WaterLIFEApril07

W a t e r LIFE FREE!

Charlotte Harbor and Lemon Bay

Keeping Boaters and Fishermen Informed

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Page 31

Coming May 4-6

Fish Surgery at the Kids Cup

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Shut Snook Down?

April 2007

Still time to enter!

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April 28!

Who says Fishing is Off? Off? Page 3

w w w. C H A R L O T T E H A R B O R M A G A Z I N E . C O M

FREE!

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Water LIFE

MAGAZINE

February 2007

Water LIFE

Some Things Happening Here

April 2007

By Mi chael Hel l er Waster LIFE editor A statewide movement called Save Our Fisheries is being talked about by some Florida guides, but does our local inshore fishing need saving? Hard luck stories are nothing new to fishermen, but when those stories come from the seasoned old time guides and from the serious, studious anglers, both, is it the sign of a problem? On the other hand some guides are saying fishing has been great. Most of the conversation has centered around redfish. Is it just the slotsized tournament fish that are getting hard to find?

There are more people than ever fishing Charlotte Harbor. That has to at least be part of it. I would guess that between now and the end of November there will be at least 10 inshore tournaments a month from Fort Myers to Punta Gorda. On April 28 our own Kids Cup is one of them.

Many events put 200 to 300 anglers out on the water. Redfish are the popular target. But are tournaments a problem? Is there any one single thing that is hurting our fishing? I don’t think it’s one thing.

For the last few years we’ve had dis-

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cussions about ‘running inside the (sand) bar,’ and ‘running the shoreline.’

That scatters fish, they don’t eat and in the interim we don’t catch them. If we do it enough the fish will move on.

But, there are numerous other factors. How about red tide? Effluent discharge? That has to figure into it. How about Hurricane Charley. With all the shoreline mangroves up and down the harbor dead, the food chain has changed.

Small fish and crabs have no shelter along the shore. Is that the problem?

And we’ve had a ton of live bait in the harbor this winter. Did that change the fishing, and catching?

Last summer, fish were concentrated on the few green spots of cover that remained around the harbor. That just made them easy prey for anglers. We just wiped ‘em out is another popular theory.

Scented baits have impacted fishing.

Lures have improved. In all, fishermen today are more lethal. That has to have an effect.

A big factor is live–bait fishing.

Today, more and more anglers are throwing a cast net. Live bait makes fishing exponentially more productive, but if we are releasing most of the fish

The Heaviest Snook tournament was a memorial tribute to Matthew OʼBrien, a 1995 Charlotte High School graduate who passed away last year. The weigh in was held at ʻBlood Beachʼ in the back of Turtle Bay where Matt loved to fish. The event raised $1800 for the Haven Clinic in Port Charlotte.

we catch are our release techniques all they are cracked up to be? Should we be targeting fish in their closed season even if we do release them? That too coule be a factor.

So is fishing off? Right now, trout fishing should be good, but it’s not. Is that just because it’s been so warm?

The trout we have seen have been monsters.

According to some people, snook are in trouble. We’ve heard that for 10 years. A lot of anglers were saying red-

fishing was clearly off. Then a week ago it turned on. Are redfish really in trouble? We’ve had big reds all winter.

Are reds just moving around more?

We have more anglers, but we are not doing any fish stocking. Do we have too many guides?

Is it one problem or is it all of it?

Is it a problem at all?

Or is it just a ‘cyclic thing’?

What ever it is, we need to figure it out. It’s up to us to know the most about our fishery.

The new 2400 Bay Ranger – the ultimate Bay Boat for Charlotte Harbor

San Carlos Marine

3300 Palm Beach Blvd. (I-75 Exit 141) Ft. Myers

(239) 334-3424

3

Water LIFE

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LETTERS

The Lady Louise, with 9 foot draft, has now dug a shallow pit in the seagrass where she lay at anchor for the last four months. As the anchor drags, the boat inches closer to the waterway.

Dear Water LIFE I don't know if you knew this. I pulled it from the Coast Guard Documentation Center Records online. I had several interesting discussions with the owner of Lady Louise while out on the water. This is the owner of record: Vessel Name: LADY LOUISE USCG Doc. No.: 599481 Vessel Service: COMMERCIAL FISHING VESSEL IMO Number: 7938555 Hull Material: WOOD Year Built: 1978 Length (ft.): 66.7 Hailing Port: FT LAUDERDALE FL Hull Depth (ft.): 9.4 Owner: MICHAEL J BROWN 7504 SW 5TH ST NORTH LAUDERDALE, FL 33068 Documentation Expiration Date: July 31, 2007 Name withheld

Dear Captain Ron, I have enjoyed your columns for years. The two articles in March issue were especially useful. But a question. Did you catch the pompano on grass flats using the jigs and technique described or did the pompano come off sandbars or channels? I have just ordered some Cal

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jigs and grub tails. I have fished here for about six years but have never caught anything on a jig. I have caught a lot of fish but only one pompano while trolling just off the beach. Always wanted to catch more pompano.

Thanks for the extra help, Ted Hutchins.

Capt Blago Responds: Ted Don't feel bad, it's not that you are doing anything wrong, it's just that the fish are doing something right. All of my pompano have been caught on the grass flats near my house on Lemon Bay near Stump Pass. It's hard to analyse your technique over the Internet, but are you fishing enough? If you only go out once a month you can write that off to just a bad fishing day. My suggestion is to take someone fishing with you that's better at jigging that you are. If they catch fish and you don't , then you know you have a problem.

Another thing is to make sure the fish are there. Now I use my jig to find fish; but you might do better by using a popping cork with a shrimp. If you don't catch any pompano, trout or at least ladyfish, the flat just might not have any fish. If you do catch something, that's the time to switch over to the jig. If all else fails, keep next Jan and Feb open and go to the "Fishing College" next year. Remember, don't take fishing too seriously - you always have bowling to fall back on.

Good Luck Capt Ron

were blowing out of the west at about 15-20 mph. We started fishing around the docks at grassy point, catching small snook, ladyfish, jacks, etc. We then rode the west wall all the way down to Turtle bay stopping here and there picking up 1-2 fish every where we stopped. We hit an area called muddy lake and loaded up on trout. All legal size, one was even 5-6 pounds.

Wednesday we started off on the same pattern, but again the winds were howling at 1015mph, it was overcast, and drizzling all day.

After a few snook and some ladyfish we headed to the ʻsecret spot.ʼ We spent 5 hours catching oversize reds.It was an awesome day despite the conditions. Most captains would have bagged both wednesday and thursday because of that cold wind. I canʼt say enough about charlotte harbor as a fishery, captain Mike as a guide and a person, and all the guys and gals at Fishin' Franks.

Sincerely, Scott Bickling Dear Water LIFE Thought youʼd be interested in this picture of a cormorant eating a mullet.

Robert Dawson, Port Charlotte

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April 2007

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Dear Water LIFE Myself and my good buddy Chris Hutchinson were recently in Port Charlotte fishing with Captain Mike Mahan of Castaway Fishing Charter. We fished Tuesday thru Thursday the 15th. Tuesday yielded us only 1 fish in a 9 hour day (snook). Captain Mike put us on fish all over charlotte harbor, and most of the Peace River, but the fish just werenʼt interested in eating. Our only fish came at the spillway at Shell Creek on a rattle trap. Wednesday the winds

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Water LIFE 217 Bangsberg Rd, Port Charlotte, FL, 33952

Fishing / Environment: Capt. Ron Blago Charlotte Harbor: Capt. Robert Moore Gasparilla: Capt. Chuck Eichner Port Charlotte: Fishinʼ Frank Offshore: Capt. Steve Skevington Real Estate: Dave Hofer Sailing Advisor: Bill Dixon Kayaks: David Allen Sea Grant: Betty Staugler Diving: Adam Wilson

on the COVER:

Capt Angel Torrez provided the photo.

on our WEBSITE:

WWW.charlotteharbormagazine.com

Links to Realtors: Connect with our real estate advertisers Tide Graphs: For local waters

Weather: Links to all of our favorite sites.

Back editions: Pages of previous editions Artificial Reefs: Lat. and Long local reefs

Manatee Myths: Read the original plan to create sanctuaries and refuges, as spelled out by the United Nations in 1984 Kids Cup Updates and registration forms

ASA1000 Photography and Hot Rod Cars

April 2007

Water LIFE

MAGAZINE

Spring Fishing for Snook and Reds

By Capt. Chuck Ei chner Water LIFE Charlotte Harbor Mid March is typically the start of good snook fishing. Like a right of passage I look forward to it every year and called a few fishing buddies for a trip. Two infamous local anglers including Gene Kingery and the editor of this publication, Michael Heller, joined me for a shake down of Charlotte Harbor in pursuit of a few linesiders. A shakedown it was literally!

The trip started off with an early morning decision on whether or not to go. The wind was predicted to be 10-15 out of the southsoutheast. Gene said if you add the low and the high wind prediction together that it was probably more realistic- twenty five knot winds – not too pretty. Anyway, we all wanted to go since we had the fishing bug. It was as simple as that. We fished from my 24-foot Avenger Boca Grande style boat so we felt we could safely manage the conditions.

My original plans were to fish the Gasparilla area, but with possible easterly winds we decided to head to the Peace River to fish. Bait catching was the first order of the day and as we turned the corner on Colony Point we had a south wind blowing at our backs. The good news is we found diving birds and baitfish in 3 feet of water. Gene was coaxed into throwing the net while Michael chummed and I supervised. Before the first cast of the net, the boat was breaking anchor and we literally used 2 anchors and a power pole to position ourselves. Luckily, a beautiful baitwell of lively pilchards, threadfin herring, crabs, one big shrimp and a small ladyfish was had.

With plan A accomplished, we quickly had to change plan B which was fishing in open water. A steady 18 knot blow drove us straight into a quiet and calm canal.

There was no pressure this day. Three experienced Charlotte Harbor anglers, countless

fishing spots between them and here we sat in a canal pitching docks with white bait.

Settling in a fishy corner, we dropped the anchor and pitched some free baits into the water. Snook willingly mashed a few of the baits so we knew we were in the right spot. Michael hooked up first and it turned out to be a nice redfish! A funny thing Michael said, the night before the snook had left his fish light and redfish and ladyfish moved in. Somehow there was a connection to his home–site observations and this canal of redfish mixed in with snook just a stone’s throw away. The next hour was a good one. Several very nice snook were caught, one more redfish and then the fishing quieted a bit. The tide had risen significantly with the wind out of the south so we headed to the backcountry.

Weaving through the marshes and backcountry in the Myakka Cut-off we settled into a protected shallow basin. No more than 2 feet on average. The mindset was that shallow, protected, sun-baked water would hold active snook on a high incoming tide. Gene called this spot right on the money. I guess a blind squirrel finds an

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Far Left: Gene Kingery unhooks a snook while keepingthe fish in the water.

Above: This snook is hooked Left: Capt Chuck gets ready to land a nice redfish.

acorn now and then, I quipped!

We quickly got bit from nice snook from 23 inches and up. Pitching up tight to the mangroves was good, but we found that an occasional snook would slurp a bait out in the middle of the bay. We changed spots a few times and each of us caught or at least hooked some nice fish. Redfish were also a bonus fish this day as each of us hooked a few. These fish were hungry

and gulped our white baits down.

One thing we noted was that each spot seemed to produce a few fish and then the bite shut off. We speculated on boat noise, boat positioning, a noisy trolling motor and livewell pumps eventually spooking the fish to the point of not chewing. Of course, we will never know for sure.

Pulling up on one spot, Michael made a perfect cast with a large pilchard right against the mangrove. His bait upon impact got blasted as this fish was big and apparently was looking up. An exciting bite to say the least, but the fish needed glasses as it missed the bait. A little later it was lunchtime so I cast a bait into open water and began working on a sandwich- I like to call this my ‘deadstick’ technique.

Somehow a rod not being watched gets action. Not 5 minutes into a good tuna fish sandwich and my rod buckles with line burning off the reel. There was so much pressure on the rod that I could hardly conti nued on page 6

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Continued from page 5

Laishley Park Marina Opening This Month

MAGAZINE

remove it from the rod holder. With my spool being dumped, I squeezed a little more pressure onto the fast spinning reel spool and the fish broke me off. A huge fish, with no idea of what it was. I am still thinking about it! Next, Gene flicks a bait that lands perfectly against a small mangrove point. A large snook whomps it and commences to rip deep into the bush. This was a wild one as his rod buckled down and up. The fish won this contest, but it was exciting for all of us to say the least.

A redfish smashes one of our baits and tries to run with it.

One final fishing spot and plenty of larger snook were blasting our chummed agree that adding the low and high wind prediction baits. A few small ones were caught, but like sev- was a better method of predicting a nautical wind eral spots before it, the fish got quiet. We defi- forecast this day. Salt spray was wisked up and nitely left a group of hungry and smart snook on occasionally lofted into the boat. Charlotte Harbor was shaking us down on the ride back but the trip that spot.

On this day, 3 fairly competent anglers had a was worth it.

Be careful out there, watch your winds and pick great time. Some braided lines and some mono your days. My fishing partners picked the spots lines were used. Big hooks, small hooks, light extremely well this day with a few fish coming leader to heavy leader. The fish didn’t seem to care from each.

My spot was conveniently blown out or did they? Interesting, how they will recklessly as it was to be the last fishing hole of the day. I hit the free swimming chummed baits and then better have a honey hole on our next trip! become selective after a time.

Capt. Chuck Eichner is a local charter captain.

Leaving the protection of calm water we met For information or to book a guided fishing trip call with large rollers and whitecaps out of the west. 941-505-0003 or go to his website: The ride back in was a little wet with 20 knot www.back country -charters.com winds coming on our starboard side. We all had to

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218 Sailfish CC, 2005. 150 Yamaha 4 stroke. $31,900 28' Bertram Sportfish, 1982. Twin 260 HP Mercruisers 5.7 liter, 1990. Asking $27,500

30' Sea Ray 300 Weekender, 1987. Twin 260 HP Mercruisers Asking $27,500

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April 2007

S t aff R eport The long awaited new marina at Laishley Park opens this month with a celebration on the weekend of April 14-15. The facility, owned by the city of Punta Gorda will be run by a private management company headed up by local businessman Bruce Laishley and Harpoon Harry’s restauBoat Ramp Fishing Pier rant partner Chris Evans. plans Marina call for a staged dev el o p m en t .

The first phase, opening this month, includes Future Marina & Store Restaurant a full service marina, marina office, showers, rest rooms and a ships store. A public meeting room which occupies the other half of the first building is scheduled to be completed soon. Within 18 months the partnership will build a full service crab house restaurant and bar. A covered marketplace and landscaped grounds including courtyards and walkways to connect with the Laishley Park fishing pier to the boat ramp and additional boat ramp parking will developed in the interim. The shipos store will sell live bait and the marina’s future plans call for gasoline pumps.

Free performances on the opening weekend will include; Charlotte High jazz band, Slick Willy band, the Boogiemen band, The Royal Order of the Conquistadors, a boat show, an antique car show, kayak demos, jet ski demos, The PG fire dept. safety trailer a bounce house for kids, a rock climbing wall, cooking demonstrations and a dunk tank and $4 Laishley Marina T shirts.

23' Hurricane 237 Sundeck 2001. Single 200HP Yamaha Saltwater Series. Asking $21,900

25' Catalina 250 Sloop 1986. Single 10HP Universal Diesal $7,900

36' Sabreliner 36 Express Cruiser. 1997 twin 300 HP twin diesel Caterpillars Asking $229,000

31' Sea Ray 310 Sundancer 1998. Twin 260HP Mercruiser Magnum MPI. Beautiful condition. $59,900

23' Wellcraft 238 Coastal WAC. 1994 Single 225HP Johnson Ocean Runner $12,900

41' Morgan Out Island 1977, single 62HP Perkins Diesel. $64,900

April 2007

Water LIFE

MAGAZINE

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MAGAZINE

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Tracking Tournament Fish Electronic Tagging at the April 28 Kids Cup April 2007

By Betty S taugl er Water LIFE S ea Grant Have you ever wondered what happens to your fish when you release it after it’s weighed in at a tournament? Kids Cup anglers, if you catch your redfish in Pine Island Sound, do you think it will go back? Or, will it hang around in the upper harbor? These are the questions Kids Cup Tournament Director Michael Heller asked, and the answer is: we don’t know, but we want to.

This year Kids Cup participants are going to help researchers learn more about redfish behavior and specifically where Kids Cup redfish go after being released. Thanks to a collaborative effort of the Water LIFE Kids Cup Tournament, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sea Grant and local contributors, weighed in redfish will be tagged as part of a research and education program. The beauty of this tagging program is that not only will researchers have the opportunity to learn about redfish behavior, so will participants.

Carole Neidig from Mote Marine Laboratory will be the primary investigator for the tagging research. Carole and her support staff will be tagging every redfish weighed in with a dart tag.

Each tag will have a unique identification number. This tag will be visible to future anglers and the data received from these tags will be almost entirely angler dependent. What that means is researchers will only receive information about the tagged fish if an angler catches the fish, records the tag number and location the fish was caught, and reports these finding via the phone number listed on the tag.

In addition to the dart tags, twenty suitable tournament redfish will receive a sonic tag.

Carole Neidig and a fishery biologist from Progress Energy, an FPL fishery monitoring division, will surgically implant a small sonic tag into the redfish, much like a microchip is inserted in a pet dog or cat. The sonic tag will not be visible to anglers. Data will be received from these tags using under water sensors called VR2s. Mote and/or Sea Grant will be deploying VR2s along the path that we suspect redfish will travel. Each unit is able receive information from the sonic tag within a radius (array) around the underwater sensor. So if a sonically tagged fish travels within the underwater array, the tag will transmit a unique signal (frequency) to the VR2 where it will be stored. Weekly, we will be going out to download the underwater sensors to receive the data so we can see which of our

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tagged fish were in the area of the VR2s.

The sonic tags can also be picked up by a unit deployed off of the side of a vessel. This unit is called a VR100.

FWC will be letting us borrow their VR100 for the tournament and for a couple of follow up events. With this unit we will attempt to find our tagged fish and follow them. At the tournament we hope to be able to follow at least one fish for a period of time.

All of the informaAbove: An electronic tag is implanted in a redfish. This wil happen right on the weigh in dock tion collected will be at the Kids Cup on April 28. Below: an electronic tag. Bottom: external plastic ʻdartʼ tags coming back to you via a website being designed by Sea Grant Extension with support from Charlotte County GIS. The website will allow participants and other interested users to learn about redfish behavior. Every angler that weighs a redfish in will be listed along with their tagged fish (sonic and/or dart). Website users will be able to click on an angler’s tagged fish link where they will be directed to an interactive map that displays recorded fish movement. The website will be updated as data is received. We are also planning a data link, which will allow users to see a listing of recorded movements. This data link will allow users to conduct their own research. This data link could be used by teachers or students and would make a great science fair project.

Anglers and Captains, in order to make this project a success, we will be asking you to help us.

First, we will need information on each redfish tagged. Our plan is to provide waterproof cards which can be filled out on site. We will only ask a minimum of questions. One of those questions will be where did you catch the fish? For the research side of things it is important to be as specific as possible. On the website, in order to protect your fishing hole, we will not be displaying the exact location. Instead, the Harbor will be divided into 10 zones, covering Lemon Bay to San Carlos Bay. Another important request we are making, and you will be reminded of at the Captain’s Dinner, is that we need you to turn off your depth finders when you pass the last marker into Fishermen’s Village. This is because sonic tags and depth finders both transmit into the water. One can interfere with the other.

This year’s tagging effort is an important step in the understanding of redfish behavior and travel patterns. Remember it is up to each of us to make this program a success. Spread the word about the importance of collecting and calling in dart tagged fish (you may find dart tags on other fish species too). See you all at the Kids Cup! Betty Staugler can be reached at 764.4346.

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April 2007

Tournaments: Different approaches to competitiveness

Water LIFE Staff Report It’s a bracket elimination. One team against another and you’re team is fishing for three fish. You don’t have to have the biggest fish of the day, you only need bigger fish than the team you’re fishing against.

This is the Redfish Survivor series, the latest entry into the calendar of redfish tournaments that take place on Charlotte Harbor. Thirty three angler teams participated in the first ‘Survivor’ event which concludes with a final–four style weigh in the first weekend of April. This tournament is a spectator’s sport. Anglers congregate their boats just off the weigh in dock, and then two teams at a time are called up. You hope the water is flat.

The attraction is cold hard cash. Every time you survive you win money.

The winner takes home $20,000– plus money for each round he progresses through.

Anglers competing in the first round were upbeat and happy about the event. “You have a 50-percent chance of winning, in any given round,” one angler said.

Also new to the tournament trail is the $170,000 Ultimate Fishing Challenge, held on a weekday. “We choose, as

Big name sponsors are showing up at local inshore events. always, to respect the crowded tournament weekend calendars,” tournament organizers which also targets three redfish. www.ultimatefishingchallenge.com. The said. “Also, we recognize that many event comes to Placida May 2-3. The anglers appreciate the freedom from boat Championship is at South Seas traffic during the week and/or pre-fish Plantation May 15-17. anyway.” The tournament combines a ‘skills trial’ with its fishing tournament

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April 2007

Bridge Lights Were part of a Fishing Tradition

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Screaming Reels

By Capt. Andrew Medi na Water LIFE Staff Remember all the “It only cost a nickel”, and “it was better back then” stories you heard growing up from your grandparents? Well I do, and I have a few stories of my own to add to them. I’m not talking gas prices. I’m talking fishing ... pretty much as I do all the time. So here we go, way back when. That’s how it all starts.

Ever since I can remember, the Punta Gorda bridge has always been a hot spot for fishing. In the 70s the old bridge was a flat draw bridge. It used to shake when cars went over it, and cars would wait forever when the center of the bridge would lift to let boats pass through. But the good thing about it were the lights. The bridge was lit up like a Christmas tree. At night I remember all the old timers snook fishing, and not just fishing, but catching. In addition to snook, there were huge black drum, tarpon, trout, goliath grouper and many other species. The key wasn’t only fishing around the structure of the bridge pilings, but fishing the lights. At night the lights of the bridge cast a huge shadow line across the water. I wasn’t old enough to fish the bridge by myself, so I would wait till my grandpa took us and I loved it. But the bridge was very dangerous to fish off of, it had no barrier. If I can remember correctly, it didn’t have a curb separating you from the traffic, so if you stepped back you might get hit by a car. Not that traffic was that big of a problem.

As time went on the old bridge was torn down and two new taller bridges were built. By then we were old enough to ride our bikes to the new bridges. The new

Cody Bollinger with a giant jack from Grassy Point.

bridges were safe with big barriers and a walk way with railings. And they were well lit for those night time trips. The shadow line on the new bridges was even better than before. We caught snook and tarpon almost every night we went. I caught my first tarpon on the bridge, and my first shark. This lasted for years, and the US 41 bridges at Punta Gorda became a regular hot spot for night time anglers. People would actually drive to Charlotte Harbor to fish the bridges. Then came Hurricane Charlie, most of the light poles blew down in the storm and the rest were removed so now there are none. I have not seen one night time snook angler up on the bridge since the storm. The lights were for us all at night. For people to fish or to just be safe as they walked the bridge for exercise in the coolness of the night.

Are they ever going to put the lights back up? I don’t know, but I figure probably not. I figure they made this

P a g e 11

decision with out any public input, or any angler–tax-paying-citizen input. Its probably the end of shadow line fishing in the harbor. So next time you see a county commissioner ask him why they pulled the plug on a fishing tradition? And if you live on a canal off the river, and are one of the people who complain when people fish your dock lights, don’t. Lights attract fish, and fish attract anglers. It looks like only a lawsuit from someone tripping in the dark will bring our bridge lights back. Now with that off my chest, local fishing has been hot.

The action has really picked up on the flats and in bushes around the high tide. With bait being everywhere, this spring will be a great time to get a rod bent. Snook, trout, and redfish can be found on both sides of the harbor. And all of them are ready to eat those greenbacks. If the redfish you find are slow picking up a bait try ripping the head off the green back, and fishing it on a jig. Sometimes redfish are lazy creatures.

There are also a lot of lady fish and jacks around Grassy Point and the beach complex right now. They will provide hours of fun for anyone. Be warned, some of the jacks have just been huge, a true test on light tackle. Also, I am starting to see cobia and sharks around the bars. Even as close as the bar between the cut off and the beach complex; that’s where we saw a huge bull shark recently. And for you tarpon anglers, the return of the white butterflies, and single love bugs is always a good sign. To me, this means less than three weeks to sticking the kings. As you read this there are a lot of what I call river fish (small tarpon 5 to 20-pounds) in the canals around U.S 41. They can be caught on the Tsunami swim baits or Riptide’s finger mullet.

Remember the Kids Cup is coming April 28, so take your child out to practice his angling skills, and come enjoy a great day on the water. The Kids Cup is a no pressure event. Good luck.

Should We Shut Snook Down?

Page 12

By Capt Ron Bl ago Water LIFE Senior Editor Open your wallets boys, it looks like our government is about ready to take another handful. A proposal in the State Legislature is about to raise the price of a snook stamp from $2 to $10. To justify the increase, we are being lead to believe that any new revenue that is collected (minus administration fees) will be used to help protect our ever-dwindling snook population. Now what red blooded saltwater fisherman would object to chipping in a few more bucks to help our beloved snook? Not me. I’ve been around long enough to remember when the snook stamp started in 1989. Back then snook stamps were real stamps, kind of like duck stamps, real pretty. I never could figure out why the state stopped having wildlife artist make snook prints to use for stamps. I guess for $2.00 you don't get that much art appreciation.

Snook has a long history of being regulated going back over 50 years. Before that, snook was not considered anything special. I read back then that people cooked their fish with the skin on and that made the meat taste soapy. One of

Water LIFE

the first names for snook was soapfish and between 1941 and 1955 it was being sold as cat food for 5 cents a pound.

Sometime during that period someone was smart enough to cook it without the skin and that pretty well started the long road down hill for the snook population.

Commercial landing for snook reached their peak in 1948 with over 500,000 pounds being netted mostly right here in Charlotte Harbor. Snook meat was selling for 25 cents a pound. Quite the growth industry back then.

People started getting worried about falling snook stocks and in 1957 the state prohibited the selling of snook, thus making the snook the first gamefish in salt water. Not much happened on the snook scene until the state began doing some research in 1976. Researchers began doing test netting around Naples between 1977 and 1981, and came to the conclusion that the snook population had declined in that area as much as 70-percent. No one really explained how they came to that conclusion considering they didn’t know how many snook there were to begin with, but that was the sound bite that people remembered - snook popula-

April 2007

MAGAZINE

Local snook fishermen have debated this subject for years.

tion down 70-percent.

This was about that time that I arrived on the fishing and I remember snook limits being 4 fish per day,18 inch limit, no closed season. For the sake of full disclosure and knowing that the statute of limitations is up; I’ll tell you why I remember. I was fishing one day in Sarasota Bay and I hooked a 171/2 inch snook and unfortunately I gut hooked him. I cut my line and threw him back in, but he just popped up to the surface. I watched that fish for 10 minutes and felt sorry for him having to suffer until I saw a frigate bird circling above. The fish still had the hook in him so I figured I could be killing the bird too if he got the fish. I asked myself one of those philosophical questions ‘who would profit most by eating that fish?’ Short version, I won, bird lost; but I do remember sneaking back to the baitshop and feeling like a criminal. I was able to ease my conscience with some succulent tender snook filets sautéed gently with butter, garlic and white wine.

In 1981 the snook limit was dropped to two fish a day. In 1982, the season was closed for Jan, Feb. and June and July. Everyone agreed about the Jan, Feb closing because it was common practice back then to wait for a cold snap and go out and gig snook when they were stunned by the cold – it’s hard to believe it was legal to spear snook up until 2000.

The June – July closure was met with a lot of opposition from local fishermen and I can tell you there was a lot of poaching going on by both recreational and commercial fishermen. In 1985 they raised the minimum size limit to 24 inches and the bag limit to 1 fish per day over 34 inches. In 1987 they added August to the list of closed months.

Everyone was curious to know how all these new regulations were affecting the snook population, but before any results were known there was the killer freeze of the winter of 89-90.

One report had 60,000 mature snook dead in the Manatee River. That kind of throws the curve off. In 1994 they closed the winter season from Dec.15th to Jan 31 and in 1998 they raised the minimum limit again, this time to 26 inches. In 2002 they added May to the closed season and in 2006 the minimum limit was raised to 27 inches. That’s an awfully lot of regulating for just one fish.

What I’m going to say now will probably get me kicked out of every bait shop in town; but we don’t know anything about snook that we didn’t know back in 1957. We definitely can’t say the snook population is getting better, worse or staying the same. All these changing regulations are like a death from a thousand cuts to a fisherman.

If you want to know the score you have to stop moving the target. It might be time to just shut snook fishing down for 5 years. Let’s give the scientist the money and the tools to do the job right.

What has the most effect on snook?

Habitat destruction.

I cry when I see mangroves ripped out and replaced by seawalls. Pollution? There are still plenty of people that remember the big phosphate spill in the early 70’s that wiped out the snook in the Peace River. How about Mother Nature? Cold snaps and Red Tide- and of course recreational fishermen. Can we really help snook or do we think that throwing more money at the problem is really going to help. Capt Ron can be reached at (941)

474-3474

On The Line April 2007

By Capt Ron Bl ago Water LIFE Senior Staff With the exception of a few cold fronts and some wind, March has been a pretty good fishing month. Sheepshead fishing is at its peak. I’ve had a few friends tell me how well they are doing in Rag Alley lately. Rag Alley is next to Ski Alley near Stump Pass and is a well known local snook spot in Lemon Bay. It’s pretty shallow in spots and the channel snakes from side to side along the mangroves. You definitely want to use slow speed and keep your eyes open when traveling through Rag Alley until you learn the channel. The most popular spots are at either entrance, especially when you have a strong tide. The snook jam up in these spots to feed. At the north end there is a deep hole where manatees hang out, in fact there is a manatee sign there; I’ve caught some nice redfish there over the years.

What a lot of people don’t know is that near that sign is an old sunken boat near the mangroves. People have told me about it, but I got to see it for myself about three years ago. It was one of those super low tide days in the winter and I was in my canoe just taken a look around when I saw the outline of an old wooden hull buried in the sand bottom with just about 12 inches of the barnacle encrusted gunwale standing above the bottom. Because the water was so clear that day

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MAGAZINE

Fishing with Capt Ron

I could watch the fish come from under the mangroves to visit the boat. I saw two sheepshead, one about 4 pounds another about 7 pounds swim down the channel to the boat and start chewing on the barnacles.

So I know there are some big fish there.

Good luck finding them.

Boat ramp activity is picking up but it seems lighter than in past years. Even in good weather there is still room to park in a public boat ramp on a Sunday afternoon.

There are still plenty of pompano, trout and redfish around; but snook hasn’t really picked up yet. There is a little bit of live bait showing up already. If you can net some you really have an advantage on snook this time of year. I was in Publix this morning and there was a bin full of Jack Mackerel sitting in the aisle. My advice is to stock pile a dozen cans while it’s there . Last year during Memorial Day weekend, there wasn’t a can to be had in all of Englewood. There is nothing better to chum bait with than Jack Mackerel.

Remember to bring the can opener.

Offshore fishing is good. Kingfish are here when you can get out; but everyone is talking about the big Spanish Mackerels that are being caught. It’s hard to tell the difference between a small king and a big spanish mackerel. Both can have the distinctive yellow dots. The lateral line on a king will dip down to the belly underneath the dorsal fin.

To make things more complicated, sometimes we will have Cero mackerel show up this time of year. This fish looks more like a spanish than a kink but it has a solid yellow line running down the middle of the fish.

Don’t worry, even the most experienced fishermen can be fooled. Remember what the old timers used to say ‘catch’em, all-let God sort them out.’

On a sad note we have had some boating deaths recently. When you are boating anytime of year you really have to be careful.

Don’t over load the boat and wear a life preserver. It’s easy to second guess people and believe me things really look different when you’re the one in the water. In general, if your boat capsizes, it’s probably best to stay with the boat. If you’re young enough , strong enough and a good swimmer and you can see shore, have an incoming tide with the wind to your back and you’re sure no one is looking for you, you might want to try to swim to shore but remember if you don’t make it you’re going to die.

If you want to know what it’s like, take a few friends in your boat – go offshore about a mile-put on a life preserver and jump overboard and swim for shore. Most people won’t make it. I didn’t.

Capt. Ron can be reached at (941) 474-3474 for fishing information or to book a guided fishing trip.

Page 13

Dear Folks at WaterLIFE Thought you might enjoy seeing a big one that our son, Tim, reeled in out of our canal last week when he was down from MA. It's a drum. He chased a group of five of them for about two and a half hours one morning and followed them across the seawalls of our neighbors, who were very kind to let us intrude on their property. Well, he snagged one finally with just a worn out shrimp and brought it in over the course of about fifteen minutes. Biggest fish we ever pulled out of the canal at 38 pounds. Henry Jacques

Water LIFE

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April 2007 We chased an electrical problem with our jack plate pump until we looked carefully at this otherwise clean battery connection. The we saw the wire’s insulation had split and allowed the inside of the cable to corrode. That reduced the flow of current enough to affect the jack plate pump. Once again, if you ever have any electrical problem on a boat, suspect a faulty ground first, and then look for bad wiring.

Water LIFE

April 2007

2007 Kids Cup shirt and hat design.

S t aff R eport It’s getting closer! If you haven’t entered yet there is still time. We will cut off at either 125 junior anglers or at the captain’s meeting dinner on April 27, whichever comes first. The Kids Cup is on Saturday April 28. Entry forms are at local bait and tackle shops and on the internet at www.kidscuptournament.com. Call (941) 766-8180 for more information. This tournament is FUN! The Kids Cup is an all for fun, not-forprofit, no pressure event. There are no cash prizes, but the Top 5 kids get to weigh in on the ESPN-2 TV stage in front of what the Oberto Redfish Cup guys promise will be Punta Gorda’s biggest crowd ever.

There are rods and reels for the top 5, a Kids Cup trophy for the winner and the overall Kids Cup winner gets a trip to the Keys to fish.

This year we are going to tag all the fish we release. Mote Marine will do the tagging and the science they get from this project could answer the question: Does a redfish caught in the Pine Island Sound and released at Fishermen’s Village swim straight back to Pine Island or does it become a part of the redfish population up here? Some of the tagging will utilize electronic transmitting tags – see the story this month on page 7. Fishermen’s Village Marina and Yacht Basin is the Tagging

MAGAZINE

Sponsor for the Kids Cup. Back on board for their fourth consecutive year of Kids Cup support will be our major tournament sponsors: Palm Chevrolet, Laishley Marine and San Carlos Marine, who provide the hats, shirts and captain’s meeting dinner. The dinner will again be at Bennedetto’s Restaurant at the Best Western in Punta Gorda. Bennedetto’s is helping by keeping their prices down for our kids as well.

This year, Ranger Boats will be the Kids Cup boat sponsor. Your Kids Cup T shirt will show a junior angler fishing out of a Ranger Boat. The Kids Cup Hat has the Ranger and Yamaha logos on it.

Thanks to San Carlos Marine and Ranger Boats for that. And Ingman Marine will again donate a Power Pole for the captain of the winning kid and will donate movie tickets for every kid who weighs in a fish.

Don Gasgarth Ford will sponsor a Big Fish, Little Fish award, so even if you bring back a little redfish you could still take home a nice prize. Mercury Marine will again donate racing jackets and caps for our top five kids, Eppinger Lures will again donate 2/5 oz gold spoons for each angler. The captain’s bags the kids receive should once again contain outstandingly useful stuff.

Fish X-S in Englewood will provide the Trophies for each age group - there is a framed-redfish-print trophy for the biggest fish in each age bracket (ages 10-11-12-1314-15 and 16 ) and thanks to Lori and Barb at Laishley Marine, S.P.I. will provide the top 5 bronze redfish trophies.

The Charlotte Redfish Baseball Team is going to play a part in the Kids Cup as well. They have a Redfish Kids program and every kid and every captain will gat a ticket to a ball games at the Charlotte Redfish Stadium. The Charlotte Redfish Baseball Team is also a tagging sponsor.

Quantum will donate top 5 rods and reels

Flying Fisherman donated sunglasses for the top 5 and sunglass lanyards for every angler, 125 hooks from Eagle Claw, Henry's Tackle (a special thanks to Susan Weeks) has donated 125 bomber lures and bass medics 125 packets of rejuvinate. Exude has given us baits, and longer life- top 5 bait bucket & aerators. Ocean Waves sunglasses is giving us polycarbonate glasses for our top 10 anglers. This could be the best Kids Cup yet, so sign up NOW, entry forms are at the local bait and tackle shops and online at

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Page 15

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Water LIFE

26200 Constantine Rd - This spacious 3/2/2 pool lake front home is just waiting for you to move right in. Located on Barnes Lake in the heart of Deep Creek this charming home offers a breath-taking, tranquil view of the greenbelt & lake right out your back door. Call me today for all the details.MLS# 654935 $259,000

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April 2007

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5000 Riverside Dr - This SPECTACULAR riverfront estate site is just waiting for your new estate. With 100 ft. dock and breath taking view of the Peace River, this deal will not last long. Call me today for more details on this one of a kind deal.

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1750 Jamaica Way #314 Gorgeous 3 bedroom/2bath harbor front condo with a breathtaking view of Charlotte Harbor. Located in the heart of Punta Gorda Isles, this condo has all the amenities that you could ask for including: community pool, elevator, tennis courts, community clubhouse, and within walking distance to the newly built Isles Yacht Club. MLS# 662419. $485,000

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April 2007

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Water LIFE

Page 18

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April 2007

April 2007

By Fi shi n’ Frank Water LIFE Port Charlotte Big, big, fish, it is that time again. By the end of this month the big one will be back.

Tarpon, sharks and cobia, are our big three, so get out your free weights (dumb bells to us old guys) and start getting those arms in shape. Everyone has seen or heard about fishing tarpon in the pass. It’s exciting. There are boats all around you, fish rolling, and all the newbees running helter skelter, chasing the ‘pooning’ fish. Or perhaps you have seen the guys in the harbor tossing live bait–fish at them. That involves finding bait fish, throwing a cast net, catching them and trying to keep them alive – all of which can be challenging.

Casting with lures like the D.O.A. baitbuster, or even chucking a fly at a tarpon can be exciting and wear your arm out too.

Not long ago, I was thinking about the past and how people used to fish for tarpon, and while thinking, I was watching the new Strike King lure, ‘King Kong’ swimming in the lure testing tank at Fishin Franks. I was thinking how a tarpon would eat that lure in a skinny–minute. Then thinking that a 150 pound fish would probably smash that lure to bits. But the number one reason I would not use this lure for tarpon are those big treble hooks. Thinking of those extra sharp extra strong trebles that the lure comes with in the mouth of a thrashing Tarpon and me putting my fingers in there with them to get it out – there is no way I am trying to get those big treble hooks out of the mouth of a thrashing tarpon. Then it hit me. Bam! Take off the treble hook and add a couple of circle hooks. But I still believed a tarpon would put the lure into pieces. So it hit me. Why not make the hooks to break away?

Take a Strike King, "King Kong" lure and remove the treble hooks. Now, using a 150 pound test swivel tie a 36" inch #60 pound test fluorocarbon leader from the swivel to the front of the lure. Then from the same swivel tie a 39–inch leader to the first 8/0 circle hook, then tie a second circle hook 6–inches back from the first hook

Water LIFE

Ta r p o n Tr o l l e r

Is this the next tarpon bait?

this is done simply by tieing from the eye of the first hook to the eye of the second hook. To make a knot it usually takes 6–inches of line, so for a 36–inch leader cut 48–inches since there is a knot at both ends. You need one King Kong

lure, a 150–pound–test swivel, three pre-cut leader pieces – one 48 inches another 51 inches and the third 18 inches – and 2 8/0 circle hooks.

The hooks are then tied to the lure with 12 pound mono or with very light zip strips. Attach them where the original treble hooks were. The reason the leader to the hooks is longer than the leader to the lure is so with the pressure of the fish it will break away the hook from the lure and avoid the destruction of the lure by letting it dangle off to the side, out of the way and if the fish wears through the leader you still get the lure back.

It is best to troll this lure. Six mph is a good speed, a little faster or slower depending on conditions. Let out 25 yards of line if you have more than one lure out, be careful not to turn the boat too tight as this will cause two lures to cross each other and

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Page 19

MAGAZINE

tangle. King Kong swims about 4 feet deep and the circle hooks do not effect the action.

People have been trolling for tarpon from long before I came to Charlotte harbor. Now the craze is to sit and cast live

bait at rolling fish, but it just sounds good to me to sit back with the lines out and idle along to slam the big ones. Why spend three hours looking for bait fish? This is an effective way to catch tarpon, but not if you troll through the school of rolling fish.

Stay away from the school itself. The outboard motor will spook a school of feeding fish, and do not change the throttle. When the motor noise changes it will also spook the fish. Fish don’t seem to be spooked by a continuos noise that come and goes. They are used to that, but if the noise is there then stops or gets louder it scares them.

The best places to troll for tarpon are at the mouth of the Myakka River or the Pirate Harbor hole. Do not troll by boats casting at rolling fish. It will make them throw things at you and the fish are moving anyway. Watch the direction they move in and troll where you think they are headed.

I call this a DI36–rig and it is an original Fishin’ Frank’s creation. I hope you catch your dream fish. Good luck, boys and girls.

Fishin Frank can be reached for charters or for fishing information at 625-3888

MANATEES ON THE MOVE – Ask anyone who is out on the water a lot. The water has been warm this winter and the manatees have been out in the harbor for months already. Thatʼs why the aerial count made in February was low this year...because the manatees were travelling. Seen here, a manatee leaves its tell-ʼtailʼ track – a string of swirling circular disturbances made by the animalʼs big paddle tail. This photo was made In a Port Charlotte canal at the top of the Peace River, in March.

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OFFSHORE: Page 20

By Capt S teve S kevi ngton Water LIFE Offshore Wow what a great month March has been. A lot of big fish came to the boat and a lot of smiles followed.

With the list of fish to hunt down this month being a long one, we will start with one my favorites.

Number one on my list is kingfish, Trolling for these guys is probably the most effective way to fill up a fish box.

One thing I know you'll need for kingfish of any size is a super smooth drag and a lot of line on your reel.

Slow trolling live sardines over hard

Water LIFE

Big Fish

MAGAZINE

April 2007

bottom and clear water is all but a guarantee for big kings in April.

Some of the smoker king's will be found on wrecks from 20- to 30 miles out.

The first permit of the season will start showing up on wrecks looking for jumbo live shrimp and yellow jigs.

Cobia should start their migration up the coast. Look for mudding rays just off the beach, or try your favorite wreck and a lot of chum.

A lot of very big Sharks will be hooked-up this month. The trick to finding these guys is simple: chum, chum and more chum. Then hold on tight!

It's real hard to top boating a six or seven foot black tip shark early in the morning.

Amberjack are still out there, just begging to pick a fight with anyone willing to put a big live bait out over a deep wreck.

This kind of fishing involves a long ride offshore and a strong back.

There's just a lot going on way offshore this month. The red grouper bight is starting to heat up in about 80 feet, drifting with cut sardines until you hook-up with a quality fish is a great way to find red's.

Once you find them, anchor-up and test your strength with a few.

April is a great snapper month with yellow tail snapper stacking up on the deeper spots and mangrove snapper piling up on those same wrecks with the amberjack.

It's really hard to do anything wrong this month ....except not go fishing at all.

Tight Lines Capt SteveYou can reach Capt. Steve at 575-FLAT or at 276-0565

April 2007

By Dav i d Al l en Water LIFE Kay ak ing Four times a year, the Port Charlotte Kayakers participate in a clean-up program to keep the area beaches and streams clean and inviting. Our club is a small part of the overall effort organized and sponsored by the Keep Charlotte Beautiful and Adopt-a Shore. Glenda Anderson manages this program with headquarters at the Environmental Park on Harborview Road.

About two years ago, the Port Charlotte Kayakers decided to get involved in cleaning up the local beaches on a regular basis. The club had, for some years, been picking up trash and other accumulated waste, but Hurricane Charlie had done so much damage to the beaches and mangroves, that we decided something more was needed.

We joined the more organized program provided by Keep Charlotte Beautiful and agreed to Adopt-A-Shore. We signed up to clean a section of the harbor, from Muddy Bay on the north to Rock Creek on the south. This section of beach is directly across Alligator Bay from Port Charlotte Beach Park. This 1.5-mile stretch of beach is an active fishing area and due to the prevailing winds and currents is always littered with trash.

The Big Spring Clean-up this year was

Kayaking

Water LIFE

MAGAZINE

scheduled for Saturday, March 10. Over 400 volunteers, in small groups, were assigned a beach or riverbank in Charlotte County. Keep Charlotte Beautiful provided garbage bags and other supplies. And after the clean up, refreshments were served at the Recycle Center on Kenilworth Rd. Twenty-five Club members arrived at Port Charlotte Beach Park at 7:30 AM to paddle over to Muddy Bay and begin the clean up. Bill Mango provided a powerboat to off load the garbage bags so the kayakers would not have to return to the beach.

It always amazes us that, even though we clean the beach 4 times a year, that we continue to find as much trash as we do.

The trash is not just on the beach, but often well behind the first rank of mangroves. So we beach our kayaks and go back into the mangroves for bottles, cans, tires, and lots of styrofoam. This year we collected about 30 bags of trash, about 1000 pounds, including tires and a large plastic panel.

After off-loading the trash, we took several pictures of the group and the

Page 21

Charlotte Harbor FISHING GUIDES SCUTTLEBUTT Water LIFE

Page 22

MAGAZINE

April 2007

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The Gul f Counci l 's ‘S copi ng meeti ng’ was held in Naples last month. Attendance was very low.

That's surprising, considering how many avid anglers

we have here in southwest FL and how this group plans future regulation in the Gulf. The one common thing heard was how hard the meeting information was to find. With most of the guides just finding out about it that same day in the editorial section of their local paper.

Tarpon S ci ence This season the FWC has distributed ‘swab’ kits to certain anglers to sample the ‘saliva’ inside the fish’s mouth. Last year they sampled fin clips.

Now that the new Lai shl ey Park Mari na is open someone asked us whether marina slips are candidates for the county’s room-night bed tax? That’s a fair question.

Don Bal l S chool of Fi shi ng founder Jerry

Jensen has 500 mangrove seedlings he is raising in his pool cage. It’s been Jerry’s plan to plant the trees on the hurricane ravaged shores of Charlotte Harbor. Jerry has been a tireless servant and advocate for Charlotte Harbor. Founder of the Charlotte Harbor Reef Association, father of the reef ball project, past CCA president, Don Ball School of Fishing founder ... the state should be thrilled to have Jerry’s help. Instead, he has had a problem getting permission to plant these trees on state lands. The state has offered no plan of its own for dealing with Charlotte harbor’s significant mangrove crisis so these trees will now have to be planted on private land. We want to know why the state won’t cooperate.

Al so ‘Why’ don’t we have a fish stocking program?

The State passively accepted the loss of a land lease at their redfish hatchery at Port Manatee and has done nothing to relocate. Why aren’t we raising and releasing more fish into the harbor? Texas releases millions of fish every year and it’s beginning to have an impact on

Water LIFE

April 2007

R Re ea all E Es st ta at te e N Ne ew ws s

PROVIDED BY: Dave & Marlene Hofer RE/MAX Harbor Realty (941) 575-3777 dhofer@remax.net

Recent area news i tems: 1. Real estate tax i ssues continued to dominate state and local government committees throughout Florida. Governor Crist is favoring a plan to double the $25,000 homestead exemption and extend the 3% annual valuation cap to commercial properties. The State House Efficiency and Accountability Council voted 10-5 to rollback valuations to 2001 levels (plus inflation & growth).

And on March 16, the Policy and Budget Committee passed the proposed plan by a margin of 24-7. The plan will now be crafted in bill form and voted on by the legislature.

Fearing the loss of millions of hard-to-justify tax dollars, County Boards and City Councils throughout the state are outraged and vocalizing their resentment of anticipated loss of their candy jar! Surely just a coincidence, Charlotte County suddenly pulled the plug on the near giveaway office rentals that had been furnished to our State Rep.....kids, play nice....

2. Lee County's Assessor, Ken Wilkinson (proudly a sponsor of the atrocious 1994 Save Our Homes Legislation) is now pushing to make the giveaway portable. "Save our homes" punishes nonhomesteaded properties and is just one more impediment to commercial development in Florida. He is

trying to gather 611,000 signatures to put in on a statewide ballot.

Wilkinson is also warm to the proposal of an alternative, to the "rollback" - a 2.5% sales tax levy in lieu of real estate taxes. And just when folks in the upper 47 were starting to forget why they called it Flori-"duh"!

3.

A huge, but l argel y unnoti ced, facet of the tax reform bi l l is a clarification of the appraisal method to be used by County Assessors to assess income producing real estate. Net rental income will now be used to determine value instead of comparable sales data which has, in recent years, been heavily manipulated by speculators. The real benefit will go to apartment lessors who have been constrained from providing rental housing at affordable rates because of onerous real estate taxes.

4.

Burnt S tore Mari na Gol f Course abruptly shut down all operations this month.

Members were sent prorated refunds. The club has been a steady money loser since it was acquired in 2005. With little hope of rezoning the property for residential development, the owner is planning to redevelop the property.

Probably to redesign the 27 "executive" length holes into 18 traditional length holes with new commercial buildings.

5.

A 76, 364 sf commerci al offi ce and retai l bui l di ng was approved for the intersection of El Jobean and Manchester in East Englewood.

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MAGAZINE

S chool 6.

House S quare S hoppi ng Center on Ki ngs Hwy in Port Charlotte traded hands last month for $11,900,000.

The center, built in 1988, brought $80 per square foot. It had previously sold for $46/sf 3 days before Hurricane Charley hit. And who said nobody wins when a hurricane strikes?

7.

In Ft. Myers Beach, Compass Point Marina was sold to developers from Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale. The new owners expect to be able to offer 431 "Rackominiums" (dry boat storage).

Estimated retail price for a cubby hole for your boat is expected to be around $70,000.

8.

Ave Mari a Law S chool will be moving from Michigan to the Ave Maria Campus in Collier County. This will be SW Florida's first accredited law school.

9.

Nati onal home bui l ders see some sales rising from the ashes of the last quarter. Centex reports new sales of 103 homes more than double those registered in the prior quarter. More importantly, cancellations have retreated to normal levels.

Bonita Bay Group is still moving forward on its massive single family developments in Glades & Hendry Counties as well as the 999 unit project on Burnt Store Road. Their focus in Collier and Lee Counties will be toward denser infill complexes without golf courses.

Hovnanian Corp. announced substantial asset writedowns as a result of its "top of the market"

acquisition of First American Home Builders.

First American's scattered site building style is apparently faring far worse than controlled subdivisions with attractive amenity packages.

S al es S tati sti cs: Lot prices declined another 3% last month and median prices are now down 44% vs. last year.

Volume edged up to 99 from 83 last month.

Houses prices are down 10% from a year ago.

The fallout from the demise of "sub prime" lending has yet to be felt on the market. When interest rates on those mortgages adjust to more outrageous levels as "teaser rates" roll off, we can expect more price softening as lenders foreclose on more properties. Condo inventory climbed another 5% this month with sales volume again being con-

Spring is in bloom along the banks of the Peace River as seen here in a photo made late last month near the riverʼs confluence with Horse Creek. The banks of the river are much greener and show less effect of the hurricane this spring.

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Page 24

Water LIFE

MARCH WAS LOCAL SAILINGʼS BIGGEST MONTH

Light Air for the big boats Big Air for the little ones

By Bi l l Di xon and Mi chael Hel l er Water LIFE Sailing

CONQUISTADOR CUP

On the first day the wind was barely blowing and boats sat idle on a harbor with a surface like rippled glass. Later the winds picked up slightly and by the second day the wind was right for racing.

The starting order for the second day of the Conquistador Cup takes place in a reverse order determined by the finish of the races from the day prior. Theoretically, the

Top: Light air for the start. Above: Race winner Dan Kendrick in his Farr 395 Tippecanoe Middle: Winning multihull Kathryn Garlickʼs F28 Evolution. Right: Action at the first mark.

April 2007

MAGAZINE

slowest boat starts first and the fastest one starts last.

This year turned out to be a rite of revenge for the mono hull warriors as Dan Kendrick from Naples in his Farr 395 Tippecanoe took home the coveted Conquistador Helmet.

“This is not a multihull!” Dan said loudly after he crossed the finish line. Dan also won the overall in the Spinnaker under 150 class. Second was Big Sky, Jim Gunderson’s Melges 24 also from Naples. Third was Forrest Bank’s Tartan 4100 Midnight Rider from Ft. Myers.

Local racer Dave Flechsig won Spinnaker over 150 in his S-2 7.9 Rooster Tail. Second here was Steve Todd in his Colgate 26 Hot Toddy. Third was Kaboom, Steve Bailey’s S-2 7.9 from Louisville KY. Tom and Bob Reese

were second in their F28 Flight Simulator.

Local sailor and last year’s winner of the Conquistador’s Helmet Tom Bragaw was third in his F-33 Bahama Hunter.

On the other race course, my neighbor Bill Hart, 84 years old with his 84 year old pit man Jack, won 1st place in the over 200 non spin fleet in his Harbor 20.

Tom Scott on his newly restored Morgan 30 took second. Recess, Skip Schmidt’s S-2 6.7 was third. Rudy Reinecke won the under 200 no spin fleet in his Beneteau FC 12 OHH Zone. David Bridges in Spars & Stripes, a Chrysler 27, was second.

Jessica Knighton was third on Gregg’s Ranger 33, Misty.

Rex Good won the under 200 true cruising class with his Sabre 402 Jabu. Ron Scalzo was second with his Irwin 38 La Boheme. Lea, Jerry

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Crowley’s Herreschoff 41 was third, Arnie Pfalz won the 0ver 200 true cruising class in his Pearson 35 Laura Li. Local Roger Rommel was second on his Hunter 34 Desert Fox II. Euphoria, Ed Brauer’s Hunter 30 sailed without Ed on board to a third place. Nice work crew. Complete results are posted on the Punta Gorda Sailing Club web site pgscweb.com.

THE S UNFIS H INTERNATIONAL REGATTA The weather for the first scheduled day of Sunfish sailing was marginal at best with winds 20 gusting to 25, but the sailors opted to give it a try anyway. The fleet left the Beach Complex and sailed out Alligator Bay into the open harbor where a course was set, but the winds proved to be too much for many of the sailors. Several capsized

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April 2007

MAGAZINE

SUNFISH CHAMPIONSHIPS

Page 25

On the first day the harbor was awesome! 3 to 4 foot chop with winds 20 gusting to 30. It was worth a try but after several knockdowns and capsizings they called it off. Better air prevailed on Saturday and Sunday, although the breeze was still stiff. (Saturday BOTTOM right)

into the not so warm not-quite-70degree, water. Those who were truly masters of their craft put on dazzling display of sailing that resembled wind surfing, but before the start, the first day was cancelled. Winds subsided for the second day and lessened again for the finals. In the end first overall and 1st in the 40 -50 year old "Masters" class was Tom Whitehurst. First 50-60 year old "Grand Master" was Tony Elliot who was also 3rd over all. First 60 -70 year old "Great Grand Master" was Bill Mc Innis. First female was Gale Heausler. And Oldest Racers were Ray Buchanan and Ed Carney tied at 82 year of age!!!

LEUKEMIA CUP Great sailing both days marked the fourth annual Leukemia Cup Regatta. The race committee headed by PRO Roger Strube set fine race courses quickly and got us all started nicely. Photos taken by Water LIFE are for sale for a $15 donation to the Leukemia Society.

E-mail Bill, he’ll tell you all. At press time, the final total amount raised was not available, but I do know that the amount donated by the sailors set a new record. I heard that Wendy Filler raised $7,500 and qualifies for a trip to San Diego and a sail with Gary Jobson.

Bob Knowles’ Bamma Slammer won the Leukemia Cup by a very small margin over Dave and Sue Cleverly on Free Again. Both had three firsts in the regatta, both had similar margins over second place boats in each race, but Bamma Slammer got around the courses in less corrected time.

Bamma Slammer won Spinnaker, Dave Flechsig’s Rooster Tail was second.

Jerry & Kay Haller won non–spinnaker A on Jammin, Tom Scott of Whimsy was at the helm.

George Buckingham was second on Learning to Fly. Bill Berges on Wimpie won

Non Spinnaker B. Bill Mclearn on Frisbee was second.

Mike & Sandy Busher, and daughter and grand kids won Cruising A on S erendipity, ( He doesn’t need another sail, Sandy!)

Jerry Crowley was second on Lea. The Cleverly’s Free Again won Cruising B, Jeff Letteri took second onboard Destiny.

Roger Horton on Wiley Coyote took first place in Cruising C, Crash Brauer was second on Euphoria.

Mr. Smith, won the multihull fleet on A Train.

More next month!

Page 26

Water LIFE

MAGAZINE

April 2007

The Water Water LIFE LIFE Distributor始s Club

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Pick up a copy of Water LIFE at any of these and 120+ other locations. Water LIFE is not affiliated with any newspaper or other publication and is distributed at select locations around the state. These free ads to our loyal distributors rotate on a monthly basis.

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This New House part 17 Update: April 2007

Water LIFE

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Page 27

Still Appliance Problems

My Opi ni on – By Mi chael Hel l er Water LIFE editor GE’s appliances have been less than satisfactory.

We’ve been through one washing machine transmission and two dishwasher pumps. In all, I now have five wasted days invested in being home and waiting for the GE repairman. It still boggles my mind that our society can turn out an automobile that meets all applicable pollution and safety standards and will go 100,000 or more miles without a tune up yet some are apparently still challenged to produce everyday appliances. I think it’s all about quality control. Perhaps it’s cheaper to replace inferior parts than to make good ones.

And the worst part is, you get the run around from one repairman who bad mouths the guy who came before him and all of them tell you what junk GE stuff really is. A recommendation like that, from a service man, would make anyone feel foolish for spending so much money on their products. It is not what GE would call a ‘successful public relations and marketing campaign’ ... and it gets worse.

It’s been six months since we moved into our new house – six months of living with our top-of-the-line (high priced) GE Monogram® stainless steel appliances.

Out of that six months we’ve had about three weeks of total trouble free use.

We bought our appliances from Bill Smith Appliances in Port Charlotte. “We have own service department,” their salesman told us. I didn’t know that was a warning.

The range arrived without burners, the range hood came with pieces missing and with several holes drilled but not tapped for the screws that went into them. The refrigerator, an all stainless model that cost as much as a nice used car, had a broken shelf bracket. The dishwasher ran well ...for a week and then started making noise. The washing machine screeched like a stuck pig from the day we plugged it in.

The Bill Smith guy came out and looked over the dishwasher. “It needs a new pump,” he told us and said he’d order one. Then he looked at the washer. “They all make that noise,” he told me. He took the front off the machine and pointed to four rods that suspend the washing tank. “It’s just a bad design,” he said, adding that I could lubricate the rod tops if I wanted to. The emphasis was on the “I could do it” part. Then he left.

I got my stethoscope out and listened for the noise at each of the four suspension rods. They were all quiet.

Then I listened around the insides and found the noise to be coming from the motor drive at the bottom of the washer tub.

A week later the same guy came back and installed a new pump in the dishwasher. The dishwasher was quiet again. I asked him about the washing machine. I told the man the noise was not from the rods but from the bottom of the tank. The service man said he would call GE and ‘see what he could do.” Why don’t you just fix it? I asked. He went back to his office and reported there was nothing wrong with my washing machine and never even called GE. Two weeks went by then another two. In the mean time I got a call from a survey company who wanted to know about the service call I had. I told them the machine still didn’t work right, but the caller only wanted to talk about the service man and if the guy was

clean.... reverent, brave, obedient, kind and a list of other boy-scoutish things. Mechanical things were not covered in this survey, the lady told me, but she said she would ‘red flag’ her follow up and someone would surely call me. But no one ever did.

The dishwasher began to make noise again a week later and the washer was still screeching. I took my cell phone, switched it to video and recorded the washer and dishwasher noise. Then I went over to Bill Smiths and played the recording to the store manager.

“You know, I bought one of those washers for my mother in law,” the nice man told me “and it makes the same noise. They all sound like that,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Unacceptable,” I said. And I said I wanted someone from GE to come out to my house and tell me that was the way they ‘all’ sound. I also told him the dishwasher was broken again.

This Bill Smith guy did call GE and the following week I got a call from GE to set up a service time.

When the day came I got a computer call reminding me to be home and to secure any pets.

On the scheduled day a GE service truck pulled up into our driveway and a mature service guy came to the door. He was a clean, well dressed, uniformed professional. He switched on the dishwasher and listened to the noise. Then he looked underneath. He reached under and came out with a styrofoam bock. Did you wedge this in there? He asked me. “No,” I said and then he asked me what the Bill Smith guy who was here before him did. I showed him the old pump that was replaced. “That’s the main pump. This machine needs a washer pump,” he said. He made it sound like the Bill Smith guy wedged the styrofoam against the noisy pump to try and quiet it.

“Someone put this there,” he said. “I’ll order the right pump,” he added. Then I asked him to look at the wash-

Above: Two dishwasher pumps and the washing machineʼs transmission. All replaced in the first few months of service.

Left: A GE appliance repairman makes a call to service our GE products. The GE servicemen were vey nice.

Below: A wire is held in place inside the washing machine with paper tape. This is the way it came from the factory.

Perhaps, in the country where this machine was assembled, this is an approved manufacturing technique.

ing machine.

“I don’t have a service ticket for the washer,” he said, but he listened to the noise and looked underneath anyway.

“The transmission is bad in this machine, I can see it slipping,” he said. “I’ll order one of those too.” This man seemed like he knew what he was doing. “Are you going to be back to install the new parts,” I asked. “Sure will,” he said. “Good,” said me.

But ‘sure will’ and ‘good’ turned to ‘nope’ and ‘no-way’ when he called back to say his knee went out, and that he’d be laid up for a while. We never saw that nice man again. The service call scheduled was cancelled the next day and another visit was set up for another day.

Another GE service man came the following week and installed the third pump in the dishwasher and it was quiet again, for the second time. Then he listened to the washer. “Could be the suspension rods,” he said, but I told him about the stethoscope and showed him the part GE had already sent for the replacement – GE ships the parts directly to the customer.

He listened more carefully and looked underneath.

“This is the most difficult part to replace on the entire machine,” he told me, once he had it all disassembled and spread around. “If this breaks again, just buy another washer,” he told me, offering up the old transmissiongearbox as a souvenir. “It wouldn’t be cost effective to replace this once the warrantee runs out.”

I waited for my copy of the work order on the job he had just done, but there was none. There wasn’t a customer copy for any of the work either GE or Bill Smith did. I took the transmission along with the two washer pumps out to the garage and put them in the pile with other worthless junk I am hanging on to.

The dishwasher is still quiet, but two weeks later the washer started to squeak again and now it’s getting louder. Would I buy another GE appliance again?

Water LIFE

Fishing in the ESPN Mad Fin

Page 28

By Capt. Ro bert Mo o re Water LIFE Staff After a successful year on the airwaves of ESPN2, the Madfin Shark Series was back and Capt. Mike Mahan and I were invited to return. My first experience with the Madfin Shark Series in 2006 was one I thought I’d never be able to beat, but this year’s experience raised the bar.

The format was the same as last year’s.

Eight two man teams catching and releasing sharks. Points are awarded for a successful live release of a shark. Bonus points awarded if the hook was removed and for the first and largest shark caught.

The two teams with the lowest points would be eliminated after day 1 & 2. On day three the top four teams would fish for the title. Our team for 2007 would once again be known as ‘Team Redfish’.

We arrived in Key West a week early to start our pre-fishing. Our first objective was to catch bait for shark fishing.

Barracuda was abundant and easy to catch, but overall the average size was small.

Finding sharks was easy, but finding any concentrations was far and few between.

By the end of the week we did manage to find 3 areas that had large concentrations of lemon and bull sharks.

Day 1 of the competition began a little slow. But once the action got started it never seemed to stop. On a flat just west of Key West known as the Lakes Passage we anchored up and established our chum line of fresh barracuda and king mackerel. After about an hour, numerous bull and lemon sharks began to aggressively circle the boat. Capt. Mike refers to this time frame as ‘just before the bubble pops’. Well it’s a pretty accurate description of what happened next. When the bubble did pop we didn’t stop hooking sharks until it was time to head in.

The scenario was pretty much like this.

I’d hook up and begin to fight my fish.

Several minutes later Capt. Mike would hook up. When I had my fish up to the boat, Capt. Mike would place his rod in a rod holder and help me land my fish. As he went back to fighting his fish I would cast back out and before Capt. Mike could land his fish we were doubled up again. This went on pretty much all day. I honestly have never been so happy in a tournament to hear the tournament director announce lines out of the water. My arms and legs were like jelly. Thank God for Advil. Our success on day 1 was rewarded with the advancement to day 2, avoiding the first elimination of two teams.

Day 2 started out like the previous day, very slow. After about 2 hours of not seeing any sharks, Capt. Mike and I agreed a move was needed. That move proved to be a very good decision. Our second spot produced a lemon shark bite very similar to day 1. As fast as we could get our bait into the water the lemon sharks would eat it. We landed as many sharks as the previous day,

but did it in only three and half hours. Our largest shark was over 9 feet long. Our afternoon lemon shark bite advanced us to day 3.

Day three proved to be more challenging for all teams. A cold front had approached South Florida and changed conditions. The wind changed direction and made for a very slow bite that all teams were not accustom to. I did witness something I had never seen before. My partner Capt. Mike Mahan was assisting me with landing a large lemon shark. As we were trying to get a measurement the shark slapped Capt. Mike along side of his head with his tail. Well I guess after three days of trying to land and control these sharks, Capt. Mike had had enough. He grabbed the shark’s tail and bit it, mumbling under his breath enough was enough. It wasn’t staged, it was just a reaction to being purely exhausted and fed up with being pushed around. As for the results of day 3, I promised the producers I would not reveal it.

You’ll have to watch to find out.

Our tackle this year compared to last

April 2007

MAGAZINE

Capts. Rob Moore (L) and Mike Mahan on a double hookup. Sponsor Quantum should be happy with the national exposure they are getting from these anglers. Above: the bull shark

Punta Gorda

year’s made a huge difference. We used Quantum Aruba’s matched up with Cabo rods. This combination gave us the edge to be very competitive. The line capacity combined with the unbelievable drag system of the Aruba’s enabled us to stay in one spot and catch shark after shark. We were pretty much sight casting every shark we saw and were able to cast these conventional reels like baitcasters. Our line of choice this year was 100lb Sufix Braid.

I’ve tried and liked a lot of braided lines, but nothing has impressed me like Sufix has. The casting ability and the abrasion resistance made it perfect for shallow water shark fishing. I have now spooled all of

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my inshore set ups with Sufix.

We also decided to fish this tournament out of the Andros 26-foot tarpon boat.

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Capt. Mike and I would like to once

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Down Under April 2007

Water LIFE

Diving with Adam Wilson A little over three years ago word had gotten around the local dive shop that there was a guy looking for divers. Someone to pull in the anchor, toss and retrieve the marker jug, help split increasing fuel costs, and other usual tasks that go along with running a larger boat.

That was how I came to meet my now very good friend Howard Martinez. At first impression he looked a little like a younger G. Gordon Liddy, with a clean shaven head, and in better physical condition than most guys my age with a great easy going personality. It didn't take long to realize he was also a very good diver, and with our mutual fondness for fishing, and the water, I knew we were going to get along great.

Howard started spear fishing in the early 50s in the waters of Tampa Bay. His guns were made by his father George, and his spears by the now legendary Ray Odor, who is still in the business of manufacturing spear fishing gear in Tampa today. His first set of dive gear came when he was 13. The Jacques Cousteau line of Aqua Lung from Sears & Roebuck had just hit the market. Sharpening his skills on snook at Tampa ship docks eventually led to bigger fish.

In 1965, at 27 years old, he laid a steel shaft into a monster at the second range marker south of shell point on the east side of Tampa Bay. Missing the paralyzing stone–shot areas of the brain or spine, all he could do was hang on and enjoy the ride. Knowing if the fish didn't begin to slow soon, he would have to cut the line connecting him to the scaly leviathan and begin his ascent. Running low on air, and being dragged across what seemed like the entire expanse of the bay, the fish did slow enough to subdue and float up. Surfacing near 3 wide eyed and open mouthed fisherman he asked, “hey, do you guys see a boat around here?” Their startled reply was “yeah, there's one waaaay over by that range marker.” That wound up being the largest goliath he ever shot and weighed in at 556 pounds.

Goliaths were legal to harvest in those days, and I love to hear the stories of diving from then. "Gag and black grouper would be so thick sometimes we would have to push them out of the way. Why shoot 20 or 30 pound gag grouper when you could shoot a 200 pound goliath! I have never had the opportunity to sample a goliath grouper, being protected since 1990, but Howard assures me even the larger ones were quite delicious.

To me it's invaluable to know a sportsman with such a wealth of knowledge and experience. I have learned a lot from Howard and I think he has even learned a little from me.

Howard retired form the Tampa police department 10 years ago and has been in our area since then. Neither retirement nor hurricanes have slowed him down. When the tides let him out of Alligator creek we still make runs offshore to hunt wrecks and ledges. His son Bo also dives with us when visiting from the east coast. It's been a pleasure diving with him over the past three years and I'm looking forward to many more.

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April

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MAGAZINE

April 2007

Fishing Report Charlotte Harbor: Robert at Fishin' Franks Port Charlotte: 625-3888

I Love this month. It’s time to clean off all the big rods and reels. Big fish are coming. I would say on April 21 the tarpon will dump into the pass in really big numbers. The second or third week, that’s my bet. They are already starting to move around in the rivers, the Peace River especially, there a lot of juveniles are showing and schooling up a little. Small fish are up around the trestles and around Horse Creek. They should start seeing small schools of big fish around Sanibel and the Pine Island area soon. They are already moving in the Evergaldes and the Keys area. It’s a great time of year to stick on a fly ...if you can avoid the wind.

S harks will be following the tarpon. Bul l sharks will start staging around the Intracoastal and in the pass-

This month Capt Steven Eggers sent in a few pictures. Weʼve been catching mostly redfish ranging from 5 to 12 pounds caught in Charlotte Harbor. The anglers here are Mr. and Mrs. Koza.

es. Lemon sharks will start to move around now. You’ll start seeing smaller bl ack ti ps moving into the harbor.

Fish them with live bait like ladyfish, sardines. Some mixed varieties of sharks will be along the beaches and some of the wrecks mixed in with the S pani sh mackerel . Anchor up and chum for them. The good numbers of sharks should show by the end of the month.

Inshore, larger redfi sh should start moving in from out along the beaches.

Some have been here for most of the winter. It’s been a strange year for red-

fish. You should start finding schools of fish in the 20 to 100 count around the intracoastal and the barrier islands.

There are already a lot of individual good sized reds scattered on the east side of the harbor and on the north end of the west wall towards El Jobean.

Shrimp is going to be the best bait at first, but we are in a transition period, moving into the time when white bait will be better.

S nook are still phenomenal at El Jobean at night and that should continue for the rest of the month. Fish that did move up into the rivers will start

moving out heading towards the passes.

You might find a school at Cape Haze one day and the next day that school will be down at Sandfly Key. Everyday they are on the move. The fish aren’t molested as much when they are moving.

The trout will fizzle out because it’s too warm. The bigger fish might still be in the deeper sand holes along the intracoastal, but there are also a ton of pompano mixed in with those trout in the deeper sand holes.

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April 2007

Continued from facing page

S heepshead are still doing great and should stay that way until the middle of the month, but then it will be too warm and they will be moving north. That’s a good time to hit them on the near shore wrecks like the Novak and Trembly reefs. The bigger fish tend to linger around longer.

S pani sh mackerel and ki ng mackerel will be here. Spanish are already here in scattered numbers in the harbor, but they will be more prevalent as the month progresses. Out along the beach there are already heavy schools of Spanish mackerel. There are a few kings and a few boni ta mixed in with them.

The bigger kingfish are still out past 15 miles offshore. It’s pretty tough to catch them with all the wind we have been getting.

Cobi a will start moving out along the beaches and coming into the harbor this month. They have had a great cobia season up in the panhandle this year. It’s not uncommon for them to see 1,000 fish in a day up there and these

Water LIFE

BIG-4 BIG-4 TARPON wil be here some time soon

Aprilʼs Aprilʼs Target Target Species Species

REDFISH are starting to feed well

fish come south.

Tri pl etai l have been slow.

They aren’t due up here until May. May is better for them.

Lemon Bay Jim at Fishermen’s Edge.

Englewood: 697-7595

There is plenty of bait around and that’s a good sign. We caught some real nice snook around the bottom end of Charlotte Harbor, all right around the slot size. And we caught a mess of smaller redfish, around 17 inches, so that fishing was pretty good, We saw quite a few sharks roaming the flats and a lot of big rays. Sharks between 5 and 6 feet, probably blacktips. Still, some guys aren’t catching anything and there haven’t been any real giant snook.

n April 7 – X-treme Redfish Series, presented by Evinrude, Punta Gorda 4561540

n April 21 Charlotte Harbor Challenge.

A Portion of the proceeds benefit The Future Builders of America. Multi species event.

n April 28 – Water LIFE Kids Cup Tournament, Ages 10 through 16, entry

MAGAZINE

SNOOK are around the harbor, a few on the beaches.

There are still pompano around, Guys are catching some whi ti ng and quite a bit of sheepshead are still here.

S pani sh mackerel have been around Devilfish Key on the incoming tide. Also around Cayo Pelau on the other side. I Haven’t heard any cobi a stories but there was quite a bit of tri pl etai l on the beach last weekend. This is the first week I’ve heard about tripletail. A number of them came off the crab traps.

A couple guys have seen tarpon al ready, but there are no stories of anyone hooking any of them yet.

There has already been a big shrimp run. That’s the first one.

I’m seeing crabs mixed in with my shrimp.

It’s that time of year.

C a l e n d a r

fee $100 Phone (941) 766-8180 or www.Kidscuptournament.com for entry form n May 15-16 Ultimate Fishing Challenge Championship, South Sea Resort, Captiva. 671-9347

n May 4–6 Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup Kids and Cup Finals, Punta Gorda.

n May 12-13– Flatsmasters Series, Live

o f

SHARKS Starting to move onto the pass

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KIDS CUP

APRIL 28

WE WERE WRONG! Last month we questioned Capt. Angel Torrez and what we thought were three pictures of the same redfish, being held by three different anglers. But, after looking at Angelʼs camera, we now say we were wrong. And Angel backed it up with these photos to prove heʼs been on the big fish. Way to go Capt Angel!

E v e n t s

Bait, two redfish, Punta Gorda

n May 26 – X-treme Redfish Series, presented by Evinrude, Punta Gorda 4561540 n May 28-29– Flatsmasters Series, Plug Challenge, two redfish, Punta Gorda n June 17 – 19, The last ever Mercury/IGFA Junior Angler World

Fishing

RIGHT NOW:

Changing for the better

April 2007

Water LIFE

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