an T Sep d an tic R k P ed s ag Ti e 9 de
Wa t e r L I F E Keeping Fishermen and Boaters Informed since
1997
C Ch ha ar rl lo ot tt te e H Ha ar rb bo or, r, L Le em mo on n B Ba ay y & & t th he e G Gu ul lf f
The Don Ball School of Fishing
December 2013
Don Ball Field Trip and Offshore Page 11, 12 & 13
Heros Are Fishing
Two Venices, Many Fish Page 14
Page 19
w ww ww. w.Wa Wat te er rlliif fe eM Ma ag ga az ziin ne e..c co om m o on nlliin ne e a an nd d o on n y yo ou ur r d de ev viic ce e e ev ve er ry y m mo on nt th h
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Inshore / Offshore / Freshwater LETTERS
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Water LIFE inc.
www.www.WaterlifeMagazine.com Michael & Ellen Heller Publishers
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Not affiliated with any other publication Vol XII No 12 © 2013
No part of this publication (printed or electronic) may be copied or reproduced without specific written permission from the publishers.
Contributing Editors:
Mike This is onboard one of the US Air Force's C-17 on one of the evacuation trips from Tacloban to Manila. Thank you, America! Dan Eisenberg, Hilton Head South Carolina
Best Wishes for a Healthy and Happy Holiday Ellen and Michael Heller Water LIFE magazine the Don Ball School of Fishing
Mike Here's the best picture that I've got of a redfish I caught last month with no gill plate. It was only about a 20-22 inch fish, I believe. Also, if I remember, it was actually a very "spunky" fish, believe it or not. Capt. Billy Barton Water LIFE G'day; really enjoy your publication and the life, living and lifestyles in our area. However, the place we usually frequent don't have your product in their racks. One business I am in at least twice a week is Mortons Ace Hardware. I've asked the mgr. Tom why we don't see it he replied, "never been asked". Lotta people traffic @ Mortons, thank you. Thomas Hurd Editor Replies: Good Idea! We will talk to Tom. They used to be Kids Cup sponsors.
Photography: ASA1000.com Senior Editor: Capt. Ron Blago River and Shore: Fishinʼ Frank Charlotte Harbor: Capt. Billy Barton Family Fishing: Capt. Bart Marx Punta Gorda: Capt. Chuck Eichner Venice: Glen Ballinger Kayaking: David Allen Sea Grant: Betty Staugler Real Estate: Dave Hofer Offshore: Capt. Jim OʼBrien Gulf Fishing: Capt. Steve Skevington Circulation: Robert Cohn Office Dog: Molly Brown
on the
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Stil a Ways to Go DECEMBER 2013
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Jack said. I understood, but I felt like we failed with three kids. For a lot of first time anglers the unknown factor By Michael Heller, Water LIFE editor about holding a fish is formidable. Slippery, slimey, Another year. The rainy season is over and the wind scaly and sharp, a fish can make you bleed. Offshore, has begun. The sailing season is upon us. Red Tide has porgys and grunts like the fish our kids were catching appeared and the temperatures are falling. Tournament that day are very spiney, so the towel becomes a profishermen are taking a break but, mullet fishermen are tective barrier for. But not for our anglers, or so I had all-in day and night. Soon the thought. mullet will run offshore from the The fact is, if you are going to fish canals in PGI and the Lighted you have to learn how to hold a fish... Canal Cruises and Holiday Boat sometimes it will get away and someParades will replace them. times you are going to bleed. It’s part Our fishing-school year was of the learning process; Oops, Ouch! ... winding down to a predictably and then you don’t do that again. nice ending. I thought we had it We teach our students to hold a big all under control. Wrong-go! fish horizontally and to unhook a fish The offshore trip for the Englein the water when ever possible. But wood class of our Don Ball offshore, on a head boat, ... we don’t School of Fishing was scheduled teach that. for November 16. I had to be in Head boats are, for the most part Baltimore that weekend, so I Anthony Caputo ready to kiss his fish catch-and-fillet. Fish that come aboard asked my friend Lester Kuhn to go a Head boat don’t usually see a whole lot along and take pictures. He did and when I got back I of gentle handling like, say, a tournament snook does. looked over his fine work. Offshore, it’s the cooler or the high-dive for fish. To my surprise there were 3 pictures of kids holding Maybe I should have talked to the mate and the fish with towels. Towels, we teach our students, are a other adults onboard. I could have emphasized the imdefinite no-no. Capt. Jack Pierson ran the offshore trip portance of showing the kids how to handle their fish that day, so I asked Capt. Jack what was up. without a towel. But the focus was on catching and Standing at the counter in the Englewood Bait they did that over and over. And they loved it! House, Jack said “I know. I know.” He kind of This fishing trip and the resulting pictures (more squinted his eyes and rolled his shoulders up in a pictures on page 11) gave me cause for thought. Are shrug-like-arc against his neck. He did know better. we making progress with our teaching program? Over“We keep the towels for customers. They want someall, I think ‘yes’. Are the kids are learning? They can thing to clean their hands after they bait their hooks,” cast and tie knots and on average this year’s test scores
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FWC monitors individual catches on head boats from Naples to St Pete to help establish fishery quotas for recreational anglers. There are 19 head boats monitored, including the Reef Raider out of the Englewood Bait House, seen here with officer Jay Ticker doing a routine count last month.
went up 10-percent, so yes, it looks like we are making continual progress teaching. But we can still do better, especially with towels. I’m writing about this in hopes that we can still help some people un-learn. It’s not “Do the Easy Thing, it’s Do the Right Thing.... and none of us always gets it right. Happy Holidays to all!
TARGETS FOR FALLING TEMPS
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By Capt David Stephens Water LIFE Inshore Winter is right around the corner, and with that comes cooler water temperatures. I always hear people talking about the winter fishing here in South West Florida not being that great. Well, I for one, would have to disagree. Technique plays a big role in having a successful day on the water and one of the major things is bait selection. Even if you are able to fill your live well with live sardines or herring, that does not mean the fish will eat them. When our local water temperatures dip down below 68-70 degrees most of our fish do not want to chase their meals down, so switching to shrimp will make for a more productive day. The good and bad about shrimp is that everything eats them. The bad is you will have to deal with little bait thieves, so make sure you bring plenty. The good is everything eats them, so you never know what is on the other end. The largest snook I have ever caught on a
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charter was over 44 inches and I caught it on a piece of shrimp. Another little tip that might help when the mercury falls is to slow down and fish slower. Trout are one of my favorite winter time game fish to target. This is the time of year when the bigger fish begin to school up in deeper water. Residential canals, deeper creeks and up in the Peace River are great places to locate these fish. You might have to spend some time searching for them, but when you find them generally you hit the mother load.
DECEMBER 2013
Often I will use a jig head to help get clear water you can see them feeding on down to the bottom, current and tidal flow the barnacles on the pilings. If you can get makes the difference in size. I do not like some fiddler crabs, you will get their atto weight my bait on the bottom, but slow tention, if not, shrimp are also a excellent my drift down to where the jig and shrimp bait. I like to use a 1/0 circle hook and just bounce real slow with the flow. thirty pound leader to help get them away One of the most over looked winter from the structure, and enough weight to game fish here on Charlotte Harbor is the hold the bottom by what ever structure sheepshead. These guys get a bad reputayou are fishing. tion because of their name, but they are a If you would like to experience some of totally different fish than the northern sheepshead. The fish we catch here are ac- Charlotte Harbors best fishing give me a call or send me an email. All of our chartually a porgy compared to the northern ters are private and customized to fit you version which is a drum. Anyone that has fished for these guys - and your party’s needs. You can also follow me on twitter for updates. Capt. Dave will understand why mother nature gave Stephens 941-916-5769 my website is: them black and white stripes. With out a www.backbayxtremes.com doubt they are the best bait thieves that swim in our local waters. Locating sheepshead can be easy once you know what to look for. They are primarily crustacean feeders, so old docks, rock piles and bridge pilings will hold these guys. In areas that have Sheepshead are on the prowel. We are seeing big sheepshead this year.
DECEMBER 2013
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By Capt. Billy Barton Water LIFE Charlotte Harbor
Well guys and gals, I hope everyone's been blessed with lots of great fish stories to tell from November. Last month was a pretty darn good month of steady action if I do say so myself! We were blessed with a few more weeks of mild weather, which kept all of our fishing pretty consistent up here in the Harbor, and down by the passes. One thing that has changed though, as winter makes its presence, is the wind direction. Consistently in the wintertime you're going to see winds out of the North, varying from Northwest to Northeast. These strong, cool winds, which come with our cold fronts blow a significant amount of the water out of Charlotte Harbor with the outgoing tide. To boot, the incoming tides are nowhere near as strong, which leaves us, in turn, with our winter time low tides up here in the bay. You see a lot of dry land in Charlotte Harbor this time of year! This doesn't mean the fish leave, it only means they relocate, and you're going to have to adapt if you want to continue catching fish in numbers. So where do the fish go? They go where they're comfortable, and they go where they have the means to go. My favorite grass flats to fish are ones that have a "marbled" look to them. This typically means you have small sand depressions or "potholes" mixed throughout the grass flat. If you find a specific area like this, that has a decent amount of water on a low tide, like 2-3 feet for example, then this is a good grass flat to put some focus on. If it has a mixture of grass and sand holes that is going to be the key. The grass is what holds the food. The sand holes make the fish feel protected and safe. Most of the time the fish like to lay on the edge of the sand and grass, and they ambush from the edges. Another thing to put some focus on throughout the wintertime is sand bars and oyster beds especially. Every one of those sand bars and oyster beds that you
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see out there in the Harbor has a trough on one side or the other. Some, actually a lot of them, have troughs on both sides. Once you figure out where that depression is, that's where the fish are going to want to be and that's the area you want to focus on! Redfish, trout, snook, flounder, pompano and the list goes on! These are all fish that are very happy to run in troughs next to bars of any sort. It's like the fish know that most boats aren't going to run over them there. Live shrimp is your bait of choice all throughout the winter time. If you are targeting speckled trout, then fishing the shrimp on a popping cork may not be a bad idea. Simply make your cast as far as you can past that patch of sand holes, or to one end of the trough and work it through – and work it slow. It's always possible to pick up a redfish or a snook like this as well. If I'm targeting redfish I like to fish with a tail hooked shrimp on a jig head, which allows me to fish a little bit closer to the bottom. I prefer an 1/8 ounce jig-head, and I like to pinch the fan of the tail of the shrimp off, which exposes its meat. Tail hook the shrimp by inserting the hook through his underside, and out through his back. This puts a little bit more scent into the water, and allows for a longer, more arrow-dynamic cast. Once again make your cast past that patch of sand holes or through that trough and just work that shrimp through slow, letting him bounce across the bottom slowly like a jig. This is also a great way to pick up some flounder, pompano, or sheepshead. If the tide is low, (which it's going to be for the next few months) this is one way beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can be successful catching good quality fish up here in the Bay. I'll tell you guys for a fact that if you looked at my fishing rods right now, this is how they are all rigged up! If what you're doing isn't working, it's because the time of year has changed and it's time to adapt. I hope everyone's ready to get good and chilly! Wonder if the fish are!?!? Good luck out there my friends! Capt. Billy Barton, Scales & Tails Charters 941-979-6140
Red Tide Dead Fish and Jesus PAGE
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By Fishin’ Frank Water LIFE Baitshop The story about Jesus turning the water into wine and feeding the multitudes with tons of fish may not be such a far flung account. As we know, Red Tide will (or could) cause the water to appear red, and it really dose not poison the fish, so red water and fish floating to the surface.... Hey that’s not what I want for dinner, but if I was hungry to the point of starving? Those fish might look pretty tasty to me. There are different types of fish kills in our Harbor so the first thing you want to do is see what type or types of fish are dead. Nature rarely kills only one type of fish – that said, a few years ago we had a massive over population of cat-fish. Then a virus that only killed cat-fish took hold and killed thousands of catfish in a few weeks, the exact nature of that virus is still not known. There is another fish kill which causes hundreds, or maybe thousands of dead mullet (more to the point, dead male mullet) and that is the price of mullet roe. The females have eggs. Fish eggs = caviar. Caviar = $$. Females are worth more than 5 times what the male is worth. Males being worth maybe 20 cents a pound. But a male is not full of eggs. So while for many years the white roe (or male mullet ejaculate) was prized as an aphrodisiac by orientals, once Viagra came out there was no more money in mullet sperm. During ‘run season’ it is common to see vast numbers of dead male mullet. The fisherman gets them up in the net and before putting them on ice they squeeze the belly a little. If it comes out orange "red roe" it brings a good price so on ice it goes, if it is white roe-sperm they toss it back in the water.
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Late last month the Harbor north of Marker No.1 was littered with dead fish. The FWC reported Red Tide along the Gulf from Fort Myers north.
Another fish killer is freezing water. Salt water is more deadly to fish than fresh water. Fresh water only gets to 32 degrees then it turns to ice, keeping the water below it at 33 degrees or higher. Salt water can get down to 28 degrees easy, and not many fish can survive that. Another killer weather phenomena is heat. Hot water does not hold oxygen and during the summer months if the wind becomes very calm, there are no waves and it has been found that the water can have no oxygen in it for periods of about 15 minutes at a time. This does not sound too bad 5, 10, 15 minutes. How long can you hold your breath? Red Tide is the biggest problem we have when it comes to losing fish. Funny though, Red Tide rarely hits the Upper Harbor, but last month’s appearance in the Upper Harbor was not really a surprise. With all of the rain we have had it is a wonder we were have not been covered up with Red Tide for last few months. All we can do at this point is hope it goes away quickly. Red Tide as you know is an algae that when it blooms causes fish to suffocate. It really is not a poison that kills the fish like arsenic but rather it’s more similar to ragweed in the sense that the spoors (pollen)
when inhaled paralyzes the gills of the fish, allowing no oxygen to their blood. Red tide is rare in the upper Harbor "north of Cape Haze up to port Charlotte, as the Harbor is fed at the north end by two rivers. Massive amounts of fresh water coming down the rivers should keep us safe most of the time from Red Tide, however nitrates from phosphates and animal waste in the water are what Red Tide likes to feed on. Right now here in the Harbor a very unusual thing has occurred, a Red Tide has started in the Harbor itself. I do not think it came in with the tide. The rains have stopped and the rivers are very low which happens in the winter months, this means we lose our protection and that is what's happening now. There is little or no fresh water coming down the river, the wind had been from the South east to west and the tides have brought in much needed salt water ... which should have got our winter time fishing off to a grand start. What that did was allow the Red Tide to grow and bloom. Perfect water temperature and a perfect storm of conditions all which had to come to together at just the wrong time and then Bang! Fish kill in the upper Harbor. Lucky for us a little rain has been falling up river and the
DECEMBER 2013
winds have switched to the North east, so the out going tide will send fresh water into the Harbor from our rivers, killing any Red Tide in its tracks and the north east winds will blow the algae out of the Harbor. Then, if the winds are steady enough, in two or three days the wind will move it off into the Gulf. The bottom line on this is that while people did not create Red tide, I believe we effect it, fertilizing our yards and fields, not keeping our septic tanks up to standard, it is not what one of us does it is what hundreds or thousands of people all do, adding a little to the total dose. Any way, December is normally a great month for snook and even if the fish kill was Red Tide there are no signs that it was bad enough to hurt the larger snook or redfish. So enjoy your Holiday month fishing. Frank@Fishin’ Franks.com 625-3888
Do jellyfish grow in area canals?
Last month, from a Port Charlotte canal at the top of the Harbor, baseball sized globs of tiny translucent droplets, drifted out, one after the other, for almost one whole tide. When we tried to pick them up they come apart into hundreds of little ʻblobs.ʼ Sea Grant agent Betty Staugler looked at these pictures and said: “Hard to tell for sure, but my guess would be ctenophores (comb jellies). “ If thatʼs the case, we will have an abundance of them.
DECEMBER 2013
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Charles Flagg, a Stony Brook NY oceanographer, said the new Fire Island inlet has evolved into something of “a stable system”, but, like all inlets, it will eventually “squeeze itself off.” “It gets long and skinny and vulnerable, and then something happens and thatʼs it,” he said. “When thatʼs likely to happen, god only knows.” Editor notes* think of Stump Pass
NY Nitrogen Pollution Linked to Algal Tide Compiled from staff and wire reports and the Atlantic Magazine
Editor Notes* We face many of these same issues in Charlotte County.
In the mid-1980s, Long Island’s Great South Bay turned the color of Earl Grey tea. It was the first outbreak of an algal bloom known as the Brown Tide, and it would return year after year. Over three decades, it would wipe out thousands of acres of underwater grass, contribute to the demise of a once-booming shellfish industry and make the shallow, 45-mile lagoon a symbol of the suburban island’s troubled relationship with water. Then, a year ago, Hurricane Sandy blasted a new inlet through Fire Island, the slender barrier island separating New York’s Great South Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Fishermen began to spot river herring, fluke, weakfish, sea turtles—even a seal that popped its head up alongside a dock—in a formerly stagnant, eastern swathe of the bay. As the year passed, parts of the Great South Bay started to look a bit more like the body of water many Long Islanders remember swimming in as children and scouring for shellfish in young adulthood. What happened is one of Long Island’s most storied environmental collapses. Initially scientists blamed overharvesting by the shellfish industry, but blame has fallen increasingly on the brown tide, which blocks sunlight and kills the eelgrass beds that shellfish use as nurseries. It also causes shellfish to close up and stop feeding, although scientists don’t know why. Nitrogen pollution is emerging as a major environmental threat in many spots on the East Coast where houses have sprouted up along the shoreline. In recent years, studies have traced what they call
the Brown Tide to nitrogen pollution flowing from the area’s buried backyard septic systems. Long Island is home to 2.8 million people, but huge swaths of it aren’t connected to sewers, relying instead on septic tanks that allow wastewater to collect underground and leach into the earth. From there, nitrogen—a nutrient found in human waste—winds its way through the groundwater and into the bays, where it feeds the algal blooms. The ocean bored through Fire Island sometime on October 29, 2012. It swept away a dock, a boardwalk and untold quantities of sand. The tide began to flow in and out of Great South Bay. Long Islanders dubbed it “New Inlet,” but it wasn’t exactly new – it came through at a low-lying stretch of beach where an older waterway once allowed oceangoing ships to enter the Great South Bay. Some historical accounts say it closed in the 19th century. Storms often carve new inlets in the barrier islands along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. The breaches tend to last a while, changing shape, until sand chokes them off. As a series of nor’easters battered Long Island last winter, the (new) inlet stretched and narrowed and slid into a diagonal orientation. The inlet’s fate, though, will be determined by three governmental entities: The Army Corps of Engineers, the Fire Island National Seashore, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The Army Corps of Engineers said it is waiting on a decision by the other two. The Fire Island National Seashore, a branch of the National Park Service, said it would like to study the inlet’s environmental effects before making a decision, but has so far failed to obtain funding to do so. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has been silent, and has not returned calls seeking comment on the issue for several weeks.
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Basic Rules
DECEMBER 2013
Casts vs Catches
By Capt. Chuck Eichner Water LIFE Charlotte Harbor Charlotte Harbor is certainly one of the best fishing locations in the United States with bountiful fish populations and a diversity of species found in very few other places. But Charlotte Harbor is one tricky place to catch fish and the most challenging part of the year is upon us now. The variables an angler must contend with could be plugged into a mathematical algorithm with scientists evaluating just how to fish and they would still have some tough fishing days. Every year there seems to be a different twist on how our gamefish and bait fish behave. Natural influences include air temperature, wind velocity and direction, barometric pressure, sunlight levels, rain fall amounts and tide speed and current. Naturally occurring red tides seem to find their way here every few years and their contribution to fish movements is hard to understand. The Harbor’s water chemistry is influenced by the Myakka River, the Peace River and countless other rivers and creeks which introduce freshwater, nutrients and a host of biological influences into the Harbor year around. Other natural influences are seasonal baitfish migrations which prompt gamefish to arrive into the Harbor or change their food prey preference. Fish populations naturally fluctuate and fish sizes are influenced by previous year’s success in breeding and the balance of predators to prey has a role as well. Add to that our game fish roam around quite a bit so the fishing hot spot you had yesterday might not be there today. Are you starting to understand why fishing can be so complicated here? Let’s take a look at a few man-made factors: Boat traffic is right at the top of the list and the shear presence of boats whether their engines are running or not affect fish behavior. Trolling motors that are run at higher speeds really turn off fish. The effects of man-kind are hard to measure, but we do know that chemical fertilizers, pesticides, septic runoff and other man-made products disrupt the aquatic balance. One of the more recent effects on our fish behavior has been the huge water releases from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee River. I wanted to believe that it had minimal impact on our fishery, but recently I found that shrimpers in Matlacha have considered moving their operation north of Tampa because of the lack of
shrimp and the small size of those they are finding. I was told that the shrimp and lots of grass beds died during some large water releases this summer and that the shrimp now being caught were extremely small as a result. The absence of a primary food source would move our gamefish around. Lots of time on the water has helped me make decisions on where, when and how to fish. You may find that some of my basic rules may help you. Here is a short list for this winter season: • Don’t fish near other anglers. When I see lots of boats in an area I go the other way. Many think this is the place to be and the more boats you see the more anglers that want to get in on this hotspot. It just doesn’t work that way on the shallow waters of Charlotte Harbor. Trout, especially the big ones can be fickle at times. • The best fishing will occur after two stable days of weather. Conversely, the first couple of days after a cold front usually puts the fish in a negative mood. • Avoid fishing 2 days before or after the full moon. • Incoming tides generally produce the best fishing and a fast moving outgoing tide turns the fish off very quickly. • Follow your tides to optimize your fishing day. The incoming tides start first to our south. I would prefer to start my day in Pine Island on the higher incoming tides and work strategically to the north catching the higher tides along the way. • A strong northeast wind coupled with chilly temperatures will drive the fish deep. Forget the shallows and fish canal systems or deep water grass beds. • Fish an area of the Harbor for only an hour or two. If the fish are not biting, make a big move to a totally different part of the Harbor. Fish can evacuate an area for many reasons. I like to make 100 or so casts and if things are not happening then it is time to move. On an given day this time of year you can expect to catch 5 to 10 species of fish. Live shrimp fished in a variety of ways will produce better than anything else. The most basic measure of your fishing day is how many casts you make vs how many fish you catch. One hundred casts and minimal fishing tells you it is time to move because on a long day this might turn into a 1000 casts with the same results! Capt. Chuck Eichner operates Action Flats Backcountry Charters Call 941-628-8040 or go to www.Backcountry-Charters.com
Rockinʼ and Rolling DECEMBER 2013
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The L.A. Ainger class of the Don Ball School of Fishing
It didnʼt look like the best of days when the Don Ball School of Fishing class from LA Ainger Middle school met at 6:45 am at the Englewood Bait House at the base of the Tom Adams Bridge. We had discussed cancelling the trip because of forecast 25knot winds and high seas, but the wind was out of the east and Capt. Jack wasnʼt taking the kids into it. And so, what looked like the start of a miserable day turned out to be the start of a really great one. In spite of some on and off showers the kids caught fish. “Lots of fish,ʼ class teacher Capt. Ron Blago said, soon after coming back ashore, thoroughly exhausted! “They caught everything and pretty much non-stop,” Capt Ron told us. Grunts, porgys, grouper (ʻI wanted to take one grouper home for lunch,ʼ Ron confessed, but of course he didnʼt) snapper, a few remoras, and some puffer fish. At least thatʼs what he remembered, there could have been others.
Eva Glover with her first fish
Above and below: Capt Ron helps Zachery Covell land a beautiful gag.
Chris Decker holds up a red grouper
The class trip was the second year of what is becoming an annual right of passage for the LA Ainger graduates of the Don Ball program. Luigis Pizza in Port Charlotte sponsored the trip. The Water LIFE magazine, Don Ball program for 7th graders is now in its 13th year. Over 1500 students have graduated from the 7 week course, each of whom went home with a rod and reel and a tackle bag full of tackle. Students pay $12 to take the class. All expenses are funded through local donations. Photos by Lester Kuhn
Cooper Alterio unhooks a grunt
Jeff Hughes unhooks a snapper
Cooper Alterio with another keeper
Gabe Layne with a Spanish
Anthony Amo (left) and Anthony Caputo (right) along the rail
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By Michael Heller “Oh this is so cool. If my dad would let me do this every weekend Iʼd never watch TV.” Two 13year-olds were standing knee deep on the The kids emptied their buckets into shallow flat off Ponce de Leon Park in large shallow trays Chrystal and John Punta Gorda, collecting fish as part of a had brought from the lab. Once in the hands-on class outing. Their conversatrays the plant material was removed tion mimicked the class concept: Get and the collected fish were examined. out and go exploring. Be the Fish, think Having biologists like John and like a fish to catch fish. Be an Ethical Chrystal explaining everything that the Angler and keep a good eye on the Enkids were seeing and doing was a key vironment. Itʼs a natural for kids. component to the morningʼs success. It was mid November, but the water We took a half-hour lunch break and was still warm and the kids walked right then went back to the water for some in to try seine-netting fish in the shalrod and reel fishing. lows. Some kids fished the “They got shoreline, some fished the hang of it from the pier next to the right away,” boat ramp, some waded observed out into the muddy shalChrystal lows with dip nets. Murry, who The two class inalong with structors, Capt. Bart John Hadden, Marx who teaches at were the Fish Port Charlotte and Capt. and Wildlife Cayle Wills who teaches Commission the class at Murdock, biologists at Tiny redfish collected in the net. along with a third boat the park, from In two years they will be slot size and captain provided by the FWCʼs Kingfisher Fleet at FisherCharlotte Harbor Field Laboratory in menʼs Village, all rotated taking kids out Murdock. The outing was their idea, on the water to poke around the manand a good one! groves and do just a little fishing. Capt. “Itʼs amazing how the Harbor Cayle even had his kids out of the boat changes,” Chrystal told the kids who wade fishing and exploring the sandbar. had already set up a bucket-line to Back under the fishing pier, some bring samples back to shore from the students began turning over rocks in net. the muddy low tide and collecting “Last month we were pretty much crabs, which they gave, for bait, to the sampling (nothing but) sardines,ʼ kids on top who were fishing. A small Chrystal said. “Now weʼre catching lots snapper and several puffers came from and lots of little redfish. This is a very the channel, three sheepshead came good sign,” she said, adding “these fish from under the dock. The day went will be slot-sized in two years.” quickly. It couldnʼt have been better.
DECEMBER 2013
AQ
DECEMBER 2013
QUATICA
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Fishing Both Venices PAGE
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DECEMBER 2013
Venice Florida angler Glen Ballinger gives us a look at fishing out of Venice Florida with Capt. Joe Millerʼs Fish Galore Offshore and Venice Louisiana Capt. Jordan and The Mexican Gulf Fishing Company
Top and Bottom: David Paquette from Estero Beach in the Winter & NH in the summer. Center photo: Phil from Osprey fishing with Joe Miller out of Venice Fl. caught this gag grouper. "Best fishing trip in 30 years!" he said.
Bruce Rundquist from Venice with what was once a 70-pound grouper before the sharks got to it.
David Paquette in Venice LA with the dayʼs catch.
Glen Ballinger with a smoker King Mackerel
This is the 550-pound Tiger Shark we caught in Venice, LA.
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Rick Hall is in the blue shirt holding the Yellowfin Tuna above. He also caught the HUGE Tiger shark (below)
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A Bad Sign DECEMBER 2013
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When Fishing Becomes a Crime
ON THE LINE By Capt. Ron Blago Water LIFE Senior Staff Remember the old Andy Griffith Show which opened with Andy and Opie walking down the dirt road with fishing polls on their shoulders ? How do you think they would of felt if they went to their favorite fishing hole and there was a NO FISHING sign posted there? I guess they would be pretty upset. That's the same feeling I get when I hear about another traditional fishing spot being put off limits to local fishermen. It used to be that if there was public land on the water, you had the legal right to fish there, but times change and people change. To some people fishing is no longer a respected activity but is frowned upon as a throw back to less elegant times. I was teaching at the Don Ball School of Fishing in Englewood, when the father of one of the kids asked me if I knew why they had put up No Fishing signs on his favorite fishing bridge in the Cape Haze residential neighborhood. This is the (regulation crazy) area that the Cape Haze No Wake Zone is named after. He said that he and his son lived in Cape Haze and liked to fish the little bridge.
This quiet little bridge in Cape Haze Estates is drawing ʻNo Fishingʼ attention
He wanted to know why the signs were put up. I told him I would look into it. The bridge is on a county road and is maintained by the county, so I assume it is public property. There are signs there that say No Fishing. It is my understanding that in order to be enforced, a sign must have either a Florida Statute number (FS) or a county ordinance number (Co.Ord) printed on the sign. Since these signs have neither, I'm not sure if these are legal restrictions or just a suggestion. I talked to some of my friends in
Charlotte County government, but no one seemed to know how the signs got there. But there was general agreement that for the signs to be enforced, the Board of County Commissioners would have had to pass an ordinance making it illegal to fish from that bridge. No one I talked to knew of any ordinance that was passed. I then talked to a few friends who live in Cape Haze and was told that nothing happens in the area with out the approval or disapproval of the Cape Haze Property owners Association (CHPOA) who's
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main goal is to “protect the property values of the community.” They are best know for their efforts to protect their septic tanks by fighting the efforts to get them to hook to a central sewer system like everyone in Englewood had to. I guess they think their poop don't pollute. Another one of their projects is to make sure that Placida Road is not expanded to four lanes in front of their community. Of course they were all in favor of the project when Placida Road expanded to four lanes in front of other peoples communities. With all that on their plate it's hard to think that they would have the time to go through the process of getting a few fishermen kicked off a public bridge, but anything is possible. I think it's time for the County to pass a law protecting the public's right to fish from the public's land. If for some reason, an area is under consideration to become a no fishing area, a public hearing should be held and adequate notice should have to be given to the public, signs should be posted in the proposed area announcing the proposal with the date and location of any public hearing and a telephone number should be provided to call for information. Your right to fish is worth fighting for. Don't let other people take it away from you.
Real Estate News
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Provided to Water LIFE BY:
Dave Hofer RE/MAX Harbor Realty (941) 575-3777 dhofer@remax.net www.harborparadise.com
Recent area news items:
1. In yet another desperate attempt to upgrade the Parkside neighborhood in Port Charlotte, the county board is now evaluating a potential $15 Million reconstruction of the Cultural Center. Parts of the '50s vintage complex will be retained while adding a 2 story 30,000 square foot building to house a new library, retail store, food service and meeting rooms. 2. Dollar General Plaza on Placida Road was sold for $1.8 Million. The Plaza is anchored by a new 7,800 square foot store. Dollar General is also building a new store at McKenzie and Rt 41 in Punta Gorda. 3. Punta Gorda will be going forward with a $7 million grant application to help offset the cost of building a new re-
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verse osmosis plant for its self supporting water department. It will be interesting to see if the city is fortunate enough to get federal tax dollars to benefit a private enterprise in this small community.
DECEMBER 2013
4. In a questionable effort to attract visiting boaters to Punta Gorda, the city has purchased a pump out boat. It's hard to imagine that taxpayers are being asked to bear the cost of this project that will benefit so few. 5. Charlotte County will be spending $3.7 million on energy efficiency improvements in 16 facilities around the county. Staff is projecting annual savings of $354K per year. If these projections are accurate, taxpayers should start seeing a return on that investment just 16 short years from now! 6. FEMA's push to reallocate risks in its flood insurance program is creating havoc among owners of older homes that were built at low elevations in flood hazard areas. Proposed increases are as much as 400%. Hopefully, these increases will be tempered and phased in over a series of years. 7. The Charlotte County Neighborhood Stabilization Program is providing funding for eleven new low income homes for the Parkside neighborhood.
For this month and maybe some of next, semi trailers will be coming and going from Placida to the fish houses north of Tampa carrying mullet. Mullet fishermen come in at dawn and sunset to unload their fish into the grey container boxes filled with ice.
Habitat for Humanity will be providing the construction management for this project. This is part of the $35 million taxpayer effort to increase property values and reduce crime in Parkside?
8. The Charlotte County Historical Center will likely close its doors. The County purchased the property in 2002 for $570K with the aid of a $300K grant. The building was built in 1984 and commissioners now feel that it is not worth repairing. Still another example of how our local government agencies can't make sound investment decisions.
9. Sarasota County, in a fleeting moment of lucidity, offered to take over the Little Salt Spring nature park ... but not to pay for it. The research area includes a 220' sink hole on 112 acres of archeological research land.
Monty's Pizza has moved to its new building (on it’s old pre-Hurricane Charley site) on Rt 41. The (new) familiar landmark has seating for 160. Joe Cracker Restaurant at the Murdock Center failed and will be replaced by Buffalo Wings and Rings.
Sales Statistics: Distressed low priced home sales continue to diminish in their influence on median sales prices.
The board of realtors trumpeted overall median sales prices increased from $118,000 in August 2012 to $132,250 in August 2013.
10. Nancy Prafke defeated Charles Counsel for a seat on the Punta Gorda City Council.
In other news: Hendrik Food Vault in the Crossroads Plaza has closed.
Outdoor wiring around docks and boat lifts has been problematic for many homeowners after this past wet summer.
DECEMBER 2013
Plenty of Good Fish
By Capt. Bart Marx Water LIFE Fishing Hello fellow anglers, praying that you had a great November, Thanksgiving and all. The weather has been windy and that makes it hard to get offshore. One day last month I was able to repay a gift that was given to me. Gary and Russ have been part of my guiding career, they worked together at the local fuel dock, that is how we became friends. Russ quit fishing, he sold his boat, he gave his tackle to Gary and he shared some with me. It took a few weeks to get our schedules together to fish. We went offshore to get some grouper and snapper. We trolled to get grouper, we caught one keeper, and two 24-inch Spanish mackerel. We went to a spot in 65-feet of water and started bottom fishing with light tackle; 20-pound set ups with 20-pound fluoro leader. We were catching some nice lanes and mangroves and then Gary's line went singing off the spool. I told him I knew what he had, a smoker king. Just before he hooked into this smoker we had seen some mahi-mahi. As he was fighting the king there were about 10 mahi-mahi following it, looking for something to eat. Then it turned into a Chinese fire drill: change rods, cut the line, just
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put a hook on... and a piece of cut bait. ... and let it free-spool down with the chum. We had one bite, so we kept it in the water to keep the rest of the school close till we got another rod ready. It seemed like 10-minutes went by before we got the king in and another rod ready to hook the next mahi-mahi. Gary was casting, Russ was on the stand-by with the landing net. Gary hooked the next one and we ended up with three mahi-mahi in the box. Woo Hoo! All that really only took like, seven minutes it was insane for a short time. Russ was in awe watching two grown men acting like kids in a candy store with
$100 and five minutes to spend it. When things settled down we caught a few more snapper, a total of12, and somewhere in that blur we put three kings in the box too. For bait we had shrimp, frozen and live, from Fishin’ Franks and Spanish sardines that we used to make chum. To get started we used the frozen bait and chum first to get the bite going: squid, sardines, and frozen white baits from our last trip. Then as it slowed down we broke out the live bait to keep the bite going. And when we finished bottom fishing, we trolled over that same area to pick up a gag or king whatever bites. Fun was had by all and we had some nice table fare too. Last week was the last class of the Don
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Ball School at Pt. Charlotte Middle. We had a great year with the young ladies and gentlemen. They did very well on their final quiz and made Capt. Bart look good. Thanks Class! This was my forth or fifth year teaching this class and it is always exciting to me to see a new crew of kids that are wanting to learn about fishing. I am looking forward to next year already. If you would like to come along with Capt. Bart Marx and have your own Florida fishing adventure, give me a call at 941-979-6517 or captbart@alphaomegacharters.com Singing drags and tight lines make me smile.
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Cobia Migration
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DECEMBER 2013
$2 off any haircut!
Now offering appointments with IZZY! By Capt. Orion Wholean Water LIFE Gasparilla The fall season is in full force and so are the cobia. Cobia are migrating from the Panhandle and Northern regions of the Gulf and swimming towards South West Florida’s Gulf coast waters in large schools. The cobia’s voyage tends to take place when the water temperature is in the upper 70s. (like it is now!) The majority of the fishing trips I have recently taken have been successful with at least one cobia landed. Typically when cobia fishing, it is beneficial to have a chum slick and be fishing around structure; with these two factors the cobia will come to you. When the cobia is spotted around the boat the best bait I have found
is a palm sized blue runner or pinfish. Cobia cannot resist the live bait, so in most cases all you have to do is cast the live bait near the cobia and hold on! I like to use a spinning combo spooled with braid and I tie a fluorocarbon leader to an 8/0 circle hook. You want to have a large net handy and tire the fish out before bringing it aboard, this is done as a precaution because they can do some serious damage. Cobia is one of the tastiest fish you can catch in our local waters. It is also more versatile than most fish in that it can be staked or filleted. You can reach Capt. Orion at (941) 249-0177 www.Gasparillabiggame.com
Regatta Season Opener
The Picture of Beer Race last month started the Winter sailing season on Charlotte Harbor. Seen here one competitor reaches for a bag of limes in the Pitcher race. Contestants sailed from Punta Gorda to Cape Haze to drop their limes into a dingy anchored there. Then the fleet overnighted at anchor. The race was named Picture of Beer race after a typo in a pre race ad 20 years ago for what was supposed to be the word ʻpitcher.ʼ
UPCOMING: The next Charlotte Harbor regatta is the Flying Scott Regatta January 11-12 out of Punta Gorda and then the Golden Conch Regatta January 18-19 out of Burnt Store . The Charlotte Harbor Regatta is February 6-9 and then in March The Conquistador Cup is March 22-23. Various smaller club and local races are intersperced during the weekends in between.
DECEMBER 2013
The Olʼ Fishʼn Hole
By Captain Jim O’Brien Water LIFE Offshore Hey ya- all welcome back to the windy city. Man I have not seen winds like this for the month of November. I have been trying to get charters out for the last 2 weeks. Can't seem to get away from the 20 to 25 knot winds with gusts to 30 kts. We just had a small cool front come through and it blew for 3 or 4 days so we put our charters in a few days later. Now we have 2 more cold fronts coming down one right behind the other and the weather man said it's going to be cold and windy. That's not what I wanted to hear so when a window opens up to get out I just call everybody and say it's now or never ha!
The a.v.a.s.t. team out of Tampa Fl. on our last charter: (left to right) Herb Wyman, Charles Smith, Frank Torres, Chris Martin, back row Rudy Salas, Capt. Jim O'Brien, Glen Keaser, and mate Brian Runge
Heros Fishinʼ
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We have a real nice story from our last charter out. Fish' n for Heroes Wounded Warriors Inc. took 5 of the nicest guys out that you would ever want to meet. They was wounded vets from the A.V.A.S.T. team out of Tampa Fl. all wounded vets out of Vietnam and Afghanastan and Iraq. If you don't know what A.V.A.S.T. means it's AMPUTEE VETERANS OF AMERICA SUPPORT TEAM. Rudy Salas from Tampa is my main guy when we are ready to take more wounded vets fish'n I call him. He makes sure the guys get down here to go fish'n, he makes sure the motel rooms are set for there arrival and also makes sure they have their medications. He just makes sure everything runs smooth. Our organization ( FISH'N FOR HEROS WOUNDED WARRIORS INC. ) runs on donations, from people like you, and businesses. If you would like to give
someone a great Christmas gift you can donate or sponsor a wounded vet, up to 6 wounded vets, to go out on an all day 8 hour fish'n trip with us. It would make a wonderful Christmas gift for them. OR If you have anything you want to donate (boat? car? ) that we could raffle off for a fund raiser we can give you a 501 c-3 form for a tax deduction. If you would like to talk about this please give me a call. You can see the smiles on everyones face after catching fish they all said they never caught, big gag and red grouper, like the ones we were catching. They all said they had a ball. This fish'n trip was sponsored by the guys at KEY AGENCY Insurance here in Englewood. Dave Dignam paid to take 6 wounded warriors on a 30 mile full day fish'n trip. Thank you David for that generous donation!
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Also, our local Winn Dixie on SR 776 and Sunnybrook manager Allen James donated all the food and drinks to the wounded vets including donuts and coffee, 9 different subs, water, pop, Gator Aid, chips and ice. Thanks Winn Dixie and Store Mgr Allen James! After we got back to the dock we cleaned a lot of fish for the guys to take back to Tampa. I took about 7 to 8 lbs of fillets up to Dale the manager of ZEKES restaurant and Tiki bar and Dale had the chefs cook all the fish up, put out a couple of baskets of hot hush puppies, fixin's and drinks and the guys polished off everything. WOW thanks Dale and everyone at ZEKES for helping put this on! Then we took some pictures and they headed back to Tampa. It didn't cost them a thing, not a penny and they coudn’t thank us enough for the day. This is what your donation does, it gives them a day they will never forget. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED PUT THIS TOGETHER. Predator II Charters and Fish'n For Heroes Wounded Warriors inc. wishes everyone out there A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR. Well, now it’s time to get out of here, so if you have a good ol' fish'n story or a recipe for cooking fish that we can share with our readers, or if you want to book an offshore charter with us aboard the Predator II call 941- 473- 2150
AND REMEMBER, GET OUT THERE AND SNORT SOME OF THAT GOOD CLEAN SALT AIR C U Z IT'S GOOD FER YA ! ! !
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DECEMBER 2013
SCUTTLEBUTT
Sometimes Unsubstanciated, But Often True
RACING IN THEIR JEANS Merc Marine unveiled their new QC4V Crate Engine at the SEMA show last month in Las Vegas. The turbocharged 1650 4-cam V8 produces (over 1,000 horsepower - our estimate since there is no horsepower
number available yet) The QC4V is designed for the automotive SuperCar market. The engine received the Global Media Award at the show. Price of the engine is said to be ʻaround $100Kʼ Mercuryʼs automotive roots go back to the 1950s and the Mercury entrants in NASCAR racing. A HEALTHY STOCK is excellent news for U.S. fishermen. Along with population recovery, U.S. catch of North Atlantic swordfish in the United States has increased in recent years due to efforts to revitalize U.S. fisheries. For many years there was a gap between the U.S. landings and the U.S. quota. However, in 2012 U.S. landings of North Atlantic swordfish were the highest since the 1990s, while still remaining sustainable. The IFA Redfish Tour kicks off on March 8 2014 at Punta Gorda, The IFA Redfish Tour will offer an impressive 200 percent payback plus several lucrative contingency opportunities. The IFA Kayak Fishing Tour regular season opens in Punta Gorda on March 9, 2014 Each of the 10 regular season events will feature a catch-photograph-release tournament format. The IFA Kayak Fishing Tour will continue to offer over 100 percent payout, plus contingency opportunities for anglers at every event. FWC OFFICER HOLLEMAN WAS HONORED as the first recipient of the
“Hometown Hero Award” for actions he quickly took to preserve life and property in which four people were engaged in an altercation with two others. The individuals were armed with everything from sticks to chainsaws. Officer Holleman was able to control the situation and secure two suspects that were later arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
BUG EYED An FWC Officer responded to a report of a boating accident that occurred on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. A subject participating in a fishing tournament was traveling south in the C-37 Canal when he was struck in the eye by an insect. Temporarily blinded by the insect, the subject was unable to maneuver his vessel through the bridge supports of the Zipprer Bridge. The rear of the vessel struck one of the bridge supports which catapulted the vessel into a nearby cypress tree. The operator sustained minor injuries to his head and knee but refused medical treatment. The damage to the vessel is estimated at approximately $5,000. The operator was issued a warning for a violation of the navigational rules resulting in an accident. 600-FOOT GILL NET fficers were in plain clothes investigating an ongoing complaint of people setting gill nets in the Kissimmee River. They observed a vessel pulling a rope in reverse and watched it for a while, coming to the conclusion that they were working a net that they had sunk to the bottom of the river. The occupants of the vessel began picking the gill net keeping every fish that was entangled in it. Officer Davis noticed another vessel approach from the north and talk to them for a short time and leave. At this time, the suspects started pulling in the net as fast as they could, not worrying about removing the fish. They were then approached by officers. The subjects were found to be in possession of a 600ʼ x 13ʼ9” monofilament gill net with a stretched mesh of 2.5”. They were also in possession of a multitude of game fish. They were cited for taking game/freshwater fish by illegal
HEAD ON Two boats a split second before colliding head on while running the grass at Lake Oʼ in a bass tournament last month.
method. The net was seized.
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DECEMBER 2013
Kayaking
Myakka State Park
By David Allen Water LIFE Kayaking Myakka State Park is a great place to spend a few relaxing hours on the water. There is nowhere else in southwest Florida that I know of that has anything close to the variety of wildlife that you will find here and the park is always changing from year to year. And, this is one paddle that we always take it easy on...no hard paddling, don't rush, go slow...so we won't miss any of the birds, alligators and other wildlife. Myakka State Park is a short, about 50 minute drive north on I-75, then about 8 miles east on SR 72. The friendly park rangers will relieve you of the $6 per car parking fee and also give you directions to the parking areas and launch areas. We usually go to the nearest launch just east of the ranger station with ample parking for both cars and trailers. One disadvantage of this launch is the long carry for the kayaks, about 100+ yards across an open field. It's an easy carry, though, with a wheeled caddy for your kayak. The launch site is about 1/2 mile north of the SR 72 bridge. The bridge marks the beginning of the park preserve to the south, accessible only with a permit or on foot. The permits are required as this area is a protected wood stork rookery. In past years, before permits were required, we paddled on south through the Lower Lake, past the ‘Deep Hole,’ around Downs Dam and on to Snook Haven. This is a great 16 mile paddle, all downstream with the current behind us... doable in about 4 hours. You don't realize how beautiful the Myakka River is until you've explored this section south of the Lower Lake. However, on a recent Sunday, a group of club members took the north route toward the dam across the Upper Lake and on to the concession area. It was a beautiful Sunday for a paddle with bright sun, very little wind and very little current due
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to the dam. But the paddle turned out to be anything but routine. After less than a mile north, we saw a large flock of Roseate Spoonbills circling the marshlands looking for a spot to land and eat. We followed them down and were rewarded by finding an even larger group of spoonbills already on the ground. And in among the spoonbills were about 6 wood storks, also feeding. We had never seen a flock of over 40-50 spoonbills anywhere in SW Florida; usually we've seen groups of 2 to 4 at best. It was really spectacular. We saw many other species of birds that the Myakka State Park website list in their wildlife section ( The website lists over 50 species of birds). We saw blue herons, egrets, limpkins, moor hens and of course lots of osprey. Throw in an occasional turtle and you've covered most of the native wildlife in the park. Of course, there were the usual alligators in abundance, lying on the banks, sunning, keeping a eye on the passing kayaks. A few of the braver ones lumbered over to the water, dove in, and sank beneath our kayaks. Shortly after we passed the spoonbills, probably about a mile north of the launch, the river became very narrow and filled with reeds and a mass of water plants. There was a little current against us due to the narrowing of the channel. Several of our group decided to work their way through, but it was taking a long time, so the rest of the group decided to go to the far southern section just north of the preserve. And did we see alligators. On one section of river bank, there were between15
and 20 just soaking up the sun. They were so used to kayakers that they didn't move or acknowledge us in any way. After about 2 plus hours of paddling, and having taken all the photos the memory card would hold, we turned around and paddled back to the launch. What a day! Spectacular is the only way to describe it. Please, do yourself a favor and visit Myakka State Park and enjoy the wonders of nature.
The Port Charlotte Kayakers meet each Wednesday evening at Franz-Ross Park, adjacent to the local YMCA, at 5:00PM. All are welcome to attend. For more information, call
Dave Allen at 941-235-2588 or email to dlaa@comcast.net.
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December Fishing Forecast
DECEMBER 2013
Charlotte Harbor
sugar trout for your dinner . Use tarpon are all still here. Tarpon are still a piece of peeled frozen shrimp. thick in Port Charlotte and PGI canals as Frank, at Fishin’ Franks They are aggressive feeders and well as Shell Creek and up the River. Tar941- 625-3888 eat readily. Use your light-action pon will go all the way to Arcadia or Out in the Gulf, grouper are still doing freshwater crappie 4-to 10- Wachula in search of those deep holes to good but this is the year of the weather pound test rod with 4-pound wait out the cooler weather. fronts and it’s all moving around. It almost mono and a 15-pound leader and Seatrout are big in the Pine Island reminds me of ElNiña - coming east to have a ball. They are good fight- Sound, over to Burnt Store and Pirate Harwest- so we’ll be seeing a lot of weather, I ers and tasty little fish. bor. The upper Harbor had fewer numbers think. The big news this month is with them being more mixed in the There have been all kinds of fish, from crappie. Out of all the fish Myakka and Peace cutoff mouth. mahi to mackerel, the Gulf is littered with Brad Stanius with an oversized snook with Fishbone down here, they are the most anSheepshead are just getting started acfish. If you can get out between the fronts Charters. Snook are now catch and release until March ticipated and the most sought cording to the reports coming in. I’m not you’ll have a great time fishing. after species. People won’t ever looking for a banner year for them...beRed Tide has been building since mid ing the red tide to the south. The good give you the real place they go crappie cause...I don’t know why - I’m just not. November. It isn’t an issue once you are news is we have a light water flow, not fishing, but I’ll tell you the canals in Port I’m hearing about pairs and couples out 10 miles or so. It’s usually pretty much enough to move the fish out, just enough Charlotte are doing fairly well, out along two and four fish not big schools of contained along the shorelines, but the to help kill the red tide. the Hillsboro, Shell Creek and Prarie sheepshead. I don’t think they will do the fronts move it around or, hopefully, the There have been some nice schools of Creek are good spots too. There is no word big bunch-up this year. wind and rain will break it up. redfish and snook along the mangroves . on crappie yet from the big lakes Up along the beaches we are getting We were seeing 8 inch to 30 like Trafford and Lake O’ but inch snook. Snook is catch with the cold fronts coming this and release right now, but will be an amazing month for dial them in because snook crappie. Fish a Missouri minnow opens up again March 1. No.3262 with a No.6 Mustad We are also getting good black hook, 6-pound test mono, reports on whiting from the no leader, a No.5 or No.4 split 41 Bridge up the river. De- shot and a spring loaded pencil cember will be a banner bobber with a pointy end off the month for river fishing. There top, not a round one. Then as has been a little baitfish soon as that tip moves get ready known as sugar trout around to set the hook - they are quick Marker No. 2. It’s a tremen- nibblers. Look for pepper trees dous amount of work but overhanging the canal with at sugar trout make a really nice least 3-feet of water. In a freshtasty meal. It will take a water canal you are probably Big black drum for this angler fishing with Capt Dave Stephens dozen to make a meal for one going to find crappie there. person, but it’s quick work Guides have quit taking trips sporadic reports of Spanish mackerel fur- for delicate, flaky, white, thin fillets. Drop for the 150-pound tarpon, the ther out off the beach to avoid red tide. down to a No. 6 hook, like you would use bigger fish are headed to the Flounder that were in along the beaches for bluegills, and get a couple of dozen keys, but the next generation of There have been a lot of small sharks around like this one Capt. Billy Bartonʼs angler is holding have moved off too. Hopefully by mid December it will be a more normal banner month for fishing again. In the upper Harbor we still have a ton of fish but a lot of them have moved into the Peace River. Snook, ladyfish, jacks and trout are all hiding in the river avoid-
Charters
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Shark, Tarpon, Grouper, Snapper, Kingfish, and MORE!
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Joyce Eichner shows there are still nice redfish to be had, fishing with her husband Capt. Chuck.
Capt. Jim OʼBrien USCG 50 ton license since 1985
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DECEMBER 2013
Lemon Bay:
Jim, at Fishermen’s Edge, Englewood: 697-7595
The The BIG-4 BIG-4
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Fish Fish to to expect expect in in
Red Tide? I had one guy say he saw dead fish but he said they were from sevMACKEREL Spanish in the SHEEPSHEAD Large schools eral days before. Another Harbor. Kings are offshore moving in from the Gulf guy caught bait, didn’t see any dead fish and said the There have been some mackerel refish were biting. I don’t know. ports this week, mixed miles, 5-to 7, I’ve had a lot of fishing reports in and some guys a lot further offshore, the last week, but now the tides are so much lower and wind is blowing out of on the deeper reefs. Some of the old guys were trolling ballyhoo too. the NE so there is no water. Grouper, There has been a lot of bluefish acsnapper and cobia are offshore. A tion as well as kingfish, Spanish, and friend caught two cobia, one at 45 and pompano down around Gasparilla the other was 60-pounds. They botPass. In the backcountry, snook, trout tomed out the boga grip. That was 18 miles out. They fished one spot, caught redfish, and flounder are around. With colder weather and the wind one, then moved and caught the other. the tarpon will be vacating now. The Both on dead sardines, one closer to creeks like Buck and Coral creeks are the bottom and one just suspended. holding the smaller ones. The only other thing is some guys caught some mahi-dolphin in the Englewood fishing tournament. You have to be ready for anything at the moment.
OFFSHORE from Capt. Jim OʼBrien
SEE THE HOOK? For Christmas lets get Capt. Steve Skevington some KEVLAR gloves.
GAG AND RED GROUPER -are still biting real good on good rocky bottom or offshore wrecks. The best baits are live spot tail grunts, pin fish, or mullet and squid. SNAPPERS -- MANGROVE snapper LANE snapper and YELLOW tails are all eating small cut pin fish, squid and live shrimp.
www.fishingpuntagorda.com
December December
COBIA offshore on the reefs and migrating south
SNOOK In the rivers, Catch and release ONLY ʻtil Feb 28
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Gulf Temps are 73 and cooling off. Migrations almost over
Glen Ballinger and a healthy amberjack with Capt. Joe Miller fishing out of Venice, FL.
They can be caught in 70 to 100 feet of water. SHARKS --- MOSTLY BLACK TIPS are out deeper. Itʼs been so rough the bottom of the Gulf is churned up so they left the passes for deeper water. AJ'S -- are still hitting great out on the offshore wrecks. The best bait are live blue runners or big pin fish.
KING MACKEREL, SPANISH MACKEREL and BONITA are out further now. There were some being caught at 30 to 45 feet of water till the winds hit. Clark spoons and king spoons are a good choice. Troll them at 5 to 7 mph use a No. 1 or a No. 2 plainer to put your spoons down 10-to 20feet and hang on WOW! Now that's fun!
FISHING RIGHT NOW: Good
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DECEMBER 2013