CCCChhhhaaaarrrrllllooootttttttteeee HHHHaaaarrrrbbbboooorrrr aaaannnndddd LLLLeeeemmmmoooonnnn BBBBaaaayyyyFFFFRRRREEEEEEEE!!!!

February 2010February 2010

Golden ConchRegatta

Page 20

AfterAfterthe Coldthe Cold

Page 7Page 7

7th 7th annualannualKids CupKids Cup

Coming in MayComing in MayPage 13Page 13

5067 5067 Manatees Manatees Will We Ever Have Enough?Will We Ever Have Enough?

Page 11 Page 11

Keeping Boaters & Fishermen Informed Since 1997Keeping Boaters & Fishermen Informed Since 1997

WWWW aaaa tttt eeee rrrr

wwwwww.. WWaterater LL ifeMagazineifeMagazine .com.com

L I F EL I F EP r o d u c e r s o f t h e K I D S C U P T o u r n a m e n t

AAAAllllwwwwaaaayyyyssssFFFFRRRREEEEEEEE!!!!

P a g e 2 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0

MYAKKA RIVER VIEW – Waterfront living atitʼs best. If you are thinking of a home on theRiver, this one is for you. 2,770 sq. ft. built2006 home with all the upgrades youʼll love.3 bedrooms, 3 ½ baths. 3-car garage.Walkway to dock and boat lift. Master down-stairs with living, dining, family room, kitchenand nook. 2 bedrooms, sitting room and bathupstairs. Breath-taking décor in all rooms,with ceiling fans, trays, molding, lighting,wood cabinets, corian thru out. This one is acharm at $675,000 Call Ellen McCarthy 235-5648

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

FERO-BUILT POOL HOME -- This gorgeous2,986 sq. ft. home on 2 lots has all the whis-tles and bells. You have to see to believe allthe quality in upgrades. 3 bedrooms, 2.5baths, and 3-car garage and game room.List of upgrades too long. Hurricane shut-ters, central vac. Tri-level wood cabinetry,granite, gourmet kitchen, built-in entertain-ment and wet bar area. Beautiful tile, fans,crown molding, recess lighting, fireplace, out-door kitchen. French doors, and a shower inMaster to die for. Check this one out.$575,000 Call Ellen McCarthy 235-5648

DEEP CREEK LAKE VIEW CONDO – 2/2ground floor end unit is perfect for perma-nent, investor or seasonal owners.Features of this 876 sq. ft. condo include2002 A/C, storm shutters, updated appli-ances, smoke detectors, 5 ceiling fans, tiledlanai and open floor plan. Enjoy LakeshoreComplexʼs heated pool and club houseamenities while just minutes from shoppingand restaurants. $69,900. Call Ellen McCarthy 235-5648

DEEP CREEK BEAUTY – 3/2/2 withheated pool, tile roof, nice landscapingwith curbing and stones to matchpavers at front entry and lanai/poolarea. After you have seen the rest, seethe best. This home features greatroom and large country kitchen open todining room, with lots of wood cabi-nets. And more. Come see it!$178,900 Call Ellen McCarthy 235-5648

SUPER LARGE HOME – 2 Story 3,107sq. ft. built in 1987 with 3 bedrooms, 2 ½baths, 3-car 25x64 garage, corner lot. Allrooms are oversized. Wood, berber andtile floors. Intercom w/26 speakers, 19x17game room, 11x43 gathering room and11x43 lanai with hot tub. There is a lot tolove about this home. Water and sewer,new roof, resurfaced cabinets, countertop, too much to list. Call for your privateshowing. $249,900 Call Ellen McCarthy 235-5648

BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPING – Well main-tained 3/2/2 home with volume ceilings thruout, wood laminate floors in living room anddining room, berber carpet in bedrooms, baywindow in living room. Security system,tinted windows, 4 ceiling fans, breakfast bar.This beautifully decorated home shows prideof ownership. Vacant lots on both sides foradded privacy. $89,900 Call Ellen McCarthy 235-5648

SHADOW MOSS COMMUNITY – Clubhouse and pool. 2/2/2 with 1,210 sq. ft. onfreshwater canal. Home features largecombo living and dining room, split bed-rooms, large kitchen with nook w/sliders toback patio. Lanai off living room andMaster Bedroom. Walk-in closet.Hurricane shutters, new roof, water heater,hurricane code garage door w/opener. A/Cnew in 2009. 7 ceiling fans. $104,900.Call Ellen McCarthy 235-5648

SHORT SALE - This 1,700+ sq. ft. 3/2/2bargain is perfect for first-time buyers.Enjoy lots of space with a 14x16 livingroom,, 11x17 family room and 12x18Master Bedroom. On county water andsewer, this home also has a formal din-ing room, breakfast bar, ceiling fans andlarge back yard with plenty of room fora pool Great Deal! $65,000. Call EllenMcCarthy 235-5648

POOL HOME ON 3 LOTS -- 3/2/2 with2,046 sq. ft. shows pride of ownership.This beautiful home includes hurricaneshutters, sprinkler system, new watersystem, 2008 metal roof, large poolequipment storage room, sliders tolanai, kitchen with bar and pantry, sep-arate laundry room, 7 ceiling fans, and3 bay windows. Relaxing MasterBedroom has sitting area , 2 walk-inclosets, dual sinks and jetted gardentub. Privacy abounds! $209,900. CallEllen McCarthy 235-5648

NEW YORK SECTION – NOT A SHORTSALE. This 1,814 sq. ft. home has beencompletely renovated in the past 3 yearswith new roof, soffit, fascia, gutters, hurri-cane shutters, A /C duct work, electric andplumbing fixtures in baths, flooring, cabinetsand tops, appliances, fans and light fixtures,etc. etc. Other features include two split-plan master suites and baths, inside laundryroom, breakfast nook and bar and largeback yard with room for a pool.. $98,500Call Ellen McCarthy 235-5648

FURNISHED HOME READY FOR YOU –Pool home with 3/2/1. All you need is yourpersonal items and move right in. Haveyour morning coffee on your 10x21 lanaiand a glass of juice from your 3 maturefruit trees. New glass top self-cleaningrange and newer A/C, pool heater, com-modes, tiled baths. This is a great starterhome or seasonal residence. Call today.One of the best-price homes with heatedpool. $94,900 Call Ellen McCarthy 235-5648

GREAT INVESTMENT – Deep CreekPines 2/2 condo. Everything is new,even the drywall and duct work. All floorsare tiled incuding the lanai. This condo isneat and clean and shows like new.Community pool and golf community.Priced at market price although seller willconsider all offers. View this one before it is gone!$64,900 Call Ellen McCarthy 235-5648

Ellen McCarthy Broker AssociateEllen McCarthy Broker Associatewww.portcharlotte-pgi.c www.portcharlotte-pgi.c ellenmc@portcharlotte-pgi.comellenmc@portcharlotte-pgi.com

19700 Cochran Blvd • Port Charlotte, FL 3394819700 Cochran Blvd • Port Charlotte, FL 33948

F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m P a g e 3

Letters to: WaterLIFE@comcast .net

Water LIFE is ALL ONLINE every month

ADVERTISE HEREWater LIFEʼs 1/8 page ad (this size)

just $99$99per month!call 941-766-8180 4-4-CCOOLLOORR alwaysalways FREEFREE

If you want to reach boaters and fishermen...we are IT!

We don’t just count the people we reach, we reach the people that count

Link to your website from ours ... advertise in Water LIFE

Water LIFE i s the o ffi ci al publ i cati on o fthe Charl o t t e Harbo r ReefAs so ci at i on , the o ri g i nato r o f theKids Cup Tournamentand the producer o f theDon Bal l Schoo l o f Fi shing .

Not per WEEK

Water LIFEMagazine inc.

Michael & Ellen Heller Publishers(941) 766-8180e-mail (preferred)

Waterlife@comcast.net Mail: 217 Bangsberg Rd. Port Charlotte,

FL 33952

TOTALLY INDEPENDENTNot affiliated with any other

publicationVol IX No2 © 2010

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.comNo part of this publication (printed or electronic)may be copied or reproduced without specific

written permission.

Contributing Editors:Photography ASA1000.com

Senior Editor: Capt. Ron BlagoCharlotte Harbor Tarpon: Capt. Mark Bennett

Port Charlotte: Capt. Andy MedinaGasparilla: Capt. Chuck Eichner

Offshore: Capt. Steve SkevingtonCommercial Fishing: Kelly Beall

Sea Grant: Betty StauglerReal Estate: Dave Hofer

Inshore: Fishinʼ FrankDiving: Adam WilsonKayaks: David Allen

Sailing: Bill DixonOffice Dog: Molly

on the COVER :Capt. Angel Torres was out right after thefreeze. “It was slow, but we caught fish.”

www.waterlifemagazine.comwww.kidscuptournament.com

www.fishinfranks.com

www.waterlifemagazine.com

Two cool (and similar shape) photos came via email this month. The Nikon World International My Planet photo contest winner, a California snorkeler and asperm whale by Peter Allinson and the Navyʼs newest ʻpirate catcher; the USSIndependence. More about the Independence on page 19.

From Jessica’s Blog16-year-old Jessica Watson is

attempting to become theyoungest woman to sail aroundthe world non stop and singlehanded. On Jan 25 she passedCape Horn, and passed half wayon her trip to and from Australia.Her voyage is updated in a blogwith photos almost every day.

“Jan 25: The wind had been expected torise to a near gale, but none of the comput-ers or forecasts picked that it would reachthe 65 knots that I recorded, before losingthe wind instruments in a knockdown!That much wind means some very big

and nasty waves. I experienced a total of 4knockdowns, the second was the mostsevere with the mast being pushed 180degrees in to the water. Actually pushedisn't the right word, it would be more accu-rate to say that Ella's Pink Lady was pickedup, thrown down a wave, then forced undera mountain of breaking water and violentlyturned upside down. With everything bat-tened down and conditions far too dangerousto be on deck, there wasn't anything I coulddo but belt myself in and hold on...”

Keep up with the trip atwww.jessicawatson.com

Good News/Bad NewsFrom Adam Wi l s onHere's a picture from

the January GulfCounci l meeting inFort Myers regardingAmendment 32. Thegood news, a recordbreaking turnout of 80people. The small roomat the back of theRamada Inn only hadseating for 50 (goes to show how much confidence the Council had in a largeturnout). The bad news, a turnout of 80 people. There is no reason why therecouldn't have been thousands of angry fishermen clogging the hallways, parkinglot and connecting streets. It will be interesting to see how many anglers complainabout the massive closures next year. My guess is it will be more than 80.

P a g e 4 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0

F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m P a g e 5

P a g e 6 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0

By Pete JohnsonSpecial to Water LIFEAfter nearly six months of waiting,

Japan’s Manabu Kurita is taking his placealong side Georgia angler George Perry inthe International Game Fish Association’s(IGFA) World Record Game Fishes bookas dual holders of the All-Tackle record forlargemouth bass - each caught fish weigh-ing 22 lb 4 oz, although 77 years apart. In mid January the IGFA approved

Kurita’s application for the fish caughtfrom Japan’s largest lake, Lake Biwa,which is an ancient reservoir northeast ofKyoto. The fish was caught on July 2,2009.Kurita, 32, was fishing using a Deps

Sidewinder rod and a Shimano AntaresDC7LV reel loaded with 25 lb Toray linewhen he pitched his bait, a live bluegill,next to a bridge piling. It was Kurita’sfirst cast to the piling where he had seena big bass swimming. He only twitchedthe bait a couple of times before he gotbit. After a three minute fight he had thefish in the boat.Kurita was quoted as saying “I knew it

was big, but I didn’t know it was thatbig.” But big it was. Using certifiedscales, his fish weighed in at 10.12 kg or22 lb 4 oz. When measured, the fish hada fork length of 27.2 inches and a girth of26.7 inches. The IGFA only has lineclasses up to 20 lb for largemouth bass,

so Kurita had no chance at a line classrecord as well. Kurita’s fish ties the current record

held for over 77 years by Perry whocaught his bass on Georgia’sMontgomery Lake, June 2, 1932, nearJacksonville, Georgia. That 22 lb 4 ozfish won Field and Stream Magazine’sBig Fish contest and 46 years later, whenthe IGFA took over freshwater recordsfrom Field and Stream, it became the All-Tackle record.In North America the largemouth bass,

and especially the All-Tackle record, isconsidered by millions of anglers as the“holy grail” of freshwater fish because ofits popularity and the longevity of Perry’srecord.

Almost right away rumors began tocirculate that Kurita may have caught hisfish in a ‘no-fishing zone’. Then officialword came back that the location of thecatch was not a no-fishing zone, but wasan area where anchoring or stopping wasprohibited. This spurred more correspon-dence asking the angler if he stopped hisboat at anytime. The testimony and affi-davits that came back indicated that Kuritadid not violate any laws and that his catchwas indeed legitimate.”But it still didn’t end there. Largemouth bass have been introduced

in many countries but in Japan fisheriesofficials consider it an invasive species.In addition, because bass are not nativeand are stocked in Japan, many speculated

that Kurita’s big bass was a steriletriploid. However when biologists inJapan examined the ova of the big female,they concluded that the fish was nottriploid. The IGFA was besieged with letters

and emails from th e bass fishing commu-nity. Many were incredulous that the All-Tackle record could be tied with a fishcaught in Japan. Others told the IGFA toapprove the record and give Kurita thecredit he deserves. In the end, the IGFA staff concluded it

would be both in the best interest of theIGFA and that of Kurita, if he submittedto a polygraph analysis. The IGFAreserves the right to employ polygraphanalyses to any record application.Again, more correspondence was issued

to request that Kurita take a polygraphtest. He immediately agreed and onDecember 15, Kurita was examined by aprofessional polygraph analyst in Japan. The many questions he was given

included if he was truthful about theinformation reported on the applicationform and if his boat ever came to a com-plete stop while fighting his fish. The polygraph team concluded that

Manabu Kurita answered all the questionshonestly and that the catch was legiti-mate. George Perry’s 77 year old recordhad officially been tied.

Pete Johnson handles public relations forthe IGFA. When in Florida he fishes theLemon Bay area and prev iously handledpublic relations business for MercuryMarine when they were at Placida.

World RecordOfficially Tied

Manabu Kuritaʼs All Tackle World Record 22 lb 4 oz, largemouth bass

Edgewater Drive ExpansionPlans are now on the internet

(www.sedfl.com/edgewaterdesign) for the expan-sion of Edgewater Drive in Port Charlotte.Edgewater Drive has been an alternate route fordrivers traveling to and from the Englewood/westcounty area. By taking Edgewater Drive westfrom US-41 all the way to Flamingo and thenFlamingo to 776, drivers have been bypassingUS-41 travel through the congested Murdockarea. But not for much longer.

The expansion plans for Edgewater Driveinclude four new traffic circles, one each at:Midway, Lakeview , Lea Marie Island and PortCharlotte Blvd., which will effectively put an endto Edgewater Drive being a favorite road to trav-el. The Spring Lake boat ramp is located in themiddle of the four 4 traffic circles.

By Michael Hel lerWater LIFE editorWilliam Loftus, a longtime aquatic

ecologist for Everglades National Parksaid “Based on what I saw in 1977 and1989, there is a good chance we'll have asecond wave of deaths.” He speculated itmight take snook and other saltwatergame fish years to rebound. On thebrighter side, Loftus also said the coldshould have killed off significant numbersof walking catfish, Mayan cichlids andother invasive tropical fish species.Reports from up the Peace River con-firmed his theory. The tropical pelcosto-mus that inhabit the Iron Lake area were,reportedly ‘decimated.’Despite the subsequent warm-up, sci-

entists warn that the freeze of 2010 willcontinue to claim more victims for sometime to come.During the ‘77 and ‘89 cold fronts

weakened survivors later succumbed toinfections from common bacteria, such asaeromonas, that they would normally beable to ward off. “It's a nasty-lookingthing,” Loftus said, explaining that theinfection eats tissue and creates openulcers on the side of the fish. Grey deadareas on the trailing tips of fins can beanother sign of a fish bacterial infection.Cold water temperature brought drastic

changes in dissolved oxygen content inthe water. High winds pushed the coldheavier waters off shallow flats into deep-er channels where fish typically seek

warm refuge. In Pine Island Sound, aweek after the freeze, an FWC diverchecking the underwater area reportedlynoted “You ought to see all the dead fishon the bottom.” Maybe we will. In Everglades Park where numerous

fish died, water temperatures had droppedto 47-degrees... once. In CharlotteHarbor we experienced multiple days of47 degree water. Lethal water temperaturesfor snook are 48 to 58 degrees for juve-niles and 43 to 53 degrees for adults.The first dead fish reports I heard were

of dead jacks, then catfish, then some tar-pon at the Fishermen’s Village Marinaand then pompano to the south. Capt.Rhett Morris called from a Boca Grandecanal to say he could see hundreds of deadsnook on the bottom. There were nosnook circling in the underwater light inmy Port Charlotte canal, only ladyfish.Pine Island, Bull Bay and the open

areas to the south reportedly fared theworst. “It must have killed all the sandbrim,” Mitch Williamson speculated fromCape Coral where dead brim floated thick.There were a lot of stories, the best of

which was: The morning after the firstfreeze I talked to Capt. Danny Latham.He and Capt. Paul Lambert were out inPirate Harbor moving big snook aroundfrom the colder areas into a warm spotthey had found. Lambert later said all thesnook he and Latham moved (about 20)were listless, but most showed someslight gill movement. “Those fish all

lived,” he said, but the ones we sawwhere the gills were flared out, they died.The worst story was: On the second

cold morning, in Volousa County, FWCofficers found two men in possession of74 snook, 55 of which were outside thelegal slot limit, and a seven-foot gaff thatthey had used to harvest the cold-stunnedfish. They now await their trial.In response to the cold, the Florida

FWC immediately ordered an emergencystatewide closure of the snook fisheryuntil at least September, and imposedtemporary closures for bonefish and tar-pon until April as well.How will all this play out for

Charlotte Harbor fishing? Some local

guides are no longer offering snook trips,even for catch and release. Obviously MrSnook will be MIA from the spring tour-nament venues this year and the resultingadded fishing pressure on redfish couldrequire further careful monitoring.And what about the sand brim? There

is talk that if snook fishing is in need ofclosure then would it make sense for theFWC to close both commercial and recre-ational harvest of sand brim. In localbackwaters and bayous baby sand brim area primary food source for snook. These are complicated and interconnect-

ed issues, all with economic ramificationswhich, unfortunately, we won’t know theright answers to for some time to come.

F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m P a g e 7

Fish Infections from the Cold?

Bacterial infections can be a side effect of the cold. The infection creates open ulcers on theside of a weakened fish. USGS file photo, species not given

P a g e 8 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0

If you are a fisherman looking for a waterfront homethen you need to Call The Captain!

Hereʼs why:• Always Knows the Best Deals (list available)

• Expert Knowledge of the Waterways and Homes• Foreclosure Waterfront Homes and Land

• Areaʼs Leading Agent in Waterfront Sales (Top 1%)• Huge Waterfront Listing Inventory• Boat Tours of Area and Homes

Call The Captain! 941-833-4234Call The Captain! 941-833-4234

FISHERMANʼS ALERT!FISHERMANʼS ALERT!By Capt. AndrewMedinaWater LIFE Charlotte HarborWith the water tempera-

tures bottoming out lastmonth and some of the cold-est record setting outside airtemperatures, hopefully nowthe most difficult days arebehind us. As you all areprobably aware of, we lostsome fish, how many is yetto be determined, but don’tlet that stand in the way of getting a rodbent. Even though the FWC has closed snook

season and most of the guides I know arenot fishing for or offering snook chartersright now, the action on the flats and nearshore reefs is still good and with a fewtricks you can have a really productive day. With the winter patterns and the water

as clear as it can be, one of the best tips Ican give you is to down size your bait andfish slow. All fish right now are not asaggressive as they would be in the perfectwater temperature of 82 degrees, but theydo have to eat, so by downsizing your baitsize, when they eat, less effort is put forthby a feeding fish. It won’t matter if I amfishing live bait, or artificial. The size ofthe bait I use will be smaller than summertime baits. I like to use baits that are 3 inches and

smaller. Artificial such as the Zippn’ Ziggyby Cultiva, which is a fantastic top waterbait and in my opinion, and from the fish Ihave caught, is the perfect bait to matchthe hatch here on Charlotte Harbor. Also, baits such as the Gulp shrimp,

will offer anglers an excellent opportunityat a variety of species. The only colors thatI throw this time of the year are newpenny, and watermelon (or sardine). I havefound these colors have always producedfish for me, at least according to my fish-ing style. I say “fishing style”, because every

angler is going to work the bait, a littledifferent from the next. But keeping to thesimple plan of downsizing baits, will offerup some of the best results. From trout on the flats, to redfish in the

pot holes, they are all looking for an easymeal, so give them something small thatthey don’t have to think about too much toeat it. An important reminder: When downsiz-

ing bait choices (whether live or artificial)casting ability becomes a problem. So forthe winter months also down size your linepound test, or diameter. By doing this, you

will keep your distance while casting andbe able to get the smaller baits to the fishwithout spooking them. If you are a live bait angler, right now

it’s all about the shrimp. With the notice-able lack of bait fish in the harbor, mostanglers trade in their cast nets for baitbuckets and this is not a bad trade. First you don’t get soaking wet throw-

ing a cast net in freezing water and second,almost none of the species will turn downa shrimp when they are in a winter timepattern. There are two simple techniques I like

to use while rigging shrimpThe first way is to use a regular circle

hook, usually a #2, with 20 lb leader mate-rial, and the smallest split shot I can useand still be able to cast. The second way is to use a red ¼ ounce

jig head. What I like to do is pop the tailof the shrimp off, and run the hook upthrough to the top from the bottom. Thisallows the bait to be bounced off the bot-tom, in a more natural looking presenta-tion and with the tail taken off it adds a lit-tle more scent to the bait. Now on to the fishing: Since we are

leaving snook alone, we will not discussthe subject. Trout can be found on justabout every flat. The use of search toolssuch as popping corks can make your daymuch more successful. When you locatethem, shrimp on a jig head, or a DOA Calcan catch all you want. There are a lot ofundersize fish around so be careful and prac-tice proper catch and release. Redfish arestill roaming around and seem unaffectedby the recent cold fronts. The number onekey on successful trips has to be the abilityto slow down. If you are fishing and youthink it’s slow enough, slow down somemore. The fish are a little lethargic, and aremoving in what seems to be slow motion.Be safe on the water and don’t let the coldwater scare you away from fishing.To book a trip or fishing informationCapt. Andrew Medina can be reached at (941) 456-1540 or on the web at:www.fishfloridatarpon.com

Screaming ReelsScreaming Reels

A Few Tricks for Feb.

F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m P a g e 9

By Capt. Mark BennettWater LIFE TarponYes, you heard it right, because of the

recent freeze the FWC temporarilyclosed the spring snook season until fur-ther notice. Snook fishing will be catchand release only until September. TheFWC says they need time to figure outhow much the freeze affected the snookpopulation. So they made a quick deci-sion and closed the snook to harvestuntil they have time to figure it all out. This quick action by the FWC has

been under fire from all sides of theissue. It clearly upset a lot of folks.Before the closure we were allowed onesnook per person between 28- and 33-inches. A lot of the upset folks think,with the small slot limit that is alreadyin place, fishermen keeping a few fishcouldn't possibly be a factor in thehealth of the overall snook population. One side of their argument says that

back in the day, when the limit was 4fish over 18-inches no more than 8snook per boat, there were lots ofsnook. What they don't seem toremember is there were very few snookfishermen back in those days. Only afew of them ever caught snook with anyconsistency. So much has changed when it comes

to inshore fishing since that time. Iremember as a kid fishing from the bankof the Anclote River, fishermen askingme what were those big fish we werecatching and if they were any good toeat. Nowadays there are lots of good

snook fishermen, especially in theCharlotte Harbor area, that put up dou-ble digit numbers on a regular basis.Numbers like that were unheard of backthen. In those days redfish were evenconsidered a “trash” fish. Jon boats and15-horse motors have been replaced withhigh tech fishing machines. A lot haschanged indeed. Although I am just a fishing guide,

not a biologist, I do think fishing pres-sure affects the population. If anyoneremembers when the limit was 2 fish,one had to be in the slot 24- to 34-inch-es, with one as big as-you-wantallowed. In this area, on my boat, themajority of fish we caught at that timewere in the 22- to 23-inch range. Wecaught very few in the 40+inch range. After the minimum size was

increased to 26-inches and the limit wasdecreased to 1 fish per person in the 26-34-inch slot, that first year the averagesize already increased to 24- to 25-inch-es. The next year, on my boat, wecaught more oversize snook than ever.Now, with the minimum size at 28-inches, you guessed it, the majority ofthe snook caught were 26- 27-inches. Coincidence? I really don't think so.It was roughly 20 years ago that the

state closed redfish to harvesting for twoyears. After one year there were hugeschools of reds everywhere – more thanI have ever seen in my lifetime of livingon this coast. Some of these peopledon't seem to remember, but I will never

forget it. I could have cared less if wecould have kept them, I was just crazyabout catching them. I couldn't imaginehow good the snook fishing would be ifa permanent closure was in affect. They are also saying once the FWC

takes something away they might notever give it back. This may be true, butat this time the FWC says it is a tem-porary closure. Either way, it is clearly

out of our hands and only time will tellwhat they will decide to do.The closure will also affect a few

tournaments this spring. I am sure thiswill ruffle some more feathers aroundthe area. I am confident that the tourna-ment guys will have plenty of ideas tokeep the competitions rolling. There were also a lot of people that

felt the closure was necessary. The reali-ty for us on the west coast is: We areonly missing the two month snook sea-son. I personally feel this is a smallprice to pay to make sure the snookfishery remains strong. I don't knowhow many were killed in the freeze orhow many remain, but this short clo-sure, if nothing else, will give all theremaining snook a chance to spawn thissummer. Don't get me wrong, I like to eat

fresh snook (make mine deep fried andpass the hot sauce please). But I knowthat snook are worth more to this areaand it's fishermen than a fish dinner. Idon't think we can ever have too many.Till next time, keep the line tight and

bow when they jump.

To book a trip, for comments or ques-tions at: www.tarponsnook.com or (941) 474-8900

Not all Doom and Gloom with Snook closure

Larry Regula (L) and Capt Mark Bennet with a fine snook. photo: Jeni Bennet

37' Hunter Cutter Rigged 1985

31' Contender Open 310 CC 2004 31' Sea Ray 310 Sundancer 1999 33' Cape Dory Sloop1982 34' Silverton Convertible 1988 40' Sea Ray 400 Express 1992

28' Zero Tolerence CC 1999 29' Monterey 298 SS 2006

$74,900

$59,900

$36,900

$34,000$39,900$84,900$49,900

$39,900 $69,500

30' Regal 3060 Commodore 2002

P a g e 1 0 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0

By Capt. Chuck EichnerWater LIFE Inshore

With water temperatures finallycreeping back up to the 60 degree mark,after a week of freezing, a fishing tripcan sometimes turn out to be just that –fishing.A trio of anglers joined me to explore

the backcountry in pursuit of redfish andtrout. Local angler Tim Short, brotherMike and friend Bob were eager to learnvarious techniques. Leaving my dock weran only 1 mile to the first spot andallowed the wind to push us to a bottomdepression that hopefully held redfish. Live shrimp was the bait for the day

and we rigged them Texas style like abass fisherman would do with a plasticworm. I normally like to start the tripwith a few casts of my own to showhow to impart a subtle “twitch-twitch”while dragging the shrimp across thebottom. On the second demonstrationcast I had a bump and set the hook on anice fish only to have him get off as Ihanded the rod off. Excited with the quick start, 3 anglers

began sorting out the intricacies ofworking weedless shrimp through grass-beds and potholes. It didn’t take longbefore Tim had his first redfish, a scrap-py 13 incher as our excitement began to

mount. Mother nature had a plan changefor us because during the middle of theincoming tide, the tide went flat for 3hours. I had studied the tide chart thenight before and realized the slack tidalconditions might prove to be challeng-ing, but all of that went aside with thequick start. We were then reminded aboutthe tide as hours of jumping from spotto spot, changing from grass flats todeep holes near mangrove islands thenon to the deeper water outside the barsand to more residential locations in canalsystems and not nary a fish. Not even aladyfish would bless our lines. Internalfrustration was working the captain overand a run deeper into the mangrovestook us to a 4-foot hole in the middle ofa flat. Bumping bottom as we crossed a

sand mound to reach the hole, I pro-claimed that I had never gone to thisspot and not caught something. Powerpole down, two lines cast out and wham- fish on! No monsters, but Tim, Mikeand Bob all caught small trout and red-fish. A bent rod certainly has a way ofputting a smile on your face! In time that spot went quiet and we

moved onto the grass flats on the eastside of the harbor. An easterly breezepushed us along as we cast poppingcorks with a plastic jig tipped withshrimp. Eventually we hit a sweet spotand trout were coming in steadily. Mikewas dragging a shrimp behind the boat

and even managed a small flounder. Witha beautiful warming day the fishresponded and action was constant. Agreat day with fun fishermen that werecontent to take what nature offered. I made a last ditch effort on two dif-

ferent big redfish flats prior to headingin to hopefully catch a “zinger”. My def-inition of a zinger is a big fish thatmoves fast and cuts the water with theline which actually has a zinging soundto it, often right before the fish breaksyou off! On this day, there were nozingers but enough action to make anyangler happy when it was all said anddone. One clear observation I made was that

the flats were relatively barren of bait-fish, crabs, shrimp or any wildlife forthat matter. It was reminiscent of anorthern Chesapeake Bay river systemwhich is also barren of aquatic life thistime of year. But warming waters willreactivate the shallows from the winterystate. Baitfish and crustaceans willappear mysteriously and gamefish willfollow their instincts to feed. Good fishing is to be had and the best

is yet to come.

Capt. Chuck Eichner operates ActionFlats Backcountry Charters and can be con-tacted for charters at 941-505-0003 or v isitwww.backcountry-charters.com

Boats Needed - Let US sell YOUR boat TODAY!941-627-577723269 Bayshore RdCharlotte Harbor

Consignment Boats WantedBayshoremarinefl@yahoo.com

17' Crestliner -High quality weldedaluminum boat w/2001 50hp Mercury4-stroke. Minkotatrolling motor, stor-age cover, galva-nized trailer. All forONLY $5,900

1989 Answer 24with 1999, 150hp, FItwin Suzukis. T-Top,VHF, SS Props,newer tandem axlealuminum trlr &more. A STEAL at$11,900

2005 Key west 186Bay Reef with a

Suzuki 140hp FourStroke. Swing AwayAluminum Trailer,Live Well Lots ofstorage Great SW

Florida Boat! $12,000FURTHERFURTHERREDUCED!REDUCED!

Small FishBig Smiles

2002 Fisher Pontoon - 24' w/ dble bimini top, fullencl & screens. 115 Mercury 4-st. Four fishing seats,livewell, trl motor, tandem trailer. Reduced to $9,000

F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m P a g e 11

On the Line with Capt Ron Blago Water LIFE Senior StaffIt’s awfully hard to count fish either

dead or alive, but Ron Taylor, lead snookbiologist for the FWC Research Institutehas estimated that there is a population of335,000 snook at least 20 inches long instate waters. His estimate of the snookkilled in southwest Florida from thisrecent freeze is at least 15,000. I’m surehis estimate will be higher as more datacomes in. As a result of this fish kill theFWC has closed snook season until atleast September. I am amazed at how fastthe FWC can react in these situations. Every time Mother Nature has one of

her major events there are always winnersand losers; and this recent cold wave wasno exception. I have seen colder tempera-tures here, down in the 20s, I’ve evenseen snow here, well just about enoughto make one snow ball. These events last-ed just a day or two; but I have never inmy 30 year history here, seen a cold frontlast as long as this one did. For 10straight days the temperature never gotover 60 degrees with low temperatureshovering near the freezing point. The first report I received was from a

fisherman who was out early Saturday

January 9, and told me about dead jacks inthe Intracoastal Waterway. By the time Imade it down to a boat ramp in Venice,commercial fishermen had already pickedthem up and were filling the third pickuptruck full of 3- and 4-pound jacks allunder the watchful eye of a Marine Patrolofficer. I guess we know where cat foodcomes from. It was a good payday forthose fishermen. The next day I was at the Manasota

Key bridge and saw about a dozen deadsnook all around the 20-inch range. Iknew there would be many more reports.Dead pompano in Lemon Bay, tarpon andcatfish in the Peace River and offshorefish kills of grouper, snapper and baitfishin Lee and Collier Counties.

As the days went by more reportscame in – freshwater bass and sunfish inlocal ponds and a massive talapia kill inLake Hancock, which is the headwaters ofthe Peace River. We lost a lot of fish.

Cold weather does offer some advan-tage when it comes to counting manatees.Each year the FWC is required by law todo a synoptic survey (total head count) ofthe population of manatees in Florida.The first was done in 1991 and a total of1267 manatees where counted. In 2007the survey found 2817 manatees. In 2008the State did not do a survey because theysaid it was just too warm that winter. In2009 the survey found 3802 manatees;that record number really got a lot of peo-ple wondering where all these manateeswere coming from; remember that accord-ing to the FWC, synoptic surveys countonly the minimum number of manatees –after all, there will always be those mana-tees they just couldn’t see.I knew that the recent cold spell would

be the ideal time to do this year’s survey.The pictures of record numbers of mana-tees herded up in the warm water springsand discharges of power plants were allover the television. They were going tobe easy to count and the FWC did justthat. The preliminary results of the survey

done the week of Jan 11, 2010 was 5,067manatees. 2779 on the east coast and2288 on the west coast – a new all timerecord. You would think that this wouldbe big news in the media, but not a word,

just a press release from FWC. It was just a few weeks ago when the

headlines were Boaters kill record number(97) of manatees in 2009. I guess no onewants to be the first to point out that thepopulation of manatees has increased 300-percent in the last 11 years, or that mil-lions and millions of taxpayer’s dollarshave been wasted on manatee zones, sig-nage, dock and building moratoriums andlaw suits trying to save a species thatreally never was in trouble to begin with.I guess the good folks at the Save The

Manatee Club headquarters will startpushing their adopt a manatee programagain. After all, there are now so manymore that need our help.

C apt. Ron can be reached for commentsor fishing information at:capronb@juno.net

Manatee Population inFlorida Now Over 5000!

Manatees cluster like cockroaches in the warmth of an underwater spring. In the cold theFWC counted 5067 manatees this year and there must be some more they missed. Below: A cold stressed manatee could develop white ʻcold ̓sores, but may recover.

335,000 snook at least 20 inches long

in state waters

P a g e 1 2 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0

By Michael Hel lerKids Cup Tournament Director

Entry forms for the May 15 WaterLIFE Kids Cup are starting to arrive inthe mail but don’t worry, we have lots ofspaces. The first meeting of the Redfish

Tracking Project team has now takenplace. There were no real concerns aboutusing the fountain to collect fish in.Fish would go into the fountain afterbeing weighed. Fish are tagged whenthey are weighed and measured so all fishin the fountain would have an attachedID. Again this year, 20 redfish will also

be surgically implanted with sonic trans-mitters. The sonic implants cost $325each. In the past we funded this ourselvesout of donations, but last year and thisyear Betty Staugler our Sea Grant agenthas obtained outside funding for the tags.Maybe some day we will be able toanswer the question: Does a redfishcaught in the Pine Island Sound andreleased at Punta Gorda swim back toPine Island? Or does it stay in the upperHarbor where it was released? With the fountain at Fishermen’s

Village as our redfish holding tank, thescientists will be able to collect the fishfrom the fountain and the tournament

spectators will be able to watch every-thing that is going on. Come over toFishermen’s Village on Saturday May 15and you can watch too. The concern for using the fountain

was for any change in already establishedprocedures that could effect the finalresults and the science. Don’t forget,although our Kids Cup kids are providingthe fish for the tracking project, eminent-ly qualified fish biologists and scientists,Mote Marine, Sea Grant andProgress Energy are all involved withmaking the experiment work. I am surethat after we repeat this procedure forseveral more years there will be somescientific conclusions drawn and aresearch paper will be written. We don’twant to mess up any part of the researchprocess.On another level, I got a call from

Jim Branch, the Harbormaster atFishermen’s Village. Jim told meNational Clean Marina Week was goingto be in June this year and that he wasplanning a boat show at the Village tocoincide. Jim said they wanted to donatethe proceeds of the show to the Don BallSchool of Fishing (which is the programthe Kids Cup raises money for). We areworking on an idea to have the Don BallSchool kids that don’t get out on the

water very much, to have a chance to gofishing out on a boat. We thank Jim forgetting this started and you will hearmore about this as the details are final-ized.On the sponsor side, the Breeze

Newspapers in Cape Coral will againdonate the printing of the Kids CupProgram, and also in Cape CoralScreenprint Plus will be printing theKids Cup shirts and embroidering thehats for the 7th straight year. There is noone who does it better than Mitch atScreenprint. Noah Marine will be asponsor, as will Wrap S ign who willagain be printing our graphics and leader-board. X- Tools donated plyers for thecaptains bags and Eppinger will againbe providing quality 3/5 oz gold spoonsas well. Medina Fishing Charterswill provide the Smalest Fish Award.The Punta Gorda Chamber ofCommerce will be lending support forthe Kids as will the CharlotteVisi tor’s Bureau.Get your business name on the list,

help the kids and have fun. Join the KidsCup Tournament family.

Kids Cup entry and sponsor forms areonline at: www.kidscuptournament . com

. . . and entry forms are in localbait and tackle shops this month

F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m P a g e 1 3

Entry Forms Start Coming In!

P a g e 1 4 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0

By Betty S taugler Water LIFE / Sea Grant Florida has one of the most active arti-

ficial reef programs in the nation.Artificial reefs are created to achieve awide range of goals—replacing naturalcoral reefs damaged by environmentaldegradation or ship groundings, breakwa-ters to protect beaches and coastal lands,and even as creative memorial sites forcremated human remains. Among themost popular objectives, however, areimproved fishing opportunities and newscuba diving destinations. These usesboost Florida’s multi-billion dollartourism industry, especially in the localeconomies directly impacted by the fisher-men and divers.From the surface, it can seem as if

artificial reefs are guaranteed to have posi-tive environmental impacts and toincrease the amount of fish. In reality, thesituation is much more complex becausean artificial reef is just a small part of amuch larger ecosystem, with impacts thatare often difficult to see.

New artificial reefs are indeed reliablypopulated in short order by many fish.However, it remains an often-asked ques-tion whether those fish are merely attract-ed there from other areas—concentratingthem at a known location for fishermento catch—or if artificial reefs actually leadto the production of more fish. Bill Lindberg, a fisheries professor at

the University of Florida, has beendesigning and studying artificial reefs fordecades, and much of his work is perti-nent to the “attraction- production”debate. Below is a brief interview:

How do artificial and natural reefs com-pare?The same ecological processes apply

on natural and artificial reefs. However,with artificial reefs we do tweak the phys-ical architecture and complexity of thestructure in ways that presumably helpour purposes and that can affect growth,survival, and other processes.

Standard ecology theory would say thatover time, fish will naturally adjust theirdensities among reefs, filling all the avail-

able nooks and crannies. Do you findthat’s the case?In the absence of fishing we might

expect fish to move in such a way thattheir numbers are spread out among allthe available habitat, with the densities offish at a given reef reflecting how muchsuitable space and food are available.Some of our results suggest that whilethat might be true in an undisturbed sys-tem, it’s not necessarily true for heavilyfished reef fishes. That’s because peoplemove around in response to catch rates,and change fishing sites faster than thefish naturally redistribute themselves.

Do fish find artificial reefs more attrac-tive than natural ones?When we build a reef, we’re altering

the availability of the structure fish needin proximity to their foraging grounds.So yes, they’re drawn to it, and there arereasonable studies to suggest that in gen-eral, artificial reefs hold initially higherdensities of fish than natural reefs.However, there is not necessarily thesame biodiversity or the same communitycomposition because the reef structures,by design, are different.

If there is some tendency for fish to beattracted to artificial reefs, what’s the bestway to look at the production versusattraction question? Small fishes that get their shelter,

food, and complete their life cycle essen-tially at the same place, for them an arti-ficial reef may very well lead to new pro-duction. But the more mobile the fish is,the more it depends on a broader footprintthan just the reef for its prey and for itsvarious life stages to play out. For thosefish it’s much less likely that any individ-ual reef is going to contribute productionsufficient to offset harvest.

How might considering such factorschange understanding of the true impactsof an artificial reef?For species that move and have habitat

shifts, during years when the number ofyoung fish is large, which we call astrong year class, the inner shelf may nothave enough of the naturally occurringhabitat structure to support maximumgrowth. So, we’ve suggested that addingnew, artificial reef structure on that innershelf may allow for better growth ratesand, perhaps, better survival rates of thosejuveniles.

What are the conservation implicationsof this theory?If you took a particular amount of

material and built relatively few largereefs, you may enhance fishing but youwould end up with fewer fish, slowergrowing fish, and higher fishing mortali-ty. By taking that same investment in reefmaterial and changing the way you deployit, you can diminish the risk of fishingmortality, hopefully increasing survivor-ship and enhancing growth rates.

Should the human dimension still beconsidered?When the primary objective for reef

development is to enhance fishing, thenyes, proximity, location, user conflicts,as well as reef configuration, are veryimportant and legitimate considerations.

How well established are the economicbenefits of artificial reefs?All the analysis of artificial reefs indi-

cate some economic and societal benefit,though of course the benefits vary andthey are not always well quantified. As aside note…Preliminary economic resultsfor Southwest Florida (Pinellas to Leecounties) indicate recreational boaters(excluding charter boats) spend almost$200 million annually to visit SWFLartificial reefs. This activity supportsover 2,500 jobs and contributes over$120 million in value added benefits. Source: Florida Sea Grant, Jan, 2010.

Betty Staugler is the Florida Sea GrantAgent for Charlotte County. She can bereached at 941.764.4346. Sea Grant is aUniversity of Florida IFAS program.

Understanding the Ecology of Artificial Reefs: THERE ARE NO SIMPLE ANSWERS

Call the Captain! Call the Captain! SuperNice Deep Water SailboatWaterfront Home With 2 Lots!!Great for storing RV or buildingextra garage! Updated kitchen,pretty laminate flooring, newcarpet & tile! Huge pool & lanaioverlooking water! $329.900

Call the Captain!Call the Captain! Incredible DeepSailboat Waterfront Home! 80'waterfront 3/2/1, 1591sfAir, pool,oversized lot, hurricane impact doors& windows, huge dock, concrete sea-wall $279,900

Call the Captain! Call the Captain! WaterfrontKey West Style Home! Located inone of the best areas left inFlorida to truly enjoy the relaxinglifestyle. 3/3/2, 3020sf, '1981',dock, boat hoist $275,000

Call the Captain! Call the Captain! WaterfrontParadise, Key West Style StiltHome! Wrap around deckw/waterview! Immediate harboraccess, boat ramp! Pergo stylefloors, Updated kitchen, & roof.Open plan, spiral stairs, $259,000

Call the Captain! Call the Captain! Fabulous Deep Water Gulf AccessSailboat Home! 110’ waterfront, 10minutes out. Serene setting, 4/2/2,2463sfAir, '2000', large lot anddock, 9’ ceilings $199,900

Pirate Harbor

Pirate Harbor

Punta Gorda Isles

Punta Gorda

Port Charlotte

Punta Gorda Isles

Port Charlotte

Call the Captain! Call the Captain! Fantastic Waterfront Home!Great location on culdesac.2/2/2, 1416 sf air, boat lift, dock,updated kitchen & baths, tileand wood laminate floors$219,900

Call the Captain! Call the Captain! Beautiful PGI WaterfrontPool Home Only 10 Minutes To Open Water!Nicely updated 3/2/2, 1800sf/air, hurricaneimpact windows, large dock, updated kitchen,roof, flooring with new pool heater and refinishedpool & deck. Incredible condition! $289,000

On March 11, 1999, the old Palm Island Ferry became a reef in Charlotte County

F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m P a g e 1 5

PROVIDED BY: Dave Hofer RE/MAX Harbor Realty(941) 575-3777 dhofer@remax.net www.harborparadise.com

Recent area news i tems:1. Both Charlotte County and Punta

Gorda are making every effort to stimu-late economic growth here. Much likeour leaders in Washington, local offi-cials are frustrated with the lack of suc-cess experienced so far in stimulatingnew employment. The County wasawarded $12 million by the state as itsshare of Federal grants to provide fund-ing for redevelopment, known asRecovery Zone Bonds. Charlotte

County has found only one taker forthis program. Like traditional banklending, money is only available tothose who don't really need it. Loanminimum is more than $1 Million withsignificant owner equity and a workablebusiness plan that includes new hiringin a blighted development area... whew!

Unemployment in the area heldsteady at 13% last month, slightlyhigher than the Florida average but 3pts above the national average. Ourworkforce relies on the comatose con-struction industry to provide new jobsfor the area. 2. Punta Gorda's CRA, unre-

strained by a business plan or the needto earn a return on its investment, inkedits first lease for the Herald CourtParking Garage. FGCU will occupy4,000 square feet to provide adult educa-

tion classrooms. Taxpayers will front$165K to finish the space for this ten-ant in addition to discounting rents bysome 20% below rates sought by itsnon-taxpayer subsidized competition.Just having more people coming intoour business district will help encourageour business community.3. Although its management com-

pany suggested a rate increase, theCounty Board elected to keep rentalrates at the Event Center flat at $1,800.The Cultural Center in Port Charlottecharges $1,500/day. The Event Centerhosted 188 events during the past year.About 40% of those events were leasedto non-profit organizations.4. Finally.... Burnt Store Road

widening will start in June. Thistreacherous stretch of narrow autobahnwill be widened to four lanes betweenJones Loop Road and Notre Dame Blvd.

5. Within the next couple ofmonths, Charlotte County will revealthe results of their study to providesewer services to some 18,000 home-owners now relying on their own septicsystems. EPA has been pressuring theCounty for several years to reduce waterway pollution caused by faulty septicsystems.

Sales S tatistics:Lot prices have stabilized in the $5k

range in North Port and PortCharlotte... about where they were in2003. Inventories are declining in thisprice range. Single family activitycontinues to be dominated by shortsales and foreclosures.

Please v isit us atwww.harborparadise.com to v iew anyavailable properties from Venice to BurntStore Marina.

Real Real Estate Estate NewsNews

P a g e 1 6 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0

By Kel ly Beal lWater LIFE Commercial FishingIf you're in the right mood a

blackened grouper can hit the spot,and sometimes a juicy cheeseburgercan too. If you're starving I guessit doesn't matter what grade of beefor what kind of fish you have, youjust want to get it down... But ifyou are out for a nice meal it doesmatter.Now some say you get what

you pay for. But grouper filletscost a heck of a lot more than mul-let and I personally prefer a mulletsandwich over a grouper any day. More importantly, I say you

should get what they told you -you paid for. What I mean is - if Ithink I paid for a chicken sandwichdon't feed me horse meat on a bun.I once had a vendor tell me that

he could sell me Lake VictoriaPerch real cheap and we could sellit as grouper. I said "Why not justsell it as Lake Victoria Perch?" Throughout the years I've

learned to just not order grouper inmost places because when it comesto the table and I see that it's LakeVictoria Perch or basa (VietnameseCatfish) it just makes me mad andit ruins my whole meal. Both ofthese fish taste just fine - it's themisrepresentation that leaves me

livid.Do these places think their cus-

tomers won't tell the difference?Do they think we are that ignorant?I guess so, because hundreds ofplaces get away with it everyday. Luckily there are some that

don't. Last year the alleged grouperat 17 of 24 restaurants aroundFlorida was actually another lessdesirable species according to DNAanalysis conducted for the stateAttorney General’s office. All therestaurants were fined. They mostlyblamed their distributors, but anychef worth his weight would knowthe difference.Facts are - if it sounds to good

to be true it probably is. A wholegrouper right off the dock costabout $3 a pound to $4 a pound tothe fisherman. That's the wholefish by the pound. Then the whole-sale buyer fillets it out and distrib-utes it. Once filleted the buyer hasanywhere between $5.75 to $7.75 apound invested in the fillets. Nowthey need to make their profit sooff to the restaurant's it goes for

about $7.75 to $8.75 a pound. The moral of this story is any

Grouper Sandwich under $9 isprobably not grouper or they justenjoy losing money. I've broughtthis up to other restaurants andthey tell me "It says Grouper onthe box". Oh, you get yourgrouper from a box - that's com-forting! Where did the "box" comefrom? Maybe a foreign country thathas no regulations on what theycall grouper? Remember, the FDAinspects less then 1-percent ofimports. Here in the US we haveto call it by its proper name. Yes,I've seen fish in boxes from out ofthe country with it clearly statingthe word "Grouper" and I know fora fact, looking at the fillets, it wasnot what it claimed.Either way, enjoy your sand-

wich. Somebody somewhere caughtit just for you. Personally, I justlike knowing the origin and speciesof what I eat, I'm weird that way.

Kelly Beall can be reached at Peace River Seafood 505- 8440

From the OlʼFishʼn Hole

By Capt. Jim O'Bri enWater LIFE Englewood Well gang, how about all the cold and winds we

have been having? It sure makes it hard to get out off-shore. I found out a long time ago, if you get a windowopen for fish'n you better be ready to go. In otherwords: If you snooze you lose. HA HA!!!

The Spanish mackerel are still a good bet for nearshore fish'n. If its not real rough, they can be caughtfrom 1 to 10 miles out.The greater amberjack (aka reef donkeys) are out on

the farther offshore wrecks and ledges. Blue runnersare a good choice for live bait. Large pin fish are goodalso.

Big mangrove snapper are chewing good at 70 to85 feet of water. I am still using live shrimp and squidpieces. Sharks should be back on the inshore artificialreefs and wrecks and feeding.

One of our trips out 30 miles recently was great. Inthe picture from left to right is my mate Denny Morin,Bob Eastman, Steve Soloman, kneeling with greencap Tom Malecki and his wife Neena. They was allhappy they got there limit on gag and red grouper andalso caught some nice big mangrove snapper, a fewporgies, some big Key West grunts on steroids, andsome big trigger fish. Bob Eastman added to thestringer of fish by catching a nice big shark (about a 9foot nurse shark – atta boy BOB! ) Don’t forget, snookseason is closed until September and grouper is closeduntil April 1REMEMBER: GET OUT AND SNORT SOME OF THATGOOD CLEAN SALT AIR CUZ IT'S GOOD FER YA !!!!

If you have any questions or if you have a good ol' fishin’story or a reciepe for cooking fish that I can share with ourreaders give me a call. To book an offshore charter with usaboard the Predator II call (941) 473-2150

GrouperGrouperon theon theMenuMenuWhat kind ofWhat kind ofGrouperGrouper is that?is that?

Sun. Feb 7: First Sunday BIKER BASH Live music by recording artists TC & The Troublemakers 1pm-5pm

Sun. Feb.14: LISA 1pm til 5pmFri. Feb19: Acoustic Open Mike Night 5pm til 9pmSun. Feb. 21: UP THE CREEK 1pm til 5pmSun. Feb.28: LISA 3pm til 6pm.

LAKE VICTORIA PERCH, AN ECOLOGICAL TRAVESTY: In 1960, Britishcolonialists in East Africa introduced the Nile Perch, likely the largest freshwaterfish in the world, to Lake Victoria in attempts to cultivate a better fish resource.At the time, the hearty, fast growing carnivorous fish seemed a perfect candi-date, as the Lake had been over-fished at this point and needed economicrejuvenation. What ensued was an ecological travesty. The huge remorselesseating-machine decimated nearly 350 native fish species and wreaked havocon the whole ecosystem. Now it is one of a handful of fish species in the lake,to which a large and important commercial fishery is based.

F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m P a g e 1 7

Captain S teve Nagy Water LIFE Estero BayOne of the longest cold snaps Florida

has seen since the 1970s has finallypassed. The fishing was tough during thethree past weeks but we were still able tobring in fish on every charter. There hasbeen a huge fish kill throughout the Stateof Florida from the cold weather. TheFWC has temporarily closed snook untilthe end of August to help preserve theremaining snook stock therefore catch andrelease only. Don’t worry, there are still a lot of fish

to be found and caught. The trout bite wasgood this past week on the grass flats in 2½ to 2-feet of water using live shrimpunder a popping cork and working it slow-ly. The trout size is running 14- to 25-inches.

Redfish can be found during low tidetailing on the grass flats and around man-grove islands adjacent to the grass flats onhigh tides. The larger fish will be thetailers at low tide. Fish 14- to 22-inchesare on the mangrove islands. Use liveshrimp with a popping cork or with asmall split shot lead sinker or a jig.

Snook can be found sunning them-selves in very shallow water with a darkbottom. Catching them has been quitedifficult due to the extreme temperatures.The fish tend to be very lethargic. We haveseen some nice size fish from 30- to 35-inches. Use free line live shrimp orshrimp with a small split shot. With thewarming temperatures the fishing willcontinue to improve. The best advice Ican give you right now is to target thewarmer water temperatures to increaseyour chances of hooking a nice fish.

Capt. Steve Nagywww.bonitaspringsfishing.com239-398-1528

Estero Bay Report

Dan Larson and friend John with jacks

After the cold there were ladyfish but no snook in our Port Charlotte canal light

Charlotte Countyʼs CompleteSwimming Pool SupplysPool Repair and MaintenanceStore

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

Specializing in Heaters andPool Pumps

“Green Pool” “Green Pool” Clean Up & MaintenanceClean Up & Maintenance

By David Al lenWater LIFE KayakingThis has been a difficult winter for

kayakers. Right after the holidays, theweather turned cold, colder than usual, andthe cold lingered for what seemed likeweeks. I guess we are just spoiled by thenice warm temperatures and gentle breezeswe experience on most paddles. We havescheduled the usual round of winter pad-dles; Shell Creek, Babcock-Webb, andalways, Lettuce Lake. But it seemed thatany day we picked turned out to be thecoldest, windiest and most uncomfortableday of the week.But there is one paddle that is a sure

winner at this time of year; paddling inthe Orange River where the manatees con-gregate during the cold winter months. As the weather cools down and water

temperatures fall below 70 degrees, mana-tees seek refuge in the warm springs ofthe Homosassa and Crystal River north ofTampa, and in warm water supplied byFPL power plant which flows into theOrange River. As this winter seemed cold-er than usual, we decided on the trip toNorth Fort Myers to see the manatees. Other kayakers reported that the mana-

tees had indeed migrated in large numbersto the River adjacent to the power plantand that the sightings were fantastic.Upwards of 500 manatees were reported topopulate that warm area.When we arrived at Manatee Park, on

Highway 80 east of I-75, we realized thatwe were outnumbered by other visitors tothe park, all wanting to see manatees.The small launch area was very crowded,but we took our turn with the other

groups and finally got out on the water.As we paddled south, we realized that

conditions had changed; we saw two orthree manatees, but not the hundreds we

had expected to see. Still, the river wasliterally covered with kayaks, all seekingthe elusive manatee. To avoid the crush ofboats, we continued on down the OrangeRiver, soon reaching the Caloosahatchee.There the water was much cooler and, ofcourse, there were no manatees.

There is a small rookery near by, butonly a couple of egrets were roostingthere. We had a brief snack and then pad-dled back to Manatee Park. On the return trip, we did see a few

more manatees, hanging suspended in thewater along the bank, out of the current.After we returned to the park, we

inquired as to why there were so fewmanatees in the riv er. The answer wasthat there were indeed several hundredmanatees during the first two weeks, orso, in January. This large herd had con-sumed most of the food supply in thevicinity of the power plant during thatperiod, and had then moved out of theOrange River to find better grazing.

The Port Charlotte Kayakers meet eachWednesday evening at 5:30 PM at PortCharlotte Beach Park at the end of HarborBlvd. All are welcome to attend. Foradditional information contact Dave Allenat 941-235-2588 or dlaa@comcast.net

Speci al No te: The Senior Games willbe held from March 4th to the 14th, at PortCharlotte Beach Park. A 3 mile and 6 milekayak race will be included in the event,probably on March 14th. Come join in thefun, and perhaps win a medal. Registrationmust be submitted by February 23.

P a g e 1 8 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0

www.al l f iberglassrepairs.com www.al l f iberglassrepairs.com Scott Steffe Owner Scott Steffe Owner

FFaabbrr iiccaatt iioonn •• SSppoott RReeppaa ii rrss •• MMaajjoorr SStt rruuccttuurraa llFFaabbrr iiccaatt iioonn •• SSppoott RReeppaaii rrss •• MMaajjoorr SStt rruuccttuurraa llCCuussttoomm wwoorrkk iiss oouurr SSppeecciiaall ttyyCCuussttoomm wwoorrkk iiss oouurr SSppeecciiaa ll ttyyPPrroo ffeessssiioonnaa ll QQuuaall ii ttyy AAwwll GGrriipp FFiinniisshheess PPrroo ffeessssiioonnaall QQuuaall ii ttyy AAwwll GGrr iipp FFiinniisshheess

GGee ll CCooaatt •• FF rreeee EEsstt iimmaatteess •• MMoobbii llee SSeerrvv iicceeGGeell CCooaatt •• FFrreeee EEsstt iimmaatteess •• MMoobbii llee SSeerrvviiccee

Let us bui ld one for YOU!

S h o p 9 4 1 - 5 7 5 - 8 9 1 4S h o p 9 4 1 - 5 7 5 - 8 9 1 4H o m e 2 3 5 - 2 2 4 3H o m e 2 3 5 - 2 2 4 3

1 7 2 6 S t e a d l e y Av e . P u n t a G o r d a1 7 2 6 S t e a d l e y Av e . P u n t a G o r d aCustom Fiberglass Custom Fiberglass KAYAKS!KAYAKS!

Fishing Just Got Easier!Check out the new Torque from Ocean KayakHands-free operation, variable speed forward and reversePowered by 33 lbs thrust of quiet power from Minn Kota!

Va l e n t i n e ʼs D a y S a l eVa l e n t i n e ʼs D a y S a l eAl l Tandem Kayaks Marked Down

Paddlers from the Port Charlotte Kayakers ̓club make their way among other kayakers on the busy Orange River in Lee County

A Winterʼs Paddle

KAYAKING

F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m P a g e 1 9

Charlotte HarborCharlotte Harbor FISHING GUIDESFISHING GUIDES

ChartersOffshore Fishing Trips: 1/2 day • 8hr • 10 hr • 12 hr

We help put your charters togetherShark, Tarpon, Grouper, Snapper, Kingfish, and MORE!

Nighttime Trips AvailableCapt. Jim OʼBrien USCG 50 ton license since 1985

941-473-2150

Englewood Beach, FL

TarponTrips

Startingat $375

Out of the ClosetThere have been rumors about the U.S. Navy'sspeedy new triple hulled ships, but now they'refor real. Here are some very recent photos of theLCS 2 (to be USS) Independence. She's shownat 43 knots running at half power.NOTE the absence of a bow wave.Note that there is very little spread-ing wake. In fact, it does not look likea wake at all, just foamy water fromthe water jets. Somehow, at 40knots, you'd think there would bemore wake.The U.S.S Independence was builtby General Dynamics. It's called a"littoral combat ship" (LCS), and thetri-maran can move its weaponsaround faster than any other ship inthe Navy. (Ironic that with all thathigh-tech, the ship reminds us of theironclad from Civil War days.) Littoral means close to shore, andthat's where these very ships willoperate. They're tailor-made for launchinghelicopters and armored vehicles, sweepingmines and firing all manner of torpedoes, mis-siles and machine guns.These ships are also relatively inexpensive.This one's a bargain at $208 million and theNavy plans to build 55 of them.The first of a new fire breathing breed, ready to

scoot out of dry dock at a rumored 60 knots, it'slike a speedy and heavily armed aircraft carrierfor helicopters. The massive helo deck is bigenough for a CH-53 Chinook!She's strange looking, but aerodynamicallydesigned. Is this the beginning of a new era inship design ?

SCUTTLEBUTTSometimes Unsubstanciated,But Often True

Turns tightly – allegedly this also was done at 43 knots...andfrom the look of the small bow wave, she's still in the turn.

InvadersIt wonʼt be long before we can add these fatparrots to Floridaʼs Invasive Species List. Thehigh strung squawky little fellows apparentlycame over from Miami where they have beenseen for the last 5 years. Lots of them now livearound Edgewater Dr. and US 41 in Port C.

No Mo Lo RanAn announcement from Coast Guard Headquarters outlines the end to theUSCG broadcast of the Loran-C signal. The Loran signal has been used byfishermen and other mariners for navigation since World War II.The USCG announcement said the termination was consistent with the

Obama Administration's pledge to eliminate unnecessary Federal programs.The use of LORAN (LOng RAnge Navigation) system has been in steep

decline with the popularity of GPS navigating systems.The announcement said, "Federal broadcast of the Loran-C signal will ceaseat 2000Zulu on 08 February 2010

FWC Notes Officer Cohl encountered a fisherman on Boca Grande who hadtwo snook on the ground, next to a large cooler. A filet was on top of the cool-er. Further inspection revealed dip nets and more snook. A total of twentysnook were located, ten of which were undersize. Citations were issued.

Picked up by PennLocal fishing guide and regular WaterLIFE contributor Capt. Angel Torreshas struck up a relationship with PennInternational, which is handled byPure Fishing. “I hope weʼll be able toget some of their fine fishing gear forthe Kids Cup,” Angel said.

P a g e 2 0 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0

By Tom Fleming, PRO, PPYCWater LIFE SailingPlatinum Point Yacht Club (PPYC)

celebrated its 27th Anniversary of theGolden Conch Regatta (a CharlotteHarbor Boat of the Year event) at theBurnt Store Marina, on January 16 -17. This weekend was a “rescheduled”

date from January 9 and10 due to the unseason-able massive cold frontwith 30 degree tempera-tures and heav y rains.ALL sailors were happyto postpone the date andcame back to race. In fact,three more racers regis-

tered for a total of 24 boats participat-ing.This regatta was a two day sailing

event of four races with sailors comingfrom Punta Gorda to Naples. They rep-resented four sailing divisions of PHRFrated boats: Spinnaker, Non-Spinnaker,True Cruising A, and True Cruising B.

The weather was acceptable for competi-tive sailing with partly cloudy skies,temperatures in the 60s. The windsranged from 5-11 knots at the starts.Saturdays races started off with a SE

breeze of 11 knots and increased to 14knots with gusts in the 20s and nocourse changes. Second race winds wereSE 8-9 knots giving the racers abreather. An additional race was held tooffset any cancellation of Sunday’s raceincurring possible bad weather. Thisrace had SE 9-14 knot winds. It was asprint race with a short windward legset at .75 for the Spinnaker C lass and.50 for rest of the fleet. All boats com-pleted the course within an hour.Sailors enjoyed the close “fast” racingwithin all fleets. Sundays race had consistent SW

winds of 5-8 knots with 70 degree tem-peratures to enjoy the sunny skies andsmooth water racing. This race finished before some 20-30

knot winds surfaced, making going backto home port a challenge for many. Allreported home safely!Before sailing each day, sailors were

treated to a continental breakfast atPPYC. After Saturday’s three races the

115 sailors/spouses/guests enjoyed adelicious sit-down steak dinner cateredby Whiskey Creek, Port Charlotte.On Sunday, an Awards Presentation

with custom designed “levitating” gold-en conch shell trophies were presentedto 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes. Firstplace winners were also given a bottleof champagne personalized with theirname on the label. A cocktail and horsd’oeuvres party was held to congratulateall winners. Eighty five people attended.

Results (first-place) Spinnaker: Bama Slammer,

Bob Knowles (S2/7.9) Non-Spinnaker: Fancy Free,

Jerry Poquette (Soveral 39)True Cruising A: Serendipity,

Mike Busher (Hunter 420)True Cruising B: Pipe Dream,

Iras Sramek (Hunter 29.5) For complete results you can

visit www.ppycbsm.comWilliam Dixon will return next

month:dixonwj@comcast.net

Golden Conch Regatta Platinum Point Yacht Club at Burnt StoreAbove Fancy Free and BamaSlammer battle it out at the mark

By Adam WilsonWater LIFE DivingDescribing diving for the

month of February will be easy,COLD. With surface temps hover-ing around 60 degrees and bottomtemps solidly in the mid 50s itmakes for some iron-man condi-tions. Anything less than a full 7millimeter wetsuit just isn’tgoing to cut it for a full day ofdiving. If you are brave enough to bat-

tle out between the fronts youwill find lots of fish, but you willhave to battle the relentless windswe have had so far this year. Andunderwater you’ll probably havebad visibility too. We had about eight feet of visi-

bility on our last trip out, in lateJanuary, after the cold, but it wasjust enough to round up some lastminute grouper before theFebruary 1 closure.

Hunting for snappers on ledgeswill be popular over the twomonth grouper closure. A goodflashlight is critical for successful-ly bagging trophy mangroves.These fish will immediately van-ish into pitch black holes andcrevices never to be seen againwithout a powerful light. I havemore money invested in my divelight than my spear gun. That’show important it is. Even if youaren’t hunting, you don’t knowwhat you are missing without apowerful dive light.The thick schools of fat winter

amberjacks are swarming over allstructure past the 60 foot contournow. As soon as you roll off theboat and look down they magical-ly appear to see what’s going on.Generally the deeper you go, thebigger they get. But always waitfor someone else to pull the trig-ger first. The largest amberjacks

in a school will always move inonce the first fish is shot.With grouper shut down for the

next two months, much colderthan normal water temps, bad vis-ibility and the constant wind thathas been hammering our coast,you might have a better chancefinding me on one of my favoriteoyster beds in Bull Bay thismonth than offshore.

F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m P a g e 2 1

Capt. Stev e Skev ing tonWater LIFE OffshoreOffshore this past January has been fun, with lots of

big grouper hitting the deck. Fishing both live and cutbait on our favorite ledges has had the best luck, but thearea wrecks gave us some good fish too.The nasty cold snap seemed to have had a negative

effect on the grouper bite late in January. Up until the snapwe were bagging our limit of gags on every trip. Just afterthe snap we were only boating one or two per trip.I wish I could figure out where they all went, I fished

out as far as 80 feet, and never really got into them afterthe cold.The snapper and grunts seemed to not be bothered as

much. Fishing offshore this February is going to be allabout the snapper and amberjack. The cool thing aboutthese two fish is you’re going to find them together and

they are super easy to find.Almost every trip I run this time of year is the

same routine: We start out by catching live bait inthe morning, whether it's small scaled sardines ormonster sized blue runners, we get all we can ofeverything. Once we have plenty of live bait on board we

start the long ride offshore, I like the really deepwrecks this time of year wrecks deeper than 120feet. They are always covered in huge amberjack andbig mangrove snapper. We will start out with theAJ's because they are the easier of the two to catch.Just put a live bait on a circle hook and put it in thewater, done, your hooked up. It really is that simple!Once you have all the AJ fun you can take, start

cutting up frozen bait and slowly tossing it over-board. This method of chumming, you will find, is aLOT more effective than the ol’ chum bag routine andit draws a lot more quality fish to the boat. Be sure todrop your baits back at the same speed as your chum isfalling. Once the snapper start chewing using this methodit’s hard not to limit out.Don't be surprised to run into a cobia or black-fin tuna

doing this. The cobia are out there year round, and the tunashould be showing up any time now.

Capt. Steve operates out of Pineland Marina. He can be reachedat: 941-575-3528 for fishing information or to book a trip

Offshore WithCapt Steve

Too Cold for Diving: BUT THEY WENT ANYWAY!

One nice last grouper before February

Five foot across and 20-feet long this steel cylinder is out in 70 feet of water at a spot referred to locally as"the junkyard". It holds quite a few fish, even some nice snapper and amberjack this time of year.

LITTLE GATOR CHARTERSBACKWATER & OFFSHORE FISHING

Tarpon Redfish Snook Grouper

HALF DAY & FULL DAY CHARTERSSIGHT SEEING ISLAND SHELLING

CAPTLARRYTODD@AOL.COM994411 888899 77119933 994411 662266 00881100

Charlotte Harbor • PIne Island Sound • Boca Grande • Gulf of Mexico

F e b r u a r y F i s h i n g R e p o r tF e b r u a r y F i s h i n g R e p o r tCharlotte Harbor:Robert at Fishin' FranksPort Charlotte: 625-3888Trout and sheepshead are the primary two species right

now. Everyone wonders where all the other fish are. This isa tricky time for the other species because they are mostlysub tropical species and they don’t like the cold... except forredfish which are migratory fish.

Trout are relatively abundant throughout the Harborright now, from I-75 to the Intracoastal, and they will bethere into March. Trout are a cooler water species and theyhang in deeper water, so the cold didn’t effect them asmuch. Look for trout at Alligator Creek, (it’s protected) atTurtle Bay on the open flats, and at El Jobean if you arefishing from shore. To the south, Pine Island, Useppa, theRocky Channel area and Matlacha are holding trout. Live shrimp is the best trout bait – under a popin’ cork

or free lined, either way trout will like it. You find them bydrifting along the flats in 3 to 4-feet of water. The larger thefish the more solitary they are. Bigger fish will take an arti-ficial like a soft plastic on a jig head or a small suspendingsub-surface bait like the Rapala X-Wrap or the Mirodine. Inearly morning a small topwater will work as well.

Sheepshead predominately are structure oriented rightnow eating on barnacles and crabs and other small crittersso you want to keep your bait in close to the structure. Thecold pushed them out a little further but there are still fishon the offshore reefs and they are starting to come back innow. The old Phosphate Dock, the Placida Trestle, the TomAdams Bridge (and also El Jobean from shore) are all goodsheepshead places now. Any oyster bars and oyster patchesaround Bull and Turtle Bay, in Pine Island and the AlligatorCreek Reef are holding sheepshead. Crabs are the best baitbut fiddler crabs are hard to come by right now.

Continued on facing page

P a g e 2 2 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0

Left a moray eel from Jim on Predator IIAbove & Right: red drum / black drum from Capt. Angel

CALENDAR� February 5-7: Charlotte Harbor Regatta,Racing starts at 10 a.m. one-design classesincluding the Sunfish, Laser, Hobie 16, HobieWave, Weta, Flying Scot, Viper 640, S2 7.9and Precision 15, Various sites:www.charlotteharborregatta.com � February 20: Winter Flats FishingSeminar, Capt. John Wood. Saturday, 10:30am -12:00 West Marine, Charlotte Harbor, 625-5243� February 20: Flatsmasters Tournament,Laishley Marina, Punta Gorda, 637-5953� March 6-7: Conquistador Cup RegattaPunta Gorda (see sailing P20)� March 11-14: Fort Myers SpringBoat Show, Lee Civic Center� March 4: CCA Banquet, Punta Gorda� March 20 & 27: About BoatingSafety Class USCG Aux Flotilla 87,Lemon Bay Park, Englewood, $25 Successfulcompletion of this program will qualify the studentto receive the Florida Boater Safety Course Id Card. 941-697-9435 www.coastguardenglewood.com

Send cal endar i nfo rmat i on t o : wat erl i fe@ comcas t . net

F i s h i n g F i s h i n gR e p o r tR e p o r t .continuedTry fishing pieces of

frozen shrimp, chunks of bar-nacle meat and HOT TIP!the FishBites blood wormwhich is a tube worm thatclosely simulates whatsheepshead feed on.

Grouper is closed but snapper offshore isusually pretty good in February. Anywhere fromthe mouth of the passes to 20 miles offshore –Novak, Trembly or the School Bus Reef are allgood for snapper now.For the patient angler, redfish are still

around, but the legal ones will be hard to comeby and slow to eat... although they are startingto pick up now, as the weather warms. Slowpresentation: slow, slow slow, is still the key. In freshwater, crappie and bass are doing

excellent right now.

Lemon Bay:Jim at Fishermen’s Edge,Englewood: 697-7595Since the cold a lot of guys are catching

trout and redfish on the flats. GasparillaSound is doing pretty well with trout up to 26-inches and reds up to 30. Guys are mostly fish-ing with shrimp. Some guys are catching blackdrum now too. And they are pitching shrimp tothe sheepshead at the trestle, but the best fish-ing right now seems to be from the privatedocks that you can only get to by boat.Offshore, some guys were going to the

wrecks for snapper and amberjack. It’s starting topick up again.

Dead Fish: The canals all over (Englewood)are full of dead snook. They are all over theplace. My one friend took 1500 of them out ofhis dead end canal at Boca Grande; 1500 snook,4 tarpon 2 goliath grouper. It took days. Guysare telling me they are seeing dead snook every-where. Bull Bay, Turtle Bay and the Pine IslandSound. There are also a lot of dead pompano anda lot of dead sand brim too.

The BIG-4The BIG-4 Fish to expect in Fish to expect in FebruaryFebruary

SNAPPER: Offshore from thePass to 20 miles

TROUT: Out on the grassyflats

REDFISH: Still in thedeeper creeks and holes

SHEEPSHEAD: On theinshore pilings and reefs

FishingFishingRIGHT NOWRIGHT NOWWarmingWarming

UpUp

F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m P a g e 2 3

4265 Tamiami Trail, Port Charlotte941 - 625-2700

700 Tamiami Trail, Punta Gorda941 - 637-0019

GoGoFishing!Fishing!

Sheepshead from the docksTripletail from a channel marker

F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m P a g e 2 4

REDUCEDREDUCED

REDUCEDREDUCED

REDUCEDREDUCEDREDUCEDREDUCED