Coastal Angler Magazine | May 2023 | Palm Beach & Fort Lauderdale Edition

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RED SPRING USHERS IN

pring is one of my favorite seasons for shing. Fish are warming up and feeding aggressively, especially red sh. Red sh eagerly consume an array of baits this time of year, but there is one arti cial that sets itself apart from the others. Have you guessed it?

If you said, “gold spoon,” you were correct. When you look at the spoon it seems unimpressive, to be honest. However, that is the beauty of it all; we, as anglers, overcomplicate shing. Sometimes all you need is an awkward piece of gold metal to shake the skunk.

WHAT

It combines pro le, color and vibration, which play on the three signi cant senses most game sh use when feeding. e shape might resemble a crab, a small sh or a wounded shrimp, and the unique wobble lets sh know it’s an easy target. Gold spoons are great for beginners and avid anglers alike, they can be rigged weedless, and they are easy to cast. One of my go-to spoons for red sh is the FishLab Bio-Spoon.

RIGGING A SPOON

Rigging is simple; attach a 20- to 30-pound uorocarbon or mono lament leader directly to the spoon. I attach a snap swivel directly to the spoon to prevent line twists. A 1/4-ounce spoon is usually an excellent choice, especially when the bait is smaller. Remember to match the hatch in

terms of size. Pair the spoon with a 7 or 7 1/2-foot medium fast spinning rod and 15-pound braid. My preferred setup is the Okuma ITX 4000 paired with an Okuma SRT spinning rod.

Spoons can produce sh in various conditions, but there are situations when it shines. Along weed lines, mangroves or similar structures should be your rst targets, as this is where red sh congregate. Remember, reds travel in groups, so work an area thoroughly for consistent action. Repeated casts to the exact location or the same retrieval path will o en produce multiple sh.

Gold spoons are best suited for stained or dark water. In cleaner water, the same techniques can be used with a silver spoon. e shape of the spoon and hook guard combine to allow the lure to bounce o obstructions like weeds, mangroves, oyster beds or rocks where other lures might be lost.

Erratic action is the key to the spoon’s success. Many anglers cast and pause, allowing the spoon to utter. If you do not get a hit right o the bat, you have two options for the retrieve. A steady retrieve, varying speed based on conditions, will o en draw sh out and even right to the boat. Others prefer to add a twitch to their retrieve, feeling it increases the motion. Try each or mix it up based on what the sh respond to. Be bold, and try new techniques. Be sure to pick up a Salty Scales Performance shing shirt, stay protected, and remain comfortable on the water.

Capt. Joshua Taylor is a Tampa guide and founder of Salty Scales Performance Fishing Gear. Check them out at www.saltyscales.com.

MAKES THE GOLD SPOON UNIQUE?

HOW TO FISH A SPOON

By Capt. Joshua Taylor

FINALLY, BACK TO GROUPER FISHING

There was a time in my life that we took certain things for granted. For example, No limits and/or seasons on speckled trout, drum, ounder and especially GROUPER! I never thought I would say the two words “grouper” and “season” in the same sentence. Never mind, I’m just venting because I prefer bottom shing and light lining above all other styles of o shore shing.

I went through this last year about this time, but I’ll do it again for those folks who might have missed it. is is the way I start every location we anchor on, or post up with the Rhodan.

NOTE: We take two boxes of quid on every trip, and we typically have live pin sh from the marina also.

I typically have three or four folks with me every trip. We start by ring down whole squid on the jig. Meanwhile, I’m on the sabiki jigging up whatever is on the bottom below us. I don’t care what is coming up on the whole squid, as this is not the main focus. e real objective is to set a nice ‘chum slick” on the bottom to attract the sh you’re really shing for. A er 4 or 5 rounds of the whole frozen squid, we will re down live pin sh or whatever I’ve jigged up on the sabiki. e other advantage of shing a live pin sh, grass grunt, sailors’ choice or whatever you can jig up, is it eliminates the trash bites. In addition to eliminating the trash bites from small snapper, seabass and other “undesirables,” it’s like physcological warfare, as the gags, scamps and reds cannot digest all that is going on here. To them it appears like the pin sh, grass grunts etc, think the live baits were running around picking up squid pieces, and the squid or crab jigs have caught them and the live bait is struggling to get away. BAM!!! e bite happens. is, my friends, is the di erence between “bottom shing” and GROUPER shing.

Another bait that’s a dead ringer for a grouper bite is a butter ied

bait. e butter ied bait on the bottom basically does the same thing as the squid. e small snapper and other smaller sh will hammer the lets until the grouper have had enough of it. You will feel the small sh biting it constantly, but then all of a sudden the small “pecking” bites will stop. Get ready, and don’t move it… the grouper has moved in and everyone else has to leave, because it’s time for the real bite!

Enough about the bottom. I will occasionally troll for a LITTLE WHILE, but this would be to accomplish two things at once. Catch a sh or two, but also to locate the best part of any given ledge with lots of bait and sh on the bottom. As soon as we locate the bait, reel in the troll baits and get to work! Everything you catch trolling, you can catch on the light line while you’re grouper shing. Tuna, dolphin and wahoo are idiots for a big fat (live) greenie, sardine, cigar minnow or goggle eye out back behind the boat in the current.

All the best shing,

Check out more from Tim Barefoot at barefootcatsandtackle.com

Tim Barefoot

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It was a perfect late autumn day in the northern Rockies. Not a cloud in the sky, and just enough cool in the air to stir up nostalgic memories of my trip into the backwoods. is year, though, was di erent. I was going it solo. My two buddies, pleading work responsibilities, backed out at the last minute. So, armed with my trusty knife, I set out for adventure.

Well, what I found was a whole lot of trouble. As in 8 feet and 800-pounds of trouble in the form of a grizzly bear. Seems this grumpy fella was out looking for some adventure too. Mr. Grizzly saw me, stood up to his entire 8 feet of ferocity and let out a roar that made my blood turn to ice and my hair stand up. Unsnapping my leather sheath, I felt for my hefty, trusty knife and felt emboldened. I then showed the massive grizzly over 6 inches of 420 surgical grade stainless steel, raised my hands and yelled, “Whoa bear! Whoa bear!” I must have made my point, as he gave me an almost admiring grunt before turning tail and heading back into the woods.

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By TAM Sta

Where Southern Stripers run

WhereSouthern Stripers run WhereSouthern Stripers run WhereSouthern Stripers run

species that crosses their path.

It is a good time to be a river angler. Here are three excellent destinations for river-run striped bass in the South.

• Saluda River: Columbia, South Carolina

In spring and summer, scads of striped bass make the 60-mile run up the Congaree River from the Santee-Cooper Lakes southeast of Columbia, S.C. By late summer, most of those sh pile into the Saluda River, which is a short, 10-mile-long tributary that’s fed with cold water from the dam at Lake Murray. August is the heart of the Saluda season, when 100- sh days of 2- to 5-pound stripers are possible. Fish heavier than 20 pounds are a possibility, but this shery sees a lot of pressure and the water is normally very clear. e big ones spook easily and become nicky late in the season.

• Etowah River: Cartersville, Georgia

On Georgia’s Etowah River, the sh are spread out over about 50 miles of river, so covering water is the name of the game. Anglers should expect to do a lot of casting to each shoal and piece of wood cover where stripers might lie in ambush.

Starting in April, they run some 75 miles upriver from Alabama’s Lake Weiss to a lowhead dam downstream of Georgia’s Lake Allatoona. e sh are constantly on the move and the idea is to intercept them. Anglers might hook up with sh from 4 pounds on up to 20 pounds and larger.

• Hiwassee River: Reliance, Tennessee

e Hiwassee is more of a quality than quantity shery. Anglers are called on to sh hard for just a few bites, but those bites come from sh that o en weigh 20, 30, even 40 pounds or more.

In the South, the striped bass runs of spring and summer bring some of the most exciting shing of the year for those who prefer to sh rivers. Landlocked striped bass are as large and powerful as any sh in freshwater, and for most of the year they are only available to big-lake anglers who troll or downline live baits.

at all changes in spring. e rst groups of striper migrate into the rivers on spawning runs. In many locations, this spring run is followed by a larger summertime push, when pods of striped bass move up into cooler, more oxygenated waters. Sometimes they pile up below dams, and sometimes they patrol surprisingly skinny waters in wolf packs, gobbling up any prey

Most years, the wide, shoal-broken river around Reliance loads up with striped bass from July into September. ese are big-river sh that run some 50-miles upstream from the Tennessee River at Lake Chickamauga. ey revel in cold, oxygenated water that ows down the mountains from Apalachia Lake on the North Carolina/Tennessee border.

ey hold in the same holes and shoals every year to feed heavily on skipjack herring, gizzard shad and the stocked trout Tennessee puts in the river for anglers.

For more information, go to coastalanglermagazine.com.

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By Emily Rose Hanzlik

SPRING MEANS IT’S TIME FOR TUNA

With spring settled in, the seas are becoming more shable, and more options are available. When I was little, this is the time of year when we would start catching little tunnies o the pier. At the time they were my favorite, but now that I’m older and know a few friends with boats, spring has come to mean tuna, black n tuna in particular. We catch other species of tuna, but black ns are the most abundant here o Florida.

Black n tuna are smaller than other tuna species like yellow n or blue n. Black ns we catch usually weigh between 10 and 30 pounds, and they rarely reach 30 pounds. Yellow n tuna have bright yellow on their lateral line, while black ns have a bronze, almost black line. Also, a black n’s nlets are more of a dark bronze color with white tips compared to yellow n, which have yellow nlets. Another tell is their second dorsal n, which is not elongated like other species of tunas.

Black n tuna and every other tuna use ram ventilation, meaning they must be constantly moving. During this movement, water is forced through the mouth and over the gills to supply oxygen to the blood. ey are constantly moving and highly migratory.

Black n tuna range all over the western Atlantic Ocean, from Massachusetts to Brazil. Within these areas, tuna stay more o shore in depths of 70 feet or deeper. ey prefer water temperatures between 70 and 75 degrees. is results in the tuna arriving in Florida in late spring and staying into fall, when water temperatures are optimal for them.

Black ns spawn throughout the summer. ey broadcast spawn in current, and their fry will live within oating debris elds until they get large enough to survive in the open.

To catch black n tuna, many captains will dri sh over 170 to 270 feet of water. A current that dri s the boat at about 2 knots is about as fast as you want to go, and a sea anchor can be useful in slowing the dri . Live baits such as sardines, thread n herring and others work well on the dri . Deploy some freelines as well as some weighted rigs to take baits down and cover the water column.

Jigging a spoon around reefs and rock piles is another fun and e ective way to catch black ns. Tuna will readily take a 4- or 5-inch spoon weighing 2 or 3 ounces.

Black n tuna are good to eat, and you’re allowed two per person or 10 per vessel. e IGFA all-tackle record for black n tuna is 49.06 pounds, caught out o Marathon, Fla. in 2006.

Emily Rose Hanzlik holds 62 IGFA world records in various categories. She hails from West Palm Beach, where she has a part time Bow n Guide Service as well as shing classes for Jr. Anglers. Find her on social media @emilyhanzlikoutdoors.

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Orange Lake Produces Giants

It’s been a slow year for truly giant largemouth bass in Florida. e FWC’s TrophyCatch program, which recognizes and promotes catch and release of big bass, has only registered two 13-plus-pounders this TrophyCatch season. Both sh were caught southeast of Gainesville, at Orange Lake.

Largemouths must weigh more than 13 pounds to

reach TrophyCatch Hall of Fame status. TrophyCatch season 11 began back on Oct. 1, 2022, and the veri ed Hall of Fame bass wasn’t caught until Feb. 3. at monster sh, caught at Orange Lake by Michael Matthews, weighed 13-pounds, 8-ounces. It is the largest sh entered into the program so far for the season, which ends on Sept. 30, 2023.

Apparently, Orange Lake bass were fat and full of eggs in February. e second Hall of Fame bass of the season was caught on Feb. 25 by Anthony Holland during a Big Bend Bass Club tournament at Orange Lake. You can bet Holland got a check a er bringing his giant 13-pound, 3-ounce bass to the scales.

Both Hall of Fame sh were released back into Orange Lake, and both of their weights will count for Orange Lake in the ongoing Battle of the Lakes between Orange Lake and Headwaters/Fellsmere. At the end of season 11, whichever shery has the most registered weight will win, and all the anglers who submitted sh for the winning lake will be entered into a prize drawing.

TrophyCatch also awards many other prizes to participants, including a fully rigged bass boat that will be awarded by drawing at the end of the season.

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Anthony Holland caught a 13.3-pound bass during an Orange Lake tournament on Feb. 25.

The largest bass of the TrophyCatch season was caught at Orange Lake on Feb. 3 by Michael Matthews.

Here One Day, Gone the Next TARPON

By Nick Carter

Just a er daybreak, we bobbed in an anchored ski looking out over a wide, shallow bay. Capt. Scott Burgess sat on the poling platform smoking a cigar and drinking co ee. Jesse Trevathan stood on the casting deck. He wasn’t casting. With line stripped out into the decal-littered stripping bucket in front of him, he held his y—a locally tied (FC)2 Renegade—in his le hand and his rod in his right. He just watched. We all watched, eyes focused on a large patch of sand o the bow that stood out from the grassy bottom around it.

We were looking for tarpon cruising the shallows on their annual westward migration along the Gulf Coast. In this sweet spot on Florida’s Forgotten Coast, they show up in May and are gone by August. e action peaks in June and July, and their massive silver bodies would show clearly in contrast to the sandy bottom.

“ ey follow paths, the same paths, year a er year,” said Burgess. “It’s based on the topography of the bottom as they move in with the tide.”

He had positioned the boat with the bow facing a ridge that rose from 7 feet up to 3 feet deep. When tarpon move in, the tops of such ridges are too shallow for them to cross. e big sh are channeled into the shallows in search of pogies, crabs and other delicacies.

With the trap set, there was nothing to do but wait and talk. Trevathan said tarpon spawn on the new and full moons of summer. For days they evacuate the ats and head o shore.

“I’ve been out here right before the full moon, and I literally saw hundreds of tarpon. ey were doing nothing but chasing tail. ey were

daisy chaining all over the place,” Trevathan said. “I went back on the moon, and they were gone.”

e daisy chaining Trevathan mentioned, in which sh group up and swim in circles nose to tail, is thought by some to be pre-spawn behavior, a sort of courtship dance. But no spawning takes place during these events. For the most part, scientists don’t really know why tarpon do what they do.

Trevathan and Burgess both have their theories about the movements of these giants. What they know for sure is tarpon show up each summer on the ats and in the passes. Clean water is needed to see them. Seeing them is necessary to present the y. e cast must lead them, but not too much, and the retrieve must intercept the sh at the right angle to incite a strike.

If the sh eats, it takes a hard strip set to drive the hook into a tarpon’s bony mouth. How hard? “As hard as you can,” said Burgess. Even if all goes according to plan, Burgess admitted there’s a less than 50 percent chance of steering a large tarpon boat-side. e power and aerial display of a hooked tarpon are legendary. Sadly, we did not witness it that day.

As the tide turned, the murky water became more dingy. Late in the morning, the call was made to move in search of red sh.

A week later, Burgess sent a text message with an attached photo. It showed a big tarpon, which he estimated to be 135 to 140 pounds, tailthrashing the water just o the tip of his 12-weight rod, which was broken in half.

“40 min ght with a broken rod… she pulled me 2 miles from my anchor.” e text read.

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The 2023 Palm Beach International Boat Show (PBIBS) Makes a Splash, Signaling Resounding Success for Years to Come

The annual boat show cruised along the iconic Flagler Drive, bringing global yachting debuts, lively music, renowned culinary experiences, and fun to West Palm Beach

The 2023 Palm Beach International Boat Show, owned by the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County (MIAPBC) and produced by Informa Markets, concluded on Sunday, March 26th. The event saw an impressive turnout in the number of boating enthusiasts, industry professionals, and luxury seekers from around the world making their way to West Palm Beach.

Throughout the show guests were treated to the latest in yacht and superyacht designs, sportfishing boats, cruisers, center consoles, inflatables, and a wide range of marine accessories. Among the many highlights were the world premiere of Benetti’s superyacht Calex, as well as product debuts from leading brands in the marine industry. For visitors interested in new electric technology, guests were treated to Ford’s F150 and the Mach-e.

“We are thrilled with the success of this year’s Palm Beach International Boat Show,” said Andrew Doole, President of U.S. Boat Shows with Informa Markets. “The strong attendance and enthusiasm from exhibitors and attendees alike demonstrates the growth and vitality of the marine industry. We look forward to continuing our partnerships with MIAPBC and the City of West Palm Beach, whose collaboration and support has been instrumental to producing this event year after year.”

This year’s show also had a strong presence of marine conservation and sustainability initiatives. Overseen by experts like Hook the Future’s Captain Don Dingman and the Cox Science Center, partners offered guests

of all ages with access to informative exhibits and seminars dedicated to educating the public on responsible boating practices and preservation of the ocean and marine life.

“We are proud to have hosted such an exceptional event, which not only provided a platform for marine businesses to connect with customers but also contributed significantly to the local economy,” said Alyssa Freeman, Executive Director of the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County (MIAPBC). “We would like to thank all of our exhibitors, sponsors, and visitors for their support and look forward to welcoming them back in 2024.”

At this year’s show, guests had an exclusive look at the historical gem the Honey Fitz, a prestigious, 93-foot wooden yacht that has been used by five U.S. presidents: Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, and – most notably – President John F. Kennedy. The 92-year-old ship was originally built by Defoe Boat & Motor Works in Bay City, Michigan, in 1931 for Montgomery Ward tycoon Sewell Avery.

In addition to the impressive display of boats, the Palm Beach International Boat Show also featured a variety of seminars, live music, and food and drink offerings, ensuring that attendees had a wellrounded and enjoyable experience.

Coinciding with the Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary (PBM+C) Art Fair, part of Informa Markets’ Art Miami division, the boat show’s Windward Club VIP ticket holders were provided with access to both events, as well a complimentary open bar, gourmet food, complimentary tote bags provided by Douglas Elliman, sponsorship pop-up activations, and lively night events like the NY Concours at Palm Beach Friday night extravaganza. Both events helped bring a world-class, internationally respected group of art galleries and marine enthusiasts to Palm Beach.

A luxurious oasis, the Windward Club offered handcrafted drinks and exclusive tastings provided by show sponsor Diageo, whose ready-to-drink (RTD) line offered drinks from Tanqueray, Ketel One Botanical, and Crown Royal. All boat show attendees had the chance to enjoy a full range of drinks served by Goslings Rum, including the signature Dark and Stormy cocktail. Thanks to LaVictoire Finance, boat attendees who were interested in purchasing a boat or yacht at the show were able to learn more about available financing options through a special activation. OceanPoint Marine Lending, a division of Bank Newport, was this year’s registration sponsor.

Since 1982, the Palm Beach International Boat Show has anchored itself as a pillar for not only the Palm Beach community but also for South Florida. Last year the Palm Beach International Boat Show brought over $1 billion in economic impact to the state of Florida. As one of the most impactful boat shows, the community and attendees look forward to the much anticipated event year round.

Mark your calendars for March 21-24, 2024, and join us for another unforgettable boating experience in beautiful West Palm Beach. For more information about the Palm Beach International Boat Show, visit; www.PBBoatshow.com.

Palm

Photo Credit: Tracey Benson

Photo Credit: Leonard Bryant

Photo Credit: Leonard Bryant

Photo Credit: Leonard Bryant

We have quite a diversity of species in our waters right now and May is feasibly the prime month of the YEAR to fish off The Palm Beaches! There are a multitude of factors as to why this is one of the best fishing months of the year. High winds should diminish, and water temperatures will quickly rise a couple degrees to an average of 80°F giving the offshore angler greater opportunities to fill their fish box!  The winds this month will primarily blow out of the E/SE quadrant which will trigger some very large pelagics to move closer to our coast. This time of year, will continue to produce a strong mahi mahi bite all the way through June, diminishing when the pelagics start moving further offshore. It’s a good idea for you to pay attention to the dolphin bite taking place off the coast of the FL Keys and Miami-Dade because it will be a good indicator for what you should expect in our waters within a few days’ time.

For the anglers that like to catch smoker kings, there will be a favorable morning bite in general. Typically, king fish can be found in 90 to 120 feet of water from Boynton to Palm Beach Inlet. Trolling spoons or slow trolling live bait with down riggers are the best methods for targeting king mackerel. The blackfin tuna will be abundant too, the waters between The Breakers Hotel and The Lost Tree Club is a well-known hot spot.

fishing the Palm Beaches Fishing Forecast

Try fishing with live bait in 100 to 180 feet of water with a steady current. Bait fish will start to show up in our waters this month. Pull out those cast nets and Sabiki Rigs. On your Sabiki Rig, attach a bucktail jig or pyramid sinker to the end of it and catch some bait close to shore!

Inshore fishing should produce excellent fishing as well! Jack crevalles are schooled up tightly and will eat any live bait within their strike zone. Tarpon will start to show up in the inlets and juveniles can be found in the bays and canals. Try using live bait, jigs, and lip divers to entice a tarpon. Snook should also produce plenty of exciting action; work artificial lures and flare hawks along seawalls, docks, and near structure. Finally, tournament season has officially begun with multiple events every weekend. Prepare yourself for heavy boat traffic on the weekends, especially on tournament days. Boating safety is always a primary concern for all water lovers alike. Be safe, follow YOUR dream and keep on catchin’!

Football blackfin tuna caught trolling, fish ate a bonita strip I made under a seawitch. www.USHarbors.com Boca Raton, Lake Boca Raton, FL - May 2023 Date High Low AM ft PM ft AM ft PM ft Rise Set Moon 1 Mon 6:44 2.1 7:18 2.2 12:33 0.4 1:05 0.3 6:41 7:53 2 Tue 7:30 2.1 8:07 2.3 1:28 0.4 1:53 0.2 6:40 7:53 3 Wed 8:13 2.2 8:52 2.4 2:20 0.4 2:38 0.1 6:39 7:54 4 Thu 8:54 2.2 9:36 2.5 3:09 0.3 3:21 0.0 6:39 7:54 5 Fri 9:35 2.2 10:19 2.6 3:56 0.3 4:04 0.0 6:38 7:55 6 Sat 10:17 2.2 11:03 2.6 4:42 0.3 4:46 -0.1 6:37 7:56 7 Sun 11:00 2.2 11:49 2.6 5:27 0.3 5:31 -0.1 6:37 7:56 8 Mon 11:47 2.2 6:15 0.3 6:19 -0.1 6:36 7:57 9 Tue 12:38 2.6 12:37 2.1 7:05 0.4 7:12 0.0 6:35 7:57 10 Wed 1:29 2.6 1:33 2.1 7:58 0.4 8:09 0.0 6:35 7:58 11 Thu 2:24 2.5 2:34 2.1 8:55 0.4 9:09 0.1 6:34 7:58 12 Fri 3:22 2.4 3:41 2.1 9:53 0.3 10:12 0.2 6:33 7:59 13 Sat 4:22 2.4 4:51 2.2 10:52 0.3 11:15 0.2 6:33 7:59 14 Sun 5:22 2.3 6:00 2.3 11:51 0.2 6:32 8:00 15 Mon 6:19 2.3 7:02 2.4 12:19 0.2 12:48 0.1 6:32 8:01 16 Tue 7:13 2.3 7:59 2.5 1:20 0.3 1:42 0.0 6:31 8:01 17 Wed 8:03 2.3 8:50 2.6 2:18 0.3 2:33 -0.1 6:31 8:02 18 Thu 8:50 2.3 9:37 2.7 3:12 0.2 3:20 -0.1 6:30 8:02 19 Fri 9:35 2.2 10:22 2.6 4:00 0.3 4:04 -0.1 6:30 8:03 20 Sat 10:19 2.2 11:05 2.6 4:45 0.3 4:46 -0.1 6:29 8:03 21 Sun 11:02 2.1 11:46 2.5 5:28 0.3 5:27 0.0 6:29 8:04 22 Mon 11:45 2.1 6:09 0.4 6:08 0.1 6:29 8:04 23 Tue 12:28 2.4 12:28 2.0 6:50 0.4 6:49 0.2 6:28 8:05 24 Wed 1:10 2.4 1:13 2.0 7:33 0.5 7:33 0.3 6:28 8:05 25 Thu 1:52 2.3 2:01 2.0 8:17 0.5 8:19 0.3 6:28 8:06 26 Fri 2:36 2.2 2:53 2.0 9:03 0.5 9:08 0.4 6:27 8:06 27 Sat 3:22 2.2 3:49 2.0 9:50 0.4 9:59 0.4 6:27 8:07 28 Sun 4:10 2.1 4:47 2.0 10:38 0.4 10:53 0.5 6:27 8:07 29 Mon 5:00 2.1 5:44 2.1 11:27 0.3 11:49 0.5 6:26 8:08 30 Tue 5:50 2.1 6:39 2.3 12:17 0.2 6:26 8:08 31 Wed 6:40 2.1 7:30 2.4 12:47 0.5 1:07 0.1 6:26 8:09

with THE BAHAMAS! seatow.com/palmbeach 800-4-SEATOW

Darcizzle

inshore & Freshwater

Fishing Forecast with

c apt. patrick Smith

May is an awesome time of the year, mild temps and the wind machine finally shuts down for a couple months. Some other great things happen this time of the year, lots of fish and lots of bait show up.

Nearshore big bonita, king fish, rainbow runners, and all other kinds of fast moving hard pulling species will be more than willing to eat just about anything that you offer. One of my favorite methods of fishing in May is to get out to the reef in 100+ feet and throw a topwater lure with no hooks on it to tease fish to the boat so fly fisherman can hook up. If you’re not into fly fishing, a Zara Spook or Hydro Pencil with a single large j hook on the back, crank as fast as you can across the surface, will usually provide more action than you can handle. I would advise to use pretty heavy tackle and crank your drag down as the sharks tend to be really bad this time of year. Once you move in towards a beach, keep an eye out for snook, permit, and jacks. Expect them to be cruising right along the trough. There will be plenty of snook inside of all the inlets,

Boynton

and the temptation is there to sit and catch them nonstop, but please keep in mind that those fish are spawning, and they need to be handled with care. The best bet is to catch a couple and then go on to something else so that they can continue with the spawn uninterrupted. If you can get your hands on a mullet or big pilchard, drifting around the outside of the inlets can be a great way to hook up with tarpon this month. They tend to be bigger fish and finicky, but they will eat if you put the time in.

The Lake Ida, Osborne, and Clark chain will be fishing great as always in May. Live shad or shiners should keep you hooked up all day long. If you like a little more of a challenge, try a jerk bait and at sunrise or sunset with a prop or Zara Spook. Knives will tend to feed early and late if you want to target them specifically; make sure there is some moon light and go drift shiners and throw rattle traps. The fishing on Alligator Alley should remain good through most of the month. Once heavy rains start the fishing quality will drop off dramatically out there.

Good luck out there!

Phil scored some beautiful peacocks.

Dakota fed the whole block with this chunky blackfin tuna.

Al Burlando landed this 42” snook in Palm Beach.

unior Angler Team

By Christopher Sprague

Hello anglers, I hope everyone has been able to get out on the water and experience the beautiful weather and amazing fishing Florida offers this time of year. Lately I have been doing a bunch of spearfishing. I went once right off the beach after school to practice my aim and breath-holds since I had not been in the water in a long time. There were so many fish at the beginning of the day I couldn’t believe it. I only took what I needed and got a sheepshead and some yellow jacks. The mangrove snappers that I saw unfortunately weren’t big enough. As the end of the day approached, a bunch of blacktip reef sharks started to move in, and we decided to call it a day. Now that I had got my practice in, I was ready to go again to a deeper reef. A couple of friends and I took a flats boat out of Boca on the weekend to target mackerel and snapper. Sadly, the spot we went to was loaded with grouper, but since it wasn’t season yet, we had to leave them alone. The first thing I saw when I hopped in the water were 2 nice 20-pound kingfish. I sadly couldn’t get a shot off on them, so I moved on and explored the area. This spot was a perfect depth for me, around 40 feet. I was able to get to the bottom and stay down for 15-20 seconds, which isn’t too bad. It was such a beautiful day and there was a school of ballyhoo all around which attracted fish. This was the first trip that I was truly in the “zone” and felt completely connected to the water. My dives were longer, and I only missed one shot the whole day. Not to mention, all the shots I hit were almost all shots through the head, so no meat was ruined. We loaded up on mangrove snapper and cooked ‘em up that night! We had an absolutely amazing time out on the water, and I was so grateful to be able to go out and experience this with my friends.

Kayak Safety

By Mark Ambert

When we think of watercraft safety, we usually think of boats, but key safety issues apply to paddle craft as well. And while there are some common issues shared by all watercraft kayakers, SUPs and paddle boarders share some that are unique. Anyone that travels our Intracoastal Waterways here in the Palm Beaches, particularly on the weekends knows how significant the increase in non-powered watercraft has been.

With a significant increase in the number of paddlers sharing our waterways it’s a good idea to state some common safety guidelines. This situation was recently brought to my attention by my good friend and USCG Auxiliary Officer, James Mansell. James has recently enlisted in the Auxiliary. One of his primary missions is to get the word out on safety when kayaking.

According to James “The Auxiliaries provide information on safety and focus resources to advise, teach and improve the safety for kayakers of all disciplines.” James is based out of Stratford Connecticut and in particular the Housatonic where there are extensive river systems that share access with kayaks and boaters, similar to our ICW here in The Palm Beaches. James noted “There were 23 deaths in incidents in the latter quarter of 2022, and 11 of those happened in unusually good weather in October and November up here in the Northeast sector.” These types of numbers shed light on how important following sound personal safety policies are.

Although stationed in Connecticut, some common-sense rules apply across the board. Here are some basic safety rules highlighted by the USCG Auxiliary that will serve you well.

manually p ropelle D Ve SS el Safety rule S

1. Wear your life jacket (PFD)! Is it the proper size and in good condition? There must be a wearable life jacket aboard for each person.

2. Don’t stand up in a manually propelled vessel, such as a canoe, kayak or rowboat.

3. Always paddle directly into or away from the wake of larger boats.

4. If you CAPSIZE, stay with the manually propelled vessel. If you are in a strong current or white water, float down river feet first and toes up with the vessel ahead of you.

5. Do not drink alcohol before or while operating a manually propelled vessel. Alcohol affects balance, coordination, and judgement.

6. For more stability in rough conditions, kneel on the bottom instead of sitting on the seats.

7. The most experienced paddler should take the stern position.

8. Know the conditions before you set out. Always paddle within your abilities.

9. Load the manually propelled vessel evenly, fore and aft and side to side.

10. Be sure that you have the right boat for the conditions.

11. Wear proper clothing, including a hat. If you end up in the water, do not remove your clothes. They help you float and protect you against hypothermia.

12. Stay away from low head dams. They are extremely dangerous from both up and down stream.

13. Rough water, white water, or rapids are no place for beginners. Always wear a solid, correctly fitted helmet when white water canoeing or kayaking.

14. Paddle near shore, out of channels.

15. Paddle with a partner.

16. Always leave a FLOAT PLAN with someone ashore. Be specific about where you plan to go and when you will be back. Be sure to report back in when you return.

ma jor c au S e S of Boating acci D entS:

• Improper loading or overloading.

• Disregard for weather or water conditions.

• Improper lookout.

• Capsizing or falling overboard.

• Failure to wear a life jacket (PFD).

Here’s some of the safety gear I carry while kayak fishing. Anchoring system, rubber reusable twist ties like Gear Tie and Boom Fishing Lanyards to secure personal belongings. Fishing rod leashes, Belt Pack PFD with safety leash, folding knife and fishing pliers, medical kit, electric tape, a small portable LED Stern Light and a good headlamp when fishing after dark.

Although the above items are not mandatory for safety, they have in my experience provided an added measure of comfort and assurances when on the water – and in the case of extra lighting, especially after dark. I also practice righting my craft in a safe area in the event of a rollover.

Above everything else remember you are dealing with limited space and tradeoffs are necessary. Fine tune your safety gear as you go along!

I want to personally thank my friend James for bringing this issue to the forefront and to the Connecticut USCG Auxiliary for the thoughtful safety guidelines provided. Good public safety begins with awareness and education.

ct Doe Website – kayaking Safety

https://portal.ct.gov/Deep/Boating/Safety/ manually-propelled-Vessel-Safety

uSgc auxiliar y, flotilla 24-2 Stratford, ct officer james mansell

https://wow.uscgaux.info/content.php?unit=014-24-02

mark ambert, marksgonefishing™

author – avid outdoorsman, sportswriter and photographer. contact marksgonefishing25@gmail.com

Properly rigged kayak with safety flag and gear. >>>

You see a bit of everything on the water!

When it rains in Jupiter on the weekend. >>>

Done responsibly, there’s no better day on the water.

Buddy Banana Kibosh

By Keith Lozott

Typically, I don’t believe in superstitions, but a er a recent shing trip with my buddy Neil, I may be a believer!!! e morning started slow; I caught a small snapper and small snook. Neil was in skunk mode, so we decided to try a spoil island where I’ve caught some trout, snook, and a gag grouper on a prior trip. To our dismay it was dead as well. Just as we were about to exit stage le , Neil was working a topwater lure back to the boat when what appeared to be a large bull shark came up from the bottom and tried to hammer the lure. Unbelievably it totally missed the lure and disappeared. It was impressive to witness such a big specimen of a sh take a swipe at the lure.

A er the “Shark Week” experience, we continued to struggle so I decided to implement Plan C and move from the east side of the Indian River to the west side. I’ve had some nice shing on the west side with trout, reds, and snook. We made our way across the river stopping at another spoil island only to be greeted with a jack attack. I landed several jacks and Neil hooked one that got o . His skunk was still intact but with jacks around I gured that would change. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

We used the trolling motor to quietly make our way towards the mangroves hoping to get a glimpse of a red, snook, trout, ounder, or any inshore species willing to bite. As we approached the shore, we noticed another bull shark working the shore and of course I had to make a cast or two at him, but he had no interest in my o ering. We kept working the shore and nally it happened for Neil!!! He made a long cast and almost as soon as the lure hit the water, he was on with a nice sh, but we couldn’t see what it was. He started gaining ground getting it closer; enjoying the ght and then it happened! e sh came unbuttoned and at this point I was like dude, what did you do in a previous life to deserve this??? We made our way toward a dock that I know holds snook. I made a long cast and right then I was hooked up with a huge sh. It was a big snook; I got her to the boat, revived her, and released her to ght another day. Success! I said, “let’s go to lunch and call it a day”. I asked Neil if he was hungry and then he disclosed to me that he ate a banana for breakfast! Neil knows not to bring bananas on the boat (it’s bad luck), but it didn’t occur to him that the curse would remain in e ect with it digesting in his stomach. Myth con rmed or was it bad luck? He should’ve brought his lucky rabbit foot!!!

Keith Lozott The Fishing Realtor

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ECO ToURISM

with Chris Thalmann

Although I spend a lot of time on coastal waters, I also enjoy exploring our inland natural areas. Spring is a great time to do so, and South Florida has millions of acres of natural areas that are open to the public and waiting to be explored!

Many of these areas are connected by recreational trails. Some are multi-use...hiking, biking, off-road vehicles, horses etc...and can be pretty busy. Others are limited use and much quieter. From paved sidewalks to gravel, sand, grassed paths, even boardwalks, there’s a variety of trails for just about anyone who’s interested in getting outdoors and into nature.

One of my favorite inhabitants of inland natural areas this time of year are swallow-tailed kites. You’ll likely see these graceful birds zooming through cypress and pine forested wetlands, like you’ll find at Grassy Waters, Loxahatchee Slough and Winding Waters Natural Areas.

Swallow-tailed kites are good sized birds, with wingspans of about 4 feet, a distinctive bright- white head and chest, and gleaming black wings. They also have a very pronounced v-shaped tail, which allows them to make acrobatic moves unlike just about any other bird out there.

Masters of updrafts, these birds spend most of their days gliding through the air and rarely even need to flap their wings. Part of the raptor family, they’ll hunt and eat insects and small fish on the fly. For larger prey like frogs, snakes, even small mammals, they often take their catch to the tops of trees to feed.

Swallow-tailed kites are migratory. They winter in South America, then

migrate north in the spring to the US to nest and raise their young, then head south again in late summer. They were once very common throughout much of the eastern US, even as far north as Minnesota. Unfortunately, plumage hunting and habitat losses from logging and development over many decades reduced their North American range to the southern US.

But things may be on the upswing for these graceful flyers. Sightings suggest they may be slowly re-establishing their historic ranges. Several projects are underway to help determine where these birds are spotted and how often.

If you’d like to help, you can report sightings at https://stki. thecenterforbirdsofprey.org. It takes only a minute, and each sighting provides insight into how these beautiful birds are doing here in South Florida (and elsewhere!).

To learn more about these unique seasonal visitors, visit https://www. arcinst.org/blog/. There you can follow several swallow-tailed kites who have been fitted with mini transmitters as they complete their annual 10,000-mile migrations.

Based on past years they’ll likely be here in South Florida until August/ September, so keep an eye out for them if you find yourself exploring our inland natural areas.

Here’s to enjoying some time outdoors this month!

c apt. B rian nelli

KayaK Fishing Forecast with

772-201-5899 • Brian@tckayakfishing.com

• tckayakfishing.com

the area you are fishing, whip out a Super Spook or large swim bait. If you are finding glass minnows use a D.O.A. Jerk Bait or Shad Tail. Mangroves, docks and seawalls with current nearby will be the places to target. Launching the kayak at places like Johnathan D. MacArthur State Park and Snook Islands will give you access to some great areas to target snook, tarpon and jacks.

Offshore

Bill with a nice peacock bass.

May starts the run of bigger blackfin tuna off our coast. 20-30lbers are common and can be taken on live bait as well as trolling plugs and vertical jigs. During this time mahi will also be in larger numbers and closer to shore. Kingfish will be making their way to their spring/summer areas off of our coast. Trolling live goggle eyes, pilchards and blue runners will put fish in the fish bag. Don’t be afraid to fish shallow during this time of year, especially off of Palm Beach and Jupiter. 60-180 feet of water should be in your range.

Freshwater

Inshore

May is one of the best times of year in South Florida. More and more bait will start to move into the river to supply fish with plenty to eat. Snook, tarpon, trout, jacks and reds will be looking for mullet pattern baits like Super Spooks, large swimbaits and jerk baits. If you are finding mullet in

Warmer weather means the clown knifefish will be more cooperative. Peacock bass and largemouth will be heading towards their beds to spawn if they have not already. Look to sight fish the bass along the banks and docks. Throwing a small jig or D.O.A. Shrimp in their bed to annoy them will get them to bite.

Check us out Pushin’ Water Kayak Charters on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for all the latest adventures my clients and I get into.

See you on the water!

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Ed with a wahoo.

Palm Beach In & OffshOre Fishing Forecast with

Welcome to the Coastal Angler Magazine fishing report. If you are an angler that likes variety, you will love the month of May. Offshore Palm Beach, the spring kings will be plentiful. The waters south of The Breakers Hotel will produce some tournament winning fish. Try slow trolling a live blue runner or goggle eye in depths of 80’ to 120’.  Don’t forget to put a stinger hook in its tail. Also, in May the blackfin tuna bite will be on. These fish are hard fighters and make for great table fare. To catch these fish, you will need a 20 lb. spinner or conventional gear combined with a light fluorocarbon leader. A good tactic for catching tuna is live chumming off the edge of the reef; try depths from 80’ to 140’. Remember that tuna like low light conditions, so early morning or late evening will be your best bet.

The reef bite will be good this time of the year. The sun is setting later, so take advantage of this extra fishing time. You may be rewarded with a nice mutton snapper or flag yellowtail.

For you inshore anglers, look to the beaches. Tarpon will be running in packs of six to ten. Cruise the beaches and look for any black patches that move. These fish will be chasing sardines. Try pitching a live sardine or jumbo shrimp in front of the school and hold on! Remember to point your rod at the fish when it is jumping. Tight lines!

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!

Cammy with a fat snook.

Grace with her first tarpon.

Kason and Cayden caught a plethora of species and this lane snapper.

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.

Two popular handguns. Smith and Wesson 342 38spl and a Beretta Tomcat in 32acp.

South Florida Shooting Supply/Gun Shop, Boca

Freshwater Everglades

ay is always a good month for bass fishing and fishing for exotics in Florida. We escape the cold fronts and usually have consistent weather which is great especially for peacock bass. Those rainy days are going to be the best for snakeheads and the sunny days are good for everything else. For snakeheads I’m using an American Snakehead Customs Frog on a medium heavy setup and straight 50lb braid. I don’t use fluorocarbon; however, I use a braid knot that increases the strength of the line 400%. The knot is called a Bangkok Hooker Twist and I have a video on my YouTube channel how to tie it up. It is the go-to knot for topwater frog fishing, it even works great for bass.

The Everglades are next on my list and this time of the year can get tricky because in April we got tons of rain which can raise up the water level making the Everglades tough to fish. Jaguar cichlids have been the spotlight

Fishing Forecast national park fishing

with with

Mof my Glades trips recently. In past years we would only catch 1 or 2 per trip, where now we are catching 20-40 of them in 4 hours. Peacocks are making a strong comeback from the freeze this past year. I have seen millions of peacock bass fry from Holey Lands to Holiday Park. Next year should be a good year with plenty of 1 pounder sized fish.

The Lake Ida Chain has its ups and downs and takes longer to recover from lots of rain or a cold front. Thankfully the cold fronts are over for the year and the fishing should be on par with its normal spring and summer patterns.  Live bait is your friend on this lake whether you’re targeting clown knifefish or peacock bass. Largemouth bass will eat most soft plastics and I have recently found a trick for catching cichlids on Lake Ida on artificial. Z-Man Micro Finesse has a new line up of baits and they all seem to work for catching a variety of smaller fish from panfish to cichlids. They work well in the Everglades and the Lake Ida Chain. My personal favorite choice is a 1/20. oz jighead1q with their Larva-Z soft plastic. If you aren’t an artificial user, live red worms will also do the trick.

One key point I sometimes forget to add to these reports is just to go out there and have fun!

Tight lines!

Florida Flats Fishing Adventures had quite an adventure as Matt from Utah and Jacob from South Florida decided to do a weekend at Flamingo ENP and an Alligator Alley trip. The two were convinced to only fly fish and as the casts just kept going, I was wondering what was going on. Although the quarter moon and tides just didn’t align the way I would’ve liked, as I awaited cast after cast a huge swirl and ripping line had occurred without warning and when least expected. The fight was on, and it was not just a fight but a battle with the 9-weight fly rod and the 28-inch snook. Jacob was on the fly reel and did a great job maneuvering the snook out of the dead wood in the water with an 8-foot bull shark on its tail. Luckily after we thought the bull shark got the snook, Jacob reeled the snook straight to the boat as if the snook was saying “please get me away from this bull shark”! Alligator Alley produced hundreds of fish for us on this trip, mainly exotics as the bass are far from between as I have noticed after all these years fishing the jaguars (pictured), Mayan cichlids, peacocks, and

other exotics have done a number on the largemouth bass. Fishing will be red hot as the weather warms, get out there this May!

Jacob, Captain Steve, and Matt from Utah.

The sportfishing in May is spectacular! We’re catching some of the biggest and best fish that we’ll catch all year, during this month. Dolphins are biting strong on the inside edge of the Gulfstream in only 300400ft of water and are eating just about anything you throw at them. Trolling works well for dolphins, wahoo, and tuna. Slow trolling live ballyhoo from the outriggers or kite fishing using goggle eyes are the best techniques to get the biggest dolphin. A few sailfish are still biting and if you really feel lucky, a few marlin are being seen offshore. Night swordfishing is also getting good when the weather cooperates; May in general is a great month for billfish.

Amberjacks are abundant on the shallow and deep-water wrecks, along with some grouper and cobia... and you can finally keep groupers again; they are in-season as of May 1. There is quick action on big fish to be found fishing around our local shipwrecks, just drop down a live bait and wait for your rod to bend over. Big game sharks are still pouring through as hammerheads, mako sharks, threshers, and big bulls are doing their annual migration through our waters. If you want to hook into and catch one of these monster game fish, now is the best time. Sharks go where the action is and there is plenty of action happening in Fort Lauderdale this month. Tight Lines!

Paulie and Mick with a monster black grouper aboard the New Lattitude.

A happy lady angler with a nice grouper caught with Fishing Headquarters.

Adam Zoellner landed this amazing snook on the Loxahatchee River in Jupiter with a Yo-Zuri lure.

Ronnie T. caught this snook in the Sebastian Inlet.

Dave Lawrence caught this wahoo just north of Miami while kite fishing using a threadfin herring.

Kevin Woods, aka One Man, One Rod with an awesome triple tail in Lantana.

Matthew Kane caught his first pompano from the surf at Juno Beach.

Let’s grow with Florida together.

Confessions of a Fishaholic, by Thatch Maguire, is a hilarious and irreverent look at one man’s quest to catch fish in spite of life’s annoying interferences. You’ll travel with this awkward adventurer as he risks home and health to pursue his passion for fishing...regardless of the consequences. Anglers of all expertise levels will immediately identify with why his addiction is incurable. This book defines the blurred line between passion and obsession.

REDFISH ON DRUGS

Last year, results of a threeyear study indicated a shocking presence of drugs found in bone sh of the Florida Keys. It comes as little surprise that Florida International University (FIU) and Bone sh & Tarpon Trust (BTT) have recently completed a year-long study that also discovered pharmaceutical contaminants in the blood and other tissues of red sh in Florida waters.

“ e results underscore the urgent need to modernize Florida’s wastewater treatment systems,” said BTT President and CEO Jim McDu e. “Humanbased contaminants like these pose a signi cant threat to Florida’s recreational shery, which has an annual economic impact of $13.9 billion and directly supports more than 120,000 jobs.”

Scientists and volunteer guides and anglers sampled red sh in nine of Florida’s most important estuaries: Pensacola, Apalachicola, Cedar Key, Tampa Bay, Charlotte Harbor, Florida Bay, Northern Indian River Lagoon (IRL), St. Augustine and Jacksonville.

Similar to results of the previous bone sh study, pharmaceuticals were found in all of the estuaries sampled, with an average number of 2.1 drugs per sh and a maximum of ve. Only seven out of the 113 sampled sh had zero drugs in their system. On average, 25.7 percent of the sh exceeded a level of pharmaceuticals considered safe, which equates to one-third of the therapeutic levels in humans.

“ ese studies of bone sh and red sh are the rst to document the concerning presence of pharmaceuticals in species that are important to Florida’s recreational sheries,” said Dr. Jennifer Rehage, FIU professor and the study’s lead researcher. “Given the impacts of many of these pharmaceuticals on other sh species and the types of pharmaceuticals found, we are concerned about the role pharmaceuticals play in the health of our sheries. We will continue this work to get more answers to these concerning questions.”

Cardiovascular medications, opioid pain relievers and psychoactive medications were most commonly detected. e antiarrhythmic medication ecainide and the opioid pain reliever tramadol were detected in over 50 percent of the red sh. e antipsychotic medication upentixol was detected above safe levels in one in ve of the red sh samples. ese are very concerning levels of exposure for red sh.

Approximately ve billion prescriptions are lled each year in the U.S., yet there are no environmental regulations for the production nor disposal of pharmaceuticals worldwide. Pharmaceutical contaminants originate most o en from human wastewater and are not su ciently removed by conventional water treatment. ey remain active at low doses, can be released constantly, and exposure can a ect all aspects of sh behavior, with negative consequences for their reproduction and survival. Pharmaceutical contaminants have been shown to a ect all aspects of the life of sh, including their feeding, activity, sociability, and migratory behavior.

“Florida is a leader in addressing water quality issues and wastewater infrastructure, including converting septic systems to sewage treatment,” said Kellie Ralston, BTT’s Vice President for Conservation and Public Policy. “ e results of this study indicate that there are additional opportunities for improvement by retro tting existing wastewater treatment plants with innovative technologies, like ozone treatment, to remove pharmaceuticals and requiring such technology on new wastewater facilities.”

For more information, go to www.bone shtarpontrust.org.

Maguire’s frst work is a compelling, fast read. His style is like a mix of Hemingway with a sardonic blend of Hunter S. Thompson. I couldn’t put it down...

Ben Martin Editor in Chief Coastal Angler Magazine

ENJOY BATTLING

THE SCOURGE OF LIONFISH

The ninth annual Lion sh Festival is slated for May 20-21 at AJ’s Seafood and Oyster Bar and HarborWalk Village in Destin, Fla. is outdoor event is free, open to the public and will feature family-friendly activities, art, diving and marine conservation booths, live music, llet demonstrations, and the world’s largest lion sh tournament, the Emerald Coast Open.

TOURNAMENT DETAILS

e Emerald Coast Open will run May 1920 and include categories for most lion sh, largest lion sh and smallest lion sh with nearly $100,000 worth of prizes up for grabs. For o cial tournament rules and registration instructions, visit EmeraldCoastOpen. com.

LIONFISH RESTAURANT WEEK

Sample lion sh at one of Destin–Fort Walton Beach’s featured restaurants during the Emerald Coast Open Lion sh Restaurant Week. Local chefs will highlight lion sh in unique dishes in the week leading up to the event to help bring awareness to the lion sh invasion in the Gulf of Mexico.

Schedule:

• e Boathouse Landing, Valparaiso – May 12

• e Harbor Tavern – May 13

• Dewey Destin’s Harborside – May 14

• Crab Trap Destin – May 15

• La Paz – May 16

• Harbor Docks – May 17

• Brotula’s Seafood House & Steamer – May 18

• AJ’s Seafood & Oyster Bar– May 20

LIONFISH CHALLENGE

e 2023 Lion sh Challenge is a summer-long tournament open to everyone and completely free to enter. Participants in last year’s Challenge reached a signi cant milestone of over 1 million lion sh harvested from Florida waters since the program began in 2014! Visit FWCReefRangers. com to register for the Lion sh Challenge.

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HARVEST CLOSED INSIDE SPECIAL PERMIT ZONE

The permit spawning season closure inside the Special Permit Zone (SPZ) began April 1. Regular permit regulations in the SPZ will reopen Aug. 1.

is closure area includes all state and federal waters south of Cape Sable on the Gulf coast and south of Cape Florida on the Atlantic coast including all of the Florida Keys and Biscayne Bay south of Rickenbacker Causeway.

During the open season, regulations within the SPZ allow a daily bag limit of one permit, with a vessel limit of two permit and a minimum size of 22 inches fork length.

For more information, go to MyFWC.com.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BONEFISH & TARPON TRUST

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BAROTRAUMA TOOLS NOW REQUIRED IN STATE WATERS

Anglers shing from a vessel targeting reef sh in Florida state waters are now required to have on board a descending device or venting tool that is rigged and ready for use. is new regulation went into e ect April 1, and also requires use of a descending device or venting tool if a sh exhibits signs of barotrauma prior to release.

e FWC approved this rule to increase survival of released reef sh, a top priority management issue in both the Gulf of Mexico and south Atlantic. As reef sh are reeled up from depth, they can su er pressure related injuries known as barotrauma. ese injuries include the stomach protruding out of the mouth, bulging eyes, bloated belly, distended intestines and inability to swim down independently. If not treated correctly, barotrauma can be lethal to sh.

“Florida’s anglers have always played an important role in the health of our sheries and the proper use of barotrauma mitigation tools is just one way anglers continue helping to conserve Florida’s sheries for current and future generations,” said FWC’s Jessica McCawley. “ is new rule not only improves survival of released reef sh but also provides anglers the exibility of choosing the best tool that ts their situation on the water.”

For more information, go to MyFWC.com.

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YOUR KID COULD CATCH A WORLD RECORD

Would your kid be proud to set a new world record?

Of course they would, and right now is a great time for kids to catch a world record thanks to the International Game Fish Association’s new length-record category for young anglers. e category is intended to promote catch-and-release by making it possible to measure a sh for world-record consideration without killing it, and right now there 169 vacant species just waiting for anglers under 16 years old to set a new world record.

e new IGFA All-Tackle Length Junior category follows the same rules and regulations as the current All-Tackle Length record categories. e All-Tackle Length Junior category will have one record available for each eligible species, with no di erentiation made for the angler’s gender, which is consistent with current All-Tackle Length and All-Tackle Length Fly record categories. Vacancies exist for all eligible species of the All-Tackle Length record category and will follow the same minimum length requirements already established.

“By introducing the All-Tackle Length Junior category, we hope to inspire the next generation of anglers to get out and sh, while promoting ethical and sustainable shing practices,” said IGFA President Jason Schratwieser. “Fishing is a fantastic way to connect with the outdoors, and we believe that by engaging young people with this sport, we can inspire the next generation of stewards of our oceans, lakes, and rivers and help ensure the long-term health and vitality of our aquatic resources.”

With children and teenagers increasingly disconnected from the outdoors, the IGFA hopes to inspire a new wave of young anglers who are passionate about the sport and its role in connecting people to nature.

For more information, go to www.igfa.org.

PHOTO COURTESY OF IGFA.

Alexandra Hall caught this 63-pound blue cat sh from Virginia’s James River to set IGFA 20-pound line class and female junior world records for the species.

FROG FISHING FOR VERY HUNGRY BASS TIPS FROM A PRO

TYLER WOOLCOTT

Across the country, bass are either in their post spawn patterns right now or they will be soon. ere is a plethora of ways to catch these bass, but my all-time favorite for getting bit and drawing in a big one is a hollow body popping frog.

A popping frog can be used as an incredible search bait, and you can duplicate many di erent bait sh depending on where you throw it and what color you tie on. ere are many di erent options out there. I try to duplicate the bait sh forage in the particular lake I’m shing. Sometimes I use a frog to imitate a bluegill, and sometimes I throw a shad color pattern. 13 Fishing makes an incredible popping frog that comes with a stout hook and a wide variety of colors for any scenario.

When I throw a frog as a search bait, I work it faster than most. Cover as much water as possible until you put a pattern together on what exactly the sh are focusing on. at’s the magic of a frog; you can literally throw it around everything! Docks, lay downs, grass and open water are just a few of the targets I look for. Once you locate a group of sh or put a pattern together, slow down and pick them o a little slower. I have noticed sometimes there isn’t a “too fast” while working a popping frog.

A couple things I look for this time of year are bass guarding fry and also sh roaming the banks feeding on bluegill. is is very predictable and an awesome way to catch big ones. Typically, if you know a few areas where the sh previously spawned, these patterns will occur in the same areas. I throw a bluegill pattern popping frog because bluegill chase bass fry, and that drives bass crazy.

Another pattern to watch for is a shad spawn. is occurs in the mornings and evenings and can lead to a bunch of sh in a hurry. Look

for birds feeding on banks while running down the lake. Find the birds and you nd the bait! A white popping frog or a bait sh color is typically my choice in this situation.

A popping frog can work all year long, but it really drives post spawn sh crazy. Who doesn’t like catching sh on a topwater with heavy line and a heavy rod?

Frog Fishing Gear

Heavy gear is needed for setting those big frog hooks and shing around heavy cover. I sh a 13 Fishing 7’4H Omen Black rod paired with a Concept A 8.3 reel spooled up with Seaguar 50-pound Smackdown braid. is setup allows you to get sh out of heavy cover and into the boat!

Tyler Woolcott is a professional tournament angler and guide. Check out his website at www.tylerwoolcott shing.com.

Coastal Angler and The Angler Magazine, Suzuki Marine and Sea Eagle have come together to offer readers a shot at this Sea Eagle FishSkiff 16 paired with a Suzuki DF4 outboard that’ll take you wherever the fsh are. The FishSkiff 16 is an infatable fshing boat that is lightweight, sturdy, stable and extremely packable. It rolls up small enough to ft in the trunk of a car and quickly infates into a fshing machine. Powered by Suzuki’s four-stroke DF4A, you’ll have to hold on to your hat as you scream over the fats. Designed for effciency and performance and portability, the DF4A provides all the speed and acceleration you can handle. It’s lightweight and can be attached or removed with ease.

40-POUND PIKE BREAKS IDAHO RECORD!

BLACK SEA BASS OPEN YEAR-ROUND IN SOUTH ATLANTIC

Black sea bass o en y under the radar for anglers o the coast of the Southeast. Perhaps it’s because their size and numbers are thickest in the middle of winter, when it’s not as pleasant to be on the water? Or maybe it’s because they don’t grow as a large as the other grouper species that inhabit our wrecks and reefs?

This 40.76-pound northern pike is a new Idaho state record. It beat the existing 13-year-old record by a little more than half a pound.

Avid pike sherman omas Francis landed the monster sh on March 21 from Hayden Lake in northern Idaho. e sh was more than 4 feet long, with an o cial length of 49 inches and an impressive girth of 26.5 inches.

Francis told Idaho Fish and Game he speci cally targets big pike almost every day. In late March, ice still ringed the banks at Hayden Lake, so Francis was casting his lure up to the edge of the ice.

“When my lure hit the water, I let it sink all the way to the bottom,” he said. “As soon as my lure hit the bottom, I felt her hit. I sh with 80-poundtest line, and she almost immediately started peeling drag, a lot of it.

“She pinned herself to the bottom and just kept going, peeling drag the whole time,” he continued. “I knew that wasn’t normal, and I could tell it was something special.”

e IGFA all-tackle world record northern pike was caught in Germany in 1986. It weighed 55 pounds, 1-ounce.

For more information, go to https://idfg.idaho.gov

Whatever the reason, there’s no denying that black sea bass are some of the tastiest critters in the ocean, and anchoring over a wreck or reef teeming with them can ll a cooler in short order. Just ask the folks up in New England, where the species is a highly sought a er target of anglers.

NOAA recently announced that recreational harvest of black sea bass will again be open year-round for the 2023-2024 season in federal waters of the South Atlantic, south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. So, sharpen the hooks on your chicken rigs and go collect some meat.

NOAA Fisheries has projected that the 2023-2024 recreational catch limit of 366,510 pounds whole weight will not be met. e season in federal waters will run from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024. Seasons in state waters vary, so be sure to check state regulations where you plan to sh. In federal waters of the Atlantic, south of 35 deg 15.0321’ N, there is a seven sh per person bag limit with a 13-inch minimum size limit.

A descending device is required on board all vessels shing for or possessing snapper and grouper species in federal waters of the South Atlantic. e descending device must be readily available for use and attached to at least 16 ounces of weight and at least 60 feet of line. For more information, go to coastalanglermag.com.

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STILL TIME FOR A TROPHY TROUT

By Capt. Michael Okruhlik

If you are big trout enthusiast like me, you know there is still some time le if you haven’t had your ll over the past ve months. December through a portion of May is when I set my eyes on catching a personnel best speckled trout. With the full moon on May 3 this year, I feel the entire month will hold promise to land one full of eggs before the rst full moon in June. May is also a little more enjoyable, too, so sit back and let me tell you why.

Most anglers in Texas think about big trout mid-December through early April, and when the waders come o they change their focus. Fortunately, not all the big girls have dropped their eggs yet and will still hold them into May. It gives us the opportunity for a heavy trout to take a big smiling photo with.

Speaking of taking the waders o , wading in May is typically warm and enjoyable even if the sh don’t cooperate. e pleasant temperatures are more appealing than dreary, cold, winter days, and they also allow me to sh the way I prefer. At times in winter, we must slow down our presentation and this can become a little monotonous; however, targeting big trout in the warmth of May allows us to work the lure more aggressively.

ere is not much more exciting than a topwater explosion, and spring is one of my favorite times to utilize this tactic for trophy trout. May is also a great time to throw other lures. Traditional slow-sinking and suspending lures also work wonders this time of year.

As most of you know, I am a paddletail fanatic! is month, I’ll give several sizes a shot at getting inhaled by a huge yellow mouth. ese large predators will take 3-, 4- and 5-inch lures this time of year. As their bodies warm with the water, they become as aggressive as they will be all year, so adding some rattling sound to your tails can really get the sh active.

I seek out areas of grass ats in knee- to waist-deep water. Finding a at with a drain from a small lake or creek will work wonders for concentrating sh over adjacent shallow grass. A depression along such a at is another area you should target. When choosing a at with these criteria, areas of potholes are a plus over a solid grass- lled at.

I hope these tips help you get your PB trout on your last chance of the year to nd one lled with eggs. Take a kid shing. ey like big trout too. And be safe. May is the uno cial start of summer, and inexperienced boaters will be on the water.

Capt. Michael Okruhlik is the inventor of Knockin Tail Lures®, and the owner of www.MyCoastOutdoors.com.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KNOCKIN TAIL LURES®

KAYAKER LANDS

102-POUND PADDLEFISH

An angler got a little more than he bargained for in early April while shing for walleye in the Upper White River in northwestern Arkansas. Fishing 12-pound-test line and a 3-inch-long crankbait, Robert Murphy accidentally snagged a 102-pound paddle sh and spent the next hour battling the sh from his kayak.

In April, the Upper White experiences spring runs of several species into the riverine sections of Beaver Lake, including white bass, walleye and paddle sh. Paddle sh, also known as spoonbill, are a large zooplankton eating species. ey won’t chase lures or live bait, so anglers typically “snag” them during Arkansas’ paddle sh snagging season. e daily limit is two sh per person.

Murphy might not have intended to snag a paddle sh, but that’s exactly what he did. According to Outdoor Life, Murphy was throwing a 3-inch Berkley Flicker Shad for walleye when he saw a big sh on his sonar. inking it was a big striped bass or a gar, he ran his 10- to 12-foot-diving plug through the area and hooked his river monster in the top of the tail.

Anyone who has ever foul-hoked a sh knows how hard they ght when you can’t turn their head. Well, Murphy spent the next hour battling the beast from his kayak as it pulled him up and down the river. A er he nally hauled it into his kayak and brought it to shore, he weighed and measured the sh. With a length of 71.5 inches, it was nearly 6 feet long, and at 102 pounds, it was shy of the 118-pound, 9-ounce state record that was caught from Beaver Lake in 2020.

For more information, see www.agfc.com.