Water LIFE Jan 2006

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Charlotte Harbor and Lemon Bay Florida

KIds Cup and ESPN Redfish Cup Funding the Don Ball School Program

Keeping Boaters and Fishermen Informed

January 2006

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Plenty of Big Crappie Pages 19

TRIPLETAIL TACTICS Page

This New House Progress Report Page 25 3

Bio Tech – Science from the Sea Page 18

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Water LIFE

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January 2006

Water LIFE

January 2006

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MAGAZINE

Tripletail: Hooked-up to Start the New Year off Right

By Mi chael Hel l er and Aaron S utcl i ffe Water LIFE Offshore I talked to my friend Aaron Sutcliffe the other day. I asked him about winter fishing and tripletail. Here’s a story he told me about one of his recent trips: “Our boat coasted slowly towards a stone crab trap buoy.

Beneath the float, next to the line was my target. Capt. Travis maneuvered the boat within casting range. The brown fish was plainly visible in the clear, green water. I could see the direction it was pointing, and I placed my shrimp up-current and beyond it slightly. My shrimp sank slowly, and I lifted the rod tip slightly, pulling the shrimp closer to the fish. I wanted the shrimp to pass within inches of the fish’s nose, to insure that it would see the bait. As the shrimp moved to within a foot of the fish, I could see the fish turn colors from a mottled brown to a golden, bronze color. He was on it!

The fish charged the shrimp and inhaled it. I set the hook with a sharp jab and the fish started to head shake on the surface, its body propelled halfway up and out of the water. My drag

squealed and the fight was on!”

Tripletail, or Lobotes Surinamensis, are an unusual looking fish that have earned their name for the three large tails toward their caudal fin. These fish inhabit all of the world’s oceans.

They can be found in mangrove creeks, right off the beaches and far offshore near debris and weedlines. For those that have the knowledge, tripletail are a common target in the fall and early spring in our home waters.

The tripletail migration is in full swing now. Cooler waters bring the fish from the northern gulf as they head south for the winter. The tripletail will use the many stone crab buoys off the beach as ambush points for their prey. This habit offers the angler an excellent tactic for targeting these hard fighting and tasty game fish. The fish can be easily found and there are many types of bait and tackle that will work.

The hardest part of tripletail fishing is to locate them. If you have a boat with an elevated platform you are ahead of the game.

If not, you have to put in a little more effort. The key is to get high up above the water to see further out. This is a sight fish-

ing game. A good pair of polarized sunglasses is a must. You will find the most fish by following a stone crab trap line that runs parallel to the beach. As you follow the crab line, look at the buoy and the line at the surface.

If you see a brown shape that sits just below the surface, you have hit pay dirt! Sometimes these fish will lay flat on their side, just beneath the surface. When they do this they look like an aquatic man-hole cover. One practice to keep in mind is to make a mental note of what depth the line that holds the most fish is in. It seems that some days the fish will hold in a particular depth, and the next day move to deeper or shallower water.

Adjusting depths accordingly will put you on more ‘trips’.

The tackle for this method of fishing is fairly simple. A light to medium action spinning rod and reel will perform the best.

Line tests from eight to twenty pound will get the job done. I prefer to use ten pound braided line. Ten pound is strong enough to control the fish, yet lets them battle out with all the drag burning and aerial antics of a snook.

(Yes, ‘trips’ will jump!) Most

Author Aaron Sutcliffe with a nice tripletail.

fish you will encounter fall in the four to ten pound range. Lighter tackle will definitely let you enjoy the fight more, but heavier gear should be used for the fish that are over the ten pound mark... and trust me, there are lots of those size fish out there, and some much bigger!

Rig up a twenty to thirty pound mono or fluorocarbon leader with a 1/0 or 2/0 hook.

The size of the hook employed should match the size of the shrimp or crab being used. Did I mention that the best live bait is a shrimp or crab? ‘Trips’ will also eat a pinfish or whitebait, but the lively baitfish will swim

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away from the tripletail and that leads to frustration – I know this from experience.

Every once in a while a frisky shrimp will evade them as well.

If that happens, you should reel the bait in and make another cast.

I suggest getting the bait as close to the tripletail’s mouth as possible. The fish has very small eyes, and I would imagine, relatively poor eyesight. Get the bait right on the fishes nose without spooking it , and you will be hooked up! Fishing and catching tripletail is a great way to start the new year off right.

Sounds right to me, and thanks to Aaron for the story.

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MAGAZINE

Questionsd raised about the validity of the 48 pound snook photo we ran last month

Staff Report The guys at Fishinʼ Franks were standing around debating the merits of the photo at the right. It turns out that this photo first appeared in Florida Sportsman Magazine and has now been reproduced as a poster to promote Redbone rods that the kid (18 year old Greg Weiss of Boca Raton) supposedly used to land the alleged world record 48 pound snook he is holding. Different observers at Franks had opinions as to the authenticity of the photo. Questions raised were: the shadows are wrong, the fish shadow doesnʼt look right.

There is a white line around the fish, maybe it was a computer paste job. The Boga grip (a 30 pound model) would not show as much handle as it shows above his hand and still show the grip below his fingers with a 48 pound fish on it. But the best question was raised by Fishinʼ Frank his-self when he hooked three 17 pound cast net buckets together and grabbed them all (51 pounds total) with a 30 pound Boga grip. Frank strained, his biceps bulged tight and his neck muscles got taught like someone under physical stress would be expected to do. Look at the angle of his wrists. Compare it to the other photo. “Just look at that kid in the photo, no tension in his neck, no strain on his arms. Either thatʼs not a real photo or this kid is superman in disguise,” Frank noted. We have been unable to locate Gregʼs e-mail address or phone number to ask him to take a lie detector test so far and we have to assume Florida Sportsman thinks this is a real photo or they wouldnʼt have published it. Whatʼs your opinion? Let us know at: waterlife@comcast.net

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Contributing Editors:

Fishing / Environment: Capt. Ron Blago Charlotte Harbor: Capt. Robert Moore Gasparilla: Capt. Chuck Eichner Port Charlotte: Fishinʼ Frank Offshore: Capt. Steve Skevington Technical Advisor: Mike Panetti Sailing Advisor: Bill Dixon Lemon Bay: Don Cessna Kayaks: David Allen Local: Capt. Andrew Medina Tournament Report: Capt Jerry Cleffi Sea Grant: Betty Staugler

on the COVER:

A jellyfish drifting in the now clearing water of Charlotte Harbor

on our WEBSITE:

WWW.charlotteharbormagazine.com

Tide Graphs: For local waters

Weather: Links to all of our favorite sites.

Back editions: Pages of previous editions Artificial Reefs: Lat. and Long local reefs

Manatee Myths: Read the original plan to create sanctuaries and refuges, as spelled out by the United Nations in 1984 Links to Realtors: Connect with our real estate advertisers

Top Stories of 2005 January 2006

By Capt Ron Bl ago Water Life Senior Staff At the end of each year I like to go through the archives looking for stories that somehow didn't get enough attention in the main stream media. Some of the items are important and some are just observations that I personally feel have had an impact on the local fishermen of Charlotte Co. 10) – 2005 was the most active hurricane season since they started keeping records. We had the most storms, the most powerful storms and the most late season storms. They had so many they ran out of names and started to use Greek letters. With all that activity the people of Charlotte Co. were pretty nervous. I bet 95% of the personal computers in the county have the National Hurricane Center's web site on their favorites list. All of those storms totally missed Charlotte Co., which is normal. I predict that with two more years of misses we will forget about Charlie and go back to hurricane parties.

9) – Anyone who makes their living on the water, whether they be charter guides , commercial fisherman, bait shop owners or boat sellers had one of the worst business years I can remember.

Most of the guides I know have had to go out and get full time jobs in the construction business to pay their bills. People in general just have not been fishing.

Maybe it was the cost of gas or the long red tide or just lack of time; the parking lots at the local boat ramps were mostly empty in 2005.

8) – The county reworked the So. Gulf Cove public boat ramp so that now you can actually use it to launch a boat. I remember

being at the opening ceremonies at that boat ramp a year ago and watching Tony Tonz the MAC representative for South Gulf Cove try to tell every county official that the ramp wasn't going to work. We were told that the experts had designed the ramp to meet all current specifications.

You should have seen all these county experts pass the buck when they realized you couldn't launch a boat without submerging your vehicle. I propose that in the future, before the experts get paid, they take a 22 foot boat, (which is the most popular size boat in Charlotte Co.) And have it towed by a Ford F-150 (which is the most popular vehicle in the USA) and see if you can actually launch a boat at the ramp.

7) – Charlotte Co. still does not have a county wide dredging plan. This has caused a lot of hard feelings from the local property owners associations that are already taxing themselves to have their canals dredged. What good is it to dredge the up stream canal if the folks on the down stream side don't dredge theirs. The county has to take over all dredging county wide and tax everyone to pay for it. Those communities that already have MSBU's should be given credit for the money they have already put in. The longer we wait the harder it’s going to be. Ex- commissioner Don Cappola was right when he proposed that Charlotte Co. buy their own dredge. With over 200 miles of canals they can stay busy year round.

6) – You still can't get a sunken, derelict or abandoned boat taken out of the water in this county without an act of congress. In all fairness this is

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not just a Charlotte Co. problem its really a state wide problem. I have never seen so many government organizations hide from an obvious, serious problem. Here is a solution for you. How about a $100 disposal fee on all new boats sold. Kind of like the disposal fee on tires and batteries.

For $100 bucks you will watch people fight over getting these derelict boats out of the water to claim the money.

5) – You can't have a list with out saying something about manatees. The final figures are not in yet; but 2005 will have a high number on manatee deaths, mostly because of red tide (natural causes). Watercraft deaths should be lower than in past years.

Charlotte County had had only 2 watercraft related manatee deaths.

That didn't stop some people from trying to put in a new manatee zone near Little Gasparilla Island. On the Peace River, the stumps of removed Manatee signs remain just below the surface of the water. The new government slogan is "Millions for regulation but not one red cent for maintenance". Let’s hope they replace those pilings with marker buoys.

4) – Charlotte Co. did purchase the Bay Heights property in Englewood near the county border as a future boat ramp/park site.

Unfortunately at present there is no existing boat ramp on the property. Fortunately the State legislature last session passed a bill that will make it easier for local governments to get all the permits they need to build public boat ramps. Now if they only had the money to get the job done.

Speaking of unfinished business, the county property just south of the Ainger Creek boat ramp has still not been improved (three years now). How about taking some of those big bucks we got

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from the parking fees and putting in some fill before the rainy season starts.

3) – 2005 wasn't an economic disaster for everyone. If you were a property owner in Charlotte County, particularly a waterfront property owner.

Values doubled, even tripled in some cases in 2005. Old friends are cashing out and moving to places more reasonable.

Georgia, Tennessee even the panhandle of Florida. It seems the Charlotte Sunʼs revelation that Boaters, fishermen millionaires are and residential development had done all the being bought out by damage to Charlotte Harbor and that phosphate mining had done almost no damage. the billionaires. I really can't blame anyone for taking the money and running. I'll miss board) has determined that the real threat to Charlotte Harbor comes the old timers. On the plus side, from boaters and homeowners and Charlotte County had a 36% that the growth of the phosphate increase in revenue from property mining industry in the Peace taxes.

River watershed is not a real 2) – Red tide hit the problem.

Now I have a lot of Southwest area of Florida for the respect for many of the people entire year. More has been writwho work for the Sun, I even ten this year about red tide since wrote for them myself for a few the Spanish explorers first ran years.

But I have always considinto it back in the 1500's. It ered the Sun Herald as the ‘crazy seem that nothing new has been uncle in the attic’ and every once learned about red tide this year, but what is new is there seems to in a while they do something that no one can understand. be a giant pot of taxpayers Remember that the Sun publishmoney that is available to the es a special magazine just for first credible scientific group that boating and fishing, and another can convince everyone that red just for the real estate business. tide is somehow connected to Talk about bitting the hand that man made pollution. So far we feed you.

I think it really shocked have discovered that red tide is a lot of people who enjoy the always present, it starts offshore, water, to see the Sun's thoughts it kills fish, manatees, turtles, in print.

I still read the Sun, just dolphins and makes pets and for the cartoons and the editorials, humans sick if they breath but now it’s getting harder and enough of it. harder to tell the difference.

1) - The best story of 2005 has to be that the Sun Herald Capt Ron can be reached for newspaper (at least their editorial comments at 941-474-3474

Water LIFE

January: A Great Month to Start Counting Sheep Page

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By Merry Beth Ryan Water LIFE Lemon Bay Fishing January is a great month to start counting sheep, sheepshead that is.

Many species cycle down for the winter months and become less active, the sheepshead are the opposite, they are just getting fired up this time of the year.

Now is the time to target sheepies.

Where to find these zebra striped fish is no real secret at all. In order to be successful catching sheepshead look for structure; a rock pile, pilings under a bridge or a nearshore reef. Sheepshead feed on barnacles, as well as live bait.

Shrimp, sand fleas or a small crab work great as well.

Sheepshead have a set of crusher teeth similar to a sheep’s. What may appear to look like a rock to other fish is dinner for a hard mouthed sheepshead. A sheepshead will grind their food into small pieces before they swallow it, making them challenging to hook at times. More times than not, a sheepshead will get away with your bait before you even know it That fact, along with their black and white striped markings has earned them the nicname convict fish.

When fishing for sheepshead, hold

your pole very still. You may feel a tap, tap, tap and then before you know it your bait is gone and so is the sheepshead. You may even want to place a finger on the line as it comes off the bail to better feel the fish and increase your reaction time to setting the hook.

Sheepshead can be great fun to catch.

Although they do not nearly have the power to smoke the drag on your reel as a kingfish does, they do have enough strength to get your attention once they are hooked. If you want to increase your odds of catching these convicts bring along a bucket filled with barnacle shavings from local docks or pilings to chum with. If you use barnacle chum in this manner you will maximize your winter fishing experiences on the water. Once the chum slick is found you will soon be counting sheep as you start reeling up one after another.

This month, as well as into February, is prime time for sheepshead. As with all fish, once you get them chummed up the feeding frenzy becomes an opportunity you will not want to miss.

Just like snapper, sheepshead fishing can be very active once you get the attention of the fish below. Also like snapper the sheepshead will leave you a bare

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MAGAZINE

Kids of all ages like catching sheepshead.

hook time and time again, minus your bait, until you get more comfortable with feeling the initial bite and reacting quickly. There are some sheepshead anglers who catch the daily limit of 15 fish of 12 inches or more rather quickly while other’s leave their fishing spot scratching their heads wondering why they did not catch one single sheepshead.

The secret is to remember that a sheepshead will not grab your bait and run with it like a snook or redfish. They tend to stay in one place. Their objective is to crush your bait right off your hook before you ever notice. Move your bait slowly to see if you can feel the bite.

Sheepshead tend to ‘mouth’ the bait before they crush it. If you can master the technique to help you feel that happening, your odds of catching one will greatly increase.

It is imperative to drop your line straight down when fishing near structure. By doing so it will reduce your chances of getting hung up which only reduces your fishing time and us diehard anglers cannot afford to lose any precious fishing time when we have it.

Try not to leave your bait in one

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January 2006

place for very long. Because sheepshead have a reputation as bait stealers you must be able to feel the fish below just as the fish is ready to take your bait.

Something that has worked for many angler’s while fishing is closing their eyes and using your other senses to focus on simply you and the fish without any other interference. Try it you will be amazed at the results.

I have seen more and more anglers targeting sheepshead these days. As a matter of fact, there are many fisherman who strictly target sheepshead.

Many people enjoy eating them as well, but be careful. There are some bones that need to be picked out before eating the fillets.

Unlike those early morning tarpon daisy-chaining along the beach in the summer months, winter sheepshead fishing in Florida has advantages. There is no need to be an early riser when targeting winter fish. The fish will wait for you.

Water LIFE

History in the Making...Again January 2006

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Things Are Looking Up at Fishinʼ Franks

By Fi shi n’ Frank Water LIFE Port Charlotte Christmas Day and I am sitting at the counter in Fishin Franks. People come in and ask why we are open on Christmas?

Well, we all know I am just a little different and the way I see it people go out of their way to shop for tackle at Fishin’ Franks all year, so the least I can do is be here when they have a day off to go fishing.

2005 saw pictures going back up on the ceiling at Fishin’ Franks. Ahat tradition that started in 1987 when I was gonna’ paint the ceiling and I stopped to pick up some pictures that had fallen out of one of the photo albums on the counter.

I started looking at the pictures and thinking about painting the ceiling. Then I thought heck, if I put the pictures up there I won’t have to paint the ceiling anymore.

And a tradition was born.

For the next 17 years it was, and still is, a badge of honor and a validation of fishing ability to say “Yup, I’ve got a fish picture of me on da’ ceilin’ at Franks.”

After Charley we picked up pictures from the parking lot, off the floor and from the street and took down the few remaining photos from the parts of the ceiling that hung in space. But we put them in boxes wet – there was no dry spot to put them.

Neither my house nor my store had a roof. After getting the store back open we started looking through the boxes, but many of the picture we thought we had saved were now stuck together in a photo brick and ruined. So now we have a dozen or so new pictures on the ceiling, and a new page of Charlotte Harbor history is being written. Before, we had a lot of dead fish pictures. The biggest difference in the photos now from back then (aside from the fact that most of the old ones were Polaroids and the new ones are digital) is not the size or type of fish, it is that a lot of the old pictures were taken in a parking lot or back home in the yard while most of the new pictures are taken on a boat or on a shoreline and now most of the fish are released.

This past year had to be the year of the Jew fish. These goliath grouper have start-

ed using the canal systems in Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda for breeding grounds and hundreds of people have been catching them on pieces of shrimp. The goliath grouper readily eat dead shrimp and are fast becoming a canal favorite for catch and release fishing. They seem to stay in the canals until they hit 30 pounds and then they head offshore. The average size caught around here is about three pounds, however several have been caught in the 50 pound range. Not long ago a 200 pound goliath was caught in the Myakka River.

The larger goliath grouper seem to stage at the old phosphate dock at Boca Grande before going out to the deep water reefs in the Gulf where guides like Robert Moore, Mike Mahan, and Angel Torres have caught them regularly in the 100 to 300 pound range.

This can be done with 100 pound class tackle line and a big chunk of bait on the bottom. A 200 pound fish pulling the other way will bring a strong man to his knees, literally, and drag him right to the end of the boat while the captain yells to cut the line or let go of that rod. With that ringing in your ears, arms straining, sweat beading across your brow, you pull, he pulls and who ever pulls the hardest wins.

You’d be surprised how many guys let the rod go. Captain James Willis, during tarpon season, hooked many of the monsters and he tells me his customers are starting to ask if they can target goliath grouper next time. We have some good local captains for this kind of big-fish-fight: Angel Torres 941-628-4823, Robert Moore 941-637-5710, Mike Mahan 941-6280694, Dwayne French 941-426-3432, Andy Medina 941-456-1540, James Willis 941-628-4823 are some. All of these guys do snook, red fish, and tarpon fishing, but goliath fishing is becoming a huge (pun intended) thing for anglers looking to get their butt kicked by a big fish.

On the other side of the coin the ‘wiley waskeley’ spotted sea trout are now in season and they are here in big numbers. The classic shrimp under a poppin' cork is still the best way to catch trout, but for something a little different try a top water lure.

The ceiling at Fishinʼ Franks is again the place to have your fish photo seen

It is, without question, the most addictive of all fishin styles. For the beginner, a Johnny Rattler or a 5m Mirrolure or the old classic stick-bait, the AF110, will all work. Any of these lures is a good way to get started. Cast the lure out and stop. Do not reel yet. Wait for five seconds then tighten the line by reeling slowly until the lure just starts to move. Then jerk it hard.

The lure should move about a foot and you should hear a ‘choosh’ sound. Stop and let it sit for 3 seconds, then do it again. Don’t be discouraged when the fish strikes at the lure again and again without hooking up, that happens a lot. When

fishin top water lures you have to wait to set the hook until you feel the weight of the fish, then you set the hook. Wimpytip rods like ugly sticks, while good for bait, do not let you feel when the fish is on like a fast taper graphite rod will. The P.G.I. rim canal or West Spring lake are great windy day spots to trout fish. In good weather, Cape Haze, the mouth of Bull Bay, or the east side sand bar make for exciting trout fishing From all of us at Fishin’ Franks; Happy New Year to you and a belated Merry Christmas (or insert the holiday name of your choice)

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January 2006

Water LIFE

January 2006

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Magnificent waterfront home in upscale neighborhood.

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L0CAL SAILING Page 10

By Bi l l Di xon Water LIFE Sailing Charlotte Harbor has a Boat of the Year award that is sponsored by west Florida PHRF. For years, we did not ... and then a Southwest Florida BOTY was created, but the territory from Marco to Englewood was too large for meaningful participation. So a couple of years ago the classification was again revised and the Charlotte Harbor BOTY was created. The award is presented based on finishes in local area qualifying regattas. It offers trophies in Sport Boat, Spinnaker, Non spinnaker, True Cruising and Multihull divisions One of the races however takes you from Boca Grande to Key West. And since racers are already there, there is a race back to Naples as well.

The ‘Year’ in BOTY started last September with the Summerset Regatta. It was a great event, attended by several PGSC members and put on by the Caloosahatchee Marching and Chowder Society. Next up is the Platinum Point Yacht Club's Golden Conch Regatta held off Burnt Store Marina. The Golden Conch is this month on January 7, 8. Registration

Water LIFE

is $30 for US Sailing members and due at Platinum Point Yacht Club by Jan 4. The regatta is planned as 3 races, 2 on Saturday followed by a banquet Saturday night and one race on Sunday, followed by free beer and pop during the awards presentation.

Classes for multihulls, spinnaker and non spinnaker monohulls and True Cruising boats are offered. It should be a great regatta, and Platinum Point YC is always a good host. Call them at 941-639-0733 for more info. Call me at 941-637-2694 if you need rail meat for the race. My boat is still in the yard as I write this and I need an outing!

Next on the BOTY schedule is the Conquistador Cup on March 4, 5 run by the Punta Gorda Sailing Club and held in the Peace River off Fisherman's Village. This Regatta has for many years been the largest regatta south of Tampa Bay. Back in BC (before Charlie) it peaked at over 60 boats, some coming from as far away as Naples and Sarasota and competing in multiple fleets. The Conquistador is also a three race regatta with two buoy races on multiple courses on Saturday and a fixed course, reverse handicap start on Sunday. Because of the reverse handicap start, there is only one winner on Sunday. The winner gets to hold onto the "Conquistador Cup" for a year and gets their picture on the '07 Cup T shirt.

Traditionally, the Conquistador has a Friday night skippers meeting featuring free beer, a Saturday night awards Barbeque for the

January 2006

MAGAZINE

Tactical blocking took the wind out of Bama Slammerʼs sails in last yearʼs Golden Conch Regatta

buoy races and a Sunday afternoon awarding of the Conquistador Cup. Call Bob Knowles 941-505-4583 for details. Water LIFE will again be out on the water shooting the photos.

Later in the spring, the Leukemia Cup, with racing by PGSC and shore side activities by Isles YC is also a 3 race regatta counting toward the Charlotte Harbor BOTY awards. The third annual Leukemia Cup will be held April 22, 23. This event is run as a fund raiser for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society and has proven to be extremely popular, bringing out many boats not ordinarily seen on the race course. Last year, the event raised over

$80,000. This year should be even better.

Call Bob Anderson 941-505-8933 for info, Dennis Peck 941-627-6650 for info on small boat racing in conjunction with the Leukemia Cup. In local news, PGSC will be meeting at the PGI civic association on January 11.

Spring Series Skippers meeting will be at 6 p.m., the regular business meeting at 7.

Don't forget to bring a nautically decorated snack. There will be prizes for the top five desserts and snacks. The Spring Series race #1 will be held on Jan 22 call Bob Anderson 505-8933 for info. See you on the water.

Bill Dixon cane be reached at: 941-637-

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Water LIFE

January 2006

KIDS CUP Screaming Reels with Capt. Andrew Medina

By Andy Medi na Water LIFE Staff As a professional guide the most frequently asked question I hear is “What does it take to become a successful angler?” It took me at least a hundred tournaments to find the answer to that question. I used to think it was just pure raw talent, the ‘know how to’s’ and the ‘when not to’s,’ but now I really believe in my heart it is education.

Since the Water LIFE Kids Cup has started I have made it a point to be involved every year. I’ve been lucky, putting the kids I fished with in the top of the field every year. That in turn has helped me realize where the future of my sport is laid out on the line. The youth anglers in these tournaments will one day become the competitors I will be fishing against.

So I find myself in sort of a moral dilemma. Do I teach them everything I know, so one day the young ‘grass hopper’ can use it against me on a professional level? The answer, of course is Yes! You join a pro tournament to fish against the best and hopefully beat the best. And if you teach them and they grow up to be better than you, then you did something right.

I got the chance to teach one of the school groups this year for the Don Ball School of Fishing. A six week class that teaches kids about conservation, fishing techniques, live bait and other local fishing

related subjects. I thought when the Don Ball director Jerry Jensen called me, I could get into a lot of trouble with a class of 25 teens, on a Wednesday night. I started thinking about what I was like in junior high, but this was different.

I have given a lot of seminars, at West Marine and Laishley Marine and other places around town so that wasn’t the hard part. I thought the kids might think the class was someplace to come and hang out, but I was wrong again. The children I had in my class wanted to learn and I was amazed how much they did learn; from tieing knots to working jerk baits and artificial lures. In six weeks I watched the kids soak up every bit of knowledge I gave them, and when I stopped or they didn’t understand they would ask for more.

With so many tournaments in our area: the Flats Masters, the IFA, the Ranger Red Fish Tour and the Oberto Cup series, I see a lot of people pre fishing, but very few are kids. Why is that?

Trust me when I tell you, kids want to go! So with an organization like the Water LIFE sponsored Don Ball School of Fishing which gives kids tackle boxes, rods and reels, and other things all to get started and all free of charge, it becomes easy to get kids involved in fishing. The entry fee from the Water LIFE Kids Cup tournaments support these classes, buys the equipment and

P a g e 11

MAGAZINE

Kids fishing isnʼt just about the Kids Cup. Capt Dan Cambern had his sonʼs Brent and Chad Cambern help catch and release this 150# Goliath grouper on a recent trip to the boxcar reef.

Many local charter captains will cater to a trip which includes kids in a day on the water.

helps teach them sportsmanship on a professional level.

Set aside May 6 for the Kids Cup. Take a kid fishing that day and set aside the following weekend, May 11-13 for the Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup. Even if you don’t fish, bring your kids out to see the action. The Don Ball School of fishing is the entry

point for kids in Charlotte County who want to learn and it’s up to you to get it started. Just remember be safe on the water, take a kid fishing, and just have fun.

Check out Capt. Andrew Medina on the web at http://www.bentrods4u.com or call him for charter information: (941)456-1540

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Water LIFE

Page 12

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MAGAZINE

January 2006

SAWFISH: The Endangered Elasmobranch

By Tonya Wi l ey Mote Marine Sawfish are in the elasmobranchs family of sharks, skates and rays. They are actually rays, although their bodies look more like a shark with a tooth-rimmed rostrum on the end, or the saw for which they are named. Like all elasmobranchs, the skeleton of a sawfish is made entirely of cartilage. Sawfish are about 2 feet long when they are born and have a gelatinous sheath over the saw to protect the mother during birth. Sawfish are slow growing and can reach lengths of almost 20 feet.

Sawfish spend a lot of their time laying on the bottom, and have spiracles behind their eyes through which they draw in water to pump over their gills to breathe.The saw, which resembles a hedgetrimmer, is used for feeding. Small sawfish will use their saw to disturb small fish and invertebrates from the bottom.

Larger sawfish will use their saw to swim through schools of fish, such as jacks or mullet, and swish their saw from side to side to injure or kill the fish. Sawfish in captivity have been seen rubbing their saw on the bottom of the tank to remove fish which have become impaled on their saw.

The sawfish then feed using their small mouth located on the underside of their body. These saws have historically been a popular curio item and many restaurants and bait shops in Florida have old saws hanging on their walls.

There are seven species of sawfish world-wide and historically there were two species found in US waters. However, today only one species remains, the smalltooth sawfish, Pristis pectinata, and it is found mostly in south Florida.

The United States population of the smalltooth sawfish used to occur throughout the Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Florida and north along the Atlantic Coast to New Jersey. But decades of habitat destruction, mortality from both commercial and recreational fishing and their low reproductive capacity have reduced the population both in number and distribution.

Due to this severe decline NOAA Fisheries added the smalltooth sawfish to the Endangered Species List on April 1, 2003.

Surprisingly, for such a unique and unusual animal, very little research has been done on sawfish. Therefore little is known about their biology, ecology and population status, making it difficult to protect them. Scientists with Mote Marine Laboratory’s Center for Shark Research have been studying the remnant US sawfish population since 1999 to gain the information needed by resource managers to create proper and effective conservation strategies. Mote researchers are gathering valuable information on the US smalltooth sawfish such as public sightings, habitat use, movements, distribution, genetics and population recovery potential.

Sawfish are protected under the US Endangered Species Act and it is illegal to disturb, harass, injure or kill them.

However; many boaters, fishermen and SCUBA divers encounter sawfish either by catching one or seeing one. Use caution if you catch a sawfish while fishing, as the thrashing saw can cause serious injury.

Report your sawfish encounter to Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sawfish Research Project and contribute to the research that will help protect them. The researchers maintain a national database of sawfish encounters that is used to evaluate the status of the sawfish population and help researchers target their field efforts.

When you make a report, include the following information: • date and time of the encounter • location of the encounter • estimated size of the sawfish • habitat where the sawfish was seen • your activity at the time of the encounter • any photographs of the sawfish • tags or unusual markings on the sawfish • your name and contact information Report any sawfish encounter via email to: sawfish@mote or by phone to: (800) 691-6683

Water LIFE

January 2006

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Page 14

Boat Buying Tips

Water LIFE

Boat Buyerʼs Check List

Aside from the engine, your inspection should also include the following:

r Check steering and throttle cables. r Switch on and operate all systems r Make sure all hardware is firmly attached r Open and close all hatches. r Check out the fuel tanks, fittings and lines.

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MAGAZINE

January 2006

Water LIFE

Dead Bait Winter Fishing is back!

January 2006

By Capt. Robert Moore Water LIFE Senior Guide Winter has finally arrived and lots of changes are taking place. The water temperature is dropping, the tides are super low during daylight hours and trying to catch live bait is not worth the time or energy. The tides and water temperatures are completely up to Mother Nature and out of our hands, but choosing which bait to use and how we fish it is completely up to us.

As the water temperature begins to drop below the 70-degree mark, the large schools of bait fish that frequent our local grass flats and bays head for the gulf in search of warmer water.

Another change taking place which affects the way we fish is the metabolism of the fish we are targeting. The colder the water temperature the more their metabolism will drop. Snook, redfish and trout just don't seem to want to work as hard for a meal when it is cold. So, as the bait fish head south, the fish we target in the back bays and flats begin to change how and what they will eat.

Live bait fish such as scaled sardines and threadfin herring just don't seem to have the same appeal they did several months ago. "Live" is the key word here.

Try to forget this word. Put it out of your mind. It will only frustrate you. Replace

'live' with 'dead.' Fish with your favorite bait 'dead' on the bottom and you might be surprised at the results. Remember the metabolism of most fish has dropped and during theses cooler months they prefer to feed off the bottom for an easy meal rather than burn the calories chasing lively bait around.

There is a hand full of baits that when fished dead and on the bottom are very productive during the colder months. The bait fish at the top of my list is the ladyfish.

This bait can be difficult to find in most tackle shops. This time of year I always carry my filet knife on board and when one is caught it always heads for the cleaning board. I will steak the lady fish out into small one inch steaks starting at the tail.

The head and tail itself don't seem to make great baits but can be used.

Threadfin herring or Spanish sardines would be my second pick. They are sold frozen in just about every tackle shop.

They usually come in 5-pound boxes, but some tackle shops sell them in smaller quantities. Aside from being easily obtainable, these baits are very productive when fished on the bottom. I like to take a single bait (while still frozen) and cut it into three or four sections. The only draw back is after these baits are frozen they become very soft and you usually only get a few cast before they come off your hook.

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Fishing wasnĘźt good on this day, Capt Rob Moore wrote, but what fish they did catch were great, like this 12 pound red. Bigger than the slot and in a closed season to boot, naturally it went back.

My preferred method of rigging these baits for fishing is even simpler. A jig head is all I need to fish with dead bait. I will tie the jig head to a 30-36 inch mono leader (usually 30-pound test). I prefer no pinch on weights or pre-made rigs, just a jig head at the end. Free lining your bait will work but I find in areas with strong current the bait will roll along the bottom possibly getting buried into grass. If fishing in water deeper than 4 feet I like to use a 1/4 ounce jig to help get the bait down quicker. At depths under 4 feet I prefer to use a 1/8 ounce jig. When fishing with frozen dead bait I prefer the bait to still be frozen. I will cut those baits into sections of 2- to 3-inches. While your bait is sitting on the bottom, as it begins to defrost, it releases a scent that attracts fish. The greatest success tip I can give while using 'dead' bait is 'be patient.' While fishing with dead bait, you need to wait. This style of fishing is not like working an artificial lure or live bait. You need to just throw it out and let it sit.

If you are confident there are fish in the area, let the bait sit and do its work. The

fish are moving slowly these days and they will eventually find the bait if given enough time. So the next time you're buying live shrimp ask for a box of frozen 'dead bait' and give it a try. More often than not it will out fish the shrimp.

Tight Lines!!

You can reach Capt. Robert Moore for fishing information, help with navigation and tides or to book a charter fishing trip at (941) 637-5710 or (941) 628-2650 or you can contact him via e-mail at tarponman@comcast.net

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Page 15

MAGAZINE

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Page 16

Great Grey Day for Fishing Inshore

By Aaron S utcl i ffe Water LIFE Offshore I went on an awesome fishing trip today. I caught fish all day! If I was not reeling in my bait, needing to replace it, I was reeling in a fish! I watched as speckled seatrout swam near me, and placed my baited hook in the feeding zone and scored strikes! I watched amazed as feeding fish surrounded me; and my only concern was which fish I wanted to target. I stood twenty feet away from redfish, as they tailed in water that barely covered

Water LIFE

my knees. The brick red tips of their tails were rippling the surface, as they foraged through the grass for crustaceans. I cast in front of their pointed tails as they waived above the water. I stalked them by foot as they swam upcurrent, and I hunted for them on the edges of sandy potholes.

Capt. Patrick Mason invited me along for a day of fish catching aboard his Shallow Sport flats "barge". I call it that because it is definitely not a "skiff". His Shallow Sport is over twenty feet long and has a

January 2006

MAGAZINE

beam that would make many offshore boats jealous. When you consider that this boat can run in FOUR inches of water, you are assured that you will be fishing in places that other boats only dream of. If you don't believe me, please go with him on a charter.

You will be amazed when you see how shallow his boat will run.

You will also laugh at all the other fishermen who run aground as they try to make it as deep in the backcountry as you are fishing.

We ran through the fog to a spot that was deep in the shallow backcountry. We could have stopped anywhere along the way to fish a multitude of reds, trout, and snook. We passed them as they lay on mangrove points and potholes. The tide was in the last half hour of falling, and fish were making their way to deeper sandy potholes. The thick fog obscured the sun, and made it hard for us to spot fish laying on the bottom. But tailing redfish were a different story...

Capt. Mason brought his vessel to a stop on the lee side of a mangrove bank. Even in

the fog we could see the white, sandy potholes that dotted the shallow grass-flats. 'Look at all the reds pushing that hole',he said. Cruising reds were forming wakes like mini submarines.

Scattered pods of mullet pushed slowly across the shallows. The pointed, copper and red colored tail fins of redfish sliced through the water . I was the first angler rigged and ready to slip over the side. The game was to wade to productive areas as quietly as possible, and hook up using soft plastic baits and live shrimp.

I listened as Patrick, and his other guest Larry, readied their bait- buckets and tied rigs to their rods. I walked slowly towards a pothole and fired a plastic jerkbait past it. As I retrieved my weedless lure it was struck by a seatrout. I set the hook and was the first fisherman to be rewarded with a beautiful bronze and golden-hued trout! I landed the twenty inch trout and reset my Texas rigged jerkbait. Patrick and Larry still had not gotten rigged and out of the boat. I made another cast up-current, towards the same pothole. My plastic lure landed, I

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made two twitches, and had another strike! I set the hook, and was on with trout number two!

My fishing companoins, sensing that they were being out-fished, shifted into overdrive and slipped into the water.

My next cast was aimed at a sandy pothole that was much deeper than the surrounding grassy bottom. I retrieved my jerkbait over the edge and saw a fish swirl behind it. I twitched the bait twice and a healthy trout inhaled my lure. As the fish was fighting, my plastic bait had slid up the leader and was being attacked by another trout! I laughed as the trout mauled my bait repeatedly, following it, grabbing it and thrashing around as much as the trout that had been hooked. If I had brought a landing net with me I could have scooped it up.

Larry and Capt. Mason were working some holes that were closer to the shoreline.

Within their casting range I could see redfish tails snaking around.

They were both hooking fish now. Patrick landed a nice trout and Larry followed suit with an

Water LIFE

January 2006

upper slot sized redfish. 'You guys are cheating, using shrimp and all. I want to catch a nice red on plastic.' I spent the last part of the tide unsuccessfully presenting my plastic at tailers that wanted no part of my fake bait.

Meanwhile Mason and Larry were steadily hooking up with shrimp.

I waded to them and rerigged with a Mutu circle hook. I bit the tail off a shrimp and hooked it in the nub. "Watch this," I said as I cast it into a pothole. I let the shrimp sink and lifted my rod tip slowly, to get the shrimp off the bottom and make it swim. I felt a solid

thump, "It's on!". I pulled tight and the redfish bullied line off my drag. "That was sweet!" I said as I fought the small but freakishly strong redfish. "I thought you were going to do that with plastic," said Patrick as he waded towards the next pothole. "Plastic wasn't working, shrimp however, is." My pragmatic side had won out over my aesthetic side.

By this time the tide was all the way low and had stopped. We all started moving away from the shoreline, into the middle of the bay we were fishing. The three of us, spread out, forming a line, stalked a pod of

tailing reds. Five or six fish were slowly making their way closer to us. We stopped walking and let them close the gap.We were very quiet and not disturbing the water, as to not spook them away. When they got in casting range we each had a fish to cast to. Larry hooked up, and his thrashing red spooked the other fish in the pod. "Thanks, Larry.

You could have waited for us to get hit too, before you set the hook." I retorted as I looked for the next fish, which was fifty feet away.

The three reds that I had caught were only twenty inches or so. I wanted to hook up a pig.

I saw just the fish I was looking for. Its huge tail was finning slowly as it grubbed around in the mud for a morsel. I closed the gap slowly, struggling to pull my feet out of the soft mud quietly, without splashing around a great deal. Finally I got within range, the fish had not spooked and was still sticking its nose deep in the grass."Watch this." I let my frisky shrimp fly. It landed right in the strike zone and I let it sink.The line came tight and I hooked up! The big red bucked as it made my drag sing.

I could see the fish boiling and churning to my right side, but my line was straight in front of me."My line is hung in the grass" this could be a problem, I thought to myself. I fought the red back and forth for a minute.

Soon I had it near the point where my line was hung. As I pulled the fish into the snag my line went slack! I thought that the hook might have gotten hung on the snag, and dislodged from the red’s mouth. In fact my knot had come undone at the hook. "Bummer" was all I could say.

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Page 17

MAGAZINE

We caught several decent fish after that. We were out of shrimp by the time we finished the first wade. Ten dozen shrimp in the first spot, and we had other areas to fish. I would like to think that I could have caught some nice reds with the artificial. I found out later what I was doing wrong. I needed to fish it dead, right in front of the fish while its nose was in the mud. Nobody is perfect.

Capt. Patrick Mason fishes out of Stump pass marina. He can be reached for book ing at (941) 735-8407

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Page 18

Water LIFE

SCIENCE: Bio Tech MAGAZINE

By Capt. Betty Staug l er Water LIFE / Sea Grant More than 80 percent of Earth’s living organisms are found only in aquatic ecosystems, and we know little about their biochemical characteristics. Our challenge as a nation is to discover the lifeenhancing and lifesaving qualities these unique organisms possess.

Florida has a rightful place in this quest to discover new products and processes from the ocean’s living resources. With an enormous natural storehouse of biodiversity and an extensive university-based network of scientific talent, Florida boasts advantages for developing new medicines, industrial products, methods of detecting contaminants and practices for restoring damaged environments, all adapted or derived from coastal and ocean systems. Florida Sea Grant is providing leadership to set the key priorities for this emerging field known as Marine Biotechnology.

Florida Sea Grant sponsored researchers are working on a variety of biotech related projects, some of which I’ve summarized below.

In the early 1990s, researchers from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute discovered a particular species of red sponge with cancer killing abilities. The researchers have isolated a group of compounds called lasonolides which possess these cancer killing abilities. To understand how lasonolides work, researchers have been evaluating proteins in cancer cells in hopes of isolating the protein which attaches to the lasonolides. Harbor Branch has made substantial progress towards understanding how these lasonolides work, but the story is far from over as they continue to work towards the goal of getting the drugs into clinical trials and hopefully on to the market.

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University are looking at cone snail venoms for their pain killing abilities.

Biomedical scientists took an interest in the cone snails decades ago when they learned that humans killed by the snails felt no pain as they slipped away.

Researchers now know that cone snail venom components affect the human nervous system. Some of the components change the way electrical signals such as those responsible for pain are conducted through the brain and the rest of the neurological system. Those changes also have the potential to alter both the way humans perceive pain and the effects or progression of strokes and nervous system diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzhiemer’s.

January 2006

Barnacle test plate

The world market for marine paints that prevent the damaging growth of barnacles and other organisms on boat and ship hulls is worth billions of dollars. Unfortunately all paints currently available pose significant threats to the ecosystems with some being regulated off the market.

Researchers from the University of Florida are evaluating a flat worm known commonly as Chevron nemertine, which produces a wide range of pyridine alkaloids that are toxic to marine organisms. Certain compounds which have been isolated from these toxins show great promise in preventing barnacles from settling on hulls, but they may also harm innocent crustaceans. To solve this problem the team has synthesized a variety of compounds with structures similar to but altered from the most promising nemertine worm toxic compound. The results, on which patents have been filed, were a group of compounds that continue to block settlement but dramatically reduce crustacean mortality.

The projects highlighted here are but a sampling of the marine biotechnological research now underway in Florida. The vast majority of Florida’s and for that matter the planet’s submerged resources remains unexplored. At the national level, nearly a dozen potentially life-saving compounds derived from marine creatures

Bacteria magnified

Crappie Fishing January 2006

Water LIFE

Greg uses 10-pound braided line and a sliding sinker rig with a float. He says he ties a thread on the line above the float so he knows how far to let the bait down. ”About a foot or 18 inches,” he says. Braided line is important when you are fishing under the pepper trees on the bank where the fish are. “You have to be able to pull the rig out when it gets stuck.” For a hook, Greg says

MAGAZINE

he like the special crappie hooks they sell at the local bait shops and prefers minnows for bait.

The fish that he caught were all showing red on their bellies (see photo at right) which according to Greg means they have been egg bearing. A week after these photos were taken Greg was back with even bigger fish. This is the time for crappie fishing.

Page 19

George Parrs, Paul Reid, and Bill Jr. from Pennsylvania and Bill Reid,Frank Decarlo, and Jaime Kynett from Port Charlotte with a nice recent catch of grouper and snapper.

Greg Bollinger and Billy Barber show off a couple of coolers of crappie caught locally at a spot they declined to identify

A new year is upon us and since Florida offers you 365 days of fishing, why wait another day? Fishing in January in Charlotte Harbor can be very challenging.

With lower than normal tides, and cool winds coming from thenorthsome angler ask " Is It Worth Going?" My answer is YES! Try fishing with smaller baits like the 3.5-inch shrimp or the 4-inch shadlyn on a 1/4 ounce jig head. Work them slowly in sand holes and around docks. Work these baits under a Paradise Popper at the deep dropoffs and in the canals. You will catch fish!

Old Bayside 3.5-inch shrimp in glow and natural and 4-inch shadlyn in opening night color

Area Real Estate Trends

Page 20

Water LIFE

This is NOT an Advertisement!

Provided by Water LIFE Publisher and Realtor,® Ellen Heller Using information from the Charlotte County Multiple Listing Service

MAGAZINE

January 2006

W h a t ʼs I n Yo u r Ta c k l e B o x ?

PUNTA GORDA - BUT NOT THE ISLES - The following homes are all in Punta Gorda south of the Peace River, but none are in Punts Gorda Isles, a deed restricted community. They are manufactured, and traditional homes all on canals with harbor access. Sailboat canal means there are no bridges between the property and "big water" thus making it accessible to sailboats as well as power boats and therefore more valuable.

Singapore Dr - This 2 bedroom, 2 bath home was built in 1988. It has a gourmet kitchen, lanai, and 2037 square feet under air. It is on a sailboat canal with a rip rap seawall. It was listed 5/27/05 was pending 5/30/05 and sold for $399,900. It sold new in 1988 for $89,500.

Riviera Court - This 1988 home was built on a tip lot with a fantastic view of a sailboat canal and private dock. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and 2,361 square feet of living space, a swimming pool and small pond in front. It sold in January of 2005 for $285,000 and again in June of 2005 for $410,000.

E. Larkspur Dr - A smaller home built in 1979 with 1,643 square feet of space, 2 bedrooms and 2 baths on a powerboat only canal with one bridge and harbor access.In 1995 it sold for $77,000, in 2002 for $152,000 and in December of 2005 for $260,000.

Magnolia Way - This traditional 3 bedroom 2 bath home was built in 1987 on a canal with one bridge and fifteen minute access to Charlotte Harbor. It has a 66 foot dock, two boat lifts and a 28' x 15' boat house. It recently sold in 2005 for $450,000, and before that as a vacant lot in 1986 for $14,000.

River Bay - A 3 bedroom, 2 bath, triple wide manufactured house built in 2002 with 1,777 square feet on a sailboat canal just eight minutes to Charlotte Harbor. It has a 32' wooden dock and a rip rap cement sea wall. It sold 4/21/2005 for $345,000 and in 2002 as a vacant lot for $53,000.

Magnolia Way - With only 964 square feet of air conditioned space this house sold, after only one day on the market. It has 2 bedrooms, 1 bath and is on a power boat canal with one bridge out to harbor access. It sold in September 2005 for $285,000 and previously in 1999 for $86,500.

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Joe Brozik from Indiana with a 22-pound redfish caught and released on a charter with Captain Dan, in December, 15 miles out of Boca Grande.

By. Capt Dan Cambern Water LIFE Offshore Staff

Happy New Year! Well it’s that time of year again – you know, the beginning, when you’re supposed to start the New Year off right. Make resolutions, go on a diet, and clean out your tackle box. OK, so I made up the last one in place of whatever vice or addiction you might want to give up.

What better time of year could there be to clean out and organize your tackle?

Even though most die-hard fishermen I know probably had a new boat, motor, and trailer on their Christmas wish list, they were probably more realistic and hoping for a new high-tech graphite rod and a reel with at least 20 ball bearings.

And what they really got was a nice selection of lures, fishing pliers and a knife set or maybe a really cool fish lipgripper and weighing device. All nice and useful things I’m sure.

One thing about all of these fishing

accessories is that you are going to need some way of organizing them. Maybe you were fortunate enough to get a tackle box for a gift or maybe you have an old one you can use. But if you don’t already own one, get ready to be totally bewildered when you go to your favorite tackle store to pick one out.

There are more choices of tackle boxes, bags, and carts than you can shake an ugly-stick at. More choice is good right? I don’t know, sometimes it gives me a headache. The good thing about it is that no matter what type of fishing you do there is a tackle organizing system made just to do the job.

Sometimes I think the guys that like to fly fish have the right idea. All the tackle you can use for a day of fishing is simply stuck on to your vest or hat and off you go. It couldn’t get any simpler than that. I guess that’s the whole philosophy of fly fishing- keep it simple.

Continued on Facing Page

Operation Slow Speed goes state wide Staff Report Five thousand boaters were stopped and almost 1,800 got checked last month as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rolled out its first coordinated statewide manatee law enforcement effort which utilized with a team of more than 45 local, county, state and federal agencies in 19 counties.

Operation Slow Speed focused on education allegedly due to hurricane-impacted speed zone signs.

Despite cooler weather and fewer than expected boaters on the water, the

statewide team effort yielded: 176 Manatee Warnings, 128 Manatee Citations, 319 Boating Safety Warnings, 93 Boating Safety Citations, 23 Fishery Violation Warnings and 22 Fishery Violation Citations. Officers also made one arrest for boating-under-the-influence and two for Homeland Security violations in Palm Beach County. Replacing signs destroyed by past hurricanes may take months, but the speed zones that those signs mark will still be in effect. Contact the FWC at (850) 922-4330 for more information.

January 2006

continued from facing page

I can remember when I was a boy getting a new tackle box that had two trays that folded out when the lid was opened and a drawer that pulled out of the bottom. Top of the line back then, but nothing compared to the high-tech tackle systems that are made today. When I got my new box I loaded all my lures, jigs, spoons, and rubber bass worms that we had molded in shop class at school into the trays and then left it in the shed in the back yard. The next time I went fishing and opened up my box I had a real mess.

The plastic trays had a negative reaction to the rubber worms and melted them into a toxic soup of disfigured plastic lures, hooks and multi-colored rubber worms. Through the years the manufacturers have figured out how to keep the plastic trays from melting, but if you leave two or three different colors of soft plastics or jerk baits together you can come up with some of your own creative colors.

Speaking of colors, have you seen all the choices that are out there? Not to mention all the brands, shapes, and sizes that are available. What’s even more incredible are the names they come up with for all these products. Hey, it’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. Just think about how boring fishing would be if the only color choices we had were grape, watermelon, and motor oil.

Recently I was looking for a way to keep all of my big trolling lures and kingfish spoons and planers organized and ready to get at in a moments notice, but I couldn’t find anything large enough or with the right kind of trays to fit everything. I finally found one that might work until I looked at the price tag- over $150.00. No thanks. I went back to my trusty 5 gallon buckets in which you can hang at least a dozen big lures along the edge with drilled holes in the bottom so it can all be rinsed out at the end of the day.

The spoons and planers hang in another bucket. Pretty simple, but it works just fine for me.

All of my terminal tackle and weights are stored in standard Plano tackle trays and are well organized so I can find anything quickly and I know when I’m getting low on something and can restock it before I run out.

Speaking of running out, I might as well talk about running out offshore and fishing. The water is slowly starting to clear up and the water temperature is running in the mid 60s so the larger gag grouper have been moving in closer to shore to spawn. Traditional bottom fishing with frozen or live bait will produce early in the day but then switch to trolling later when they’re ready to chase lures.

Snapper fishing is still excellent and I’ve even seen some late season bull red fish and kings showing up with the bait pods coming in closer.

You just have to pick your days carefully this time of year with all the cold fronts, but it’s worth it because the fishing pressure has been light and that means fewer fish are being caught. And that leaves more fish in the water for those that do get out.

Also don’t forget that red grouper are now open in federal waters again beginning Jan.1st.

The limit for grouper remains at 5 per person with only one being a red grouper and the state is bringing the number of reds down to one also to match federal rules. This will simplify enforcement and hopefully cut out all the confusion we’ve had lately over this issue. We still have to wait and see what the feds are going to do about a proposed one month closure of all grouper.

Hopefully I’ll see you out there trying out all that new gear you got for Christmas. Good Luck!

Capt. Dan Cambern owns and operates Hammerhead Charters out of the Placida Marina. He can be reached for fishing information or to book a trip at (941) 625-6226

Water LIFE

Page 21

MAGAZINE

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Checking up on Chokoloskee

Water LIFE

Page 22

S t aff R eport It was a beautiful morning. I looked out the cabin window at the rising sun, not a cloud in the sky. As I left the cabin and started what would come to be my morning constitutional walk for a cup of coffee, I looked around for signs of life.

There was a group of Florida's roadside cleanup crew perched around the neighboring restaurants dumpster. Who could blame them, the roads had been swept clean by two to three feet of the Gulf of Mexico's estimated nine foot storm surge that covered Chokoloskee and Everglades city and left in it's wake an inch and a half of muck over the ground. Anything the buzzards would have had to eat had been washed off the island and into the realm of the alligator. The buzzards looked content enough picking through the dumpster. I went into the store and poured a cup and walked down to the marina basin. The water was pretty silty – six or eight inches of visibility. Big difference from my last visit the previous year. As I drank my coffee I looked around. A pelican. This was a good sign, I finished my drink on the way back to the cabin. I had to get the boat in the water before the tide went out too far, or it would be almost impossible to launch the boat.

Filled with anticipation, we pulled out of the marina and made our way out into the Ten Thousand Islands. This was not

e-mail: patsamuels@englewoodfl.com

our first trip here and I was curious to follow my G.P.S. track from the time before.

We idled under the bridge and throttled my old Starcraft up to cruising speed (25 mph). There were lots of tree branches around sticking up out of the now golden emerald green water. I followed my track out through Sandfly Pass. It was intimidating, seeing tree branches one or two feet from the boat, but knowing that we were in the channel. Or what used to be the channel before Wilma. I saw little damage to the mangrove islands in the area for the most part. But there was definite damage in other areas, it seems that Wilma was as indiscriminate as Charley had been.

I'm sure they had at least two tornadoes, one of which took its aim on Chocoloskee. The island and Everglades City had mostly flood damage. Although flood damage is bad the storm wasn't as bad as what we experienced.

The closer we came to the Gulf, the more the color of the water became emerald green instead of the goldish tint that all the muck residue had caused. We decided to bait the hooks and set up shop at a place we had fished last year. Within ten minutes lady luck shined, and a small but healthy snook was brought boatside, then a couple of mangrove snapper. Of course the sail cats were all over, but I took this as a good sign. We also caught several sharks. All you had to do was hook-up a

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MAGAZINE

live ladyfish or a small jack, and within ten minutes you were hooked up with a shark.

The tides were not good to us and this made navigating a slow process. On the way out we learned to go slow. Then, if we did not hit anything, we could drive normal on the way back. So we could only make a certain amount of progress in a day. One day it took us four hours to go three miles. Once we established that our tracks were clear, things went a lot faster.

There is good and bad to traveling on low tides. The good is you can see everything.

The bad is you can not take off in five inches of water, which is pretty much the norm anywhere around this area. Yes, there are very deep holes all around, some nineteen to twenty feet deep, but in between there are vast shallow runs that test even the shallowest drafting boats.

Knowing where you are at all times is a must. Second guessing this place will leave you on ground, perhaps through the next high tide as well. Being caught out in the 'glades at the twilight hour you are noseeum bait and they seem to be one of the few species that were not only unaffected by the hurricane, but actually proliferated.

They are unfazed by even the most powerful d.e.e.t.. It seems the only product that has any effect on them is Avon’s skin so soft, or the nastiest cigar you can find.

On our way in we saw a large white line on the horizon. As we got closer it turned out to be a flock of juvenile pelicans, 50 to 100, camped out on a sand bar enjoying the late afternoon sun. We also come across a pair of osprey already in the process of putting there lives back in order, rebuilding their nest. No insurance issues here, just get on with it. We also come across a flock of what look like wood storks.They looked like they were heading deep into the Big Cypress National Park, which boarders the Everglades National Park on all sides but the Gulf of Mexico. On one other occasion we saw a flock of roseatte napes probably 25 or 30, all a brilliant pink. A few showed up in our area just after Wilma, but not that many.

I remember last year we couldn't put a bait in the marina basin and not hook up with a baby goliath. None to be had this time, anywhere around the City or Chocoloskee. We really didn't catch many fish or much bait in the immediate area around Everglades City and Chocoloskee.

All the bait, and all the fish we caught, were either up in the wilderness waterway or on the out islands. A couple of the locals were saying that at least one fuel tank disappeared during the storm. Every tank that we saw had either obvious damage or had been moved from its original spot, and not by just a couple of feet.

Those fuel spills effected the wildlife, no doubt.

In all I would say that by next year, you will not be able to tell that a hurricane even went through the area. The rebuilding effort seems to be in full swing.

January 2006

People are tearing down the wet and moldy stuff, and piling it roadside. New trailers come in daily, and old trailers are hauled out. Not too many blue roofs and every day the water cleared up a little more. By the time we left, it was almost to the gin clear stage we all love so much in our area.

I think the coolest thing was having a family dinner down there. A little crowded with eight people in a cabin made for three or four, but very cool. We took everyone out the next day on a rented pontoon boat, and did some trolling, and sightseeing. My mom caught a Spanish mackeral and she

ON THE LINE

January 2006

By Capt Ron Bl ago Water LIFE Senior Staff Say goodbye to that holiday grouper trip. Under the current Federal and State regulations it’s probably not worth the expense or effort to get that legal red grouper.

Starting Jan 1 the bag limit in both federal and state waters will be one red grouper per person. Hardly worth the effort. Now there are other species to catch offshore like amberjack and snapper; but grouper was the money fish. That's the fish people wanted to fill the cooler with. What really galls me is that commercial long liners are still out there catching all the grouper they want. Once again the recreational fisherman makes the sacrifices while the other guys make the profits. Winter inshore fishing is pretty good. Trout season opened again on Jan 1. With the cold weather the big trout will be in the pot holes on the grass flats, especially at low tide.

Remember to fish your baits real slow. This time of year it’s hard to feel the fish bite so I go with my lightest tackle. 6 to 8 lb test with

with Capt. RonBlago

was

small #1 size hooks.

For artificial baits, it’s hard to beat a Slimy Slug or a DOA shrimp fished super slow. You can also fish these under a popping cork over grass. There are plenty of sheepshead and black drum under docks and near pilings. Both are excellent tasting fish. Small shrimp work best for bait. There are still pompano and bluefish around. It seems the only people I'm finding on the water these days are the commercial crabbers and mullet fishermen. This is the time of year when the mullet school up and move, particularly when the cold fronts move through the area.

In the past the waters would be full of commercial gill-neters loading up on roe mullet. Those days are over. Today's mullet fishermen will most likely have to throw a 12 foot cast net a 100 times to make a decent days pay. So if they're throwing a net, leave him alone. If he's using a gill net call the cops.

Water LIFE

Capt Ron Blago’s Annual

MAGAZINE

Page 23

Scuttle Butt

Once again yours truly, Capt.

Ron, will be the lead instructor Sometimes Unsubstanciated ... along with a facul but often true! ty of local fishing experts. We try to The FWC Ov ers i g ht The FWC voted on the plan to cover everything a give the folks on Little Gasparilla Island an additional 25 new fisherman mph speed zone as long as they established a new manatee It?s hard to needs to know in slow zone. The plan was approved by representatives of the believe, but the order to have a island property owners, a local environmental club, "College of Fishing fun day on the Knowledge" is Charlotte County staff members, county commissioners and water. about to begin its FWC staff. Fortunatly the only votes that counted were the You can regis fifth year. Starting ones of the FWC Commissioners. They pointed out at the ter in person at Jan. 3rd, the -fish hearing that no one had any proof that there were any manaing college will the Englewood tees in the new proposed manatee zone. A small detail that Sports Complex, meet for two or over the phone all these folks had overlooked. The commissioners voted to hours (1pm by calling 9413pm) each give the property owners their 25mph zone and nixed any Tuesday for 6 861-1980. The new manatee zone. weeks. The basic cost is $30 for all Wal Mart Wo es Allegedly citing a shortfall due to hurriintroduction to six classes. Seats local saltwater are limited and the cane Charley last year Wal Mart advised their Charlotte fishing will covercollege has always County employees there would be no Christmas Bonus this everything you year. Baah Humbug and a ringing in your year have to know The Lo cal Dai l y Paper has reportedly refused to disfrom hooking to cooking. The col continue it’s practice of sharing subscriber and circulation lege is run by lists with police who are looking for scofflaws, outstanding Sarasota County warrants, deadbeat dads and other ‘criminals’ in the area.

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Water LIFE

Page 24

Deep Water Docking on Manasota Key

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FlatsmasterĘźs chairman of the board (and weighmaster) Jerry Cleffi records the numbers of spots on a redfish in the Dec 3 COUNT THE SPOTS tournament.

The winner with 9 spots was the team of Clay and Todd Rebol and J.C. Savasik

Judy Kaff

Flatsmasters Tournament Hits 100 Team Goal

St aff Rep o rt The Flatsmasters Tournament 2006 Series has reached 100 entries and open registration is now closed. But if you want to fish the ‘06 Flatsmasters Series, there is still a way. Teams may fish the Flatsmasters Qualifier FMQ tournament to be held on February 11, 2006 out of Harpoon Harrys in Punta Gorda.

January 2006

MAGAZINE

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The FMQ Tournament allows teams to compete for five special qualifier spots in The Flatsmasters Series and the top five teams in the FMQ that are not already registered for the Flatsmasters will be invited to fish the 2006 Series. This will be the only way for new teams to enter the 2006 Flatsmasters Series.

Teams will fish for 2 redfish using only artificial lures. The entry fee for the FMQ Tournament will be $300 for a 3 angler team. First place will be $3,500.00 and the payout is through 8 places. The FMQ is open to the public.

Many teams already entered in the

Flatsmasters Series are choosing to fish the FMQ tournament as a tune-up for their team heading into the first Flatsmasters tournament of the year in March, which is a lures only event.

The Flatsmasters Tournament Series is the largest, multi-species backcountry tournament series in Florida with over 1,250 anglers scheduled to fish. Each tournament is filmed by a professional production company and made into its own one hour TV show airing on The SunSports TV Network. New sponsors this year include Water LIFE Magazine, Odyssey Batteries and Thomas Ryan &

January 2006

This New House Part 8

Water LIFE

Page 25

MAGAZINE

F O R T I F I C AT I O N S : Steel, Concrete and the Big Tie Beam

Todd Pilcher ran his pump and walked the beam to pour concrete

By Mi chael Hel l er Water LIFE editor “We failed the inspection.”

The words echoed in my head like a garbage truck backfiring on top of a morning hangover.

I had called in the inspection for our tie beam the day before, but on this morning we were short a few supplies so I ran up to Murdock to get them. My friend Andy Medina stayed at the jobsite and waited in case the inspector came early. Naturally, as soon as I left the inspector arrived.

And when I got back Andy said “We’re going to have to get a letter from the engineer detailing every single little change we made.” Thoughts of every tiny area where we deviated the slightest bit from the plans raced through my brain. There were a number of changes, but we only changed things for the better, how could there be a problem?

How could I get all that documented? It would take weeks. I was crushed.

Then Andy cracked a big smile. “Only kidding,” Andy said.

“We didn’t fail, we passed with flying colors!” “Almost not funny, Andy,” I said. Then I smiled too.

If you’ve been following this construction story every month you’ll remember that last month we were just starting the tie beam and had hoped to be setting the roof trusses by now, but the beam took longer than we expected, the extra time eaten up by a family medical emergency, changing construction details and weather.

Several cold fronts moved through the area bringing rain and delays with them. And then there was one ‘clarification.’

We had struggled for three days trying to figure out how to form the tie beam in one continuous pour of concrete when it stepped

up in height 16 feet above the ground to accommodate the second-story floor joists. On the plans the beam was at one elevation over the front part of the house and at another elevation at the back. The already complicated scaffolding and supports required would need to be even more complicated and time consuming. We stood on the ground and cursed FEMA for making us elevate the new house so high. We were already working on two levels of scaffolding, sometimes with a ladder on top of that. We were stumped.

Finally I called the engineer and set up a meeting. We spread the plans out on his table and the senior designer at the firm looked them over. “You can’t do this,” he said matter of factly. “This won’t work.” “I don’t see how it will work either,” I said. With that, a change was made and life got a lot easier. The beam would be built all at one height and then we’d go back and use blockwork to construct the elevated area for the floor joists. It was much simpler all around, and stronger too.

But the work still wasn’t easy.

We were still climbing up and down double layers of scaffolding, and moving the few scaffolds we had around the site a lot. By the end of the day my legs felt like rubber. Lifting boards up, moving scaffolds over...and then there was all the steel and clamps.

We bought steel and more steel. We tied steel, built cages and laid them out around the house. My good buddy Fishin Frank came over and tied a lot of it together. A long time ago Frank worked tying steel on commercial jobs for a living. When you drive over the 41 bridge, know that Frank helped tie it together.

Steel cages are what give sup-

Frank and Andy setting one of the smaller ʻcagesʼ

Andy forming the beam he is standing on in the photo above right

We used the weight of a truck to bend some steel into shape

Cages of steel look are all custom

Clamps holding the beam together

port to concrete where it spans a distance between supports. We’ve got lots of spans and lots of cages in the new house. The worst part is that the cages are heavy and once formed we had to lift them up and set them in between the tie-beam form boards. A number of the cages are 16 feet in the air. This all took time. Much more time than we

expected. One week quickly turned into two. Big work for the three of us.

Then came the clamps. All the plywood and steel in the world is useless unless you clamp it into place. Clamps holds the weight of the 5000-pound concrete trying to push the plywood out.

Andy found a place in Fort Myers that rented clamps and we took two trucks down there to haul 225 clamps back to Port Charlotte. Then we went back and got 60 more.

When the inspector came he told Andy he had never seen as much steel in a residential project. I liked hearing that.

My theory is: bigger is better and more is good. There were places where five rods of steel would have sufficed, over the windows in the Florida room for example, but we built cages there instead. Over the door in the dining room, over the door that goes out to the pool; anywhere we had an opening on the exposed south or east facing sides of the house we ‘caged it.’ By the end of the tie beam process we were calling the house a fortress. When finished no compass will work in here! “The next time a hurricane comes, I’m staying at your house,” Andy said, and he knows he’ll be welcome.

When we finally finished forming up the ‘beam’ and got our approval on December 18th another old nemesis, unavailable concrete, came back to visit.

Apparently a lot of local contractors were pushing to get their jobs done before the end of the year when concrete prices were scheduled to go up 15 percent.

The soonest we could get concrete was Dec. 23, so we were on hold for a week. I took the time to clean up the jobsite and make room for the roof truss delivery.

I got the windows on order with PGT and we formed and poured the bases of the four big columns using sixty 80-poundbags of high strength concrete that we mixed up one by one in a wheelbarrow. We did that so when we pumped the concrete into the columns it wouldn’t blow out at the bottom from the weight. My theory is; you just can’t be too careful or build stuff too strong.

Then Friday the 23rd came and we were ready to pour. We poured the beam and pumped all the walls solid. Six hours and 33 yards of concrete later we were done and I can’t thank my friend Todd Pilcher enough for dragging the heavy hose full of concrete along the top of all 436 feet of tie beam to fill it.

On Saturday morning Andy showed up to strip the forms.

Every cell was full of concrete and everything looking great. We ordered our trusses from Miami because of the 146 mph wind loading Dade County requires (Charlotte only requires 130 mph) and two days after Christmas the trusses arrived.

Water LIFE

OUTFITTING A NEW BOAT Page 10

By Capt. Chuck Ei chner Water LIFE Inshore Editor For a fisherman there are few other things in this world more important than their boat. Their family, wife and job should come first, but not always. Our boats are often a reflection of who we are. Some fisherman are content with a small outboard on the back of a skiff or perhaps a heavy offshore rig built with custom features. Some fisherman keep their boats meticulously clean while others have weather beaten boats that have quite a bit of ‘character.’

I for one have had many boats in my lifetime. Most of my boats have been fishing machines under 20-feet in length, but I still have my first boat as well, - a 14-foot aluminum row boat. I am happy fishing regardless of the vessel.

Choosing the right boat is especially difficult in southwest Florida. We have countless miles of shallow flats and open bay waters as well as the vast Gulf of Mexico. For freshwater fisherman this area has lakes and rivers suitable for anything from a canoe to a 22-foot bass boat.

With so many fishing options we are usually forced to select a boat with a specific design and purpose such as a flats boat for shallow waters or the very popular bay boats that offer both shallow and coastal capabilities. But neither is particularly good for offshore fishing and some bay boats don’t run shallow enough to seriously fish the flats.

After years of running my flats boat, I got a good taste of offshore fishing in a Grady White. Every trip out since then has been a new adventure for me with new species and big, sometimes very big, fish.

So with this new thirst for deep water fish and the ever raging shallow water challenge at my back door I explored the possibility of buying a new boat.

Talking with some local Boca Grande charter captains lead to the discovery of the ‘boca style’ boat. You know the type, a 24-to 26-foot fishing machine with a tower. After much research I arranged a ride on an Avenger 24, built by Marauder Marine based in New Port Ritchie. Rumor had it that the ride was unbelievable and this boat ‘could do it all.’ After two demo

XS PDF

rides there was no doubt in my mind this was the ultimate boat for me. The boat ran through a three foot chop like a hot knife in butter, would skim 12 inches of water with no problem and ran an honest 50-plus miles per hour. It was a dry ride even in the roughest water and could jump up in 18 inches of shallow - It was unbelievable!

So what came next would be obvious.

How do I convince the wife I need this boat? I explained how fuel efficient the motor would be, how many tarpon we would see from the tower and amongst other things, the fact it would have sun protection from a large T-top. The last item sold her and so the adventure began.

The Avenger is a custom no frills fishing boat. The manufacturer builds them by hand one at a time in a small shop where he puts out one boat a month on an orderonly basis. All of his business is by word of mouth - mostly from professional guides and serious fisherman. You only get

the hull and a blank console when you order this boat. No electronics, switches, motor packages, no trailer, seats or stuff you normally get on a boat. This was an exciting but scary proposition for me. I had to pick out the cleats and rod holders and select where to drill the holes to place them. Did I say drill holes? This has always been one of the hardest things for me to do to a new boat, because it is so final and holes in the wrong place don’t always cover up well. Even the livewell

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on this boat had to be positioned later.

After I had a trailer built the next stop was at the metal fabrication shop to have the tower built. Action Welding in Cape Coral came highly recommended and I will tell you my tower is a thing of beauty. The design was custom made

with an 11-foot height to fit the boat.

There were many options to choose from, including multiple rocket launcher locations, backrests, fore & aft lighting, GPS & antenna mounts, electronics boxes, an upper helm station, and more. Action Welding helped me through the process and the finished product is very functional and most importantly easy to climb with room for 2 people upstairs. We even added platforms on the upper station for a top.

Next, it was off to the rigging shop. I pulled into San Carlos Marine and the mechanics came out to greet me. Their jaws dropped at the clean, efficient design and beauty of my new boat. Their reaction was a confirmation to me that I had made the right choice. San Carlos maintains my Maverick flats boat, but they are also experts in dual station craft. On this visit, owner Scott Rush spent nearly 4 hours with me laying out the boat. It started with a black wax pen as we drew on the console to identify the positioning of switches, depthfinders, throttle quadrant, fuse panels, etc. We also had to determine where to position the livewell, how to run the plumbing and electric for bilges, livewell pumps, washdown, batteries and where to cut holes in the transom for the intakes. On the transom we had to identi-

L e t U s S el l Yo ur Bo at

January 2006

fy travel routes for steering and control cables, oil pumps, the scissor jack, trim tabs, a Power Pole and a way to route a host of electrical stuff that you wouldn’t even think of. The under gunnel rod holders, console plier brackets, custom bimini top and covers and trolling motor also had to be ordered. Going from an 18-foot flats boat to a 24-foot bay boat is quite a change. Over the past 6 months I have put the new boat through its paces. No problem going offshore in a snotty sea. This machine with its 12 to 46 degree deadrise and ventilated transfer-step hull is extremely dry and smooth riding. As a fishing platform, it is rock solid and doesn’t pitch or yaw excessively. And when it does get too rough for comfort offshore, the true beauty of this craft comes into play.

Running easily in the shallows it can do most anything the Maverick can, however it doesn’t turn tight corners, so fanning through a maze of mangroves requires skill and knowledge of where you are heading.

As to be expected, the extra free board and tower catch more wind than a flats boat, but there have to be few trade-offs.

And one thing I don’t want to have to do is push this big boat off a sandbar ... which we all know can happen from time to time in Charlotte Harbor. Flats boats are much easier to push.

For those considering buying a new boat, you may want to think about a custom built one. Just figure on many sleepless nights as you ponder every detail in the process, but know that the final product will be one of your own design making the pleasure of locating and hooking up those drag burning fish that much sweeter.

Capt. Chuck Eichner is a local charter captain. For information or to book a guided fishing trip call 941-505-0003 or go to his web-

27' May-Craft 2700 Center Console - 2004 Custom Carolina built fishing boat. Upper station fully loaded. Ready for some serious offshore fishing battles. $77,900

Daryl Hall • Tom Stivison 320 Cross St (at WaterProof Charts) Punta Gorda Christine Roberts • Dick Davis

www.redfishyach t. co m

(941) 639-9400

January 2006

Water LIFE

Page 27

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Water LIFE

Page 28

January 2006

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Bonita Springs/Naples Englewood

Cold Water Fishinʼ

January 2006

By Don Cessna Water LIFE Englewood Wow, it has been cold out lately and may be for a while more. The folks who fish Boston Harbor or Long Island Sound know what to do when they have cold weather. They go flounder fishing. One great thing about fishing cool water is that the fish you catch are much better for the table. Cold water causes the fish to be less oily and less ‘fishy’ tasting.

Like in Boston, flounder is a good bet for fishing now, but we also have trout, redfish and sheepshead inshore and gag grouper should be around the passes and moving to the nearshore reefs and wrecks. Still.

I like flounder best around the turn of the new year.

Some of our friends from the north know flounder as flukes.

Flounder are one of the more weird fish you find in the water.

When young flounder hatch the eyes are placed like most other fish, one eye on each side of the head. As they grow, one eye supposedly it can be either eye, migrates over the top of their head and joins the other eye on one side of the fish. Then the flounder can lay on the bottom with both eyes open to watch for

food. I’ve seen little flounders not much bigger than a quarter, but they are already just like the adults with both eyes on the same side.

Flounder will eat pieces of fish and shrimp both. From the beach a surf rod is nice to make long casts and throw maybe a 2 ounce egg sinker. Otherwise, any spinning rod is fine for flounder fishing. A 1/0 or 2/0 size hook is a good choice. A Kahle hook is really nice for flounder fishing. It has a longer shank so I use my normal 30-pound monofilament leader in conjunction. Most of the time, if you are paying attention, there is no real need for steel leader since you can set the hook before a flounder swallows it. I prefer this approach so the fish can be released unharmed if it’s undersized.

Flounder fishing is bottom fishing. You can cast and wait or be more proactive and slowly retrieve the bait and cover more ground. Hop it along to avoid getting hooked on the bottom stuff. Surprisingly, flounder are pretty aggressive and will chase and mall your bait.

Most flounder are 12-to 15 inches, but there are a bunch of 18-to 20 inchers and some even

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MAGAZINE

bigger. We do catch quite a few over twenty inches in this area.

There are four fillets on a flounder, and the meat is nice and white.

Good places to find flounder are the Placida Trestle and any of the local fishing piers. For flounder or the cold water sheepshead try a size 1 or 1/0 hook with a piece of peeled shrimp tail. They prefer shrimp peeled. Try a really small tubetail in white or brown with the piece of shrimp for bulk. Put the tube on first then the shrimp, streaming from the tip of the hook This is a little different from what everyone else has been teasing them with but it works for me.

Of course sheepshead will eat live shrimp as well and this is a good way to use up the smaller shrimp we get during the winter months. We should have some really big sheepshead around now. This time of year there are some 15-to 18 inch fish here.

They hang around the pilings and seawallsor on the rocks at the beach front north and south of the mouth of the Venice jetties The edges of Boca Grande pass and the phosphate dock also hold a bunch of sheepshead. If you’re in a boat, try the pass for some gag grouper while you’re out there. You can drift or even troll for them around the pass or

Flounder Gigginʼ at Night

Page 29

On Amelia Island flounder gigging is popular. There are commercial trips to gig flounder at night.

Giggers use a specially lighted shallow water boat and a pointed spears to ʻstickʼ flounder in shallow water. Phone (904) 277-3050 for more ʻflounder gigginʼ information

Page 30

Water LIFE

MAGAZINE

January 2006

Januaryʼs Fishing Forecast

Charlotte Harbor

Ro bert at Fi s hi n' Franks Po rt Charl o tte: 6 2 5 -3 8 8 8

Patience is fishing. If you don’t have the patience you gotta’ find a new hobby. This is the month of the little ‘rat reds.’ Redfi sh are easy to find, but finding legal size fish is a little tricky. All the canals and the little creeks on the east and west side are loaded up with small redfish.

Now is the time to use the circle hook. Shrimp are by far the best bait to use, live or frozen rat reds are not too picky. Looking for the larger redfish would be best in Pine Island sound, in Lemon Bay around the docks and of

course Whidden and Catfish Creeks, places where the bigger fish hand right now. The docks just north of Boca Grande are a good spot as well. A lot of the by-catch will be the bl ack drum which are starting to school up along those docks and you might get a surprise with one of the legal sized gag grouper that should be around right now as well.

Now that trout season is open, they will be a little more tricky to find. Find trout with a small top water lure in the early morning, a lure like the Mirrolure Top Dog or one of the small Johnny Rattlers would be a good bet.

Shrimp under a poppin’ cork is of course the old

There are nice tripletail on the stone crab traps offshore right now.

January 2006

Fishing Report Continued from facing page

BIG-4 BIG-4

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MAGAZINE

Januaryʼs Januaryʼs Target Target Species Species

faithful method. For shore fishermen, El Jobean is a wonderful place to find trout as is the US 41 bridge and the Placida trestle.

RAT REDS are in the creeks SHEEPSHEAD are on strucTROUT are big and on the TRIPLETAIL are offshore and on the harbor sides ture all over the harbor S heepshead have already flats and edges on the stone crab traps moved into the harbor from Placida and are starting to move And last on the saltwater side, there are a whole There have been some cobi a around too and out up to El Jobean. They are bait stealers, so using lot of big jacks still around – 15 to 20 pounders. with the cobia on the crab pots I have heard small live shrimp or fiddler crabs and fishing as I’d imagine they will stick around into later this about tri pl e tai l . Running the crab pots has close to the pilings as possible, or fishing near any month. been good for triple tail. A lot of l ady fi sh, kind of structure, is the plan. Try to stick with a On the freshwater side, Crappi e fishing is bl uefi sh and whi ti ng are being caught all over No. 2 or No. 4 hook. Sand fleas, shrimp, crabs, or unbelievable right now. Fish are in all the canals as well ... if you like them. crushed barnacles are good sheepshead bait. On and anywhere around spillway dams or culvert On the days you can get out offshore, the some occasions sheepshead will take night crawlers pipes will be productive crappie fishing. Minnows neighborhood boats have been landing grouper broken into small pieces, that’s a trick an old-timer are by far the best bait on a No 8 or 10 thin-wire, on live pinfish and frozen sardines. showed me a few years ago and it works! long- shank hook on a sliding sinker rig. That’s the In the freshwater, crappi e are in Rotunda and Other fish that start to show up in decent numplan for crappie fishing. in the local ponds. Guys should look at the bers now are S pani sh mackerel and bl uefi sh. freshwater opportunities in this area when the Placida and the Venice pier are good areas for them Lemon Bay weather is too ugly or cold to go out in the salt. or, if you’re in a boat, trolling a small spoon on Ji m at Fi shermen’s Edge Freshwater fishing is something people should Novak or Mary’s reef will be productive for them.

Engl ewood: 697-7595 thing about more around here.

Offshore, close in (within 9 miles) the grouper We’ve had a lot of redfi sh being caught lately – are starting to get good, as are snapper. There are on the low tide mornings we’ve had tailers on the Stump Pass & the Gulf also a lot of grunts around too. This is a fun time flats in the Gasparilla sound, nice keeper sized fish Aaron at S tump Pass Mari na to troll with a Manns Stretch-30 for grouper. and even some over the slot. Quality redfish are 697-2206 Tri pl etai l and cobi a both are also good in the running around here. Not just a few but a number Tri pl e tai l continue to be consistent out off colder weather along the beaches and along the of guides are reporting plenty of fish. Trout fishing the buoys and there are some cobi a you will stone crab pots. You can also try blind-casting the has been pretty good. I hope it continues once the run into at the same time. We had two ki ngfi sh channel markers inside the harbor for tripletail or season opens. Reports are of 20 and 22 inch trout last week in 60 feet of water and the gags at cobia. Shrimp is by far the best bet for them and and fish above the slot – one guy caught a 29 inch- that depth are consistent too. The hard part there on your way between the crab trap buoys troll a er on a Tsunami Trout Mauler lure. is finding the boat. Grunts, small yel l owtai l small Bomber or a small Yozuri and you could pick I think it’s warmer than it should be and there snapper and a lot of really nice Mangs' in 75 to up a cruising cobia along the way. has been a lot of snook action at El Jobean and 110 feet of water. Mangs' up to 9 pounds have S nook are catch and release still, but what the around the Placida trestle. Snook are around the been numerous. Inshore, trout are really on heck, they are still fun to catch. Try El Jobean at Bayou at Boca Grande and in the canals on the fire. In deeper grass flats and potholes 50 to 100 night and troll up into the Myakka REiver staying island there have been a lot of snook caught. The fish are not uncommon. Not many snook right along the edge of the channel. Incoming or other thing has been small bl ack drum and pomaround here though, but we’re doing good outgoing tide, it doesn’t seem to matter. The Yozuri pano. The smaller drum are really tasty.The pomwith redfi sh. The Rapala Twitchin’ Rap, Crystal Minnow is the lure for trolling, both there pano are in schools, large schools out in lemon a suspending hard bodied jerk bait we just and into the canals in PGI, for snook. Trolling for bay. And we have reports of fl ounder. I’ve had got in, has been great. The fish are just all snook is under rated, but it has been producing quite a few guys report catching nice flounder. over this lure and I think we’re the only some very nice quality fish.

CALENDAR Powered by

Englewood Flotilla 87 of the U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary invites you to join the more than 30,000 nationwide members of the Auxiliary from all walks of life who assist the US Coast Guard in non-law enforcement programs such as public education, vessel safety checks, safety patrols, search and rescue, maritime security, and environmental protection.

Auxiliarists volunteer more than 2 million hours annually to benefit other boaters and their families.

n January 8th Sunday Sunset Sounds Concert series (monthly through April) beginning at 3:30 p.m. at Port Charlotte Beach Park on the rear deck of the Recreation Center. Free event, all ages are invited to attend.

Jazz, Latin, etc. Drinks and light snacks available. By Charlotte County Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department 627-1628.

n January 10: Small Craft Rules of the Road presented by Maritime Officer Heather Fortner. Focus on kayak lighting requirements, at Grande Tours, Placida, 941 697-8825 n January 26-29: Charlotte County

OF

EVENTS

Boat Show fairgrounds on SR 776 across from the old Ranger Stadium 954-570-7785

n Febuary 11: Flatsmasters Qualifier FMQ Tournament, Harpoon Harrys in Punta Gorda. 637-5953

n February 23: CCA Auction and Dinner Tent Auditorium at Punta Gorda, 5 p.m.

n May 6 Water LIFE Kids Cup Tournament at Punta Gorda, in conjunction with the ESPN Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup and a benefit for the Don Ball School of Fishing. Applications online at www.kidscuptournament.com starting January 15, 766-8180

Send us your event calendar information via e-mail: Waterlife@comcast.net

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Fishing

Very Good RIGHT NOW: