide; the Florida Marine Research Institute, Mote Marine, the State Aquaculture Dept and even our own Parks Dept checks for red tide on the beaches.

They measure red tide in cells/liter.

There is always at least 1000 cells/liter in the water that is considered a background level. The Department of Agriculture closes shellfish beds at a 5000 cells/liter level and at 40,000 cell/liter fish die and people

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February

2012

cough. The FWC which had the job of collecting all the data says that a high level is considered to be 1,000,000 or more cells/liter.

I went back and looked at the FWC records for Oct. 2011 and found that on Oct. 7th in our area there was no trace of red tide, and on Oct.14th there was no

Berkley Gulp has changed its packaging. The new package has a plastic tray that holds the soft sented baits in place. “The tails were bending in the old package and the baits would swim ʻfunnyʼ a 13-year old at Fishin Franks, pointed out.

trace; but between Oct.10th-13th there was one positive sample that showed a high cell/liter count. This may be the cause of the event that Dr. Bill mentioned. If it was red tide, it came quick and left even quicker. That's the trouble with using dead fish on the beach as a red tide indicator. You can't tell where they died or what killed them. I prefer to use the dead manatee method as an indicator of red tide outbreaks.

Manatees have a real problem with red tide. When Karenia Brevis blooms it gives off a toxin that is heavier than air and stays within a foot or two of the surface of the water. When a manatee comes to the surface to breath, they take in a large amount of toxic gas that kills them. I remember a Mote Marine scientist telling me that in 1996 they found 151 manatees that died from red tide in the Charlotte Harbor area in a six week period. When they cut them open he said their lungs looked like ‘fried liver.’

In 2003 we had 100 die ; in 2005 there were 93. In 2010 there were no manatee deaths due to red tide; but don't celebrate yet; 2010 was the year that 244 manatees died from cold stress.

S o what are the facts; Red tide is always there: the FWC has found red tide in our area every Oct.,Nov., Dec., Jan. and Feb. from 1995-2010.

No one knows how red starts or what

Hi RonI must take some exception to your listing of "No major red tide outbreaks in 2011" in Water LIFE. Although one may quibble about the meaning of "major," we had a very devastating fish kill due to red tide along the beaches from Manasota Key south in mid to late October. There are still huge dried redfish (see photo) lying on the beaches of the many thousands that were killed, apparently from spawning aggregations. Many other fish were also killed. There was not the extreme effect on humans as has happened in the past, but I would consider this a major outbreak.

Ask anyone who was on the beaches on Palm/Knight, Don Pedro and Little Gasparilla Islands at that time and they will tell you of a massive fish kill, a horrible stench from the dead fish, and a lot of work put into burying dead fish. The remarkable thing unfortunately was that all of the redfish were adults.

Rather than minimizing the effects of such fish kills by red tide, I would hope in the future you could call for some sort of county organization to document and keep records of the fish kills to provide an unbiased estimate of the effects. I suppose the tourism officials would rather sweep the whole thing under the rug in a type of cover-up, but our only hope of eventually figuring out the causes is to accurately document what is happening.

By the way there has been recently a huge amount of dead mullet on the beaches of Little Gasparilla to Cayo Costa which we suspect is due to dumping by commercial mullet fishermen who have been working the beaches quite heavily.

No other dead fish are present so the coincidence with the presence of the netters is quite suspicious. The technique is to pin the mullet against the beach and use several boats to encircle the mullet. Maybe the technique is legal, but the waste of fish seems unfortunate, not to mention the mess on tourist beaches.

Bi l l Dunson can make it stop. They are pretty sure that pollution has nothing to do with it.

Every time someone shouts red tide and shows pictures of died fish on the beach; hotels, restaurants, fishing guides, boat rentals and a lot of other people, all lose money.

We all know that another red tide outbreak is coming just like we know another hurricane will hit us again. I'm just going to sit back an enjoy myself and let mother nature run the show.

You can Reach Capt Ron Blago at: Captronb@juno.com

February

2012

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Page 7

Spade Fish

By Fi shi n’ Frank Water LIFE Baitshop Think 1970s songs ...

Spade fish UUhh! what are they good for? ...whoa hum, hey hey, Absolutely eating!

The answer which most people think of is ‘No’ spadefish are no good to eat.

But: Wrong! Spadefish are an eating fish everywhere but Florida. No, I do not know why, but in Southwest Florida many people either never heard of them or consider them a trash fish. And that is so sad.

These are tough little fish which inhabit our local reefs and they can be found from New England all the way to Brazil.

Often called Angel fish as the dorsal and anal fins protrude far back beyond the tail, giving the spade fish the appearance of the angel fish people have in their aquariums.

Spade fish are considered a game fish in the Carolina’s and many other places.

One thing is, that spadefish here locally are not usually too big, maybe 2- to 3pounds or smaller, but they can reach 10 pounds.

It is common to catch small hand-size spade fish in cast nets when looking for bait. I do not know of anyone who ever caught fish using spade fish as bait, but it should be possible.

The reef off Alligator Creek, is as good a place as any to look for spade fish, although you can find them in many of the local canals or even right up by the mangroves in the harbor.

Spadefish are not a common catch in the canals or on the flats for the simple reason that they have a very small mouth, which makes them great bait stealers.

Often people blame pin fish for nibbling their shrimp to pieces when it could have been a swarm of spade fish.

Yes, spadefish travel in schools and will swarm a food source. I have watched a school of spade fish attack a floating red

fish carcass. You would have thought it was a school of piranha the way they kept hitting it tearing off tiny little pieces. But you do not have to worry, you can swim safely; even if they would attack a person, which they would not do, they have such small mouths it would tickle or maybe pull some hair, but biting you is not possible.

Keep the mouth of the spadefish in mind when you choose your hook. To catch them you are going to need a #6 or #8 hook, I use 15 pound fluorocarbon leader, not really for the spade fish, but for the other fish which might also hit, fish like mangrove snappers, or sheepshead.

The best bait for spadefish is clams.

Just cut up small chunks of clam and try to make sure it covers the whole hook.

For spadefish your rod and reel should be light to very light. If you were a crappie guy up north this would be a great use of your old crappie rods. Rigging for spade fish you can free line your piece of clam or use it under a bobber, sinkers are not really for fishin spade fish. Spadefish are not great bottom feeders, they are more apt to bite in the water column than off the bottom. We do carry clams in the store frozen, but if you see spadefish and you are clam-less, take a shrimp break off the tail and peel the shell from the tail, thread the soft tail meat over your hook and when you feel the bite set it firmly.

The other way I like to rig for spade fish is to use a crappie jig, buck tail or curly tail, the small #6 hook on the 1/16 once jig head gives it a nice slow drop/fall when you place a piece of peeled shrimp meat sliced with a knife not torn

ʻIf you were a crappie guy up north this would be a great use of your old crappie rodsʼ

A small crappie jig and a piece of cut peeled shrimp are the ticket for small mouthed fish like spadefish. When you knife cut the shrimp (as opposed to tearing it apart by hand) it doesnʼt come apart on the hook.

from the tail of a shrimp. If you tear the tail it is too mushy to stay on the hook.

Stuff the piece of shrimp onto the point of the hook. When you cast it out if you are in 10 feet of water count to 8 before you start reeling it in, then reel slowly with a slight jigging action to the rod when you are reeling. Don’t get in a hurry, give them time to figure out there is meat there. Once you start catching them it should be nonstop for quite a while.

Spade fish respond to chum very, very well. Get your boat anchored, put out your chum bag; then get started setting the rods up. Always get the chum in first while you are rigging so the chum has time to start working to bring in the fish.

Spadefish are omnivores they will eat anything, animal or plant. One weird part of their diet is they eat the common clear jelly fish which clog up the Harbor every summer. Hoo-Ray for the spade fish! Eat all you can little buddies. Sea turtles are the only other thing I know which eats those jelly fish.

Cleaning a spadefish is a pretty standard fillet, cut slabs from each side, but that can be tough with their leathery skin

and heavy bones, so I get a cut started along the back and then slowly work the meat off each side of the fish leaving the ribs intact. It takes a little extra time, but is actually easier. You will have a grayish looking fillet, but surprise, it will turn nice white and flakey when you cook it.

Again, how strange is that?

Here is a recipe for you to try.

Mako's spadefish recipe: After skinning and cleaning fish, rinse them in cold water, then put spade fillets in large plastic pan of lemon juice, seafood marinade (most any type bought at store) and ginger spice. Soak overnight. Take steaks out, but keep them in baste. Make a mixture of corn meal, small amount of Cajun seasoning, rosemary leaves and garlic salt.

Heat a pan with olive oil to cooking temp. Cover meat side of fillets with mixture then put into pan (no need to remove skin from fillets) and cook until golden brown.

Well, you have fun out there, enjoy your day, there are so many weird strange fish to play with you should be able to stay busy for a long time.

Fishin Frank Frank can be reached at 625-3888 or at Frank@fishinfranks.com

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Be Thankful For What Nature Gives You

By Capt. Chuck Ei chner Water LIFE Punta Gorda Grabbing the last bit of gear from my garage for a fishing trip I heard my friend Mickey holler from the dock, then moments later he let out another yelp as I watched him release his second small snook caught on a lure. We both acknowledged this was a good sign for the day and away we went.

Our plan was to cast to shallow water redfish on the flats north of Burnt Store Marina. With 2 hours of outgoing tide left we were “playing with fire” in the possibility of getting stuck as we cast blindly into sandy patches.

Immediately we came across several redfish that were spooked by our presence as we cast whole fresh shrimp rigged weedlessly. Two hours later we gave up the search after repeatedly getting stuck and never having a bite. I commented to Mick that this was sure hard work just to catch a few redfish so I suggested we run into some canals and catch some easy fish like sheepshead and trout.

With no worries of getting stuck we eased our way down a canal and studied some shadows ahead located on a shallow lip before the drop on a canal bend. The longer we studied these ghostly figures we

noticed movement only to see monster snook laid up and lots of them. They were sunning themselves and appeared comfortable with our distance.

On our way in we had passed a school of finger mullet and returned back to them to gather big snook bait. Six mullet later we were anchored with lines pitched out.

We watched snook up to 30 pounds gaze at our free-swimming baits but with no interest. Then suddenly out of nowhere a bald eagle dives to the water to snatch up a bait but with keen eyes it dropped the mullet realizing there was a hook in it…..thank goodness for that.

That was also the end of our snook party as a swooping large eagle will definitely send the fish deep. Back to easy fishing with shrimp on a jighead and a slow low tide... but even the sheepshead were not interested.

February

2012

Seahawk with a mullet was photographed at Colony Point by Claudia Schmidt

Plan C was to fish for pompano on the outside of the east side bar. With nearly every cast resulting in a ladyfish I had the hot lure….a pink scooped pompano spoon with trailer. Mickey on the other hand could not buy a bite on a tandem jig rig which normally works – even the ladyfish were picky. The interesting thing about this lure is that the ladyfish fought differently pulling on the top, not jumping and thumping much like a pompano. There is something special about this jig which I don’t understand. None the less, no pompano were caught.

Ten ladyfish later, spirits elevated and 4 in the well for cut bait we ran to fish with cut bait for redfish in a reliable spot north of Pirate Harbor.

We first tried casting shrimp to mangroves on the higher tide and Mick added 2 baby redfish and one small trout to his credit. Of course, he reminded me he had a backcountry slam while I was still waiting for my first bite. Since bottom fishing cut ladyfish was ignored by the redfish it seemed to make sense to fish the flats where we started and had seen fish.

Casting live shrimp on the higher tide phase produced no bites, but once again we had seen redfish swimming in the area. Did all the fish other than ladies have lockjaw this day, we wondered? It was a perfect incoming tide now, low boat traffic and 70 degrees.

Our bottom-fished cut ladyfish produced nothing so now we ran back to the canals hoping for anything.

I quickly added a hardhead catfish to my list and then a good thump on a shrimp-tipped jig brought up a pompano.

What a great surprise and two others followed. They would not hit the pompano jig, but took an ordinary red jighead.

So the captain this day had to deal with his sum total of 2 pompano and a catfish. Mickey’s catch was only slightly better, but nature gave us plenty to be happy about. A bald eagle swooping down to the water to snatch our bait, shots at huge snook, sight fishing for redfish. I think I will be happy with what nature gave to me this day.

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

February

2012

Assorted Updates

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

By Betty S taugl er

Water LIFE / Sea Grant

New Boati ng & Angl i ng Gui de to Charl otte Harbor Websi te – The Boating and Angling Guide to Charlotte Harbor (CHBAG) has consistently been one of my most requested publications.

First developed in 1994, this guide provides readers with information pertinent to boaters and fishers. Boating and Angling Guides are developed by FWCFWRI and most often in partnership with a local organization, here Sea Grant. Our newest guide includes both a printed guide and a website. The printed guide which is completely refor-

matted from previous versions will be available by the end of February.

The website is available now at http://ocean.floridamarine.org/boating_g uides/charlotte_harbor/index.html The website provides users with all of the information included in the print guide AND a lot more.

Users can pan maps interactively, print map subsets, and hyperlink to additional information. Previous guides did not include information about fishing piers, but they are included in this newest version. What is particularly nice about the web version is its ability to be updated when things change or new information becomes available. Visitors can even register their email address to receive notice when changes are made.

As we move towards greater emphasis of the CHBAG website we are also moving away from what in the past was a mass production of paper guides. A limited amount of paper guides however, will still be available upon request.

Thi rd Year of Bay S cal l op Cage Gardeni ng Program Underway – In mid-January I delivered bay scallops to

twelve volunteers participating in a under dock research program aimed at evaluating growth rates and restoration potential in select areas of Lemon Bay and Gasparilla Sound. Volunteers will monitor scallops monthly and record data. The scallops delivered were between a quarter to half inch in size.

Volunteers will grow them out to adult size. In the late summer early fall we anticipate the bay scallops will spawn.

This is a cooperative project of Florida Sea Grant and the FWC-FWRI.

Fl ori da S ea Grant Conducti ng Recompressi on Fi el d Tri al s Florida Sea Grant recently funded a program development project to initiate field trials of a variety of new devices designed to recompress fish experiencing barotrauma. We don't see venting going away, the idea is to provide anglers with more options or "another tool in the toolbox." It is hoped that such practices can increase the survival of fish caught and released in deep water. A major goal of the project is to involve extension agents and anglers throughout Florida in evaluating the practicality of using these devices in Gulf and South

Atlantic fisheries. Gear has been purchased and distributed to Florida Sea Grant extension agents, and field trials have begun. During the past two months a total of four field trials have been conducted. Valuable experience has been gained in using these devices with more than 125 fish successfully released.

Betty Staugler Florida Sea Grant Agent University of Florida IFAS Extension Charlotte County (941) 764-4346

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The Fun Fi sh

By Bobby Vi tal i s Jr Special to Water LIFE Snook are a lot of fun to catch. They give a good fight. This snook weighed in around 10-pounds and was 30 inches long. It was caught at Thom Adam’s bridge in Englewood. The Snook has a most distinctive body shape, with large fins and most of all has a prominent black stripe running the full length of the lateral line. However, snook fishing is out of season, so you have to throw them back in the water.

We have tried it over and over again and the best time we caught these fish was at the incoming tide in the morning.

To find these fish, you need to look around docks, under bridges, around the mangroves and around pilings. The best live bait I suggest you use is pilchards (green backs).

Snook also love eating live or dead shrimp as well. With this bait, you can fish with a bobber, or you can free line if you want, or use a weight. These methods are all very productive. The artificial lures I use are the DOA C.A.L. jerk bait, color is green back with a 3/8 oz.

C.A.L. white jig head, and GOT-CHA lures size 7/8 oz. to 1 oz., with a color chartruse head, silver body with red treble hooks. When using a jerk bait I put PRO-CURE bait scent on it. I use the mullet or shrimp scent which is most

February

2012

productive. I have used this scent over and over and it does catch me more fish.

When putting the scent on you don’t have to soak it, just put enough, every couple of casts (which I had the best of luck with). So if you want to catch snook try this method.

Seaweed, Birds & Bait

Pelicans, shore birds and ducks were all congregating in clusters together out on the harbor. The object of their attention has been the kelp like weeds floating and the smaller bait fish congregating below it. The ducks seemed to really like eating the vegatation.

You cantʼ always catch the big ones

February

2012

By Capt. Bart Marx Water LIFE Fishing If you are reading this you already survived January and you know the fishing has been good. Valentines Day is this month guys, don't forget to take care of your sweetheart.

Let’s get to the fishin; this time of year we get lots of families that like to hire a charter guide to go fishing.

Moms, Dads, sons and daughters they come to Florida, the fishing capital of the world, and want to catch the big one.

People ask if they could catch a tarpon or a shark when the water is below 65 degrees. I tell them there are tarpon around, but it is almost impossible to find one that is hungry. And there are sharks that are around, like some bonnetheads on the flats, but they are a little sluggish and hard to get to feed too.

Next they want to know about catching Goliath grouper, all they know is ‘big’. Most guides can get prepared for big fish if it is the right time of the year and if you ask before you get on the water. But January is pretty tough.

On the flats most guides use light tackle to fish for species like reds, trout, snapper, and snook. When you want to catch big game fish there is some preparation that needs to happen. Just like trying to drive a nail with a screwdriver, it doesn't work. So talk with your guide before your trip and ask about big fish if that’s what you want. This time of year there are Goliath on some of the near shore reefs and they can be caught.

We have several father and son teams that like to fish when they come to Florida and start some friendly family competition. Recently we were able to take a customer and his three sons out.

These guys were very good anglers. It was Mike, the dad’s birthday and his three sons were treating dad to a fishing trip.

They were from Minnesota and they all fish a lot so they were all good casters.

As they caught fish there was an on going count of how many and who caught what.

These guys we pretty tough on dad.

They all were catching and letting him know that he was not on the board yet.

Finally after several reds, and trout dad was able to hook into a very nice pompano that was the only one of that species

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caught on their trip.

We also caught some small flounder and ended up with four keeper trout, one sheepshead, and a keeper flounder.

The weather was windy and we had a front approaching – that could have been good or bad depending how you looked at it. These guys originally wanted to go offshore to fish, but the winds were 15-20 knots out of the northwest, ... not good for offshore but still there were some family memories made that day.

Another father son trip last month was with Todd and Kyler his son who is 10 years old and just learning to fish.

Starting up in Placida going offshore we were catching some white grunts and some small flounder. Venturing further offshore, we hit another spot that was a little deeper but the waves were a little bigger too. Some fish started biting and then Todd said ‘I think we need to go back into the harbor,’ he was not feeling so good.

We went back into the harbor and hunted for some reds and sheepshead in time to save face for Todd inn front of his son. In the end they both had a great time and Kyler caught some nice fish. These are the type of trips I enjoy; taking the younger crowd and getting them hooked

on fishing.

Take a kid fishing! We like to think that we are family friendly. When your family or friends come to Florida give us a call and book your next adventure. Call Capt. Bart at 941-979-6517 or email capbart@alphaomegacharters.com

P a g e 11

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L o w Ti d e WaterLIFE@comcast.net

February

could be a lea rning opportunity

2012

Ponce Inlet

By Capt. David Stephens Special to Water LIFE On countless occasions I hear people complaining about the low winter tides. Well maybe I can help you to turn something negative into a positive. This is a great time of year to do some scouting, not so much for fish, but to learn the slight contour changes of Charlotte harbor. There are numerous small cuts and troughs on our local flats and in or near the Mangrove shorelines. When the water is low fish will use these areas like highways to move from one location to another. These are also great locations to find actively feeding fish.

February is a month filled with great opportunities for you to take advantage of these extreme low tides. If youʼre like me and have a hard time remembering what the wife cooked for dinner the night before, then I highly recommend bringing a note pad. Also, it is a good idea to do your scouting on the incoming tide, unless you want to spend some time stuck high and dry.

Charlotte Harbor is a very shallow body of water with countless grass flats and sand bars. Everyone knows that one angler who seems to have that edge over most other anglers; well the chances are that person has done their homework. So after you have gone out and done some scouting and you have a note pad full of prospects, now it is time to see if your hard work will reward you. I recommend trying your new (soon to be) honey holes on different tides to see when the fish are using these areas. Donʼt let the winter low-tide blues keep you down. Above are some pictures of some nice fish that my clients have caught on recent shallow water charters made possible because I did my homework ... or you could say my Harbor-work.

Capt. Dave can be reached at: 941-916-5769

Sentinel Chickens

The mosquito-borne disease surveillance program is made up of four parts.

The first part is the sentinel chicken surveillance. This portion uses the appearance of mosquito-borne disease in chickens to monitor the transmission of disease among the disease’s reservoir host, birds. The second part of the program is specialized adult mosquito trapping.

This trapping is performed with CDC

light traps to monitor the level of vector mosquito, culex nigripalpus. The third part is the analysis of the collected vector mosquito for the presence of viral RNA. This data indicates the presence of infected or potentially infected mosquitoes. The final part is human investigation. Human case investigation involves determining when and where a disease was contracted. The disease contraction could be outside the neighborhood of the victim or outside the country.

FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE This sentinel chicken cage is in eastern Lee county. County workers feed the chickens and sample them regularly for mosquito borne disease.

Itʼs Happening Early This Year February

2012

By Capt. Bi l l y Barton Water LIFE / Charlotte Harbor The boat ramps have been packed lately. Highs in the 80s all week? Seriously?

I'm not complaining I'm just saying.

Three years ago we had one of the coldest and harshest freezes I've seen here. What's going on? No consistency that's for sure and I'm wondering how it's going to affect things later on in the year. Time will tell.

With the water temperature now making it back up into the 70s the fish are going bonkers! I have still been making my morning run into Fishin’ Franks to pick up some live shrimp. Live shrimp are by far the most effective bait you can use this time of year. I've had several trips this last month with well over 100 fish brought to the boat.

But if the water temperature continues to come up at all, we might start seeing whitebait reappear on the flats soon and it might be time to break out the cast nets a little earlier than usual. Some of you may or may not know, but a significant amount of whitebait is still here, it's just out in the deepest parts of the harbor.

Lately there has been quite a bit around the Alligator Creek Reef. And as soon as it starts to show up on the grass flats and the fish start seeing it on a regular basis, it becomes a very effective bait. Typically around the end of March is when this fluctuation tends to happen so we will see if it happens early this year.

The red fishing has just been out of control. Both sides of the Harbor along with Bull Bay, Turtle Bay, and Whidden and Catfish creeks have all been producing redfish in excellent numbers. Most of these fish have at least been borderline legal, with a few oversize fish in the mix they are ranging anywhere from 17 to 32 inches. They are mixed in size and they're all full of all sorts of crabs! Like I said, I've been using live shrimp, but if you are going out to target some redfish it might be a good idea to bring some crabs with you – blue crabs would be preferable.

When I fish with blue crabs I like to either cut them in half or quarter them

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depending on the size of the crab. If you have a small crab that you want to use whole, put him on the hook and just try breaking a little corner off of his shell before you make your cast. When you open the crab up like that you'll get that scent going in the water a lot better. Red fish are all about scents. They literally have a face full of nostrils and they love something nice and stinky!

The trout fishing has been on fire as well. These fish for the most part are all laying up together in the deeper potholes on the grass flats. Let me give you a good example: If you are on a grass flat that's on average lets say one to two feet of water, what you want to do is drift with the wind or move along on your trolling motor until you find some spotty bottom. Bottom that has constant fluctuations in water depth and color is what I like to fish.

You want to make your long casts into the lighter colored sand holes, and cover a lot of ground until you catch a fish. If you catch a fish, position yourself there and make another cast to that same sand hole. The fish are all schooled up so if you catch one there's a good chance of a bunch more being down there.

The best possible search tool and method for finding these fish and covering a lot of ground is by far the popping cork. The better trout all seem to be in anywhere from four to six foot of water.

Rig that popping cork about 18 to 24 inches up from your live shrimp and make your casts as long as possible.

When you pop that cork in the water and Mr. Speckled Trout comes up to see what's going on, he's gonna see your poor defenseless shrimp flipping away on the hook. That's what makes them so productive and that's why you don't want to keep your bait and cork further than 24 inches apart.

A few other fish come to my mind with things being as warm as they are.

The snook are starting to poke out of the warmer water in the creeks. Some of these fish are enormous, and I'm seeing

Page 13

The golden light suggests that some of these fish came later in the afternoon

them all over the place... along with catching a few of them here and there.

Our local tarpon should be making their way out of the rivers as well. They might be tough to hook up as they're feeding on mouth fulls of glass minnows, but who knows, there might be one down there hungry enough for a nice live lady fish, mullet, or a catfish tail!

Ah yes! One more fish you might see around is a cobia. I've heard several inshore cobia stories this month. I haven't had the pleasure of seeing or boating one yet, but it's nice to know I should at least keep my eyes peeled for that four foot long, dark shadow as I'm running across the grass flats!

Well that should cover it! I'm looking forward to seeing what this next month brings. Life is short. Fish hard!

Capt. Billy Barton runs Scales N Tails Charters. For information, or to book a fishing trip, Capt. Billy can be reached at 9796140 or at: bartonw24@yahoo.com

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WaterLIFE@comcast.net

February

2012

IFDS Disabled Sailorʼs Regatta

The IFDS, for handicap sailors, was much more involved on the water than the casual observer might imagine. Three classes competed on three different race courses. This in itself would not be that difficult, except for the course designed for the “Scud” class. This unique course, called a Trapezoid Course comprised of four legs, each set at precise distance and angles to the other.

As local sailors had no previous knowledge of this course, extensive training was required of 25 personnel, including 5 boat drivers to maintain this course.

All the sailors were disabled and all the boats were very high tech. The two person ʻscudʼ boats (below) were equiped with special controls for the aft crewman who operated the rudder either with push-pull handles (below left) or with special paddles that let the sailor work the rudder by pushing with a shoulder (below right). The outside air temperature this day was in the 30s.

THEY MADE IT HAPPEN

Many of the sailors had personal support boats (right) that tracked their every move.

In the morning the sailors were towed from the dock at the city marina out into the upper part of the Harbor for the races. Support staff would then keep constant track of the wind and the progress of their teams.

Dennis Peck (right) has been heavily involved in small boat racing for over 30 years. He is the first and only president of the Charlotte Harbor Community Sailing Center and is the driving force in local small boat sailing. His love for sailing brought this race here.

There were tight turns around the mark (above) and even some NASCAR style bumping and shoving in the Harbor (below)

The actual Regatta was conducted over 7 days and was comprised of 22 races including a practice race. Many of the volunteers also provided housing and transportation for the numerous Race Officials and Jury members who had arrived from all around the World.

February

2012

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Golden Conch Regatta

RESULTS:

Multihull Speedster Philip Styne Corsar Sprint 750

Spinnaker Bama Slammer Bob Knowles S2-7.9 Non Spinnaker Fancy Free Jerry Poquelte, Sovera 39

True Cruising A Jolly Mon Numann,David.4d Islander 36

True Cruising B Wicked Wicked Ways Roger Horton Mod. Seward 24

Twenty nine boats competed in the 30th annual Golden Conch regatta out of the Platinum Point Yacht Club at Burnt Stpre. Winds were adequite on the first day but for Sunday始s finals the wind was MIA for the morning.

$50 full entry $15 entry Sunday Only

FREE to come out and boat along!

Conquistador Cup Regatta March 3-4 Biggest Sailing Event of the Year!

Visit: www.pgscweb.com or call 941 505-4583.

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Page 16

KAYAKS

Benefit Paddle at Placida

By Davi d Al l en Water LIFE Kayaking The waters off Placida offer kayakers some of the most diverse and delightful paddling in Charlotte County. Paddling through the beautiful, open stretches of water will lead you to clean, sandy beaches for a picnic lunch or to finding a unique shell the waves have washed ashore. As you paddle between the low islands that populate the southern end of Lemon Bay and Gasparilla Sound, it's not uncommon to spot a family of dolphins or an occasional manatee. Osprey nests can be seen on high poles, with anxious parents feeding their newborn hatchlings. Add a short winding trip through the cool shady passages of the Wolverton Mangrove Trail and you have a delicious menu of paddling choices from which to pick. Combine the lure of these great paddling choices with the opportunity to help a friend and fellow kayaker and you have an unbeatable combination for a wonderful Sunday morning.

Such an event occurred in late January, when Grande Tours, owned and operated

by Captain Marian Schneider, organized a paddle for the benefit of Rick Storesberg.

Several month ago, Rick was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive, untreatable disease that eventually makes it impossible to breathe. A lung transplant, a very expensive operation, is the only option.

Rick has been a local park ranger for many years and is noted for his friendly approach to all, his paddling skills and his deep knowledge of marine biology.

On more than one occasion, Rick has taken the Port Charlotte Kayakers on a paddling trip around Gasparilla Sound, describing in detail the various marine

WaterLIFE@comcast.net

Rick Storesberg

life we encountered. In addition to being a friend to all paddlers, Rick has given demonstrations of paddling skills at the Charlotte County Kayak Festival and the Calusa Blueways Festival.

So it was fitting, that on this recent Sunday, paddlers from all over Southwest Florida met at Grande Tours to show their affection for Rick and to donate to this most charitable cause.

An a huge event it was. Attendance exceeded all expectations. Paddlers showed up as early as 8 AM to paddle, with experienced and novice paddlers leaving at later hours. Grande Tours provided kayaks and PFD's free of charge for all paddlers and many took advantage of it.

I led a small group under the abandoned train trestle, past Bird Key, to the broad, sandy beach at the south end of Little Gasparilla Island. Along the way we spotted several small groups of dolphins playing in the lower sound. There were relatively few power boats on the water at that hour and we made the cross-

ing quickly and safely.

The shelling on the beach was excellent and we collected several small bags of unbroken shells. A quick drink of water, a bite of an energy bar, and we were headed back to Grande Tours.

A picnic lunch was provided by Grande Tours, followed by a drawing and a raffle. All told, it was a great day for Rick and all his friends, and the generous donations will help his medical expenses.

Donations can still be made for Rick's benefit. Make your check out to The National Transplant Assistance Fund, and write Rick Storesberg on the memo line.

Captain Marian at Grande Tours, 12575 Placida Rd, Placida, FL 33946 will see that the checks get forwarded to NTAS.

The Port Charlotte Kay ak ers meet each Wednesday ev ening at 5:30 PM at Port Charlotte Beach Park . All are welcome. For more information contact Dav e Allen at 941-235-2588

February

2012

Florida State Park Ranger and lifelong paddler Rick Storsberg, 63, is an accomplished Greenlandstyle paddler and rolling instructor, longtime Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival volunteer, a Florida Paddling Trails Association trailkeeper and founder of the Sarasota County Kayak Festival and Greenland-Style Rolling competition.

Storsberg was diagnosed with Idopathic pulmonary Fibrosis a rare and untreatable auto-immune disease. His doctors told him he had anywhere between a couple months to a couple years to live.

He would need a lung transplant, but although Storsberg’s insurance will cover 80% of both the $125,000 pre-transplant testing fees and the roughly $150,000 to $200,000 transplant surgery itself, he’ll still need help footing the rest of the bill, along with the roughly $6,000 a month he’ll need to pay for the immune suppressant medications that he will have to take for the rest of his life.

OFFSHORE REPORT

February

2012

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The Olʼ Fishʼn Hole

With Capt. Jim O'Brien

Water LIFE Englewood Hey - all The guides I have talked to says the fish'n has been good.

TROUT fish'n has been good just off the bars on the east and west walls.

Shrimp is the bait.

SPANISH MACKEREL have been in Boca Grande pass and up in the harbor, and also off the beaches.

JACK CREVALLE AND BLACK DRUM are in the canals in Punta Gorda Isles, the jacks are pretty good size RED FISH are in the back country, Bull Bay, Turtle Bay and the east and west walls. Best bait is live shrimp under a popping cork. A 1/2 oz. Johnson Sprite spoon works good too.

TRIPPLE TAIL were starting to chew good when the water temperature was getting down in the low to mid 60s. You can start looking around the crab trap buoys if it cools off again. If you don't get a hit in 10 to 15 minutes go to the next one. Sooner or later you will find some.

When it’s nice and calm, with a good set

GROUPER CLOSED – Feb. 1 March 31 in Gulf waters. Applies to the following grouper species: Red, Black, Gag, Yellowfin, Yellowmouth, Rock Hind, Red Hind and Scamp.

of polarized glasses you can see them just off of the rope under the buoy. Keep a stout rod ready with an artificial black and silver eel on it ‘cause you just might see a cobia with the triple tail.

MANGROVE SNAPPER are on the inshore and offshore reefs. The bigger ones were still on the offshore reefs from 20 to 30 miles out last month.

PORGIES and KEY WEST GRUNTS are all over the inshore reefs: NOVACK, TREMBLY, MARYS REEF, M-13, AND M-14 are just some of the HOT ONES AMBERJACK the BIG - UNS are from 20 to 30 miles out. HOT SPOTS are BAYRONTO, PEGASUS, CHARLIE and TWIN BARGES. All these places are holding big AJs. The box cars out of Stump Pass, about 18 miles out, is like a light switch; it’s either on or off. The AJs are there or they’re not. I give it about an hour, then if no hits I go deeper.

The story I have for you this month was one of our last charters out. In the picture Connie, Judy Benton, Chuck Edmonston, Patrick, Wayne Moser, and Stan Benton. On this day we could do no wrong. It was a perfect day. We filled a 162 quart cooler to the top. We caught 16 big red grouper, we threw back some big gags, we also got some big mangrove snapper, the biggest at 23 inches ( now I am A - TELLING - YOU - THATS -A NICE - A - MANG ) We also caught scamp, triggerfish, and some nice porgies.

Stan Bentons wife Judy caught something that pulled her right out of her seat up in the bow. I had just baited her up and she sent it down to the bottom and BAM ! I looked around when I heard her let out a little scream and what ever it was pulled her out of her seat. We have caught some big cobia in these same spots. I think it was a big cobia or a big king mackerel, but we’ll never know. It broke off after a few minutes battle. I think that fish took Judy by surprise. We had a couple more hits like that later in the day. Everyone said they had a good time. Stan Benton told me at the end of the day that he was pooped. That made me feel like I had done my job.

The next day our charter only filled a

Page 17

little over half the cooler. Not a bad day, but not the excellent day Stan and his crew had.

Well its time to get out of here again.

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 CUZ IT’S GOOD FER YA!

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See all our boats at

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23269 Bayshore Rd Charlotte Harbor

Page 18

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Stability for Snake Island

Snake I.

ICW

February

2012

Venice Inlet

Proposed Work: Create two sand traps in the region of Venice Inlet for periodic dredging, and to use sand for beach restoration south of Venice Inlet, to restore eroded areas on Snake Island. The design includes the construction of three stabilization structures around Snake Island as depicted in the project drawings.

Sto e C ra n i n S ea b s NOWson !

Trip to Africa = Expensive, Fishing in an exoitic fly-in spot in Zambia = Significant, Still catching catfish = PRICELESS! Harbour Heights fisherman Lester Kuhn at the intersection of the Lafupa & Kafue Rivers in Zambia with an African butter catfish in Jan.

February

2012

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Page 19

Water Resources Under Attack

SCUTTLEBUTT

Sometimes Unsubstanciated, But Often True

Boat Manufacturers Economi c Indi cators: Charlotte County Dealers report strong sales of used boats so far this year.

Nationally here are the latest numbers: WHOLESALE SALES Through October, wholesale shipments were up 14% and corresponding dollars were up 23% for National Marine Manufacturers Association's control group of manufacturers. Data indicates trends will continue through November.

RETAIL SALES New powerboat registrations were down 2.5% on a rolling 12-month basis through September, compared to a year ago. Advance estimates indicate sales of bellwether states will be up 4.7% on a rolling twelve-month basis through November.

TRADE Recreational boat and marine engine export volumes were up 13% in the third quarter of 2011, while dollars were up 3% from a year ago.

Corresponding import volumes were up 4%; dollars were up 0.8%.

Charl otte FWC Offi cers stopped a vessel to conduct a boating safety and fisheries inspection. The individuals initially insisted there were no fish onboard, but later admitted to being in possession of some “legal size grouper.” An officer boarded the vessel and located two hidden coolers full of fish. The two subjects were in possession of 64 red grouper, 61 of which were undersized, two undersized and out of season gag grouper, eight undersized and out of season trout, and one undersized redfish. Their GPS was seized and a search warrant will be attained to possibly acquire further

information from the GPS to pursue federal charges. Both individuals were booked into the Charlotte County Jail.

Fl atsmaster’s Tournament has been mandated by the state of Florida to charge state sales tax on all entry fees, which brings the total cost per event to $300.

Charl otte FWC Offi cers responded to a complaint regarding an individual shooting egrets. The officers spoke with two witnesses and a sheriff’s deputy and observed a dead Snowy Egret, Great Blue Herron, and a Great Egret, all with bullet wounds to the chest and head. The officers spoke with the suspect, who stated he fired a shot in the air to scare the birds, because they were making a mess of his boat. The individual showed the officers a .22 caliber rifle that he used to scare the birds. Witness statements were obtained and charges will be filed with the State Attorney’s Office.

On A Triton Boat, in Germany? from Thomas Geyer: Das isch emal es hechtli!!:))) wooowww!! eso es un Alligator-Pike de EE.UU. You get the idea, even though you donʼt speak any German. Wooowww!

good group effort, the manatee is expected to make a full recovery.

Editor Asks * What, exactly, did the biologist do?

Lee county FWC offi cers responded to a complaint regarding a dead manatee.

When the officers arrived on scene they realized the manatee was alive, but in severe shock due to red tide. The officers secured the manatee and transported it to a biologist, who from Ken Golub's FAcebook page: was standing by Former Costa Concordia Cruise Captain at a nearby boat Francesco Schettino to fish the FLW Bass tour in ramp. Because of this rescue, which 2012 ... demonstrated a

If you enjoy the use of Florida's abundant water resources two new Florida bills may interest you.

The House and Senate bills are identical with the same purpose. Their effect would be to privatize tens of thousands of acres of submerged lands in Florida. The two bills are SB 1362, sponsored by Senator Hays and HB 1103 sponsored by Representative Goodson.

Outdoor related organizations, such as Florida Airboat Association and Audubon of Florida, are very concerned and asking their constituents to strongly oppose the bills.

The bills aim to change the legal definition of "Ordinary High Water." If enacted new surveys would set the "Ordinary High Water Line" at a lower elevation than allowed under current case law. The result is to cause the line which differentiates between public and private lands to move further out in the water.

A statement on the Audubon of Florida website states, "If you are a kayaker, airboater, fisherman, duck hunter or bird watcher who maneuvers your means of conveyance around in shallow marshy water this means that someday, headed into your favorite place, you are going to encounter a fence, barbed wire, and no trespassing signs blocking your way. And, one day a little later in the future, you will see rooftops and strip malls where the ducks, deer, and wading birds used to be."

Anyone opposed to the bill should contact Senator Hays and Representative Goodson, as well as the members of the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee and urged them to drop these special-interest bills to prevent blocking public use of lands that were currently public access.

The Audubon site concludes, "This is privatization of Florida's public lands in rivers and lakes, pure and simple."

ASA1000.com photography

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K AYA K S !

Page 20

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Water LIFE Distributor 始s Club

February

2012

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

Real Estate News

February

2012

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com

2005 at $29 Million. Mosaic was the high bidder last month for the 4,414 parcel for just under $10 Mil. They haven't developed any specific plans for the environmentally sensitive property as of yet.

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. CORRECTION OF LAST MONTH'S NEWSLETTER: Punta Gorda has budgeted $1,222,000 for a 20' walkway from west end of Gilchrist Park for 1900 feet to the Best Western Hotel, not $960K for a cantilevered walk way around the Best Western Hotel - that is still in the planning.

In addition to the 40,000 sf of concrete to be laid along the existing seawall, much of the remaining open space will be reconfigured as dry retention areas, presumably displacing most of the existing trees. I think the community would have been better served if my original statement had been true. A cost benefit analysis might have been time well spent in this case.

Speaking of ill conceived City projects, I was encouraged to see a boat tied up to one of the 42 mooring balls at Laishley Park last month. I had erroneously assumed that the field had not yet opened.

2. Phosphate giant, Mosaic recognized a bargain when they saw it. The Peaceful Horse Ranch along the Peace River at Horse Creek changed hands at the peak of the real estate boom in

3. Commissioners Deutsch and Starr exhibited some common sense as they revealed the rare knowledge of such business terms as "risk to reward" and "return on investment" when discussing the proposed Ripken baseball complex.

The hall of fame baseball star has his name on two successful complexes in Maryland and would like to have Charlotte County taxpayers provide a third one for him in Murdock Village across El Jobean Road from the existing stadium. Although it was, it shouldn't have been a surprise that this group planned to manage the complex for the County, rather than invest the $10 mil cost of the facility.

Go ahead will undoubtedly be deferred until evidence that the hopedfor water park, music complex and hotels begin to materialize.

4. The Federal Income Tax exclusion of forgiveness of debt income is set to expire at the end of this year. Before the housing slump, if mortgagees discounted their loan balances to allow distressed sellers to unload their property, that discount was ... and may be

Page 21

A Charlotte County employee notes in an email that accompanied the above photo: 驶Observed while working on the Charlotte County marine siting project in ArcGIS with Bing aerial imagery始 That始s Tarpon Way and Palm Drive in Punta Gorda in a satellite view with an airliner (on approach to Punta Gorda?) between the satellite and the ground.

again... taxable income to the borrower.

5. The Cocoplum shopping center on Tamiami in North Port received approval to finish a 43,000 sf building to house a new Sports Authority and 9 other tenants. The center is anchored by a recently built 40,000 sf Publix Grocery.

In other news: Air traffic at the Punta Gorda airport increased more than 57% for the year 2011 over 2010 with 287,000 passenger debark or embark.

New restaurants to try: Spazzi's

at 111 W. Olympia in Punta Gorda is no longer with us. Sandra's with a German menu has taken its place great food. Boca Lupo's Coal Oven Pizza has opened at 1900 Tamiami Trail in Port Charlotte.

S al es S tati sti cs: Charlotte County foreclosure filings rose to 147 from 94 that commenced last year. Inventory continues to decline as more homeowners have given up trying to sell and distressed properties are being snapped up by rehabbers.

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WaterLIFE@comcast.net

February Fishing Forecast

Charlotte Harbor:

Frank at Fishin' Franks Port Charlotte: 625-3888

There are redfi sh, l adyfi sh and whi ti ng in the Peace River above the I-75 bridge. Down around the 41bridges the whiting is a little better. There are some really nice other fish there too.

Some might be a school of big bl ack drum or a school of gol i ath grouper or something. A number of people have come into the store and told us all about getting railed at the bridge. Whatever it is, that’s pretty cool!

Ladyfish are scattered all around the harbor. Some of the resident tarpon have moved out of the river and canals and into the center of the Harbor. It’s about a month and a half early, but we have had decent tarpon reports from Placida and the sound on up into the Harbor, these were 40-to 60-pound fish.

Guys are starting to catch the 30- to 60 pounders already. Most have been hooked while reeling in a small ladyfish. No one is targeting them yet, but I’d think with whitebait you can probably get them.

The canals are loaded with snook, Port Charlotte, Boca Grande, PGI, if

there is a canal there is snook in it now. Troll an X-Wrap XR or Rapalla #6 or the std #08 in black and silver or green and silver (a dark back with a light belly) that is the snook lure. Out in the Gulf snapper, tri ggerfi sh and boni ta are offshore. The triggers are 15 miles out with the grunts, porgys and snapper. Triggers are Dave Taylor with a seatrout on a trip with Capt. Robin Leach tough to clean, but they are tasty buggers weird one: whiting is the bait right now to eat. for snook.

There have been big schools of The redfi sh are bunching up and spadefi sh around Alligator Creek and schooling in big and small pods on the on the deeper side off the flats - go fig- east side, on the open flats between ure? The Cape Haze Reef, the Ponce Alligator Creek and Pirate Harbor.

Channel, they all have spadefish.

There are some reds around Cape Haze There have been a bunch of sand and Turtle Bay. There are some reds, but bri m around at the locks, over at not a whole lot, on the west side.

ElJobean, at West Spring Lake, there Bull Bay has tons of trout in it are tons of sand brim. The trick for right now. Fish in the middle of Bull them is to use a little hook and a peeled Bay just drifting with a poppin cork and piece of shrimp. Try a gold #6 covered you are going to catch some nice trout. in peeled shrimp meat. The by-catch is The trout in Turtle Bay are not as big sugar trout on the sand brim and there right now. are a ton of them too. Here’s another Fishing Report continued on facing page

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February

8th Annual Capt. John Breuggeman Memorial Grouper Tournament

2012

WINNERS Biggest Fish 21 pounds Tim Shaw, CANINE JACK Best 3 Fish 1st place 48.5 pounds, OUTCAST Capt. Glen Ballinger 2nd place 46.75 pounds, PELAGIC Capt. Travis Ormond 3rd place 45.25 pounds, FEEDING FRENZY Capt. Kevin Deiter To Benefit: Scholarship Fund for seniors at Lemon Bay High School for college expenses.

A special thanks to Cape Haze Marina for their full support of the tournament.

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February

2012

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

The BIG-4

February February

The BIG-4 Fish to expect in Ki ng fi s h should be around but I’m not hearing many reports of them. It may just be that guys aren’t getting out because of the wind.

I’d say, in 40 feet of water, I’d be trolling fo kings now.

CREVALLE JACKS are in POMPANO in the passes SPANISH MACKEREL In the SHEEPSHEAD At the the PGI and Port C. Canals and south in the Harbor passes and in the Harbor canal system bridges There is whi tebai t in the harbor. If you want snook throw baitfish, but the reds still want select hand picked shrimp. Live and brown are the colors and shrimp for trout are doing real good too. This is watermelon-red and watermelgetting to be the time to supplement the shrimp on-candy are doing really good with some fresh caught bait fish. It’s right in the right now too. Crappi e is getmiddle: one day they want shrimp the next day ting a little slower. Try Hillsboro or Prairie Creek. Find they want sardines.

The best lures are still tandem for the school- a big pepper tree and fish for ing fish. The XR8 or the S hallow S lash, from crappie in the shadow.

Rapala. The new broken glass Mirrolures just haven’t shipped yet so right now it’s Rapala Rapala, Rapala.

Jim at Fishermens Cobi a are around, guys are seeing them but I don’t know many people hooking them yet. Edge, Englewood: The cobia seem to still be closer to the gulf.

697-7595 Boni ta and S pani sh mackerel s are thick S heepshead are good right off Boca Grande right now, straight out down in Placida around the tres- Capt Billy Barton gave these folks some memories and a fish dinner from the Pass. If the bonita are there, when they whi ti ng. Maybe because a lot of people get out tle and along the boat docks. The swing-bridge approach it’s going to look like a submarine and more guys mean more stuff being caught. on the trestle has been good early, before the coming up.

Some guys had seen pods of whi tebai t offboat traffic gets going. Sheepshead are also good Po mpano are up by Venice down to shore and now maybe some of it came in the up by the Tom Adams Bridge Pier. Some guys Gasparilla Pass, Fl ounder should still be good harbor.

There are all kinds of nice trout around have been catching pompano in the same but I haven’t heard much. Mostly it’s the guys in the sound down around Cayo Pelau, at drifting lines behind the boat looking for other spots; small pompano... 12-13 maybe 14 inchWhidden or over at the top of Bull Bay. Live es.

They are using small jigs that are almost fish that are getting flounder. shrimp, topwaters or the scented Mirrolure baits Along the ICW inside the barrier islands there like a walleye jig – pink, yellow, white, some have been working really well. Offshore red are sheepshead, also at Placida, and ElJo and guys use a bucktail flared hair jig. A big variety grouper has been pretty good and snapper has even up against the mangroves. Big sheepshead of them work on pompano. A sand flea or a been really good along with porgys and Key shrimp in the surf or a spec-rig.

Fish around the have been another by catch for reds. Any of the West grunts. All the reef fish have been good. canals that have bridges have some nice big islands.

There has been some tarpon caught. Guys There have been fl ounder out in the surf up sheepshead in them now. hooked one in Stump Pass and a bunch of fish Bass is way down around rotonda since they to 14 inches along with redfi sh and seatrout have been in Boca Grande. Other guys caught did the weed killing treatment in the water. Here up in Lemon Bay. cobi a at Bayronto, substantial fish to 60 lbs. in the Port Charlotte and Northport canals, green All of a sudden I am hearing about continued from facing page

Fish to expect in

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Gulf Temps are up to 70

Lemon Bay:

Captainʼs Corner

Got a Story? send us your pictures: waterlife@comcast.net

This was Bob Lawrenceʼs first trip offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Bob lives in Canada and comes down to Venice for the winter. What a great day it was! The highlight for him was the 25-pound Amberjack caught on a spinning rod.

It fought for over 20 minutes. The 31-inch gag was caught in 100-feet of water using a live pin fish. The gag was vented then released, again a first for Bob. Not sure who has the hook in their mouth the fish or Bob? He wants to go again reel soon.

In all we caught 18 red grouper, 5 gag grouper (thrown back), 3 amberjacks and numerous lane and mangrove snapper. Great weather even made it better.

Capt. Glen Ballinger, Outcast - Venice FL

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Fishing right now:

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February

2012

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