Wate LIFE Jan 2016

Water L I F E

Charlotte Harbor, Lemon Bay, Venice, Estero, 10,000 Islands and the Gulf

The Don Ball School of Fishing

Fishing Report Pages 22-23

January 2016

AJs open again page 6

Barracuda in the Venice Inlet!

Sex Lives of Fish Page 14

Gaining popularity...

Bowfishing

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Vol XV No 1 © 2016

NO PART of this publication (printed or electronic) may be copied, reproduced or re-used without specific written permission from the publishers.

Contributing Editors:

Hi Water LIFE My wife and I run Aim Lower Bow Fishing Charters. This past week we had some clients come down from Tennessee to do some bow fishing with us. We landed a bunch of really nice fish and got some great photos.

We read your magazine regularly and have yet to see any pictures of other bow fishermen. Maybe it's still new to most people. Bow fishing is gaining popularity in other states, most of our charters so far have been out-of-state bowfishermen along with a few locals

that are new in the sport.

Anyway, I thought I'd submit a few pictures. We do advocate the eating of all the fish we shoot. We sent the Taylor's home with almost 30 lbs of fileted fish and I've added another pic of a giant black drum we got last night. I look forward to the January issue.

Thank you.

Captain Mark Harrison 941-585-7034

About Sending us Pictures

We like Fresh Fish so please donʼt send us old photos.

We like the First Catch so donʼt send us pictures you are sending to another publication, like for instance, the Charlotte Sun ;-( Bigger is Better, higher resolution is best. Please donʼt adjust, crop or sharpen your pictures. Let us to do that, it will look better!

Send Where? email to: waterlife@comcast.net or txt them, include your name, to 941-457-1316 (txt only, voice calls are not answered) Best Picture Wins There is no guarantee your fish will appear in print, but if itʼs a better picture of a bigger fish or something cool or unusual, it has a good chance of getting into the magazine. ... and Thank You!

Photography: ASA1000.com Senior Editor: Capt. Ron Blago Charlotte Harbor: Capt. Billy Barton Baitshop: Fishinʼ Frank Peace River: Capt. David Stephens Diving: Adam Wilson Punta Gorda: Capt. Chuck Eichner Venice: Glen Ballinger Estero: Capt. Joe Angius Everglades City: Capt. Charlie Phillips Kayaking: Bob Fraser Sea Grant: Capt. Betty Staugler Beach Fishing: Mallory Herzog Pier Fishing: Bobby Vitalis

On the Cover: Heather Cusack caught this AJ last month with Mallory and Capt. Andrew Herzog. She couldnʼt keep that one, but as of Jan 4 AJs are open again. See page 15

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Not Gonna Happen JANUARY 2016

By Michael Heller Water LIFE Editor I picked up some stone crabs from the fish market at Placida and walked around back to see, first hand, what the new replica submarine looked like, but in front of me the old shrimp boat Seminole Trader had sunk in her slip.

In Fort Myers, in 1978, Thomas McKeown, helped his father build that boat. In October of 2014 Thomas wrote me asking that I keep him abreast of progress, after I reported the boat was out of service and being stripped in preparation for it becoming an artificial reef. Thomas, if you are reading this, the progress has now been halted.

I shook my head and called my wife over to take a look. A man in the parking lot came over. “A guy from Charlotte County was here to get it,” he told me, “The shrimp boat guys wanted the County to pay them for the motors, but the County wouldn’t,” the man told me.

“Lee county wouldn’t pay them either,” he said.

I’ve known Capt. Steve Skevington, for 16 years. He is one of the last owners of the boat. My friend Capt.

Ralph Allen gave Steve his first Captain’s job. Steve had been keeping me abreast of their progress dismantling it.

According to Steve, he and John Drown (most people call him JD) bought the Trader to go shrimping, then they later decided to scrap it. Both Steve and JD, insist they never asked for money from the County.

Before a vessel can be sunk on a reef it must pass a Coast Guard inspection. The rigging and the cables and the engines – the hard stuff, the heavy stuff, the stuff not easy to remove – that was what they had left to remove.

So the Trader rusted away in her salty slip.

The Seminole Trader rests bow down, insensitively, in a very environmentally sensitive area – off Gasparilla Sound, between the Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserve State Park and the Gasparilla Island Aquatic Preserve. “It

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The Seminole Trader, sunk at Placida. Who cleans this up?

will make a nice grouper habitat,” one captain on the dock said to me, sarcastically.

“JD and I bought it from John and Oddly, who run the Placida Fish Market,” Steve wrote me. “After trying to make it seaworthy we realized that wasn't going to happen. That's when JD and I decided to donate the boat for a reef. JD has a long paper trail of trying to get the County to accept the donation.” Steve wrote me. “If memory serves, it was one excuse after another as to why the County couldn't take it and make a reef.”

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Roger DeBruler, the Marine Resource agent with Charlotte County worked with them. He wrote me: “A deal was made with John Drown aka “JD” for Steve and John to clean up the vessel and get the boat to pass a Coast Guard reefing inspection. The county agreed to take the vessel as a donation only after it was deployed. A local salvage company was going to donate the towing and deployment of the boat on the Capt. Jeff Steel Memorial Reef. The county’s Solid Waste Department donated a 40 yard dumpster for the cleanup. But after about two years, JD backed out of the deal.”

“Last spring JD sold the vessel to a Mr. Eiseman of Lehigh Acres, who, during the summer, was taking the vessel apart for scrap metal, but he stopped and since he was not watching it, the vessel sank.” Roger said.

According to Roger, reefing this boat is no longer an option. The marina and the bank that owns the marina’s mortgage would like the county to remove the boat, but since the vessel is within the marina, it does not qualify as a derelict vessel... and it doesn’t qualify as an abandoned vessel because it has a known owner.

So the Coast Guard, FWC-law Enforcement and the Department of Environmental Protection are pursuing some guy named Eiseman (who is probably un-collectable) and they are also pursuing the marina at Placida where the boat sank. The USCG has drafted a written report and has contacted Mr. Eiseman. The FDEP has filed a report and has contacted the marina since the marina has a sovereign submerged-land-lease with the State.

To me, it looks like until someone with a big crane shows up, the Seminole Trader will continue to rust away; and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit, if in the end, Mr Eiseman says he sold the boat to someone else and that someone else just can’t be found. That’s the way it works, it’s like a side-step on the path of responsibility.

A bill of sale isn’t enough. The solution is for the state to require the last owner who registers a boat to be responsible for it until it is re-registered by a new owner.

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JANUARY 2016

Mallory with a December cobia. Below, Cameron with a nice December AJ

By Mallory Herzog Water LIFE Fishing

I have been spending a lot of time on the Gulf lately. Our coastal waters have cooled to wintertime temperatures and there are some great fish out there this winter; fish that will test your endurance and fish that are great to bring home for dinner. Larger snapper have been biting, although challenging, since some days they will only eat very light tackle, taking you into the structure and breaking your line. These fish really test your knot tying skills and patience.

On calm days tripletail are fun to sight cast on the crab buoys.

There are lots of justundersized fish this year, with plenty around the 13-inch mark. Live bait such as green backs work, but tripletail can’t resist an artificial shrimp drifting past. I find the Tsunami Gold shrimp are great and just the right weight since these fish hide just under the surface on the crab line – if your artificial is too heavy, the fish will not notice it.

Keeper size is 15 inches.

When you get tired of light tackle you can always pull out the big guns. Amberjack opened back up January1. FWC has issued a new size regulation. To harvest an amberjack in Gulf or Federal waters, the fish must now be 34 inches to the fork.

Previously it was 30 inches. These fish are a powerhouse, taking many anglers to the rail with explosive runs digging for bottom. They eat live bait and jigs. This year they have been prevalent on the near shore wrecks in the Gulf from Englewood to Fort Myers. Mild winter temperatures and acres of bait have kept them around.

Tackle for these fish is heavy; a Maxel 10 conventional reel, a medium/ heavy gigging stick, or a simple knocker-rig with a weight before a circle hook. I like 50pound Bullbuster braid tied to an 80pound leader with a 6/0 circle hook.

Amberjack we caught recently were all between 30-and 50-pounds. We even had a few break hooks, they were so tough!

If you want to bring home dinner, target one of my favorite eating fish in the sea, Cobia! These fish spend their winters in the Gulf of Mexico, they migrate as far north as Massachusetts in the summer.

They prefer water above 68 degrees.

These fish are a favorite of spear fishermen as they travel with larger species such as sharks, whales and stingrays.

In Florida you can take a cobia home for dinner at 33 inches to the fork. Bait for these guys is a free-lined threadfin or pinfish.

Use line like you would for amberjack, but have a rod rigged with a bucktail tied on, they are known to swim up to boats to seek shade. You can also target cobia inshore, Ive seen a number of them in Charlotte Harbor lately. They tend to hang around buoys and can be seen cruising the bar for a quick meal. Sight casting cobia is exciting, but you have to be careful not to spook the fish. Aim your cast so your bait will float by in a natural presentation.

Cooking cobia isn't challenging, they are a very mild white meat fish, tasty almost anyway you prepare them. They are great on the grill or in the oven with butter and salt and pepper.

You can contact Big Bully Outdoors Charters for a trip with Mallory’s husband, Capt.

Andrew Herzog. Call 941-661-9880 or visit BigBullyOutdoors.com

JANUARY 2016

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Estero Bay Gypsy Angler / Happy Bait PAGE

By Captain Joe Angius Water LIFE Estero Bay As a Ranger Boats Pro Staff guide I was scheduled to work the Naples Boat Show and I was told that Captain Ray Van Horn was going to meet up with the Rose Marina team to help showcase some of our new inventory. Knowing he was going to be there, I couldn’t wait to get to the show and talk his ear off about fishing.

But on the day of the show we had little to no time to talk about fishing since visitors would flock him before we could share even a few sentences. Finally, at the end of the day I gave him my business card and told him to call me if he ever wanted to go fishing. Next thing I knew, I received an invitation to be a guest on Capt Ray’s TV show The Gypsy Angler.

Fishing creates a unique dynamic between an angler and the fish he is after on any given day, but being in front of a camera and film crew changes that dynamic drastically. The day that you are scheduled to film is the day that you are fishing, regardless of time, tide, or weather, and in my case the filming was with one of the most renowned anglers of our time. If you tune in to the Sportsman Channel, starting the first week of January you can watch the Placida episode and see how it all turned out.

As far as the fishing goes, happy bait is

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being found in large quantities in a few different areas. The beach shorelines are holding medium-sized pilchards and with the right wind and tide, one could black out the livewell in one throw.

Look for birds foraging on the shore or diving for bait. If you can’t see the pilchards shining in the water, take a blind cast about ten feet from shore and see if they are there.

Threadfins and some pilchards are being netted just past the beach and in the passes. You will notice birds diving down on a moving pod of bait that blackens the water. Also, our local grass flats are holding decent sized bait but netting them relies on the wind and tide. The last of the outgoing and beginning of the incoming has done me well. Be sure to take your time chumming and look at your sur-

roundings for signs that there may be bait around (i.e. birds, stingrays, dolphin and trout).

The fishing in Estero Bay has been great with a variety of fish being caught. Nearshore, there have been a lot of reports on cobia, kingfish, and tripletail. The cobia and kingfish have been feeding primarily on pinfish, but won’t turn down a pilchard offering.

Triple tail are on the crab pot buoys and will eat shrimp, pilchards, and shrimp/crab patterned flies. If you decide to go nearshore, be cautious and aware of our wind and weather patterns that can change quickly.

The inshore bite has been superb with redfish, snook, trout, and sheepshead. I’ve been focusing my time on large grass flats with oyster bars along the flat.

On the incoming tides I will pitch cut pinfish or live pilchards on the edge of the oyster bar and wait for the redfish to swim by to pick it up. The mangrove islands have been productive as well, with sheepshead and redfish being the main targets. Live shrimp and crabs free lined on a size 1 or 1/0 Owner hook will work best around the mangrove islands.

Get out on the water this month and enjoy the warm weather here in Southwest

JANUARY 2016

Florida. Be respectful to other boaters and anglers, as well as the wildlife that resides around our waterways. Good Luck!

Captain Joe Angius (727) 234-3171 Speakeasyfishing.com FlatsHQ.com Speakeasyfishing@gmail.com

JANUARY 2016

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Some Fish Have Migrated

By Capt. David Stephens Water LIFE Charlotte Harbor This time of year is the busiest for me. Normally after the first of the year, I spend more time on my boat than at home. On a positive note, there are a lot of familiar faces. I have been a full time guide for over 15 years, and I have built up a regular cliental so to me it compares to seeing old friends.

Well folks, so far we can’t do much complaining about being cold this winter – every time I watch the news I hear about record highs. In one of my past columns I tried to predict the weather, boy was I wrong. I even got a text from a client asking me if I was in North Florida!

One of my biggest fears with it being so warm is getting a couple of major cold fronts back to back. I have been catching a lot of snook on the shallow flats. For those that don’t know, snook can’t tolerate cold water, so if we get some cold weather all of a sudden that could be very bad for the snook. I have also been catching very good numbers of snook in deeper water, so some fish have migrated to their deeper winter haunts. The snook numbers are not as good as I would like them to be. We don’t need any unexpected weather, but the way it looks guys, maybe we don’t have to worry.

Stay safe on the water.

If you would like to experience some of Charlotte Harbor’s best fishing give me a call or send me an email. All of our charters are private and customized to fit you and your parties needs.

Capt. Dave Stephens www.backbayxtremes.com 941-916-5769

$2 off any haircut!

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Technically, it’s Winter, but ...

during our winter months – especially a good size

By Capt. Billy Barton shrimp, like the ones we are still seeing in the Harbor.

Water LIFE Inshore Our water temperature is still up in the 70s. The metaboNow that the new year has arrived it's time to get lisms of our predatory subtropical back to fishness – I mean business! fish really have not slowed down So far our winter has been much much at this point. Shrimp will warmer than typical with spring like work even better when our water conditions almost consistently and begins to cool. plenty of beach days in the mix as If you can get out prior to fishwell. ing and throw the net to catch My favorite part about a warm yourself some live sardines and/or winter is that the consistent weather pinfish, I believe that is a sure patterns also provide us with consisway to make an exciting and actent fishing. tion packed trip happen. Some When our local weather is like a captains and other anglers may not roller coaster ride with too many feel the same way, but I know a lot ups and downs, the fishing can be that do. too. Fish get confused during those Do you eat the same sandwich changing periods and they don't folfor lunch every day? It's good to low their usual moving patterns so be ready for whatever you might they don't stay in any one area for too long. run across while out there fishing.

This year we sure have been Truth be told, for my winter charters I like to leave the dock in the blessed with the first stages of our morning with shrimp and baitfish winter, and we are having one of the in the livewell together. Some fish fishiest winters that I can remember, thanks to the above average temperwill only touch a live shrimp and The barracudas have been fierce won't eat a baitfish and vice versa. atures.

Some fish may just be picky on that Another factor that has been beneparticular day or tide. ficial to our fishing is that we still have baitfish all over If you don't know and would like to learn how to our grass flats and in the Hharbor in general. Healthy throw a cast net, you should stop down at Fishin’ Franks. populations of baitfish keep our big fish on the hunt.

Not only do they stock cast nets of all shapes and sizes, I do love fishing with live shrimp during the winter. but they have several good anglers, captains and helpful They are consistently a great well rounded bait to use

JANUARY 2016

help who will be happy to give you a cast net lesson right there in the parking lot!

So now it's official. Now that I wrote this little column about our warm winter start and baitfish everywhere, Mother Nature will probably throw us a few good cold-front curve balls to switch things up on us!

CANVAS & UPHOLSTERY

JANUARY 2016

To be successful we must adapt to our climate conditions, slow it down when it's cooler and understand what the fish are eating. If you get those factors figured out, it should make for some consistent winter action!

Best of luck out there folks. If you have any questions please give me a call and I'll do my best to lead you in the right direction.

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Captain Billy Barton Scales N Tails Charters 941-979-6140 http://www.puntagordafishingcharter.com

Offshore there were plenty of grouper last month, gags, left and red grouper, above

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AQUA

Boca Grande

UNDERWATER: Th

This is a little rock pile in shallow water near the Boca Grande causeway.

I like to look for stone crabs here and do a little snapper fishing too.

Novak Reef

JANUARY 2016

Great Vis for Diving – Mid D

The Ledge

This is Paul Wagenseil from Englewood.

He started going offshore with my regular crew when he was about 13. He used to hang out at Indian Mounds boat ramp and ask to tag along with us. One day we told him if his parents came down and gave us the OK he could go, and they did. He would drive the boat for us while we dived so we didn't have to drop anchor. After a few trips out he asked if he could do a dive with us and we explained to him he would need to take the proper classes and become a certified diver. He then whipped out his C-card and said "I'm already certified". To which we all replied, "Why didn't you tell us that already?!!" Paul just turned 23 in December. He bought and fixed up a 1968 Corbin flat back boat and we have been using it to dive for stone crabs and gag grouper till season closed. Here he is from mid December with a haul of stone crabs from an after work trip one evening.

Looks like someone decided to start an artificial traptions on the back of trucks before. They are u uid. It looks like they removed the plastic caniste hanging out on this thing! I spooked most of them a distance I could see big gags, mangrove sn proached. DonĘźt know ho

Located NW of Boca Grande Pass, the reef is made of long concrete beams stacked to provide more structure. The snook and AJs were taking advantage of it.

JANUARY 2016

ATICA

he View From Here

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PAGE 13

Phosphate Dock

December, with Adam Wilson

reef at this ledge. I have seen these cube conusually used to hold water, or some kind of liqer inside the framework. And boy were the fish m before I could get into photo range, but from nappers, and other fish that took of as I apow long it will hold up...

There are still lots of nice sized tarpon at the Phosphate Dock, along with big schools of jacks and plenty of Goliath Grouper. There is one spot along the Phosphate Dock where we can always find cool old bottles.

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Sex Lives of Fish PAGE

By Capt. Betty Staugler Water LIFE / Sea Grant Since scientist have no way of counting all of the fish in the Gulf, or in a given estuary they do stock assessments based on how many fish are removed and how many fish are recruited into the system. To that end, FWC-FWRI recently published the results of three separate studies conducted in the Tampa Bay area designed to capture important information about fish spawning behavior.

Redfish we fish for in the estuary are juveniles. Redfish move offshore when they are about three years old (+/-30 inches) where they join adult schools. Adult redfish spawn in large aggregations near passes in the late summer to early fall. The study FWC conducted involved tagging both subadult fish from Tampa Bay and adult fish from a spawning aggregation. The fish were tagged acoustically and monitored using deployed acoustic arrays at aggregations near the passes of Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor. The study found tagged fish moved back and forth through both acoustic arrays.

Spawning, as indicated by the length of time in an array, was also noted for both areas. An interesting result was that first year spawners (those tagged inside Tampa Bay) arrived to the spawning aggregation much later in the season than the offshore adults. Scientist know that larger female redfish spawn more frequently than smaller

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adults in what is known as hedge betting.

This may partially explain the late arrival of the smaller adults.

Spotted seatrout, unlike a redfish, is estuary dependent and seagrass dependent for its entire life. Spotted seatrout spawn near passes both in the seagrass and in deeper waters in aggregations. This FWC study focused on a known spawning aggregation in deep waters near the mouth of Tampa Bay. The study used both acoustic tags and acoustic recorders, the later monitored seatrout drumming, associated with spawning activity. As part of the study, researchers determined the sex of each tagged fish and whether it was ready to spawn or had recently spawned. Important findings from this study were that males spawned more frequently; average frequency of 2.2 days, than females; 9.3 days). Spawning increased near full moons and was at lowest levels from 6- to 7 am. They also determined most fish entered the aggregation from the estuary rather than from the Gulf.

Previous tagging studies have shown that seatrout that spawn over seagrass do so because it is in their home and foraging range.

In contrast, the spawning aggregation studied here is outside the normal seatrout range. It is thought seatrout go here to increase their reproductive success, but do so with a higher chance of predation.

Snook are part of less than one percent of all fish that move between fresh and saltwater (diadromous) and in our area are often found way up the Peace River. Along the Gulf coast, snook spawn around passes

JANUARY 2016

ʻThis is my once-in-a-lifetime catch!ʼ Marty Ranzer of Port Charlotte wrote. A 401/2in. 32lb. snook caught at El Jobean. ʻI sure would love to share this with your readers,ʼ Marty said.

Editor says: Bingo!

and along beaches from mid-April to midSeptember. It has been reported snook require salinities of at least 24 parts per thousand to spawn in order to activate sperm cells and for the eggs to remain buoyant in the water. The snook’s movement from the rivers to the coast to spawn is what is known as catadromous. This study evaluated the movement and spawning patterns of sexually mature snook over a three year period. Major findings included: Snook spawning increased during full and new moons. Snook exhibit high site fidelity returning to the same spawning

site year after year. Some snook skip a year spawning and remain in the rivers. These later results are consistent with findings from Charlotte Harbor and the Caloosahatchee. Some snook aggregated in what was likely spawning sites in high salinity waters near river mouths close to optimal habitat and food. It is not known whether this results in a shorter spawning season (only when salinity is high enough) or if snook can spawn in lower salinity water than previously thought.

Capt. Betty Staugler, Florida Sea Grant Agent UF/IFAS Extension Charlotte County (941) 764-4346

JANUARY 2016

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PAGE 15

Predictable Catching This Month

By Capt. Chuck Eichner Water LIFE Inshore January fishing in southwest Florida is quite predictable. If you pick a day to go fishing there is a good chance of strong winds so the best plan is to watch for lighter wind days and take advantage of it.

Offshore fishing is quite good in January and you don’t have to go too far to get a big fish pulling on your line! I find that this time of year, when the winds are light enough to feel safe, our local reefs hold a bunch of drag burners including bonita, amberjack, cobia, shark and an occasional kingfish! Of course, there are snappers, grunts and grouper, but these other fish are quite predictable and easy with the right approach.

The key is live bait and frozen bait.

The frozen bait part is easy so plan on bringing a few boxes of sardines, squid and perhaps some chum. Once you get outside of Boca Grande Pass cruise in 20to 35-feet of water and watch your bottom machine for a cloud of small marks near the bottom – that’s bait.

With a sabiki rig in hand, cut small pieces of squid and bait each hook and drop it down. You can expect in short order you will have a variety of small fish swimming in your livewell. Bluerunners and pinfish often make up the majority but grunts, squirrelfish and others will round it out.

With that, choose your reef depending on sea conditions. The amberjacks prefer deeper water structure so, in general, reefs in 50-feet of water or more for AJs and all reefs have the potential for the other species previously mentioned.

I generally start my day early because catching bait takes time. When arriving at the reef the first thing to do is drift and cast lures to catch the early morning aggressive feeders. Bonita will jam a bucktail burned near the surface and jigging spoons often get a quick reaction which is a great wake up call to the day! Some other species, such as cobia, seem to like the warmth of the late morning sun before munching.

My approach to all the reefs is the same. After fan-casting the area, set up anchor, put frozen chum in a weighted chum box and drop it to the bottom. Now chop up frozen sardines and sprinkle them into the water column. This brings many fish within reach of your boat, but then you need to offer different species different things from the menu and offshore species definitely show a preference for specific baits.

Amberjacks really love pinfish freelined with just enough weight to have them heading to the bottom. Shark, kingfish, jack crevalle and goliath grouper will munch a bluerunner in short order. I often fish the runner 7- to10-feet down, under a

float. Do expect to use wire of some sort to keep the toothy critters on the line.

Other bonus fish around the reefs include flounder, which prefer squid, and mangrove snapper, which are plentiful in January, but reeling them in fast because the goliath grouper will be the biggest challenge of the day! Placing a small hook into a piece of frozen sardine and drifting it in the chum line is a devious way to trick snappers.

Capt. Chuck Eichner operates Action Flats Backcountry Charters and can be reached at 941-628-8040

Kayak Fishing: Trout, Trout and more Trout... and a Redfish PAGE

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By Bob Fraser Water LIFE Kayaking I had two charters this past week. The first one was with out-of-town clients from Colorado. We fished Gasparilla Sound on Friday, my son also came along for the fun.

It was the most productive day I’ve had in four years as far as the number of fish caught. They weren’t the biggest trout, but they kept all four of us busy for 90 minutes.

In 90 minutes, we caught about 70 trout!

We had about four to five keepers; the rest were just a few inches short of legal size.

One of my clients caught trout on every cast for about an hour; it was like

fishing in a pond – they were fishing with live shrimp under a popping cork. My son and I were fishing with Z-man soft plastic baits. The color of the day was Houdini, which are brownish with speckles. The pearl color usually works pretty well too,

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but that day they wanted the darker color and we caught them on almost every cast.

A few weeks ago, I started fishing the soft plastic baits like a Mirrolure twitch

bait, retrieving the bait with a twitching motion as I was reeling. The faster we retrieved it the better the trout liked it.

It was a great morning on the water, with calm winds and comfortable temperatures and of course all the trout action.

We fished an incoming tide that day. Surprising enough, we didn’t catch any pinfish or catfish. Usually when using shrimp you catch at least a few cats and some pinfish, but not that day.

We paddled through water that was 2to 3-feet deep until we found an area where the water was 4-to 5-feet deep and that’s where the trout were hanging out.

That two-foot change made all the difference. The deeper depression we were over was about 100 feet by 100 feet.

J a n 1 5 : F re e S e m in a r w it h C a p t. J a Te c h n iq u e s y W h it h e rs to c a tc h in s h o re s p e c ie s

When two of us caught trout drifting over this spot, we quickly dropped anchor and stayed there for 90 minutes.

We left the area with the trout still biting, my clients wanted to try fishing some other areas for redfish. We finished the day fishing some docks. We moved a few times, but it was at the third dock that one of my clients caught a 20-inch redfish.

On the second charter, I took a client out to Pine Island for a six hour trip. We drifted using live shrimp under a popping cork and I also fished with a light green Mirrolure.

We started that day working the shore-

lines with a top water lure, but had no luck so after an hour of that, we paddled out to the flats.

Once again we looked for a slight drop-off on the flats. The drop-off was only a couple of feet deeper than the rest of the area, but that’s all it took to find the

JANUARY 2016

trout!

We ended up catching about 15 trout that day with half of them being 15-to 18inches. The bigger ones were caught on the Mirrolure.

If you go to Pine Island with a kayak, put in at the monument. It’s just down the

street from the Marina. Paddle straight out from the launch a couple hundred yards and look for the deeper water and drift until you catch a fish then drop anchor. If you don’t catch anything in 5-10 minutes, start drifting again.

The sheepshead are starting to bite now. I caught a 14-inch one last week in Little Sarasota Bay. Fish for them around dock pilings and oyster bars. This is the time of year when the big females come inshore to spawn.

Bob Fraser is a southwest Florida kayak fishing guide – He can be reached for comments or to book a trip at: 941-916-8303 or email him at bobmfraser@gmail.com His website is ww.kayakfishingwithbob.com

JANUARY 2016

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10,000 Islands / Everglades City

By Capt. Charlie Phillips Water LIFE / Everglades City We finished the year out strong down here, with warmer than normal weather, water and fishing. Looking back thru my notebooks, I saw that in 2014 we had experienced some big fronts push thru by early November, but that has not been the case this season. Don’t be surprised to jump a tarpon on the flats, or a permit on the wrecks. One of the biggest schools of 30 pound class permit I have ever seen came on a January day a few years ago while out tripletail fishing, so until the weather changes, stay ready for anything.

I have targeted the inshore and backcountry waters because it has been steady and consistent more days than not and because it’s been too darn windy to try and run offshore much.

Our snook, reds and trout have been moving a little more to the back as we enter winter time season, but they are still a bit scattered down here. We have been doing very well for snook, targeting fish at the entrance to our backcountry, in the big bays along the small keys in front of them.

Most of the time, these small islands have lots of flow on the incoming and outgoing tides as all the water funnels down to get thru the cut. These areas provide wonderful opportunities to target predators as they wait to ambush the baitfish getting flushed in and out. House Hammock is always a good area to look, as well as Oyster and Huston Bay. Bait of choice for me is typically artificial as I can move fast and cover lots of water in a day. A Bass Assassin Curly Shad combo is my go to, typically in white. It allows me to cover lots of water, make long casts and fish the entire water column. Fished slow, it sinks down and I can hop it along the bottom for reds and even big black drum, fished a little faster, I can work it over an oyster bar and target the snook and trout that are on the edges, even faster yet and I can catch Spanish mackerel off my wrecks. Of course this is not my only tool in the arsenal, but it’s the one I personally throw most often. It’s simple, it’s affordable and it works – and the big thing is, I have faith in it, and that’s 99-percent of the battle right there.

Redfish will be around the bars that dot

our area this month. We have been producing some nice slot fish in the backcountry as well as out front. Bait of choice has been live shrimp under a popping cork worked along the bar edges, giving the ol dinner bell a ring every now and again. You can fish jigs and jerk baits, worked slowly along those same areas as well.

Speckled trout are all over right now, with lots of shorts, but with some good fish in the mix. The tried and true popping cork will produce numbers, but for better fish, try using a hard suspending bait that you can, jerk, jerk, rest….jerk, jerk rest…. and be ready on the rest! This method will also produce ladyfish, jacks and you may lose a bait or two to a Spanish-mac-attack.

It’s the price of being wanted, I guess.

While it’s perfectly legal to keep a fish over 20, consider taking the 18s home for the hot oil and grabbing a picture of the 20s-and -over, who need a safe release so we can still do it 20 years from now. Conservation requires forethought.

Y’all have a great month, and if you make it down my way give us a shout.

Capt. Charlie Phillips: 863-517-1829 e-mail:hopefishing@hotmail.com Web: hopefishing.com

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2.4 Meter Midwinter and US Championship Races

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By Peter Welch Tony Pocklington ended the day four Water LIFE Sailing points ahead of three time U.S. champ The 2.4 Meter’s (the boat is actually 13Charles Rosenfield of Connecticut. Tony feet 8-inches in length) proportions reimproved his lead for first place in the semble an Midwinters, America’s Charles Cup racer maintained of the second and 1960s.

Peter Wood The diof Canada mensions, sailed into weights, third. and sail Thursday was plan are a rest day and tightly the U.S. controlled Champiso sailing onship began skill deterFriday in mines the lighter winds race rewhen only sults. The two races boat’s were possible controls and Charles are adaptwon both, able to a Tony was Skilled sailors in good conditions kep the action tight Water LIFE photos by Fran Nasher Burstein wide three points range of back, and physical abilities.

Peter Wood six This results in races points back. The that are close and wind increased exciting.

Saturday to 12-to Twelve boats par15 knots, and lack ticipated in the of adverse current Midwinter races kept wave heights December 8 and 9. low. Charles, Tony, The racers, male and Peter each had and female, came a first place finish from U.S. and but the final score Tony and Charles, rounding the mark, the Canada and as far was Charles 6 leaders fought it out in good wind away as Seattle. points ahead of Race headquarters Tony and Peter a was Charlotte Harbor Yacht Club where further 5 points back.

December 7 was consumed with assemPeople of all physical abilities can learn bly and crane launching boats to sit at to sail a 2.4M boat at the Charlotte Beach floating docks constructed for the 2012 Park. The Community Sailing Center at World’s International Disabled Race. the Park has three 2.4M boats and a larger Wind on Wednesday December 8 was 6two place teaching boat. They have years 14 knots from the NE and incoming tide of experience teaching people who never from the SW produced waves near the imagined they could solo sail. Learn more safe maximum for 2.4M boats. The three at charlotteharborcommunitysailingcenraces that day favored those with ter.com/web: Select sailing classes, then strength. Local 2.4M builder and racer disabled sailing.

JANUARY 2016

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SCUTTLEBUTT

Sometimes Unsubstanciated, But Often True

OLD AND NEW A US navy nuclear sub makes a pop-up ascent in the Atlantic. Closer to home, a classic Chris Craft cruiser makes ready for its loading onto a trailer at the Punta Gorda city park boat ramp in late December.

FIRED FROM A SUB Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in late December that Russia had for the first time struck Islamic State targets in Syria with missiles fired from a submarine in the Mediterranean. "The targets were two large terrorist positions in the territory of Raqqa," Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting, adding that the Calibre missiles had been fired from the submarine Rostov-on-Don. "We can say with complete confidence that fairly serious damage was done.” Shoigu said.

INVESTIGATORS WERE ON PATROL at a cruise ship terminal located at Port Everglades Their patrol emphasis was the importation of highly regulated, protected, threatened, or endangered fish and wildlife. During this particular patrol, approximately 250 passengers arrived by vessel and cleared customs at the terminal. Customs agents alerted Investigators to three passengers that declared and were in possession of coolers containing a marine life species. Investigators Coffin and Warne made contact with the three subjects and obtained verbal consent from each of them to look inside the coolers. The three coolers contained a total of 233 individual pieces of queen conch. Queen conch is designated a protected species in the state of Florida. Each subject was issued a citation for violation of Florida Administrative Code 68B-16.004

TURTLES ON THE MOVE Warm ocean temperatures have brought hammerhead sharks, blue marlin, whale sharks, tropical sea snakes and loggerhead sea turtle into the waters off California. Loggerhead turtles in the North Pacific nest in Japan, and young turtles spend time in the central Pacific before moving into North American coastal waters. Historically, loggerheads most frequently have been observed along the coast of Baja Mexico. But late last year, as ocean waters along the west coast of the U.S. became unusually warmer, scientists and fishermen began reporting more and more loggerheads along Californiaʼs coast.

While many sightings of turtles were of single or a few individuals, some were found in large groups of more than 40 turtles. Local fisher-

Alaskan Coral - these Aleutian coral gardens thrive close to the Arctic, in an environment featuring near-freezing water, nearly complete darkness, violent storms, strong seasonal changes, and frequent volcanic activity. Scientists hope these unusual coral species may spur new medical discoveries.

men spotted a long patch of turtles stretching across several miles, which sport fishing boat captain Paul Fischer described as a “highway of turtles” in the sea.

The liner Batavia, shown in 1912, brought a steady stream of European imigrants to America. According to libertyellisfoundation.org, the publisherʼs father, David Heller, arrived on this ship alone, at 10 years of age, in January 1908.

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JANUARY 2016

the bends, free-lining a shrimp for huge redfish.

I will get back to the inner islands of the area between Bull and Turtle Bay where the snook stack up and I’ll drift across the open flat of Turtle Bay casting or jigging a tandem-lure-jig and catch 50 trout on a drift.

I will be at Marker No. 2 and Jug Creek Shoals just as the sun comes up and see the white bait start dimpling the surface of the waters.

I will be on the Gasparilla tailing flats after the other

If you ever fished fresh water, you understand there is a smell or taste to the air when the day breaks on a large fresh water lake that is like no where else on earth.

By Fishin’ Frank For 2016 I will answer a question, right now: Which is Water LIFE Baitshop better, lures or bait? That is a good question, and which In other years I have one should you use? Answer is, it depends on your mood. said I would join a gym, First of all, do you feel energetic? If so, cast a lure; get lose weight, stop smoking... things like that. This year I with it, feel the strike of the fish. On my last trip out I am going to make resolutions which make sense – I do used live shrimp since all I wanted was to kick back, not think losing weight, or starting to run – or for relax and enjoy sitting there watching the water goodness sake, I am not joining another gym! and the clouds. It was ok with me if once in a Those are normal New Years resolutions and the while, a pesky fish would add a bit of excitement reason we do not keep up on them is they only to the day. help with our body.

Bait is better if you are fishing a spot, like a It is my head which needs help. If you know hole or little cove on a mangrove shoreline, or me, well... you understand that. So to get in shape under a dock, as you can cast the bait there to that this year I am going to go out and paddle a kayak, specific spot and the bait will help you find the row a boat, go wade-fishing, take a walk on a fish. sandbar and cast a lure. This will be good for the Now if I was going to fish a shoreline looking body and for my peace of mind. I am going to get for fish, or several docks along a canal, I would back to what makes life better; being on or near the cast a lure. I can cover more water and keep the water and it really does not matter if it is a small lure working until I find where the fish are. Often I fresh water stream, or the deep fathoms of the Gulf will cast a lure until I hook a fish, then switch to of Mexico. bait to see if there are more fish in that spot, but I I resolve for 2016 to spend more time casting digress... top-water lures, that’s the most exciting way to Are you thinking about your New Year’s resofish. You see the strike, feel the strike, get all of the lutions? Like maybe: I will learn to use a bait cast battle of the pull and struggle. It’s way too-cool. reel and rod. Bait cast reels do not cast bait very Chrissy Mosley sends us pictures often. This is a December sea trout In fact, 2016 will be my year to fish. I am going good at all, but they are way better for top water lures to stop, turn in and fish for no reason, except the Gods boats have left, when things get very quiet, just before or soft plastic jerk baits. And they are fun and challenghave told me to stop. This is the best way to find new dark, and I’ll see the redfish begin to tail as they push ing. spots. their faces into the grass for food.

So in 2016 I will be in the parking lot more with cusI am going to get out onto the beautiful waters of the I just thought about it and it has been 2 years since I tomers, teaching them how to set up a bait cast reel, Gulf and cruise the stone crab trap buoys and find my have been grouper fishing, be afraid groupers I will be in showing them what the magnetic and friction controls do huge tripletail. The other cruise I really wish to do in your neighborhood soon. and how not to back-lash.

2016 is cruise along the beach just off of Boca, on top of Another thing I will do in 2016 is troll the water of the There are so many things to do and 2016 is my year to the bar, and skip some pompano. You can skip pompano Gulf for King mackerel and anything else that will hit. do them. I am confident, I am determined and I will enoff the bar between Burnt Store and Two Pines quite And I really need to go over to Lake Okeechobee and deavor to persevere to make my goals. Unlike my quitting often, but I miss the green water and the brighter colors of do some proper bass fishing too. There are plenty of bass nicotine, losing weight or working out, I think I can do the pompano when they are in the Gulf. to catch here in Charlotte County, but I would like to be this, I think I can, I think I can.

In 2016 I will make it back into Trout Creek and fish there as the sun comes up and the mist is still on the lake.

Frank@fishinFranks.com 941-625-3888

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JANUARY 2016

The Year in Review – Top 10 Topics from 2015

On The Line

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tunity, started the Adopt-A-Manatee program with Rosie in mind. The first person to adopt Rosie was actor John Lithgow (Third Rock from the Sun); he wrote a number of children’s books about manatees. It is estimated that the Save The Manatee has adopted Rosie to over 1,500 individuals; bringing in a tidy sum. Rosie was estimated to be over 50 years old when she surfaced for the last time. In lieu of flowers, the Save the Manatee Club has asked that you send them money.

By Capt. Ron Blago Water LIFE Senior Staff

At the end of each year I go through my notebooks and pick out subjects I found interesting, many not always well covered by the main-stream media. This information all comes from well respected news sources, so don't blame me if some of the facts get you upset. I'm only the messenger.

# 10 - We are drowning in numbers, I found these interesting and noted them: • Daily calorie intake for the average American in 1970 was 2039, today it’s over 2600. We now are 53 pounds heavier.

• In 2015, Boston had the snowiest winter in history, with 108.6 inches.

• The U.S. now has over 130,000 gas stations. # 9 - 2015 was a pretty good year in Florida. No hurricanes in 11 years, mild winter and very little Red Tide. Unemployment is low, home construction is up and tourism is at a record high. Life is good again for many locals. # 8 - 2015 was the hottest year on record, this is surprising because 2014 was the 17th year of what scientist called the pause, a lack of world temperature increase. To solve this inconvenient truth NOAA went back and “re-adjusted” their

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Rosie the manatee, at Marineland, in better days

historical data. Now, wouldn't you know it, they say that the 17 year pause was a miscalculation. We have been tracking global temperature since 1880. During that 135 year period the earth has warmed 1.4 degrees fahrenheit.

# 7 - 2015 was a great year for manatees and sea turtles since 6063 manatees were counted in last years survey which was a new all time record population estimate. Sea turtle nesting also reached a record high of 28,000 nests at 26 beaches.

Thirty years ago they only found 464 nests at the same beaches. # 6 - 2015 was a bad year for black bears and panthers. Last year Florida became the 34th state to allow bear hunting.

The FWC sold 3,778 permits at $100 each for the 7 day hunt and 298 bears were killed in the first 3 days so the hunt was stopped at that time. The hunt brought in $376,900 for the FWC. The population of black bears was estimated to be 3,500 before the hunt. Annually; 200 bears are killed by automobiles in Florida. The panther population is about 150 animals, but the Florida panther has grown out of favor with the FWC, with one of the commissioners calling them ‘a nuisance.’ The FWC has asked the Feds to drop the panther from the endangered list. Their reasoning is that Florida has as many panthers as can be expected to survive with the current habitat available. In 2015, 37 panthers were found dead; most hit by cars. # 5- Cash cow dies: Rosie the manatee has passed away. Rosie was the spokes-manatee (a poster child) for Save the Manatee Club's Adopt- A- Manatee program. Rosie was captured in the wild near St. Augustine in 1968 and was held captive at Marineland until 1980. She developed a neurological disorder that cause her to swim in circles and was moved to Homosassa Springs State Park in 1980 where she achieved her celebrity status.

Because of her limited mobility, she became the most popular attraction in the swim with the manatees program. The Save the Manatee Club, sensing an oppor-

# 4 -Scandal of the year PETA has a large pet shelter in Virginia that according to 2014 state records killed 88% of the dogs and cats entrusted in their care.

PETA employees were caught on video stealing a pet chihuahua off someone’s front porch. The animal was killed the next day. PETA is now being sued by the owners who claim that PETA employees trespassed on private property and stole and killed their pet.

# 3-National Security: When George Bush left office, there were 44,000 people on the “No fly list”. Today there are 700,000 names on that list. Seventy two Homeland Security employees are on the Terrorist Watch List and in a recent undercover test at our national airports by the TSA, there was a 95-percent failure rate on restricted items going through their security check points.

2- Some of you have been wondering about what's going on at the northeast side of the Punta Gorda bridge; well its Phase One of the Charlotte Harbor Gateway Harbor Walk. This project was conceived in 2009 and is now finally moving dirt.

The first phase will include a new seawall, restrooms, parking and a small-boat launch site. In the future, a walkway will be built under the two bridges. # 1- Stump Pass: Everything is still on schedule for the new groin, beach renourishment and dredging to begin. Once the contract is signed, the work should proceed quickly. I’m still planning on fishing from that groin on the 4th of July.

Captronb@juno.com

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January – Predictions and Suggestions

Charlotte Harbor

Frank at Fishin’ Franks 941- 625-3888

Fish With A Guide!

Youʼll catch more fish and youʼll learn something new, too!

BackBay Xtremes Capt Dave Stephens www.backbayxtremes.com

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Speak Easy Fishing Charters Captain Joe Angius USCG licensed & Insured Phone: (727)

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speakeasyfishing.com

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What most people want to know is what the weather is doing to the fishing. I tell them to make believe it is May instead of January. One thing going on is there are a ton of bluefish in the Harbor. From the Manchester Waterway through Harbor all the way to the ICW there is a nice population of blues.

Flounder fishing along the beaches and up inside, around the back of Gasparilla Island is very good. The Cape Haze bar and the sandbar on the east side both have flounder on them. The fish are right on the bar, hugging the sand.

The water temperature is in mid 70s, that’s the perfect temperature for Spanish mackerel on the beaches and in the ICW. There are kingfish in Boca Grande and Captiva Passes, just offshore, with a few up in the Harbor. To us, it’s still hot, but the water is in the 70s and fish are where they would be in May. Everything is kind of perfect.

There is fall-, or spring-style fishing for redfish in Bull Bay, Turtle Bay, at Gasparilla and on the east and west sides of the Harbor. The tricky part is, the fish are in open potholes and under the mangroves, not sunning on the flats.

We have lots of small sharks, black tips, bonnet heads and sandbar sharks out along the beaches and we have tripletail galore up and down the near Gulf coastline.

Many people find the thrill of hunting tripletail a perfect combo. You hunt, find them and take a shot at them. If you don’t cast straight you don’t get your fish. Along the hunting and fishing line, you can hunt cobia as well. We have been selling out of eel lures every week. It’s the Culprit worm bait that beats everything for cobia. Try a pink 1/4 oz Rockport Rattler jig head with a 7.5-inch Culprit Kudzu Shad worm,

throw it in front of the cobia and wham! We have all these amazing $8- to $13 baits, but the best thing you can buy is a $4 pack of Culprit worms. You gotta think, we have these amazing Savage lures that looks just like a fish, but $5 for 3 jig heads and $4 for a pack of bait ... I can’t win; why can’t the best bait be the $13 one?

Sea trout are the only thing that’s a little slow now.

Pirate Harbor, Bull Bay on the open flats or the Pine Island Sound are where they are.

Snook is good, not excellent, but good. They are Above, Nicky Branciforte with a pair of Christscattered way back in the mas cobia. canals and on the nearshore Below: December sea surface temperatures.

Cooler near shore, warmer as you go further out reefs. Once snook are over 40 inches they become a reef species and they go out in the Gulf.

Also in the Gulf, we have AJs hitting really nice along with pompano, keeper gag grouper and red grouper in Boca Grande Pass. The nearshore reefs also have quite a few stories of black sea bass being grouper on them as well – again, we caught. Last year I only heard of are in the perfect water temperatwo all year, now 5- to10 black sea tures of the mid 70s range. Snapbass have been caught in the last per, grunt and porgys have been few weeks. amazing. We are starting to have Out in the middle of the Harbor

This month the mullet hauling is heating up at Placida. Mullet are caught in nets, brought here and put on ice in the containers stacked at right. The containers go into the semi-trailers and then they are trucked to the processing plant.

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there are lots of catfish, with schools of ladyfish at Alligator Fish you can expect in Creek and sheepshead, mangrove snapper, some gags and goliath grouper. Trolling the deep holes inshore for grouper is a good thing right now.

There are not a lot of huge REDFISH In the creeks and BLUEFISH All over the MACKEREL Close to shore, in tarpon around right now, some creek mouths Harbor and in the passes the Pass, in the Harbor sporadic reports from passes, but the biggest number of small tarpon are in the PG and Cape Coral canals. We have lots of mid size tarpon up river by the power lines, nice 60pounders.

The Peace River is at 2 feet at Arcadia so we have a little fresh water still coming down the river. The brown water is not going to effect salinity and I think that’s what is keeping tarpon in front of Harbour Heights.

The crappie not bunched up, but guys are getting one here and there.

Maribou jigs are better than beetle spins Capt Andrew Herzog with an AJ, above and a trout from a trip with Capt. Joe Angius, below on crappie right now. Bass are pretty good through the canals. The green and brown colored lures seem to be the color for bass. Thanks for a spectacular 2015.

We will work even harder for you in 2016.

Lemon Bay - Placida Jim at Fishermen’s Edge 697-7595

Fishin is good. I had guys who went out to the close reefs, Trembly and Novak, and said they had so many King mackerel around they couldn’t put a line in the water without being cut off.

Mackerel this late has been a good surprise and they are still here.

Quite a few guys are getting cobia.

One of my customers was fishing around up in Lemon Bay and caught a cobia 34 inches, a lone fish. A couple of other guys caught cobia at Novak Reef and I am hearing from Boca Grande, 7 miles out, up into the harbor the cobia bite has been good - there is so much bait around!

At Turtle Bay, last week, we saw

some pelicans diving, there was so much bait, we were there a couple of hours and the bait was there the whole time.

We caught a couple of snook and got into some really nice trout. Up in Whidden Bay, we were doing good with cut bait and Gulp shrimp on the redfish, but we had to move around to stay on them.

There is scattered pompano and we are starting to see some commercial guys doing well netting them.

There is a lot of mullet fishing going on. The Sunday we were out we didn’t see many recreational fishermen but, my gosh, the mullet fishermen were every-

AMBERJACK on all the nearshore and offshore reefs

IN THE GULF, OFF OF ENGLEWOOD We took our friends, PGI residents Judy and Cliff Yates, fishing on my boat last Tuesday.

Judy caught this 44 inch King. She'd never been fishing before and this is the first fish she ever caught! – Lester Kuhn

Gulf Temps are mid to low 70s

Cooler close in, warmer more offshore

95˚ 90˚ 85˚ 80˚

Spiderman Tristan Murtagh, 4 , caught a nice trout fishing with his father William, last month.

where.

Fishing down off Boca on the beach side there are flounder. Just get on the right tide and drag your bait on the bottom.

All of a sudden seems like sheepshead is going on. My fiddler crabs are selling and guys tell me they are catching sheepshead at El Jobean and from the trestle at Boca Grande and the fishing pier at Placida.

Offshore’s been good with snapper, porgy, grunts, some yellowtail and a

PAGE 23

lot of nice big mangs.

Believe it or not there’s still been tarpon around. A guy at El Jobean pier, in the early AM said tarpon were busting everywhere.

Finally, whiting are on the beach and there are triggerfish there too.

That would be about all I know.

72˚ 70˚ 68˚ 50˚ 45˚

FISHING RIGHT NOW:

Great-Plus!

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