Water LIFE Sept 2012

Water LIFE Charlotte Charlotte Harbor Harbor and and Lemon Lemon Bay Bay Keeping Boaters & Fishermen Informed Since 1997

The official publication of the Charlotte Harbor Reef Association

September

2012

Scallop Search

Big Jolthead

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Just a Few More Casts

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September

Parents of 7th Graders sign your kids up!

Fishing Classes

For the 11th year the Don Ball School of Fishing classes are being offered at: Port Charlotte, Murdock, LA Ainger, Punta Gorda and Heron Creek middle schools.

This is an 8 week program held in the school cafeteria from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. one night a week.

Children receive invaluable fishing instruction from local guides. They will learn how to tie knots, cast and identify fish.

Students receive a quality Shakespeare Rod and Reel, a custom tackle bag, tackle trays, lures, hooks, jigs, sinkers, spoons, plyers, casting plugs and more!

Plus, every student receives the new 2012 edition of the Don Ball School of Fishing workbook and upon graduation they will receive a custom Be-The-Fish graduation t-shirt.

The cost of the whole program is just $12.

Students will have a chance to see the equipment, meet us and ask questions at a school lunch session in early September. Application forms will be available at each school 7th grade office starting Sept. 1.

Early sign up is available from the waterlifemagazine.com website NOW! Call 941-766-8180 for more information.

Sponsored by the Charlotte Harbor Reef Assn. and the Fish Florida Foundation with additional funding from Fishermen’s Village and Water LIFE magazine

Early Sign Up online NOW at www.WaterLIFEmagazine.com Application Forms available in school Sept 1

2012

September

2012

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Inshore and Offshore Headquarters

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Water LIFE Magazine inc.

Ji m Hari son Ri chard Brauti gan Key West 1970s UYA Fi l ms “Tarpon”

Michael & Ellen Heller Publishers

(941) 766-8180

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

TOTALLY INDEPENDENT

Not affiliated with any other publication Vol XI No 9 © 2012

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To Waterlife: Dr. Steven Fink, of Kinnelon, NJ caught a 32 inch redfish in Lemon Bay. Poor guy tried for two years to catch a redfish, and when he finally did, had to throw it back because it was too big!

Laura Fink

Tarpon DNA Findings

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

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 Kayaks: David Allen Sailing: Bill Dixon (on sailbatical) Office Dog: Molly Brown

In the 1970ʼs film (above) a group (left) of Key West fly fishing guides sat together in a room and discussed tarpon fishing on the flats in the Keys: “What happens 6 or 7 years from now if you have to work 3-to 4- days to get customers to jump 2-3 fish? Is there anything physical that is effecting these fish? There is no question boat traffic will have great impact on these fish. Iʼve seen the same thing in Palm Beach, the fish are not on the flats anymore, they are in the inlets.

I think we are seeing the end of it.”

From FWC Seven years into the Tarpon Genetic Recapture Study, biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and Mote Marine Laboratory have confirmed that some tarpon move long distances, and others stay close to home. Biologists have also found evidence of a connection between tarpon habitats in southwest Florida and those of the Florida Keys.

Anglers sampled two tarpon in Charlotte Harbor during August 2010. Both

fish were caught the following spring in the Florida Keys – more than 150 miles away.

These tarpon were initially sampled inshore at the end of a spawning season, in close proximity to offshore areas in the Gulf where spawning is presumed to occur. Sampling of another tarpon showed the fish can travel a similar distance in a shorter time. That tarpon was caught near Islamorada in July 2011, about one month after an angler reeled it in during peak spawning season near Sarasota.

Researchers can track these tarpon thanks to volunteer anglers who submit tarpon DNA samples to the FWC. When an angler catches and samples a tarpon

that was previously sampled, a recapture occurs. Through recaptures, biologists can compare catch times and locations to determine movement.

In the study, the farthest distance recorded between an initial catch and a recapture is approximately 280 miles. That tarpon was reeled in near Apalachicola in July 2007 before it was recaptured near Captiva in May 2009.

Anglers have submitted over 13,000 tarpon DNA samples to the FWC, including more than 4,000 in 2011. Among the samples, researchers have documented about 100 recaptured tarpon.

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Captain Tyler Breton cradled a Charlotte Harbor snook caught along the West Wall last month, before releasing it alive. See page 9

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“Like a good day on the water”

September

2012

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Itʼs Nice When It Works Out Well

By Mi chael Hel l er Water LIFE editor I was getting things ready for the opening of our 11th year of classes in the Don Ball School of Fishing when I got a message from Tyler Breton: “Hey Mike, this is Tyler, I want to give you a story for the Water LIFE".

Right away, the recording made me smile. Thirteen years ago, Tyler was one of the young hangers-out at Fishin’ Franks bait and tackle shop in Port Charlotte. I frequent Franks and I got to know Tyler the shrimp dipper.

Tyler was a likeable kid with an insatiable appetite for fishing. “I was 11 when I started working at Franks,” Tyler told me last week when we spoke. He’s still as fish-crazy today as he was then.

While Tyler was working at Franks this publication put on the Kids Cup Tournament. Tyler fished the first Kids Cup with Capt. Robert Moore and he made it into the Top-5, ultimately finishing second behind winner Tommy Davis.

“Tommy and I are still friends,” Tyler told me, making me think back to some lifelong friendships that developed through fishing.

Tyler’s tournament success was a source of pride for him and for the guys at Fishin’ Franks who had taken him under their collective wing. It

was a good time. The economy was strong, Charley had not yet happened and fishing was good – the redfish in the harbor hadn’t been pressured too much back then.

I was sure Tyler had an interesting story, (the story appears on page 14) but the real story was Tyler himself.

Tyler grew up spending a lot of time around his grandparents house which was within bicycling distance to Fishin’ Franks. For a while, whether he was working or hanging out, I saw Tyler at the bait shop a lot.

He was there so much, in fact, that if he was still at Franks after dark, when he had to get home one of the guys would drive him and take his bike.

Tyler's mother gave him a Geenoe boat and then his Grandfather got him a motor for it. Tyler was on top of the world.

At the time there were some old guys with a wealth of fishing knowledge who also hung out at Franks the seating accommodations at the bait shop were more congenial back then - and Tyler soaked up as much information as he could from them.

One day I got a call from Franks.

The new outboard on Tyler’s Geenoe had come loose from the transom, vibrated off and sunk – it happened right near the Bayshore fishing pier.

We dragged the area with a curtain of

grappling hooks. Guys poked around with push poles, but in the end the motor was MIA. Tyler was both crushed and embarrassed – even today he grimaced when I brought the subject up, but at the time he kept his chin up and went back to pier fishing, and bridge fishing and whatever other fishing he could find. In the end, the guys at Franks helped him get another motor for his boat and he was back on the water.

Tyler got older, found girls and quit hanging around the bait shop.

It was the typical transition from boy to man. For a while I wondered about him, then I saw him one day wearing a tie and slacks and working at West Marine. I told my wife and we both smiled. Today Tyler is managing a business in Fort Myers and he’s back to fishing.

This year Tyler will begin sharing his knowledge with younger anglers by teaching in our Don Ball School program. Look at the picture here, look at the cover picture, look at his picture on page 9. Fishing makes Tyler smile, and his smile should make you smile too. This is what it’s all about. Sharing, giving back to the fishing community and being an ethical angler. It’s nice when it all works out that way.

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Tyler Breton was 12 years old and already an accomplished fisherman when this picture was taken on a back creek off the top of Charlotte Harbor

What A Great Place to Live

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By Capt. Chuck Ei chner Water LIFE Punta Gorda Fishing Warm water fishing on Charlotte Harbor offers so many options. Some days I wake up with one game plan and decide to go with another. Such was the case with Hurricane Isaac nipping at our doorstep. I just had to go fishing because I knew we would lose a week of fishing due to weather and poor water conditions.

As my wife Joyce and I left the dock my original plan was to catch bait and then go snapper fishing in the Punta Gorda

Isles canals, however, the northeast wind gave me confidence that the beaches would be calm so I opted to focus on beach snook.

Bait catching went better than planned with countless pilchards, threadfins and pinfish swimming in the livewell as we headed to the pass. Passing a day marker piling along the way brought visions of cobia eating a big pinfish. As Joyce laid the anchor line on the deck I cautioned that when the anchor came tight the boat would jolt once the hook was set as a hard outgoing current was in place.

When the boat came tight the tide swept the 24’ boat with great force right up against the piling placing us in danger.

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With all the strength I could muster, I held the boat off while Joyce jockeyed the throttle with wind and tide. That was too much excitement so we abandoned that idea, motored to the pass and rounded Cayo Costa.

Idling for 2 miles there were only a few fish here and there and one small pod of small snook. Then some type of backwash current put waves on the beach.

With my 2 beagles aboard it seemed only appropriate to regroup on the beach briefly and then get back to fishing.

My puppy Fin or Finny as she is named was lassoed with a 20 ft. dock line to her collar and carried in and Gator was allowed to swim to the beach where we figured on attaching another dock line. While I was repositioning the anchor I looked up to see baby Fin about a quarter mile up the beach dragging 20 feet of dock line and running with Joyce 400 yards behind. Recognizing we had a real problem with a runaway puppy on a remote island, I climbed into the boat, got my shoes and engaged in the pursuit.

Finally, after a marathon beach run Finny grew tired and was captured but beagle Gator was nowhere to be found. An hour of calling and this party was definitely

over! I thought about calling a park ranger and asking for help as Cayo Costa has remote swampy areas but I knew there was a good chance for a ticket with my runaway beagle.

A huge relief came over us when Gator (now named the “instigator”) appeared out of nowhere. Joyce then connected each beagle to the opposite ends of the line as we got our wits about us and then they both took off running connected together! After another chase, dogs in hand and back in the boat, I discovered a rod I had cast out was bent over with a fish. Reeling in a little shark was a small boost to our moral.

A beautiful sunny day and the winds subsided so we ran 3 miles into the gulf into 30 feet of water to a spoils area as marked on the chart. Large pinfish were free lined over the side and 20 minutes later the rod buckles! An impressive fight from a shark ensued and was boated and released. More drifts in the Gulf failed to produce, so I opted to try for snapper in 35 ft. of water in the pass as we were reaching the tail end of an outgoing tide.

Bottom fishing pilchards, Joyce picked up a nice Spanish mackerel on our first drift. Using 5 ounces of lead and barely making contact with the bottom made things difficult. Eventually, a small red grouper jolted the rod but was undersize and released. With the stronger than expected tide and lack of bites I went to go look for snook on the beach again.

Idling past a favorite area I spotted nice

September

2012

gray shadows skirting the surf line.

There was so much tide we decided to anchor and drift our baits to the snook.

The anchor failed to catch but when it did it landed us right on top of the fish and spooked them. With that I ran to the area where I had seen a small pod of snook early in the day, Nada!

After a choppy boat ride back, direct into a northeast wind, we reflected on an interesting day. Part of our adventure included having 2 very large manatees swim under our boat, lost our 2 dogs on a remote island, nearly banged up the boat, used several different fishing methods and even managed to catch a few fish.

The waters were extremely beautiful this day and almost no boats were out.

The final blessing was 2 snook bit my line at my dock as I was cleaning the boat. What a great place to live, here on Charlotte Harbor!

Capt. Chuck Eichner operates Action Flats Backcountry Charters and can be reached at 941-628-8040 or at www.backcountry-charters.com

September

2012

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All About Kids

By Capt. Davi d S tephens Water LIFE Back Bay When I get a phone call from a client who wants to book a fishing charter, the very first question I ask is: What do you want to fish for? And when I hear them answer saying ‘I am bringing my young son or daughter, and we just want to catch as many fish as possible,’ I am overwhelmed with ideas of how to make that happen. There are so many places to fish and so much to fish for around here. And I like kids!

Having junior anglers on the boat gives me a break from the stress of trying to put my clients on snook, redfish and their limit of trout – not just any snook but big snook – and big trout. Over the years my regular adult clients have been spoiled.

When I have young anglers that are going on their first fishing trip, I like to fish for numbers. If anyone has taken kids out they know it’s not easy to keep them out of the live well and focused on fishing. They like to look at the bait and look around, but they get excited when the rod gets bent and then they don’t care what is on the other end and they want another one after that.

The main difference with young anglers is the numbers. They don’t understand the difference between a 15-20 pound snook or catching 50 plus ladyfish and mackerel. It’s easy to get lost or forget how much fun it was when you just went out to catch as many fish as you could. Take a kid fishing and you get some of that excitement back!

Fi shi ng Report: With fall closing in, large schools of glass minnows have started to invade the Harbor, and where you find large congregations of small bait the predator fish will follow. The easiest way to locate these feeding frenzies is to keep an eye out for the birds – find the birds, find the bait, and find the fish.

Generally the most common fish that you will find will be ladyfish. On almost all occasions you will also catch Spanish mackerel and trout.

I highly recommend having a bigger rod rigged and ready, the chances of tarpon or cobia showing up to the party are still very high.

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September

Deep Creek

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Only 20 minute boat ride to the Gulf, secluded location with gorgeous homes nearby. Harbor estuary views from dock! $139,000

Call the Captain! ALL OF THE GOOD STUFF IS HERE: Updated kitchen, oversized rooms, lots of tile, 105 ft. of waterfront, newer roof & A/C, wonderful curb appeal Kitchen sports real wood cabinetry w/pull-out drawers, solid surface counters and house has Bahama shutters. List $223,900

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Just a Few More Casts. . .

September

2012

By Capt. Tyl er Breton Water LIFE Special I would like to start by thanking my good friend Brock Horner for inviting my girlfriend and me for a great day of fishing.

Brock had just purchased a new boat a little more than a week before and had already gone fishing 8 out of the 10 days he owned it. I think we can all relate to this feeling of new boat ownership.

Earlier that week Brock had produced an abundance of large redfish, trout, and snook, but what caught my attention were the two cobia he had boated just a couple of days before.

We began our day in the mouth of the Myakka River on the northwest flats just south of the El Jobean Bridge. It did not take long before the first few fish were in the boat. Two beautiful summer redfish averaging 24 to 26 inches, both fish showing a very distinguishing deep amber color; which is very common for redfish this time of year when they are caught in the Harbor.

Each of us had landed one or two reds and three or four large trout; large being 21 to 28 inches. This is not uncommon, but was surprising to me seeing that most large trout stay along the edges of the bar where the grassy brown bottom has water 3.5 to 4.5 feet deep.

After catching a few more fish we moved to Hog Island where the Peace River and Myakka River converge. We spent about an hour trying many different artificial baits, but unfortunately there were no takers. The tide was the highest it had been all day and soon due to be turning and moving out.

We decided to move to a different island and fish the mangrove line. At this time the tide and the sun started to fall. There was about an hour left, the day was coming to an end and you could see all of the life in the water.

There were mullet jumping and turning, bait coming to the surface and there were small jacks turning the water on the flat behind us. We plugged away at the mangrove line and every few casts our bait would be swirled on, but nothing committing to the strike. So we decided just a few more casts and then we’d be packing it in.

I laid my bone white top water deep in the mangrove, working it very slowly towards the boat. Two feet from the mangroves the water around my lure exploded sending a splash a foot and a half in the air. I slightly reeled forward and set the hook. There was no give and at that instant I knew this was one of the big ones.

Before I could even make my next move she took off back towards the mangroves. I was using a light tackle Quantum Smoke rod and Stradic 3,000. I fought her for a good seven minutes

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Capt. Tyler Breton (above) with snook, with Brock Horner and cobia (below)

before she surfaced.

One large head shake reveled that she was a snook; a very big snook at that.

My drag had been screaming consistently, but with patience I brought her to the boat.

I was able to turn her to her side to help coax her into the net. We were all in shock because this was when we could really see how big she was. We quickly dehooked, measured, and weighed her. At this time it set in that I had landed a 45 inch, 23 lb. snook on very light tackle; 15 lb. braid with 20 lb. mono leader!

I immediately got into the water to start the reviving process. She was doing very well so I decided one last picture wouldn’t hurt.

It is very important not to remove any of the slime off the outside of any fish so I submerged myself to prevent

my dry shirt from hurting her. Then after a few seconds she kicked off strongly and left me with a huge smile.

Unfortunately there are times that fish are foul hooked and it is extremely important that we do as little to harm them as possible. Most times cutting the line close to the hook is best; the hook over time will rust and dissolve causing little harm.

Catching large fish on lighter tackle is very thrilling and puts a little more sport in the fight. You should know that the longer the fight the more exhausted the fish will become which decreases the chance of survival. However it is also important not to bring in the catch too quickly or as some of us call it too “green”. At times doing so will cause most fish to release large amounts of adrenaline. Without allowing the fish

Page 9

time to burn this adrenaline off it will cause the fish to go into shock; becoming stunned and losing its equilibrium. If this happens you must spend a generous amount of time reviving.

I find that it is beneficial to be on the same level as the fish, either kneeling or wading alongside. The best results are produced by keeping the head just under the water line with her back and tail just breaking the surface. I hold my left thumb in her mouth like a pacifier, while holding the weight of her body with my right hand. I then slowly pull her in a forward motion watching her gill movement. You’ll see the movement of her gills should be at a nice steady pattern of open and close.

After just a moment the motion of you pulling her forward will start to give her a sense of swimming freely. Her back will start to curve and bend as if she were swimming on her own and usually at this time she’ll put a little more pressure on your thumb and kick off.

You need to keep an eye on her path as she swims away. Larger fish tend to give a good thrash as if they were ready to be released, but will slowly sink to the bottom.

The extra minute you could spend reviving a fish can play a crucial role in its survival.

Captain Ty ler Breton specializes on fishing from Y OUR BOAT. He can be reached for fishing charters at: 941-240-2407

Got Mercury?

Page 10

By Capt. Ron Bl ago Water LIFE Senior Staff Recently; I came across an article that said that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) was going to reduce mercury emissions in Florida by 86%. I thought that was a rather ambitious goal considering we have been lowering mercury emissions in Florida since 1989. The largest source of mercury back then came from coal fired power plants. Most of those plants have converted to natural gas and the remaining ones now have smokestack scrubbers that remove most of the mercury. So where is the mercury they want to eliminate and just how bad is mercury for you anyway?

You can't talk about mercury without thinking about fish. It was back in 2002 when we had the last “mercury in fish” scare. A little known environmental group on the west coast called the sea turtle restoration project, started a campaign called “Got Mercury”. They started producing lists of fish that they recommended people do not eat. Unfortunately they set their own limit of methyl-mercury toxicity at one part per million where the Federal Governments limit was one part per billion. This caused a lot of anxiety in people which resulted in a significant reduction in fish consumption. Since the US Dept of Health was telling people how good fish was for your health, the Federal Government asked them to stop the “Got Mercury” program.

The largest amount of mercury in the environment comes from natural sources.

Dust in the air, in soil, forest fires and

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the natural decomposition of organic material like leaves are the biggest sources. Among man made sources; coal burning and cement manufacturing top the list. How much mercury is bad for you? That is still open for discussion.

From a historic perspective, we used to use a lot more mercury in every thing from making hats to gold mining.

Abraham Lincoln used to regularly take a common medicine of the day for depression called “Blue Mass” which contained 100 times the current daily limit for mercury; and up until the 1920's, mercury was the recommend treatment for venereal disease. Every time you get a filling and the dentist tells you to spit; you're putting a little bit of mercury into the environment.

Elemental mercury as a natural substance is everywhere; but through a natural process some of it coverts to methyl mercury which get into the watershed and is absorbed by small fish, which are then eaten by larger fish. The trouble is that methyl mercury is bio-accumulative which means it keeps adding up. The bigger the fish, the higher the mercury level.

The sea creatures with the highest mercury levels are whales and dolphins.

Humans go through the same process; the bigger you are, the older you are and the more fish you eat, the greater the probability you have a larger amount of mercury in your body.

The adverse health effects of high mercury toxicity are well documented. Birth defects, mental retardation and muscular degeneration to name a few. The long term effects of small levels on methyl

mercury are not clearly understood.

Societies that consume a high level of fish also have a high level of mercury in their system yet there is no evidence that there is in increase in the adverse effects associated with mercury. So should we eat less fish, more fish or eat none at all?

The State of Florida has some general recommendations. First off, pregnant women and small children should carefully watch the amount of fish they eat. In 2010 the state found 13 confirmed cases of human health effects believed to be the result of mercury exposure primarily related to fish consumption. In freshwater the largemouth bass seems to accumulate the most mercury; so it is recommended that it be eaten only once a month. In salt water, it is recommended that you eat no blackfin tuna, shark or kingfish over

September

2012

32 inches.

It has not escaped notice that while the state is reducing mercury emissions from power plants they are also pushing the energy saving CFL light bulbs. These compact fluorescent bulbs also contain mercury. Roughly 4 or 5 milligrams per bulb. That may not seem like a lot considering that your thermostat contains about 3,000 milligrams, equal to 600 bulbs. The state estimates that there are over 39 million fluorescent bulbs discarded in Florida landfills and only two centers in the state that will recycle them.

And 80% of these bulbs come from government and commercial facilities. Lets hope that the state is not just reducing mercury from one source only to increase it at another.

Capt.RonB@juno.com

Bait shop Resurrects Local Fishing History in Photos

September

2012

Water LIFE Bait Shop It’s just some old pictures, why spend the time wiping, cleaning, scanning? Well, because a picture is a memory on paper.

Here at Fishin’ Franks, when we started in business, people ate fish. Catch and release was just getting started. Fish were thought of as fun food, I guess that would be the way to say it.

People would stop by the bait shop on their way home to show us their catch and we started taking pictures of people and their fish. We would put the pictures into albums, but soon we had photo albums stacked up all over the store.

One day my dad said it was going to be my job to clean the ceiling. I started looking at all the work that had to be done on a regular basis, I noticed all of the pictures all over the counter, hummm........ If I covered that ceiling with those pictures I would not have to clean it anymore and in that brief moment of laziness, a tradition was born.

If you fished during that time, bragging rights were all about your pictures on the ceiling at Fishin’ Franks. There were between 2 and 3 thousand pictures on the ceiling when Hurricane Charley wrecked the store, 20 years of people and fish, newspaper stories, magazine articles and history.

I am not sure why, but after the storm we (myself and many volunteers) went around the area picking up pieces of the ceiling and taking the pictures and putting them into boxes...where they have been for the last 8 years.

Recently we started cleaning them, wiping away mold, dust and pulling out the rusty staples from when they were stapled to the old ceiling. Then Mal & Andrew scanned them and now we are in the process of putting them up online on FishinFranks.com. When they are all up, there will be over 2,500 photos.

It is kind of like a trust, holding memories for people. Soon people will be able to down load their pictures from our website and come into the store and see them once more up on the ceiling, in their original hall of fame, where they belong.

A couple of memories

Red fish were a salt water carp. The first time I ever saw a red fish here was when I walked up on an older guy, probably my age now, fishing from the bank, with a pile of fish behind him. “What are they?”I asked. “Damn salt water crap!

Just trying to get rid of them, they aint good for nothing,” he said. It was funny,

w w w. Wa t e r L I FE maga z i n e .c o m

because a couple years later they were almost extinct in Florida because a chef in New Orleans became famous for blackening red fish. They were fished out with almost none left. The red fish were put on the list and it was illegal to fish for them commercially and it is still illegal to sell a red fish in Florida.

Now a days redfish are a very much sought after game-fish, but back in the early 90’s you could fish for days and not catch one. Now people go out and have days where they catch 20 in a few hours.

Times have changed.

In this picture I do not know who the family is, I remember the face but cannot recall the name, proudly showing off a black drum close to 50 pounds.

It’s pictures like this one, where I can remember the faces but not the names, one of these young people is going to see this and chances are this is the only picture of this family and their big drum.

Some of the surviving pictures have names and dates, although many don’t.

Funny it was the Polaroid pictures that survived. The regular photos; the water and mold ruined them, I cannot believe how tough Polaroid pictures are.

To the right is a picture of my winning snook. By winning I mean I won in a simple in-store bet/tournament between myself and a few friends. It was huge with big stakes involved, a gold plated 2” snook pin, dollar value $5.49 but the bragging rights “Priceless”.

Well it was cold that fall, and with the

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low temperatures it was hard to get a snook to bite. I had been out fishing every night until 2 a.m. or later, then back up at 5 to work each day. Hey when you are young, right? Finally the last night before the tournament ended I got this snook. I remember the fight. I had laid the landing net on the dock and I was 20 feet from it when I hooked the fish. After I had the snook beat I started walking back to where the net was pulling the snook. This was still in the water too heavy to lift without a net, plus a frayed leader. I got to the net, it was on the other side of the dock, so with my leg Frank is cleaning off the dirt by hand. Thatʼs Nav-A-Gator stretched out, I was restaurant owner Dennis Kirk when he was a Younger-Gator able to get my foot into the frame of the net then pull it to me, in our snook bet? Had to be caught land which would have worked great, but I based, so Terry and I went out and I put jerked my foot instead sending the landthe shrimp on her hook then I said watch ing net across the dock and into the water me. I put my bait in the water and slowly on my side. I did a quick belly flop onto started walking up the pier letting the the dock, grabbed the net as it was sinking, and netted the snook finally! So what else do you do? That’s right, I put the snook in the car drove to my house went in jumped up on the bed to show Terry the monster snook I was going to win this all important tournament with.

Terry, she woke up and looks, here I am with this monster still dripping holding it over the bed, I could not understand why she wasn’t as excited as I was, strange girl. Hey it was a big winning

fish.

Well I won the snook pin & the bragging rights, and Terry after having put up with a bed that had a slight snook fragrance to it decided that she wanted to go catch one too.

So the next night we headed out to the pier, yes did I mention no boats allowed

shrimp drag along behind just off the bottom. Then I came back to her and told her to just follow me and do as I do. So again I put my bait into the water at the same place as before and started walking my shrimp. Terry waited until I got about ten feet away put her bait in the water in the same place as I had twice before, started walking and within two steps, wham! Her rod bent over the exploding water, splashing all over and then plop and her snook was lying on the pier! She looked at me and said I thought snook were supposed to be hard to catch, and by the way. “Where have you been for the last 6 nights?”

Frank can be reached at 625-3888 or at Frank@fishinfranks.com

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WaterLIFE@comcast.net

September

2012

Drop In Pressure

By Capt. Bi l l y Barton Water LIFE / Charlotte Harbor Well guys I'm sitting here at the computer, it's ten o'clock at night. I'm listening to the wind howling and the rain pounding on the windows as Tropical Storm Isaac makes his way over Southwest Florida. I can't be out fishing in this stuff. Well I could but probably wouldn't be too wise of me! Heck it’s the perfect time to sit down at the computer and write about fishing if I can't be out doing it! This month I'm going to write about what turns the fish on. Heck that's all I ever write about! It's all I

know how to write about!

During the month of August that water temperature really got up there.

Some days on the GPS it was reading nearly ninety degrees surface temperature.

I know on those days when it's hot and stagnant, and I'm sweating like a pig, and not too darn comfortable to say the least, that this can make for some tough fishing and I think some of them fish weren't too comfortable either if you catch my drift!

When the wind isn't blowing,

and it's hot and sticky it makes it a little more of a challenge to target fish up inside the islands. Especially when there's four people, walking around on your boat, that don't understand stealth!

To put it bluntly, I hate these conditions!

I firmly believe the fish get spookier, and they absolutely go for the deeper troughs and potholes where the water is a little bit cooler. When the conditions are such I tend to fish a little more open water. I lighten up on my tackle. I fish a lot of live free swimming baits and artificial baits as well. I fish deeper, slower, and methodically, and I move around more this way I cover more ground. This was our situation several days in August especially in the later part of the morning before the storm clouds started coming together. This is what I'm getting at also.

Pressure change. Fish sense that drop in pressure like you wouldn't believe. What I love the most and I can't believe I'm spilling my beans on this, however I

love seeing all the boats heading home for the ramp in the afternoon when that pressure’s dropping, the storm clouds are building, and that wind picks up to ten to fifteen mph outta the southwest!

I can't tell you how many frenzies we got into this month when those were our conditions. Probably a dozen at least. The tide's usually up by then. I watch that sea breeze pick up and the fish turn on like a light switch. Yes we might have to dodge a storm or two, and that lightning at times was a little close for comfort, but when you're catching fish every cast sometimes it gets a little tough to crank the motor up and leave em! That all depends who's on the boat. It’s not for the faint of heart, only the stupid! But heck it's an addiction what can I say. When they get eating like this it's like they don't even care you're there. There is no stealth mode!

It's almost easy catching beautiful fish right next to the boat! This isn't just a

September

2012

theory, it's a fact. It goes for all saltwater fish from my experience. I fished five days up to this tropical storm. We boated over fifty fish a trip so I really can't complain. I guess maybe I'm a little spoiled and this ain't no fish story!

All this rain should drop our water temperature a little bit and change things up for the better. We'll see how it goes. September can typically be a little bit of a breezy month which is a good

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thing in my opinion. Not as much of those hot and stagnant days and more moving water, this is what gets em chewing. Well I wish y'all lots a luck out there! Go get’cha some a that sweet action! Be safe and take a kid fishing it'll be the best thing ya ever did! Signing out, Captain Billy.

Capt. Billy Barton operates S cal es N Tai l s C hart ers. He can be reached at 979-6140 or at bartonw24@yahoo.com

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WaterLIFE@comcast.net

Real Estate News

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. Ever the would-be real estate speculators, Charlotte County and the City of Punta Gorda appear to be determined to acquire the luxurious IMPAC University campus on Retta Esplanade

overlooking Charlotte Harbor. Despite a public hearing filled with critical taxpayers, the County has already contracted to purchase the property at the comparatively bargain price of just $2.5 million. The building, constructed in 2005 for more than $8 million, contains a 247 seat auditorium, basketball court, marble floors and oak doors and trim. The economic development committee sees the property as suitable for incubator spaces for new businesses.

ECOC director, Tom Patton, sees it as a great spot for "meetings and cocktail receptions". Punta Gorda City Council naively claims that the incubator project for the creation of 1,564 new jobs (keep in mind that 90% of new businesses fail within the first three years of operation) over the next twenty years. Their investment model (I know, it's hard to believe that they have one) forecasts rental income of $800K/year.

Taxpayer's will likely be providing most of the required rents for some time to come in addition to foregoing $50K/yr of real estate taxes currently being generated by the facility. After

more than a decade of bumbling its way through ill planned real estate investments, it's hard to believe that they are convinced of the need for taxpayers to invest where private industry is reluctant to do so.

2. Bill Fucillo purchased a 7.5 acre parcel on Rt 41 just west of Toledo Blade for $325,000. The iconic KIA dealer will be building a 25,000 sf showroom and will employ 150 when in full operation. Fucillo has grown to be the largest KIA dealer in the country since he started in upstate New York in 1989. The property originally sold for $1.3 million at the height of the real estate bubble. Once again, taxpayer's have indirectly subsidized this purchase through a $650k loss suffered by the lender that was dissolved by FDIC.

3. The popular fast food chain, Five Guys, has asked the City of North Port to chip in $50K as a gift to entice them to open a new store at the Coco Plum shopping center on rt 41. Still another unbelievable misuse of conception of "public/private partnership". I don't believe that the coiner's of this expression meant that one partner should "give" their capital to the other partner so that he could make more profits.

4. Punta Gorda Airport reported more than 18,000 passengers for July.

PGD's sole carrier, Allegiant racked up this total all by itself. Last July saw 16,000 passengers when both Direct Air and Allegiant were in operation. The Airport Authority will continue with its expansion plans that will be subsidized with a $621K grant from the FAA. Sarasota Airport increased 9.6% to 95,000 passengers.

5. The Punta Gorda linear park is moving along as funds allow. The cantilevered walkway around at the Waterfront Hotel is at the top of the list. Without soliciting public input, council members have eliminated the

September

2012

planned bocce courts, footbridges and 2 parking lots.

6. Calusa Green land fill on Bermont Road 9 miles east of rt 31 will be considered for approval by Charlotte County at its September meeting. The proposed 455 acre landfill owned by the Laishley Group will accept sludge from surrounding counties, but not Charlotte.

7. Citizen's Insurance Co. will increase rates from 8.8 to 10.2 % next year.

In other news: The likely expiration of rental concessions probably caused the demise of several of our fledgling restaurants. Big D's Hotdogs, Table 209, Coral Rock Cafe and Captain and the Cowboy all failed this summer. River City Grill and Jack's are, rumor has it, under contract for sale.

S al es S tati sti cs:

BELT AND SUSPENDERS – In spite of a recent multi million

dollar drainage project, one downtown Punta Gorda business

still chose to put up the barrier flood walls when TS Isaac was supposed to bring high water to town. The water never hap-

pened so the new drainage systen has still never been tested.

The median sales price on vacant lots in the county continued on its course of 20% below year ago levels. Single family prices have stabilized reflecting a smaller proportion of distressed sales.

Total inventory is still running 20% below last year's level. The county appraisers have sent out TRIM notices reflecting Charlotte County valuations as of January 1 now totaling just $11.82 billion, some 5.1% below 2011 levels.

September

2012

Spearfishing Tournament This Month in Englewood

The 1st Annual Englewood Open Spearfishing Tournament will be held Sept 22 at Stump Pass Grille & Marina. There will be a mandatory Captainʼs Meeting Fri Sept 21, 6:30 pm.

Part of the tournament will be the invasive Lionfish roundup. All of the Lionfish collected will be studied by a fisheries biologist for NOAA who is conducting Gulf-wide lionfish research.

The Englewood Visitors Bureau, in conjunction with Gasparʼs Dive Shop, are both hosting the event. The weigh-in will begin at 3pm, Sat Sept 22, at Stump Pass Grille & Marina and is open to the public. There are multiple divisions

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including scuba, free divers, women, and youth.

Contestants will compete for the largest of several categories including Grouper, Snapper, Hogfish, Sheepshead, Amberjack, Barracuda/Cobia and Lobster. The Englewood Visitors Bureau hopes to use this event to educate visitors about our natural resources, local reefs, fish habitats, and estuaries and to get them to return. For info and registration visit www.englewoodopen.com, facebook or englewoodopen@yahoo.com.

Englewood Visitors Bureau 548•7862 or englewoodVisitorsBureau.com.

Letters to WaterLIFE@comcast.net

Re: Mooring Field

To Water LIFE My name is David Baird. I currently serve as the volunteer President of the Punta Gorda Isles Civic Association. As you may or may not know, our community organization turned 50 years old in 2012. To celebrate, the PGICA has sponsored a series of monthly celebrations involving our membership. “Happening on the Harbor” is being planned as one of these events. A committee of volunteers originated it and continue to this day planning specifics. It remains a multifaceted work in progress.

In your August WaterLIFE article entitled “Inadvertent Fish Magnets” you were obviously not targeting the PGICA but you gratuitously aver our Association is guilty of “trying to round up enough boats to fill the (mooring) field for a potentially misrepresentational photo that could be used to attract unsuspecting boaters here and apparently the city is OK with that.”

This declaration completely “misinterprets” the Civic Associationʼs rationale for this eventʼs birth and design. To infer our intent is to deceive discredits both the lucidity and veracity of your article. More importantly it sullies the reputation of our fine Association.

I knew and worked closely with professional journalists during my business career. Many liked to be controversial and to stir the pot as you obviously do, but they all did something you did not. Before publication, they phoned any person or organization they might be accusing of malfeasance for comment. You did not.

“Happening on the Harbor” began as an anchor-out for the numerous boating clubs of the PGICA. To repeat, it was originated to celebrate our 50th Anniversary. The volunteer committee organizing it expanded the concept by creating a party for anchor-out participants at Laishley Park later the same day. An entertainer was hired. Food and alcohol vendors were

Page 15

contacted. Insurance costs were investigated.

Water taxi options were explored. A member offered to photograph it from his plane. Two hundred and fifty participants are going to be asked to form the letters PGICA in the park for an aerial photo. Laishley, as you know, is an open city park. Hence our party will be open to members of the public. As a courtesy and consequence, the committee decided it should invite other harbor boating organizations to join us in our celebration. As the size, scope and cost of the event grew, the Chamber of Commerce stepped up to assist our committee by offering its organizational skills and contacts. I am told the committee hopes to have over two hundred boats anchored from Gilchrist Park to Laishley. The committee asked the city if it could use their “vacant” mooring field free of charge as a convenience for this celebration and the city was kind enough to consent. That is the whole story. It was organized to be a fun celebratory experience for participants. There was no devious intent...ever.

One can debate logically, as you have, the wisdom of installing the mooring field on the east side of the 41 bridges. Obviously, taxpayer dollars sank in that mooring field. It is failing to produce hoped for tourism objectives. Due diligence was obviously wanting. I certainly defer to you on ostensible faulty construction of mooring balls. These are all legitimate arguments. Accusing the PGICA of acting as a shill for the city to purposely deceive transient boaters without even seeking comment is irresponsible journalism in my opinion. Given these facts…as opposed to your opinion…it is our sincere hope that you will correct your error and retract this allegation in your publication at the next available opportunity. Please advise.

Thank you.

Yours truly, David Baird President, Punta Gorda Isles Civic Association

Northport diver Adam Wilson, above, says he will be a contestant in the Englewood Open Spearfishing tournamentthis month. The diving is good at Englewood!

Hi David, First, thanks for being a reader of Water LIFE. We try to represent what living, boating and fishing on the waters of Charlotte County is all about.

I have no intent of retracting anything.

Although I did not speak with you, I was informed of your plan by one of your own, a person who, like so many others around here, did not want their name in print - the concern was for a misleading photo from the beginning, that was not my concern but theirs.

I accused no one of malfeasance, I simply said someone could 'potentially misrepresent', the scene and I stand by that as well.

I would suggest that instead of glorifying the stupidity of the mooring field with a photo your group tied up there, your group should publicly refuse to tie up there. Your group should use the opportunity to stand up and demand a real mooring field, on the other side of the bridge, from the city.

If you think the city did not 'reallocate for other purposes' some of the $180,000 they received in grants to build the mooring field, then you are fooling yourself. Those mooring balls are on the internet for $50 each, this whole project borders on fraud!

If you read our magazine regularly you are already aware of the dealings I have had with the city of Punta Gorda and the Laishley group.

Yes, Laishley is an open park, but I am still not allowed in certain parts of that park. I have been told, in writing, by the Punta Gorda Police that I will be arrested if I go there and the city attorney supports that.

I believe the potential for misrepresentation exists, not on the part of your group, but on the part of the City or the Laishley group if either of

them are allowed access to the image you make. I would suggest that all photos you release have a very specific cutline that states the photo was 'staged for publicity purposes' and insist that it is used wherever the photo appears.

I will publish your letter in the September edition. I'd love to sit down with you and figure out a way to maintain a regular channel of communication with you and your group in the future.

Sincerely, Michael Heller, Water LIFE publisher

Michael, I understand your sentiment and share your desire to keep government accountable, as I have said in my own columns.

Absent a retraction, I thank you for publishing our stated objections.

If we can work together positively for the betterment of our beautiful waterfront communities, I welcome an exchange of ideas. It appears, from the description of your goals below, our missions are not dissimilar. You have my eddress. I now have yours.

One question. We were by no means attempting to market the mooring field as my letter said, but had we been attempting to do so in the absence a city run marketing plan, would you have considered that wrong as well?

Iʼm interested in knowing whether you think there is anything constructive that can still be done to salvage the east mooring field expenditure, assuming the mooring balls hold up a few more years.

Regards, David

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2012 Bay Scallop Summary

By Betty S taugl er Water LIFE / Sea Grant

On August 4th, one hundred and thirtyseven citizen scientists participated in the 4th Annual Great Bay Scallop Search conducted in the Charlotte Harbor estuary waters of Lemon Bay and Gasparilla Sound. The search is a way of assessing bay scallop distribution and trends in abundance over time in local waters.

This event was the first of four volunteer based scallop searches scheduled in southwest Florida. The others occurred in Sarasota Bay, Tampa Bay and Pine Island Sound.

All total 30 teams went out in the Charlotte event. That comprised 24 boats

& 6 groups of kayakers. Each team was assigned an area to sample. Sites ranged from just north of the Tom Adams Bridge down to Boca Grande and then east to Turtle Bay. The methods employed are designed to provide uniform data that can be used to compare different areas of the bay, different areas of southwest Florida (Tampa to Pine Island Sound) and one year to the next. It is important to note, volunteers do not look for every scallop in the study area, just those that fall within their narrowly defined search area.

This year’s event documented 20 live scallops during the search. A slight decrease from the 24 observed in 2011.

Although these numbers are low, they still represent a positive sign for our area.

WaterLIFE@comcast.net

These results demonstrate the importance of collecting information in a number of areas over a number of years. This is the only way to develop a comprehensive picture of what is happening.

We monitor bay scallops in southwest Florida because they are an important species to both humans and the environment. When coastal waters are able to support bay scallops it is a sign of reasonably good water quality and seagrass conditions. Many volunteers participating in the search this year commented about how healthy the seagrass looked.

Healthy seagrass is very important habitat for bay scallops, but it’s only part of the story.

In addition to the scallop search, bay scallops are monitored throughout the year by counting recruiting scallops, referred to as spat (phase when scallops

Twelve volunteers in Charlotte County are also monitoring scallops in cages at their docks. The caged scallops are part of a community restoration program where bay scallops are placed in areas to spawn, thus adding additional recruitment potential. Monthly, volunteers who have adopted the cages, collect data on their scallops. We use this information to determine the percent of survival and growth rate of the scallops.

The results of these combined monitoring programs provide resource managers with information needed to effectively manage and hopefully restore bay scallop populations.

first settle on seagrass blades). If you see a yellow and red buoy located close together while out on the water, chances are you are looking at spat collectors.

The spat is monitored by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), with the support of partners, from St. Andrew’s Bay to Pine Island Sound, including eight sites in coastal Charlotte County which are maintained

by Sea Grant.

Looking to the future—new restoration plans using hatchery reared larvae are in the works for the later part of 2012.

Adult bay scallops (brood stock) were collected for hatchery spawning in late August. Once the larvae are ready to settle in the seagrass beds, they will be released. It is anticipated that larvae will be released in two locations (one in Lemon Bay and the other in Gasparilla Sound). These restoration sites will be carefully monitored for some time. It should be noted that more releases will most definitely be needed if we are to stand a chance at restoring local bay scallop populations to sustainable levels.

Because bay scallops are extremely sensitive organisms and very short lived, their success depends upon large populations in large areas over a long enough time period to ensure one red tide event or one rainy year will not result in a collapse of this species.

Betty Staugler Florida Sea Grant Agent Univ ersity of Florida IFAS Ex tension Charlotte County (941) 764-4346

September

2012

Achilleʼs Recuperation:

Das Boot

Michael Heller Water LIFE editor My friend Judy sent me a short observation on Facebook: ʻSo itʼs come down to you taking pictures of your foot, eh?ʼ That hit home. Judy knows me as a photographer, and clearly Iʼm not doing much of that. Last month my friend Ralph was surprised to see me with only my iPhone for a camera, but carrying my heavy digital SLR is like having a lead pendulum around my neck, a problematic thing when you are on crutches.

I am still impressed by my high tech orthopedic boot. I am also still swimming every day, and my leg is coming along nicely.

When the olympics were on TV, I spent a lot of time watching. One of the things I saw was the American sprinter Manteo Mitchell who finished his 4x100 relay with a broken tibia in his leg.

Suffering my own leg problem, Mateo impressed me. Even more impressive was the night after he broke his leg he was back on hand at the Olympic field to cheer on the Bahamian relay team.

What caught my attention was Manteo was wearing the same high tech German engineered orthopedic boot as I am. I had my cell phone handy so I snapped a picture of him off the TV screen. My friend Judy would be proud of me, knowing I had now graduated to taking pictures of other peopleʼs feet.

This month I am scheduled to start putting weight on my recently reconstructed tendon, little by little. I have been walking on it in the pool already, mostly floating but getting used to the exercise and range of motion.

Another little milestone in my recovery came on August 23 when, frustrated with my mobility I crutched out to my truck and found my booted foot actually fit on the gas pedal. I wouldnʼt want to drive in traffic that way, but I made it down to Fishinʼ Franks on my own and back home bwher my nurse (wife) was waiting for me in the driveway. For some reason she was not as pleased with my accomplishment as I was.

FISHING AROUND THE AREA September

2012

By Capt. Bart Marx Water LIFE Fishing Hello fellow anglers! September is such a great month if you are into fishing.

The long hot days are finally beginning to get shorter. There should be those big schools of the bull reds herding up to feed, so they can go out into the gulf and make more red-fish.

Now is the best time to hunt for the large schools of reds along the Intracoastal where there is plenty of bait, like pin fish that will be trying to hide in the grass beds.

In the past we have found these large schools hanging in the pilings of the old Phosphate Dock. I like to use a hand size pin fish to catch them at night.

You may find that there are some other species that like pin fish at night, snook for instance but they are still catch and release only. It would be in your best interest to use some heavy gear to battle with those bad boys: They play for life.

All along the coast from Placida to Sanibel Bridge you may find some of these schools that will help you test your tackle. You could use a fly rod or a light tackle setup with 10-pound-test to catch these guys.

If you are a resident of Florida you know this time of year you need to keep a close eye on the weather, it can change in a short time. Some friends and I dove the docks one day and we were down 30-minutes and came up to find two water spouts! That is messed-up! Thirty minutes, that's all!

We need to watch for the named storms that can change things for a few days – and not so much for the good.

Yea! Those snook should be on the move back from there spawning time out on the beach. They will be moving back to there normal feeding areas relative to where they came from – snook up river move to the mouths of the river and the ones from the Harbor move to the beaches and so on. They will all be on the move.

There have been plenty of snapper all

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around the Harbor and the passes that have been feeding good. Look for them around some structure that holds bait, artificial reefs and such type structure.

There still are some trout hanging in the grass beds and sand holes along the sides of the bars. Oh yeah, this month is a good month to catch your inshore slam snook, red and trout. Add a tarpon and that becomes a grand slam – woo hoo!

If you are looking for ‘poons, use some of those ladyfish for bait close to the bridges or in the deep holes in the Harbor.

Start keeping an eye on your wake to find pompano jumping so you can go back and harvest one and enjoy that battle.

Use some shrimp or jigs, most bait shops have a variety.

This is a good time of year to go through your tackle and organize your stuff, sit in the A/C and put new line on and rig your poles for your next trip.

Clean and lube your reels. I use silicone, it repels water and doesn't gum up your reel and rod for longer casts. You may have to use a heavier oil annually to keep your reels working.

If y ou would lik e to set up a trip with Capt. Bart Marx and Alpha & Omega Charters Call 941-979-6517 and we will get y ou hook ed up. Singing drags and tight lines mak e me smile! cap bart@alphaomegacharters.com

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Placida Area KAYAKING

By Davi d Al l en Water LIFE Kayaking Summer is the time to paddle in the sparkling blue waters surrounding Placida and Gasparilla Island. Scorching hot days. High humidity. A hot sun that burns your arms a deep brown, even with a thick coating of sunscreen. A typical Florida summer, and we love it. Well, most of the time we love it, but we also like to find ways to avoid the worst of the heat.

Our club hadn’t paddled in the Gulf recently, not because we don’t enjoy the open water, but because there are so many good creeks and rivers in the area. Usually these creeks are partially protected from the suns direct ray by the foliage overhead, keeping us cool throughout the trip. But, particularly in July and August, the beauty of the sandy beaches, the bright blue Gulf waters, the chance for a sandwich and cooling swim on the beach, lures us to the barrier islands to the west.

Our plan was to paddle out of Placida but from a different launch site. There is a small, un-improved

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Kayaking in the blue waters off Placida

sand beach tucked to the left of the entrance to the Fisheries....right next to the bend in Gasparilla Road. The limited parking is not the best and it's a rocky haul down a bank to the water, but sometimes it's nice to try something different.

We had decided to check-out Little Dog, then head west to the inlet and the beaches. A boating group was having a barbecue on Little Dog so we cut our Little Dog adventure short and paddled under the old railroad trestle to Bird Key and the Inlet.

It was a perfect day for such an expedition; light easterly wind, bright sun with no rain clouds in sight, and a slack tide at the inlet.

At this early hour few powerboats were on the Intra-coastal Waterway, so the crossing was quick and easy.

Gasparilla Inlet was dead calm as we passed through and beached the kayaks on the south tip of Little Gasparilla Island. There is a sandbar on the south side of Little Gasparilla Island and on most days waves are breaking across its length, but not today. We beached our kayaks on the north side of the inlet, cooled off in the water, and had sandwiches and soda.

It’s a fairly short paddle back to

the launch, about 30 minutes, and a gentle southeast wind was raising small waves in front of us as we glided past the beautiful and uninhabited beaches.

We often see dolphins or tarpon cruising down the coast or in the inlet, but today we only saw a couple of dolphins at the railroad bridge.

This is a great paddle, one I would recommend to any kayaker who enjoys the sandy beaches, the sparkling blue water, and the chance of sighting dolphins and other wildlife. If you aren’t an experienced kayaker, you can take a short, easy paddle to the inlet, and time your trip to coincide with a slack tide. It’s a rewarding paddle and a good way to keep cool on these hot summer days.

The Port Charlotte Kay ak ers meet each Wednesday ev ening at 5:00 at the pav ilion at Bay shore Park . All are welcome. For more information, contact Dav e Allen at 941-235-2588 or dlaa@comcast.net

September

2012

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2012

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Page 19

WATERCRAFT The top 10 cities with the most thefts were: Mi ami 210 thefts

Fort Lauderdal e 59 thefts Marathon 50 thefts

OFFSHORE REPORT With Capt. Jim O'Brien

The Olʼ Fishʼn Hole

Water LIFE Englewood

Hey - YA - ALL I hope you have been out fish ‘n, even though it’s been hotter than a cat on a hot tin roof. On one of our charters we never anchored up we threw the marker buoy and just drifted around it. Man ol Capt. here has been busier than a one armed paper hanger.

Usually the month of August is really slow kids going back to school and people taking vacations. But we have been pretty busy.

In last month’s article I told you we was getting ready for a 70 mile run out for the BIG - UNS I’m afraid I'll have to tell ya in the Oct. article.

This 70 mile run is for me but my customers come first.

Well let’s get into what an where the fish are doing.

SNOOK - are still around the pass's and on the beach, the guys have been catching snook on the east wall in Charlotte Harbor.

TROUT - are hitting pretty good in the deep pocket holes up in the Harbor also outside the bars on the east wall.

TARPON - are hitting live finger mullet under a cork up in the middle of the Harbor, and also off the beaches.

RED FISH - are all over Lemon Bay, pin fish or a large shrimp under a popping cork would be a good choice of baits.

SHARKS - there are just about any size sharks on all the offshore wrecks

and reefs. We have caught 2 to 4 footers on our charters and seen 8 to 10 footers.

MANGROVE SNAPPER AN YELLOW TAIL SNAPPER on your offshore reefs an wrecks. Lots of mangs, 20 inchs an better, and lots of big yellow tail snapper if you can get them past the barracudas.

GREATER AMBERJACK AJ'S also called (REEF DONKEYS ) are all over the offshore wrecks. AJ's are bitting good at the box cars, pegasus, charlie, Bayaronto, and D9. Get yourself some big blue runners and hang on, there are some BIG - UNS out there.

RED AND GAG GROUPER these guys are chewing good at 90 to a 110 feet of water. Get on some good Swiss cheese bottom for the red grouper an rocks an ledges for the gags. They are hitting mullet pieces tipped with strips of squid or squid heads. Also take a frozen sardine and put the hook through the bottom of the sardine all the way through, then put it through the top part. We call it popsicling a frozen sardine. When the grouper quit bitting try the sardine. Tear the tail off an open the gill plates it lets more scent out.

BLACK GROUPER - big blacks are chewing real good at 70 to 75 miles out. Big pin fish are the bait of choice. My friends are getting them from 20 to 45 pounds and one was 80 pounds, they went out a couple weeks later and got into them again.

On one of my charters we had John Rodger and his wife Mary Ann and there 2 granddaughters Madison, an Taylor. I want to tell ya these girls love to fish.

Their Grandpa John told me he told them he would put money into a college fund for them or they could go on an offshore fishing trip. Well like I said these girls love fish ‘n cause we took them out on their first offshore trip and they did great!

They couldn't believe how you could

look down in 110 feet of water and see your fish coming up. John ended up catching a nice cobia that gave him all the battle he wanted. In the group picture, in front is Taylor with the hat, behind her is here sister Madison then Grandmom Mary Ann and you can see 1/2 of the cobia John is holding. Good going guys.

The next story I want to tell ya about an the group picture is in yellow Gary Kirkham, Ken Lathrope. Middle left to right Jim Hamilton, Jammie Bonaventure, and his wife Barbara holding a very big porgy and a very big smile. What a day we had. We caught sharks, grouper, big porgies, mangrove snapper, yellow tail snapper. I was watching big flag yellow tails by the hundreds at 60 feet down in a 100 feet of water. That’s how clear the water has been. Then you had the big cudas running 10 to 20 feet below the surface of the water. Now try to figure out how to get these big yellow tail up through the cudas? Well let’s put it this way, we got 3 through the cudas, not good odds. We did hook up with some nice chicken dolphin about 2 feet on medium light tackle. It was a bunch of fun and all in all everyone had a good time.

Tampa 48 thefts Houston 41 thefts

S acramento 40 thefts S eattl e 40 thefts

Hi al eah 35 thefts Phoeni x 34 thefts

West Pal m Beach 33 thefts

BE S UR E TO S NOR T S OME OF THAT S A LT A IR C UZ IT’S GOOD FER YA !

If you have any questions or if you have a good ol' fishin’ story or a recipe for cooking fish that I can share with our readers give me a call. To book an offshore charter with us aboard the Predator IICall (941) 473-2150

http://www.predator2charters.com

Page 20

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September

2012

You can always get a free copy of Water LIFE at these locations

Cooks

Sportland

4419 So. Tamiami Trail S. Venice 493-0025

Water LIFE Distributor 始s Club

You can always get a free copy of Water LIFE at these locations

September

2012

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SCUTTLEBUTT

Page 21

Sometimes Unsubstanciated, But Often True

The Take Me Fishing campaign, part of the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF), took to Facebook to determine the top eight state parks in the United States that are the best for fishing, boating and water-borne family fun. Fans of the Take Me Fishing Facebook page voted between 24 natural “water parks” and state parks over the course of eight weeks to determine the outcome.

Lake Murray State Park, Oklahoma Itasca State Park, Minnesota Blue Spring State Park, Florida (below) El Dorado State Park, Kansas

Presque Isle State Park, Pa. Cave Lake State Park, Nevada Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tenn Wellington State Park, New Hampshire

According to the results of a new survey by the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), more Americans are enjoying outdoors pursuits in 2011 than in 2006.

Of course there are also more Americans now than in 2006

FWC officers responded to a call for assistance from the Desoto County Sheriff's Office regarding a missing airboat operator on the Peace River, near Nocatee. The Desoto County Dive Team recovered the body.

A rare discovery of a two-headed turtle on the northern part of Jupiter Island in Florida

On July 30, French government officials announced the implementation of a cash reward for culling bull sharks off the coast of Reunion, a French-controlled island east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The proposal was put forth in response to an increase in fatal attacks, and was set to come into effect as soon as a few weeks after it was announced.

However, the proposed cull was quickly cancelled after it was discovered it violated French conservation law. There have been seven attacks between 2011 and the present.

FWC Officers checked a fishing guide as he returned from a trip with his deckhand and six fishers. The inspection revealed 19 red snapper, one red grouper and one gag grouper. Both of the grouper were undersized, and three of the red snapper were undersized. The vesselʼs charter fishing license was expired and no one onboard possessed a current recreational fishing license. The captain had been warned the previous day that his license needed to be renewed. The captain then advised it wasnʼt a commercial trip, but a pleasure trip. Due to this change, all onboard were cited for no fishing licenses, and the captain and deckhand were cited for possession of undersized red snapper, possession of over the bag limit of red snapper, and possession of undersized gag and red grouper.

FWC Officers were on water patrol near Fort Desoto Park, when they conducted a fisheries inspection on two individuals who were observed fishing under the Fort Desoto Bridge. During the inspection, the officers found that the individuals were in possession of numerous stone crabs. The crabs were in whole condition, undersized, egg bearing and out of season. The two subjects were each given three citations and several written warnings. The crabs were released alive.

NOAA-supported scientists have found the size of this year's Gulf of Mexico oxygen-free 'dead zone' to be the fourth smallest since mapping of the annual hypoxic, or oxygen-free area began in 1985.

For the first time in a century, migrating fish have been spotted in the upper White Salmon River, Washington.

Scientists spotted jumping fish—believed to be adult steelhead—at two locations well upstream of Condit Dam, which was partially breached last October. That means fish are making their way into 33 miles of previously unavailable habitat.

Investigator investigated a monkey attack in Okeechobee. The Macque monkey had escaped its enclosure and was located in a tree in the ownerʼs yard.

The owner called the monkey down out of the tree and attempted to capture it with a cast net. The monkey threw the cast net off and

attacked the owner. Once the owner freed himself from the monkey, a neighbor that was present, shot and killed it with a 12 gauge shotgun. He then transported the owner to the hospital where he was treated for severe lacerations.

Officers investigated the report of a hit and run boating accident. Two male subjects in their mid-30s were seen fighting in a 23-foot deck boat. As a result of their distraction, the boat collided into a wooden pylon and subsequently glanced off a large sailboat that was moored. It then collided into the outboard motor of a 21-foot Sea Pro that was on a lift along the canal. The two were suspected of being intoxicated.They were cited for over $2500 in damages

RECORD SETTING Chris Fertig, a general manager at Maersk Line Limited, made the crossing from New York City to Bermuda in 21 hours 39 minutes, beating the previous record of 22 hours 23 minutes set in 2002. Chris left the New York harbor on Saturday, 4 August at 9:30 AM. The Bermuda Challenge was created by Boating Magazine in 1994 as an offshore powerboat endurance race. The open ocean time trial was designed to challenge marine engineers and boat builders to develop more reliable and efficient vessels.

Chris and his team of 27 industry leading companies and sponsors designed and built the boat, Mercury Diesel TDI, specifically for the purpose of breaking the long-standing Bermuda Challenge record. The boat has two 350 horsepower, V8 twin turbo charged engines, manufactured by Volkswagen and sold by Mercury, which are EPA Tier III compliant . A patented hull suspension system utilizes airbags and shock absorbers to reduce the impact of pounding waves on the boatʼs crew and systems. The boat was built

by Statement Marine.

SERVICE / REPAIRS

Certified Marine Technician Mike Panetti

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ANYTHING!

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Page 22

S e p p t t e e m m b b e e r r S e

Charlotte Harbor:

Frank at Fishin' Franks Port Charlotte: 625-3888

Everything that was is no more. We had gl ass mi nnows moving in the Harbor real good before the storm, they are scattered now. S nook will start back in again from the beaches and will be coming back in the canals so we will see alot of big fish up here at the top of the Harbor.

Tarpon are at the bridges and in the middle of the Harbor. We will start seeing a real nice tarpon feed as the bait starts moving in and down the river. This is also the time we start looking for big giant redfi sh, 20-30-pounders.

We are seeing them in the Gulf now and starting to see them in some of the passes. The best technique is to fish the big deepdiving lures like the stretch 30, trolling in 30 feet of water. Pick one reef and start trolling to the next reef because those fish are travelling from one reef to the next.

With the cooler water temps

C a l l m m C a

a a n n d d

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H H o o t t

F i s s h h i i n n g g F i

w w i i t t h h

from Isaac we should see good activity again in ki ng mackerel , the bite was good before the storm and it will get better.

Up in the Harbor, the normal slot-size reds have been hanging around Hog Island. That situation should get even better too, because redfish like the fresh water. The lack of salt makes it easier for the reds to catch the smaller bait because fresh water makes it harder for little guys.

The freshwater in a lot of the spillways is running again. Bass are doing real good on red-shad worms, really, any darker tone worm will do good.

Bl uegi l l and all the basic panfish wigglers are at the ends of the canals, like up by Gibraltar off Harbor, those areas are doing good on bluegill. There are also some red-ear sunfish around there.

The cloud cover and the rain should get more fish thinking about coming back to the upper Harbor.

Right now, the best bet in general is closer to the ICW.

a a

c c h h a a n n c c e e

o o f f

Continued on facing page

Charters

We help put your charters together

Shark, Tarpon, Grouper, Snapper, Kingfish, and MORE! Capt. Jim OʼBrien USCG 50 ton license since 1985

941-473-2150

2012

W W i i n n d d

Maloryʼs fought and landed this sizeable bull shark from the beach at Boca Grande. Bathers were probably less than amused.

Offshore Fishing Trips: 1/2 day • 8hr • 10 hr • 12 hr Nighttime Trips Available

F F o o r r e e c c a a s s t t

H H u u r r r r i i c c a a n n e e

Small s harks and mackerel should be moving back.

For fun fishing the best bet is off the beaches where there are S pani s h mackerel , po mpano, whi ti ng and l adyfi sh.

Still lots of big snook laying along the beaches too. Before the storm there were 40-inch snook in 2- to 3-feet of water. The Copper brand of Live Target sardine lure is doing great on them.

I’m going to hope cobi a are still hanging on some of the wrecks and still coming in and out of the Harbor, hopefully they will be coming further in soon.

This time of year Gulf fishing is usually good. Once the Gulf settles down it will be a couple degrees cooler. I’m hearing monster g ro uper (20-30 pound), mahi mahi , bl ackfi n, AJ and amberjack. There should be an amazing amount of fish out there, the storm should enhance the bite closer in, 3-5 miles the snapper bite was real good we hope that will continue.

September

September

2012

Continued from facing page

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The The BIG-4 BIG-4

TACKLE SHOW - Frank I’m actually doing this fishing report from Orlando, where Robert and I are at the Henry Tackle S how. This is an industry wide event where we shop TARPON Harbor, beaches for the store. Right off the bat, and south of Cabbage Key I forgot my reading glasses.

You know, pages and pages of catalogs and pricing and I have no glasses! Then I came to the Flying Fisherman sunglass booth and found my favorite thing from the whole show, and we will be carrying these as soon as the order I placed arrives: S unglasses that have bifocal lenses in them. I love em! I wore them for the whole show! Another thing that got my attention were some ‘stretchy’ jerk baits very elastic and ridged with a lot of movement.

Also, sabikiing for bait is becoming a big thing everywhere and one of the reasons we came up here was to find equipment for a new sabiki center we are putting in at the store. S abiki rigs and sabiki rods are becoming a big part of fishing in S W florida. There is a huge selection of sabiki rigs from 99-cents to $8. We also found some really cool mid point rods in the $20-$80 range, rods that are real and that people can actually afford to use. What we are trying to find this year is dollar value for people and things with a good in-store warranty that we can handle.

Lemon Bay:

Jack at the Englewood Bait House, Englewood: 475-4511

We were out fishing right before TS Isaac passed by and caught some nice gag grouper on the reef right offshore in 40 feet of water. We also had plenty of grunts and l i ttl e sharks.

Then right after the storm passed some people were out in the bay catching mangrove snapper around the Tom Adams pier ... and catfi sh, the rough water gets the catfish out really good,

Fish Fish to to expect expect in in

REDFISH Big reds coming in from offshore

September September

MACKEREL Spanish around the passes, kings offshore

works at Fishinʼ Franks and spends her spare time fishing the beach and the Harbor. Sheʼs got a flounder on the left and a snook on the right.

or bad!

They have been catching nice snook around the ICW docks and some smaller snook around the pier.

Yesterday, I watched a guy in a small boat landing redfi sh, small snook and mangrove snapper right here in the Bay. He was using live shrimp from the Bay. I haven’t heard anything about tarpon, but

they are still here. I also haven’t seen any cobi a but they will be coming in, usually as soon as it cools off. The storm probably lowered the water temperature a couple degrees so it could be any time. I’d also guess we’ll be seeing S pani sh mackerel and itty bitty ki ngfi sh, there is still something out there the sharks are following, so they should be back.

B lack Ti p Bai t & Tack le Our b ai t i s g uarant eed t o cat ch fi s h o r di e t ry i ng !

Semper Fi Charters with Capt. James C Hensler

Li ve S hri mp, Pi nfi sh, Li ve Crabs Ful l Li ne of Tackl e S uppl i es

Gulf Temps in the mid 80s after the storm passed

SNOOK on the beaches and moving in the Harbor

The extent of the water moving out of the harbor and then back in as TS Isaac passed offshore can be seen here. The fear in this county has always been the effect of a large slow moving storm passing offshore and adding several feet to the tide . This time we were lucky.

From Cap. David Stephens

Page 23

(941) 627-0809

Fishing Right Now:

Best Early a.m. & Late p.m.

El Jobean Open Every Day Mon - S at: 6am - 7pm S un: 6 am - 5 pm

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2012

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Page 24