Of Your Fly Cast!

Finally, after the winter months we are back in our big fish sight fishing season. Being out on the water and getting to experience this mayhem makes me feel alive but, it’s very challenging when you have customers in the boat who struggle to cast. Like in any other sport, it is important to practice regularly so that you are prepared for your fish of a lifetime. I’m always happy to teach my customers but it just takes time away from the fishing.

Here are a few pointers I’d like to share:

1. Don’t get overexcited and don’t fall apart when your guide gets you in front of big fish.

2. Do not break your wrist and drop the tip of the rod while casting.

3. Do not overpower and/or rush your cast fish traps will be used to capture and tag fish like mutton snapper and gag to determine each species contribution to the fish fauna on St. Lucie County artificial reefs. Anecdotal evidence suggests that gag, once plentiful offshore St. Lucie County, may be replaced by mutton snapper. In 2022, monitoring by Ecological Associates using a 360 o drop camera revealed a small school (~20) of mutton snapper on one of the County’s artificial reefs.

4. Don’t let your line go too early and don’t move your hands together in your final forward cast.

5. Don’t shoot your line to the sky but to the water where the fish are!

6. Practice your cast and accuracy, single and double haul, shooting the line and guiding your fly line with your line hand while shooting the line, and rod angles while casting.

7. Wind is a great teacher! Learn how to cast in all different wind directions and angles.

Good luck to all of you fly gals and fly guys out there! I love seeing more and more of us.

Materials have already started to be delivered for St. Lucie County’s next artificial reef. The County has applied for funding from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to create a 1,500-ton secondary concrete reef in the Lee E. Harris artificial reef site. If this funding is obtained it will help to build the large reef to test whether this reef can provide ecological benefits (i.e. spawning, larval settlement) that are provided by large natural reefs.

Other materials used will include large drainage structures delivered by American Concrete Industries, Precast. Light poles from the Fort Pierce Utilities Authority will be cantilevered over these structures to provide high profile habitat for pelagic fishes like kingfish and permit.

Most of the funding for artificial reefing offshore St. Lucie County has come from grants from the FWC. The County also is planning to reef another large vessel offshore St. Lucie County and Cathy Townsend, chair of the St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners, has already discussed reefing this vessel with the FWC. Both the County and the State will play important parts in deploying this ship. This vessel, like other boats before it, will be cleaned according to State and Federal standards. Photos of the cleanup of the ship will be sent to the United States Army Corps of Engineers, United States Coast Guard (USCG), United States Environmental Protection Agency, and FWC for their comment and approval. Pending approval of the USCG and Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the vessel will spend a short period of time in Fort Pierce prior to being deployed.

For more information on the St. Lucie County Artificial Reef Program, contact Jim Oppenborn, St. Lucie County Coastal Resources Coordinator, at oppenbornj@ stlucieco.org or (772) 462-1713.

Chris Giuffrida, Southern

Fishing Crew, said the problem isn’t hooking up to the fish, it’s all the obstacles after you do—sharks, goliath grouper, porpoises, barracuda—seems like we all want the same fish!

Capt. Cody Baker, You’re On Fishing Charters, ran out with the boys and Josh landed a nice smoker king. Jumped off a sail, caught some kings and some snapper.

Rosa caught her first wahoo trolling artificial lures out the St. Lucie inlet. The wahoo bite happened in 220 feet of water during April’s full moon. a 3-inch white paddletail.

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.