SHERIFF’S OFFICE BOATING SAFETY TIPS TO REMEMBER

The weather is starting to warm and that means larger crowds on the water. The Monroe County Sheriff’s We urge mariners to stay safe and respect other boats. Use common sense, stay alert, have fun, and come home alive! Please remember these safety tips:

• Be Weather-Wise

Always check local weather conditions.

• Use Common Sense

Operate at a safe speed, especially in crowded areas. Steer clear of vessels that are restricted in their ability to slow or turn. Respect buoys and other navigational aids.

• Designate an Assistant Skipper

Make sure more than one person on board is familiar with all aspects of your boat.

• Develop a Float Plan

Always be sure someone else knows where you’re going and how long you’re going to be gone.

• Use Life Jackets

Assign and fit each person onboard with a life jacket.

• Avoid Alcohol

Save the alcohol for later. BUIs are just as serious as DUIs.

• Learn to Swim

Proper boating safety means knowing how to swim.

• Take a Boating Course

Take a local course or check online tutorials.

• Get a Free Vessel Safety Check

The U.S. Coast Guard offers boat examinations to verify the presence and condition of safety equipment.

• Boating Must Haves

Working VHF radio, Fire Extinguisher that’s not expired PFDs and throwable PFD Flares that are not expired and First-aid kit

Boaters should also be mindful of migrant vessels underway at sea and others that are abandoned in nearshore waters. Always report migrant vessels underway to the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF Channel 16. Migrant vessels lack the safety and operational features of normal boats.

CALL 911 IF A CRIME IS TAKING PLACE

Crime Stoppers offers a reward for the arrest of anyone in a felony criminal case.

If you see anything suspicious, call the Sheriff’s Office immediately! It is our job to check out suspicious activity. Your call may be the one that helps us catch the bad guys!

If you see something you think may be suspicious.

Call CrimeStoppers with any crime tips: 1-866-471-8477

Submit tips online at www.floridakeyscrimestoppers.com e have the pleasure of being able to catch tarpon year-round in the Florida Keys, however Spring tarpon is the best time of the year! Different seasons call for unique tarpon fishing techniques. For example, in the peak winter months when pilchards migrate into the flats, docks and bridges we mostly target domestic juvenile tarpon with razor bellied and sandy key pilchards. In the heat of the summer, we target domestic tarpon and a few migratory tarpon with pinfish with their tails cut off, cut bait and fish carcass’s. Stationary baits work best in the heat of the summer because the tarpon turn lethargic and are less likely to chase baits. They become more opportunist than anything. During the fall, we like to use small free lined shrimp under the dock lights at night and large free lined shrimp under the docks and bridges in the day light. The spring tarpon bite is the best because that’s when the big hungry spawning migratory tarpon show up. This annual migration typically starts in April and ends in July. I’ve seen it last as little as three weeks and as long as four months. A sure sign the tarpon migration is about to happen is when you start seeing the big schools of mullet showing up. Tarpon are weird acting prehistoric fish. Sometimes they will only feed on one kind of bait and that bait only. Sometimes they’ll feed on almost anything you cast at them. Marine Biologist say during several days during the tarpon migration they will only feed on pass crabs, because their bodies demand it during spawning to birth healthy offspring. Some of the best places to target tarpon during springtime are bridges. During the spring we target tarpon at three main bridges in the middle Keys.

The 7 Mile Bridge: I spend most of my tarpon fishing time at the famous 7 Mile Bridge. We like to flat line and free line live mullet at the 7 Mile Bridge. A 10-to-12-inch mullet works best. We hook the mullet in the roof of its mouth and the hook comes out the snout of its nose between its nostrils. Some people make the mistake of hooking the mullet under its chin and through the top of its lip which pins its lips together and renders him unable to breath water which drowns the mullet quickly. By hooking it in the roof of the mouth and up the snout allows it to breath water through its mouth and gills and keeps the mullet alive a lot longer and keeps him streamlined and swimming in the current. If there’s no current, we sometimes hook the mullet in the back or the anus. We use a 7.0 or 8.0 circle hook tied with a circle knot with 50lb to 80lb mono fluorocarbon 8ft leader on 40lb to 50lb braided main line on a large 7ft to 8ft heavy action rod and 10k spinning reel. We typically put out two mullet