water life nov 2014

November 2014

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LIFEThe Don Ball School of FishingThe Don Ball School of Fishing

GoDeep

forSnook

Page 7 WWaatteerr

Thankful for: Big Snook

4

Fishinʼ the CreeksPage 9

Kids Hands OnPage 12-13

Theʼre Back! Fishing Reports Page 22-23

Venice LA Page 16

EMAIL: W [email protected] NOVEMBER 2014

NOVEMBER 2014 BACK ISSUES @ WWW.WATERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM PAGE 3

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Water LIFE [email protected]

Michael & Ellen Heller Publishers

(941) 766-8180217 Bangsberg Rd.

Port Charlotte, FL 33952Independant - Not affiliated with

any other publicationVol XIII No 11 © 2014

No part of this publication (printed or electronic) maybe copied or reproduced without specific written per-

mission from the publishers.

Contributing Editors:Photography: ASA1000.com

Senior Editor: Capt. Ron BlagoRiver and Shore: Fishinʼ Frank

Charlotte Harbor: Capt. Billy BartonFamily Fishing: Capt. Bart Marx

Punta Gorda: Capt. Chuck EichnerVenice: Glen BallingerKayaking: David Allen

Sea Grant: Betty StauglerOffshore: Capt. Jim OʼBrien

Fly Fishing: Capt. Scott SichlingBeach Fishing: Mallory Herzog

Circulation: Robert CohnOffice Dog: Molly Brown

on the COVER: Snook fishing has been noth-ing short of spectacular with many fish over the slotlimit being landed and released. Shown here, KenLeathrope with the fish of a lifetime, on a charter withCapt. Billy Barton. Story on page 14.

PAGE 4 EMAIL: W [email protected] NOVEMBER 2014

Send letters and photos to: [email protected] To Water LIFE - RE: Flat Masters

I sent the Punt Gorda City Council an email in July 2013 on deadredfish floating in the waters of the city marina. I received a reply fromthe assistant city manager along with a statement like press releasefrom Flat Masters saying their program has the blessing of the F.W.C.and they never discard dead fish in the marina basin. They claim if afish is dead they donate it to food pantry. I got a feeling from the cityʼsemail that Flat Maters did nothing wrong and my complaint was out ofline. Next day the marina had some of its people scooping out thedead fish. My complaint fell on deaf ears. A year later the same thinghappens again. I don't fish, but the water in the marina is dirty enoughwithout tossing in dead fish. The city proudly displays the Clean Ma-rina Flag but they allow this to happen over and over. The F.W.C.should have a officer on duty at these tournaments to keep everyonehonest and make sure Flat Masters play by the rules. You can't expectthe people that work in the marina office to police these tournamentsdue to they work for the same people that control Smugglers and FlatMasters. A conflict of interests? I removed my boat from the city ma-rina after 41/2 years due to dirty water, stains on the hull and the cityʼsattitude of ʻtake it or leave it.ʼ The city is more interested in specialevents than running a marina. It will never change, so if your readersare not happy with Flat Masters they should not support them in any-way. John Almeida , Punta Gorda

Letter sent:I went down to my slip today about noon and noticed 3 dead red

fish floating in the waters in the area of the gangplank. Another persontold me he saw 5. The water is already dirty in the marina without thehelp of these dopes dumping their fish in it. Someone told me the redfish tournament boat was releasing fish in the marina waters. I thoughtby the rules of a clean marina you couldn't release any fish in marinawaters. Was I wrong? I don't know who is doing this and I don't care. Idon't care if they catch every fish in the harbor, but I do care aboutclean water. It is bad enough when mother nature and weather condi-tions kill fish and the dead fish end up in the marina. Please stop thisact of stupidity. I won't contact you people again, but I will contactBrenda Leonard, she is the manager of the clean marina program forD.E.P. Thank

You for your time, John Almeida

Hi Water LIFEJust saw the inquiry re-garding the SeminoleTrader in October WaterLife. As a photographeralways in search of sub-ject matter I have hap-pened across it severaltimes over the years . Ifyou have contact info forthe owner please passthese along. Haven't seenthe Apache Trader aroundfor a while eitherThanksBernie Hynes

Re: Last monthʼs Charlotte County water quality story:What is this pink residue in my bathroom?

Editor notes we did some digging and found this reply:Pink residue is not generally a problem with water quality. In fact, pink

residue is likely a result of airborne bacteria which produce a pinkish or darkgray film on regularly moist surfaces. Such surfaces include toilet bowls,shower heads, sink drains and tiles. Some people have also noted that thepink residue appears in their pet's water bowl, which causes no apparentharm to the pet and is easily cleaned off. Due to the expense of having bac-teria tested, most homeowners never identify the exact type of bacteria thatis causing their problem. However, many experts agree that the bacteriathat causes these pink stains is most likely Serratia marcesens, a bacteriawhich is found naturally in soil, food, and in animals. Serratia which producea characteristic red pigment, thrive on moisture, dust, and phosphates andneed almost nothing to survive. These bacteria were thought to be harmlessuntil recently, when it was discovered that in some people, Serratia marce-sens is a cause of urinary tract infections, wound infections and pneumonia.

Now donʼt you feel better?

Photo by Bernie Hynes


By Michael HellerWater LIFE Publisher

It isn’t easy being a fish. Red tide is movingcloser, birds are diving on you from above, andbigger fish are biting you from below, anglersare pulling on you and boats running you over.Long time fishermen have tales of strangemangled fish they have come across, fish withcurved spines and broad shoulders and manywith bite marks. That’s nature, but it’s unnatu-ral when those or other deformed fish are en-tered in a tournament.

After my column last monthabout a curiously straight redfish tailand the fish wearing it having won arecent Flatsmasters Tournament, onealleged ex-Flatsmaster’s stafferwrote me saying: “We used to meas-ure and inspect the fish at Flatsmas-ters’ weigh-in, but they replaced us

with the dishwasher from the Crab House.” The insinua-tion was that supervision of the weigh in had gone lax,but I don’t know, they won’t let me watch.

I also got a call from my friend Capt. Bill the barber,in Punta Gorda. “The guy with the redfish tail was just inmy shop and he’s pretty mad about your story,” Bill toldme. “He’s talking about a lawyer, “ Bill said.

“I wish I could have talked to him,” I told Bill, re-minding him that the Flatsmasters Tournament has not, inthe past, answered my questions or allowed me to bepresent at their events. “I have his phone number,” Billtold me. So I called the man.

I’m not going to reiterate our con-versation because this poor guy hadalready received considerable feed-back about the story and it was justone day after our edition came out.My problem, I said to him, was notwith how the tail got that way, butwith Flatsmasters Tournament allow-ing the fish with that tail to beweighed in and then not explainingit. All the questions I had, I told theangler, could and should have beenaddressed by Flatsmasters. They, notI, put you in the middle, I said, note-ing what Flatsmaster’s Rule 6 says:

“No angler at anytime may alter any fish by length orweight with the intention of gaining advantage over an-other competing team. This includes prior to, during, orafter the scheduled tournament day. In addition, no an-gler may hand or force feed any tournament fish. In ad-dition, no team may enter a mutilated or altered redfishregardless of whether the redfish was caught in thatcondition. Tails previously trimmed are not allowed.”Not long after that, we hung up.

As I heard it, the official explanation for the funky tailwas that: Redfish feeding on oyster bars, with their tailssticking out of the water, can have their tails ground offby barnacles hanging from mangroves above.

To me, that explanation was intellectual spandex.Sure, redfish can have their tails ground off by the sharp-ness of an oyster bar, but as logic will tell you, the part ofthe tail that might get ground down is the bottom of thetail, not the top.

For Flatsmasters, problems are to be avoided, or, bet-ter yet overlooked. Protests in that tournament carry asteep $300 fee so there aren’t many protests and tourna-

ment anglers don’t speak out because under the Flatsmas-ter’s own Sportsman Rule: ... “Unacceptable behavior will result in expulsion from

all future Flatsmasters events. Derogatory commentsand or unacceptable use of social media is also groundsfor expulsion from future events.”

Keep the media away – don’t talk and don’t tell –that’s one approach to giving your event a ‘sportsman-like’ appearance, but it’s just smoke in the mirrors. Thetruth always comes out in the end, often it’s the tail end.

The Tail End

Capt. Billy Barton Writes: Here's a pic of a redfish caught onsome oysters. See how his tailʼs naturally gettinʼ filed down,but on the bottom not the top. I've been lookin through mypics (like 3000 of them!) and I can't find any reds that have apoint on the bottom but not the top. I got lots of flat tails withno points, and several like this one I sent you, but none theother way around.

A shark hit this redfish lastmonth near Pirate Harbor.

The curious tail


By Capt. Chuck EichnerWater LIFE Inshore

What do largemouth bass, tarpon, red-fish and snook have in common? The an-swer: the Peace River! Since the day Imoved here I was fascinated to hear thaton one cast I could catch a freshwater bassand on another a snook and in the samespot. Many anglers spoke of tarpon in thePeace River but up until a few years ago Idismissed this notion and did not take itseriously.

Tanic stained from over 50 miles ofmeandering river banks lined with cypresstrees and mangroves the Peace morphs

from a fast moving freshwater creek to abrackish water estuary to a saltwater oasisfor Gulf fish species that eventually makethis river their home.

A recent outing with friend Lyn Bevisconfirmed all rumors I had ever heard.Normally, we would head to Lake Okee-chobee to bass fish but instead welaunched at Laishley Park and headed upriver. Plenty of water was running thisfall day with an outgoing tide and the lastof the summer rain water draining into theriver basin. Casting a variety of bass luresat man-made structure, docks, pilings andfallen trees, the day started off with a bangliterally! Lyn made two back to backcasts to a piling and hooked, not bass, buttwo nice snook that burnt drag and usedthe river current to challenge his skill inkeeping them from the structure. Your fa-vorite bass lure whether it is a crankbait,swimbait, surface plug or whatever, mustbe moving fast with the current. The nextfew hours of casting proved fruitless aswe continued our trek up river.

The river and it’s side tracks is shallowin many places with sandbars and fallentrees to run into. The further up the riveryou get the more narrow it becomes andyou may have to dodge a maze of crabtraps in the fast moving water as well!

The beauty of the river makes it allworthwhile and there is more fishy habitatthen you can imagine.

In military like fashion we orchestraterepetitive casting with little being said aseach of us anticipates the proper cast tofallen trees, feeder creeks, eddy currentsand shadow lines. With true silence thatonly nature can provide, a peaceful sensethat you stepped back in time makes hoursof casting without a bite worthwhile.Then out of nowhere an enormous splasherupts on Lyn’s top water plug as a biglargemouth bass jumps to the air and divesback into a tree stump. Drag burning, rodarched and adrenaline pumping we luckilyretrieve this prize and release it after a fewphotos! Continuing further up river webottomed out a few times then we cast,only to hear a giant splash! Looking upwe saw the tail of a 150 pound tarpon nuz-zled up against a tree lined mud bank withminnows spraying out of the water. Thisfish was in 6 feet of water on an outsidebend in a stretch of river only 150 feetwide! Our eyes about popped out of ourhead as we looked at our reels and de-cided that a cast to this fish would quicklyend with no line on the reel! But the bestwas yet to come! A school of 15-30pound tarpon began pushing baitfish upagainst a mud bank and multiple castsended up in huge blasts and one fishhooked and then lost on a majestic jump!It turns out these tarpon were feeding ontilapia and as quick as they showed upthey disappeared never to be seen the restof the day.

In southwest Florida there are severalcoveted “awards” that an angler canachieve. The most prestigious award ofall would have be the “Peace River Slam”where by you catch a redfish, snook, trout,tarpon and a bass all in the same day. Idon’t know of anywhere else in the worldyou can do this!Capt. Chuck Eichner operates Action Flats

Backcountry Charters 941-628-8040 orwww.backcountrycharters.com

Peaceful Fishing

Lyn Bevis shows off the bass caught on this trip (left) along with a snook (above) and aredfish (below) caught on a different day on the river.

Redfish show themselves up river as welland if you were to complete your day nearwhere you launched you could add a speck-led trout to your days catch!

NOVEMBER 2014 BACK ISSUES @ BACK ISSUES @ WWW.WATERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM PAGE 7

By Capt. David StephensWater LIFE Charlotte Harbor

Fall has arrived in South West Florida.The days are getting shorter and the coldfronts are beginning to push further downsouth. This is the time of year when fishare in a transition from basking in thewarm sun on the grassy flats to gettingready for the colder days of winter.

During the summer months, our fishcan be found on the lush grass flats allover Charlotte Harbor. Then, as fall ar-rives and the water begins to cool, a largemajority of those fish migrate to deeperwater for winter. On the top of that migra-tory list would be snook. It is very impor-tant for snook to migrate to areas wherethey have access to deep water. Living inthe sub tropics during most of the year ourwater temperatures are above 80- degrees.However, during the colder months ofwinter it can drop down below 60- even attimes into the 50s. Fortunately for us, andthe fish, we have plenty of deep water forour fish to migrate to.

There are two main rivers that flowinto Charlotte Harbor. The Peace Riverand the Myakka River. Also, we havemiles of man made canals. When the mer-

cury drops down into the cooler tempera-tures these are areas that our fish dependon for warmer water to help them surviveduring the colder months.

Locating fish in these areas can be a lit-tle bit tricky. Most of the year we look formangrove shore lines with nice greenbushes hanging over and good tidal flow.When trying to locate fish in their deeperwinter haunts, tidal flow is very necessary,how ever green mangrove over hangs arenot.

The main thing that people overlook isthe depth. It’s like the old saying goes; tocatch fish you got to think like a fish. Themain reason the fish have moved to theseareas is for the warmer water. Once youhave located deeper water you also needto slow down. Fish a little slower than younormally would. Often times fishing indeeper water, the tidal flow can be a littlestronger. Split-shot type sinkers workgreat in winter for slowing your bait downand keeping it in the strike zone longer.

The great thing about fishing deeperwater is, generally, when you do locate thefish there are a lot of them. You mighthave to fish different areas for a while atfirst, but once you start to learn and locatesome of our deep water spots I’m sure youwill have a great day on the water andyou’ll keep the rod bent. If you would like to experience some of

South West Florida’s finest fishing give me acall or send me an email. All of our chartersare private and customized to fit your partiesneeds. 941-916-5769 ww.backbayxtremes.com

Go Deep for Snook

RedsFromOctoberCapt. DerrickJacobsenʼsclients, late lastmonth, showthere are stillplenty of qualityredfish cruisingthe shorelines inCharlotte Harbor


By Capt. Betty StauglerWater LIFE Sea Grant

College students fre-quently develop miniresearch projects as part of class assign-ments. Although these may be limited inscope, they ask great questions and arefun to read. Below are a couple from stu-dents in the University of Florida Fish-eries and Aquatic Sciences program.ARE BANANAS ON BOATS REALLYBAD LUCK? Where the origins of thebananas on boats taboo originated from isnot exactly clear; however this taboo re-mains common worldwide. To testwhether or not bananas were at all corre-lated to luck or fishing success, a master’sstudent from the University of Florida de-signed an experiment which was con-ducted in a stocked pond located on theUF campus. Her study design consistedof two anglers fishing simultaneouslyeach in a single person kayak and eachusing a 5.5 foot Shakespeare Sturdy Stikand cut up hot dogs as bait. Each fisherreceived a Styrofoam cooler labeled “A”or “B”. Cooler A contained four bananaswhile cooler B contained deionized waterbottles to mimic the weight of the ba-nanas. The fishers did not know whichcooler contained the bananas. The anglersfished a total of 15 minutes then swappedcoolers and fished for another 15 minutes.This fishing method was repeated two

more times at different time blocksthroughout the day for a total of three rep-etitions per angler. A data recorder as-signed to each kayak recorded the number,species, and size of fish landed. They alsorecorded incidents of “bad luck” that oc-curred such as loss of bait or fish. Themaster’s student found no relationship be-tween the presence of bananas and an in-crease in incidences of bad luck, such asfish loss or bait loss. She also noted thatno vessels were flipped or sunk during ei-ther treatment. She did however find asignificant difference in number of fishlanded during each treatment. Her datademonstrated that fishers had more fishingsuccess (more fish caught) when the con-trol cooler was onboard than when the ba-nana cooler was onboard. It’s importantto keep in mind that this study was in noway conclusive, but it is still interestingthat a relationship was found betweenhaving bananas onboard and lowered fish-ing success. Source: Chelsey Campbell, Lakeline

Newsletter.Can Fish Learn to Avoid Lures?Many anglers inherently know the answer,but this question hasn’t been well re-searched by the scientific community. Totest this question the investigators fished aprivate, 27-acre Florida lake that histori-cally receives little fishing pressure. Priorto angling, adult Florida Bass were

marked and released using electrofishingto obtain a population estimate for 347fish. For four weeks, two anglers fishedthe lake three days per week. A fishingday was 12 fishing hours (six for each an-gler). Anglers used two lures: a chromeand black lipless crankbait (Rat-L-Trap©Bill Lewis Lures), and a 4 inch soft stick-bait (Senko, Gary Yamamoto CustomBaits© in plum with emerald flake) fishedweightless with a 3/0 offset worm hook.Both lures were fished on 20 poundbraided line with a 4 foot, 20 pound fluo-rocarbon leader. To minimize angler skill

biases, each angler fished each lure forone hour, and then switched lures for thenext hour throughout the day. After cap-ture, the fish were tagged and released sothat recaptures could be noted. Over thecourse of the study a total of 260 FloridaBass were captured from an estimatedpopulation size of 347 adult Florida Bassin the lake. The investigators found strongevidence that bass learned to avoid cap-ture, particularly for the lipless crankbait.Catch rates for the lipless crankbait de-clined substantially after exposure to an-gling, falling from 2.5 fish per angler hourto only 0.25 fish per angler hour at the endof the experiment. Catch rates also de-clined but to a lesser degree for the softstickbait. The catch rates for the soft stick-bait dropped from 1.8 fish per angler hourat the start of the experiment to about 1.0fish per hour at the end of the study. Al-though this study didn’t address why theapparent learning was so different be-tween lure types the authors noted that‘while the flashy, loud, vibrating liplesscrankbait put out many more sensory cuesthan the soft stickbait, and resulted inhigher initial catch rates; the same cuesmight have made the crankbait much eas-ier to recognize and avoid over time’ .Source: Nick Cole, Ed Camp and Mike Allen,PhD. June Waterworks Newsletter.Capt. Betty StauglerFlorida Sea Grant AgentUF/IFAS Extension Charlotte County (941) 764-4346

RESEARCH PROJECTS

Fishʼs-eye view of a RattleTrap Lure


By Capt. Scott Sichling Water LIFE Fly Fishing

Up a creek, never a bad thing! As falland winter approach Charlotte Harbor,lots of things begin to change. Windspeeds pick up significantly with the ar-rival of cold fronts,humidity levelsplummet, air tem-peratures dropdown while thebarometer is danc-ing all over theplace and theweather man isstuck in his newsstation trying tosort out the mess!

Just as the sunpeeks over thehorizon we idleaway from thedock. This time ofyear it’s windy,choppy and coldmaking the earlymorning commutea little bumpy andcold. The windblows the waterout of the baysmaking it extremely shallow and leavingsome of our normal routes inaccessible.Bundled up in long pants, jackets and ourwaders we arrive at our first stop ofmany. Today our game plan is to targetfeeder creeks or deeper areas aroundshallow grass flats. Some of these creeksrange from just a couple of feet deep toover 10 feet deep and tend to have waterthat’s a few degrees warmer than the sur-rounding grass flats. Over night the watertemps drop and game fish slip back intodeeper water to stay warm and as the suncomes out the next day they move backout onto the flats again.

We arrive at our first location and parkthe boat. We get out and start wading toour first target zone. A lot about wherethe fish stage is dependent on the tide, the

lower the water the more concentratedthe fish will be and the higher the waterthe more scattered the fish will tend tobe.

A variety of artificial lures in naturalcolors work really well. Soft plastics

rigged on jig headsthat are workedslowly on the bottomare deadly whenfished in the bends ofcreeks where thewater tends to bedeeper. Aqua Dreamspoons also workwell because you canvary the depth by thespeed of the retrieve.

Sometimes fishare laid up in shallowparts of the creekswith their backs ex-posed and it’s hard tobeat an un-weightedsoft plastic to sightcast without spook-ing them. The bestchallenge is catchingthem on the fly rod.

Clouser minnowflys that have lead

eyes will sink quicker into the water tar-geting fish in deeper areas. Shrimp pat-terns work really well because it’s themost natural looking prey when the wateris crystal clear. The other advantage to flyfishing is with the proper cast you can re-main super stealthy while fishing reallyshallow. Some areas are hit and miss sodon’t fall in love with one location fortoo long. Wading allows us to quietlycover more water quicker than in a boatand often time you can’t get a boat intomany areas because of thick dense vege-tation. Don’t be afraid to get off thebeaten path this winter, you might bepleasantly surprised and all your hardwork could pay off very well. Capt. Scott can be reached for fly or

conventional charters at (941) 408-5634

Fishing the Creeks

By Fishin’ FrankWater LIFE Baitshop

The flats: that mysticalmagical area of the Harborwhere nothing bad can happen except maybeyou run aground. Well I thought so. Whilerunning up behind the bar on the West Side,the skeg on my 115 Yammy 4-stroke hitsomething right out in the middle of the flat.It made a small dent in the skeg, but itsnapped the midsection of themotor completelyin half! In mymany years ofboating, profes-sionally andrecreationally, Ihave never seenthis happen. So Itook the boat toSOS Marine inHarbour Heights.My friend Jerry(tell him Franksent you) hasseen it all but hehas never seenthis. Yes he hasseen skegs bro-ken off, bulletscracked and bro-ken but not this.This should havetorn the lowerunit off - thelower unit is thepart from theskeg up to the cavitation plate. This is asnapped-off mid section. I don’t understandhow this could happen except for that thisboat did not have a jack plate so the skeg wasslicing the bottom and what ever it hit wasright on the bottom. I could not find anythinglater, after going back to the spot to see whathappened. Maybe it was a motor that hadfallen off a boat years ago, or an anchor in themud. It was something hard. Or maybe theflats are getting some sand-stone bottom fea-

ture, which is possible.I have replaced the motor and had SOS

Marine installed a jack plate so when thewater is skinny, this should not happen again.

The only other hard obstacle I know ofaround here is in the Myakka cut-off where asmall drug plane crashed many years ago.Their pontoons hit what they thought waswater and the plane flipped over and it juststayed right there. If you are coming in from

the Harbor sideto the cut-off,when it starts tonarrow throughthe S bend, theplane is just be-fore you get tothe narrows onthe right/eastside about 30feet from shoreand maybe 6inches belowthe mud. I hitthat too, a fewyears ago, andbent a 4 bladestainless propinto modern art.There was noother damagethen other than along idle home.

The amazingthing this lasttime was thatthe motor stillran and I was

even able to power load the boat back ontothe trailer! I think only the drive shaft itselfwas holding it all together!

Charlotte Harbor is still one of the safestplaces to boat and fish, but there is still junkon the bottom, oysters and maybe naturalsand stone. We (I) should start to watch a lit-tle closer. When the tide is very low this win-ter I plan to walk that flat and find out what Ihit, until then it will stay a mystery.

Fishin’ Frank 625-3888


Never Seen That Before!

strike point

Editor notes* The forward momentum of the hull was thedestructive force acting on the motor when the lower unitstruck on something solid.


AAQQUU AATTIICCAA

By Michael HellerBy Michael HellerWater LIFE Kids EnvironmentWater LIFE Kids Environment

For the last four years Chrystal MurFor the last four years Chrystal Mur--ray and John Hadden, biologists at theray and John Hadden, biologists at theFWC-FMRI Research lab in Murdock,FWC-FMRI Research lab in Murdock,have made presentations and conductedhave made presentations and conductedoutings for our Don Ball School ofoutings for our Don Ball School ofFishing classes. In the past they haveFishing classes. In the past they haveintroduced the students to Apex Predaintroduced the students to Apex Preda--tors and brought iced fish and fishtors and brought iced fish and fishstomachs to class for the students tostomachs to class for the students todissect. But the last two years they have brought adissect. But the last two years they have brought aspecial100-foot long seine net that the kids learn tospecial100-foot long seine net that the kids learn topull in the shallow waters off Ponce Park in Puntapull in the shallow waters off Ponce Park in PuntaGorda. Then they collect the contents of the net inGorda. Then they collect the contents of the net inbuckets and transfer it all to trays on the beach wherebuckets and transfer it all to trays on the beach wherethey identify what they have brought in.they identify what they have brought in.

“Saturday is going to be a really interesting day,”“Saturday is going to be a really interesting day,”Christal predicted, the morning before we took ourChristal predicted, the morning before we took ourMurdock and L.A. Ainger classes out. It was going toMurdock and L.A. Ainger classes out. It was going tobe interesting because last year our classes pulled in abe interesting because last year our classes pulled in alarge percentage of tiny redfish and Chrystal said theylarge percentage of tiny redfish and Chrystal said theyhad just recently begun to see a few tiny redfish inhad just recently begun to see a few tiny redfish intheir regular pulls.their regular pulls.Chrystal and John and aChrystal and John and ateam of other biologiststeam of other biologistspull a 600 foot net everypull a 600 foot net everyday in Charlotte Harbor.day in Charlotte Harbor.“There haven’t been“There haven’t beenmany so far this year,”many so far this year,”John said.John said.

For the last 25 yearsFor the last 25 yearsthe FWC has been conthe FWC has been con--ducting fish sampling inducting fish sampling inCharlotte Harbor. TheCharlotte Harbor. Thespots they sample arespots they sample arerandomly selected byrandomly selected bycomputer. “We have acomputer. “We have avery robust data setvery robust data setnow,” Chrystal told menow,” Chrystal told meas she helped the kidsas she helped the kidspull a short net on shore.pull a short net on shore.

The data set is important because it gives themThe data set is important because it gives themfindings over timefindings over time to evaluate. Their input then goesto evaluate. Their input then goesup the line and helps the FWC administrators makeup the line and helps the FWC administrators makesound regulatory decisions. The kids understood thesound regulatory decisions. The kids understood theimportance of this.importance of this.

The timing for our outing was pretty good. RedfishThe timing for our outing was pretty good. Redfishgo off shore to spawn and then the larvae have to wind go off shore to spawn and then the larvae have to wind

up back in the Charlotte Harbor Estuary where theyup back in the Charlotte Harbor Estuary where theywill grow. According to Chrystal, Just a minor changewill grow. According to Chrystal, Just a minor changecan affect whether the new population makes it up thecan affect whether the new population makes it up theHarbor or not. The spawn was last month.Harbor or not. The spawn was last month.

What the FWC has learned is when there are a nuWhat the FWC has learned is when there are a nu--merous tiny redfish showing up in their samples, then inmerous tiny redfish showing up in their samples, then inthree years there will be a lot of slot sized redfish in thethree years there will be a lot of slot sized redfish in theHarbor. It takes three years. And if they don’t see theHarbor. It takes three years. And if they don’t see thebabies in the fall then in three years the redfish populababies in the fall then in three years the redfish popula--tion will be down. “That’s when the guides and recretion will be down. “That’s when the guides and recre--ational anglers on the water start complaining that ational anglers on the water start complaining that wewehave overfished the redfish, have overfished the redfish, but it’s not that. It is somebut it’s not that. It is some

factor in nature thatfactor in nature thatchanges it for thatchanges it for thatyear. It could be redyear. It could be redtide, wind, normaltide, wind, normaltides or salinity thattides or salinity thatchanges things,”changes things,”Chrystal told theChrystal told thestudents .students .

Last year we hadLast year we hadthousands of tinythousands of tinyredfish, this yearredfish, this yearwe collected one.we collected one.We didn’t see manyWe didn’t see manyshrimp lastshrimp lastyear, this yearyear, this yearwe had a ton ofwe had a ton ofthem. them. “Nature is“Nature is

cyclic,” Chryscyclic,” Chrys--tal explained. We maytal explained. We maystill have a lot of tinystill have a lot of tinyredfish this year, mayberedfish this year, maybetomorrow, maybe yestertomorrow, maybe yester--day, just not today, sheday, just not today, shesaid.said. ..

Students go t the hang of dragging the lead weighted bottom side of the netaround in a circle. Then they pull it into a ʻpurseʼ and remove their catch.

This was the only redfish we collected

Characteristics to identify blue crabs in thefield are a red dot inside the claw elbow and thelast legs, called 'swimmerets', which are paddle-

shaped for swimming. Mud crabs, which in-cludes Stone Crabs, have pointed walking legs.

FWC Fun With CrittersDon Ball School of Fishing


The mohara has a mouth for feeding in the sand

A smaller net was used to drag the shoreline. We couldnʼt have asked for better weather!

Chrystal explains how to hold a blue crab

Some of the net contents are transferred to a container on the beach

Our 2014 program is madepossible through major grantsfrom Charlotte County and the

Fish Florida Foundation and addi-tional support by local sponsors.

Above left: One mo-hara and a handfullof tiny shrimp.Above: Inspecting a

horseshoe crab. Their blue coloredblud is a useful testing agent for hu-mansRight: A deflated puffer fishThe Spotted Seatrout is identified by

the mouth shape (terminal), canineteeth in upper jaw and spots on the back-camouflage for hiding in seagrass.

By Capt Billy BartonWater LIFE INSHORE

As an avid saltwater angler and a fulltime charter guide, there's one thing that Iwake up for on a daily basis. Big Fish!!When you are on the water fishing all yearlong multiple days a week, the trips do allseem to blend together in a way. How-ever, not all fishing trips are just "thrownin the blender" with all of the rest. Al-though every trip on the water is a bless-ing on its own, there are some days thatare just beyond all of the others. Thoseare the days we are all after as anglers.Those are the fishing trips we are boundto never forget!!

I had one of these unforgettable excur-sions this last month. I recently had thepleasure of meeting two great people whocontacted me through this magazine actu-ally. Ken Leathrope and his wife Maryhave been fishing together with me for a

month or so now. We've had four excur-sions together and they have all been greatdays on the water with some pretty darngood fishing. One of those fishing tripsstands out above the others. Ken landed afish that he, nor I will ever forget.

On this particular day, the bait ofchoice was live pinfish. I also had alivewell full of scaled sardines (green-backs) that I was using for chum. I pulledup to an island that I know very well andthat I fish pretty often. I explained tothem on the way in that there were someBIG snook on this island and if we werelucky a school of redfish would show up.

I positioned the boat a long cast awayfrom the bushes and we began fishing.About 15 or so minutes into chummingsardines and catching a few nice redfish, Ikept seeing this HUGE! explosion in thesame location on the surface, right upclose to the shoreline. Over and over my

chummers would make their way to thatpart of the sticks - before they becamelunch! I knew there was a big snook lay-ing in there.

I took Mr. Ken’s rod and put a freshbait on it, then made my cast towards thedirection of that fish. Kens bait soakedfor a few minutes. I actually believe I waslanding a redfish on the bow when I heardall hell break loose!! Ken was hooked upwith a monster!

Immediately, this monster snook headcomes out of the water shaking left toright trying to dump the hook! We wereall in disbelief! The fish tried with all itsmight to make it back into the shrubs.Ken had his heart and soul into this battleas the fish bee-lined down a good 50yards of shoreline, nearly inches fromfreedom the entire fight! I coached himthrough it and all I could say was: PULL!PULL HARD!!! GET HER OUT OFTHERE!!!

After a few strong minutes of insanity,he started to gain on her and get her outinto open water. As she approached theboat I knew we had something specialgoing on at that moment. Something realspecial. Ken directed the fish my way andI landed her. I'm sure the whole Harborcould probably here the celebrating at thatpoint! It was panic and joy all over Ken’sface as he gave me a big ol’ hug and ex-pressed his joy and appreciation. Heknew what he had accomplished and so

did I. Folks fish there whole lives for asnook like this! I got a quick measure-ment and got her back into the water for arevival. She measured up at 46-inchesand was pushing close to 30-pounds. Ihad a hold of her in the water, all I coulddo was sit there and stare at her in disbe-lief of her size. It was hypnotizing.

This was indeed the fish of a lifetime.It’s the cover photo on the magazine thismonth. A definite tough one to beat. I wasvery proud of Ken for doing such a greatjob behind the rod, and I was gratified be-yond words. Good times on the water andmaking memories like this for folks iswhat the charter business is all about.

The relationships built along the wayare an absolute bonus, and fish like thisone are what will always keep us comingback for more! Well done Ken. Tightlines guys and gals. I hope you're havingas much fun out there as we are! Till nexttime..Capt. Billy Barton, Scales-n-Tails FishingCharters 941- 979-6140

The Fish of a LifetimePAGE 14 EMAIL: W [email protected] NOVEMBER 2014

Capt. Billy with a fat redfish

By Mallory HerzogWater LIFE Beach Fishing

As we drift into the fall and winter fish-ing season things are starting to heat up.From redfish and sheepshead to sharksand cobia, the bite is starting to turn onheavily in southwest Florida. Coolingtemperatures are guiding fish up onto ourflats and into the canals. This means ex-cellent bridge, pier and beach or shorefishing for those of us who are stuck onthe sand. One of the largest cobia I haveever seen was caught from a local bridgelast winter. Don’t forget your pier net!

Sharks are everywhere at the moment.Blacktips are out along our Gulf beaches,and the smaller bull sharks and lemon'sare along the flats. Depending on howcool November is, we could start to seesandbar sharks move in on our Gulf

beaches and passes late in the month. Lastyear we saw them as far in as CharlotteHarbor, something local scientist's insisteddid not occur until local fishermen provedthem wrong. These sharks migratethrough our area yearly following mulletand other food sources. They prefer ourwarm Gulf waters compared to the coolAtlantic. Sandbar sharks caught andtagged in Florida have been taken as faraway as New Jersey! They do cover someground.

We’re also starting to see our conserva-tion efforts pay off, at least a little bitaround Florida's Gulf Coast. Tiger sharksare now becoming more prevalent in ourGulf waters. A great friend of mineChristopher Gerzeny caught, tagged andreleased a female 8 foot tiger shark nearshore in Sarasota. He incredibly caught

this shark using only 40lb braidand a spinning set up. It was notreally what he was expecting tofind on his line, but a beautifulsurprise none the less. He docu-mented the event on his GoProand was nice enough to share thephoto's and great story online.

In the previous years, tigersharks were only really spottedmiles off shore in our area,mostly due to years of over fish-ing. In more recent years, sincetheir protection was instituted, wehave started to see more andmore being caught, mostly juve-niles. It seems they are using ourwarm tropical waters as a pro-tected nursery, to grow and learn.Their larger relatives regularlyfrequent the warm tropical waterssouth of us near the Keys, s o I’mreally looking forward to thiswinter to see if we find an in-crease in our newer protectedspecies such as tiger sharks andgreater hammerheads.

If you’re planning on catchand release shark fishing this fall

and winter make sure to check out theNOAA Cooperative Shark Tagging Pro-gram. This is a volunteer only programthat uses the efforts of catch and releaseanglers to tag and release sharks on theeastern seaboard. I recently met BreannaSoucy and Joe Trotta, almost their entiregroup is currently studying various marinesciences at FKCC in the Florida Keys.They enjoy catching and releasing sharksfrom the beach. They were in town Satur-

day and we were lucky enough to catch ablack tip together. Snapping a few quickpictures before tagging and releasing herback into the Gulf. I love when fishermenand science meet, it’s the perfect combina-tion for the future of conservation.

If you want to know more about theNOAA Cooperative Shark Tagging pro-gram or log a tagged catch, log on to:http://nefsc.noaa.gov/nefsc/Narragansett/sharks.


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Still ʻSharkyʼ out There

You can see the tiger-like pattern on the skin of Christopher Gerzneyʼs tiger shark

Ready to release a black tip caught from the beach


By Michael WrightSpecial to Water LIFE

Several fishermen fromVenice Florida recentlycompleted their annual mi-gration to VeniceLouisiana for a few daysof excitement. VeniceLouisiana is situated at theroad’s end where the Mis-sissippi River enters theGulf.

Our offshore trips werechartered on the ShockWave, Kevin Beach’s 40foot Freeman catamaranpowered with 1,200horses. With Capt. Jordanat the helm, we skimmedacross the Gulf as the sunbroke the eastern horizon.Out past the many oil plat-forms we came across ashrimp boat raising hernets. Jordan pulled behindthe boat and we could seea burst of activity on thesurface as large predatorsfrom below devoured every-thing that escaped the nets.

We threw everything we had (livebait, artificials, and cut bait) into thefeeding frenzy and within seconds ourdrags were screaming – we were hookedinto fish on every cast!

The action was fast and furious andin less than an hour, 15 tuna were in theboat, including two yellowfin. The yel-lowfin, each about 50 pounds, werequite a battle since they were caught onmedium action spinning reels using sur-face popper lures as bait. The Blackfinwere in the 20 to 30 pound range. Thetuna box was full, so Captain Jordanstarted the engines and we moved on toour next adventure, a deep drop forswordfish.

Captain Jordan moved to 1,200 feetof water and rigged up his special cutbait swordfish “appetizer”. Using anelectric reel, Jordan sent the bait downseveral hundred feet. Because we al-ready had a full fish box, the captainjoked we should avoid catching a bigone, but the crew assured him we wereready for anything. Jordan said “OKthen, let’s get one!” And miraculouslythe rod bent in half as soon as the wordsleft his lips.

Unfortunately the fight was shortlived and the line went slack. When wereeled in the line it was frayed and bro-ken, probably from entanglement withthe sword. Oh well, that is fishing andwe moved on to another adventure.

Our next stop was another deep drop,this time with tilefish as the targetspecies. Three large hooks, fashionedSibiki style on 200-pound fluorocarbon,were baited with cut squid and dropped

to the bottom 1,000 feet below with adangling five pound weight. Rick Hall,a veteran of this technique, was first toscore and landed a beautiful 27 pounder.Rick volunteered to show me the ropesand we dropped again.

When fishing for tile you need to con-centrate on the rod tip, as hooking thesefish requires quick action as soon as theyhit. While Rick and I intently concen-trated on the rod tip, Captain Jordan qui-etly snuck around behind us and up tothe bow of the boat. Then Rick and Iwere caught by surprise when Jordanlaunched himself over our line and didhis own “deep drop” cannonball into theGulf’s warm waters. This captain evi-dently knows how to attract the fish, be-cause in short order two more tilefishwere aboard.

If you have never been fishing inVenice, now is the time. Some of us havefished frequently in Venice during thepast 20 years and it never fails to providesomething new and exciting that we didnot see or accomplish on the trip before. Offshore charter captain Kevin Beach

can be reached at (504) 451-3886

DEEP DROP: Report from Venice LA.

John and Chad Ballinger, no relation to columnist Glenn


Capt Ron RespondsHey Vern

I just read your letter to the US Fishand Wildlife Service (left) regarding themanatee. I don't know who you are get-ting your information from, but I don'tthink they are doing you any favors bygiving you false and misleading hand-outs. I know that you don't get down hereto Florida very much anymore, and let’sface it, there are not many manatees in thePotomac – even though a few have es-caped Florida and made it that far – butdown here we seem to be over run withmanatees. Let’s face facts, the manateepopulation is skyrocketing to numbersmuch greater than any of the so calledmanatee experts have ever predicted.

Perhaps you could use your influence tofind our how many manatees we are sup-pose to have here in Florida. It's alwaysgood to know what the goal is.

I was a little perplexed by some of thecomments in your letter. What loss of habi-tat are you talking about? It seems to methat there is just as much water now asthere always was and since all manateesare free range so to speak, they can goanywhere they want and if global warm-ing and sea level rise is real, the manateehabitat will be getting even larger forthem.

Concerning the loss of warm watersprings. Thirty years ago, when you hadonly about a thousand manatees, therewas plenty of room for all the manatees inthe springs in the winter, but now we haveover 5,000 manatees, most of which headfor the warm water discharges of ourpower plants instead of migrating south towarmer water as they historically have.

These power plants have become

homeless shelters for manatees where theyare packed in like sardines with no food.The only thing that would drop the mana-tee population to 500 in a century would bean Ebola like virus that hit these warmwater power plants. That could wipe outmost of the manatees in one winter.

Now Vern, you don't really believe that

dropping the manatee from the endan-gered species list will leave the manateeunprotected, because nothing could befarther from the truth. Remember; thegreat symbol of our nation, the BaldEagle, has been off the endangeredspecies list for several years now with noloss of protection from the law. The samething will happen to the manatee. Everymanatee protection law and rule will re-main in place. Just like we humans arethreatened by floods and hurricanes,manatees will have to deal with red tideand cold spells, that's just nature's way.

Downgrading the manatee to thethreatened list is just the realistic recog-nition that Florida and the manatee aredoing just fine.

I'm being very “Earnest” when I saythis, keep the politics and special interestout of this manatee mess and just let thescientists decide what the best thing to dois. That would be the best thing for both

man and manatee. You know what I mean, Vern ?

Sincerely, with all the respect I can musterCapt Ron BlagoEnglewood, [email protected]

On The Line By Capt. Ron BlagoWater LIFE Senior Staff

An Open Letter to US Congressman Vern BuchananCongressman VernBuchananʼs LetterDan AsheDirector, U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceOffice of the Assistant SecretaryUnited States Department of the Interior1849 C Street, NW, Room 3359Washington, DC 20240

Dear Director Ashe,I am writing to express my strong concern

over reports that the Fish and Wildlife Serv-ice may weaken protections for Florida man-atees under the Endangered Species Act.

While it is heartening to see the manateepopulation increase in Florida in recent years,significant threats remain to the full recoveryof these gentle giants. Watercraft collisions,habitat loss and red tide pose a significantthreat to Florida’s state marine mammal.

The disappearance of warm-water springsis of particular concern since Manatees needaccess to these springs during the cooler win-ter months. Over half the state’s manateesrely on warm water near power plants thatwill eventually be phased out. As your staffhas stated in public meetings, this is a trou-bling threat to the Manatee population.

Recent years have seen large numbers ofmanatees dying from unexpectedly coldweather or the increasing blooms of harmfulalgae, known as red tide. In the winter of2010-2011, more than 600 manatees died in aprolonged cold snap. In the past 3 yearsalone, over 1,600 manatees have died as a re-sult of cold or red tide.

This is not the time for the federal gov-ernment to reduce its protections for mana-tees and their habitats. In its 2007 statusreview, a government biologist projected a 50percent probability that the current popula-tion of close to 5,000 manatees in Floridacould drop to 500 within the next century.

Manatees have become an iconic symbolfor the wilderness and beauty of Florida.They are an engine in our economy even asthey are a restorative presence in our tranquilwaters. We must do everything possible toprotect this treasured species.

Sincerely, Vern BuchananMember of Congress


By Bobby Vital1sWater LIFE Pier fishing

Spanish mackerel are awesome tocatch; they are a good fast fighting fish. Icaught these mackerel at Sharky’s Pier inVenice. I have caught mackerel up to 26inches in length. I caught these mackerelright before sunrise, to about 10:00 a.m.

The legal length to keep Mackerel inthis area is from 12 inches or more meas-ured from the fork of the tail. Mackerelcome in schools. If you find one, you aregoing to find another.

The way I catch mackerel is to go spin-ning for them. You want a fast retrieve tomove a lure at a pace that will interest themackerel to bite. There are many lures youcan use to catch Mackerel. The lure I useis called the GOT-CHA lure. The color isyellow head with silver body with red tre-ble hooks and weight is 1 ounce, model#G502RH.

The presentation using the GOT-CHAlure is at a fast speed. As you’re reeling itin, give it fast jerks every so often. Forthose people who use bait, I suggest youuse green backs. The way to catch greenbacks is to use a casting net. The greenbacks come in large schools. You cancatch a whole net full of them when theyare there.

When putting the bait on the hook, the

hook to use is a Gamakatsu O’Shaugh-nessy long shank size 2/0 hook. The rea-son for using long shank hooks is becauseof the mackerel teeth.

You can either use a bobber, or try freelining. What free line means is that youuse just the bait and the hook. You want tocast out as far as you can and let the baitswim naturally in the water. I am using 30pound test Sufix Advanced Super line(Braided), as my main line. The reasonwhy I like this line is because, it has greatcasting distance. Then, for my leader line,I am using 2-feet of 30-pound test 100 per-cent fluorocarbon line which is invisible inthe water. At the end of that line, I amusing 6 inches of AFW 7x7 26 pound testSurflow N Micro Supreme knottable nyloncoated stainless steel leader wire (colorcamo) Model #DM49-26-A. Note: the rea-son for using wire is because, mackerelhave very sharp teeth. They can cutthrough braided and mono line with noproblem. When using wire line, it will bedifficult for the mackerel to break off.Some people just use wire leader by itself.So, you can try that too. There are manydifferent wire lines that you can try. So,you can pick out the wire line that is bestfor you. So, if you want to have fun catch-ing mackerel, try my method with theGOT-CHA lure.

PIER FISHING: Spanish Mackerel

$2 off any haircut!


By David AllenWater LIFE Kayaking

Have you paddled in the Matlacha/PineIsland area lately? If not, you’re missingsome of the best coastal paddling in thearea. Pine Island is uniquely situated inthe south end of Charlotte Harbor, pro-tected by the beautiful Gulf islands ofCayo Costa, Captiva and Sanibel. Witheither Pine Island or Matlacha as a startingpoint, you can explore, by kayak, an areaof 20 miles by 15 miles with a greater di-versity of sights than almost anywhereelse on the Florida coast.

There are two launch points on thenorthwest end of Pine Island that are idealfor a paddle to Cayo Costa: Pineland Ma-rina and a small waterfront park near Ran-dell Research on Pineland Rd. inPineland. The Marina charges $5 for alaunch, while the small park is free buthas very limited parking and no other fa-cilities. We usually pick the small park.

From the launch its about 2.5 miles tothe little bayou on the northeast side ofPart Island. As you paddle down thebayou to the south you will enter an areaof mangrove tunnels which are neat to ex-plore and are home to many bird species.

Once you leave the mangroves on PartIsland, head almost straight west, passjust south of the tip of Useppa Island andon to Cabbage Key for a wonderful lunch

break at the Inn. Great food, reasonableprices and friendly all around.

If you can still paddle after a meal atthe Inn, continue west to the entrance ofMurdock Bayou, paddle south and slightlyeast to the entrance of another mangrovetunnel. This tunnel takes you to the back-side of a wonderful, deserted beach, justwaiting for someone to jump in and enjoythe water. On most paddles we elect totake a picnic lunch for the beach andenjoy the sun and wildlife.

With a round trip of about 12 miles,you have paddled through mangroves, hada great lunch, either at the Inn or on thebeach, had a refreshing swim in the Gulf,seen all the wildlife you can handle andnever left the protected waters of Pine Is-land Sound. We are planning this routefor our next trip to the area.

There is another paddle we’ve donemany times and always enjoyed; from StJames City to either Sanibel or Ding Dar-ling Nature Area. There are severallaunch points at marinas on the west sideof String fellow Rd. as you drive south.Once you hit the open water north of SanCarlos Bay, head southeast to the tip ofSanibel, about 5 miles away. Or for ashorter paddle, with more likelihood ofseeing wildlife, paddle straight south tothe Ding Darling National WildlifeRefuge - 2.5 miles from St. James City.

Let’s not forget about Matlacha for atrip south through the Matlacha PassAquatic Preserve, or perhaps to circle theisland and explore Pine Island Creek.

We started at the Matlacha CommunityPark, about midway through Matlacha onthe left. The entrance isn’t particularlyeasy to find, but the park has a sandykayak launch on the north side, powerboatramp on the south, and excellent rest-rooms and picnic facilities. All free.

We launched into Matlacha Pass andheaded north to explore the art work onthe buildings and see what was new in thearea. Then we paddled northwest about 3miles to the mouth of Pine Island Creek.The creek runs for about 6.5 miles, northand south between Pine Island and LittlePine Island. Pine Island Rd passes overthe creek about halfway down.

We were the only kayak/boat in the

creek and we saw several dolphins, manywater birds. We had been told that mana-tees like to congregate along the banks onthe north end of the creek, but there werenone.

We paddled about 2-plus miles south inthe creek and as we did, the weatherstarted to get nasty. The wind picked upand dark clouds were moving fast.

We backed out of the creek and headedfor the launch, about ½ hour away. Wemade it back and loaded the kayaks beforethe rain started.

We topped off the day with a grouperdinner at the Olde Fish House Marina, justup the road from the Park. Great end to agreat dayThe Port Charlotte Kayakers Meet each

Wednesday evening at 5 PM sharp at Franz-Ross Park adjacent to the YMCA on Quesada.All are welcome. Call Dave Allen at 941-235-2588 for more information.

Kayaking Matlacha and Pine Island

SCUTTLEBUTTSometimes Unsubstanciated,

But Often True


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NEW WORLD Accessing two previouslyuntapped streams of satellite data, sci-entists at Scripps Institution of Oceanog-raphy have created a new map of theworldʼs seafloor. Previously unseen fea-tures in the map include newly exposedcontinental connections across SouthAmerica and Africa, and new evidencefor seafloor spreading ridges at the Gulfof Mexico.

OFFSET OF WARMING New researchsuggests increasing ozone depletion inthe Arctic and the 24-hour sunlight of itssummer days have a surprising effect onplankton activity. Instead of reducingplankton photosynthesis, as in the At-lantic, Mediterranean and SouthernOcean regions, researchers have foundthat UV-B solar radiation in the Arcticgives plankton communities a boost.This means greater CO2 uptake and apotential offset against the effects ofwarming Arctic waters on climatechange in future.

CAPITAL FISH American Fisheries So-ciety nomenclature rules have changed.Now AFS approved common speciesnames are all capitalized.

WE ARE WATCHING YOUOfficer received information from a con-cerned fisherman who stated that therewas a dark-colored Dodge pickup truckwith two young white males taking overthe bag limit and undersized snook lateat night. Officers came up with a plan todo surveillance on the area and after along time watching, a dark- coloredDodge pickup truck drove up andparked. Two white males began to fishand caught several snook. After catchinga snook, one of the males would disap-pear behind the bridge and return ashort time later empty handed. Afterone of the men landed a large snook,the men started walking back to thetruck with it. The second man walkedbehind the bridgeand retrieved a

stringer of fish. The officers approachedbefore the men could leave. They foundthe men in possession of one 32-inchsnook and two undersized snook. Bothmen were charged with possession ofundersized and over the bag limit ofsnook. All the fish were returned backinto the water alive.

GOLIATH JEW FISH By far the greatestsource we have about this creature isfrom the Oxford English Dictionary,which quotes from a book published in1697, entitled 'A New Voyage Round theWorld,' by the famed explorer, WilliamDampier. In the book, Dampier logs hisexpedition to Jamaica, where he en-counters Jews (who are an extreme mi-nority, as they are in most othernations), who favor a certain type of fish- the jewfish - which they consider to bethe grandest kosher fish. Kosher, be-cause it has both fins and scales.

BERMUDA TRIANGLE Russian scien-tists claim methane saturated ice turninginto gas, which happens in an ava-lanche-like way in the Artic, like a nu-clear reaction, produces huge amountsof gas. That makes the ocean heat up,and ships sink in waters which are in-fused with huge amounts of gas. Thisleads to the air becoming supersatu-rated with methane, creating an ex-tremely turbulent atmosphere, leading toaircraft crashes.” ...so say the Russians.

Captain Domenic Petrarca recentlywowed a captive audience when heannounced on Facebook that anglersin his group landed a 597-poundbluefin tuna on a spinning reel androd. Near Cape Cod

The Navy's newestwarship, the USSDetroit was chris-tened andlaunched into theMenominee Riverin WI. last month.It will be deliveredto the Navy by2015. The shipwas built by Lock-heed Martin and isshown splashinginto the water forthe first time.


By Capt Bart MarxWater LIFE Keys

November, the month of Thanksgiving,and we all should be thankful that we arein Florida this time of year LOL! This No-vember marks 55 years Capt. Bart haslived in Charlotte County. It has been anawesome place to grow up and learn tofish. Thirty years ago we talked aboutfishing and what was it like to fish inCharlotte Harbor 50 years before that.

Today, we have today braided line, flu-orocarbon leader, graphite rods... youknow, so what do you think it was likewhen the Indians were here and just haddugout canoes?

I heard they ate a lot of the white baits.I have heard that they raised conch inBoggess Hole like it was a seafood mar-ket. There had to be lots of species. Backwhen I really learned to redfish we justused Johnson Sprites or Salty Dog lures.You could buy them at Eckard Drugs inbulk and in those days it was 3 tails for adime or a jig and a tail for a quarter.

Recently, I had Mike Jackson fromWales fish with me on two different trips.The first trip the guys were leaving the

next day for Ft. Lauderdale and it was acatch and release trip. We fished in theupper part of Charlotte Harbor. Therewere reds, snook and trout caught, alongwith mangrove snapper. They had a greattime. Then a few days later, Mike Jacksonand I fished out of Pineland Marina.

We went to the ‘shacks’ (Pine IslandSound fish-shacks) and caught bait(thanks to Scotty D!) and then we ven-tured out into the Gulf where we caughtsome nice mangrove and lane snapperbottom fishing. Then it was time to trolland see if we could pick up some grouper.We trolled for a little while and caught

some ‘cudas over one of the artificial reefsand then, in just a short time, we had an-other fish on. It was a red grouper on thetrolling lure. That was a great day catch-ing.

On another trip I was invited to goalong with a friend of mine Gary. I soldhim a prop for his outboard and he wasgoing fishing with his friend Bob fromCape Coral. It was too windy for Bob togo out in the Gulf and Gary wanted totest his new prop so he invited me to comealong. First we went and I threw the castnet for white bait and pin fish and we gotplenty. We went to some secret spots and

had a good day catching small reds andsome snapper. Then as it was getting latein the afternoon, we picked one more spot- a sunken barge - and there were so manysnapper there it was silly! You could seethem take your bait! Then the bite slowedand we started casting away from theboat. Gary pulled out two nice flounder,the bigger one was 17 in. We had a limitof snapper and 2 flounder on that fun day. If you would like to get in on some of this

type of fishing call me at 941-979-6517 or e-mail [email protected] drags and tight lines make me smile.

Fishing withMichaelJackson

flounder red grouper barracuda

Charlotte HarborFrank, at Fishin’ Franks

941- 625-3888ALL ABOUT SNOOK FISHING

Snook fishing in November, duringthe day, is best done on the flats, but onlyif you can find quiet water and by that Imean no boat traffic. Quiet traffic helpsthe snook bite, but the quiet also brings ona problem. A snook has hundreds of eardrums on each side of its body; each scalethat touches the black lateral line has atiny oil sack under it which senses vibra-tion in the water the same way our eardrum sense vibrations in the air. So if it isquiet you need to be quiet. Right now thesnook are keyed in on white bait duringthe day, so lures which look like bait fish /white bait in particular, are better. Like theStorm Twitch, or Mirro-O-Lure MR-17.

Try bright colors on the East Side likepink or white and darker colors on theWest Side where the fresh water keeps thewater a darker brown. My advice is to usean electric motor on as slow as it will goand stay a decent cast away from the man-groves. Then cast side arm like you wouldif you were skipping a stone across thelake shore. Cast as far under the man-groves as you can. Do not worry abouthanging up in the trees, if you are nothung up in the mangroves every once in awhile you are not trying. Three feet fromthe branches might as well be a mile away.

There is noreason to get ina hurry aboutbringing outthe lure, youdid a perfectcast to get it upunder thebranches so tryto shake theend of the rod,get as muchmovement aspossible withas little for-ward motion aspossible.

If I am using a lure that floats thendives, I tend to use it as a top water beforeI use it as a swimming lure. I do this byletting the lure hit the water then I justwait for about 3 seconds and start to shakethe tip of my rod which makes the lureshake. After another pause I then give therod tip a hard sharp jerk making the lurego just under the surface then wait for it tofloat back to the surface. I do this 2 or 3times and if I don’t get a strike I pull therod tip to get the lure under the surface ofthe water then I start reeling.

To enhance my chances of hooking upa snook I stop/pause the lure ever few feetwhile reeling, that is when I get the mosthits, when the lure is sitting still, not al-ways the case, but more often than not.

For the most hits, a 3 to 4 inch lure isbest. Bull Bay is the best spot for snookright now, fish on the west side and backby the clam lease.

A lot of snook are now where they aregoing to be for the winter. They will staywithin a mile of a chosen spot until it’stime for them to spawn. Then if it’s a wetyear they will go to the barrier islands, but

if it’s a dry year they stay where they areat. Snook are basically a home body. Theirrange is climate limited, but once they getreally big they tend to wander. The bigones leave and the smaller ones stay here.They will be where they are until thewater temperature hits low 70s to 60s,then they will be in the canals. FISHING OTHER SPECIES

The water is going to get a lot clearerthis month and cooler. It’s down in the 70snow which is bringing nice pompano in,on the bar in front of Bull and Turtle Bayand on the bar over from Burnt Storedown to Two Pine. There are good pom-pano there right now. Those fish are bestwith white bait and just ok with theshrimp. The whole key is the low 80-tohigh-70 water temperature. That’s best.

The baitfish selection is excellent rightnow. At Jug Creek and by Pirate Harborthere is white bait and threadfins. And atDevilfish Key you have a lot of pinfish.

In the Harbor you can get SpanishMackerel, ladyfish and jack crevelle.You need the incoming tide in the middle

of the Harbor. Stick a big threadfin on ortroll for ladyfish, hook them up and driftwith them for bait out by Marker No 1.Troll to the 22 foot hole and back. You’llfind the jacks and the macks.Tarpon are scattered up the canals and

up river as far as 761 near Arcadia. In the PGI canals snapper fishing is

good and we have decent black drum too.Back off O’Hare there are a lot of blackdrum and monster snook. The farther backyou go, the bigger they are.Bonnet sharks are on the west side, let

the line out and drift. Mangrove snapper,are up under the bushes, (Hence the name)fish them with shrimp. And finally, andthis is BIG, King mackerel are a mile offthe beach! Guys are catching 20- to 30-pound kings! The best lure is thePink/Green Bomber 30, or the Dolphin.

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


November Fishing November Fishing –– Predictions and SuggestionsPredictions and Suggestions

46" snook caught in Bulls Bay by JulieKrueger of North Port on 10/11/14

Chrissy Moesley with a 22 inch black drumcaught at El jobean . . . ʻput up a nice fight!ʼ

Fishing is what people come here for! These anglers went home happyCapt. Billy Barton

Lemon Bay Jim at Fishermen’s Edge 697-7595

Guys are catching fish -it’s been pretty good - de-pending where you go. Twoweeks in a row I’ve gottenout of the shop and went fish-ing. There are still cobia off-shore and king mackerel in35- to 50- feet of water. I’veseen kingfish 40-inches and overcaught right in Boca Pass, trollingplugs. There were a lot of boatsout last week. There were bait-fish, mackerel and kings – a lotof action going on. Guys saidthey could see the kings comerocketing up out of the water.Snapper has been good too, man-grove and some grunts comingfrom offshore The yellowtail areout a little further. Further meansbigger fish. And we’ve still gotnice grouper too.

Inshore picked up quite a bit.We had a few trout in the pastweek from the back country,again on trolling plugs, 18-to 20-inch trout. I’ve also had somegood redfish reports from theguys in Lemon Bay and Whiddencreek, slot fish down there and atBull and Turtle Bay. The guideswho are doing best have morelive bait, catching 32- to 33- inchreds and some over the slot. Mostfrom Gasparilla Sound and somebeing caught on the east side of

Boca and at Catfish Creek. Overhere, pompano are still sporadicwith a keeper now and then.

There are some sheepshead tobe caught. I’m selling fiddlercrabs every day now. Some whit-ing is out on the beach and theshark situation is picking upagain with smaller black tips outon the beach from Boca just offthe shore and some flounder onthe beach too. Every guy thatcomes in is holding up a nice fish.Right now it’s hard to be a liar.

OFFSHORE from Capt. Jim OʼBrienWell, I have been talking with people and friends thatwere catching tons of RED GROUPER, but they hadto put them all back. OUCH! They're closed till Jan1!The GAGS are starting to come in closer the guysare fish'n over rock structure, around wrecks, and es-pecially ledges. If the water gets down in the high 70'sthere should be some BIG - UNS!

SHARKS - - a lot of sharks are on the inshorereefs and out on the offshore wrecks

COBIA - - - there are still some big bad boys outin the offshore wrecks. All of them have these guyscruising around. Best bait live pin-fish.

AJ's--- greater amberjack it's too bad they'reclosed till Jan 1st cause my friends have been catch-ing some BIG - UNS on the offshore wrecks on bluerunners.

GAG GROUPER - - are starting to come in closermost are on the short side but there are a few keep-ers. Let that water temperature come down to thehigh 70's and you will see a lot more come in alongwith the bigger ones. Best baits pin or squirrel fish.

KING MACKERAL - - are showing up. The bigboys that run by themselves should start showing upwhen the water temp gets down around 70 to 74 de-grees, you can drift fish for them, troll them with yourfavorite color king spoons. If you have never done thisyou have to try it.

SPANISH MACKERAL - - are bitting in BocaGrande pass and out to 50 ft. Fish around the inshorereefs with small spoons or live thread-fins

MANGROVE SNAPPER AN LANE SNAPPER - -are all over the place, there are some nice size oneson the inshore reefs and out to 70 feet of water. Bestbait is live shrimp and squid. Go with light to light

medium tackle and you will have an absolute ball.We are having our 1st Fish'n for Heroes WoundedWarriors Chili Cook Off DEC 6 on Dearborn St in En-glewood. Down where the Farmer's Market is. We'regoing to have live music, cold beer, hot chili hot dogsand hamburgers and we have 5 judges to decidewhose chili is best. The top 3 places will get plaquesand cash depending on how many entrants we get.So if you make a mean batch of chili give me a call. Folks, that's all I got fer ya this month. If you want tobook an offshore charter with us aboard the PredatorII give us a call at the dock at (941) 473 - 2150.

FLOUNDER in the Harbor andalong the beach.

REDFISH Schools fromLemon Bay to Catfish Creek

SNOOK Fish the bars in thedaytime, canals at night

POMPANO In front of BullBay, Pirate Harbor and 2 Pine

FISHING FISHINGRIGHT NOW:RIGHT NOW:

Hot!Hot!

95˚

90˚

85˚

80˚

72˚70˚68˚

50˚

45˚

The BIG-4The BIG-4 BigBig Fish to expect in Fish to expect in NovemberNovemberNOVEMBER 2014 BACK ISSUES @ WWW.WATERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM PAGE 23

Capt Dave Stephenswww.backbayxtremes.com

941-916-5769

BackBayXtremes

Gulf Gulf TempsTempsare 78are 78

The Harbor isThe Harbor iscooling off. cooling off. Rains haveRains have

stoppedstopped

Photo: Capt. Dan Cambern: Hammerhead Charters

Trent Roberson caught this 31 inch snooktrolling in a kayak through the PGI canals.

Recreational Red Grouper Seasons and Bag Limits UpdateThe Council took final action that will adjust the bag limit to 2-fish per person, per day, The framework also eliminates theautomatic bag limit reduction accountability measure that currently occurs after the Annual Catch Limit is exceeded. TheCouncil decided to leave the recreational closed season at February 1 through March 31 beyond 20 fathoms. The Frame-work Action will be submitted to the Secretary of Commerce for approval and implementation.So bottom line is: looks like Red Grouper will be open all year - 2 per person!


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