jupiter inlet inshore Fishing

Happy Easter! April offers exciting rod bending action for anglers. Inshore fishing offers a plethora of species for anglers to target.

The snook fishing is fantastic this time of year, targeting docks, sea walls, and mangrove shorelines. Sunrise provides great action with top water Rapala Skitter Walk, once the sun rises overhead switch to a D.O.A. C.A.L. 3” or D.O.A. 5” Swim Bait in Arkansas glow. The sea walls and grass flats are great areas to find snook laid up ambushing bait schools.

The tarpon offer exciting action on our local waters, sunrise and sunset are the best times to target the tarpon. D.O.A. Bait Busters in mullet pattern and D.O.A. TerrorEyz get the silver kings excited. Live baiting for tarpon creates strikes, slow troll baits along mangrove shorelines and drop offs for consistent action. When searching for tarpon look for rolling fish and target deeper holes and channels for best results. The tarpon this time of year typically range in size from 5 to 80 pounds.

Anglers looking for steady rod bending action should target the jacks along seawalls and grass flats. The jacks school together ambushing schools of live bait in their vicinity. Rapala Skitter Walks, X-Raps, and D.O.A. C.A.L. 3” Shad Tail work great for the jacks. If artificial lures are not your choice; live mullet, greenies, and sand perch will also produce action, freeline them with tide or near any structure.

Well, that is the fishing report for April, I hope you all enjoyed. Get out there and get hooked up. Tight lines!

with

chuck papp

Florida has now joined the ranks of about 20 other states where starting July 1st of this year, an individual will no longer need a state issued concealed weapons permit to carry a concealed handgun. There are of course pros and cons with this new law.

First of course will be the pros. Anyone over the age of 21 can carry a concealed handgun without the training fee, which could be anywhere from $50 to $150 for the course, plus the $97 to the state for the license. There is no wait to obtain the license from the state. In the past the processing time could have been 30 to well over 100 days. A lot of people want the government to know as little as possible about their firearms. Without a license requirement there will be a little less the government knows about you.

Now the cons, which may outweigh the pros, depending on how you look at this. If you do not hold a license to carry, then you are still subject to any waiting periods that a county/state has established towards the purchasing of a firearm. Our state’s CWP is valid in over 40 states, so without a license, you cannot carry in another state. Florida’s knife law is very vague. With the license you are covered to carry other weapons then just firearms. So, your favorite pocketknife may not be legal to carry if you don’t have the license. In some carry classes they do go over some of the Florida Statutes regarding firearms and their usage. If you carry without a license, you better spend some time with Florida Statutes 790 & 776, so you don’t find yourself in a world of problems.

No matter what your opinion is on this new law, it’s nothing new. License-less carry has been around for a while now in quite a few states. For some people who do not have the financial means or the time to schedule themselves a class this is a good thing, but however the responsibility to carry a firearm and knowing what to do with it and when you can use it is totally on you. Hopefully you will educate yourselves properly and be responsible enough to carry a firearm in public without obtaining the license. The license will still be available through the state with the same requirements that are in place now.