Water LIFE Nov 2010

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November 2010

Was this tuna a hoax?

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Might not be the Knot Page 14

Fabulous Fall Fishing Pa ge s 8 & 9

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November

2010

DIRECT 941-235-5648 TOLL FREE 877-218-6552

ATTENTION INVESTORS, SEASONAL OR FIRST-TIME HOME BUYERS! Home sold AS-IS. This 2/1 with carport has been painted outside and yard cleaned up.

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WONDERFUL POOL HOME in Deep Creek. This 1,934 sf 3/2/2 home features new carpet, paint, filter, pump, skylights, roof and gutters. Master Bedroom suite with dual vanity sinks, garden tub and shower. Large kitchen, huge inside laundry room and Lanai with cabinets & sink and space for a kitchen. LOOK NO MORE! $158,900 Call Ellen McCarthy 941-235-5648

CHARMING WATERFRONT POOL HOME - 3/2/2 1,749 sq ft. Just a great private home on Como Waterway and a short ride to the Harbor. Fish from your dock and watch a beautiful sunset. This home features so many upgrades as new roof, pool cage, all new wood cabinets with corian tops, new white wood cabinets in both baths, 2nd bedroom has dou. doors to nook area, new tile & wood floors. Don't wait!! $239,900 Call Ellen McCarthy 941-235-5648

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SHOWS PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP - One owner home, 2/2/2 with pool on large corner lot. All rooms are oversized, all tile floors except of Master bedrm has high quality carpet, 2 double French doors, newer A/C, range, microwave, water heater, garage door,opener and dryer. New cage and sand finished surface in pool.

Priced at market price to sell. $104,000 Call Ellen McCarthy 941-235-5648

OVERSIZED CORNER WATERFRONT LOT. Water on side and back of lot size 135x125 for a great waterfront view. Just one bridge and 20 min. to the Harbor.

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SHROEDER CUSTOM-BUILT HOME shows like a model. Only lived in a few months, this 3/2/2 1,614 sf home built in 2007 features 17” tile floors (except in bedrooms), split bedroom plan, open great room, white wood cabinets & Corian countertops $159,900 Call Ellen McCarthy 941-235-5648

BANK-OWNED 3/2/2 home sold As Is. Newly painted, this 2,830 sf bargain has a huge family room with fireplace and aquarium, French doors, split bedroom plan and spacious Master bedroom suite with garden tub, walk-in shower and dual sinks. Check this one out today! $189,000 Call Ellen McCarthy 941-2355648

ROCK CREEK WATERFRONT POOL HOME - 3/2/2, 1,700 sq ft. Minutes to the Harbor, concrete seawall, dock and davits. Auto cleaner for pool. All new roof, windows, sliding doors, hurricane shutters, tile floors, complete kitchen w/ hardwood cabinets, granite, appliances, screen on cage, paint interior and exterior, 17.5 Seer A/C, and on and on. A must see. $234,900

LAKE SUZY BEAUTY ON LAKE PEMBROKE - 3/2/2 heated pool home, 2135 sq ft, built in 1996. This home is a charm, with upgrades galore. Volume ceilings, Italian tile, new tile roof, pool cage, diamond brite & tile, hurricane shutters, inside laundry with lots of storage thru out home and the list goes on, This is a must see, Priced to sell at $299,900 Call Ellen McCarthy 941235-5648

CUSTOM-BUILT POOL HOME ON 2 LOTS. This gorgeous 3000 +sq ft home has all the whistles and bells, built 2006.

Upgrades in this 3 bedroom, 2.5 baths, 3 car garage home with pavered driveway and pool area. Features tri-level wood cabinetry, granite, gourment kitchen, built-in entertainment center and a master suite to die for. Call for a list of all the features, the list goes on. Wonderful buy at $399,900 Call Ellen McCarthy 941-235-5648

MYAKKA RIVER VIEW – Waterfront living at its best. If you are thinking of a home on the River, this one is for you. 2,770 sq. ft. built 2006 home with all the upgrades youʼll love. 3 bedrooms, 3 ½ baths. 3-car garage. Walkway to dock and boat lift.

Master downstairs with living, dining, family room, kitchen and nook. 2 bedrooms, sitting room and bath upstairs. Breath-taking décor in all rooms, with ceiling fans, trays, molding, lighting, wood cabinets, corian thru out. This one is a charm at $574,900 Call Ellen McCarthy 235-5648

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19700 Cochran Blvd • Port Charlotte, FL 33948

November

2010

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Letters to: WaterLIFE@comcast.net

Water LIFE I am pleased to report that the FWC's Guidelines for Launch Facilities for Non-Motorized Boats is ready for distribution. This guide has been put together by the members of FWC's NonMotorized Boat Technical Assistance Group, from resources and input provided over the past year's meetings in Orlando.

Jo Mogle Punta Gorda Note* The guide is also available online rom myFWC.org

November

2010

Water LIFE Magazine inc.

Michael & Ellen Heller Publishers

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e-mail (preferred) Waterlife@comcast.net Mail: 217 Bangsberg Rd. Port Charlotte, FL 33952

TOTALLY INDEPENDENT

Not affiliated with any other publication Vol IX No 11 © 2010

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

Contributing Editors:

My daughter Alexis caught this carp, in her words "Huge Fish" in a freshwater canal in Port Charlotte. She has always picked up a copy of the Water Life to practice reading and asked if I could try and get her in one of the upcoming copies. The fish was caught unexpectedly while brim fishing with bread and was successfully landed

by Alexis on her Bass Pro ladies ultra lite rod and reel.

Thanks in advance, Kris (Proud father of two great fishing partners) Mike Water LIFE To Whom It May Concern, What's the chance we can get a "Collier County" Water LIFE magazine too?

I love this magazine, but, would like a more local one, for us down here. I know you incorporate Lee and Collier in your additions. Maybe a local "boat club" can work with you on that.

What do you think?

George Karpathios, via email Editor Responds* Thanks George, Iʼll think about it – M

I see plans for the county to purchase land to expand the county boat ramp park in Placida. I launched my 26' boat there for years. Then they rebuilt the parking spaces. Now my truck & trailer wouldn't fit in the parking spots as they are too short. Everyone with longer rigs used to just pull past the paved spot a few feet before the park was redone. One time I pulled over the concrete stop at the end of the parking spot. When I returned from fishing I found a $40 ticket on my windshield for "parking on the grass." So I began parking at Eldred's. Is there any way to pressure the county into designing the park with longer parking spaces? I trailer to the east coast and they have plenty of boat launches and they accommodate the longer rigs required by us who prefer to fish offshore.

Lester Kuhn, Habour Heights

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Photography: ASA1000.com Senior Editor: Capt. Ron Blago Port Charlotte: Billy Barton Gasparilla: Capt. Chuck Eichner Commercial Fishing: Kelly Beall Sea Grant: Betty Staugler Real Estate: Dave Hofer Inshore: Fishinʼ Frank Diving: Adam Wilson Kayaks: David Allen Sailing: Bill Dixon Office Dog: Molly Brown

on the COVER

Throwing a cast net for mullet off Cape haze, last month. Page 7

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Water LIFE i s the o ffi ci al publ i cati o n o f the Charl o t t e Harb o r Reef As s o ci at i o n, the o ri g i nato r o f the Ki ds Cup To urnament and the pro ducer o f the Do n Bal l Scho o l o f Fi s hi ng .

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2010

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Boaters Held Hostage by Manatee Regulations

On the Line

November

2010

By Capt Ron Bl ago, Water LIFE Senior Staff The first meeting of the Charlotte County Manatee Protection Plan Review Committee has already been held. The decisions they make will have a profound affect on all boaters that use Charlotte County's waters. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission has asked Charlotte County to volunteer to implement a State Approved Manatee Protection Plan (MPP). If Charlotte County agrees to the idea it will become the 15th county out of 43 that have a State Last year the state spent $1.8 million on manatee research and $ 1 million on approved MPP. manatee management. Manatee protection is now big business.

I was not at the meeting, but I did talk to two individudata that shows that a lot of manatees are county must also accept the financial als that were there and since each of them dieing each year and they think we have burden of implementing the plan. have totally different opinions on the If a new plan required new signage the to do something about that. Already in idea, I think I have a pretty good idea of county pays for that. If you need more 2010 more than 656 manatees have the arguments on both sides. The FWC law enforcement on the water the county shown up dead. With 4 of those being brought in their experts with piles of must pay for that. In effect, the federal attributed to Charlotte County boaters.

They seemed to be very concerned for Lemon Bay as a high mortality area. I guess someone should have pointed out that all of Lemon Bay, both in Sarasota and Charlotte County have been giant slow speed -minimum wake-manatee protection zone for the last 10 years.

The real selling point of a MPP is the expediting of the federal and state permitting process for new waterfront construction-related projects. If the county agrees to a MPP, it doesn't mean you will get a permit any faster than before; it could just mean - as one member pointed out - that your application can be refused faster than before. Remember, just because the manatee regulators give you a permit, you still have to deal with the turtle, sea grass, swordfish and shore bird regulators who will most likely all have their own special requirements. Is the MPP about protecting manatees or is it, as I suspect, about power and money?

Last year, according to the manatee trust fund figures, the state spent $1.8 million on manatee research and $1 million on manatee management. Manatee protection is now big business.

Remember that this is just the taxpayer funds and does not include all the private money that goes to special interest groups like the Save the Manatee Club.

If Charlotte County accepts the state offer to put a MPP in place then the

and state authorities get the power to control our future and Charlotte County gets the bill.

Recently the FWC voted to leave the manatee on the endangered species list as long as it was on the Federal Endangered Species List. So the way I figure, as long as we are going to let the Feds control the manatee situation we might as well let them have the responsibility as well. Let the Feds pick up the dead manatees. Let the Feds cut them up and figure out why they died. Let the Feds pay for any manatee protection plan.

Manatees are not just a Florida problem anymore. Manatees have been found as far north as Connecticut and as far west as Texas and as far south as South America. This is now an international problem. You never know, some terrorist group may figure out how to turn manatees into suicide bombers to swim up the warm water discharges and destroy our power plants. Maybe homeland security should be involved – (just kidding!)

But seriously, if the State and Federal authorities really think the manatee is in trouble in Charlotte County after finding a population of over 5000 manatees last year, then there is not much we can do to stop them. But we don't have to volunteer to pay for it. If they want to be the big shots, they should, at least have to pick up their own tab.

What Our Fish Donʼt Want

November

2010

By Mi chael Hel l er Water LIFE Fishing magazines are supposed to tell you how to catch fish, give good accounts of memorable outings and take you there with relevant photos. Does two out of three do it for you?

I had received a carton of gold Rex spoons from Eppinger for our 7th grade fishing classes.

In it were two packets that were different. They were marked Spinnin’ Rex. It was a gold spoon with a stiff wire leader with four gold metal beads two red plastic beads and a gold spinner on the front. Instead of the traditional red feathers like a normal Rex spoon, this lure had a mop-head of rubbery road-stripe yellow tentacles. I’m sure it is a favorite for some species somewhere up in

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the north country.

So late one afternoon my buddy Ralph and I headed out to see if old Spinnin Rex would work in Charlotte Harbor. First stop was about 4oo yards from the dock, where tarpon were rolling in front of the US 41 bridge. Twenty minutes of casting and not one hit. We got a few ladyfish on regular spoons, but no tarpon and not even a bump on the mop head.

We beat around for a while after that, down the harbor, out the pass, south along Cayo Costa to the two lone pilings and then back inside. Casting at every stop, catching a few fish here and there all on other lures, but still nothing wanted any part of the mop head.

We started back and by 6:30 or 7 we were stopped and fishing

again outside the bar at Cape Haze. It was a fishy time.

The sun was going down the moon was just coming up. Birds were diving and fish were jumping all around us on the moving outgoing tide. We caught mackerel, bluefish, trout, ladyfish and more ladyfish. We drifted time after time down the outside of the bar catching fish.

We teased mackerel with top waters, I caught some fish on a M-17 and some more on my trusty old gold spoon, but every time I switched back to the mop head...nothing. Then came twilight, the perfect solunar moment, just as the last orange orb of the sun disappeared, the sky had turned magenta and then; yank! A strike on the mop head! But things went downhill from there.

Eppingerʼs new Spinninʼ - Rex To our knowledge this spoon is not available locally.

Bottom painting and hullside waxing up to 55 feet Other services available on request

Joe Pocklington,

former owner of Fort Myers Yacht, Burnt Store Marine Service, Gasparilla Marine Service and Charlotte Harbor Boat Storage, is at it again!

Joe has assembled a top notch crew to concentrate on painting bottoms and waxing hullsides.

It was only a ladyfish, probably a blind one, and as I swung it to the boat it flipped off the lure and landed on the deck.

I looked down at the pathetic catch for a moment thinking about rehooking it for a picture, but I don’t like set-up photos so that was that.

We went on and caught more fish before dark, but not even one more hit on the mop head. I was fishing with what I had, 20 pound leader, in a school of mackerel. I lost an old Top-Pup in a noisy crashing-splash and I lost a new M-17 to something silent and unseen. But the mop head, on 20 pound leader, remained intact.

And in spite of it all, in the annals of all those good days fishing stored in my mind...this was another one.

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Joe offers his services only to a limited number of customers so he has the ability to concentrate on quality.

Call Joe at 941-769-0493 for information

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Get Out Your Hoodies

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By Bi l l y Barton Water LIFE Inshore Fall is one of my favorite times to fish every year here in Charlotte Harbor.

It's just redfish central, the snook fishing usually proves to be terrific, the trout start to show themselves, and the tarpon are on their way. Along with all of this the Spanish mackerel and ladyfish schools are just all over the place pounding whitebait to no end. There's nothing like this place. I love it with every bit and piece of my heart and soul! In a dream world, I could spend every single day of the week on my Action Craft exploring and fishing. For some of y'all out there, you actually live this. I am very jealous, I can't lie, and if you don't appreciate it you should!

Being as I don't live in a dream world though, I am just like the majority of you fishermen who just gets it in when he can. There are always plenty of bills to pay and we all have a rat-race to run!

While you're in this life with me, you gotta make your days on the water count, you gotta catch big fish, and lots of ‘em!

I had one experience to remember out on the water this month. I went fishing with my friend Cayle from Fishin’ Franks. For those of you who don't know Cayle he's the man on the computer in the back. He handles all the stuff that the

cavemen can't do! (inside Fishin Franks joke – if you don't know you should be there). Well anyhow, Cayle loves his kayak, and Captain Angel was kind enough to let me borrow his (unknowingly) for the experience. (Thanks Angel) Well Cayle and I set out at the crack of dawn with some live shrimp, some gold spoons, and some Berkley Gulps. The tide was up and we worked our way down the shoreline together stopping at all of Cayle’s favorite spots. I put a keeper redfish on the stringer pretty quickly and caught a small, but lively snook. "I like this!" I told Cayle. As the tide worked its way out we proceeded working our way down the shoreline fishing the trough out away from the bank. Well half way down the shoreline we ran into some big schools of mullet.I know by now, one of my favorite tactics for fishing redfish is just to follow the schools of mullet.

Sure enough, we saw some tails, made some casts, and I hooked up again! I wasn't ready for this fish though. Before I knew it he had me shooting across the flats like a torpedo! I tried and tried to put the stick anchor into the bottom with my left arm as I clenched my pole with my other. But it just wasn't happening. I looked down to see 20 or 30 spooked bull redfish all around me. All I could do was laugh and apologize to Cayle as I landed

my oversize red. We continued on an exciting adventure catching a few more reds and snook, some trout, and some mangrove snapper. Then we called it a day. I tell you what, it was a nice, and peaceful experience and the kayak opened my eyes to a new stealthy way of fishing.

That is, if you have your anchor down!

Thanks Cayle, and heck, thanks all you guys up at the bait shop. I appreciate what y'all have done over the years.

As we work our way into winter, whitebait is no longer an option, you are much better off fishing with shrimp, preferably live, but dead works too. Keep in mind this month the trout and snook will be moving up into the Harbor as the water temperature declines. Trout are a fun

November

2010

fish to go out and target during the winter time. They are just so plentiful out on the grass flats. A good thing to throw at them is just a live shrimp under a float, or any type of soft plastic should work well. Remember snook and trout are closed to harvesting. They are still a lot of fun to catch, but handle them with care. Try hard not to damage their slime coat and their scales. If you throw artificials, treble hooks hurt the fish real bad, I prefer any lure with a single hook.

Snook took one heck of a beating last winter. I sure do hope we don't go through that again it broke my heart! I hope every body's enjoying themselves.

Until next time, catch big fish!

Fabulous Fall Fishing

November

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2010

By Capt. Chuck Ei chner Water LIFE Inshore Fabulous fall fishing is only minutes from the boat ramp. No need to run to far away places as you only need to fish the outside of the bars in November.

Sand bars run the entire length of the east and west sides of the harbor separating the mangroves from open water by perhaps a ¼ to ½ mile with lush grassbeds in between. November is a month of extra low tides and the fish push to the outside deeper waters.

We have a variety of cooler water species that invade the shallows this month. Pompano will cruise the shallow sandy areas and trout will hang in the deeper grassbeds and in the potholes on the bars. This is genuine fun fishing because on any given cast you never know what will bite next. My favorite lures are small jigs for pompano in white, chartreuse or yellow. Nothing complicated just rig them in tandum or single and retrieve with a quick jigging motion.

Jigs will catch everything that swims and you can expect a wide variety. Lizard fish, sea robbins, flounder, trout, mackerel, ladyfish, jacks and black drum will surprise you.

The key water depth is 5 feet to the edge of the bar. With a tandum rig double headers of a variety of fish will guarantee some drag pulling!

Trout will be in full force and any type of swim bait on a jighead, shrimp imitation or lure fished under a popping cork will get you action. Trout are lazy so keep your retrieve slow with long pauses to allow the lure to fall back to the bottom.

Using wind and perhaps a trolling motor as your navigation tool, move your boat through various depths covering water to locate schools of fish. You may have long dry spells followed by absolute reckless fish catching if you are persistent.

With certainty if you do enough of this style of fishing you will stumble onto schools of redfish, particularly on the lowest of tides. Nothing beats a live shrimp fished on a jighead to cover lots of water.

Anything that swims in the Harbor will eat a fresh shrimp this time of year. Your

Joyce shows off a pair of pompano on a double rig

rod and reel choice is simply a 6-8 foot medium action spinning rod rigged with 10-15# braid. Thirty pound leader with a length of 3’ will do the job. The water is clear and the fish have good vision so long casts and long leaders help to fool skittish fish.

Nothing beats a pair of 3 pound pompano pulling in 2 directions on light tackle.

Perhaps one of the hardest fighting fish in the harbor, kin to the permit and is one of the finest table fare. On a recent trip I had pompano doubles and even had one pompano eat both my jigs upon setting the hook. The fish are literally under your feet and most anglers don’t even know it.

It is easy to watch the flats boats running the backcountry from your position on the outside of the bar. These anglers will more than likely be struggling to catch redfish meanwhile you may want to hide your bent rod so as not to invite company into your fishing hole!

Capt. Chuck Eichner operates Action Flats Backcountry Guide Service. For a charter call 941-505-0003 or go to www.backcountry-charters.com

Nothing complicated just rig them in tandum or single

Capt. Chuck Eichner operates Action Flats Back country Charters and can be contacted for charters at 941-505-0003 or v isit www.back country -charters.com

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Real Estate News

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PROVIDED to Water LIFE BY: Dav e Ho fer RE/MAX Harbor Realty (941) 575-3777 dhofer@remax.net www.harborparadise.com

Recent area news i tems:

1. Branch Bank and Trust (BB&T) took the first step to foreclose on the Sheraton Four Points Hotel. The Four Points was built on the site of the former Holiday Inn which was destroyed by Hurricane Charley. While publicly boasting that they avoided the "subprime" lending mess, BB&T naively lent Jose Suriol and his corporations some $17 Mil to acquire the site and build a 106 room hotel. In addition to the hotel, the loan was collateralized with a 4 acre condominium site and an undeveloped 82 slip marina. The appraised value of the additional site slipped from $11.9 mil to $6.6 mil over the past two years. The slide in valuation has triggered a clause in the note requiring the borrowers to pay down the loan balance by $2.9 mil.

2.

FGCU opened its doors in

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November

2010

Punta Gorda's commercial space next to the new parking garage and 25 students enrolled for $15 each to learn how to become better entrepreneurs.

3. Always determined to innovate, Charlotte County Commissioners, Loftus and Skidmore proposed that the costs of operating the Sheriff's department be allocated equally among property owners like an MSBU fee rather than being funded through tax deductible dollars according to property valuations. Although not apparent to the naked eye, there must be a good idea behind this proposal... or maybe not.

4. To make sure that dissention and chaos prevail in County Board meetings, Commissioners Skidmore and Duffy opined that the impact (cost) of new development of public facilities and infrastructure should be the burden of current taxpayers, not the developers. Ignoring the fact that impact fees do not prevent developers from building warranted projects, Skidmore stated "... impact fees are the biggest deterrent to economic development..."

Cartoonist Harry ThomasĘź take on public apathy.

Other commissioners acknowledged the obvious... if there's no growth, there are no impact fees being collected anyway!

5. Developer Pat Neal received preliminary approval from Sarasota County to create Blackburn Creek subdivision on 784 acres at Center Rd & River Road. When complete, the new project will add 1568 homes and 150,000 sf of commercial and office space.

6. North Port voters have a ballot proposal to allocate $20 million to build a new water park. Desperately trying to attract new visitors (and homebuyers), the City is exploring every conceivable opportunity to have taxpayers take this gamble.

In other news: A groundbreaking ceremony was held for redevelopment of the former Wachovia Bank branch. Seven Eleven will operate a

company owned store at the corner of Aqui Esta and Bal Harbor. Air traffic at the Punta Gorda airport was down 13% from the prior year – September is traditionally the quietest month of the year, so this decline is very modest. Allegiant Air announced the addition of three new non stop destinations (Grand Rapids, MI, Greensboro, NC & Lexington, KY) to start on November 18. Punta Gorda's liquor law will likely be changed to permit sales on Sunday - Mimosas and Bloody Marys will be available to Sunday morning brunchers.

S al es S tati sti cs:

Inventories of lower priced homes continued to climb in North Port, Port Charlotte and Deep Creek continued to climb as short sales continued and foreclosure moratoriums began.

Waterfront lot sales continued to be quiet.

Economic Value of Artificial Reef$ November

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2010

P a g e 11

By Betty S taugl er Water LIFE / Sea Grant

port 1,987 full and part time jobs.

Artificial reef related activities in Charlotte County generate nearly $20 million in net economic impacts annually and support 266 full and part time jobs.

Expenditures to construct public artificial reefs off Florida coasts prompted a need for local governments to quantify the economic benefits that are derived from reef deployments. Six counties in southwest Florida – Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, and Lee – collaborated to determine the economic contribution and use values of artificial reef activities that accrue to the individual counties and to the region.

Results generated by the study “A Socioeconomic Analysis of Artificial Reef Patronage for Six Southwest Florida Counties” demonstrates the return on investment for artificial reefs in Charlotte County and southwest Florida. The final report will be made available electronically through the Florida Sea Grant website www.flseagrant.org.

Artificial reefs in Florida are constructed with one or more of the following objectives: to 1) enhance private recreational and charter fishing and diving opportunities; 2) provide a socioeconomic benefit to local coastal communities; 3) increase reef fish habitat; 4) reduce user conflicts; and 5) facilitate reef-related research.

The economic analysis was completed by the University of Florida and Florida Sea Grant College Program using a variety of survey techniques and augmented by data from previous boating studies in southwest Florida. The study was funded by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission statewide artificial reef program and the West Coast Inland Navigation District.

Results of the study characterize the recreational use of artificial reefs, dollars spent visiting a reef, jobs created, for-hire use of artificial reefs and client spending, for each county and then southwest Florida as a whole. This type of analysis had previously been completed for east Florida and the Panhandle. The completion of the southwest Florida socioeconomic analysis fills a large void in the state regarding the economic impact of artificial reefs and provides each county with important economic benefit informa-

Concrete poles and culverts make up a simple reef that provides structure for fish.

tion.

The draft report, which is well over 100 pages, is set to be finalized before the end of the year. The following is a glance of what’s inside.

On a daily basis, an average of 6,000 persons in southwest Florida, residents and visitors included, use artificial reefs.

That number breaks down to over 900 in Charlotte County (over 1450 persons in Lee, over 600 in Sarasota, nearly 450 in Manatee, more than 550 in Hillsborough, and more than 2000 in Pinellas). Annual use of artificial reefs for Charlotte County is 99,282 boat days a year and 339,585 person days a year.

lion).

Survey results document that artificial reefs help support the six county region’s for-hire fishing sector (guides, charter and party boats) with clients spending over $88 million annually (over $6 million spent annually in Charlotte County).

Expenditures on artificial reef related activities in the six county region generate nearly $182 million annually and sup-

The amount invested by local governments in artificial reef construction activities varies by county. Some budget artificial reef related activities and supplement with grant funding. Others rely solely upon grant funding to construct artificial reefs. Charlotte County uses approximately $50,000 in grant funding annually.

The county has also received supplemental funding and material for reef construction through donation.

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

Fishermen and divers who use artificial reefs spend nearly $275 million in the six county region annually. The annual expenditure for fishermen and divers using artificial reefs for Charlotte County is nearly $34 million.

Visitors bring new money into local economies ($132.88 million for the six county region), and account for almost half of the artificial reef expenditures. In Charlotte County, new money derived from visitors account for more than half of artificial reef spending ($18.67 mil-

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Page 12

Are You Smarter Than a 7th Grader?

November

2010

Below are the questions and combined results of the first-night quiz given at all 5 middle schools.

The same quiz will be given at the conclusion of the 8 week course to see what they learned.

We asked students not to guess.

% is the percent of the entire student body that picked each answer.

The correct answers are in bold.

Ar Right: Capt. Bart Marx at Port Charlotte Middle, going over knots

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1.

Don Ball School of Fishing

During periods of _________________, fish tend to be more scattered and are present in areas where the water depths offer them safety.

40% High water 42% Low water 17% I donʼt know

2.

16% 11% 60% 1% 11%

3.

What influences the tides most?

The weather The earthʼs magnetic field The Sun and Moon Mercury and Mars I donʼt know

Which fish is more likely to be caught when fishing on the grass flats?

5% Snook 23% Redfish 16% Trout 21% Mangrove Snapper 32% I donʼt know

4.

A ______________ hook, tends to hook a fish in the corner of the mouth, as opposed to the gut, resulting in higher survival rates.

31% “J” 39% Circle 0% Kahle 1% Aberdeen 28% I donʼt know

5.

Non-stainless hooks degrade faster than stainless

hooks.

40% True 30% False 29% I donʼt know

6.

21% 55% 0% 16% 6%

The best way to hold a fish is: Vertically by the jaw Horizontally, supporting the belly with your hand With dry hands By the gill openings I donʼt know

7.

What is an Ethical Angler?

10% An angler who always has the right tackle 2% An angler who only fishes from shore 2% An angler who only fishes from a boat 12% An angler who does the right thing when no one else is looking 3% An angler who does the right thing when someone else is watching 69% I donʼt know

8.

10% 7% 7% 19% 55%

9.

32% 3% 21% 6% 36%

10.

The most abundant baitfish in an estuary Anchovy Menhaden Bigeye Scad Thread herring I donʼt know Which Knot is this?

Cinch knot Square knot Loop knot Back knot I donʼt know

The water is usually deeper on which side of a bend in the river?

45% Inside 24% Outside 30% I donʼt know

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Huge areas now unconditionally open for shellfish harvest

November

2010

Thatʼs a video camera on the end of the pole Adam Wilson is carrying

By Adam Wi l don Water LIFE Diving I am an addict. This is the first step right? Admitting you actually have a problem. I have finally come to realize, I am a saltwater junky. It doesn’t matter if it’s one more breath of nitrox to shoot another grouper, one more reach for that clump of oysters in search of a South American shaped 6 incher, or just another peek around one more piling looking for that monster crab claw. I will skip work, split out of town, and turn off the cell phone telling everyone I’m probably busy, at the bottom of a pool, working, whatever it takes. I must and will get my fix, and this month it is real easy for all of us fanatical fish fiends to get what we need. There is so much fun stuff to do this month it’s almost overwhelming.

This is positively my favorite time of year. Even if the wind is howling from whatever direction, there is something fun to do on or under the water and still come home with dinner for the family too.

Water temperature on the bottom offshore barely reached 80 degrees and now it’s already starting to cool back down. Wetsuit weather is here and the pelagic schools of cobia and mackerel are moving through along with it. The next

few weeks will be a great opportunity to land a big cobia. On a trip to the Boxcar Reef in 70 feet I had left my gun in the boat to shoot video when I was buzzed by two cobias, a small one about 30 pounds right next to one of the biggest, prehistoric looking cobias I’ve ever seen, easily in the 80 pound range.

The mangrove snappers we have been seeing are very fat and plentiful. There are swarms of them at the Placida railroad trestle right now. I have also seen a few big sheepshead pushing 5 pounds there too. The one thing eerily missing at the trestle right now is snook. There are usually some pretty thick schools of them at the deepest section of trestle this time of year. Last stone crab trip I saw only one snook at the trestle. I was south of the old swing bridge.

Don’t be tempted to bring a spear gun when stone crabbing; spearing is off limits along the entire length of the trestle.

We have been checked by law enforcement every time we have been stone crabbing this season.

Stone crabbing was a little slow opening night. The wind had turned just enough out of the north to send breakers across the sandbars outside of the passes, silting up the visibility to a barely work-

able 2 to 3 feet. And large crabs were pretty few and far between. My buddy and I worked till a little after 4 a.m. to get our 2 gallons of claws.

Some years we have to pull ourselves away, reaching a gallon each in just 30 minutes.

On the brighter side, we did stumble across some beautiful flounders over 20 inches.

Recently with the easterly winds, the waters around Boca have cleared and it’s been easier to work more structure. I even found a 1 1/2 pound lobster while working near the railroad trestle. I had to go back over 7 years in my dive log to March of 2003 to find the last time I found a keeper lobster in the shallows around the island.

Lobster remains in season till March 31st.

My stone crabbing partner runs his skiff from the Myakka River. It’s a pretty good haul out to where we like to crab, but along the way are some of the most incredible oyster and clam beds in the world. Huge areas are now unconditionally open for shellfish harvest from Hog Island and the Myakka out to Gasparilla sound, Turtle Bay and Lemon Bay and many spots in between. We don’t dive for them as it’s only knee deep at low tide. It’s mostly a diversion to kill time while waiting for the appropriate and safe slack tide around Boca Grande. The invasive Asian green mussels are still thick on any structure near a current.

They are delicious at any size and a couple of divers can fill a 5 gallon bucket pretty quickly by popping them off rocks or posts and throwing them in a mesh bag. I love stumbling across an old rope dangling from above as it will often be encrusted with dozens of mussels, ready to harvest with just one snip, and all easy enough to carry with one hand.

Before harvesting any shellfish you must check the website floridaaquacul-

Page 13

ture.com. Click on shellfish harvesting, and then click on area maps. Maps 56, 58 and 60 cover our area and are very detailed, easy to read and understand. It’s pretty hard to beat a bowl of fresh clam chowder, fresh fried flounder, a platter of iced oysters and some stone crabs with mustard sauce or butter, all from our own backyard. If you share my same disease don’t worry, an overdose only results in a few added pounds.

Page 14

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Potential Problem?

November

2010

Are you using a lure with a split ring on it for an eye? Look closely at how the split ring interacts with the leader knot. A big split ring and light weight leader tend to create a problem. Little by little the split ring can wear down the leader, sometimes even pinching it flat and creating a weak spot.

Pump Sticker for Ethanol 15

In a long-awaited decision last month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a limited approval for the sale of gasoline containing up to 15% ethanol (E15) for model year 2007 and newer motor vehicles. This decision excludes marine engines and other non-road engines such as snowmobiles, lawn and garden equipment, as well as other gasoline-powered small engines such as generators.

The waiver also excludes motorcycles, heavy-duty vehicles and older cars, although EPA is expected to approve E15 for cars and light-duty trucks made in 2001 and after later this year.

Boaters submitted more than 30,000 comments to the EPA during the initial comment period. In fact, comments from the boating community comprised more than 40% of the total number of comments the Agency received.

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2010

Page 15

Speared tuna or a 1,000-pound hoax? It is not clear

First this story appeared on the internet, then it went around as email. It makes good reading – Ed The story is By Philippe Virgili: The action took place in the North Atlantic at about 170 miles off the coast off New Foundland. At the time the main goal of the trip was again to spot giant Atlantic bluefin tuna and to do some video... In particular, at the time they do hunting herring schools, which are plentiful in late summer there. If you plan to do this hunt, luck is the master of the game, because these great pelagics do move all the time along the North America coast, swimming from 100 to 150 miles per day!

The weather is the second parameter, because the sea must be calm if you intend to see the "herring run" and to luckily spot tuna. Great mako and white sharks do often take part to the quarry, this is the third unforeseeable parameter.

After 3 days boating in the best weather conditions, we finally could spot, on the surface, a predation action: a lot of birds and two whales.

Tuna were probably there hunting in a school.

Each time this kind of action can last several minutes or less, then the tuna school vanishes to the depths.

I jumped from the boat among the "slaughter". Hundreds and hundreds of birds were hunting the herrings. The water temperature was about 19 C degree and pretty much colder in the depth.

The water was green, dirty but the visibility fair at about 2 meter range. I dived equipped with a wooden spear gun,

the shaft with a special spear-tip which can penetrate the thick tuna skin and do not rip the meat when it gets pulled.

I dived at about 50feet depth where the visibility was better and I could observe,

a couple of times, massive tunas swimming fast and moving sometimes like rockets to the surface while hunting fiercely.

I have been free diving for years, sev-

eral times among these fishes: it's each time the same incredible and amazing "rodeo".

They are coming from nowhere and eating all the fish to the last one, then they takeoff in a split of minutes.

Usually you never find a middle-size tuna because in this kind of school, which is only made of massive fish, but

the school was made there was only of 600 to about 900lb tuna.

I did several dives from 40 to 70 ft depth but I could not spot any tuna again. Probably several hundred tuna had been hunting herrings, did they move away?

At the time I was thinking " aiming and shooting a giant tuna is paradoxically pretty hard: the target is wide, but the fish is moving fast, at about 10 feet per second, and changing its path all the time.

A silvery and black-blue huge shape swam suddenly in front of me then under my fins. I aimed the tuna in front of the head at about 6 feet range and shot. The shaft hit the fish in the middle of the body!

The tuna vanished in a spilt of second in taking the bungee to the depth. I grabbed it and got towed as if I should be a buoy. The power of this fish is unthinkable.

After about 30 seconds a short break, I could get back to the surface, then the tuna took off again. The fight lasted about an hour. I suddenly felt less resistance while trying to pull the line in vain, because the fish was too heavy and I could not check it. The tuna stayed motionless at about120ft depth and I got exhausted. The fish was dead.

It was gaffed by the captain and attached at the bow then landed on the deck with a crane. The fish could be checked: the spear tip worked perfectly, got jammed under the skin. The shaft hit first probably the spine.

Hereʼs our spear fishing & diving buddy Adam Wilsonʼs take I read the story a while ago. Impressive feat. The story has changed so many times it's hard to know what's true or not. It is illegal to spear bluefin tuna in most of the Atlantic, and certainly inside any stateʼs or countryʼs exclusive economic zone. The guy claims he was 170 miles off Newfoundland. This would have him still in Canada's exclusive economic zone that is off limits to spearing bluefin. The dumb-ass actually posted this whole story up on spear fishing planet and other online forums as well. Supposedly the fish was never even brought back to the dock. That's why there is no dock photos or "actual" weight, just an estimated weight.

There was some BS about accidentally losing it over the side of the boat? What kind of s--t is that? If I put a 1,000 pound fish on a boat, I'm not letting it slip away. Then there was some back peddling, weeeelll the fish died at depth and had to be brought up with a winch, but the winch cable broke. Then he claimed they didn't lose the fish, but cut it up and split it amongst the crew. The story just kept changing.

Philippe never did defend himself either. You would think if it was a legally taken fish he would simply stomp out the rumors immediately, but he never did.

Instead, the entire posting was deleted and the guy just seemed to disappear. He has not been back on spear fishing planet since the questions began arrising. In my opinion the guy really gives a black eye to spear fishing. I think I remember reading about poaching charges being considered by Canadian wildlife officials as they believe he was off Prince Edward Island, a definite nospear area for blue fins in Canada's EEZ. I don't know if charges were ever filed or not.

This Virgili guy was pretty much shamed off of multiple online fishing forums. Like I said, the original post that I read was eventually deleted. The guy is obviously a talented free diver, but If he really did kill that fish just to get photos and then rolled it off a boat to destroy the evidence, thatʼs sick. Yes, I do take pleasure in killing fish, but I only take what's legal and I eat every morsel of everything I take. And I hope Canadian Fin & Fur guys charge this guy and prosecute him fully if he did indeed poach and they can prove it.

The length was 124-inches and girth was

88-inches!! The weight estimated between 1,200 and 1,250lbs.

Gear used for the catch: · A home-made 69" teakwood tuna gun (St. Alexander style)

equipped with a (3/8) 72'' long spear Riffe and a home-made slip tip (harpoon dart style) ·

The spear is connected to the gun with a 3 mm stainless steel plastic-coated cable. Swivels,

snaps, sleeves... are about 600lb resistant. · Five 20 mm elastic bands · The float line is a

75' Riffe bungee (550lb nylon line core) and the float system is T Botha board (I improved in some details) an inflatable Riffe buoy con-

nected to the board by a North Water Wedge Spectr X Throw Bag (used in Kayaking)

Probably the greatest fish ever speared and landed by a spearo!

Page 16

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November

2010

SCUTTLEBUTT Sometimes Unsubstanciated, But Often True

Over 3,000 cigarette butts were the number one item removed from BAYSHORE park which is a popular hangout for local bums. Peace River Sail & Power Squadron volunteers (Ron Dafoe, below) also hauled trash from Bayshore Live Oak Park and the

marine life onboard his vessel.

The inspection revealed numerous ricordia polyps, 30 were attached to live rock, which is illegal to possess.

The collector, a resident of Big Pine Key and Sarasota, was cited and further charges are pending.

Warm Mineral Springs in Northport to open to divers Clean up of the 200 foot deep springs is underway and the springs will soon be open to scuba divers.

New IGFA Record A 30 lb 8 oz lake trout caught on fly in Canada,

shallow waters nearshore during International Coastal Clean-up Day last month

A State Officer observed a vehicle on the side of the road shining a light into the Dinner Island Wildlife Management Area.

As Officer Lilley approached the vehicle, the subjects ran back to the truck and quickly left the area. The officer located the vehicle and noticed two dogs with tracking collars activated in the bed of the truck. Officer Lilleyʼs investigation revealed a rifle, two lights, and a GPS tracking system which was turned on and ready to track the dogs.

Citations were issued for hunting from a county- maintained right-of-way Numerous officers responded to the report of a missing commercial boat captain bayside of Marathon. During early morning hours before sunrise, the vessel was underway when the captain fell overboard. Both crew members were sleeping at the time and when they awoke, they discovered the captain missing. Neither of them knew how to operate the vessel and a language barrier impeded effective communications between the crew and rescuers. After falling overboard, the captain collected trap buoys and remained afloat for nearly seven hours.

Eventually, another commercial fisherman located and recovered the captain in good condition.

On the opening day of stone crab season, Officers were on water patrol in Sarasota County when they observed two individuals scuba diving beneath a bridge with no dive flag displayed. When the divers surfaced, the officers approached the individuals to address the dive flag violation and conduct an inspection. The subjects were found in possession of 40 undersize stone crab claws. Citations were issued State Officer issued citations to a marine life collector for illegal possession of live rock. The officer conducted several hours of surveillance and observed the diver bringing

Rhinos In Hendry County FWC officers received a call about a male subject transporting rhinoceros vipers imported from Africa. Officer found the subject in violation of the caging requirements for venomous reptiles. The subject was cited.

Lobster Cart An FWC officer on land patrol received a call about a subject seen riding around Florida City on a bike, pulling a shopping cart full of lobsters, trying to sell them.

The subject was found to be in possession of 29 lobsters and was cited for attempting to sell of saltwater products without the requisite license and for selling seafood in an unwholesome condition Super Virus Scientists have found the ocean's largest virus one with a surprising genetic code which further blurs the boundary between viruses and cellular life. CroV virus is equipped with genes that allow it to

repair its genome, synthesize sugars and even gain more control over the machinery that it hijacks within the host cells to replicate itself. Traditionally, viruses were considered nonliving. However, these discoveries about CroV add more weight to the argument that viruses are alive.

No Fireworks on New Years Rumor has it that the New Yearʼs Fireworks display in the Peace River in front of Fishermenʼs Village wonʼt happen this year. Harpoon Harryʼs and the Captainʼs Table, the previous benefactor for the event, has reportedly declined to participate this year.

From the Olʼ Fishʼn Hole

November

2010

By Capt. Ji m O'Bri en

Water LIFE Englewood Hey y-all can you believe another

month has gone by. Golly I was reading the paper earlier and they have the count

down to Christmas already.

Wow I know I need some hooks, arti-

ficial lures a new rod or two on my Christmas list. I had better start my

Christmas list when I get done writing this article!

I'll tell y-all a little secret on ol' Capt.

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the crab traps because there is more fresh scent in the water then.

The first charter we went to was about 15 miles out. We almost caught our

limit in red grouper; we lacked one. We caught some very nice mangrove snapper

and Key West grunts. It was a nice trip in 65 feet of water.

The next day Steve and I took two fellows from Germany fish'n. It was a

father and 14 year old son. The boy wanted to go fish'n on his birthday so

here turned 65 on the 28th of October and my lovely wife turned 57 on the

this was his present from dad. They was only here for two weeks and they only

when it come's to Christmas. – WE STILL BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUS – ha! How do you like that?

Well let's get on to some fish'n. I hope y-all got out this last month. The fish'n has been hot. There are some nice spotted sea trout being caught around ski alley in Lemon Bay and also in Charlotte Harbor.

Red fish are showing up in Bull Bay, and Turtle Bay. There are some nice reds being caught on the east and west walls of the Harbor and live shrimp or pinfish are doing the trick.

Snook season is still closed until September 2011, but they’re being caught in bull Bay and Turtle Bay on an out going tide – REMEMBER CATCH AND RELEASE ONLY. This last week I teamed up with Capt.

Steve and two days in a row we trolled toward Boca Grande from the Boca Grande causeway. We caught Spanish mackerel in the I.C.W., before we even got to Boca Grande. Lil’ tunny, Spanish and king mackerel are in from 20- to 45feet of water.

The barracuda are all over the artificial reefs and wrecks inshore. The banana colored cuda-tube's have been hot.

Cobia and triple tail are being caught around the crab trap buoys. If you see triple tail around the buoys, they’re just might be a cobia around so if you don't catch or see anything in 15 minutes move to the next crab trap. I like to fish these guys 4 or 5 hour's after they bait

son wanted to catch a big fish.

Dad said we'll take a few for dinner and you can have the rest. That sounded good to Steve and I. Our day started out trolling for Spanish mackerel and lil’ tunny from the ICW out through the shipping channel of Boca Grande. We caught a few Spanish on the way out the son smiled and said ‘that was fun.’ When we got in the Gulf I put a banana colored ‘cudatube on. It was about 10 minutes and BAM the rod bent over – the ‘cuda was on. We reeled the other lines in so the boy could battle his ‘cuda.

To tell you the truth I don't under stand the German language, but I can tell y-all there was a lot of grunting and groaning going on, but finally we gaffed his ‘cuda, it was about 4 ft. When the boy got a look at them there teeth his eyes got the size of silver dollars.

I asked the boy, ready for something bigger? He said yes, so we anchored up on a spot and caught a couple of gag grouper one was 28 inches long (that's our photo for this month) Then we brought out a big rod and Steve put on a whole bonita and sent it to the bottom.

It wasn't long before the rod bent over double. We give the rod to the boy and he couldn't reel it at first, so Steve got behind him and I held the rod up. Then he started reeling.

You guessed it, a nice big goliath grouper, at 200-plus pounds. That made his day. He was taking picture's and dad

29th. and we are still like 2 kid's

Page 17

had a couple of days left. The

was taking movie's so they could show their friends back in Germany. The boy couldn't believe how big the fish was. I told him that was a small one and that when they come down next year we would put him on some that will go 600-plus pounds. He was all for that. By the way, dad wanted to catch one too, so we obliged and his was 200 pounds. I bet you never been out fish'n on your birthday, reel'n up a big 200 pound fish and having the crew singing “Happy Birthday to You” at the same time. It

was quite a day and I am sure he will remember it for a long time.

Well it’s about time I quit flapping my gums till next month.

Remember: Get out and snort some of that good cl ean sal t ai r cuz - i t’s good fer ya!

If y ou hav e any questions or if y ou hav e

a good ol' fishin’ story or a recipe for cook ing fish that I can share with our readers giv e me a call.

‘To book an offshore charter with us -

aboard the Predator II call (941) 473-2150

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Page 18

By Davi d Al l en Water LIFE Kayaking Traveling around the state to find good kayaking spots is part of the fun of kayaking, so three or four times a year the Port Charlotte Kayakers plan a long weekend at some location. And during these three day weekends, we always have time for two or three paddles, time for some extended bicycle rides and time to check out the local restaurants.

Tarpon Springs was our destination for the October outing. Tarpon Springs was well known for its sponge industry in the early 1900s, considered the largest in the world. However, in the late 1940s, the red tide wiped out the sponging industry and most of the spongers switched to shrimp fishing. Now the Sponge Docks are a retail area with many quaint shops and restaurants, and the sponges sold there are mostly imported. But the influence of the Greek spongers remains in the civic and religious life of this community.

So why did we pick Tarpon Springs for a kayak outing? Consider the advantages: a relatively short drive from Port Charlotte (about 150 miles), low cost rooms at a 4star hotel, paddles ranging from mangrove areas to the open waters of the bays and gulf, the Pinellas Trail for those members who enjoy a good bike ride after kayaking, and lastly, as diverse a group of excellent Greek restaurants as you could find this side of Athens. Not too difficult a decision, was it?

We arrived about 11 AM on a warm, sunny Friday, had a quick lunch and drove a couple of miles to Graig Park on Spring Bayou for our first paddle. This beautiful little park has an active boat ramp, but somewhat limited parking. However, from Graig Park it’s a short distance to the

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November

2010

Paddling: Anclote River and the Sponge Docks. This is a very scenic paddle as we passed the shrimp boat fleet and could see the tourists making their way to the shops and restaurants on the dock. Once past the docks, the scenery changes to a few homes set back in areas of mangrove and live oak. We paddled up stream a mile or two and then let the outgoing tide take us back to the park.

We were all looking forward to the Saturday paddle as this was a launching from Fred Howard Park on the east side of Tarpon Springs. After passing through a mangrove tunnel and dragging our kayaks across the beach at low tide, we entered St. Joseph Sound and the Gulf of Mexico.

From this spot, you can paddle out to the beach at the end of the causeway or simply enjoy the shoreline north or south of the Park. Beautiful homes line the shore and if you take a turn to the east, you will find the lovely, protected Avoca Lake. Several times we saw dolphins playing or grazing

Tarpon Springs

in these waters.

Shopping and bike rides were on the schedule for Saturday afternoon. There are wonderful antique shops in the downtown section of Tarpon Springs and many of our party checked them out. As I mentioned earlier, the Pinellas Trail, a 37 mile asphalt-paved trail, ends in Tarpon Springs.

The south end of the trail is in St. Petersburg. The flat or gently sloping terrain makes this an ideal venue for a bike ride of any length.

Sunday found several of our group taking a final paddle in the area, others decided on a bike ride, while most headed back to Port Charlotte. All in all, it was one of the better trips our club has taken and I would recommend it to all kayakers.

The Port Charlotte Kayakers meet each Wednesday evening at 5:30 PM at Port Charlotte Beach Park at the end of Harbor Blvd. All are welcome to attend. For addi-

November

2010

By Bi l l Di xon Water LIFE Sailing

Wow!! Sailing season is here now. PGSC sent 7 boats to Ft. Myers for the 40 something Summerset Regatta. Six of them took trophies. Unfortunately at this writing, results are not available, so I can't tell you which ones took what. I did hear that Bob and Mary Anderson racing in cruising class with their no-spin rating took 3 bullets and a second for first overall.

Congrats Bob and Mary!! Congrats to all you PGSC competitors.

Big doings coming up every weekend in November.

Fl ori da S unfi sh Regi onal Champi onshi p November 6, 7. Dennis Peck is putting on a small boat extravaganza. Serious competitors for a berth at the Sunfish World Championship will have their own racecourse. Not so serious Sunfish, The Flying Scot fleet, and such Lasers and Optis as show up will race on a different circle. Should be a fabulous event. Contact Dennis at the following web site: charlotteharborcommunitysailingcenter.com or call him at 456-8542 November 13, 14 wi l l see the fi rst ever S uncat Nati onal s regatta. It will be held right here

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on Charlotte Harbor. Another outstanding event featuring a steak dinner for competitors from the north, the east coast and, I heard, the panhandle.

Check it out at suncatnationals.com. Also November 14 will be PGSC fall series #5.

Check pgscweb.com for info on the fall series.

Also, the Flying Scot fleet has a regional event in Sarasota on the 13th and 14th details at wix.com/fleet198/198.

Page 19

November 21 wi l l be the annual “Pi cture of Beer” race where the winner gets guess what for a trophy. Because of long overdue work on the bridge at Matlacha, this year the race will be to Gasparilla Marina instead of to Bert's Bar. Info on the PGSC web site at pgscweb.com.

Finally November 28 wi l l be PGS C fal l seri es #6. Then we are into December with it's boat parades on the 4th and 18th as well as the Holiday Regatta on the 11th and 12th.

Go Sail Now!! It's not gonna’ get any better.

PS: I just got the November issue of S ai l Magazi ne. There is another article about sailing on Charlotte Harbor written by a Charterer from Burnt Store. We are becoming too famous.

Soon there won't be room to fish.

Noti ce of Regatta: Florida R egional S unfish Championship

November 6 & 7, 2010 941.456.8542 On Charlotte Harbor at the YMCA Bayfront Center 750 West Retta Esplanade, Punta Gorda, Fl. Sponsored by the Charlotte Harbor Community Sailing Center.

March 19: Small Boat Regatta March 26-27: Big Boat Regatta

October was a spectacular month for sailing with often reasonable breezes, light humidity, the Harvest Moon and many pumpkin colored sunsets. Seen here the tri-hull Roaring Fourties makes her way back up the Harbor, carrying one sponson, the week before Halloween.

Page 20

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November

2010

The Water LIFE LIFE Distributors Club

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4419 So. Tamiami Trail S. Venice 493-0025

Pick up a copy of Water LIFE at any of these and 120+ other locations. Water LIFE is not affiliated with any newspaper or other publication and is distributed FREE at select locations around the state. These free ads to our loyal distributors rotate on a monthly basis.

If you would like this publication for distribution at your business please call us at 941-766-8180

November

2010

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Page 21

Phonewalling: New Name for the Same Old Evasive Game

Mi chael Hel l er Water LIFE Edi tor People are coming up with new ways of not answering tough questions all the time. After Hurricane Charley the dodge was: ‘if you don’t hear from so-and-so in a couple of days - here is his cell phone number, just call him directly. The time would pass and when you called the number the agent would tell you your case had been handed off to another agent. Then you were told “Here is his cell phone number and if you don’t hear from him in a couple of days, give him a call.” This went on a lot. I finally figured it out. The telephone had at that point become a great tool for not communicating.

In Charlotte County they have apparently added a more sophisticated twist, they have learned to use the phone for not going on the record. In my humble opinion (IMHO as they say in computer-speak) the open meetings and Sunshine Law have made answering the hard questions in writing the least favorite line of response. This is because all correspondence has become public record. The last thing a politician wants is to go on the record in an e-mail that someone could dig up later.

In August I posed a question to Charlotte County Commissioners asking what the county’s plan was in the event we had another catastrophic seawall collapse like we did in 2003. Now, with so many vacant and bank owned properties, I asked

the County Commissioners (via e-mail) how the county would handle that.

1) Would they fix the problem seawalls and assess the repair bill back to the property owners via a lien?

2) Could they legally even do that?

3) Is there enough money in the county coffers to handle such a problem on a large scale or 4) Does the county just hope they will be able to go to the Feds and get bailed out? I thought those were four, fair, yes-orno answer questions.

Commissioner Skidmore replied immediately and told me he would have someone look into it. A month later Robert Halfhill, the Public Works Director, emailed me. “Would you please call me at 941-575-3600. I would like to discuss the seawall condition with you.” It was the same old dodge of stonewalling via telephone. I have now named this obviously evasive tactic as phonewalling, avoiding the written answer with a less verifiable, less specific, often open to interpretation, verbal answer given over the phone. But I called. Mr. Halfhill anyway and we talked.

“I know the responsibility is that of the property owner,” I told Mr. Halfhill, but what is the plan in an extreme situation where the property ownership is in limbo and a collapsed seawall could threaten the infrastructure, underground pipes and lines, maybe even the roads?”

Mr. Halfhill asked me to come in and

It took 10 days for FWC biologists to catch a black bear cub in Marion County that had its head stuck in a plastic container, but they were ultimately successful and the cub survived.

“listen to a presentation.” It was another side step, yet another way to avoid a written answer. “I’d like to have you respond in writing,” I told him. “Oh?” he said.

On Sept 28, after a few additional prodding e-mails from me, Mr Halfhill wrote: “As we discussed last week, (Note* by then it was already two weeks) your questions involve policy decisions which cannot be answered in 3 days. I will have a response for you this week.”

But ‘this week” passed and the next week began and I still had no response.

Then on Oct 5 I received the following response from Mr. Halfhill: “At the present time seawall maintenance, repair and restoration is the responsibility of the property owner....” Mr

Halfhill went on to repeat that Punta Gorda- had its own seawall maintenance district, but he never answered any one of my four questions. His response contained nothing new, certainly not any ‘policy decisions’ unless the policy was to avoid answering any questions in writing.

Such misdirected and evasive responses fly in the face of transparent government and the Sunshine Law. This should be a lesson to all of us: As far as Charlotte County Government is concerned we will get what they want to give us and nothing more.

Now, only time will tell if Charlotte County’s apparent lack of planning will wind up being each and every taxpayer’s very expensive economic responsibility.

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Fishing Report

Page 22

Charlotte Harbor:

Robert at Fishin' Franks Port Charlotte: 625-3888

Trout is closed so we won’t dwell on them. Not s nook either because both are catch and release now. Redfi sh will be pretty abundant through this month depending on how the cold works out. To the fish, the conditions are like being in September, the water is still pretty nice. There are not a lot of schools around, but there are plenty of individual fish and it should stay that way for a while.

Primarally, now you want to be fishing the bushes on the high and fishing the deeper sand holes as it drops because it’s still so warm. Shrimp and white-bait are working well. There is still an abundance of whitebait around and still some threadfins although the pods are getting smaller and more spread out.

Cut l adyfi sh are working well as bait. Now is the time for a slightly slower presentation, try

fishing the Mirrorlure 17 MR or the Badonk-A-Donk lure from Bomber. And as the water cools the topwater bite should heat up Po mpano are good this month and into the next.

Fishing the beaches and anywhere in the Harbor or along the flats, the Cape Haze Bar, Bokeelia Bar and Johnson’s Shoals should all be really good spots for pompano. Small live shrimp or pieces of shrimp on a small pompano bucktail or the Silly Willy jigs are the ticket.

Pompano show up as a small school, usually not as single fish. Once you hit one you usually hit several. Occasionally you will also get a small permi t mixed in with them.

S heepshead are going to start showing up, but the water temperature needs to come down another 5- to 6-degrees before they turn on good. There are a lot of sheepshead on the reefs and hard ledges 4- to 8-miles offshore right now. Fiddler crabs and shrimp are your two best bets for those guys.

El JoBean doesn’t usually get

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good until mid-December. Now with Placida and the South Pier both closed, this month could be difficult for the shore fishermen.

Offshore, ki ng mackerel will be here throughout this whole month along with some really big S pani sh mackerel .

There have been quite a few cobi a showing sporadically, big fish, and also some permi t have been around them as well.

The gag grouper, mangrove and l ane snapper bite will pick up now as the water cools into the 75 degree range.

Most of this past summer the

shri mp have stayed pretty nice sized. The bl ue crabs have gone bonkers in the last few months and there are a ton of blue crabs around now.

Fl o under has started to show again. They had disappeared for a while and now as the temps drop a couple more degrees the flounder are coming back.

There are still a few tarpon around and some bonnethead sharks on the flats. I think we have at least another two or three weeks of summer related fishing left.

Fishing Report

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2010

Charlotte Harbor FISHING GUIDES

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November

November

2010

Fishing Report .

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The The BIG-4 BIG-4

Fish to expect expect in in Fish to

Page 23

November November

Go

continued from facing page

Lemon Bay:

Jim at Fishermens Edge, Englewood: 697-7595

POMPANO Cape Haze bar, Bokeelia and the Beaches

With all the transition, fishing is never the same. There have been lots of different fishing scenarios: weather blowing one way then another: cold then 92 degrees. Now we need to get one steady fall scenario back. Right now fishing is good but it still depends on the day and tides.

Guys are catching Redfi sh on artificials and top waters. There were some big pods of redfish around, bul l reds 38-to 39-inches, in Lemon Bay. The fish would go out on the outgoing tide. You could follow them. One guy told me he was catching them on a Sebille stick-shad lure.

There are S pani sh mackerel on the beach and they are coming in the pass on the incoming tide. And not a lot, but some pompano coming in now as well. One guy told me he caught a bunch of pompano around Cape Haze point last week. They have been scattered around along with quite a bit of mackerel and some ki ngs.

I heard the gold colored broken-back lure from Bomber along the beach was pretty good for kingfish. Kings in the 20 to 30 pound range are being caught now.

SHEEPSHEAD Staging just offshore

FLOUNDER We are seeing more and more nice flounder

4265 Tamiami Trail, Port Charlotte

941 - 625-2700

700 Tamiami Trail, Punta Gorda

941 - 637-0019

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November 13,14 Suncat Nationals Regatta Charlotte Harbor, Punta Gorda

All photos, both pages, courtesy of Capt. Angel Torrez

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Offshore, there are a lot of gags and a little further out some nice red grouper. There have been cobi a around and bl ackfi n tuna – fish in the high 20s as well.

The only other thing is snook and trout.

Some guides say that are doing better with shrimp and artificials for trout. The trout don’t seem to be biting the minnows right now.

December 4 Lighted Boat Parade, Starts at Edgewater lake in Port Charlotte concludes at US 41 Bridge in Punta Gorda

Fishing right now:

Excellent!

December 18 Rim Canal Lighted Boat Parade, Punta Gorda

Snook is closed to harvest until Sept 2011

Send your calendar events to: waterlife@comcast.net

Southeast/Gulf of Mexico - NOAA Will Reopen the Recreational Red Snapper Fishery in Gulf of Mexico Federal Waters.

Recreational red snapper fishing will reopen for an added season to allow fishermen to catch

NOW OPEN

the quota they did not reach because a portion of the Gulf was closed due to the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill. Recreational fishing will be allowed on Fridays through Sundays for eight weeks, from Oct. 1 through Nov. 21.

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REDFISH are showing up in schools, holding to the south

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November

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