Wa t e r LIFE
Charlotte Charlotte Harbor Harbor and and Lemon Lemon Bay Bay
The official publication of the Charlotte Harbor Reef Association
Keeping Boaters & Fishermen Informed Since 1997
O c t o b e r 2 0 11
Cindy始s Goliath
Page 17
55 Pound Cobia Offshore Page 6
Big Schools of Black Drum in thePGI canals
Sawfish Landed Page 14 w w w. W a t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m Online every month!
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Don Ball School of Fishing: Classes Have Begun
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From Mi chael Hel l er Don Ball School Director The first week of classes for the 2011 Don Ball School of Fishing began on Sept 27. Classes run once a week, in the evenings, at five local middle schools, until the Thanksgiving break. On the first night of class students receive their workbook and their tackle bag. Then every week following they receive more and more equipment, including X-tools pliers, ARC dehookers, Mirrolure Looking over a Charlotte Harbor chart at Punta Gorda middle school. Taking the first night Quiz at Punta Gorda middle school. baits, Eppinger gold spoons, split shots, hooks (J, circle and worm) jigs, soft plastic baits, casting plugs, a Shakespeare rod and reel and a graduation Pizza party and graduation T-shirt. On the first night every student takes out 10 question quiz. You should see their faces when I tell them, 10 minutes into the first class, that there is a test. The quiz covers fishing and environmental questions, knots and ethics. The tests are scored by me but the kids don’t get graded. I explain Parents are encouraged to sit in on to them this is a test to show how the teachers the classes and quite a few do are doing teaching them. On the final night of classes we have each Capt. Billy Barton teaches the class at Punta Gorda middle school. student take the same test again. We ask them to please not guess and if they don’t know an answer to check the I don’t know box. Scores last year went from the mid 60s on the first night to the mid 90th percentile on the last night. Betty Staugler, our Sea Grant Agent and a big helper with our Don Ball Program came up with a new idea this year. Since we have the email and address of all the past students we are going to do a one year follow up this spring. We will contact past students and give them the test a third time to see if they are retaining the material we teach. This program not only teaches fishing but it teaches about caring for the local environment. The premise of our school is “Be the Fish,” think like a fish in order to catch fish. Students look through their workbooks at the Murdock class run by Capt. Andy Medina. And I get to go home from school every night with a big grin on my face. Walmart donated the binders again this year.
The classes are funded through grants and contributions from the businesses below. Let us put your business logo here next month. Call 457-1389 to submit your pledge
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Inshore & Offshore Headquarters Letters to: WaterLIFEmagazine@comcast.net
To Water LIFE Re your comments about tournaments turning over good brood stock to the hatcheries. Unfortunately I do not believe their is any real hatchery effort underway releasing any serious quantities of hatchlings of redfish or snook in Florida. There are some small scale programs that are releasing a few redfish fish but Mote for instance is working on and releasing mostly sturgeon not redfish, trout or Snook to my knowledge. There have been a few released up around Tampa. It would be great if a program that released (reds, snook, trout) on a large commercial scale like they do in some other gulf coast states could be accomplished here in Florida. Texas releases over 31million redfish and trout fingerlings annually with about an 8-percent survival rate. There has been work done on snook in Florida and I believe some feel it could be done with snook as well. Regards Bill Hopkins Editor notes: IMHO, if Texasʼ approach isnʼt the essence of a sportfish restoration program I donʼt know what is. The Florida FWC/FMRI needs to reconsider its thinking about whether maintaining biological diversity in different areas around the state is a valid concern for not raising fish in numbers. Texas in the 10+ years of itʼs program has shown us there is no reason not to just raise a lot of fish and release them. Fish are interbreeding all around the state anyway and the genetic diversity excuse is about worn out. Charlotte Harbor is the perfect place for a pilot program involving tournaments and a hatchery. It could be a drawing card for fishermen from around the world, but the FWC would have to say YES, first.
NASA, Sept 11 The first global map of the salinity, or saltiness, of Earthʼs ocean surface produced by NASA's new Aquarius instrument reveals a rich tapestry of global salinity patterns, demonstrating Aquarius' ability to resolve large-scale salinity distribution features clearly and with sharp contrast. Image credit: NASA/GSFC/JPL-Caltech
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CHEATING HAS CONSEQUENCES FOR THE INNOCENT OTHERS Hi Michael & Ellen, Here are those details from the cheating at last months St. Pete Open. Iʼm going to limit my opinion the best I can, and just give you the facts, as I know them. Iʼm trying to keep it very short and to the point to avoid any rumors or false information. Cory Moon won first place in the hogfish category at this years St. Pete Open. He builds spear guns under the name “Bonafide Cory Moon with the Spearguns” and was a sponsor of this years event. Shortly after the trophy he has still tournament it came to the attention of the St. Pete Underwater Club not returned that Cory may have ran offshore and shot his fish the day prior to the actual tournament day. An obvious violation. The person that made the accusation was adamant enough to spark the Club to pony up the $500 for a polygraph test of Mr. Moon, which he agreed to. Apparently, Cory missed two separate appointments with the polygraph examiner. Thatʼs when the SPUCSʼ decided it was obvious Mr. Moon was hiding something and had cheated. He was immediately disqualified. As of writing this, I have not heard of Cory returning the trophy or prize yet, as asked by the Club. I have no knowledge if he ever intends to or not. I think doing so immediately would have been his best course of action. Worst of all, besides tarnishing a prestigious, multi-decade event, and getting a reputation as a cheater, Cory robbed a young man named Alex Strott out of finishing in the coveted top three. Alex had fourth place hogfish the day of the prize ceremony. With Cory DQʼd, Alex actually took third place for his hogfish. Yes the Club will have a new first place trophy made, and everyone will get together to receive their proper trophies, but Alexʼs excitement of sharing his top three victory with his family that day was stolen. He also missed out on the third place group photos for the history book. Finishing top three at the Open is a huge accomplishment. Coryʼs poor judgment has given him a bad rep, but Alex was deprived of an amazing day with his family and friends and in my opinion thatʼs the worst part of this whole deal. Adam Wilson
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Not affiliated with any other publication Vol X No 10 © 2011
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No part of this publication (printed or electronic) may be copied or reproduced without specific written permission from the publisher.
Contributing Editors:
Photography: ASA1000.com Senior Editor: Capt. Ron Blago Charter Fishing: Capt. Bart Marx Port Charlotte: Capt. Billy Barton Punta Gorda: Capt. Chuck Eichner Commercial Fishing: Kelly Beall Sea Grant: Betty Staugler Real Estate: Dave Hofer Inshore: Fishinʼ Frank Offshore: Capt Jim OʼBrien Diving: Tommy Davis Kayaks: David Allen Sailing: Bill Dixon Office Dog: Molly Brown
on the COVER
Captain Glen Ballinger of Venice with a 55 pound cobia caught last month offshore Story: Page 6
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Charlotte Harbor Reef Assn
Hurricane Weather Links
Kids Fishing Classes
Electronic Fish Tracking
School Workbook pdf.
We don’t just count the people we reach, we reach the people that count
Tides
Weather
Manatee Myths
Aerial Tour
Hot Rods
Photography
Tournament Cheating?
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Hereʼs your sign... twice this month
By Mi chael Hel l er Water LIFE editor Tournament anglers have no problem traveling to where the schools of quality redfish are. Even if that means running to Sarasota (where the schools of big redfish have been lately) from Tampa Bay or Punta Gorda. But when they go home some tournament anglers have been known to leave another angler to stay and ‘watch the school’ for them. They mark the spot. These ‘watchers’ actually stay on the water with the school of fish for that day, overnight and into the next morning until the tournament angler returns to catch them. In another less complicated scenario (the instance shown here) a redfish has been caught out of a school, and ‘corked’ – had a line with some floats on the end attached – then released. The hope is the fish will return to the school, marking the school’s location as it moves around. My friend Capt. Ralph Allen told me “I've heard of guys trying to place baited lines with floats ahead of a moving school, hoping that a fish will pick one up, hook itself, and keep right on traveling without ever leaving the school.” The instance shown here is not an amateur’s work. Look at how nice the hooks are tied together on the redfish and how carefully they are located in its mouth. I like to look at pictures like these for clues. The amount that the price sticker on the top poppin-cork is deteriorated from being in the water leads me to think it wasn’t in the water too long - maybe a day or two. The fish’s mouth looks pretty good too, which says to me it hasn’t been hooked up too long. I’d bet whoever did this has done this many times before. It’s an art and it looks well practiced. To be fair, the fish could have been rigged up by a guide or recreational angler trying to follow the school for some other reason, but I still think it’s tournament. Maybe the fish was corked the day before, but the Elite it was a two day tournament. This fish could even have been the actual fish someone was going to take to the weigh in. It was fat and right at 27 inches. Coincidence? Tournament? You decide for yourself. Capt. Billy Barton who writes a regular column for this publication came upon this fish on Sunday Sept 11 while fishing with Jason Tari and Bill Hoffman in the Sarasota Bay area. Capt. Billy told me: “We took the fish off the line and released it.” It was the weekend of the Flatsmaster’s Elite Championship in Tampa and Tampa teams did run down to Sarasota looking for fish.
The big redfish have been in the Sarasota area lately, and so have the tournament anglers. This redfish was found ʻcorked” in Sarasota on a Flatsmasters tournament weekend.
Was this done by an Elite Flatsmasters angler? I don’t know that, but I also don’t know of any other redfish tournaments that weekend either. Again, you decide. Having a ‘corked’ fish in a school of redfish would give an angler a huge advantage in fishing that school, especially in deep or choppy water or in an area like Sarasota with a lot of boat traffic. Billy estimated the line was 60 pound test and 40-feet long. The fish was an 8-pound 27-inch red. There was some discussion among Billy and his friends on the boat as to whether the tail might also have been clipped as well. “It looked pretty straight,” Billy told me when he showed me the picture. Tournaments, in their rules, specify that not only do anglers have to obey the tournament rules, but they have to obey all state and federal rules and laws as well. According to the FWC, corking a fish is considered ‘Illegal Tagging’ under state statute 68B-8.003(8): TAGGING OF MARINE ORGANISMS. The statute says: No marine organism shall be tagged unless such tagging activity has been authorized pursuant to a S AL or FMSEA ... For purposes of this section, a “tag” means any internal or external device or other marking, placed in or on an organism for the purpose of identification.
Not only is this practice illegal, but it could also carry a felony charge for fraud involving the payout. But tournament cheating is not always about money. At last month’s St. Pete Open spearfishing tournament the hogfish category winner was disqualified. Cory Moon, owner of the Bonafide spear gun company wanted the trophy, he wanted the ‘publicity’ and bragging rights, but probably not the kind of publicity he is getting now. Mr. Moon was disqualified for allegedly entering a fish he shot the day before the tournament. (More, on page 4) Tournament directors must admit there is a cheating problem and work to remedy it. They could put an end to cheating in any number of ways if they really wanted to: They could polygraph their whole field at every event that would be expensive, but it would work. They could mandate a randomly selected observer (not a tournamentpaid cameraman) on every boat at every event; offshore tournaments do that already. And they could ask the FWC to get more involved. But most importantly, tournament directors and sponsors must encourage all anglers to speak up individually instead of making them feel that speaking out would have consequences for them. Sadly, locally, the fee for lodging an official protest has gone up from $100 to $300 in the Flatsmasters tournament. That discourages protests, but it does keep the tournament’s polygraph-test expenses down. It’s a three way tug of war between ethics, priorities and money.
Offshore from Venice
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Took a trip last weekend. The cobia run has been great the last 2 weeks. Below is a story a guy wrote who was on the boat I also suggest you encourage all readers to cook cobia as a Kabob- keeps it moist - pictures attached. - Capt Glenn
By Mi chael Wri ght Captain Glen Ballinger of the OutCast sounded fatigued as he picked up the phone to answer my call on Saturday evening. He detailed the long day he had just completed catching red and gag grouper. “Not sure about tomorrow” he said. “Let’s talk in the morning.” Sunday morning brought the call from a rejuvenated Captain “Let’s do it. Just a few hours on the water, we will leave the dock at three p.m.” We usually leave early in the morning but anytime on the water will give you a chance to have an extraordinary day. We pulled through Venice inlet mid afternoon and were soon catching bait just a few hundred yards off the beach. The bait well quickly filled with pinfish and blue runners. Four eager fishermen were now ready to find the grouper. We moved west about 10 miles and dropped anchor in 60 feet of water. We decided to start by dropping our bottom rigs baited
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with frozen sardines. The action was steady but slow as we boated a couple of keeper grouper. Fishing near the stern on the port side, Glen decided to switch to live bait and instantly the bite was on. Within a minute of his pinfish hitting the bottom Glen was hooked up with a nice gag grouper. Glen landed the grouper, rebaited his hook and declared it time to catch another. Down to the bottom went a lively pinfish on a 4/0 hook at the end of a three foot long 50 pound test fluorocarbon leader. True to his word, Glen was immediately hooked up again. This fish did not act like a hooked grouper. He quickly swam up towards the surface as Glen rapidly cranked away on the conventional reel to keep the line tight. Reminiscent of a tarpon, the fish burst through the surface of the blue gulf waters and rocketed his entire body into the air. The fish was shadowed by the setting sun. What a sight to see! This, however, was no tarpon. Glen was in battle with a large cobia. We quickly reeled in our lines and
removed all obstructions (rods, nets, gaffs, etc.) from the gunnels so Glen would have room to fight his fish. The cobia worked Glen to the back of the boat and we trimmed up the engines just in time for the struggle to continue without interference from the props. About halfway up the starboard side Glen was able to bring the fish back to the surface. Understanding the pent up energy a seemingly tired cobia can unleash once in the boat, Glen played the fish along the starboard side of the boat for several minutes as Ben Morganson reached for the largest gaff we had on board as this cobia was too large for any of our nets. The first attempt was unsuccessful as the fish bolted forward when he saw the gaff. Glen
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worked the cobia a while longer and he soon had it in range again. Ben’s second attempt was perfect and with great effort the cobia was hoisted over the gunnels and into the back of the boat. Glen’s cobia (shown on the cover this month) was 53 inches long and weighed an estimated 50 pounds. This was quite the unanticipated catch when you just wanted to spend a couple hours catching some grouper for dinner. But that’s the nice thing about fishing in the Gulf of Mexico; you never know when one unexpected fish will transform your journey into a special memory.
Captain Glen Ballinger runs the Outcast, a 33-foot Hy draSport, from Venice. He can be reached at: (941) 323-5251
The Holy Grail of Fishing has now been Lost
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By Capt. S teve S kevi ngton Water LIFE Offshore It only happens once or twice a year, a chance to take close friends or family fishing. When it does happen, inevitably, Murphy’s Law kicks into high gear and something always goes wrong. Whether it be bad weather, boat problems, illness, whatever — something will always try to get in the way of a good time. This last week I had the chance to take my mentor fishing again, the one and only Captain Jim Smith. Jim is the Captain that showed me the ropes many years ago. On board for this trip was a nice couple from up north, that wanted to do some "big fish fishing." The plan for the day was catch and release, for the most part. When Captain Jim showed up at my dock the morning of the trip he had with him the "Holy Grail" a seven inch long stainless steel de-hooker that was custom made over 20 years ago. Captain Jim & I have been using de-hookers since way before it was the law! Having spent almost five years as Captain Jim’s first mate, I can say with confidence that ol’ de-hooker of Jim’s has probably seen more fish than a Japanese processing ship! Initially, we took off out of Gasparilla Pass, trolling spoons and catching bonita and Spanish mackerel ‘til we were sick of ‘em. After that, a short run offshore put us on red grouper & a few lane snapper. But these still were not the "BIG FISH" that were on the wish list for the day. So we headed to a local artificial reef, where I was sure to find at least some big ‘cudas this time of year and perhaps a goliath or two. As we trolled around the nice couple from up north had a great time catching one big barracuda after another. These fish can be so exciting to catch, as they run & jump like crazy! Realizing I still had to fill another 30 minutes of fishing time, we dropped the anchor and slid a large hunk of bonita over the side for bait. It took all of three seconds for a 200 pound goliath grouper to come running
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Capt Jim Smith, above, and mate Ryan Truit
off the wreck and swallow the bait whole! After a 10 minute battle for all he was worth, Captain Jim reached down with the holy grail of de-hookers and placed it for the last time next to a big fish. What happened next still haunts me. The goliath tore the solid stainless steel de-hooker from Captain Jim’s hand in one big head shake, and threw it (what had to be) 10-feet away from the boat. Needless to say it sank like a rock in 100 feet of water. That tool was the fly on the wall for so many fishing trips. It had seen schools of permit so big the Gulf turned gold. It was there when a whale shark cruised around the boat for over an hour, while we pulled countless cobia into the boat. It had graced the jaws of a million grouper, snapper, kingfish and sharks. It had seen almost everything the Gulf of Mexico could throw at it. This de-hooker was to be left to me in Captain Jim’s will! There was a long moment of silence for the de-hooker on the way back inshore. Like I said before, something always goes wrong when I try to take friends and family fishing. That dehooker will more than likely be remembered much like an old favorite fishing rod, or even like that first car you got when you were a kid. I guess if there is a bright side to this, at least it was lost to a really big fish. After all, it could have just as well been lost to a simple slip of the hand while dehooking a grunt. All and all, I can’t wait to take Captain Jim Smith fishing again., and I bet he has a new dehooker by then.
Capt. Steve Skevington can be reached at Paradise Charters at 941-575-3528 for information
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Punta Gorda
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Call the Captain! BEAUTIFUL 3/2/2 POOL HOME! Super quick access to Charlotte Harbor, seawall, close to downtown Punta Gorda. Large living room, large bedrooms, and a huge Florida room. 2 bay garage. Home is in great condition with nearly 1900 sq. ft. under air. $249,900
Call the Captain! NEW EXQUISITE KEY WEST STYLE HOME- 20 MINUTES TO GULF! Custom home with Million Dollar appointments - 3/3 plus den, 4 car garage! Built in '05', hardly lived in with boat house, 3 porches, RV Pad $499,900
Call the Captain! IMMACULATE GOLF COURSE HOME! This 3/2.5/2 pool home with over 2,000sfAir is located on the fifth hole of the Twin Isles Golf Club. Immaculate $244,900
Call the Captain! TWO PARCELS FOR SALE. High quality farmland. One is 20.4 acres, the other is 40.8 acres. There is power and 2 wells on the property, entrance is fenced with a locked gate. Largely cleared. Perfect for groves or farm. Convenient to Rt. 17. $183,600 & 67,200.
Call the Captain! TIP LOT HOME! Approx. 179 ft. of waterfront with this custom built 2/2/2 home. The large living room and a gazebo style bonus room have panoramic views of multiple intersecting canals, pefect for studio or den. $239,900.
Call the Captain! NO BRIDGES TO CHARLOTTE HARBOR! Walking distance to the Beach Complex from this 4/2/2, 3000sf under air, home. Granite counters, gorgeous cabinets and newly remodeled. $419,000
Call the Captain! CUSTOM BUILT LAKEFRONT POOL HOME! Deep Creek, 3/2, 2,000+ sq. ft. Numerous upgrades, cultured marble vanity, dual sinks and garden tub in master, Too much more to list here! White hurricane storm panels, bevel cut glass entry. Wired for surround sound. Built in 2007. $249,900
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Stunningly beautiful, ‘2007’, 4/4/3 with over 3,400 sq. ft. of living space. Prestigious Burnt Store Marina, rich wood cabinetry, island kitchen, stainless steel appliances. $549,999
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Call the Captain! 199 ft. OF SEAWALL! Updated tip lot home with view of intersecting canals. Short boat ride to open water, close to town. Updated kitchen counters, Large lanai, waterviews from a number of rooms. Boat lift & enormous yard with mature palm tress. $339,000
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Reports on Seafood Consumption October
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By Betty S taugl er Water LIFE / Sea Grant Ever wonder how much seafood is landed in the United States? Last month NOAA released its 2010 Fisheries of the United States Report which provides an annual snapshot of domestic landings and values. My Collier County Sea Grant counterpart, Bryan Fluech summarized the report highlights in the synopsis below. Among other things, the report indicates U.S. commercial fishermen landed 8.2 billion pounds of seafood in 2010, valued at $4.5 billion, an increase of 200 million pounds and more than $600 million in value over 2009.The report also highlights the top U.S. ports including the leader for the 22nd consecutive year, the Alaska port of Dutch Harbor-Unalaska. For the 11th consecutive year, New Bedford, Mass., had the highest valued catch, due in large part to the sea scallop fishery. According to Eric Schwaab, assistant NOAA administrator for NOAA's fisheries Service, "These increases in fish landings and value are good news for our nation’s fishermen and for fishing communities, where jobs depend on healthy fish stocks. We know fishermen are making sacrifices now to rebuild fish populations, and these efforts, combined with good science and management, support sustainable jobs for Americans." Another aspect of the report highlights seafood consumption patterns in the country. In 2010, the average American ate 15.8 pounds of fish and shellfish, a slight decline from the 2009 figure of 16 pounds. Nationwide, Americans consumed 4.878 billion pounds of seafood, slightly less than the 4.907 billion pounds in 2009.On a global scale, the U.S. continues to be third-ranked for consuming fish and shellfish, behind China and Japan. Imported seafood continues to increase
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to help fill consumer demand - about 86 percent of the seafood consumed in the U.S. was imported from overseas. The U.S., however, also exports 63 percent of its domestically produced seafood, which represents an increase of four percent over 2009. Also released in September, was the National Fisheries Institute’s Top 10 list of America’s favorite seafood products in 2010. In order of popularity: (1) Shrimp, (2) Canned Tuna, (3) Salmon, (4) Tilapia, (5) Pollock, (6) Catfish, (7) Crab, (8) Cod, (9) Pangasius, (10) Clams. Eight of the top 10 spots on the list remained unchanged from 2009. But two farmed finfish species — tilapia and pangasius — continue to climb. According to a press release from Seafoodsource.com, for the first time, tilapia overtook Alaska pollock to become America’s fourth most popular seafood item, at 1.45 pounds per capita in 2010, up from 1.208 pounds in 2009. In 2002, tilapia was number ten on the list. And pangasius, the catfishlike species raised primarily in Vietnam, which made its debut on the top 10 list at 0.356 pounds per capita in 2009, surpassed clams to become America’s ninth most popular seafood item, at 0.405 pounds. The rest of the list remained unchanged, with shrimp again leading the way at 4 pounds per capita in 2010, more than one-quarter of the 15.8 pounds of seafood that the average American consumer enjoyed. That’s down slightly from 4.1 pounds in 2009. Canned tuna held on to the No. 2 position at 2.7 pounds per capita, up from 2.5 pounds in 2009. Consumption of salmon, the No. 3ranked species, dropped from 2.04 pounds per capita in 2009 to 1.999 pounds in 2010.
Betty Staugler is the Florida Sea Grant Agent for Charlotte County. She can be reached at 941.764.4346 Sea Grant is part of the Univ ersity of Florida IFAS Ex tension
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Lead With Your Strength
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On the Line
By Capt. Ron Bl ago Water LIFE Senior Staff It seems that the road to recovery is not only bumpy; but seems to be headed down hill. As far as the economy is concerned, frankly we're screwed. Now no one wants to admit that, but you know you're in trouble when a pound of hamburger, a gallon of milk and a gallon of gas are all about the same price. Our leaders tell us that hope is right around the corner, but we have been walking around the block for four years now and all we have gotten so far is tired. Unemployment is at the root cause of the problem. If you don't have a job you don't have any money. If you have no money, you can’t buy anything. If you can't buy anything there is no sense in manufacturers making anything. If we don't make anything, we won't hire anybody. Call it what you like: single dip, double dip – that's the cycle of recession.
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Sarasota will pay them money. It seems to me that they are getting paid to hire back the same people they laid off to begin with. Where are the new jobs and where is the growth? C harl ot t e County is not innocent in this madness. They eliminated impact fees for new construction in a county with a record number of foreclosures, high levels of people who are upside down on their property and a county where the average Capt Todd Gilbertʼs strength was putting his clients on fish, homestead has lost a like this Black drum, one out of a big school in a PGI canal. third of its value in Charlotte County must understand and utilize the fishing resource we have. It is a selling tool for tourism that the the last four years. County canʼt afford to ignore. I have seen the list of unemployThe problems come in many forms, ment by industrial sectors in Florida mostly Federal State, and local. and guess what – new construction is National unemployment is at 9%, on the bottom of the list with negative Florida is at 10% and Charlotte Co is growth for three years in a row. around 11%. There is not much we can All is not lost, we can help ourdo at the Federal or State level. On the selves dig out of this hole. The number local front it seems that the new trend one industry for positive job growth in is for local counties to try to shanghai Florida is Leisure and Entertainment. I each other’s businesses by offering think our leaders have forgotten that money for each new job they create by tourism is big business here. In the moving into their county. The going month of July, Sarasota reported an rate is about $6,000 per job. That realincrease of 8% in tourism which ly doesn't help things much; you have brought in over $800,000 in tourist the same workers doing the same job development taxes. Charlotte County but at a different location and county has not yet caught on to the fact that we taxpayers are out $6,000 per job. have good weather and good fishing Let me give you just one example of here and tourists will pay for both. how absurd this can get . In Sarasota What better industry is there where peoCounty the leading private sector ple have a good time, give you their employer is a manufacturer of hurricane money and then go home happy? resistant windows and doors. After Last month I wrote about the pitiful Hurricane Charlie they were doing so state of the county’s web sites when it well they opened up another plant in comes to boating and fishing. If you North Carolina. As luck would have it, want to see how it’s done, go to the there were not a lot of hurricanes after Sarasota County’s website and find the Charlie and of course we seem to be in Tourist Bureau; then click on fishing a building downturn, so they started to and water sports. The best advice I have lay off their employees in Sarasota. for Charlotte County officials is to stop Things are so bad their stock price has paying for phantom new jobs and hire dropped from $16 per share to about a good web designer. It’s time we start $1.50. Now they have cut a deal with bringing new money into the county. Sarasota to close the plant in North Carolina and lay those people off and Capt. Ron Blago can be reached for combring the manufacturing back to ments or questions at: captronb@juno.com Sarasota Now for every job they create,
Viagra Saved the Mullet
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By Fi shi n’ Frank Water LIFE Charlotte Harbor One of the things I have been hearing most often over the last few years is how many mullet there are. It seems each years the schools get bigger and bigger. Thousand of mullet out by Fishermans Village over the last couple weeks. Seeing a shake of mullet come at you is, well, heart pounding for a fisherman the first couple of times you see it. Mullet bunch up and start moving with their nose just barley sticking out of the surface of the water. This is called a shake of mullet, since the surface of the water appears to shake. It could be a 100 feet wide and twice as long as the mullet get together to spawn. There are huge schools bunching together to make their trip to the Gulf of Mexico where legend has it they dive deep in pairs and the water pressure helps squeeze the row from their bodies, mixing it together as it floats toward the surface. People have been catching mullet here in Charlotte Harbor ever since the 1600s. The first permanant settlement here was stated in 1705 with the sole reason being the tremendous mullet fishery. Back then fishermen would go out in small boats and net mullet. They would bring them back and scale them, then slab them, removing the sides from the fish. Then lead weights were placed on the fillets to press the moisture from the meat. Yes, using lead on your food seems silly now but back then, with no ice or refrigerators, the weights would also help reduce the fly damage to the meat. Next, they would smoke the meat and ship it to market in Europe. The major mullet run coincided with the religious events such as Lent when people were not allowed to eat meat. So anyway, mullet have been providing a living for people around here ever since. But the market changed and many other fish became available. Still, the mullet had one thing going for it, the
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other fish did not: Sex. Yep, white row mullet and oysters were both highly prized in the orient for their ability to give people ‘more ability’ so to say. Mullet was an aphrodisiac which brought a good price in China along with rhino horns and gorilla paws, but today there is a little blue pill and there is no reason to eat the row from the male mullet. Red row from the females still bring a good price as caviar (fish eggs) but the white row mullet has no market value and therefore NO money and no reason to chase them. The only bad thing and the reason the mullet are taking a while to recover, is that part time commercial fisherman do not know the difference and catch hundreds or thousands of pounds only to check them later and throw the males over board dead. The locals who fish each year check them when they bring them on board and toss the males back alive. When all is said and done, mullet is a great eating fish any way you cook it. I am sure the eggs do make good caviar and mullet gizzards are a part of any real fish fry. Me, I just can not bring myself to try the white roe, nope that is going to stay a Chinese thing I just can’t quite get into.
CATCHING MULLET
If you would like to try a mullet dinner the best way to catch them is with a cast net, but you can also use a snatch hook. By that I mean snagging them with a large sharpened treble hook. Watch which way the mullet are swimming and cast just in front of them. Reel the hook in and when you feel it bump something, set it hard and hang on. It is a battle and NO this is not a catch and release thing, you only do this if you want dinner. Oh yes, and if you like chicken gizzards, I think you will find mullet gizzards are the better of the two. I do not know if mullet evolved into birds or what, but they both have the same giz-
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A shake of mullet in the Punta Gorda canals on Sept 28
zard. The other way to catch mullet is to chum them in. Crossties Farm and Garden store on Hwy 17, in Punta Gorda has rolled oats and laying-mash, the oats are like oat meal and the laying-mash is what you feed chickens. Mix equal parts in a small bowl. Add just a little water, not much as the mixture should be able to be formed into dough balls. On your fishing pole, use a small sinker tied to the end of the line. Three feet up place a bobber and in between them tie 4 No.6 gold hooks. On each hook place a small piece of white plastic worm or grub. Mullet will eat anything: fish, shrimp, bugs, worms, algae... really anything, but nothing with a shell or scales. Remember the gizzard, mullet only get fine sand from the bottom and theory has it that the shell from a shrimp or fish scale would stop up their gizzard and kill them. The one thing that makes people think mullet are vegetarians is that they do not kill for a living. Mullet do not hunt down prey, they simply swim along opening and closting their mouth. If it is soft they
swallow it, if it is hard they spit it out. Watch your bobber, if it moves at all set the hook. Last but not least is the question: Why do mullet jump? Because they can. Why does a flying fish fly? Not from being chased, not to digest food, just because, well, they can. Have fun out there. So many fish and so little time. Frank can be reached at Fishin Franks 625-3888 or at FishinFranks.com
Options for October
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By Capt. Chuck Ei chner Water LIFE Punta Gorda
Thrashing and slashing kingfish, huge schools of Spanish mackerel, packs of hungry snook, big schools of redfish and easy to catch speckled trout cloud my mind this month. My angling style is generally about action. I am not a purist except on the day I go fishing. If I choose to go after kingfish then I have tied stinger rigs the night before and filled the livewell full of whitebait before heading out. If I am red fishing, I have studied the tides, picked fishing areas and decided on the bait of choice before the boat leaves the dock. October is an incredible fishing month that I find is feast or famine. The weather is temperamental and the fluctuations in wind direction and speed more often influence my style of fishing then my desire of species.
My recommendations are based on experience and each comes with its own story. Heading offshore a couple of years ago my crew and I encountered a large flock of seagulls diving well within sight of Boca Grande Pass. As we eased into the area we found huge bait pods being slashed by kingfish, bonita, mackerel and sharks. Anything that hit the water got attacked and it went on all day. I have read about the kingfish following the bait fish southward for years but never encountered it. My goal is to have another one of those days and I will go just outside Boca Grande many times hoping it happens.
Snook fishing is often talked about being great in October. I find them to be pretty hit or miss but you can happen upon a large school if you are lucky. Three years ago on a new moon I fished an oyster bar on Burnt Store bar. It was a
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higher tide phase with incoming water. We chummed with whitebait and caught a snook on every cast for hours and left the fish biting. No monsters but we easily could have boated 100 snook in the 22”28” range. I still think about that trip but have yet to reproduce it in October. Years before that I stumbled onto a school of snook, redfish and big trout in front of Pirate Harbor in the middle of a grass bed. I am sure I was expecting only trout but this spot was stacked on a high outgoing tide. The area produced for about 5 days and the fish moved on……forever. Bonita or little tunny are a member of the tuna family and put up a fight that will make your arms ache. Late in
October I encountered seagulls up in the air a mile due east of the pass. Guessing they were ladyfish we headed over only to see bonita flying through the waves chasing bait and sharks chasing the bonita. It was quite a sight to see and these fish move fast but mashed our top water baits when an accurate cast was made. Hard to believe this was happening inside the harbor area but it was and later I heard of large kingfish above 30 pounds caught in the days that followed. Speckled trout will begin to show in big numbers. I have caught so many of these fish that my trips blend in together. The one thing I can tell you is that the bigger trout eat bigger baits. A larger top
water plug is a lot of fun and it will attract lots of smaller fish swiping at it. Fishing the outside of Bokeelia is a fine place to make a memory. The only problem is that mackerel will often invade the pack and bite off your lure with a simple fix of heading to the tackle shop the next day and re-stocking. Redfish can be found in big schools and can be fished from the shallows to the beaches. Some of my most exciting redfish trips came on a calm early morning trip long before other boats came out. Cruise way outside the bars and
look for a wave of fish rising inches above the surface. Approach a long way off with a slow trolling motor with a chugger type of plug. Cast to the perimeters and outside of the school antic-
ipating their direction. Redfish are so reckless early in the morning before any boat traffic. One fish mashing your plug will have you missing work come Monday! In contrast to this style of redfishing, outside the passes are known to have schools of redfish moving through. On one fine morning we stopped just outside Boca Grande and anchored. Bottom fishing pinfish with a sliding sinker rig was the method and we connected with a bunch of oversize redfish that grabbed our baits and about yanked the rods out of our hands. Easy fishing and we were definitely in the right place at the right time. I have fished this area unsuccessfully several times since then. The simple rule for fishing October is go as often as possible, select your fish species based on the weather conditions, consider the tides and change spots often. The fish are on the move but if you catch one of their stop over areas it will have you going back year after year.
Capt. Chuck Eichner is a local fishing guide and operates Action Flats Back country Guide Serv ice. To book a trip call 941-6288040 or: www.back country -charters.com
Bar Hopping October
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Always looking for Big Fish By Capt. Bi l l y Barton Water LIFE / Charlotte Harbor What's goin’ on fishin’ fools!? You guys slayin’ ‘em or what!? I hope y’all are, I know I am! I know one thing's for sure, might sound a little gross, but my hands look like they went through a darn meat grinder right now from all the fish spine pokes and cuts they got all over em. Guess I've been fishin too much.... Not! No such thing! Well folks, if you're out there on the flats targeting reds, snook, and trout then, like me, you gotta love this time of year. Don't get me wrong, every month is a great month to be fishin here in Southwest Florida. If I had to choose two, besides the months of April and May, September and October ring in a close second. Now, most fishermen in general have their favorite species of fish. Some just like catchin’ fish period, it doesn't matter what kind of fish they are. Some anglers are in it to hear their drag scream and catch the biggest fastest fish they can find. And some anglers target their favorite fish according to how tasty they feel they are. For me, there's no question. All of this stuff combined can be found in my favorite fish. There's only one fish in my heart. If you read my writing you hear it from me all the time, nothing compares to redfish. Nothing takes my breath away more than a peaceful sunrise on the grass flats with the cool morning breeze in my face and spotted tails up all around me. I'm sorry, nothing beats that! Nothing. When you see redfish with their tails up typically it's first thing in the morning and what they're doing, basically, is eating breakfast. They are just swimming vertically in about a foot and a half to three feet of water with their noses in the grass or sand holes searching for small crabs and shrimp to feast on. Awww man, this is awesome! When you see this you know they're hungry and ready to eat – as long as you present your bait correctly, and they don't find out you're there. You don't ever wanna’ make a cast on top of the fish, this will spook them almost every time. You want to make your cast where you think they're heading and either let your bait sit, or if you are
throwing artificials, work your jig or lure accordingly in front of them. This is a great time of year to throw chunks of ladyfish and mullet, or if you are in the Harbor a blue crab cut into halves or quarters will work just fine. Redfish, if you ever look at their faces, actually have pretty impressive
nostrils. This lets us know how much they actually feed using their sense of smell. As the sun comes up you might not see those tails as much as you did early, but this doesn't mean they aren't there. Usually as that sun comes up they will either push to the bushes on that higher tide, or they will push to the sand bars, troughs and potholes. We are reaching the point in our year where you will notice our tides aren't as high. This makes for less water under the bushes. To boot, all that food they want is out off of that flat, all around those sand bars. A system I like to follow when targeting these hog-daddys is to go out and get myself like 15 or so ladyfish. They are everywhere in the Harbor right now. Just look for the birds diving out in the middle you should find em. I take these ladyfish to my destination; whether it be the bars outside of Ponce De Leon Park and Alligator Creek, Burnt Store Bar, the East or West Wall, Turtle Bay Bar, Jug Creek Shoal, or the bars down at Matlacha... it doesn't matter. I can assure you every single one of these bars has fish on it. So what I'll do is pull up to the bar quietly and preferably drift to it or get there by push pole or trolling motor. From there I'll look for a nice deep section of trough or potholes outside that bar that I wanna’ fish. Typically it's gonna’ be about two to five feet of water that I'm looking to fish into. Once I find a nice looking area I'll post up a good 100 feet from it and put my anchor down quietly and cut up my ladyfish in quarter size chunks and half
dollar size chunks. I'll take those quarter size chunks and throw a couple handfuls out into the trough to get these fish chummed up. It might take a little bit. You might have to be patient and you might have to catch a dozen catfish before you catch your first redfish. But they should show up. Fish your larger chunks of ladyfish on the jig head of your preference. An eighth or quarter ounce will suffice. By using these tactics this time of year it's a good way to expand your horizons when you just can't cast to the bushes on that low water. Trust me you don't want to and
you're wasting your time fishing in inches when those fish are way far away. And not only are the redfish out there, but the snook, and gator trout are all over these bars right now as well. Man do I love this place! I hope this helps you guys understand the fish a little better. I wouldn't steer you wrong. Go take a look for yourselves and bring your kid with you. Kids need good fishing too!
Capt. Billy Barton runs Scales N Tails Charters. For information, or to book a fishing trip, Capt. Billy can be reached at 979-6140 or at: bartonw24@yahoo.com
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SAWFISH REPORT
By Jodi Kerry S peci al to Water LIFE My guy's were out fishing last month and look what they found, so cool! In August Captain Wayne Kerry of Big Hit Charters and his son 23 year old Wayne Jr. were fishing down by Alligator Bay using 30lb Fluorocarbon with fins 10lb wind tamer and a Mustad J hook with a live pin fish. They were fishing the mangroves for redfish, Wayne threw out a live pin fish and did not get a bite right away so they decided to move, but little did they know the sawfish picked the pin fish up and moved out away from the mangroves. Wayne went to reel his line in and realized it was out in the middle. He
Cheap (cooling) Tricks
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felt some weight and set the hook, then the fight was like a small shark but when it came up to the surface all they could see was the bill and that was when the excitement and shock set in! At that point and time they really tried to boat the fish tail first in the net and be careful with it. Once they got it on the boat they were very cautious to make sure they could get him back in the water safely, they observed its features such as a mouth like a stingray, pectoral fins like a stingray, tail like a nurse shark and a flat bill rowed with 1/4 inch teeth and skin resembling that of a shark. “It was a very clean looking fish,” Wayne Jr. said.
By Mi chael Hel l er Wat er LIFE edi t or I’ve ben told that in some of Mercury’s older literature the outboard manufacturer warned that there could be cooling problems when operating the motor in a stiff current. I’ve looked for the material to get an exact quote but have had no luck finding it. I assume the cause is the design of the water inlet openings on the foot of the outboard. In recent iterations of the outboard Mercury has changed the cooling inlet openings providing openings on the front of the ‘torpedo’ so that as long as you are making headway there is water being forced into the motor. My outboard is a 200 hp 2002 model. That was the transition year when the bigger size blocks had the torpedo inlet holes but the smaller ones still had the cooling on the side of the foot. Problem is, on my boat and others like it when operating in really rough water (especially the tight chop in the Harbor) the stern of the boat goes up and down with the waves and that up and down motion thwarts the water from being pushed into the holes on the side of the foot. There are low water pick ups available to have installed but that involves reshaping and drilling the nose cone with epoxy, a procedure I didn’t want to undertake. So what was the answer? In my case it was simple. I hooked up a hose from the live well feed (I have a small live well right at the transom) so I could use the water from my bait well pump plumbing to force feed my motor. On my boat, the pick up is under the hull and it is a NACA style ‘duck’ that gets pressure anytime the boat is moving. With the bait well pump turned on it gets even more water pressure to the motor. A simple length of garden hose with a quick connector lets me plug the garden hose onto the flushing port on the back of the outboard. The set up gives me an additional 4 psi of pressure but more importantly it gives me a constant additional water flow anytime I need it and it only takes a minute to hook up, or unhook.
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A quick connect fitting for the garden hose and a 3/4 inch 90deg plastic fitting are all it took. We also use the quick connect for everyday flushing with another hose
factory water inlet holes
Additional water feed plumbed to the baitwell pump
Diving October
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The Hole, Hopper Cars and the Ledge
By Tommy Davi s Water LIFE Diving We started the day at the Hole which is a fresh water spring that drops down for 100 to 186 feet. The first fish we encountered on the way down were some greater AJs, but none were keeper size. As we went farther down; we came into some lesser AJs and some small snapper. Karl shot the only keeper gag with his double shafted gun. I watched him line up the first shot and narrowly miss the gag. Then, when the gag came entirely out of the hole to look at the shaft, Karl let his second shaft fly but this time his aim was true. We didn’t see any other shootable fish around the spring so we saved some air for the lesser AJs. I think we totaled 7 on the way up and most were around 20 inches. Next drop was the Hopper Cars. There were some gags there, but really skittish so we spent most of the dive playing cat and mouse. We took some ‘far shots’ but in the end came up empty handed. The last dive of the day was a ledge, I didn’t see any gags but Adam found one. I did find some nice snapper, but that was it. Just another great trip with friends.
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OFFSHORE REPORT
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The Olʼ Fishʼn Hole
With Capt. Jim O'Brien
Water LIFE Englewood Hey ya-all, it's lil’ o me again. Got a good fish story fer ya, and a fish'n report on back country fish'n. I talked with Capt Todd Gilbert, a back country charter fisherman, he had a charter out last Friday. He said they caught some Spanish mackeral in the mouth of Boca Grande pass, he caught big Jack crevel, lady fish, trout in the middle of Charlotte Harbor and also caught black tip, and lemon shark off Cape Haze point. Not bad for a day's fish'n. Some big red fish are schooling up and running with some black fin tuna. Cobia are in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound and there are cobia still on the inshore reefs. Mangrove snapper are on the inshore reefs and wrecks. A lot of small-uns go out to deeper water for the big-uns. We seen, on our last charter last Saturday, bonita and Spanish mackeral mixed together, from 10 to 20 miles out... a lot of small schools. There are Qu i c k F ac t Florida's loggerhead sea turtles won't go on the 'endangered' list. Feds decided turtles will remain on less-restrictive 'threatened' list
Marine Insdustries Association of Florida
still some tarpon around the ole’ phosphate docks and in Boca Grande pass, with smaller tarpon around I 75. Nice size trout around Whidden Creek, and around the east side in the Harbor. Redfish are all over the place: nice ones in Lemon Bay and the east and west sides of Charlotte Harbor. Cut up lady fish and shrimp seem to be the bait of choice. The guyys we had out on a charter last Saturday said they had been doing some fish'n in their smaller boat around Boca Grande Pass and said they had caught some mangrove snapper and croakers. When they seen the size of the mangrove snapper they caught in 100 to 110 feet of water they were really suprised. Snook, for all you guys coming down from the north, snook are still catch and release ‘till September 12next year. Gag grouper opened September 16 and is only open for 2 months, so if you’re planning to do any fish'n for grouper, now's the time. You can keep two red grouper and two gag grouper per person until November 16. My fish'n story for this month was with three guys. Mark Abraham, his
brother Matt, and Matt's friend Nick Sarelli - all shown above. Mark and Matt own Mac Freight, out of Placida. The three guy's was supposed to be four, but one had to drop out so the other three sucked up the cost – they just wanted to get out fish'n off shore to see what it's like. Well all I can say is they all had a ball, and they said as soon as they got back from deer hunting, they wanted to go off shore again. These guy's was a hoot and they caught everything the Gulf had to offer. The bite was real slow in the morning, but the most and the biggest fish came in the afternoon. These guys caught a shark, a bunch of porgies, a trigger fish, some yellow tail snapper and some lane snapper. The yellow tail sanpper was of average size, but when they started to catch mangrove snapper the biggest was up to 26-inches. Now I am-a-tell'n-ya thats-a-bigga-mang. Wow, lots of meat on those guy's. Then they proceeded to limit out on red grouper. We had to throw keeper red's back. But Nick he was the man of the day. I watched his pole bend over and the line was going to the front of the boat.
He was grunting a little, so I figured it was a cobia, shark or king mackeral, or maybe a gag. Well when I got over to him with the gaff I looked over and saw the grouper about 40 feet down and it was getting bigger as it came to the surface. Ol' capt.'n here, when this gag hit the surface, I put my both hands in it's mouth and yanked it over the gunnel. And everyone's eyes popped open big time. After taking pictures, Nick said I think I'm just gonna sit awhile and have a cold botte of water. He was pooped! The gag was almost 34-inches long and in the 20 pound catagory. Nice fish Nick! Everyone said they had a good time and that they were ready to to do battle offshore again. Good fish'n guys! Well I think it's that time again to get out of here,
If y ou hav e any questions or if y ou hav e a good ol' fishin’ story or a recipe for cook ing fish that I can share with our readers giv e me a call. To book an offshore charter with us aboard the Predator II call (941) 473-2150 AND BE SURE TO SNORT SOME OF THAT SALT AIR CUZ IT’S GOOD FER YA!
941-628-4746 Half Day & Full Day
From Sun Up To Sun Down There Is Always Time For A Big Hit
bighitcharters.net
Capt. Wayne Kerry
USCG licensed
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Six Hours too Early
By Capt. Bart Marx Water LIFE Fishing Can you believe it is October again? The weather should soon start cooling down and the fish should start to switch around from the summer time patterns to the winter patterns. I had a customer last month, Bud and his wife Cindy, they wanted a captain / guide to go with them on their boat. We set a trip up with going off shore in mind to catch some grouper. The only problem the season for grouper was to open the 15th and I had a trip on that day already scheduled. So Bud and Cindy agreed to go on the fourteenth and gag grouper was to open at midnight of the 14th. We started with some boat safety checks like does the bilge pump work, and life jackets and two anchors – yes if you lose one you have a back up. This is one thing lots of beginners do not think about or are too cheap to do - well it is cheap insurance. The reason for two anchors is mostly for safety reasons - if you lose one you have a backup if your motor quits. So you do not end up drifting to Naples or Tampa. Next was the fishing tackle: we had plenty of rods and tackle. From 20 pound setups to 50 pound stuff loaded and ready for some good size fish to battle with. We started our trip from the canals inside the Bass Inlet and ended up in the Gulf of Mexico. When we got to Boca Grande there were birds in several flocks just going crazy. We tried trolling some spoons and some jigs, but only blue runners and some small jack cravel were biting. As we headed out to the Power Pole Reef we could see a few boats were there already. Bud and Cindy were taking turns working the electronics to see what reefs were already programed in their GPS and if we could find another place not to far away from our location.
We stopped and drifted a few times and chose to anchor up to bottom fish. We had frozen bait like sardines, lady fish, squid and live shrimp along with a few pinfish left over from a trip the day before, so we had a good variety of baits to drop down and see who was hungry . We got in place and caught some white grunts and a snapper. We put a few in the box with the ice to keep them as fresh as possible. While we were there we discussed trolling for grouper and Bud and Cindy were good students. We had some deep-diver lures like the Manns Stretch 30 and Rapala magnums. Bud and Cindy had some Penn 321 levelwind reels with 50 pound braid and two Penn 7-foot rods. We rigged them up for trolling with the lures and got started around the Power Pole Reef moving south in the direction of the School Bus Reef. We caught one red grouper 18inches, too short, 20 is a keeper size red so back he went and we continued to troll looking at the bottom machine for good bottom and fish markings for later fishing. We marked some nice looking spots and chose to stop and anchor up to bottom fish again. Things were slow going, a few grunts, some short gags, and red grouper. Then Cindy was fighting another nice pulling fish and all the sudden the line started going out and she could do nothing but hold on to the rod. I told he it was all over, that she was done. What do you mean? she asked, I mean goliath has your fish, so hang on to the rod until your line brakes. She is a good student and hung right in there to get the job done. She held on long enough that the big grouper let go of his catch and Cindy pulled in a nice size grunt to add to the box. There sat Bud. He was having a hard time getting bites. He was asking about those pinfish that were in the live well, if we could rig one of the bigger poles
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Bud and a gag grouper that was legal size but caught 6 hours before season opened
and send a pin fish down and snag into a bigger fish. While Bud and Cindy were catching some more small groupers and grunts, I got the pin fish to the bottom and reeled it up a couple of turns and placed the rod in a holder in the front of the boat where it was far enough away that it would not bother them in the rear of the boat. Fifteen minutes or so went by and Bud pointed out that the rod in the front was hooked on something. I went up to the front and picked up the rod and there was a fish on, it was not the bottom and after a few good runs and some serious pulling we could see that it was another goliath grouper of about sixty pounds or so. He ran out of fight a few minutes later and we got it up by the boat and took some pictures and successfully removed the hook and returned him to the bottom alive and well. He left in a hurry, soaking Bud and splashing my sun glasses, showing his thanks for letting him go. Bud and Cindy were in awe of what just happened. They settled down and got back to fishing and I took a little breather as it was getting close to calling it a day. We had agreed on heading back in a half hour or so. I set up the big rod with another pin fish and brought it to the
back of the boat for Bud to watch on his side. He had two rods going and got bit on the big one and had a good fight going on. A few minutes later he pulled up a nice 28-inch gag grouper. Knowing that the season opens at mid-night he asked if we could keep it. I reminded him the season did not open till mid-night and asked if he was going to have some pizza flown out for dinner. Then I said just come back tomorrow when the season will be open, that he now knew what to do and had caught one and had the spot marked to return. The next day I ran my trip and cleaned two trout and one red on a half day charter. Then I went on vacation to North Carolina, to Sugar Top mountain where I received a text photo and no captions, but it was Bud standing in his kitchen holding up a nice grouper with a large grin on his face. I was glad to see the fruits of my labor had paid off. I enjoy teaching people how to fish and when to fish no matter on your boat or mine. Give me a call and we can get hooked up and do some fishing. Call 941-979-6517 to talk with me to schedule a trip. or visit: alphaomegacharters.com Singing drags and tight lines always make me smile.
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Real Estate News
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October
2 0 11
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. Colonial Bank failed spectacularly at the beginning of the housing debacle and was taken over by BB & T Bank. Their binge of lending to speculative condo developments was legendary. On September 23, Charlotte County is scheduled to auction off the foreclosed condo project known as The Hammocks on Placida Road in west county. The $30 million loan (which includes four years of unpaid interest) will ultimately result in a huge loss to the FDIC. Randall Merril and Stewart Saad, developers from Tampa, purchased the 30 acre site for $4.5 mil in 2004. After gaining approval for 234 condominium units, 134 were built and 87 of those were sold. So, the 47 unsold units and land for 100 more units are left for BB&T to foreclose. The FDIC and BB&T will likely lose more than 80% of their loan when this property is finally resold. 2. Nationally, 31% of all listed residential properties were in foreclosure and 1/3 of all sales during the 2nd quarter were in foreclosure. August filings in Charlotte and Sarasota Counties were slightly above this past July but 40% below July 2010.
Crabs scurry for higher real estate at high tide
Plenty of summer rain has kept the mowers busy this season in Charlotte County. Heavily overgrown vacant lots, often only mowed a few times a year, require special equipment such as the big Bush Hog attachment on this tractor.
3. Douglas Tucker has announced that he will run against incumbent Charlotte County Commissioner, Tricia Duffy. Tucker lost to her in application to the Governor's appointment in 2006 and in the general primary election in 2008. Andrea Messina dropped her candidacy for Robert Skidmore's spot on the Charlotte County Board. 4. The Smuggler's Group has applied to build a swimming pool and sun deck in the brick courtyard between its Crab House Restaurant at Laishley Park and the Marina building. City council will likely make a deal to permit this upgrade if Laishley will pay fair land rent. 5. I-75 will be increased from 4 to 6 lanes from Tucker's Grade to Jones Loop Road.
6. The proposed developers of a music theme park in Murdock Village has requested the County to grant them a one year free look to consider the feasibility and line up financing for this $100 Million investment.
S al es S tati sti cs: Lot sales continue to be anemic with virtually no water front sales taking place. Unimproved lots are still limping along in the under $5,000 range. Median PGI waterfront homes dipped under $270K for the first time in eight years.
In other news: August airport traffic at Punta Gorda Airport was up 55% from 2010.
Try a New Restaurant? 1. Trabue Restaurant replaced Tapas One on Marion Street this month. Same ownership, but that's the extent of the consistency you'll find in this struggling enterprise.
2. Jimmy's Tacos, 318 Tamiami Tr. excellent food served in modest portions on paper plates with plastic utensils. True authentic Mexican atmosphere. ... no, not trendy "Tex-Mex", more like a tacky restaurant one would find in a border town.
October
2 0 11
Cypress Trails PADDLING
By Davi d Al l en Water LIFE Kayaking From the first time I paddled Fisheating Creek, more than ten years ago, I was hooked. The creek is incredibly beautiful and wild, meandering for about 52 miles through a wild bald cypress swamp and hardwood flatlands, with its isolation, creating a wonderland of wildlife. Alligators, turtles and river otters are commonplace, as are heron, ibis and egrets. Fisheating Creek is also the summer home and breeding grounds for the swallowtail kite, which makes the annual migration from its winter home in South America. Fisheating Creek character changes as you paddle upstream from the narrow beach at the launch site. From open, shallow areas to narrow, fast moving channels between the towering cypress at high water levels, the swift moving current can make the upstream paddle a real challenge. As you progress further upstream, the Creek becomes more enclosed and the current accelerates. And then you reach Fisheating Creek Lake, a lovely open area, complete with hummocks, sometimes with alligators sunning out of the water, and water-birds stalking small fish along the edges. Beautiful. There is another side to the story of Fisheating Creek. Fisheating Creek has had a long and recently turbulent history.
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The first settlements along Fisheating Creek we about 500 BC when the Creek provided a water highway connecting Lake Okeechobee and the surrounding native settlements. In the 1880, the Lykes brothers purchased over 500,000 acres of land in Glades and Highland county, becoming the largest land owner in Florida, and creating a successful cattle ranch. At this time the Creek and surrounding area was open to boats and hunters alike. Then, the Lykes brothers closed the land surrounding Fisheating Creek in 1989 because of vandalism and poaching on their cattle ranges. Years of litigation followed. In 1998, the State of Florida purchased 18,272 acres from the Lykes Ranch and placed its management under the Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area. Shortly after the State purchase of the tract, the Creek opened again to kayaking and canoeing. Florida Wildlife Management contracted with a concessionaire, Fisheating Creek Outpost (FCO) to manage the canoe and kayak operations on the Creek and the Campsite, and the concessionaire has done a good job of supporting the proper use of the Creek and maintaining the area. FCO charges a launch fee of $2 per person and you can rent a kayak for 1/2 day for $20. You can also take either a 16 mile trip downstream from Ingram
Crossing, or an 8 mile trip downstream from Burnt Bridge, with FCO arranging the shuttle. So, sure enough, our club recently paddled the Creek, after waiting for three weeks because of the very high water levels. Once the rains in central Florida slowed down, we headed east to our favorite paddle, and we couldn't have picked a nicer day for the trip. The water level was about 3 feet, so we would not face the extreme currents upstream nor have to drag our kayaks over the low spots. Except for birds and more bromeliads than I have ever seen, other wildlife was missing that day. We did see three small alligators sunning along the bank, or just sticking their noses and eyes above the water. We stopped at the lake for a short break, then began the downstream sleighride with the current assisting us all the way. We loaded our kayaks, left the park, and then the rain came down in sheets. It
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was a wet drive home but a beautiful, and dry, paddle. By the way, the native word for Fisheating Creek is Thlothlopopka-hatchee, meaning "The creek where fish are eaten". Now you know the whole story. The Port Charlotte Kayakers meet each Wednesday evening at 5:30 PM at Port Charlotte Beach Park. All are welcome. For more information contact Dave Allen at 941-235-2588
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Water LIFE Distributor 始s Club
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You can always get a free copy of Water LIFE at these locations
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Water LIFE Distributor 始s Club
You can always get a free copy of Water LIFE at these locations
October
2 0 11
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SCUTTLEBUTT
Sometimes Unsubstanciated, But Often True
MANATEE PROGRAM QUESTIONS Q: With all of this talk of changing their habitat, Powerplants seems like a violation of the Endangered Species Act. A: Carol Knox, administrator in the Manatee Management Program for FWC: “It is difficult. EPA is not a fan of warm water discharges; it is considered pollution. In years going forward this will be a struggle. It is a sticky issue.” RE GENETICS: Q: Regarding the genetic tagging project, you said it was complete? A: Carol Knox: “They have completed creating it. We were deficient in data in southwest Florida and we are finding that genetics will help us catch up more quickly. We really have only been focused in that area so far but it's not finished and we will probably need several years of collecting data in the southwest before we move to other parts of the state. Editor notes: Weʼve heard scientists ask for more study for 15 years! Enough is Enough! MARLIN RACE Six blue marlin are cutting through the currents in what may be the most important race of their lives. Each of these fish wear pop-up archival satellite tags (PSATs) that record their location, depth and temperature of the water . Rather than a finish line, thereʼs a time limit of 120 days to see which fish travels the furthest. And anglers, scientists, conservationists and fishery managers – are eagerly watching their progress. A partnership between the IGFA and Stanford University, the Race combines the excitement of tournament angling with cutting-edge marine biology science. The competition began
IMPROVISED LAUNCH SITE The parking lot for the Placida Fishing Pier is gaining a reputation as a convenient launch spot for ʻcarryableʼ boats, such as these two motorized kayaks seen last month.... and parking is free!
at the 58th San Juan International Billfish Tournament last month. The IGFA Great Marlin Race is arguably the organizationʼs most ambitious conservation project to date. For now, sponsors will wait to find out if their marlin will win, and a year to see whether their marlin outpaces all the others who will enter from other tournaments.
FIREARMS NOW ALLOWED IN STATE PARKS Effective October 1, 2011, sections 62D2.014(10), 62S-3.002(5)(c) and 18-23.007(2)(a)4, of the Florida Administrative Code regarding firearms and weapons will no longer be enforced.
UNDERSIZED An FWC officer observed three subjects fishing with cast nets. He watched as two of the individuals returned to the nearby parking lot. The third subject entered some mangroves. The individuals in the parking lot loaded the fishing gear into a vehicle, left the area, drove a short distance and stopped. The subject, who had entered the mangroves earlier, emerged carrying a bucket of
fish. Officers conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle, found an undersized snook and issued citations.
IN THE WATER Officers heard the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office radio advising that an individual had fallen into the water and appeared to be in distress. Officers responded and found the subject hanging onto a piling under a boardwalk. One officer quickly grabbed the individual and pulled her into the vessel. The officers determined that she was very intoxicated. The subject had been in the water for 45 minutes and had cuts on her legs and was very fatigued. She received medical treatment for her injuries. BULL BAY Officers on night patrol in Bull Bay observed a vessel without navigational lights. A safety inspection revealed four seine nets, all connected. The individuals were charged with fishing with a seine net measuring more than 500 square feet, fishing more than two nets from a single vessel. Mullet and nets were seized as evidence.
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By Bill Dixon Water LIFE Sailing Fall series has started. Next race September 25 1:30 PM first start. Contact Pete Welch at peter_damien_Welch@hotmail.com. With underlines in the blanks. Damn computer underlines it all. Summerset Regatta at Ft. Myers Beach Oct 7-9. link to CMCS on PGSC web site at pgscweb.com. Floating docks for IFDS world championship regatta are completed. Completion party is over. Model sailboat racing goes on year around here in Punta Gorda with the SunCoast Model Sailing Club. Over the summer the racing has been mornings only. Now that fall temperatures are arriving, the club racing will be expanding into the afternoons. Go take a look on Monday's and Wednesday's from 10:00-12:00 and 1:30-3:30 and on Saturday's from 10:00-12:00. The afternoons are for larger full keel boats modeled after the old Americas Cup 12 meter yachts. You can find them at South County Regional Park off Cooper Street or at the north end of Education Avenue. Look for lots of buoys on the water if you drive by when they are not sailing. For more information you can take a look at their club web site at www.suncoastmodelsailingclub.net . Nothing local on the Flying Scot Web site. At least one local boat is going to Coconut Grove for a regatta there on October 1,2. Contact Martin Holland at 286-0722. Small boat sailing is still disrupted by the construction of the Harbor Walk. Contact Dennis peck at 456-8542 for the latest.
Boats converge on the mark in an earlier race this season
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October Fishing Forecast
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Charlotte Harbor:
Frank at Fishin' Franks Port Charlotte: 625-3888
October is a month where we look for the cool spells and this is the time we look for the fishing to change too. There are a gazillion S pani sh mackerel right out front in the Gulf now and the first cold spell will bring them into the Harbor. Those fish are 3 to 15 miles out now. We have some good snapper on the near-shore reefs and a few grunts. There are some reds and gags, not a lot, but enough to keep a day’s fishing going. The big fish are at 35 miles: bl ackfi n tuna, mahi mahi , keeper gags and red grouper, there is a lot of fishing activity out there. So as not to waste too much gas, the best thing to do is get the nearshore Waterproof Charts, pick a reef, and use it as a destination. Use the standard bottom fishing baits: squid or sardines. A lot of guys stop to catch squi rrel fi sh or pi nfi sh on the way out. South of the Placida Trestle there are a lot of pinfish. In a half hour you can get enough for a day’s fishing.
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You can also get them off Trembly Reef, drifting small hooks for the squirrel fish. If they are hooked badly, cut them up or use the bigger pieces. Jigs are working well out deep. One way to get around the live bait on a jig regulations is to use Uncle Josh pork rinds as a trailer. That should keep you clear of the regulations of having to use a circle hook – if you are using natural bait you’ll have to use a circle hook. It’s almost time for the sheepshead to bunch up and move into the passes. By the end of the month the water temps should drop a few degrees and that will make the sheepies bunch up and move in Ladyfi sh are all over offshore and in the harbor. In the Harbor, there are a lot of greenbacks and threadfi ns. Those bait fish are still holding the tarpon in the Harbor but tarpon fishing has only been fair to mediocre. Tarpon seem to be bunching in the canals lately. There might be some kind of spawn happening right now. I don’t know, it may be the excessive bait or the security that is keeping them around. The fish seem to have been
moving out and them come back into the canals. Spring Lake, Edgewater Lake Severin and Beeney canals all have small tarpon in them in the morning and the tarpon seem to be going from one canal to the next. The most likely cause is the hatch, but we just don’t know. They head out after early morning and by noon or 1 o’clock they are back in the canals. Catfi sh are excessive this year. The catfish explosion of the late 90s ended with a huge kill and we might be headed to something like that again. I think catch and release fishing has brought out more catfish. We catch and fillet our best fish and release all the catfish. It may be giving them an advantage or it may be the water. Catfish are not as suseptible to fresh water; they can feed in freshwater and come right back to the salt. Some captains have pictures of catfish that are really big. Mark my words, catfish could become table fare soon. They are a very edible fish after you fillet the tail piece off. Redfi sh are doing real good. Fishing Report continued on facing page
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October
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Capt Billy Barton put these two anglers on some nice fish last month.
October
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w w w. Wa t e r L I FEma ga z i n e .c o m
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October October
The Fish to to expect expect in in The BIG-4 BIG-4 Fish There are redfish at the north end of Pine Island. The Indian Fields are real good right now. By the end of the month the bigger adult reds will come here to spawn and the juveniles will start bunching POMPANO Indide the pass SNAPPER More snapper this SNOOK Cruising the up in schools. Three schools at Boca Grande year than ever bushes and bars of redfish have been moving up and down the bars on the east side between Pirate Harbor and Bunt Store, There must be a bunch of shrimp they are feeding on. The Alligator Creek reef has some nice whi ti ng and there are more coming. Whiting are a favorite amongst the old timers. S padefi sh are becoming year round residents at the reef. There are sand bri m in the canals, sand brim is the No. 1 commercial fish around here and the least known recreational fish. A No. 6 gold hook and a peeled small piece of shrimp will get them. Not much on cobi a or any of the pelagics. S nook fishing is doing real well. The little Rapala x-wraps just knocks them dead. It’s the greenback No.8. Early morning top water are driving the snook crazy. Another one of Capt. Billy Bartonʼs clients with a Bass has been real good around Shell Creek and nice redfish. most of the ponds. Try worms, brown colored or peanut butter or motor oil color, fish right along the weeds. continued from facing page
Water Temps in the 80s
REDFISH Between Pirate Harbor and Burnt Store
Lemon Bay:
Jim at Fishermens Edge, Englewood: 697-7595
There are some good things happening. Guys are catching redfi sh in Lemon Bay using dead bait like ladyfish, sardines or cut mullet. Try fishing down at Placida and around the two islands by Gasparilla Pass, and on up to Stump Pass. There have been schools of nice fish and a lot of them are over sized. I’ve also had good trout reports throughout the Bay and down into the Sound. One guy told me he had 4 fish over 6 pounds one day. There are some Pompano around, right on the edge of Boca Grande pass. Use live shrimp while drifting for them. There are still some tarpon around inside. Guys are using Bait Busters on them. Offshore, pretty good activity for grouper on dead bait. S napper, mostly mangrove, have been active. A couple of my customers have been catching ki ngs, not big ones but nice fish. I haven’t heard anything about sheepshead yet, but there have been fl ounder caught dragging little minnows around the bottom. That’s pretty much all I know.
Capt Glen Ballinger gave us the giant permit and the fat AJ photos from one of his trips
John White, a former Navy helicopter pilot, who retired from military service three weeks ago after flying surveillance missions over Iraq, reeled in a 455-pound swordfish during a weekend fishing excursion off the Keys. It took five hours to get it to the boat. The big fish bit a dolphin (mahi-mahi) belly fished almost to the bottom in 1,600 feet of water, 30 miles to the south of Islamorada. It is likely one of the largest swordfish ever caught off the Florida Keys using nonelectric, conventional tackle.
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