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L I F EL I F EProducers of the KIDS CUPKids CupKids Cup

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A Tribute to A Tribute to Mr. SnookMr. SnookPage 22Page 22

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P a g e 2 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 8

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Water LIFECharlotteHarbor

MagazineMichael and Ellen Heller

Publishers(941) 766-8180

TOTALLY INDEPENDENTWater LIFE is not affiliatedwith any other publication

© 2008 Vol VII No. 2 Water LIFE

No part of this publication may becopied or reproduced without the writ-

ten permission of both publishers Contributing Editors:

Fishing / Environment: Capt. Ron BlagoCharlotte Harbor: Capt. Robert Moore

Gasparilla: Capt. Chuck EichnerPort Charlotte: Capt Andy MedinaOffshore: Capt. Steve Skevington

Real Estate: Dave HoferSailing Advisor: Bill Dixon

Kayaks: David AllenSea Grant: Betty Staugler

Diving: Adam Wilson

on the COVER:Marty Martell took this photo of awhale shark on the ʻskyway rubble ̓offBoca Grande – see page 12

on our WEBSITE:WWW.charlotteharbormagazine.com

Realtors: Links to advertisersTide Graphs: For local watersWeather: Links to all of our favorite sites.Back editions: Pages of previous editionsArtificial Reefs: Lat. and Long local reefsManatee Myths: Read the original plan tocreate sanctuaries and refuges, as spelledout by the United Nations in 1984Kids Cup Updates, Fish Tracking andTournament Information.

WRITE US!e-mail (preferred)

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LETTERS TO WATER LIFETo The Editors of Water LifeMagazineI have read the article on "TreeScalping in Charlotte County".While reading the article Iquickly come to realize theopinion you have formed byyour neighbor so quickly, andso unsightly selling his treeand replacing the large clusterof trees with a much smallerone without your approval,seeing that everything thatgoes on, on your street, mustneed your OK! The fact is thenew owner of the house hasthe right to plant or removewhatever he or she feels com-pelled to do. People like youwho disagree with what some-one does are so quick toimplement a law, code, permit,regulation; to better suit yourwants and not considering thewants or needs of any otherperson. My opinion is that obvi-ously you have a lot of time onyour hands to worry aboutwhat everyone else is doing.Being a neighbor that is so

concerned about the appear-ance of the neighborhood thenmaybe moving into a repulsive,dictated deed restricted com-munity would best suit yourneeds. I am a Native Floridianand have probably seen morechanges happen in this greatstate – some good and for themost part bad – and really notthought through all the way. I see people move down hereand want to implement rulesand make life around this statefull of red tape. My conclusionto all of this is for all the read-ers to think about what prob-lems you are making for otherpeople when you want tochange things to suite yourwants. What kind of burden areyou making for everyone else?Monthly Reader,Darrell Walchle

Dear Water LIFEIʼm chuckling over the disparitybetween your stand on theManatee ( Iʼm totally there withyou on that issue), and the

removal of overgrown uglySabal Palms in a manʼs frontyard – replaced by what will bea stately Queen Palm. Soundslike he is getting started on anattractive landscape packagerather than raping the land-scape. Pay the county toremove trees? Next you willneed a permit to clear out apepper bush.Get the county involved andshow them there is money tobe made? ENOUGH! I had to plant mandatory treesthat were not on my lot inSouth Gulf Cove – trees thatare not found in the area, or ( Ihad to) pay a fine. I also hadto ʻtagʼ the trees so the ʻtreeladyʼ could verify the installa-tion. Geez, gimme a break!After the first year they endedup on the smoker pit and Iadded seven other trees.Yeah, you are leaning towardsbeing a tree hugger. Shame!<grins> Good Magazine.Bob JohnsonPort Charlotte

Kids CupTo Whom it May Concern,My name is Zach Lozano. I am16 years old and live in PuntaGorda. Icaughtthis 27inch red-fish outof PirateHarboron1/18/08using anartificialin, and

amongst, the potholes duringlow tide. This was in prepara-tion for the 2008 Kids Cup. It'sgoing to be my last year fishingthis tournament and I want youall to know that I'm coming!Thanks for your time,Zach LozanoPunta Gorda

Water LIFE Magazine WE ARE ALL Online NOW!

www.charlotteharbormagazine.com

By Michael Hel lerWater LIFE EditorMy father was in the wholesale meat business. In the

summer I’d work with him. I remember going with himdown to the west side market on 11th Street in NewYork at 5 a.m and walking in the coolers between hang-ing rows of sides of beef. Dad had a small hammer-shaped stamp and a pad of special blue ink. When hesaw a side of beef he wanted he’s rub the hammer faceon the ink pad and then smack the beef on the fatty partwhere his stamp, a sort of temporary brand, would bevisible. A market worker would then pull out the ‘sides’he had selected and roll them to the loading dock. Thebeef hung on a big galvanized hook with a rollerattached to the top of it. It rolled on a network of railssuspended from the ceiling. There were curves andswitches all of which had to be negotiated. Outside, oneof my dad’s trucks backed up to the loading dock andextended a section of its own rail to meet the rail thebeef was hanging on. Then the beef was rolled into thetruck where refrigeration kept the beef cold until we gotit got back to the shop. It all rolled, nothing was lifted. Back at Dad’s shop his meat cutters went to work

cutting the sides of beef into steaks and loins and grind-ing up chop meat for the different restaurants he sup-plied.One of my dad’s distant accounts was a sleep-away

camp in upstate New York. Once a week in the summerdad and I would load up his big green 1960 GMC panelvan and head upstate.One of the things the camp used a lot of were chick-

ens. Chickens came from a different wholesaler:

‘Eviscerated’ the box said, which I came to find outmeant plucked and gutted. The naked chickens werepacked in ice and put in slated boxes made of thin wood. We’d start out before lunch from Manhattan and we’d

drive two hours north. The panel van wasn’t refrigerated. The beef was

packed in a special locker and kept cold with dry ice, butthe chickens, well, they were packed in ice already.Problem was it was summer in New York and it was

hot, and the floor of the panel van was made of diamondplate steel.At the front of the cargo area, directly behind the dri-

ver’s and passenger’s seats, the floor had a curb, a 4 inchwide lip – also made of diamond plate – that rosestraight up about two feet high. During an an abruptstop, the curb was designed to kept the load from shift-ing forward and pinning the driver to the wheel.Evidently that had happened once, before the curb wasinstalled and before I started driving. But the curb servedanother purpose as well. It was, in a way, a seawall or ashore-break. Surfers know ‘shore breaks’ - an underwater ridge or

reef helps form a wave – a shore break – when theundulating ocean rolls in.New York was hot in summer, hot enough that we

weren’t gone an hour before the ice in the boxes of evis-cerated chickens began to melt. Two hours out on anaverage summer day and icy-cold chicken water wassloshing around the floor in the back of the truck.The diamond plate floor, combined with GM’s superi-

or rear-door weather striping, created a contained spacewhere the slushy-slurry of ice chips, freezing cold water,

and frozen little blobs of chicken fat became trapped.The last half hour of the trip was the scary part. By

the time we left the Parkway and began to negotiate thewinding back roads, driving skill and smoothnessbecame of vital importance. One hard turn, or worse yeta sudden stop, would result in that perfect wave of icychicken-water curling up and over the curb. Once I sawits perfect tube ... before it crashed down on our necksand ran down our backs, inside our shirts.I believe that day we discovered what pro football

coaches everywhere would, only years later, come toknow. Truth is, the first Gatorade bath was really a bathof icy chicken soup.So there you have it: Big hooks, cold water, historic

sports stuff and fond memories of childhood. And youthought this was going to be about fishing!


Big Hooks, Cold Water,Spor ts His toryand the Fond Memor ies of Chi ldhood

This cow nosed ray was interested in a local sardine

By Capt. Chuck EichnerWater LIFE Charlotte HarborThe inconspicuous jig cer-

tainly looks like a boring lurehanging on the racks at yourfavorite tackle shop. The one Iam talking about is a lead headjig with a stout saltwater hookand painted in a variety of col-ors. They are designed forattaching plastic lures givingthem weight to get good castingdistance. The flip side to usingthese jigs is hanging CharlotteHarbors favorite fish food onthem- live shrimp.Without a doubt, I catch

more fish and more varieties offish on this combination thenall other shrimp fishing tech-niques combined. You can fig-ure on catching 7-15 species offish on a normal day of jigfishing. The rules of this fish-ing style are simple, once youknow the secrets. Here is howto do it step by step:

Jig S tyle- The key com-ponents are jig shape, hooksize and overall weight. I pre-fer jig shapes that are conicalor have a narrow profile suchthat they are more aerodynamicmaking them less likely tohang in weeds, oysters and bot-tom cover. I like a compactjig that has a short shank hook(more on this later when rig-ging the shrimp). For theweight selection only 2 arenecessary- 1/8oz. and 1/4 oz.

Jig Color- Four colorswork most of the time andsome days experimentation is inorder. You can never go wrongwith red however white, pink,orange and chartreuse should beexperimented with. Fish do seecolors and it does matter. I findthat color changes make a bigdifference as the water tempera-ture drops. Our most frigidtemperatures will find methrowing orange jigs. Inwarmer waters, orange is moreof a turn off. Interestingly,sometimes I think an unpaintedjighead is better than a coloredjighead. Experimentation willmake a big difference.

Fishing Outfi t- I prefer aShimano Stradic 3000 coupledwith a St. Croix Tidemaster

TIS 70MM or TIS70MHF.Spool the reel with 10-15#Power Pro, attach a 25# testleader 30 inches long and thisoutfit will cast a country mileand allow you to wrangle withsome pretty large fish.

Bait- Live shrimp primari-ly fished in half. My belief isthat most of the shrimpthat redfish, trout,sheepshead and other bot-tom dwellers feed on aresmall. A jig head with ahalf of shrimp is small.Another important thingabout fishing a half ofshrimp is that you havesevered the body allowingthe juice and smells to oozeout on the retrieve.Redfish have olfactory

senses like a whitetail deer inthe woods and the extra smellemitted by this technique worksin many cases better than awhole shrimp. It also preventsa lot of short strikes. A shortshank hook keeps the halfshrimp close to the jighead andmakes the bait appear smaller.Rigging the shrimp is done bypiercing the head portion fromthe underside out of the topslightly behind the eyes. Thetail piece is rigged through thebottom and out of the topof the cut off section. Itis important to pierce theshell just behind the cutoff section. Your shrimpshould retrieve in an exactstraight line with thehook shank. This pre-

vents the jig from spinningon retrieve and it tracks bet-ter through grass and weeds.Use a sharp pair of scissorsto cut your shrimp in halfmaking for easier rigging. Itypically go fishing with noless than 100 shrimp. Thatmakes 200 baits which

mostly will become fishfood with not many comingback at the end of the day.

Lure Action- The greatthing about fishing the jig-shrimp combo is that youcan fish it like an artificiallure covering lots of water.In general, I cast out and letthe lure settle momentarily.A lot of times a fish willhere the splash and comeover to investigate. Next,

raise your rod tip on a tight lineand drag the lure. Drop yourrod taking in the slack and raiseyour rod again. Occasionallyimpart a quick, small jerk tohop the lure thus imitating anexcited shrimp. An importantpart of this technique is toallow the lure to settle back tothe bottom briefly after theshort hop. This is when mostof your strikes will occur.

Fishing Locations-Most of your winter days will

reveal sand bars and oyster barsout of the water for at least partof the day. The fish will be inthe deeper holes where ever youcan find them inside of the eastor west side, Gasparilla, PineIsland and Matlacha. Deeperholes of 2-4 feet are fish mag-nets. They are scattered aroundevery shore and backcountryarea in Charlotte Harbor. Thekey is knowing when you haveenough water for your boat toreach these areas and knowingwhen to leave so that you don’tget stranded. Idle through thebackcountry on the higher tidesto figure out the deeper spots.Come back when the tide is outbecause the fish will be in.Canal systems are a guaran-

tee to action. Punta Gorda Islesand Port Charlotte canals havetons of fish. The key is tocover lots of water casting toseawalls, rip-rap, corners, inter-sections and mangrove shore-lines. This is deeper water fish-ing but don’t be surprised tohang on to some real monsters.Big redfish and black drum arestacked in some parts of thecanal systems.

Fish Species- On anaverage day you can expect tocatch redfish, trout, sheepshead,snapper, blowfish, catfish,black drum, pompano, shark,ladyfish, goliath grouper, tar-pon, snook and an assortmentof sub-tropical species that aresometimes hard to identify.There will generally be lots ofsmaller fish with the averageredfish being 14-18 inches.Trout and sheepshead size willvary by school. Snook and tar-pon are the more unusualspecies as they feed less in cold-er water.The idea of this style of fish-

ing is to cover water quickly.Expect to make a thousand castsand maybe have a sore arm atthe end of the day. When youhear of an angler catching 50redfish in a day it is not neces-sarily a fish tale. Fish tend toschool up when they find acomfortable deeper water area.Just remember to handle yourfish gently to fight another day.

Capt. Chuck Eichner is alocal charter captain. For infor-mation or to book a guidedfishing trip call 941-505-0003or go to his website:www.backcountry-charters.com


The Sport Of Winter Fishing

J i g S t y l e Look how Capt. Chuck takes care ofhis Shimano / St Croix sponsors: Arod & reel in almost every photo andusually a tackle mention in the story.We bet that keeps them happy!

By Fishin FrankWater LIFE Port CharlotteA lot of people saw the fish kill we

had recently and talked about the snook,but that was only the surface of the mat-ter.Sand bream, pin fish, and many bait

fish came to an untimely end that night.The kill was caused by double-wham-

my of high winds out of the north thatpushed the water 3 feet lower than nor-mal low tides and trapped many fish insmall pockets of water, or in holes orcreeks with little or no water in them. Under normal conditions the fish

would just wait until the water cameback, but that night it was 29 degrees.Water less than two feet deep would havehit the freezing point and while saltwater will not freeze, the fish would...so any fish trapped in the back countryfroze to death. The one-two punch of extreme low

water and freezing temperatures couldhave an effect. We might notice theeffects more next year and the year after,but by the 3rd year it will right itself –providing no other major disasters comeour way.

During hurricane Charley, most of theadult fish swam the heck out of here, ormade it to deeper waters to ride out thestorm. Not so lucky were the small fry,eggs and fingerlings of many fish. Thewinds blew so hard any fish or anythingin four feet of water or less was morethan likely, killed in the storm. So oneor two years of eggs fry and fingerlingswere destroyed. Redfish for example,were impacted hard. For the two yearsafter Charley the winter time rat-red sea-son was just not there. But as time wentby the big reds laid egg the fry hatchedand this year the small reds are all overthe harbor. I bring this up because peo-ple are complaining they are catchingonly "rats," under size redfish this year,This is a great thing as it gives ussomething to look forward to. It is 3 1/2years after Charley and we are still deal-ing with that storm. Redfish do not real-ly live here, this is only where theygrow up, so events like Charley or thisrecent cold front may look bad, but in awhile things have a way of working out.Take heart the fishing this year will begood.


Things Have a Way of Working Out

23' Sea Swirl 2300 Stripper, 2000.Single 200HP Evinrude. Nice walkaroundcuddy, good for coastal fishing, cruisingand diving. $24,900

22' Pathfinder 2200 V tournament Series,2005. Single 200hp Yamaha HPI 2004. Verywell maintained, includes trailer. $38,500

28' Scout 280SF CC Fisherman, 2002. Twin225hp Yamaha 4 strokes. Very nice condi-tion throughout, and lift stored! $74,500

26' Shamrock Express, 1996. 250HPIndmar IB. Autohelm AP, Raytheon colorsounder. Swim platform and ladder. Biminitop and enclosure new in 2006. $29,900

22' Black Jack 224 Bay, 2006. Single 250HPYamaha 4- Stroke only 45 hours, T-topwith box and lights. Mint condition anddesigned especially for fishing. $47,900

21' Regal 2120 Deck Boat, 2005. 220HPVolvo 4.3L MPI. JUST REDUCED $3,000 -like-new with less than 25 engine hours andtransferable hull warranty. $25,900

17' Bayliner Trophy Center Console, 2001.90HP Mercury 4-stroke for 50+ mph. Mintshape and has a full mooring cover.Trailer included. REDUCED TO $11,900

30' SeaRay 300 Weekender, 1989. Alwaysbeen lift stored out of the water. 260HPMercruiser Inboards. $28,900

23' Hurricane Sundeck, 2007. 200HPYamaha, F200 TXR. Fully equipped with afish finder, Kenwood CD player, boardingladder. Trailer included. $38,900

38' Egg Harbor Sportfish, 1974. Twin 335 HPMarine Power 5.7 Vortec EFI - NEW 2006. Hashad extensive upgrades. REDUCED TO $52,500

25' Parker 2520 Pilot House Fish 2005, likenew. 225 HP Yamaha Four Stroke. 5 yeartransferrable hull warranty. $54,900

28" Bertram Sportfish, 1982. Twin 260HPMercruisers 1990. Raymarine D5400XSounder/FFr/Depth finder combo, VHF,Garmin 215 GPS MAP. $29,900

34' Formula 34 PC 1998. Twin 385HPMercruisers 7.4L MPI Horizon. Built on aconstant dead rise deep V hull with moder-ate beam. Excellent condition $88,000

34' Intrepid Center Console, 1999. Twin250HP Yamis. Radar & plotter, AP, electrichead with holding tank. 1 owner, steppedhull, lift kept well maintained. $89,900

32' Luhrs Tournament 320, 1992. Twin340HP Marine power 7.4L. Well maintained& equipped, GPS,Radar, color videosounder. Salt Shaker hard top, $82,000

Owner wants her sold now!

Excellentcondition

throughout.

This big AJ was shot off the SW Floridacoast. When they brought the fish in andgutted it they found a small shark in itsstomach, proving once again: Big fisheat what they want. On the internet werecently researched the AJʼs diet andfound they eat mostly smaller reef fish.Also of note was the following AJ infor-mation: “If you eat fish at the chain fish'n' chips places (Long John Silver's, etc.)you're probably eating amberjack.”

P a g e 1 0 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 8

By Capt. Ron BlagoWater LIFE Senior StaffEach year I look forward to the annual

manatee mortality reports to be madepublic. I have learned over the years thatI can pretty well predict what the head-lines are going to be based on how thenumbers turned out. The 2006 numbersshowed a record number of manatees(417) had died that year and the Save theManatee Club jumped on that fact to beatback the state scientist that proposeddelisting the manatee. Their mantra atevery meeting that year was ‘how canyou delist the manatee when record num-bers are dying in Florida.’ Of course

when the manatees have a bad year,boaters seem to be the ones that have besacrificed with more talk of increasingenforcement, more rules and regulations,and of course more manatee speed zones.It didn’t really matter that the number ofwatercraft collisions (92) that year wasbelow the 5 year average. A lot of mana-tees had died and someone had to be heldresponsible.2007 was a good year for manatees.

With little rain, the water stayed prettyclear. This allowed more sunlight to hitthe sea grass; and as any good farmerknows, when there is plenty of grass inthe meadow the cows are fat and happy.In 2007 there were 317-manatee deaths-73 by watercraft. I don’t remember seeingany headlines that said ‘Manatee deathsdown 24 percent and watercraft relateddeaths down 21 percent in 2007.’ It was-n’t all good news in 2007. There were 52manatees that died from red tide and forthe first time in my memory a number ofthem died from red tide on the EastCoast, which is not noted for red tideoutbreaks. Also a number of manatees

died in southwest Florida from red tide.That fact is particularly note worthy con-sidering that there were no reported redtide outbreaks in southwest Florida in allof 2007. A talk with one of the state sci-entists solved the mystery for me. When red tide blooms, it gives off a

toxin. Some of the toxin remains in thewater column and eventually settles onthe sea grass blades on the bottom. Thistoxin can remain active for weeks, evenmonths after the red tide algae is gone.For the manatees it’s kind of like swim-ming through a mine field after the waris over – you wind up just as dead. I have been going through manatee

mortality figures ever since the statestarted keeping records in 1976 and I amamazed at how consistent the percentageof watercraft death are as compared tototal manatee deaths. About 25 percent ofall manatee deaths are a result of water-craft collisions. That number holds truefor the 70s, 80s, 90s, all the way up to2007. What is amazing about that is thatthe number of registered boat in Floridahas increased approximately 2.9 percentper year since 1976. That means youhave twice the number of boats thanthere were in 1976. If you now have amillion registered boats in Florida; andthere were 73 manatees killed by boats-that means that the average boater has a0.0073 percent probability of killing amanatee. I don’t think there is muchmore we can do to lower those odds.You have to be careful when you use

numbers to make a point; there is alwayssomeone who will challenge your results.Frankly, I’m that type of guy. Recently, Iwas checking out the SMC’s web siteand I came across one of their pressreleases that listed the reasons the mana-tee should not be delisted. One of themwas ‘Environmentalist point to the

state’s own finding that 50 percent of thestatewide manatee population could belost in the next 45 years.’ That’s prettydamming, 50 percent of the populationwiped out in just 45 years. I figured Ibetter check that fact out by reading thestate’s new manatee protection plan justapproved by the FWC. This 128-pagereport has just about everything we knowabout manatees so far.The first thing to catch my eye was

under the section Population Status –‘There are no statistical estimates ofabundance for either, statewide or regionalFlorida manatee population.’ That’sgoing to make it pretty hard to figure outwhat a 50 percent reduction of anunknown number is. I knew there was abetter answer than that, after all the statehas been required by law to do aerial sur-veys since 1991 and in 2001 they found3,300 manatees. I finally found thequote I was looking for, ‘The biologicalreview panel predicted the probability offuture decline over three generations ofapproximately 60 years, the modelsshowed that there is virtually no chanceof an 80 percent decline; but there is aslightly more than a 12 percent chance ofthe manatee population decline by asmuch as 50 percent in the next 60years..’ Looks like the SMC has been fudging

the facts again, there is a big differencebetween a 50 percent decrease in popula-tion vs. a 12 percent probability of a 50percent decrease. I guess good news formanatees is bad news for the SMC, butthere is one statistic I’m sure they willbe happy with- there is a 100 percentprobability that in 60 years, I’ll be dead.

Cap. Ron can be reached for comments,information or to book a guided fishing tripat 941-474-3474

2007 WasA GoodYear forManatees

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By Adam WilsonWater LIfe Diving

All fisherman,whether above thewater or below, hatehaving a bad day. Everybody wants to goto work Monday and talk about the bigone that didn't get away or that limit ofgrouper from their secret spot. With allthe time, energy, planning and moneyspent in setting up the typical fishingtrip, nobody wants to come home emptyhanded. But let's face it, it's far from aperfect world and even the pro's have offdays. This past month I had a couple,and hopefully I have got them out of theway for the rest of the year.With a short crew and fuel being over

three bucks we decided to keep our lasttrip close to home and have an easy,relaxing day of hunting, starting at 70feet and working our way in. We anchoredup over an old artificial reef so everyoneaboard could get wet. The water tempwas 68 degrees, probably just slightlytoo warm to see any keeper jacks, buthopefully there’d be plenty of grouperand snapper.

The vis was a little dirty, maybe 20to 25 feet, perfect for hunting. I droppedstraight down and 25 feet from the bot-tom I lined up an intersecting trajectorywith a 25 inch gag grouper. At 15 feetout I was still above and behind my targetat the desirable 45 degree angle, it wastoo easy! A squeeze of the trigger andswoosh, no fish thrashing, no bottom siltstirred into the water column like smoke,just an empty shaft on the Gulf floor.

No time to cry, another gag comesin to see what all the commotion is. Asecond shaft is loaded with just time forone band. He sees me and slowly turns to‘feel’ the situation and determine mythreat level with his lateral line. Little dothey know this sideways profile offers thebiggest and best target. Click, the shaft isgone and this time contact, for a few sec-onds anyway. With only one band loaded Iaimed high to compensate and scalped thefish, which easily pulled free to swim

away with a little white chunk of deli-cious grouper flesh flapping in thebreeze.Don't feel too bad. This type of begin-

ners mistake injury is usually not fatal asevidenced by the occasional older fishwith healed over cuts or notches in theirheads. I consider myself a good shooter,but I would be lying if I said every singlefish gets landed. Myself and all my dive

buddies always do everything we can tosafely land a wounded fish. Spearfishingethics begin with only taking responsibleshots with the highest probability of alanding, and not just slinging shaftswildly across the ocean floor like a madman.Two shafts out and no fish on the

stringer. And where did my gun go? I justset it right here. With only one shaft

remaining in my gun it floats!Rookie–mistake number two. Always putyour arm through the bands after firing.At this point I would ordinarily give upand take pictures, but after a quick recov-ery of my gun and with plenty of gas leftI reload and head to the bottom again,determined to salvage that fish dinner.

No problem, this time the two spareshafts go into place and both bands go on

the loaded spear for maximum power anddistance, but by now the larger grouperhave wised up and moved out. Time tohunt snappers under the structure. Should I remove one of the bands for

the close in work? No time, there's a 20inch mangrove and clank, my shaft drillshim to a hunk of rusty sheet metal underan old truck. Finally a fish on thestringer...and my shaft now solidly partof the artificial reef program. I’ll have toget back there with vice-grips!Pulling up to dive site number two

and the adrenaline rises. Geared up andready to drop, I hear the shifters clickinto neutral as we close in on our markerbuoy and the captain yells ‘dive dive.’Half way down and my gun is loaded.Wow, the grouper are everywhere, and thebiggest one, only19 inches. Just liketheir keeper sized big brothers they flareout their gill plates and posture, protect-ing their turf, only to turn and fleeacross the sand in retreat whenapproached. I unload my gun and enjoyswimming through the nursery for aminute before ascending.Next spot is a ledge that seemingly

goes forever. We call it, simply enough,

long ledge. I always freeshaft at this spotbecause there usually isn't anything bigenough to take an untethered spear veryfar. A short distance up the ledge and mybuddy Charlie has a 40 pound cobia doinghound dog circles directly under him.‘Shoot it, shoot it,’ I'm screamingthrough my regulator. I know the reasonfor the hesitation. To the untrained eye,cobias look very similar to a shark, espe-cially in the water with their quick turnsand speed. I launch a shot a little furtheraway than I should and the shaft barelysticks the fish. Again I'm screaming toCharlie, who still has a loaded gun,‘shoot it shoot it’, hoping my initialattack opens his eyes to what the fishreally is. A few powerful kicks and thecobia easily shakes my shaft and swimsout of the visibility. I will be buyingCharlie a fish identification card.

At the end of that day I was prettydisappointed with my poor hunting per-formance and low fish count, but I guessit's those bad days that make the goodones that much greater. And now that Iam sitting here thinking about thebungling events with my good buddiesand that beautiful day on the water I'mthinking, maybe it really wasn't that bad

D i v i n g : Always Beats a Day on Shore

Water LIFE Diving contributor Adam Wilson wrote: My friend Carl and I ran to Sarasota yesterday and I had my buddy Marty Martell giveme a copy of this picture he took out on the Skyway rubble off Boca Grande in 165 feet of water. Itʼs a whale shark surrounded by cobiaand remoras. He took the picture with a 35mm disposable tourist camera! I know our readers will love it! Editor Notes* Shown here is thefull frame actual photo. We had to add a little piece to the top and bottom so the horizontal photo would fit our vertical cover this month.

F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 8 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 1 3

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28' Boston Whaler Conquest 2000. Twin Optimax 225hp, A/C-heat, refrig/freezer, Plotter, fishfinder, electric windlass, outriggers. An excellentoff shore fishing or just cruising vessel. $78,900

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36'Cruisers 3650 Aft Cabin1996. Two biminis,T/340hp 7.4 EFI's, 6.5kw gen., full canvas, Newmanifolds & elbows, Reduced! $79,900

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S p o t G P S Tr a n s m i t t e rBy Capt.Robert MooreWater LIFE ProGuide StaffThe SPOT

SatelliteMessenger isthe newest addi-tion to my arse-nal of gadgets.The use of thisnew device isnot limited tomy boat, it is useful on land as well. TheSPOT is a personal satellite messengerthat can send your GPS position alongwith emergency messages to authorities orfamily / friends. Spot has four activation frequencies;

911, Help, Check In, or Track Progress. If you activate ‘911’ feature SPOT

alerts their Emergency Center which willthen notify the closest 911 authorities andalert them to your GPS coordinates. If youare offshore they will notify the CoastGuard. If you activate ‘Help’ SPOT will send

messages every 10 minutes via emailand/or cell phone text messages to up tosix members of your family or friends.When you activate your account onlineyou choose the people you want the helpmessage sent to and the message which

will be sent along with your GPS posi-tion. If you activate ‘Check In’, the SPOT

will send up to six of your friends/family amessage (email and/or text) telling themyour GPS position and that you are OK.For an additional fee you can purchase‘Track Progress’ which will track yourposition every few minutes and send thecoordinates to your account for later reviewor for someone back home to track yourposition in real time. The obvious advantages of this unit are

great when you are offshore and out of cellphone service. Letting my spouse know Iam OK when I can’t reach her by cellphone and I’m running late is the topadvantage on my list. The initial cost was$170 with a $99 yearly activation. TheTrack Progress is an additional $49 a year. My initial test ‘Help’ messages worked

great and the Track Progress also performedas advertised. Everything can be viewedon-line using Goggle satellite maps. Formore information visitwww.findmespot.com

Editor Notes* The potential exists tohave someone ‘hack’ into your ‘SpotAccount’ and see exactly where you havebeen fishing. Capt. Moore, for example,seemed to like the Cayo Pelau, Bull Bayarea last week! – MH

By Betty S tauglerWater LIFE / Sea GrantIn the coming months we will be

moving forward with our newest artifi-cial reef construction project. TheCaptain Jeff Steele Reef will becomeCharlotte County’s newest and deepestartificial reef, which will be located inabout 65 feet of water west of StumpPass. The Captain Jeff Steele Reef willbe a very special reef; one, because itwill memorialize a very special person,and two, because it will be constructedin part through the donations of ourcommunity. Captain Jeff, for those who didn’t

know him, was a commercial fisherman,who spent most of his life in the PortCharlotte area. Jeff also operated a divecharter business out of Placida. Jeff losthis life last July while salmon fishing inAlaska, something he had done annuallyfor many years. Prior to leaving forAlaska, Jeff was helping Roger and Iidentify a new reef site. When Jeff passed away, his friend Jim

Joseph called and asked me about thepossibility of setting up a memorialfund and renaming a reef in Jeff’s honor.We decided that better than renaming areef, we would instead build a new reefin Jeff’s honor, so I set up a memorialaccount through the University ofFlorida Foundation, Jim made fundrais-ing flyers, Heidi Schwartz coordinatedfundraising events, and Roger worked onfinalizing our permit application.Our artificial reef permit application

was submitted to the U.S. Army Corp.of Engineers (ACOE) in mid September.In January we received approval pendingsignatures. Once the permit is signed onour end and the ACOEs end, we are goodto go. Our fund raising effort to date has

brought in about $13,000. The $13,000however, is providing a match for a WestCoast Inland Navigation District(WCIND) grant that I received lastOctober, so $13,000 is now $26,000.

We can continue to match this grant upto $25,000, which is the WCIND award,for a total of $50,000 if more donationscome in. The Captain Jeff Steele Reef will be

built with clean concrete and/or heavysteel (vessels). These are the conditionsof our permit. We currently have quite abit of concrete material lined up for ourinitial deployment. Roger is workingon putting together a request for propos-als (RFP) for this deployment. If you are interesting in supporting

the construction of the Captain JeffSteele Reef, donations may be made to:University of Florida Foundation.Please specify for: Captain Jeff SteeleMemorial Reef. Donations may bemailed or delivered to Florida Sea Grant,25550 Harborview Rd. Suite 3, PortCharlotte, FL 33980 or FantaseaScuba, 3781 Tamiami Trail, PortCharlotte, FL 33952.

Betty Staugler is the University ofFlorida Sea Grant agent for CharlotteCounty. She can be reached at 764-4340.


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Captain Jeff Steele Reef Permit Approved

MAP# Name Lat & Long Depth Composition

1 Jaycees Reef 26/20.24 82/05.25 31 Barge, Concrete Culverts & precast Concrete2 G-H (D.J.H.) Reef 26/20.73 81/57.12 25 450 Tons of Culverts2 G-H Rwwf- Fish America 26/20.70 81/56.85 30 110' Barge, Tug, Dumpsters3 "MAY" Reef 26/22.53 81/55.73 20 Bridge Rubble4 A.R.C. Barge Reef 26/25.15 82/24.60 60 Unconfirmed, 110' Steel Bridge5 Sanibel Reef 26/24.77 82/02.60 20 Concrete Rubble, Tires6 Belton Johnson Reef 26/25.48 82/11.88 30 500 Tons of Culvert7 ARCOA 26/32.48 82/25.08 57 ARCOA BIOreef Prefab. Units8 Redfish Pass Reef 26/32.60 82/13.79 23 Concrete Rubble, Tires 9 12 Mile Reef- Culverts 26/32.74 82/24.60 NA Culverts 9 12 Mile Reef- Barge 26/32.88 82/24.75 60 Barge, Concrete Culverts10 Deep Reef 26/33.27 82/43.47 90 Two Piles of Hopper Cars 11 Redfish Barges Reef 26/33.653 82/14.196 24 Two Steel Barges12 School Bus Reef 2 26/36.22 82/28.29 70 School Bus, Concrete Culvert 13 Ft. Myers Wharf Reef 26/38.429 81/52.482 NA 4800 Tons concrete Rubble, Rip Rap in River14 Helen's Reef 26/38.10 82/17.30 32 Barge, Concrete Rubble Power Poles15 Power Pole-Searun 26/40.88 82/22.25 NA Wreck15 Power Pole-BARCRN 26/41.87 82/22.47 46 Concrete Rubble, 65' Steel Ship, Cement Mixers16 Bokeelia Reef 26/42.15 82/09.083 10 400 Cubic Yards Concrete Culvert, Rubble17 Boxcar Reef 26/42.00 82/36.00 72 48 Steel Boxcars, Concrete Culvert18 Danger Reef 26/45.55 82/11.18 NA Wreck19 Mary's Reef 26/46.10 82/18.30 32 Concrete Rubble 20 Cape Haze Reef 25/45.63 82/09.72 20 21 Steel & Concrete Modules21 Aaron Hendry Reef 26/39.00 82/36.00 NA Unconfirmed, Unknown if Built,22 Charlotte Harbor (Alligator) Reef 26/49.887 82/05.543 12 Catch Basins, Sewer Boxes, SlabMaterial 23 Stump Pass Seven Mile reef 26/52.102 82/26.484 43 Concrete Culverts Concrete Boxes24 Desmond Reef Site 26/53.70 C 82/29.50 50 Fiberglass Boat Molds, Concrete Beams 25 Englewood Fish Haven 26/54.70 C 82/21.75 22 Bridge Rubble26 Hog Is. Fish Haven 26/54.75 C 82/07.617 6-8 Tires27 BayRonto 26/45.80 82/50.89 85 110-foot Freighter28 Tremblay Reef 26/48.350 82/22.700 I-75 Peace River Bridge Material 29 Rich Novak Reef 26/48.570 82/19.700 I-75 Peace River Bridge Material

ARTIFICIAL REEF PERMIT APPLICATION DATA

Name of Site: Captain Jeff Steele ReefPrevious Name: N/APrevious Permit Numbers:

ACOE: N/AFDEP: N/A

GPS Center Coordinates:26 55.800 N / 82 35.900 W

GPS Corner Coordinates:Northwest: 26 55.910 N / 82 36.042 WSoutheast: 26 55.670 N / 82 35.766 WNortheast: 26 55.910 N / 82 35.766 WSouthwest: 26 55.670 N / 82 36.042 W

Depth: 58 to 65 feet

Site Description: This site is located13.9NM at a 285º true heading from StumpPass and 18.3NM at a 297º true headingfrom Gasparilla Pass.

By Capt. RobertMooreWater Life Pro GuideStaffWinter season is

known for many thingsin Southwest Florida,but in the fishing com-munity it is widelyknown as sheepsheadseason. For me, the cold-er it gets outside the bet-ter I seem to do when itcomes to catchingsheepshead. A 3 pluspound sheepshead on light tackle willgive any angler a drag pulling, heartpounding fight. Now, I must confess, when it comes

to fishing for sheepshead I claim to be noexpert, but lucky for me I have had theopportunity to pick the brains of some ofthe best in the business. Over the years Ihave taken bits and pieces from differentanglers and put together a pretty depend-able sheepshead technique. Sheepsheads are crustacean lovers.

They love shrimp, fiddler crabs, and sandfleas. If it has a shell, a sheepshead willeat it. Now, you may hear from hardcoresheepshead anglers the ongoing debateabout which is better - fresh or frozenbait. I have done equally well on both andwill stay out of that debate. Where to find sheepshead is the easy

part. They love any structure like dockpilings, rocks, or oyster beds. If you gointo any saltwater canal system you willfind sheepshead on almost any dock. Ihave found the closer you get to the Gulfthe more consistent you’ll be in findinglarger fish. The best example would bethe phosphate dock just inside BocaGrande. These pilings can hold some ofthe largest concentrations of 4-plus poundsheepshead in the area, but finding a spot

to fish can be hard unless you’re early.Lucky for us there are plenty of otherareas that will hold sheepshead. Any pieralong the coast will hold good numbers.A seawall with rocks is also a great spotto try. I prefer to use the same gear I use to

fish the flats. A medium action rod andreel filled with 20 pound test braided lineis a great all-around light tackle set up.You can go larger or smaller depending onyour own preference and skills. The largeryou go, the less you may enjoy the fight.Any smaller you may lose the big ones. Iwill use a 3ft., 20lb leader to the hook.My bait of choice is the shrimp, pri-

marily because it is the easiest to get.Sand fleas and fiddler crabs are also greatbaits, but can sometimes be hard to find.Sheepshead are known for their ability tosteal your bait. The reality is they are nottrying to take your bait off the hook; theyare simply preparing it to eat. A shrimphas an outer shell on top of the meat.Picture your piece of shrimp hooked andsitting on the bottom. Mr. sheepsheadcomes over and grabs the outer shell ofthe shrimp so he can eat the meat. In theprocess of ripping the outer shell off,most times, the shrimp will come off thehook. This is especially true if you try

to set the hook as soon as you feel himnibbling. Now take that same piece ofshrimp and remove the shell yourself andplace the meat on your hook. Mr.sheepshead will simply gulp the entirebait in his mouth and swim off. The onlything left for you to do is set the hook.Using peeled bait alone has doubled myhook ups. There are many hook variations you

can use. I am going to mention the onetaught to me. The hook I use faithfully isthe No. 4 Owner Mutu-Light circle hook.I simply thread my bait onto the hookleaving the point exposed. When I feel ahit or see my line jump I simply raise

my rod tip and begin reeling – no hookset, just reeling. The circle hook does therest. If nothing is on the line, I simplydrop my rod tip and let my bait fall backto the bottom. This hook - set up doeswork very well. For weight I add a splitshot, as small as I can get away with. Iwant my bait to fall to the bottom slow-ly, not rapidly. The deeper the water I amfishing, the more weight I will use. The next time your teeth are chattering

from the cold, think of doing somesheepshead fishing to warm yourself up.Good luck and tight line.Capt Robert Moore can be reached at:

[email protected]


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S taff ReportApplication forms for the 2008 Kids

Cup tournament are available online atwww.kidscuptournament.com. By January23 we already had 20 entries. Later thismonth application forms will be availablein local bait and tackle shops, at LaishleyMarine, West Marine and a host of otherboating and fishing locations. Last month we told you Palm

Chevrolet and Laishley Marine were againthe Host Sponsors of the Kids Cup. This month, West Marine and Boat

U.S. signed on once again (5th year in arow!) to be major Kids Cup sponsors.Last year West and Boat U.S. were

IGFA sponsors, but this year, when the

IGFA did away with their Junior AnglerWorld Championship program, we saw nobenefit in paying $2000 for our kids to gettheir hats and a quarterly newsletter.Instead, we are working on (and it’s not adone deal yet) but we are working on, afishing trip for the winning Kids Cupangler! Stay tuned, we’ll keep you postedIf and when it comes together.Also back on board this year is Ingman

Marine. Gary Ingman and I met in hisoffice and there was no hesitation what-so-ever in his re-upping with the Kids Cup.Ingman’s continuous and strong communi-ty support for the Kids Cup and our DonBall School of fishing program is whatmakes it all work.

Ditto for the Breeze PublishingCompany in Cape Coral. They have againagreed to print our Kids Cup Program andto help promote the Kids Cup in the FortMyers area.Screenprint Plus in Cape Coral is again

our hat and shirt provider and Benedetto’sRestaurant at the Best Western in PuntaGorda will again host the Captain’s dinner.The whole idea of the Kids Cup tourna-

ment is to introduce kids (age 10 through16) to tournament fishing and to introducethem to hands on science directly related toeco-system management. It is our beliefthat learning by doing, by being out onthe water and ‘ having a hand in it’ ourkids will grow up to be responsible stew-ards of Charlotte Harbor.Once again this year Betty Staugler our

Sea Grant agent from the University ofFlorida and Carole Neidig, the fish biolo-

gists at Mote Marine Laboratory, will betagging, implanting and tracking the fishwe catch and release. Right now we’re hitting the tackle

manufacturers up for the Kids Cup cap-tain’s bags items. Eppinger, Frabil, EagleClaw and RipTide are now on board.There are no money prizes in the Kids

Cup but we have great trophies and theKids Cup event itself is a fun filled week-end and this year there will be the PuntaGorda Block Party as well! The top five kids who weigh in the

heaviest redfish go on the following week-end to fish on the final day of the Oh Boy!Oberto Redfish Cup at Punta Gorda andweigh in on the ESPN2 TV stage.Call (941) 766-8180 for more informa-

tion or visit :www.kidscuptournament.com

K i d s C u p G e a r i n g U p

full & half day charters

Kids Always Welcome!Kids Always Welcome!Capt. John C. Morrison (239) 289-3653

www. floridaflatzfishin.com

FFFF lllloooorrrr iiiiddddaaaa FFFF llllaaaattttzzzz FFFFiiii sssshhhhiiiinnnn’’’’


By Bi l l Di xonWater LIFE SailingThe 25th and largest ever

Golden Conch Regatta is histo-ry. Thirty four boats competedoff Burnt Store Marina in 4Classes. Saturday was grey andwindy, but not real cold. Weraced 2 olympic courses of5.28 miles each. Sunday was‘Chamber of Commerce’ weath-er, sunny, warm and lightbreezes. We had one race, 4+miles, due to the light air. Onceagain it was an olympic trian-gle. There was great food andfellowship Saturday night, andawards Sunday night, accompa-nied by the usual creativeexcuses and whining, but hey,that’s sailing.

Winners were:Multi Hull 1st: Ed Dixon TRI

POWER, 2nd: Paul Perisho AQUILACruising Class 1st Gerry

Crowley LEA, 2nd: David Cleverly FREE

AGAIN, 3rd: Pete Rehm BRAVONon Spinnaker 1st: Steve

Romaine AIR SUPPLY,

2nd: Don LEVY, OUI OUI, 3rd: Jerry Poquette, FANCY

FREESpinnaker 1st: Hall Palmer

LUCKY DUCKY, 2nd Dan KendrickTIPPECANOE, 3rd Bob KnowlesBAMMA SLAMMER

I had a wonderful time at the‘Conch,’ and now I am lookingforward to the next event. OnMarch 8 and 9, the 15th annualCo nqui s t ado r Cup Reg at t awill be held on CharlotteHarbor. The Punta GordaSailing Club is the organizingauthority in cooperation withthe Royal Order of the Ponce de

Leon Conquistadors.Some 70 sailboats from

throughout southwest Floridaare expected to compete in thistwo-day event making it one ofthe largest regattas on thiscoast. Competitors will be broken

into four classes: spinnaker,non-spinnaker, cruising, andmulti-hull. On Saturday, twocourses are used; one will bewest of Ponce de Leon Park andthe other in the upper Harbornorthwest of Fisherman'sVillage.

On Sunday, all boats willcompete on the same 8.7 milecourse using a reverse start sys-tem. Each boat will start at aspecified time based on theirindividual performance handi-cap. This race is designed sotheoretically all boats will

arrive at the finish line at thesame time. This rarely hap-pens, but it does make for anexciting finish right out infront of Fisherman’s Village.

For additional information visitthe Punta Gorda Sailing Club’swebsite: www.pgscweb.com

Saturday would have been a bet-ter day for pictures with winds of15 to 20, but Sundayʼs blueskies and light breeze was alsopleasant.


Screaming ReelsBy Capt. Andrew MedinaWater LIFE StaffThere’s only one thing you

really need to pay close atten-tion to in February. Theextreme low tides we will beexperiencing this month. Thelast thing you want to be doingis waiting for a tide that proba-bly won’t come in. It’s always best to use the

tides in your favor. This time ofthe year, with the high windsthat accompany cold fronts,canal fishing seems to be partof a normal pattern for us. Canals such as Spring Lake,

Rock Creek, and the PuntaGorda Isles canals will offergreat fishing opportunities thismonth. Low water conditionsforce fish to deeper spots andthe deeper water is in the canalsand in the center of the harbor. I have found that fish will

not generally go far from wherethey want to be when the tidecomes in. If a canal or creek isclose to a flat that is beingdrained by a falling tide, the fishwill fall off that flat and head toeither the canal or wait just outside the bar where the water isdeep enough for him to feelcomfortable in. Bad enough our fish here in

Charlotte Harbor are skittish tothe presence of an angler, addlow water and trying to get himto eat can be down right humili-ating. You may see the fish andthrow a bait at him, but he justwon’t eat. That’s because he

already knows you’re there.Chasing the fish down a shoreline will not increase yourchances of catching him. He didnot eat it the first time, andguess what? He probably won’teat the second or third casteither. Right now is the time every-

body should be spooled up withlighter line and throwing small-er baits. Long casts will be thewhole key in making your day.If you have not yet spooleddown, try throwing 10-poundtest for the winter months. Iprefer Power Pro or similarbraided lines rather thanmonofilaments. If you’re stillthrowing mono lines, rememberyou are limited to open waterwith little or no structure ordebris. Those kinds of obstruc-tions will surely break mostmono line.Bait choice is always very

important this time of the year.I love to see a fish push upbehind a top water plug rightbefore he inhales it. Nothing,

by far, compares to that feeling.There are a couple of keys to agood winter top-water bite. Oneis to down size the lure. In win-ter time the white bait can bescarce on the flats and there areplenty of small minnowsroaming around. With this inmind, keep the old saying alive:“ Match the Hatch.’’This willplay a major role. And smallertop water plugs don’t onlyentice small predator fish, allthe fish are feeding on the samesize bait fish or shrimp.

Another good shallow waterpractice is to slow down, waydown. If you think your work-ing the bait slow enough, thinkagain and slow down evenmore. In the winter monthspredator fish will conserve theirenergy to make it through thecolder conditions. You will findout that chasing a bait acrossthe top of the water is not highon a winter fish’s priority list,but if a slow moving bait pres-ents itself where a fish doesn’thave to exert to much energy

for that meal, he will take thetime to eat it. The biggest mistake anglers

make while fishing top wateris “hook set timing.’’ I don’tknow if that’s the technicalterm, but it sure sounds like Iknow what I’m talking about!Here’s the deal: When a fish eatsa lure, just because you don’tsee it any more does not meanthe time has come to bury thathook. A lot of anglers makethis mistake. I think it’s a nor-mal reaction to set the hook assoon as the fish blows up onthe bait. Try training yourselfso that you get out of thishabit. Wait till you feel theweight of the fish on the tip ofyour rod to bury that hook.When you feel the weight of thefish on your rod, you knowthat fish has it in his mouth,and he has turned his body awayfrom you. This will insure thehook up. When the water’s low and I

know fish are not still on theflat, what I do, is look for

canals with some sort of struc-ture – two of my favorites aredocks, and mangroves. Start byworking up one side and downthe other. I will work parallel tothe edge. Live bait will also dojust fine for the more relaxedangler. Try shrimp under a pop-ping cork just out side the canalentrances, or in the mouth.Trout hang out in these spots.If your into redfish, the P.G.I

canals are a good place to lookthis time of the year. If you findthem you hit gold. The fishbunch up in the deeper water. Ihave a group of fish that I havefished since I was a kid, right inthe Isles. Every year it’s likeclock work. This spot is markedon my GPS as ‘easy catch one.’We can pull up and when it’s‘go time’ it’s nothing to catch50 fish. All it takes is a littlebit of time in the canals tostudy the fish and you too canfind a spot that will producefish every year, at the sametime, ... continuously. Capt.Andrew Medina can be reached for

ExtremeLow

January was punctuated with north winds, shallow tides and a number of foggy mornings. February tides are also going to be low and if a wind outof the north blows the water out of the harbor they may be the lowest yet! Here, the Peace River at Port Charlotte looking towards Punta Gorda.At times like these fish like to hang in the canal mouths .


By Fishin’ FrankWater LIFE Port CharlotteWhen I first moved to Charlotte

County, I stopped at the old Port Charlottediner and on the wall was a picture of aguy in a navy blue shirt and blue slackswearing one of those round, floppybrimmed, fishing hats. He was holdingwhat looked to me like the biggest bass Iever saw ... with a stripe down its side! Iasked the waitress ‘who is that guy’ and

she said, “Mr. Snook”. Then I made themistake of asking ‘what kind of fish isthat?’ She just laughed and said “I just toldyou.” That was my introduction to snook.I did not hear or even think about that

for the next few years. I had to make a liv-ing. I had a spouse and kids to take careof, and we were in a new place. It was 1985. I had been working part

time for my dad at Fishin’ Franks and onenight this guy comes in. He looked partmafia part fisherman, sort of Frank Sinatrameets Gilligan with a little JimmyHouston thrown in on the side. It was Mr.Snook.“Hey, wats’ you guys got for shrimp?

I am going to catch bait and I need somethree-inch shrimp.” Three inch shrimp for

bait? Don't you want some pieces ofshrimp to catch pin fish, I asked? “No,”he said “I’m going snook fishing and Iwant to catch some 12 to 14 inch ladyfish.” Mr. Snook informed me he was not

looking for big snook that night, so amedium size bait – 12 or 14 inches – wasabout right. ‘What size snook is not toobig?’ I asked. “Oh about 38 inches, justsomething for a meal!” I had to ask what‘big’ was – 46 inch plus... a real goodsize is 50 inches plus, Mr. Snook toldme. Mr. Snook took his shrimp and the

next morning he stopped on his wayhome and showed me a beautiful 39 inchsnook. He said he had caught others, butwanted a humpback. He preferred themeat. “You do not get the same fillet ona common ya get on a humpback,” hesaid. Now, I had heard of tarpon, sword-spine, fat or common snook, but neverhumpback snook. But right in front ofme was a snook who's head and backcame up considerably higher than a nor-mal snook. That’s a humpback. Then I did not see a lot of him for a

couple of years. He would stop by everyonce in a while and buy bait and tell sto-ries of snook fishing. I believe he hadfished every bridge and pier from Tampa toNaples sometimes on the look out for thestate record and sometimes just looking tosee what the night looked like at anotherpier. Mr. Snook has caught more bigsnook, over 40 inches, than anyone. Ihave seen hundreds of photos of Mr.Snook and his addiction.It happened in March of 1987. Mr.

Snook caught a 46 inch, 46 pound snook.This monster had a 16 inch spread on it'stail. It was easily a new Florida StateRecord. It was unbelievable to look atsuch a monster. Mr. Snook had done it. Atthe same time, on the front page of a nowdefunked fishing publication appeared whatwas supposed to be a new state record: a49 pound snook caught on the east coast.Heart broke, Mr. Snook left and he neverturned in his weight certificate to the sate.Three months later, word came down thatthe ‘record fish’ from the east coast wasonly 30 pounds and not a record at all. Bythat time Mr. Snook had no way to provehe had caught the real record fish, but forthe few of us who were there ... and saw itboth on and off the scale ... well, what canI say, I was there. It was my scale. Thatwas the record.After a while Mr. Snook started fishing

again. The addict went back to the water.One night he came in and asked if he couldleave his rods at the store so he could goget something to eat before he went out.

No problem, I said. To my surprise,they were rigged up ready to go. I amsorry to say I measured each and every sec-tion of that rig: a 7 foot Star rod, a 3/0reel, 50 pound test line to a 150 poundtest swivel with 60 pound test monoleader that was 40 inches long with a 6ozsinker tied to the end, and.... this is where

it got interesting, ....the hook was tied toa 30 inch 60-pound leader that wasattached to a swivel. The other end of theswivel was on the main leader, allowingthe bait to swim up down or around theleader without tangling the rig. This rigwas what let Mr. Snook fish 15 inch livebaits.I started fishing with him not long after

that, and when I told him about us meas-uring and making drawings of his setup hegot quite a laugh out of it. We would go to a park or pier and he

would rear back that big ‘ole rig and lether fly. Sixty yard casts were a piece ofcake for Mr. Snook. The first time I triedit I got second degree burns on my thumband he had another good chuckle.When we would fish from shore you

had to pick the right spot for good snookfishing. That meant plenty of room to runbackwards. When he would get a bite Mr.Snook would set the hook and start run-ning full speed backwards, never taking hiseyes off the fish. In all those years I neversaw him trip.Mr. Snook and I fished quite a bit. One

night we took my boat to Ponce De LeonPark. Me, having to work, I brought bugspray and a blanket, so I could sleepbetween fish. We were using large wholemullet. If you have been to Ponce at nightyou know what the no-see-ums are like. Isprayed me and my blankets and crawledunder the covers. Ever once in a while Iwould wake up and look out: you allright? And thru a fog of black bugs, a cig-arette would glow. It looked like a bugzapper, and he would answer “yhea, ...a lit-tle slow tonight, but I got a good feeling.Then, about 3 a.m., he got bit and it wasa big one. I jumped up and the battle wason. Mr. Snook both feet on the frontpulling back on that rod until it was bentdouble, the snook, too heavy to jump outof the water, would thrash its head with its

The Legendof Mr. Snook

Continued on Facing Page

PROVIDED BY: Dave & Marl ene Ho ferRE/MAX Harbor Realty(941) 575-3777 [email protected] Recent area news i tems:1. The City Marketplace ownershave announced that a proposed sale of1 1/4 acre of their site to a hotel devel-oper. The new buyer will be seekingsome modest type of height variance tomeet his density requirements.2. After a collective expenditure ofmore than $350K, Sarasota County andthe City of North Port have tabled theirplans to work together on a jointdevelopment master plan.3. Bayshore Park in Charlotte

Harbor is now scheduled to open inFebruary.4. A community group is now pro-

posing to build a performing arts stageat Laishley Park. They expect to raisethe funds necessary from private par-ties.5. Punta Gorda City Plan

Commission turned down BoveDevelopment's request to create a mari-na in the "dead lake". Plans callingfor a canal cut between the lake and thePGI canal system with a bridge onColony Point Drive were nixed over

concerns raised by the "not in mybackyard" neighbors to the proposedamenity. In the wake of the severeslowdown in condo demand plaguingthe 700 unit Vivante development, thismuch needed stimulus will likely bedenied when heard by the City Councilon Feb 20.6. Florida voters overwhelmingly

chose to amplify the inequities of theSave Our Homes Amendment. The basehomestead exemption will double to$50,000 and will become portable to anew residence. Rather than limitinggovernment budget increases, a more"voter friendly" solution will shifteven more of the tax dollars to theshoulders of non residents, vacant andcommercial property owners.7. Charlotte County issued 252

new residential building permits duringthe three months ending in November.The County reports that net new house-hold formations were running at about700 per quarter during 2007. If thisrate of almost 3 times as much freshdemand as supply continues, our localsales activity should start to becomemore normalized shortly. The bigunknown dangers that could forestall arecovery any time soon include theuncertainty of the local economy (ourjob market is heavily dependent on theconstruction industry), the instabilityof the home mortgage market (foreclo-sure continues to be the medicine ofchoice by national lenders vs. workoutand forbearance) and the media whichpersistently continues to sensational-ize the fallout from the national hous-ing bubble.

Sal es Stati s ti cs :Sales of vacant lots remained quiet

at 57 last month. Home sales fellagain to just 114. With the return ofthe winter season, traffic has picked up


gill plates slapping together blappp....bblappp... it was a sound like no other. Mr. snook taught me about setting up

on really big snook. Just before dark youhead out with a couple of frozen mullet andsome shrimp to catch bait. Lady fish 12inches or bigger – the mullet is in caseyou do not find live bait. The boat wasanchored off the stern and right off thepoint where the snook would come aroundthe corner. He had enough lines out to be anet, and sure enough, a 33 inch snook tookone line. Then as Mr. Snook landed him, ashark got his next rod. Before he could re-bait he missed a fish on his third rod, thena sail cat got his fourth rod. During the re-baiting period I got my chance. When you are using big baits you do

not set the hook right away. That first timefor me my line started to tighten up, thedrag which was set loose started to clickclick, click click, on and on. Now do I set

the hook?now? No, not yet! ... click clickclick clicking. Now ? No, not yet! Itseemed like hours, it was only a minute ortwo but it seemed forever. Then the click-ing stopped, just for a second, and then itstarted to go again. “Now!!” he says “Putthe boots to it!!” He likes that expression: “Put the boots

to it!”I cranked down on the drag and pulled

back hard and then the snook pulled back.What a feeling, what a rush, with only thestern light to see with, all your senses a-tune to the whitewater thrashing, the direc-tion of the pull, the weight of the fish.Old timers, you will remember the win-

ner of the first ever “Snook FishingTournament Trail”, the Grand MasterClassic, a year long event with a classicfish-off at the end. Hundreds of peoplefished. It was poetic justice that Mr. Snookwon. His wife just gave me the embroi-dered jacket they gave him for the Classic.I am going to display it at Fishin’ Franks.

“Mr. Snook” is Norman Day. Thankyou, Norm, it’s a pleasure knowing you!

MR SnookContinued from Facing Page

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By Capt Ron BlagoWater LIFE Senior StaffThere is good news on the local boating

front. Both the Port Charlotte BeachComplex Boat Ramp and the Placida BoatRamp are open and back in business. Therenovation projects were completed a fewweeks ahead of schedule, just in time forthe tourist season rush. The Placida Ramp,which is by far the most popular publicramp in Charlotte County has been recon-figured to allow three trailers to use theramps at the same time. The ramps them-selves have been replaced with a new heavi-ly textured concrete surface to make themless slippery. The docks have also beenreplaced and are now handi-capped–accessible. Congratulations go outto the Charlotte County Parks andRecreation Department for doing a greatjob.Of course these types of improvement to

our public boat ramps cost money andunfortunately someone has to pay for them... and of course that someone is you, thetaxpayer. We have already paid for theexisting ramps with our property taxes andsales taxes; and of course as boaters we pay

to maintain and improve our boat rampswith our state boater registration fee.People who register their boats in CharlotteCo. also pay an annual 50% boater’s sur-tax on their registration which goes in to aspecial boater’s revolving fund which helpsfund county boat ramps. Now you have topay to park at the county’s boat ramps andthat fee has increased recently. It now cost75-cents per hour to park or you can pur-chase a yearly permit for $50 plus tax. Youcan get more information about parkingfees by calling the Charlotte Parks andRecreation Department at 941-625-7529.Cold fronts seem to seem to be passing

through our area on a weekly basis. A fewweeks ago I found a thin sheet of ice insidemy canoe. That’s the first time I canremember that happening in 20 years.Somebody promised us global warming andI want it right now! I do not live in Floridaso I can freeze to death. I admire the hardi-ness of our northern visitors who line up atthe boat ramp at first light to launch theiraluminum Lund boats and go fishing. I forone am not even leaving my house until

On The Line F i s h i n g w i t h C a p t R o n

Continued on Facing Page


the temperature hits 60 degrees. It’s funnythat in my younger days I considered thisto be the best time of year to go wadding.The big fish tend to hold up in a deep mudhole and if you could stand the cold, youcould get some record size fish.Trout fishing is really strong right now.

They will bite just about anything youthrow at them; live or artificial. Slow drift-ing over a grass flat with a jig is my pre-ferred technique. I’m also starting to catchbluefish and pompano in the same areas.Last year was such a great year for pom-pano that I’m kind of disappointed that thisyear is just normal. Cold weather is

sheepshead time. Sheepshead fishing isgetting more popular each year. With allthe restrictions and closed seasons on otherspecies in the winter, it’s good to knowyou can still count on a fish dinner by con-centrating on sheepshead. Remember thesefish like docks, pilings and rocks so makesure your tackle is stout enough to pullthem away from the structure. These fishcan get pretty mean when hooked and a 6-pound sheepshead is not unusual aroundhere. The Placida Trestle and the El JobeanPier are probably the most popular placesto try for really big sheepshead.

Capt. Ron can be reached at: [email protected] for fishing information

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Katy Beck ofMinnesota caught

this oversize redfish while fishing

Charlotte Harborwith Capt. Andrew

Medina from FloridaLight Tackle

Charters.

Continued from Facing Page

S taff ReportThe first KayakSlam event was held on

January 12 at Affinity Tackle in Placida.Thirteen kayaks participated. The morning was calm. According to

most anglers a good falling tide created asolid morning bite. A dozen anglerschecked in with a total of 29 fish enteredin the event: 8 snook, 11 redfish, and 10trout. All entries were submitted by photo-graph. Seven grand slams were recorded.Cameron Schurlknight of Venice capturedthe big trout award with a 22-inch fish andalso took the DOA Youth Angler Award.But it took a well rounded performance

by Josh Brown of Port Charlotte to capturea 26-inch snook, a 26-inch redfish, and a16.5-inch trout for a total of 68.5 inchesand the win. Josh concentrated his effortsclose to home and fished the Placida areausing topwater plugs in the morning. Joshsaid he had his best luck with a customcolor Mirrolure Mirrodine MR17 fromAffinity Tackle. Second place finisher JohnLee and third place winner Mike Mahantargeted the Pirate Harbor area on the eastshore of Charlotte Harbor to capture theirslams. John Lee’s 30.5-inch redfish wasthe largest fish of the weekend. Bothanglers worked a combination of potholesand sandbars using topwater early andtwitch baits later in the day.Next Came NaplesTwenty two anglers entered the Naples

event and in the end Josh Harvel of Cape

Coral was the Naples KayakSlam winnerwith a total of 69.5-inches. Josh fished theMatlacha area of Charlotte Harbor usingRipTide soft plastics and US ReelSupercaster Reels.There were five Grand Slams caught and

a total of 30 fish.In the Naples event, 16 out of 22

anglers caught at least one fish.The next event is the Cape Coral Kayak

Slam, the 2nd leg of the S.W. FloridaDivision, to be held at Cape Tool andTackle on Pine Island Rd in Cape Coral onFeb. 8 and 9. For info: 941-637-5953


KayakSlam Series Off and Fishinʼ

Rob Hofbauer holding the camera in onehand and his 29-inch snook in the other.


By David Al lenWater LIFE KayakingThe Port Charlotte Kayakers first pad-

dled Curry Creek about 4 years ago anduntil that time almost no one in our clubhad even heard of Curry Creek. Where,exactly, was Curry Creek located? Howlong and difficult a paddle would it be?Where did it lead? Did we really want toexplore this new area or stick with themore familiar routes?A map of the Venice area showed us

the general location and direction of CurryCreek, although not with any significantdetail. There was a ramp and parking areajust north of E. Venice Ave., just beforethe bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway.At the time, the City of Venice was reno-vating the old railroad station to includerestaurants, boutiques, and other specialtyshops. The parking lot was adequate andthe ramp serviceable, so we launched ourkayaks and headed north and east intoRoberts Bay.The day was very warm, with little

wind to hamper or help us. After pad-dling a quarter to a half mile in theIntracoastal and Roberts Bay, we passedunder the Highway 41 Bridge, and pastnumerous boats, large and small, thatwere tied to the dock. Continuing north-east, we passed again under the Highway41 Bridge and a few yards beyond, a rail-road bridge. The tide coming in, but therewere still large, shallow areas of shell that

we had to skirt around. Now, suddenly,the route changed dramatically, narrowingdown to a single channel with mangrovesand other vegetation on both sides.As we paddled eastward, the channel

continued to narrow until it was scarcelywider than a kayak. Lots of branchesblocked our way, but the most annoyingaspect was the many webs that industriousspiders had constructed in front of us. Byreaching a paddle out well ahead of thekayak we could clean most of these websout of the way before they draped over ourcaps and arms.The next stretch of channel, completely

filled with a heavy growth of water liliesfor a quarter mile or so, was even moredifficult to get through than the spiderwebs. All we could do was pull our-selves, hand-over-hand, using our paddlesfor leverage wherever possible. Hot workon a hot day.About this time, we were starting to

re-think our decision to paddle CurryCreek. But not being overly intelligent,we decided to go ahead just to see whatelse we would run into. It turned out to bea good decision, because after the lilies,the channel became more open and mucheasier to paddle.We continued to see occasional housing

developments, mostly along the southside of the Creek, and after passing underthe Pinebrook Road Bridge, we found theCapri Isles Golf Club on the left of the

stream. Just beyond the Golf Club, CurryCreek branches off to the left, with theright side, Blackburn Canal, flowingsouthwest all the way to Jacaranda Blvd.We were home free at this point as the

Creek continued to widen and the paddlingbecame easier and easier. We passed underthe I-75 Bridge and then, quickly under theJacaranda Blvd. Bridge. The Creek nowturns southeast and continues along thenorth side of I-75 to the north end ofNorth River Road. There Curry Creekemptied into the Myakka River, about 1mile north of Snook Haven. The totallength of the Creek is about 7.5 miles;round trip about 15 miles, but it took usabout 3 hours for just the outbound leg.A fast paddle was out of the question

because of the lilies and spider webs. Thereturn paddle went quicker because we hadcleaned out all the spider webs and someof the lilies on the earlier leg. Still, itwas a tough paddle on a hot day.Last year, when we did the same trip,

the channel was almost completely clearof lilies, and there seemed to be fewer spi-der webs. So I can now recommend thispaddle for almost anyone interested in apaddle with a twist. The path is clear!

The Port Charlotte Kayakers meet eachWednesday evening at 5:30 PM, at the PortCharlotte Beach Complex . All paddlers, orpotential paddlers interested in finding outmore about the sport and our club, are wel-come. For more information, contact DaveAllen at 941-235-2588 or:

Curry Creek- A Paddle wi th a Twis t


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By Capt. S teve SkevingtonWater LIFE OffshoreThe last few week's, as I write this, have been

plagued with high winds making it really hard to getout and do much fishing.However we have gone out once or twice and

when we did, the fish acted as if they had missed us.The mangrove snapper where biting live shrimp,

and the gag grouper were all over our pinfish likethey hadn't had a bite to eat in weeks.The amberjacks ...bless there big hearts, were

chasing the boat as we drifted across one of myfavorite wrecks.They kept six rods at a time bent over double and

line screaming off those poor little reels.There were some simply huge mangrove snapper

out there on the deeper spots and they wanted to eatlive green backs, but we had to keep the amberjackoff of them long enough to get a snapper on.One old trick we used was to cut the tail off of the

green back. For some reason you’ll get more snapperand less amberjack on that way.There were still some kingfish out there, I saw

some jumpping out of the water on the way into thedock the other day, but we had a problemcatching any as our fish box was full.

Such problems are good ones to have.Capt Steve.

Capt Steve can bereached for charterinformation at, (941)575-3528 or at

Offshore Report

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575-2525575-2525Located in the Punta Gorda Crossing Shopping Center Next to PublixMon-Fri 9AM-5:30PM Sat 9AM-3PM

Specializing in Heaters and

Pumps

“Green Pool” Clean Up & Maintenance“Green Pool” Clean Up & MaintenanceAre grouper closed from 2/15 – 3/15 this year? I am hearing this question from a lot of people thislast few weeks, so I put in a call to FWC (Florida Fish & Wildlife) What they have told me is this:They are closed for ʻcommercial grouper fishing ̓long lining, bandit rig fishing, etc. this year, butgrouper is NOT closed to recreational fishing or charter fishing. So thatʼs great news for all of us wanting to get out on the water and put Grouper in the boat!

GrouperRegs


Charters20–50 mile trips

We help you put charters together• Grouper • Snapper • Kingfish • Shark • Tarpon and more!

Capt Jim OʼBrienUSCG 50 ton license since 1985

Bus: 941-475-5538 Res: 941-473-2150visit us at www.captjimsbigfish.com

Charlotte HarborCharlotte Harbor FISHING GUIDESFISHING GUIDES

Capt. Bart Marx, USCG Licensed & Insured Light Tackle Fishing Charlotte Harbor & SW Florida

(941) 255-3551 www.alphaomegacharters.com

email:[email protected] Day & Full Day trips.

NowNow

Booking forBooking for

2008 2008

SCUTTLEBUTTSometimes Unsubstanciated, But Often True

Fishing after theCalifornia fires,anglers rescued adeer 1.5 miles off-shore. “We turnedher loose when wegot back to land,”the unidentifiedangler said.

SuddenlyInconsiderateThe proposedSudden ImpactTournament Seriesscheduled to beheld out of Realmark Propertiesʼ Burnt Store Marinathis season already has a number of people upset. Itseems all three Sudden Impact Tournament dates havebeen scheduled on days that other local tournamentsare already scheduled for. Sudden Impactʼs April 19event is scheduled on top of the popular Kids Cup ben-efit. The second Sudden Impact date is June 28, thesame day as the high schoolʼs Pirate RedfishTournament fundraiser. And the final Sudden Impactwill be on Sept 27, an X-Treme Redfish Tournamentdate. While there are no set rules for who has a tourna-ment where and on what date, by scheduling events inCharlotte Harbor directly over the top of already sched-uled and longstanding community based events, theSudden Impact Series, Burnt Store Marina andRealmnark Properties are ʻSuddenlyʼ not going to bemaking friends in the community.

On You TUBE? You BOOBE!Two defendants in a recently aired You Tube video thatdepicted them fishing for and snagging a manatee weresentenced in federal court. The primary defendantreceived 30 days in jail, to be served beginning imme-diately (US Marshalls escorted him away from court).After the thirty days in jail, he is to be immediatelyremanded to home confinement for another 30 days.After that, one year of supervised probation with elec-tronic monitoring and 100 hours community service.The co-defendant received a sentence of 15 days injail, one year supervised probation, and 100 hours ofcommunity service. The judge received many lettersfrom citizens requesting a harsh sentence be imposed.

Fishville is No. 1 Fishermanʼs Village has beennamed “ National Marina of the Year.” Congratulations!

The DEP has leased Dogfish Key in Charlotte Harborto Mote Marine for use as a research center to studyarea aquaculture and fish.

H(u)mmmmmm ... The Flatmasters Tournament Serieslanded Hummer as a sponsor.

Times are Good in the Phosphate Business. Yearend stock market results showed our good friends atMosaic had the price of their stock increase +341.7% in2007. Remember, these guys said they couldn't affordto put up more than a million dollar bond to pay for anyunfortunate environmental disaster they might cause inthe future.

Kiwanis Club Is Out of July 4 Fireworks Display,But Harpoon Harrys and the Captainʼs Table are in.

Angler Friendly The new Microtel Hotel (the bluebuilding near ABC liquors in Port Charlotte) will be angler friendly with trailer plugs in the parking lotsuitable for battery charging.


The Water LIFEWater LIFE Distributorʼs Club

Cooks Sportland

4419 So. Tamiami TrailS. Venice493-0025

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

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

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The CommercialPerspectiveBy Kel ly BealPeace River Seafood Water LIFE Punta GordaGrowing up, my father always stressed

to me the importance of being selfreliant. You have to have skills to beable to always take care of yourself. Thisis the most important lesson - you know- give a man a fish, you feed him for aday, teach a man to fish you feed him fora lifetime....you get the picture. In the bigger scheme of things I

believe our country should be self reliant.“A nation must be able to defend itselfand feed itself - we must never be depend-ent for our food needs. Being able to feedourselves is not just sound economic andagricultural policy, it is wise nationalsecurity” Mike Huckabee recently said.Good point Mike, especially since lessthan 1-percent of our imported food isFDA inspected. According to testimony from House

Energy and Commerce Committee inves-tigators, the FDA has not been able orwilling to pursue the vigorous programof inspection and laboratory testing thatis needed to assure safety and security ofthe nations food supply. “Compared tothe EU, Japan and Canada, the FDA isthe least effective seafood safety regime,”explained John Williams, executive direc-tor of the Southern Shrimp Alliance.

Williams says “FDA tests a minute pro-portion of imports, lacks strong penaltiesfor violations, and has severe delays inenforcement compared to its internationalcounterparts.” Since the FDA is lessstringent that other major markets, theUS has become a dumping ground forcontaminated seafood.In December 2003 the Southern

Shrimp Alliance (composed of shrimpindustry groups from Alabama, Florida,Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, NorthCarolina, Texas and South Carolina) filedanti-dumping petitions with the DOC andthe US International Trade Commissionalleging that imports from Brazil, China,Ecuador, Thailand, India and Vietnam werebeing sold at less than fair value and werematerially injuring the domestic shrimpindustry. Department of Commerceinvestigations confirmed this data. Between 2000 and 2002 shrimp

imports increased by 17% while importprices plunged 29%. Each year its moreand more. US imports of shrimp fromthe six investigated countries were valuedat 2.4 billion in 2006, that's up 18%from 2005. No wonder the shrimp fleetsare parked. We can not compete. We can'tbreak even, much less make a profit.How are American shrimpers doing it?They aren't. Wilma Anderson, executivedirector of Texas shrimp Association says“You have to understand we are talkingabout thousands of jobs, lifetime invest-ments, lenders that have millions of dol-lars in loan portfolios, shore side facili-ties, and entire fishing communities thatare being harmed. If the US Shrimp

Industry is forced into a bankrupt state -that will be a tremendous economicimpact that would be felt throughout theeight states from North Carolina toTexas.”

What can you do? Know the originof what you eat. I buy the shrimp wesell from Gulf Shrimp on Fort MyersBeach. I know its origin - from fellowAmerican shrimpers. I know how safeand clean they keep everything. Theyhave an impressive facility. Parkedshrimp boats invoke a sadness in me.Let's send those boats out - don't ever buyimported or farmed shrimp!! Supportyour local fishermen, be healthy and behappy!


Local Shrimp

RIGHT: A Gulf Shrimp worker with differentsizes of shrimp.BELOW: In the fishhouse at Gulf Shrimp onFort Myers Beach, shrimp ride along a con-veyor belt system that sorts them by size.Boats out for 28 days at a time bring theirGulf Shrimp catch directly in here.


F i s h i n gF i s h i n gR e p o r tR e p o r tCharlotte Harbor:Robert at Fishin' FranksPort Charlotte: 625-3888Sheepshead is the hot fish this

month. Definitely, March will be thepeak month for sheepies, but Feb ispretty darn good. The usual placeswhere they are heavy is Palcida at thetrestle and the old Phosphate DockThey are also pretty abundant on theoyster bars at Bull and Turtle Bay,and the oyster bars in the WhiddenCreek area. Sheepshead are also start-ing to move up the river to El Jobeanand the Alligator Creek reef. In yearspast there have been sheepsheadspawning back past the fork in thecreek itself.Of course fiddler crabs are the best

bait for sheepshaed, but this year theyare very difficult to get, supposedlybecause of overbuilding and pollutionthey aren’t catching fiddler crabsaround here any more. Now they haveto come from the panhandle area and

we’ve been waiting 7 or 8 weeks nowfor them to come in. Live shrimp andfrozen shrimp or frozen or live sandfleas are all alternate sheepsheadbaits. Barnacles, actually the crabsand the little tube worms on the bar-nacles are what sheepshead also liketo feed on. That’s why guys scrapethe barnacles – to get the stuff onthem in the water. For the northernfishermen, sheepshead are exactlylike fishing for tatuge or blackfish.Those fish behave exactly the waysheepshead do, and they like hangingaround structure. Midwesterners whohear ‘sheepshead’ think of a totallydifferent fish. They throw them on thebank and look at them as junk fish,but it’s a totally different sheepsheadthat we have down here. Trout will be the next big fish this

month. For the shore bound guys, ElJobean, Laishley and the 41 bridgesare all good trout spots right now. Forguys in a boat, drifting the flats, find-ing the sand holes, that's the better betfor finding the bigger fish. If you’reanchored up and you’re catching thesmaller trout, drift a little, they tend toschool up together; the big trout andthe smaller ones.

A poppin' corkwith a live orfrozen shrimp oreven a soft plasticartificial will allwork very well ontrout right now.Trout will also hit asmall topwater likea Zara Puppy or aMirroLure TopPup. Redfish, legal

size, this time ofyear is tricky. Lookat the deeper sandholes on the outsideof the islands ordown aroundWhidden or Catfishcreek in the back-country. The smaller rat-reds seem tobe really abundant on the east or westside of the harbor. Try to use a circlehook when fishing them, it’s so mucheasier on the fish.Bait of choice is definitely shrimp,

live or dead, and also cut bait- likechunks of ladyfish sitting on the bot-tom, on a jig.Flounder is another good catch

this time of year. They are usually by-catch, but now is the time to targetthem. Look on the outside of the big-ger reefs, on the edges. Even out in50 or 60 feet of water – it’s notunusual to find a nice flounder. Closerin, along the beaches in the troughthat runs along the sand bar, along theedges where it drops off on the sidesof Boca Grand, those are all flounderspots.Shrimp or small pinfish or small

strips of squid dragged lightly alongthe bottom are flounder enticers.Also out along the beach right now

are whiting. They are in the sameplaces as the flounder and are movinginto the harbor and up to the 41 andeven the I-75 bridge. These fish arevery good to eat, but more important-ly, for many, is that they make a won-derful cobia bait.There have been a few cobia on

the west side of the harbor, outsidethe bar. Some have been seen movingup to ElJobean. If you want Cobia, beready. Have a big pole ready, riggedwith a big Bomber. Take that withyou and have it handy when you arefishing for trout. That’s when you’llmost likely see a cobe’.

Offshore fishing is starting to pickup quite a bit. Grunts and mangrovesnapper are heating up and trigger-fish have made a really good showingso far this year. They are catchingtriggers on most of the reefs, even theAlligator Creek reef in the harbor hashad some trigger fish caught on it thislast month. That’s a rarity.The grouper bite had been OK,

but unless you are willing to run 25 or30 miles out, grouper are still hard tocome by.Freshwater Crappie are doing real-

ly really good. Look in 4 feet of water– that’s the magic number, that’s thedepth where they have been hanging.Fish right at the edge of the peppertrees. The canals around Lake Bettyand some canals off Loveland areholding some nice crappie. Fish min-nows under a float. Set the float for 3to 3.5 feet. On this coming moon andon the new moon crappie should real-ly light upgood.The bass

are going onto bed in justabout everycanal. If theyaren’t on bednow theywill be in thenext twoweeks.Speaking

of bass, JT Kenny of Port Charlottetook first place in the January 26FLW event at Okeechobee and cameback with $125,000. It was his second

FebruaFebrua

A friend in Venice sent us an e-mail with the following attached:My friend is trying to get a little more performance from his boat.Any suggestions?

big win. Locally, the bassare hitting the shiners, buta plastic lizard in theJuneBug color has beenreally good this year too.

Lemon Bay:Jim at Fishermen’sEdge, Englewood:697-7595The biggest action over here

seems to be pompano. A lot ofthe commercial guys and guysfishing around the pass are doingwell with pompano. The bestfishing seems to be aroundGasparilla pass. Also, there arepompano on the inside on thesouth end of the island by BocaGrande.More inshore there are still

nice redfish being caught.Guides are doing pretty good onboth redfish and trout. Fishmostly in the 20 inch range.

Mostly they have all been caughton shrimp imitations. Either RipTides or Gulp’s, fishing themslow, working them back to theboat.The trout have been in the

grass flats, in the potholes on thelower tides, and then back on thegrass. I’ve heard there are a lot of

snook, up in Coral Creek, CatfishCreek, Oyster Creek, all alongthat side of the bay and all holedup in skinny water. Snook havebeen where it is just a littlewarmer. They have been around

the seawalls on the sunny side ofthe creeks and channels.Kayakers are getting to seesnook up in the creeks. Butthey’ve been hard to get to eat.There has been some

sheepshead activity, lately. Tubeworms and black oyster-crabs(when they can get them) aregood baits. For our shop, fiddlercrabs are hard to get because oursource was a guy who went withhis son to get them. But sincethen, he died. There have been some span-

ish mackerel, not a lot, but some

guys are getting them on thebeach-front and up at the VeniceJettys. Offshore has been good. A lot

of snapper and quite a bit ofgrouper. The grouper have most-ly all been caught on frozen baitor pinfish. The snapper are tak-ing cut bait or shrimp. They arefinding them anywhere from 7 or8 miles out on in, but the betterreports are are coming from theguys fishing 40 foot depths.Freshwater, there are some

catfish and some bass, nothingspecial.

BIG-4 BIG-4 Februaryʼs Target Species Februaryʼs Target Species

POMPANO are in the Gulfpasses and along the surf

SHEEPSHEAD are movinginto the harbor

REDFISH and a slew of rat-reds are around the Harbor

TROUT are one the grassflats and in the potholes

FishingFishingRIGHT NOW:RIGHT NOW:

weather permittingweather permittingExcellent!Excellent!

n Feb 4 Boating Safety and Seamanship,Lemon Bay Park, Englewood, 6:30 PM.Subsequent sessions 7-9 PM Monday andThursday, final session March 13. Basic infor-mation about proper small boat operation, trai-lering, coastal navigation, knot tying, boatinglaws, safety equipment, aids to navigation‘rules of the road’ Successful completion quali-fys for Florida Boater Card.n Feb 9- KayakSlam Series-Cape Coral –Kayak only tournament, trout, redfish,

snook, lures only, photo releasen Feb 16- Flatsmasters Qual i fier "FMQ" 2redfish on artificial lures.n Feb 21- CCA Benefit Auction and Dinner(see facing page)n Feb 21-23 FLW Redfish Tour at Punta Gorda,Laishley Parkn Mar 29- Maverick Boats FlatsmastersSeries- Grand S lam Plug Tournamenttrout, redfish, snook on artificial lures.n April 19: Water LIFE Magazine 5th annual

Kids CupTournament atPunta Gorda.Applications onlineNOW! at

C a l e n d a r o f E v e n t s

THE ALL NEW 2008 F-450 KING RANCH SUPER DUTYTHE ALL NEW 2008 F-450 KING RANCH SUPER DUTY


KIDSKIDSCUPCUP

April 19April 19

MIAMIBOAT SHOW

West Marine is now accepting

reservations for the annual bus trip

to the Miami BoatShow, February 15th.

625-2700


MikeHere's the tournament calendarGive me a call if you have any questions

Classic Tournaments at 941-637-5953

2/9/08- KayakSlam Series-Cape Coral- Cape Tool & TackleKayak only tournament, trout, redfish, snook,

lures only, photo release

Flatsmasters Series

3/1/08- KayakSlam Series- Clearwater- Joe's Crab ShackKayak only tournament, trout, redfish, snook,


3/22/08- KayakSlam Series- Ft Myers- Joe's Crab ShackKayak only tournament, trout, redfish, snook,


4/5/08- KayakSlam Series -SarasotaKayak only tournament, trout, redfish, snook,


5/10,11/08- Maverick Boats Flatsmasters Series- RedfishClassic

2 redfish, bait of choice

water life feb 2008

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