WaterLIFEJUNE07

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Charlotte Harbor and Lemon Bay

Keeping Boaters and Fishermen Informed

S h a r k Tricks Page 29

It始s all GOOD!

June 2007

B ig B ait For Big Fish NOW THAT?S A ?CUDA!

CAPT CHUCK PAGE 10

Wyatt Wins It!

11 yr old KIds Cup winner Wyatt Carter with an even bigger redfish, caught pre-fishing the day before!

Kids Cup page 16-17

DownTime Local Diving

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June 2007

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LETTERS

Sierra Club joins three counties and Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority in fight against Ona phosphate mine

From S ue R eske and Eri c Huber On Friday May 11, 2007 the Sierra Club filed a petition to intervene in the proceedings before Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) against the Mosaic Co.’s proposed phosphate mine known as the Ona Mine. Sierra Club's action will support the Peace River Water Mgmt. Authority and Charlotte, Sarasota and Lee counties in their fight against the mine.

The proposed Ona Mine would be in Hardee County, near where Manatee, Hillsborough, Hardee and Polk Counties meet. The permit would allow mining in the first phase of the project, referred to as the Ona-Fort Green extension, on about 4,000 acres in the Horse Creek -Peace River watershed.

“The phosphate companies have been trying for years to paint a pretty face on their strip mining. The ugly truth has now come out, and that is, that upstream

TO

WAT E R L I F E

June 2007

Water LIFE

Michael and Ellen Heller Publishers

(941) 766-8180

TOTALLY INDEPENDENT

Water LIFE is not affiliated with any newspaper or other publication © 2007 Vol VI No. 6 Water LIFE

No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced without the written permission of both publishers

Florida phosphate mining is uguly and has irreprably changed the face of the delicate environmental balance that is Florida. To grasp the magnitude of scale, thatʼs a road going down the ʻspine in the picture. This is Barstow Florida about 1 hour north of Punta Gorda.

activities have an affect on water downstream, and phosphate strip mining has already had a serious impact," said Sue Reske, Chair, Sierra Club Greater Charlotte Harbor Group.

Sierra Club takes this action following the Florida Court of Appeals remand of the mining permit to DEP for reconsideration in light of the Peace River Cumulative Impact Study. That study confirms that the cumulative impact of the phosphate mines causes serious harm to the river. According to the Cumulative Impact Study: ‘There seems to be little doubt that the loss of streams and wet-

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lands in the Peace River watershed, as well as the loss of base flow... impair the ability of the Peace River to provide sustainable public water supplies.’

"We are taking this action to help protect the people who use the Peace River and Charlotte Harbor for drinking water, fishing and recreation," said Eric Huber, Sierra Club Senior Staff Attorney. "The Sierra Club looks forward to assisting the counties in ensuring that the Florida DEP fully considers and protects against the impacts of phosphate mines, now and in the future.

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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 Real Estate: Dave Hofer Sailing Advisor: Bill Dixon Kayaks: David Allen Sea Grant: Betty Staugler Diving: Adam Wilson

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Links to Realtors: Connect with our real estate advertisers Tide Graphs: For local waters

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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 Kids Cup Updates and Tracking

ASA1000 Photography and Hot Rod Cars

Water LIFE

Fish in a padded cell and other ʻcurrentʼ events.

June 2007

By Mi chael Hel l er Waster LIFE editor Look closely at the water filling the livewell in the photo. It caught my eye because of its pristine Carribbean blue color and the snowy white bubbles – probably Rejuvenade and O2. At first I thought I saw minnows swimming in the well; that would have been a no-no in an artificial tournament like the Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup, so I looked more closely.

Remember the old movie Blow Up, where a photographer enlarges a photo and discovers a murder? I zoomed in on the livewell and saw...not a murder, but in fact a great idea: plastic bags – some kind of inflated packaging in the well. Now it could have been packagedbait stored in the cool water or trash from lunch, but I’m guessing it was intentional cushioning – a padded cell for fish.

This might be a great idea, transporting fish in ‘cushioned’ area where they can’t get slammed around. Already this particulat style livewell is popular for its circulation, maybe cushioning is the next step. The fish in the well (they won the tournament) looked healthy and not very stressed, except for one with a slightly red nose, when they arrived at

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the dock.

Coincidently, I talked to a U of F scientist that same week who had told me he and the FDA had been discussing Rejuvenade and other baitwell additives. He told me the FDA was not aware of the compounds comprising these baitwell additives, and that none of the additives were FDA-approved for use in food fish (including game fish that would be within the slot and consumable).

He said both his program at the University and the FDA were interested in working with anglers and manufacturers to get these products properly licensed, assuming the ingredients were safe. “And if they aren't safe for the fish, anglers, or the environment-- we probably need to know that, too,” he said.

At first it sounded like a good question, after all, if you or I happen to re-catch one of these tournament fish that was in a well full of unapproved chemicals, and we eat it, who knows what might happen. Then I wondered how many people actually catch and eat enough tournament sized redfish for this to be a real problem. What about all the tainted food and additives coming from China? Pet food, human food, doesn’t the FDA have any-

Look closely at the Redfish Cup winnerʼs livewell. It appears to be filled with partially inflated plastic bags, perhaps they provide a soft cushion for transporting fish without injuring them.

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5

What we know about redfish tracking so far

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Water LIFE

June 2007

MAGAZINE

Monday morning Terry and I headed back to Fisherman Village to see if we could find any fish. After looking by the bridges and making a few stops to listen we ended up back in front of the Village and started picking up tags. After finding 10 of the 20 tagged fish still there, we started thinking the worst, maybe these fish died right there when released. That was when we started picking up the same fish in different spots. The fish were moving around in the basin, not holding in place as they had on Saturday night. So 10 of the twenty did not leave. It could be from trauma or it could be there is a Fishinʼ Frank with wife Terry, father Frank Sr. and Nate from Mote Marine, tracking redfish. lot of bait – glass minnows and some thread fins – right there.

Maybe they just liked it there. Why village, going in and shutting off the

By Fi shi n Frank leave if the living is easy right where engine, using a sensor mounted to the Water LIFE Tracking team you are? end of a P.V.C. pipe we watched for the With this project I realized a goal Fish 4389, Brandon Dignam’s 1.98 tags electronic signature to ‘ping in’. come true. I was able to track tagged pound fish was pinged out front by the It’s kind of like sonar pings and each redfish. docks first pass Monday morning with The Kids Cup Tournament implanted ping contains a coded number. The eight other fish. Teri and I made a pass receiver makes a clicking sound and 20 redfish with electronic tags thatgive down the backside of the village and off a sonar pinging signal every 60 sec- then a number shows up on the screen. when we passed the front we only We searched a mile-wide area around onds. On board was my spouse Terry pinged four of the 9 we first recorded.

Fisherman's village and found one fish (she entered the information into to a Making our way inside we pinged seven just to the up-river side. By dark we had Trimble unit), my dad Frank Sr. (he more fish making a total of 10 fish. found 16 fish, all of them staying right was holding the sensor) and Nate from Fish 4408 Zane Smith’s 3.31 pound around the release point at Harpoon Mote who helped Betty Staugler our fish, and 4388, Kaylea Burlew’s 3.77 local Sea Grant agent, interpert the data Harry’s. Some were out front along the pound fish, had moved to the fuel rocks and some up in the boat basin. and fine tune the receiver. docks. Fish 4404 Nicholas Marshal’s All 15 fish kept steady in the place we We were the second tracking boat.

4.89 pound fish was found on the inside found them.

The first boat out started with the first of the basin. So they were staying.

A couple of fish made an impresreleased red fish, following it from one sion on me: 4403 a 2.55 pound redfish Fifty percent of the fish were moving side of the dock back to the other, out caught by Jamie Leibman, that fish was around but just did not leave the release in front of the rocks at Fishermen’s hanging around the back end of the boat area.

Village marina and then upstream We did not track any fish going basin, from our first trip to the last towards the 41 bridges. It was slow toward the harbor, the only fish we did going and it was interesting to note the pass we made Saturday there it was. track were going up the river, but that However on Monday, ole 4403 was fish did not hug the shoreline as I is not to say some did not turn later and nowhere to be found. Likewise for fish would have expected, but stayed 200 start heading for deeper water, south.

4405. 4405, James Daughtry’s 6.66 yards from shore, slowly, slowly folSo as time goes by we will learn pound monster had moved from the lowing the fish as it made its way with more about where they go and perhaps docks to the front of the rocks. 4405 the tide, up river. better understand what the habits of the had made it as far as the conor of the After a number of fish were tagged redfish are.

This in turn may give us rocks but like 4403 by Monday mornand released, our boat went to look in clues to releasing captive raised redfish ing was nowhere to be found. Luck to places the fish may have taken refuge. into the wild, and giving a better chance ya’ 4405.

We checked in the canals next to the

My Take

By Michael Heller Kids Cup Tournament Director

Don’t be in a hurry. This is fishing, data fishing, and like any other fishing you have to give it time. Right off the bat the project received a setback when we discovered that two of the underwater listening devices could not be downloaded in the field with a laptop computer (like the rest of them) since they had some special ‘bluetooth protocall.’ That means they have to be carried to Gainesville and downloaded at the University of Florida. We won’t get that data for a while. This is particularly unfortunate since those two listening devices were the ones at the U.S. 41 bridge and at Colony Point.

That means, at least in the short run, our first two ‘ears’ are useless.Then the weather went windy and we lost the fish.

Looking at the early tracking information I saw fish retrace their paths, then I heard they moved upriver. So we have now placed a second tracking device further upriver and we will be able to monitor that one in the field.

The continued wind hasn’t helped much either. Manually tracking our released fish has been impossible on many days and since the pingers only go off for about 20 seconds every minute we could just miss them or pass them by when manually tracking.

Don’t despair, we have to give the fish a chance to swim past some of the stationary receivers. This could take more time than we thought.

Keep watching the website address at the top of the page or drop us a note to waterlife@comcast.net if you want to sign up for tracking updates via e-mail.

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June 2007

Water LIFE

Check the Fish on the Internet http://charlotte.ifas.ufl.edu/seagrant/kidscup.htm

Redfish Tracking Notes from the Field

By Betty S taugl er Sea Grant / Water LIFE It’s been one month since we began tracking the 20 sonically tagged redfish weighed in at the Water LIFE Kids Cup. We’ve observed 17 of the 20 at least once so far. All of our fish recordings have come from Fishermen’s Village or Bass Inlet to date. Our tracking project has had its highs and lows, interesting observations and this last week a lot of love bugs – mobile tracking occurs at a whopping 2 knots.

We started out actively monitoring on May 3rd. This was the first data download from of our underwater sensors (VR2s) and mobile tracking event. Two boats, each equipped with a mobile tracking unit cruised the shorelines of the Peace River, Hog Island, the fat point of Punta Gorda, and inside some of the canals between Colony Point and Bass Inlet. The mobile tracking crews found four fish still hanging out at Fishermen’s Village and two up in Bass Inlet. While the two mobile tracking boats looked for fish, the third boat was downloading data from the VR2s located around Fishermen’s Village, inside Bass Canal, and down by Alligator Creek. From Apri l 28-May 3rd, 17 redfish were recorded around Fishermen’s Village, seven were recorded inside Bass Inlet, and no redfish were observed at Alligator Creek.

On May 8th, VR2s located near Hog Island, on the West Wall, East Wall and Bokeelia were downloaded. No redfish were recorded on these units from April 28May8th.

May 15th was another data download day for Fishermen’s Village, Bass Inlet and Alligator Creek. One redfish remained at the Village until the 11th (#58). One hung around until the 12th (Fish #2), and a third is still being recorded there (#4).

May 17th, a 15th VR2 was added to our study. This one is upstream of U.S. 41. Data was also downloaded from the remaining VR2s. No redfish were recorded.

We beefed up our mobile tracking efforts this last week spending Tuesday May 22nd through Monday the 28th out on the water. We covered the Peace River from Harbor Heights to Grassy Point, including every canal along the way. We covered the south side of the Peace River from around the Justice Center to Pirate Harbor, including all of the canals except the side canals off of

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Ponce and Colony Point.

We have however done Colony Point to Ponce, Ponce to the rim canal, the mosquito ditch over to Alligator Creek and the main stems of Alligator Creek north and south fork. We covered the entire West Wall and we went all the way around Hog Island. All this and we found two fish. One still out in front of Fishermen’s Village (#4) observed on the 26th and 28th, and the other inside Bass Inlet (#28) observed on the 25th.

Below is a summary of a few of our fish that will be displayed on the website as soon as our web specialist recovers from some unplanned surgery last week. Fish numbers are random numbers assigned to the angler’s fish. It is not their angler number. Anglers, if you did not receive a letter with your fish number, call me and I will get a letter out to you.

Fi sh # 50: Swam inside the marina basin between B and C Docks (two furthest from shops) and through the cut-through at C Dock (furthest docks near rocks) on the 28th. On the 29th, #50 swam along the rocks outside the marina basin, went back into the marina, this time between A and B Dock, swam under B Dock down by the fuel dock and went out the cut through at C Dock, turned around, returning the same way he came in. On May 3rd, #50 swam over to Bass Inlet, but on May 4th #50 was back over at Fishermen’s Village.

Fi sh # 65: Also went to Bass Inlet, only this fish arrived on May 1st. Fish #65 was also observed in Bass on the 3rd. Prior to arriving at Bass Inlet, #65 hung out in front of Harpoon Harry’s.

Fi sh # 58: Hung out around Fishermen’s Village from the 28th-30th and then disappeared until the 9th when it was recorded over by the cut through at C-Dock of Fishermen’s Village Marina. On the 11th #58 went over to Bass Inlet.

We will be keeping the underwater sensors in the water at least through June and will mobile track through June as well. Hopefully our data download next week will unveil some new fish observations. All of the dart tag data (from all of the fish weighed in) was sent to the Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) last week.

If an angler catches a tagged redfish and calls the Hotline, FWC will let us know. Mote should also have the results of the fin clips very soon. The fin clips are being analyzed to determine if a redfish is from wildstock or hatchery stock.

Betty Staugler is the Sea Grant Agent for Charlotte County. S he can be reached at 764-4346.

Page 7

A lot of work has gone into this website and since itʼs all ʻnew groundʼ itʼs taking some time to tweak the presentation.

TOP: In an animated presentation the tracks for the 20 fish with implanted tags will be able to be connected and put into motion ABOVE: The idea is to have a map showing the quadrant the fish came from (shaded pink area) and where it was released. Then as it reappears its position will be updated.

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MAGAZINE

Fishinʼ the Windows

Screaming Reels

By Capt. Andrew Medi na Water LIFE Staff You all may have heard other anglers talking about fishing ‘depressions’ or ‘pot holes. What this refers to is deeper holes on the flat, or off the mangroves where the little bit of deeper water is.

And I agree with this in certain months.

This is mostly important during winter and fall months. But this is summer time, and with a tide pattern that is just about always above norm, fish, such as redfish and snook will find refuge in the bushes along a shore line. Not just along it, but way back in it. Some of the mangroves around our harbor extend out 15 ft. or more. That’s more cover than a pot hole can provide any time. This is when you really find out, if you’re the true angler you thought you were.

Artificial baits are the choice for me at this time, and there’s good reason. Live bait, such as green backs, swim so you probably will end up in the bushes more than a few times. Artificial baits, such as jerk baits or jigs, can be rigged weedles and you won’t be retying as many times.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with live bait, some anglers just don’t like lures, and live bait still catches fish – it always has, and always will, but in the end you have to fish what you’re familiar with.

It’s my opinion, the best way of fishing the bushes – by far – has to be wade fishing. This allows you to pick a shore line, and fish it correctly. Correctly more often than not means slowly. My view on this is simple: if you fish a shore line too fast, you’re leaving fish behind. I know this to be true because I sometimes find myself getting in a hurry and missing the chance of a ‘fish sitting in a window.’ Windows mean openings or entrances into the mangroves.

Fish will usually sit in these windows waiting to ambush smaller prey, such as bait fish or crabs finding their way into the bushes. The bushes provide cover for small and large fish alike.

June 2007

With jerk baits rigged weedles you work the shoreline by flipping the bait into the windows. Then allow the bait to settle before slowly working it back out.

If that does not produce a fish, move down a couple feet and make another cast. This is where ‘skipping baits’ gets to be important. By skipping baits across the top of the water you can get it much further back in the bush.

Bush fishing takes some getting use to, but once you get the hang of it, I promise you, you will catch fish.

My preference in color for jerk baits right now has to be white or watermelon.

These are always my go-to baits; baits, I feel comfortable throwing. Gold spoons also work really well, mimicking a pinfish in the bushes ... and we all know what happens to pinfish!

Now about fishing in our harbor; it’s on, that’s all I can say. There are fish along the east and west walls. Redfish and snook are willing to eat. Matter of fact, they jump at the chance, and for the shrimp dunkers who like action, all along the 41 bridges there are more silver trout and ladyfish than you can catch.

This provides hours of fun for kids and adults, and it don’t take a whole lot of money. A bag of frozen shrimp and a hook is all you need. Fishing rods are even optional.

In the harbor, around the 20 ft. hole, their have been a lot of tarpon, but with the wind blowing it’s been rough and the bite has been hit or miss.

A lot of tarpon funneled into Boca Grande pass with the recent hill tides and the shark and cobia are wide spread and are really on a feed. Cut-bait has to be the choice for them. Some real big hammerheads and bulls are back. Reports of sharks taking hooked tarpon before anglers can boat them are in the air. Will we see a world’s shark record broken again this year? I say there’s a real good chance. Maybe even Robert from Fish’n Franks will get his wish this year. I hope so!

Capt. Andrew Medina can be reached at (941) 465-1540 or on the web at

June 2007

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Page 9

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Water LIFE

Takes Big Baits To Catch Big Fish Page 10

By Capt. Chuck Ei chner Water LIFE Charlotte Harbor It’s the oldest fish story in the book where the big fish eats the little fish. I have proved this to myself many times and in many places from huge northern pike to huge largemouth bass to big snook, trout and tarpon.

Use a big bait to catch big fish.

The subtropical fishery we have holds lots of what I would call big baits.

Mullet, menhaden, blue runners, threadfin herring and ladyfish to name a few. Funny thing is, we usually use a 3-4 inch pilchard to catch most of our fish and for that reason it is often more luck to catch the big one than skill. Step up to a big bait and with some time invested you will catch monsters. The difference being that a good day will be measured by perhaps one or two fish as opposed to 20 or 30.

The rules are simple: Fish heavy tackle, large hooks with heavy leader and position your boat to intercept migration routes of the fish you are after. One key ingredient I find for big fish is that there has to be deep water nearby if your fishing shallow. The big boys need an escape route.

Big snook will munch those 6-8 inch threadfins that are roving the harbor.

Cobia and tarpon are eating them also.

But how about a 2 pound ladyfish?

You’re more likely to catch a monster with that. Rarely do I see anyone fishing mullet on our waters. They travel in packs just about everywhere and run 1/2 pound and up. In the Florida Keys, they get $3-$4 a piece for a 1 pound mullet and they’re worth every penny of it.

When I set out to write this article my intent was to tell you a fish story about a big fish eating a smaller fish.

After reflecting on this, I thought the

Mick reeled in half a kingfish and down below we peered into the cobalt blue waters and spotted a monster barracuda.

MAGAZINE

June 2007

idea may inspire a few anglers to pursue the truly huge fish that swim here and believe me they are here.

Bigger fish like bigger meals because they have to expend less energy in their insatiable pursuit for food.

My big fish eating the little fish story starts in Charlotte County. On a recent outing into the gulf my itinerary was the same as usual- get my rod bent with whatever wants to bite.

Chumming over structure and man-made reefs is pretty much a guarantee to action.

My day started with bait catching of whitebait and pinfish. It was pretty easy work as my fishing buddy Mickey Kieferle was hurling a 10-foot net at roving pods of bait It almost looks like a bottlenosed dolphin but itʼs a barracuda, while Chuck Taylor a big barracuda helped empty the net. I came a running. With the fish finder was the watchman situated on my lit up with fish layered in mid depths tower motoring to skittish pilchards and a bottom reading of 60 feet, we and threadfins. hooked countless kingfish. A few With the well full, our first stop monsters got away and a few made it was not overly productive, but proin along with some bonita. We also duced a few bites, many bite-offs and managed to hook some nice grouper, a couple of decent kingfish. Two most of which got the best of us and other boats set up for trolling after broke us off on the bottom .... and seeing the action and circled us like then it happened.

10 little Indians. They too bowed up Mickey was reeling in a small with kings and cuda’s and eventually kingfish of about 6 pounds. Then the shut our bite down. Trolling over a fishing boats chum line is not exactly good manners so we moved on.

Another 10 miles out and we searched the bottom for nearly 20 minutes and found a tall piece of structure just laid up with fish. Over went the buoy and we set up a drift with pinfish on a bottom rig upwind of the buoy.

Looking over to our left in the distance, a boat coming our way sees our buoy and rides right to it and over it. Seemingly everyone left their manners home this day and this fellow now has my spot in his GPS. The short story is that drifting didn’t work, but after we set up a chum line of fresh chunked bait the fish

June 2007

light tackle fight with a peeling drag came to an abrupt halt. Mick reeled in half a kingfish and down below we peered into the cobalt blue waters and spotted a monster barracuda.

This was no average cuda for around here – pushing 6 feet. With that I grabbed a heavy rod with wire and a stinger hook rig and floated the kingfish head behind the boat.

Accidently we knocked a white bucket overboard which floated away, which in turn attracted the cuda to come over and nudge the bucket with his nose.

The fish then looked down, swam over to the bait and munched it up. I reared back and for close to 15 minutes I put heat on this fish and finally brought him boatside.

The photo session proceeded very, very carefully. One mistake and the toothy fangs would send one of us to

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P a g e 11

This was no average cuda for around here – pushing 6 feet. I grabbed a heavy rod with wire and a stinger hook rig and floated the kingfish head behind the boat.

the hospital emergency room for sure.

This fish had a huge body that was pushing 6 feet in length with guesstimated weight at 70-80 pounds perhaps more. We released the fish, but it thrashed and got away before we could completely revive it. Then, as it floated aimlessly behind the boat, we were mesmerized by the magnificent creature as he held his head at the surface gulping water and recovering.

Then, a huge shape submarined from the port side and a monster shark

attacked the barracuda. It was an explosive strike, with water spraying and in a few bites the 6 foot cuda was history!

What happened this day will stay with us a long time, but the short story was a small pilchard started the food chain, which was eaten by the kingfish. The kingfish was eaten by the barracuda and the barracuda was eaten by the shark.

The big fish eats the little fish. Go catch a monster!

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 website: www.backcountry-charters.com

Page 12

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MAGAZINE

June 2007

June 2007

Singinʼ the Boat Ramp Blues

By Capt. Ron Bl ago Water LIFE Senior Staff Sometimes I feel I should try my hand at being a songwriter. They say you should write about what you know, and I know a lot about boat ramps. After all, I live across from the Ainger Creek ramp on Placida Road in Englewood. I can look out my window and see how busy things are and find out who’s fishing and what’s being caught. Most mornings, I awaken to the sound of boat trailers bottoming out at the entrance to the park.(bad design). Twice a week I get the fragrant smell of the porto-potty being emptied; and of course there is the endless stream of county vehicles doing their various jobs picking up trash, cutting non-existing grass, trimming trees, picking up money from the parking machines and above all giving out parking tickets. Each employee is a specialist in their field.

I was quite surprised a few weeks ago to see a large travel trailer towing a boat stop by the ramp and set up a tent in the parking lot. You would think that this would be an unacceptable practice; but the only signs there basically say pay to park and no pets. When it comes to boat ramp rules in Charlotte County we have a ‘Don’t AskDon’t Tell’ policy. If you don’t ask for permission to do something, we won’t tell you you can’t do it. I’m sure that during the time that tent was there, the people who give out the parking tickets wondered if you can ticket a tent for illegal parking.

At least they had no pets.

Just last week I woke up about four in the morning and noticed about a half a dozen trucks going into the boat ramp. A little early for a weekday, but not unprecedented. By the time I stuck my head out again, every parking spot in the ramp and the overflow lot next door was filled with a truck and a trailer. At first I thought one of the local car dealers was having a trucka-thon sale, but it turned out to be a professional redfish tournament at a local marina. I don’t know what kind of notice (if any) was given to Charlotte County officials , but it doesn’t seem fair to

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MAGAZINE

monopolize a public boat ramp for two days and leave the local folks, who paid for the ramp and who buy a yearly parking permit out in the cold.

May I suggest that next time the organizers of the tournament (the guys making the money) make arrangements for off site parking. Try offering Cedar Point Park a little money to use their parking lot for a few hours. You can still launch at the boa-

tramp and then park a few hundred yards away. That could make everyone happy.

Charlotte County has an unusual management structure when it comes to boat ramps. The Parks and Recreational Department is responsible for finding sites, buying land, designing and building future boat ramps. They are also responsible for maintaining the existing boat ramps and collecting parking fees. The money to do that comes from various sources including boaters themselves through boat registration fees. As a matter of fact at the recent budget meeting of the Charlotte Marine Advisory Committee,

Parks and Rec was the largest single user of boater funds with $375,000 in various boat ramp projects requested and approved.

That’s 40% of all the money allocated.

Some of the boat ramp projects that should happen within the next year include a major renovation at the El Jobean boat ramp and a place for non-motorized vessels at the Port Charlotte Beach Park. This

Page 13

should help out the handicapped folks who participate in the sailing program they have there.

Two new boat ramp projects are beginning next year. One near Cattledock Road which is west of the El Jobean Bridge and another between So. Gulf Cove and Garparilla Marina. Remember that it will be years before these ramps are completed, but at least they have started.

With all the time and money spent on boat ramps I think its time to get serious about making a set of rules and regulations that we want people to follow. Make sure they are posted, and then enforce them.

One last boat ramp story. A few years ago, before you had to pay to park, a friend of mine was taking his wife and grandkids for a day on the water. He put in at the Placida ramp and left the boat and family at the dock while he parked the truck. It was crowded that day so he had to park in the back. As he was walking back to the dock carrying a few fishing rods and the family dog following next to him, a county vehicle pulled up next to him and told him that pets were not allowed in the park. My friend explained that he was just going to the boat, but the official said the dog’s feet were not allowed to touch the ground.

Without batting an eye my friend said, “if you want to help I’ll carry the fishing rods, you can carry the German shepherd.” The official said he would ‘let it go this time.’

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MAGAZINE

Sarasota Shark Tournament

Here's a picture from the May Sarasota Shark tournamant. The Angler is 14 year old Paul Wagenseil of Englewood. He took 2nd place in the junior division with a 17 pound blacktip. He won a Penn 9/0 reel w/rod, and it couldn't have happened to a better kid.

Paul gets good grades in school and even works at night bussing tables near his home at the Coconut Grove restaurant.

He is saving up now for the entry fee in the St. Pete Open spear tournament. I know he is going to do well in that one too. – Adam Wilson

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June 2007

June 2007

Water LIFE

Flatsmasters Results

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S taff R eport Jeff Totten, Ozzie Lessinger and Jeff Fisher took home the $16,00 first prize money in the Flatsmasters Redfish Challenge, May 13 at Fishermen’s Village. The trio weighed in two big fish (7.44 and 7.55) to post a tournament winning 14.99 pounds.

The 2nd. place Cape Tool and Tackle team took home $4,500 for its posted 13.07 weight, while team 4M2B’s third place12.73 weight was worth $4000. In all 119 teams competed in the two day event. In the Saturday quallifier, 104 teams made it back to the scale with 96 teams weighing-in two fish.

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MAGAZINE

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Wyatt Carter Wins the Kids Cup Page 16

By Mi chael Hel l er Water LIFE editor It was over a year ago. We were finishing our new house and I had hired a tile contractor to do the bathrooms. The Kids Cup for 2006 had just ended and while the ‘tile guy’ worked his magic he and I talked about fishing. He knew some of the other fishing contractors I knew and after a while he told me about his then 10 year old son, Wyatt, who loved to fish.

“I’m going to see if next year he wants to fish in the Kids Cup,” David Carter had said, standing in my unfinished upstairs bathroom.

Fast forward to 2007. Entry number 91 comes in the mail.

That name sounds familiar, Wyatt Carter. ‘I know him,’ I said to my wife, ‘that’s David, our tile guy’s son.’ Father and son, fishing together – Cool!

That was the last thought I had about them until I saw them at the Captain’s meeting.

The next thing I remember was being on the weigh-in dock. It was a little after 1 p.m. on tournament day. The big rush of boats had not arrived yet. A dark hulled older Hughes pulled up to the dock. I recognized the boat driver, it was David Carter. His son Wyatt wore a happy face. They took the lines from our dock crew and tied up.

We don’t use weigh-bags at the Kids Cup. We use a laundry basket to transport the fish from the boat directly to the scale and we weigh the fish right in the basket.

David pulled what would later measure as a 26.5 inch redfish from the live well and Wyatt handed the basket up to us on the dock. ‘Big Fish,’ I remember thinking to myself. ‘Nice, big fish.’ Weighed in, it was 6.81 pounds. Way to go guys! Father and son, fishing together. David was beaming that proud-father glow of affection and joy while Wyatt basked in the accomplishment.

By the end of that day Wyatt was in the Top-5.

A week later, Wyatt and the other Kids Cup Top-5 anglers took off at dawn from Laishley Park Marina for their final day of fishing. This was the big time, part of the Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup, complete with a weigh in on the ESPN2 TV stage.

Because of the TV timing the Kids had to be back at the dock at 12:45, a full two hours before the pros had

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June 2007

MAGAZINE

to weigh-in.

Austin and Ernie Oskey were one of the first teams I met at the dock. Ernie, the dad, casually whispered to me. “We got another big one,” or something to that effect. In the Kids Cup the week before, his son had weighed in a 7.77 pound fish – the heaviest of the tournament. Ernie, a propane distributor from the Keys was one of three Top-5 fathers fishing with their sons, fathers who were not professional captains and were gainfully employed in a business other than marine. The third father and non captain was local businessman Bruce Laishley, a longtime local fisherman who was driving the boat for his son Brian. Brian’s fish was the second heaviest on Kids Cup day, but looking in their livewell their Top-5-day fish didn’t look quite as big.

“We had a great day,” Bruce said as Brian tidied up the boat. They knew.

Capt. Doug Creek, one of the professional guides who was driving for Thomas Polk, was the next to tease me with a prediction. “We might have the winner,” Doug said, noting that they had a ‘really nice fish.’

Capt. Robert Barham, driving the boat for Jr. Angler James Daughtry kept a poker face and said nothing. I love drama.

Like in the big-boy’s ‘Oberto Cup’, the Kids Cup anglers weigh in in the reverse order that they finished for the Top-5. That meant Thomas Polk, James Daughtry, Wyatt Carter, Brain Laishley and Austin Oskey - in that sequence.

For the TV weigh-in they bring the fish to the scale in a black weigh-in bag. The Kids hold their fish up for the camera, it gets weighed and then the first angler sits in the seat of a Lake and Bay boat that is part of the stage set up.

When another angler weighs in a heavier fish he takes the first anglers place in the boat. Last one in the boat, is the angler with the heaviest fish. The whole production builds drama and makes for great TV. Thomas reached down and pulled out a monster red that weighed 7.37 pounds. The crowd went wild! Thomas went and sat in the boat.

Next up was James Daughtry. Five and a half pounds. Nice fish, but not nice enough. Good try.

That 7.37 is going to be hard to beat, someone in the crowd said. I was thinking that too.

And then Wyatt Carter came on stage. At 11 years of age Wyatt was the smallest angler in stature among the Top-5 group. It didn’t matter.

Wyatt reached into the bag and pulled out a whopper. The crowd stood up and you cold feel the electricity in the air as announcer Bob Sealy read the 7.42 pound weight. Five hundreths of a pound heavier than Thomas Polk’s fish. Go sit in the boat Wyatt! The pressure was on, and poppa Carter was almost as nervous as his son.

Brian Laishley was next up. Nice fish, but clearly smaller. Wyatt breathed a sigh of relief.

Poppa David, backstage, stood frozen, as if any move could break the spell. Next up was Austin Oskey, another Top-5 angler fishing with his dad.

But at

Wyatt Carter 7.42

Thomas Polk 7.37

Austin Oskey 6.21

James Daughtry 5.50

Brian Laishley 2.99

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6.21 pounds Austin’s fish wasn’t the one and the day belonged to Wyatt Carter, the 11 year old fishing with his dad.

In addition to the Top-5 trophies, rods and reels and all the other prizes the Top-5 received the week before, the Top-5 kids also all got new Lowrance GPS units, jackets and hats from Mercury Marine, lures from Strike King and Mirro-Lure, and Wyatt, of course, got the Kids Cup 2007 trophy. Wyatt’s dad, for driving the winning boat, received a Power Pole anchoring system from Ingman Marine.

The Charlotte Redfish mascot stopped by and Keith Allen, the announcer, in playing around, managed to get a big treble hooked lure stuck in the mascot’s mouth.

Then the skies opened and it was seriously inclement for about an hour. Then it cleared and it was time for the Oberto Top 5.

It’s old history, by now you probably know the team of Keller and Faulkner weighed in their two-fish-total of 12.69 pounds and took home the big $40,000 check, but did you know if you paired them up, team for team, the Kids Cup anglers beat the pants off the Oberto Cup professional Top-5.

Yes, the kids were fishing with shrimp and the pros fished with artificials, but they’re kids fishing against professionals and the kids have to cast and catch the fish all by themselves.

Kids Cup Jr Anglers Ki ds Cup To p - 5 Fi s h we i g h t

The Watts brothers Oberto team were back back before the rain started, while other teams waited it out under the bridge

Wyatt Carter Austin Oskey Thomas Polk James Daughtry

Vs

Here’s the way I figure: The Oberto Top-5 teams weigh in two fish per team.

The Kids weigh in one fish each.

So I took the one fish that each Kids Cup angler weighed in on Kids Cup day and The Charlotte baseball Redfish mascot added that to the got a lure stuck in itʼs mouth and had to have it extracted with a plyers, one fish weight while on stage. The fish was good they weighed in spirited, and it made for a good show! on TV day. Our kids kicked their butts, team for team, right down the line.

It was all good. Congratulations to the Kids Cup anglers, captains and parents. This was the best Kids Cup yet! And a big thanks to the local and national sponsors! We couldn’t have done it with out each and every one of you! And thanks to Fishin’ Franks and Robert.

And finally, thanks to Betty Staugler, Sea Grant and Mote Marine and the 20 redfish tagging sponsors. We are all helping to shape the future, together.

The Oh Boy! Oberto Top-5

Fi s h we i g h t

14.23 13.98 13.92 12.16

Page 17

Ob e rt o To p - 5

Al Keller – Bill Faulkner Gregg Watts – Brain Watts Dan Latham – Mike Friday Craig Johnson – John Ochs

12.69 12.48 12.44

Page 18

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MAGAZINE

June 2007

Underwater Report

Wi th Adam Wi l son Water LIfe Diving May's diving was not exactly as great as it could have been. Seems like every time I talk about how great the upcoming month is going to be, the weather makes a liar out of me. Late season north winds kept near shore visibility down. A deep, cold water, upwelling, well offshore, has dropped visibility to zero out past 160 feet. Reports from the wreck of the Roatan Express 1 talked about a murk layer at 150 feet that was pitch-black all the way to the bottom at 190 feet ... but at least the surface temperature should now be near 80 degrees.

Until the near shore reefs clear, seems like the place to jump in is around the 100-foot area. We have done some great drops as far south as the Stoney Point and as far north as Sarasota county's D9 and hard bottom beyond. All spots in between should remain clear and fishy all month.

We are still seeing huge Aj's, cobia, mutton snapper and permit at these spots. This has been one of the best years for cobia in a long time. My dive buddy Carl shot a 54 pound cobia just a few weeks ago.

If you are shooting fish this month watch out for the goliath grouper. They will start to make a huge showing at all large structures in June to begin their annual summer spawning ritual.

Southwest Florida has the largest population of breeding goliath grouper in the entire state. By mid summer it won't be uncommon to see as many as 100 mature adult goliaths on one wreck. We have already seen the year round resident goliaths start to move considerably faster with the warmer water. These big guys rarely leave the safety of their bottom structure, but recently on a dive at the twin barges, I was followed all the way to my safety stop at 15 feet by a goliath looking for a handout, or for me to turn my head for a moment.

If you keep your stringer attached to yourself when diving amongst goliaths, make sure it is attached with a quick disconnect. They will sneak up behind you, swallow your stringer of fish and drag you around.

When you feel like leaving the gun in the boat, there should be plenty of subjects to shoot with a camera. Turtles are here now, Preparing for their beach runs to bury the eggs of future generations. It

seems like they willingly pose for the camera. Napping while tucked under a ledge or grazing along the bottom they are usually too busy doing turtle stuff to pay attention to divers, but they are protected animals, so don't try to hitch a ride. Besides, a large loggerhead turtle can weigh 350 pounds, have a head the size of a soccer ball and if upset could easily do serious harm to a diver with their hawk like beak.

We have also run into several pods of bottlenose dolphins. Sometimes they will hang out long enough to get some great shots too. And if your taking pictures it is hard not to snap a few of the menacing barracuda on your way back to the surface, unless your in Frank's tournament this month, then you should be filling the cooler with the stinky fish robbers for bait!

If the wind does finally turn east and lay down, the Trembly and Palm Island Ferry reefs will be great for beginners this month.

You will see cobias, small jacks, snappers, groupers and schools of barracudas patrolling both spots. If your going to dive from the beach or around the old railroad and phosphate dock remains, remember stone crab season closed on May 15th. I've heard the sand that was pumped up on the beach at Boca Grande is already starting to shift and reveal rocks and ledges within swimming distance. It will be interesting to see how the Marker

Light reef holds up to all the excess sand dumped so close.

From novice to the most experienced, Venice offers a great day of easy diving. Visibility has been averaging 10 feet recently. That's more than enough to sift across the bottom and hunt for giant shark teeth.

Always have your tow behind dive flag when beach diving. The boat traffic can be busy off Venice and it's the law. If you have to get offshore and are boat-less, Capt. Jeff Steele from Spair Time charters is the guy to call. I spoke with him recently, and anybody that loves to dive the Bayronto will be very interested in his special guest coming all

the way from England just to dive there in September. You can reach him at spairtime.com or 941-380-5313.

Adam Wilson can be reached for comments or diving information at (941) 766-1661 or via e-mail at: wilsonpools@comcast.net

June 2007

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MAGAZINE

Above: Mother & young spotted bottlenose dolphins that came to check us out on a safety stop.

There were several others, maybe 20 in the pod, but these two seemed to be the most curious.

Bottom Far Left: A sea turtle that was munching seaweed off the Bayronto, until I disturbed her.

Lots of turtles are around now with the nesting season approaching.

Top Far Left: A diver ascending from the wreck of the Stoney Point, surronded by amberjacks.

Below Left: is my buddy Carl with a 54 pound cobia hangin from his stringer on his way up.

Page

19

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Water LIFE

OFFSHORE: lots of great fishing

By Capt Stev e Skev i ng to n Water LIFE Offs ho re There’s been a great Spanish mackerel bite that's been going on all month. These fish are hitting early in the morning right on the beach and they’re super easy to find since the birds are just all over them, diving and chirping like there's no tomorrow. We were only five minutes from the dock yesterday and these fish were all around the boat. My morning cup of coffee was still piping hot, and we were pulling up fish left and right!

With all that action first thing in the morning, we decided to take a break and try some tarpon fishing just

off the beach.

We managed to load a cast net full of large threadfins, that we put out on 50-pound leaders and 5/0 circle hooks. These were almost immediately gobbled up by small blacktip sharks.

Looking for a bigger shark, we put half of a Spanish mackerel out on a wire leader. This resulted in a hundred pound tarpon!

The permit are still on the chew, but for some reason they are a little harder to find this year than last. Once you find them you get a few, then you have

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June 2007

to go hunting again.

Kingfish are still around with limits of them being caught out near fifty feet of water. Live bait has worked the best on those fish.

I haven't done a whole lot of grouper fishing in the last few trips, but what we have done has been great with limits of red Gel Coat, Spot Repairs • Major Structural Repairs grouper, and a lot of nice gag Professional Quality Awl Grip Finishes grouper as well.

Complete Detailing and Brightwork • Free Estimates • Mobile Service Snapper are a nighttime fish C o m p l e t e L a n d & S e a o n L i n e S h i p ʼs S t o r e right now, if you can pull yourself w w w. a l l f i b e r g l a s s r e p a i r s . c o m – Scott Steffe Owner away from those full-moon tarpon long enough you should get your limit of mangrove snapper pretty quick.

Hard to believe, but there's a lot of other great fishing going on Shop 941- 575-8914 right now.

Home 235-2243 Blackfin tuna are still blasting live baits fished on top and the 1726 deeper wrecks are still holding Steadly some respectable amberjack and Nice Blackfin Tuna (above) and a healthy permit (left) are indicative of offshore action.

Ave ‘cudas.

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Water LIFE

SCUTTLEBUTT

June 2007

Page

MAGAZINE

Sometimes Unsubstanciated, But Often True

Tough Break The IGFA has rejected a world record application for a 16pound, 3-ounce bonefish caught by Bob Schroeder. The 10-pound braided fiber fishing line used by Schroeder broke at more than 20 pounds.

Everglades Restoration Regulations One of the Federal plans on the books for the Everglades restoration is to limit travel in 3 feet or less of water to electric motors or push poles only. Public comment time is coming.

That could mean most of Florida bay and traveling from the mid Keys to Flamingo would take days.

Fishin’ Franks

DQʼd Bucky Dennis, the local IGFA record holder for hammerhead shark was DQʼd from the Sarasota Shark tournament last month for allegedly starting his fishing too early. Dennis reportedly had a 400 pound hammer ready for the scale when he was cut.

Shark Tournament June 9 22 Annual

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NG in PG and 2-cents worth. The city of Punta Gorda is talking with several businesses about revenue sharing. The city also appears to have a notion that is should be ʻrevenue sharingʼ with shrimpers who will be based at the new marina and selling shrimp. We say the city should be thankful for businesses who want to invest and locate here and be more boater and fisherman friendly. Make the marina a truly functional marina. Allow charter captains to be based there and quit trying to be everyoneʼs partner. Isnʼt a business license enough? And if you need more money cut some of the fat out of your operating expenses. Look at Hampton Va., if you need a model city for restoration of a waterfront community.

Shark/Stingray/Catfish

A Footer in the Door Contractors have poured the foundation on Fishin' Frankʼs new house, almost a full three years after Hurricane Charley. Also started last month was the new county auditorium in Punta Gorda, though we canʼt see the dust from that project quite yet.

Predicting the Predictions The National Hurricane Center says there is a 75-percent chance that their 2007 hurricane predictions are 100-percent right.

Love Bugs It is against Charlotte County water restrictions to wash your car more than once a week. Ar you breaking the law?

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21

Water LIFE

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MAGAZINE

June 2007

EXTREME REDFISH TOURNAMENT Picking up Momentum

S t aff R eport Eighteen boats presented a respectable turnout, especially considering the night before there were only six boats signed up. “We sign ‘em up right at the dock in the morning,” tournament Director Andy Medina explained. “It’s the Extreme Fishing Tournament,” he added. Andy, also the weighmaster and fish handler, arrived with a scale, a sink, a measuring board and a table.

It all happens right on the dock. No tent, no stage, no resucitation tanks or tagging. They weigh the fish and drop it back in the drink. It took about a half hour to weigh-in all the boats. After they weigh-in, a anglers find a place to tie up and mill around on the dock. In all, 14 teams weighed in fish. The biggest fish was Paul Lambert’s 6.89 pounder, backed up by a 5.52 pounder that was enough for Lambert and partner Brandon Varney to collect the $915 first place check. The 6.89 pound fish was also the biggest fish of the event and worth an additional $180. Overall second place went to Jarred Davis and Chuck Smith with 11.79 pounds worth $380. Third went to Mike Mahan and Bob Boudreau with an 11.11 worth $145.

Stories on the dock continue to revolve around other anglers who were discourteous to tournament anglers (surprise, surprise!) and checks from another tournament that had not yet cleared.

One fish weighed in exhibited a perforated lower jaw which weighmaster Andy Medina attributed to a knock-off style ‘Boga-grip’ fish scale. “They are just too square and too sharp,” Medina said of the tool.

A crowd of perhaps 30 people gathered at the Best Western Hotel in Punta Gorda to watch the weigh-in.

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Blue crabs are a popular redfish bait right now

Legends and Fish Stories

June 2007

Water LIFE

Page 23

MAGAZINE

Schematic view of a Split S: (Blue plane) 1. 180° turn 2. Half loop 3. Exit level

By Fi shi n’ Frank place to hang out, like a bad house guest, they Water LIFE Expert just do not leave a spot until there is a reason.

Spring is a time for urban legends, lets take Tarpon are another fish we are trying to learn ol' Hitler for example. Some of the local guides about. It would seem that tarpon always come saw a large shark – one of the many large sharks back to the place they were born and it is possiin the pass at Bocxa Grande – and started calling ble they bring others with them on thier journey the large shark Hitler. In thier greed and lust to home each year. Places like the Amazon River sell property, the General Development that used to have a tarpon season much like the Corporation, who built Port Charlotte, needed to one we enjoy here in Charlotte Harbor, now do have a colorful history for Charlotte Harbor, and not get the ‘sliver visitors’ anymore. Apparently, the stories about ol' Hitler and Gasparilla the the native people fished the local fish into extincPirate fit the bill, so the legends grew.

Love Bugs were invented by the University of Florida to eat mosquitoes. That is A Thought : Split-S? another myth. Love bugs Fish live in a 3D world just like aviators. The photo to the In the water, this fish’s tail made an almost perfect 180came from South America via right shows the patterns left in shallow water by a snook, hitdegree circle before an abrupt movement was made, probably to Texas, mostly expanding their ting on a live free-swimming greenback. Of interest are the bub- attack the greenback.And since snook suck in their bait, with territory by riding on the bles and underwater ‘eddies’ left by the fish. We wonder, do they help from a long lower jaw, they often come up from under front ends of cars. The most somehow correlate to an aviator’s combat maneuver called the their meal if they can. That means this fish was coming out of common theory is, love a turn and changing altitude....coming up. bugs, stuck to the front of In aviation, the Split-S is a 3D style evasive cars, but not dead, fly off and tactic used by pilots to disengage from a dogfight. By entering a hard 180-degree turn and deposit thier larva in the thick then rolling out (splitting the ‘S’) into a half dead grass build-up along the loop, (either up or down) the pilot has a good side of the road, where they chance of shaking his attacker. eat and to some degree, help For the a fish, turning hard, then coming with the break down of plants down or up on it’s prey, could be a lot like the there-by improving the eco aviator’s Split-S. system. When the larva reach The fish appears to use this tactic offensiveadult hood they fly away to ly, which is even more impressive, since the mate. The larger female may fish has to be right on target to hit its prey, mate with more than one while the aviator only has to be facing somemale as they live only 7 days where in the opposite direction to successfully . The males die within 3 escape. days, the swarm grows as The Split-S (also called a reversed new adults replace the dieing Immelmann turn) is one of the oldest air comones for the four week cycle, bat maneuvers, but could it be, fish have been each May and again in A snook comes out of a turn to smack a sardine in shallow water. One theory has it doing it longer?

September. that fish in the Northern Hemisphere turn left to attack and that is why so many fish are hooked in the right side of the mouth, but clearly, this fish doesnʼt know that.

Love bugs were first seen in south Florida in 1971 and were first found in the U.S. in Louisiana in tion, and now they are gone Properties SOUTHWEST of FLORIDA 941-276-2551 1940. The reason the roadways are so crowed with from there. Here the tarpon love bugs is the exhaust fumes and sunshine come each year to spawn and attract them. So while we cuss them as the clog gorge them selves on the pass our radiators and muck up cars, take a little comcrab migration. It was always fort in the fact at least they don't bite. thought the tarpon came to While there are no legends about Redfish, perBoca Grande each year for the haps we have a lot of misconceptions about food, but maybe it is that the them. Myself and many others thought redfish ones born here are returning Burnt would move along the shoreline when released and bring the big schools with Store and head back towards the places they were them each year. caught. While it is not certain, it would seem Nature is complicated and Marina from the data collected so far in the Redfish we are just scratching the surTracking Project being done by SeaGgrant and face of understanding the full Affordable Marlin Run Villa $218,000 + $2500 carpet allowance + Home Warranty.

Open floor plan with split bedrooms, easy-care ceramic tile in kitchen & baths, private Water LIFE, that the once released the reds move impact of what happens. On garage and peaceful lanai surrounded by the lush vegetation of a Preserve. Enjoy Florida resort lifestyle at Burnt Store Marina — boating in Charlotte Harbor, full service deep for open water, and take thier sweet time about it. the up side, we are trying. water marina, world class fishing, resident boat ramp, 10+ area golf courses and on-site restarant. Join the BSM fitness club for resort style pool, fitness classes, workout As long as there is food and a comfortable Fishin’ Frank @

Snook Swirl: an aerobatic maneuver?

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Page 24

MAGAZINE

June 2007

Tarpon Series

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Just as many boats as ever, maybe 75 on this day, May 27

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Plenty of non-tourney anglers hooked up as well

One of the fish released on Memorial Day weekend.

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Artie Price and his team weighed in this 160 pound fish to win the first round.

R Re ea all E Es st ta at te e N Ne ew ws s June 2007

PROVIDED BY: Dave & Marlene Hofer RE/MAX Harbor Realty (941) 575-3777 dhofer@remax.net

Recent area news i tems: Recent area news items: 1. Real estate tax reform takes center stage in June. The Florida Legislature will reconvene for a special session to deliberate the sticky issues of lessening the burden to homeowners. They are mindful of the widening inequity of non homesteaded property owners vs. owner occupants. A lot of different ideas have been kicked around in local newspapers around the state, most indicating that the committee is at an impasse.

But, here is the real story of where we stand with proposed legislative bills that have been negotiated by the respective committees as of April 24: Fl ori da House of Representati ves: Cap on property tax collections limited to collections of 2001 plus inflation and population growth since then.

To make up for this rollback, a 1% statewide sales tax will be added.

Fl ori da S enate: Cap on property tax collections limited to collections of 2007 plus inflation and population growth.

Neither House or Senate bills limit the taxes collected by school districts. This typically amounts to about 1/4 of residential real estate taxes collected.

Only the Senate proposal makes any changes to the basic homestead exemption. They are asking for an additional $25,000 for first time homebuyers. This extra exemption will be phased out as property valuations increase.

Some of the outlandish proposals considered severely cutting back homesteaded property taxes with varying degrees of increased subsidy from non homesteaded property owners and sales taxes. They don't appear to be headed for the final legislation.

County assessors will finally be given better instructions for determining value

Water LIFE

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MAGAZINE

for commercial property. In the past, assessors have been given the latitude to value commercial property on the basis of what it could POTENTIALLY be used for. In Southwest Florida, assessors have blindly determined market The new Punta Gorda, is once again defining itself as a boating and fishing community. value of most commercial properties on acres to store up to 1 billion gallons of Christmas selling season and will kick the basis of what a similar piece of propwater.

Since no damming of Shell off the enormous shoperty sold to a speculator that may have Creek will be required, regulatory red tape ping/office/residential development spearsubstantially overpaid for their investheaded by the Loop Development. ment. Now assessors will be limited to a will be minimized.

5.

The first phase of construction S al es S tati sti cs: valuation based on its current use, in the on Thomas Ranch in North Port will Median price of lots and condos rose words of the Senate, the use must be that begin with 1869 units in Island Walk and modestly last month and single family "which is reasonably probable, physically 2000 units in Gran Paradiso. North Port homes slipped a little. Volume was too possible, and legally permissible as well as FINANCIALLY FEASIBLE and maxi- annexed the 8,000 acre ranch in 2002. It low to give any true indication of a marmay be five years before construction ket rebound. mally productive". actually begins and some 20 years before All of the proposals appear to attempt These statistics are intended to assist in this phase is completed. to curb government spending rather than analy zing trends in supply and demand and 6. Punta Gorda Housing Authority simply creating an artificially low not to indicate specific mark et v alues. will be rebuilding 170 units over the next assessed valuation in order to provide Ending inv entory is not alway s beginning 18 months. 85 public housing and 85 relief to long suffering homeowners. inv entory plus listings minus sales since lower income market rate units will be many pending listings are held ov er from built on the site that Hurricane Charley 2. Charlotte County School District month to month, some listings ex pire and destroyed on Myrtle Street in 2004. will likely spend $200K for a ballot proare withdrawn and, therefore, do not appear 7.

The Charlotte County Event posal to add another .5 per cent to our as sales and new listings includes price Center broke ground on May 24. sales taxes. They are seeking to raise changes.

8.

Construction on the Super Wal$200 million for various capital expendiPlease v isit us at Mart on Jones Loop Road and Taylor road tures to rebuild outdated and storm damwww.harborparadise.com to v iew any av ailis moving along.

Should be open for aged schools throughout the county.

Rather than the traditional means of funding school projects with bond issues to be repaid with ad valorem taxes, a sales tax would have two unintended consequences to our community. Not only will more of the burden be shifted to shoppers spending money on food and clothing, but big ticket sales like cars and furniture may go to surrounding counties.

3. The current Florida state highway budget contains $6.7 mil for improvement of Aqui Esta from Ames to Bal Harbor. Depending on whether the city and/or county will add to this budget, the street may get widened but will undoubtedly be raised to reduce flooding.

4. Punta Gorda is contemplating construction of an offline reservoir of 166

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Page 26

Water LIFE

On The Line MAGAZINE

Fishing with Capt Ron

June 2007

By Capt Ron Bl ago Water LIFE Senior Staff Fishing activity has really picked up this last month. The boatramps are filling up, even on the weekdays. On the weekends don’t expect to find a parking spot after noon unless you find someone pulling out and you slip in right in behind them.

Weather has been really nice, except it seems to be a little windy most days. I’ve been trying to improve my fly fishing skills, but the winds have made that impossible most days; so back to the jig and When the rains come, the gin clear waters of spring will turn to live bait. the chocklate milk of summer.

We had an algae outbreak here in Tarpon season is in full swing and Lemon Bay last month. Not red tide, but already at Boca Grande it looks like it’s the blue-green type algae, I think. going to be a good year in the Pass. The It started right after the first good rain last two years have been slow with rule we had in a long time. Large gobs of this changes, sharks and red tide, but everygreen smelly gunk appeared floating on thing seems to be coming together this the surface, particularly around the creeks year. This would be a good time to book that feed into a charter with one Lemon Bay. of the tarpon Because of the full guides that fish the moon there wasn’t pass. much tidal flow and Judging by the the westerly wind number of redfish pushed the stuff into tournaments we the backwaters and have had in the canals, especially area , I would say around Cedar Point that redfish has where I live. taken over from For three days snook as the this stuff was in my species most canal just decomsought after. There posing. I actually are still plenty of watched white mold reds to be had, but grow on the stuff, if you fish on and the stench was Read this story! weekends don’t be unbelievable. You surprised to see a know that low tide smell we all love? hundred fast moving, floating billboards I did learn something new. There are a flying by, trying to beat you to your lot of small minnows in my canal this favorite hot spot. time of year and the floating garbage didDon’t forget that this is the time of n’t bother them one bit. As a matter of year in our area for big trout. fact, they actually ate the stuff and seemed I’m talking 4 pounds plus. Each year to enjoy it. And when the tide started to I try to get a 7 pounder. I havn’t had any run stronger and the wind changed direcluck yet but last year I caught 2 that were tions, the garbage moved on and the minover 6 pounds. nows went with it.

I could use a few folks who are willing to volunteer their boat and time to take one or two kids fishing

June 2007

continued on facing page

Continued from facing page These ain’t your normal – lets float a shrimp over the grass flat – trout. These are big mean, tough trout that you find around oyster bars and in deep fast running water. My favorite bait is a 5 inch grunt with a 5/0 hook. It’s a lot like nighttime snook fishing.

Offshore fishing is still pretty good. There are still some big kingfish out there, but the season is pretty much over.

With the price of gas approaching $4.00 gallon, I don’t see a lot of amateurs going too far offshore. I expect that the near shore reefs will be seeing a lot of use this summer. Remember that June and July are always good mangrove snapper months.

Just lighten up on the tackle and bring a few home for dinner.

Each year I run a Kid’s Fishing Camp in Englewood during the summer. This years camp is July 30th – Aug. 3rd . Every day I take the kids to a different spot around Englewood to try a different style of saltwater fishing. One days it’s wading, the next beach fishing, then pier fishing etc. On the last day, Friday Aug. 3rd I plan on taking them fishing on Lemon Bay. Leaving from Indian Mounds boatramp at 8:00a.m. and returning by 11:00 a.m. I could use a few folks who are willing to volunteer their boat and time to take one or two kids fishing.

The kids are both boys and girls between the ages of 8-12 . If you can help out please give me a call. You don’t have to be a professional captain, just someone that likes to help out a kid.

Weʼre still trying to save the terminally stupid:

Smoke and Mirrors

The PGI Waterway Maintenance DIstrict is in the process of installing new mirrors in the Ponce De Leon Inlet channel and at itʼs intersection with the Rim Canal. The mirrors are supposed to allow boaters to better see approaching traffic. Didnʼt they try this before?

Water LIFE

MAGAZINE

Some people look at June as the beginning of hurricane season. We like to look at it as the beginning of fruit season.

Although Florida oranges have been harvested for several months already,

by June the sweetest fruit seems to trickle down to the retail store level.

The oranges (and tomatoes) shown here are straight from the shelves of the local Publix and they are the sweetest and tastiest we have come across yet this year. For oranges, the compression juicer is the only way to go

By Bi l l Di xon Water LIFE Sailing I am writing this on Sunday on my laptop in Pelican Bay. Mrs. D re-retired from her music minister job and for the first Sunday in memory, didn’t go to church.

We all are guilty of forgetting that we live in Paradise.

We (me too) need to do it more.

Yes, go!! Boat!! Please don’t anchor too close to me, but do enjoy the beauties of Charlotte Harbor. Life is good here, sea breeze, 80’s, sunshine, but we are not sailing today. We are getting acquainted, talking about the future, and soaking up the beauty that is Charlotte Harbor.

Friday, we pumped out, dieseled up, 10 gallons, a year’s supply for a sailor, and anchored off Fishville/Gilchrist Park. Interestingly, the Redfish Cup was on, and later Friday afternoon, dozens of flats boats went by at a hundred miles an hour to hurry and get weighed in.

Saturday morning, it was hazy and the boats came out of the smoke at over 100 mph, but singly, I was up early expecting a solid wall of boats. Both days, the

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Page 27

You can reach me at Pelican Bay

tournament fishermen were very courteous and gave us a wide berth.

At the speed they were going, only the blades of their propellers touched the water, so there were no wakes to speak of.

Later Saturday, we set off down the harbor for Pelican Bay (1). Other choices could have been up the Myakka (2), by the mouth of Alligator Creek (3) or Matlacha (4).

We could have gone to Useppa, (5) or Boca Grande Bayou (6), but the dog likes the sandbar at the mouth of Pelican Bay. A front is forecast for tonight and 20-25 knot northerlies for tomorrow.

Maybe another 15 or 20 feet of chain, maybe not. Gorgeous sunsets, ospreys, pelicans dolphin, and even some tarpon rolling in the back

of Pelican Bay. Spring race results are not available to me and we are not going back for a while. Sailing is just starting for the summer. Check the web at www.pgscweb.com and you will find a summer full of races, cruises and other good stuff. Go!! Boat!!

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Page 28

Water LIFE

MAGAZINE

June 2007

Kayaking: Where wildlife and city-life share the same canal

By Mi chael Hel l er Water LIFE editor We live right off the Peace River at the top of Charlotte Harbor. We’ve had high water, low water, sometimes no water. We’ve had dolphins, manatees and spotted eagle rays in our canal. We’ve had an alligator or two. An osprey had her nest in the tree next door. We have ibis on the lawn and (at the old house) an osprey flew right through. Wood storks, blue herons and even a kingfisher have stopped here. We’ve caught snapper and catfish and snook and redfish and trout and tarpon and a baby goliath grouper. We’ve caught baitfish and whiting and mullet (with a net) and jacks and sheepshead and spadefish and black drum and stingrays all from our dock. We are truly blessed to be able to live in such a wildlife-abundant spot. And we’re right off the main road in Port Charlotte. Living on a canal is like living next to a schoolyard, only quieter and better and there’s is always something happening. You can slide a kayak into the canal and paddle around, trying to blend with the wildlife.

This past winter, with all the wind, a flock of migrating scaup ducks took up residence in our canal. We’d hear them come and go in squadron like formations, their wings beating the morning air, leaving at sunrise and coming home at dusk. They wouldn’t accept us even if we were asleep and drifting. If we got close, they’d leave.

Two months ago those migrating ducks packed up and went back up north, much like our snowbird neighbors across the street did last week, but some of the bigger ones stayed around. Coming and going daily, they are now permanent residents of our block. They won’t let us close but they don’t fly off in a flurry either.

In the past years we have stumbled across duck eggs in the thicket that used to be my neighbor’s vegetable garden, and in the bushes beside the house. This year I didn’t see any eggs, but still, we have a pair of little ducklings that

follow momma duck around all day long.

They travel primarily by water and their ritual includes coming to one of the culvert pipes that drain runoff from the street into the canal. Every day for the last few weeks they have arrived just as the pipe is awash with the falling tide. Momma hops up on the top of the pipe watching as

her little ducklings float in and out of the pipe. They staying inside until the tide falls below the lip and then their afternoon’s fun is over.They hop out and paddle away behind momma.

The falling tide is an interesting time. A month ago we had a pod of dolphins that made a daily appearance in our canal – about the same time every day; 4 inches into the falling tide. Every day the dolphins would come to the canal, forage around my dock and my neighbor’s dock across the canal (I think it had something to do with the fact we both had underwater lights on at night), then several of the dolphins demonstrated a behavior which I have yet to have explained to me. Nose first they would push against the seawall, their bodies angled 90-degrees into the canal. They wouldn’t all do it at the same time, but a number of them on any day could be seen doing it) They would arch their bodies with their dorsal fin out of the water and thrust with their tails pushing them head first against the wall. They do it for 15 or 20 seconds at at time. That went on for about three weeks and then one day they never came back. Yesterday it was jacks. They don’t mind a kayak, they simply swim around you. A marauding school of big jacks got on some unfortunate school of bite-sized baitfish and the jacks tore them up, thrashing the water so hard that several neighbors came out to see what the ruckus was. Then a flock of seagulls came in from nowhere to pick up the pieces.

Today it’s stingrays, appearing like a faded checkerboard beneath the surface. They are cool to watch from water level in a kayak or from the elevated vantage of our new second floor deck.

There are any number of reasons I like living on the water. It’s great to keep your boat out back. It’s calm and tranquil and you can feel the tide and the breeze at night.

But watching the unending and often amazing displays of nature, that’s what keeps me here. That and the fishing.

Ultimate Predator June 2007

By Capt. Rob Moore Water Life Staff We are now in the peak season for shark fishing here in Southwest Florida.

If you want to do battle with the ultimate predator, now is the best time. Even with the great numbers of sharks here along the Gulf Coast, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can pull up to just any spot and drop anchor and expect to catch a shark. Looking for the right conditions, chumming effectively and having the right gear will enhance your opportunities greatly.

First, I will start with the right conditions. The closer you get to the open Gulf the more your opportunities will increase. Higher salinity will hold more bait therefore holding more fish like Spanish mackerel. Spanish mackerel are the best sign that sharks are not far behind. The smaller sharks up to four feet work hand- in-hand with the mackerel to target the baitfish. The larger sharks are there to eat the mackerel. My shark fishing over the last 5 years has revolved around finding large feeding schools of mackerel, either in the back bays or in the open Gulf. The greatest part is when you find the mackerel you have also found the best bait of choice. Spanish mackerel make great bait for sharks. Just remember in order to use one for bait it must meet the minimum length required by law. You are also responsible to obey the limit you keep, even if you do use it for bait. I like to use a 6-7 inch filet of a mackerel. I use the carcass for chumming later on.

As for chumming, this can be the most important part of the trip. Sharks have a really great sense of smell. They will smell bleeding fish miles away. In

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A shot of adrenaline

order to attract those fish from far away, you must make sure your chum is effectively getting to them. Current is your best friend when chumming. The stronger the current, the better the results you will get overall from chumming. Decide what area you want to draw fish from and then make sure you are up tide from that area.

If the wind is blowing against the tide then anchoring in a single spot may not be the best course to take. The best way to see if your chum is getting out is to pour a little fish oil such as Menhaden oil over the side of the boat and watch the direction the slick drifts. If the slick stays around the boat, then that’s as far as your chum is going to go. In situations where my chum is not being effective because of an opposing wind, I will chum while I am drifting.

The best chum will be the freshest.

Old or frozen chum will work, but never as well as fresh chum. I like to catch my

limit of mackerel and place the carcasses on a stringer and hang it over the side of the boat. You may not see your chum working like an oil slick, but trust me, it is chumming. Frozen chum blocks will work, I like the ones that have oil mixed in with them so I can see how far the chum is dispersing from the boat.

Next, your gear will determine whether or not you land a shark. I generally use a rod and reel set up for the size shark I intend to catch. My leader will consist of a minimum of 6 feet of 150-200-pound mono shock leader. This is for keeping the shark from wearing through the line with its abrasive body and tail. The leader begins with a 200-pound barrel swivel, then 6 feet of 150-200-pound mono, then another barrel swivel. I then crimp on 18 inches of coffee colored single-strand stainless wire, usually 100-pound test.

This will be plenty of leader to stop a shark from biting through the leader with

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its mouthful of sharp teeth. The final touch is a 7/0 -to 10/0 circle hook. I have fallen in love with the Circle Light Chuck hook made by Daiichi. Once that hook is set, there is no losing the fish.

My line of choice is 80-100-pound test braided line. That size line gives you the opportunity to handle any size shark up to 400 pounds.

I am personally a catch-and-releaseonly guy when it comes to sharks. I just can’t bring myself to killing one of these magnificent beasts. So I leave my gaff at home and simply cut the leader when the shark is brought to the boat. If you do decide to keep a shark for the dinner table, be sure to bleed the fish as soon as possible to preserve the meat.

If you’re looking for some great action and a battle with one of the most feared creatures in the sea, try hooking up with Mr. Shark and enjoy the adrenaline rush.

Capt. Robert Moore can be reached at

June Fishing

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Report

Charlotte Harbor: Robert at Fishin' Franks Port Charlotte: 625-3888

Most of the predictions have failed at least to some extent. The east wind blowing so hard dropped the water temperature 15 degrees in 10 days. Now, hopefully, the cooler wind should lay down after the full moon, and if all goes as in the past, Frank’s Shark Tournament could cure the drout. (it almost always rains on Franks S hark Tournament - so much so it has become known as Frank’s S evere Weather Challenge – ed) The cooler water could make for a longer summertime of fishing, keeping the fish around the passes later. That’s if the rain comes and if it doesn’t drive them out! Like I said, most predictions have failed.

In the beginning of June the tarpon should go offshore to spawn after the hill tides. The crabs and shri mp will flush out the passes and the tarpon will follow. Shrimp has been incredible...when they are running...at least so far this year. The key is when.

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Of interest, sharks may have backed off this year and have not been as big of a problem as they have in the past three years. There are plenty of sharks in the harbor right now and will be for the next couple of months. Bl ack ti ps are pretty much everywhere.You can find them from the U.S. 41 bridges to the Myakka to Alligator Creek. That whole triangle has been very productive for small to mid-size sharks like 2-to 4footers and some 4 to 5 foot spi nners which are big sharks, 80-90 pounders.

They don’t usually get up this far, they stay out in the open water but there are quite a few larger sharks up in the harbor now. There is so much shark food; spani sh mackerel , l adyfi sh , jacks and bl uefi sh, the sharks don’t have to go feed out in the passes. It should stay this way at least another two to three weeks until the river starts to move again.

June can be a fairly decent month for redfi sh. Anywhere there is shade or some deeper pot holes, you can usually find reds, especially on the east side. Whi te bai t and shrimp will work, but the early morning top-water bite is, and should be, really good from now through the rest of the summer.

Dead-baiting will be a real key factor for reds. They will east cut sardines, cut ladyfish and frozen shrimp at this time

MAGAZINE

Plenty of Big Ones

June 2007

Capt Jarret Lombard holds an oversize redfish caught during the Kids Cup by Jr. Angler Trey Llewellyn. Trey later weighed in another fish.

of year. It’s a lazier way to fish, but very productive. The good part is you will end up with cobia and snook as bycatch since they will both take your cut bait.

S nook is closed. Let’s stay away from snook this summer, it can be hard to keep them alive.

S pani sh mackerel should be here for another couple of weeks, then they will start to head back out to the beaches. We’ve also got cero mackerel ,

they look like Spanish in the 6-7 pound range, but they are different, they are bigger fish.

There are a lot of Boni ta mixed in offshore with the Spanish and cero. The bonita seems to be a little more picky this year. Trolling through them has been more productive than running up on them and casting. The local guides are all going 1 to 3 miles offshore looking for them.

Continued on facing

Water LIFE

June 2007

page Continued from facing page The wind has been moving the permi t around a lot this season.

We may see more of them moving in because I think with the wind they are staying in the rougher water where they are safer.

Trout has been inconsistent, normal summer stuff, a few good stories, but not much trout right now. Along the beaches, whi ti ng and pompano are still out along the shore.

Wi th the shark tournament thi s month, here are a few S peci al Reports: S harks: If you’re looking for a tournament shark, larger ones like lemon sharks will be hanging out in the intracoastal, along the deeper drop offs, but normally they eat mullet from along the mangroves.

Larger bul l sharks will be concentrated on the schooling tarpons in the pass and in the harbor, on the l adyfi sh and S pani sh mackerel schools. Throw them jacks, boni ta, or mul l et.

S ti ngrays: will be along the edges along the outside of the bars.

They are all pregnant right now,

BIG-4 BIG-4

Juneʼs Juneʼs Target Target Species Species

October 6, see P-2 TARPON are here, in the Pass and in the Harbor

REDFISH continue to be consistent

they are notorious for late May and early June births, so they will be hanging at the shallow ends of the sandbars, especially along the west wall. Throw them dead bait on the bottom. Threadfi ns are working well, that or squi d.

Catfi sh: are a little tricky.

When you want them, they seem to be hard to find. The Peace River from the 41 bridges to Nav-AGator and out at El Jobean seem to be the catfish hot spots right now.

That plus every canal in Charlotte County.

Lemon Bay Jim at Fishermen’s Edge Englewood: 697-7595

Tarpon is the biggest focus here. They are not biting as well on the beach, but guys are still

n June 2, Charl o tte Hi g h Scho o l Redfi s h

Ro undup benefit, 941-637-5953

n June 2, Wi l dl i fe Ex po Fishermen’s Village,

Punta Gorda.

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MAGAZINE

n June 3,10,16,17, Pro fes s i o nal Tarpo n

To urnament Seri es at Boca Grande, entry:

SPANISH MACKEREL are good for another few weeks

getting a couple of fish a day.

The majority of the tarpon are being caught in the pass, some real big ‘toads’ like 160 to 180 pounds!

There are a lot of fish in the pass right now, but it has been really rough, and that’s been a real challenge for the guides. The live bait guys caught 58 fish in one 4 hour tournament a week ago. That’s a release every six minutes, but it wasn’t too rough that evening.

There are a lot of big snook around the area. Snook fishing is good and redfi sh action is good too – guys are still fishing and doing well in the back country. A lot of mackerel are around in Boca Grande and at Gasparilla pass.

There’s good pompano and a lot of whi ti ng around. Offshore, if the weather is good, there are good

C a l e n d a r

$1000

n June 9, Fishin’ Franks 22nd annual, S hark, S ai l cat and S ti ngray Tournament. Go out Saturday afternoon, fish all night and weigh in Sunday morning. (941) 625-3888

n June 9-10, Peace Ri ver Cl ean Up starting

THE ALL NEW 2008 F-450 KING RANCH SUPER DUTY

o f

SHARKS are all over, until the rains come

catches of grouper and snapper.

There are aj’s at the Bayronto, and Cobia on all the wrecks. Cobia seems to be good this year a friend got 7 keeper sized cobia in the harbor. Every cast into a pod of tarpon got a cobia. He called from the

15 year-old Hunter McCarthy with a nice Deep Creek-caught bass

E v e n t s

at Nav-A-Gator 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free entertainment and dumpsters for river trash.

n July 7, Pi rate Redfi sh Tournament, $400 entry, Punta Gorda at Harpoon Harry’s, 941637-5953, a Port Charlotte H.S. Benefit n Aug 18 Northport Bobcats Benefi t Redfi sh

Fishing

RIGHT NOW:

Excellent!