Water LIFE Feb 2016

Water L I F E Charlotte Harbor, Lemon Bay, Venice, Estero, 10,000 Islands and the Gulf

The Don Ball School of Fishing

February 2016

Unhooking a Goliath Grouper – Bite slows with falling temperatures

Page 6

Sheepshead coming on strong Fishing Report Page 22-23

OFFSHORE FISHING Venice Inlet Page 14

Kayak Fishing

Page 20

www.WaterlifeMagazine.com

Estero still good in the wind Page 8

FREE!

PAGE

2

EMAIL:

WATERLIFE@COMCAST.NET

FEBRUARY 2016

FEBRUARY 2016

BACK ISSUES @

WWW.WATERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM

PAGE 3

PAGE

4

EMAIL:

WATERLIFE@COMCAST.NET

FEBRUARY 2016

Tune in to Radio Fishinʼ anytime!

Talk shows with Fishinʼ Frank @ FishinFranks.com

Send letters and photos to: WaterLIFE@comcast.net Text Us your Fish! 941.457.1316 Please include your name in the msg.

Water LIFE inc. waterlife@comcast.net www.WaterlifeMagazine.com

Michael & Ellen Heller Publishers

(941) 766-8180

217 Bangsberg Rd. Port Charlotte, FL 33952

Independant - Not affiliated with any other publication!

Vol XV No 2 © 2016

NO PART of this publication (printed or electronic) may be copied, reproduced or reused without specific written permission from the publishers (and thatʼs never happened!).

Contributing Editors:

Dale Merchant and his father caught the ray and shark on Englewood pier under the Tom Adams bridge. They texted us these photos. – Thanks!

About Sending us Pictures: Yes! Please do!

We like Fresh Fish so please donʼt send us old photos.

Dear Water LIFE Attached is a pic of a largemouth I caught the day after Christmas. It was 26 inches long and weighed 10 pounds. I caught it on a small spinner bait I make myself using 3-inch plastic grub from Fishinʼ Frank's. You can use the picture if you would like.

My name is George King Thank you for publishing a great paper.

Editor says: Thank YOU ..... and Nice Fish!

We like the First Catch so donʼt send us pictures you are sending to another publication, like for instance, the Charlotte Sun ;-(

Bigger is Better, higher resolution is best. Please donʼt adjust, crop or sharpen your pictures.

Let us to do that, it will look better!

Send Where? email to: waterlife@comcast.net or txt them, include your name, to 941-457-1316 (txt only, voice calls are not answered)

Best Picture Wins There is no guarantee your fish will appear in print, but if itʼs a better picture

of a bigger fish or something cool or unusual, it has a good chance of getting into the magazine. ... and Thank You!

Photography: ASA1000.com Senior Editor: Capt. Ron Blago Charlotte Harbor: Capt. Billy Barton Baitshop: Fishinʼ Frank Peace River: Capt. David Stephens Diving: Adam Wilson Punta Gorda: Capt. Chuck Eichner Venice: Glen Ballinger Estero: Capt. Joe Angius Everglades City: Capt. Charlie Phillips Kayaking: Bob Fraser Sea Grant: Capt. Betty Staugler Beach Fishing: Mallory Herzog Pier Fishing: Bobby Vitalis

On the Cover: His face is hidden but Capt. Andrew Herzog put his angler on this Goliath grouper last month at Boca Grande. Itʼs all part of Mallory Herzogʼs story. See page 6

“I GOT CALLS FROM ALL OVER THE PLACE FROM MY AD THIS SUMMER” ADVERTISE HERE!

$99 per month!

Water LIFEʼs 1/8 page ad (this size)

still just

call 941-766-8180

LEONARD AT TOP NOTCH CANVAS

“... A LOT MORE CALLS FROM YOUR PUBLICATION THAN FROM ... THAT OTHER WATER PUBLICATION”

The effective & economical month-long advertising solution

4- C O L O R is always FREE WE areTHE WAY to reach people who love the WATER!

www.waterlifemagazine.com in print - online - and always FREE

TOM AT THE BOAT HOUSE “ADVERTISING WITH YOU IS A NO BRAINER! IT WORKS FOR US”

Free on yourDevice too!

C h e ck A r o u n d - s e e w h er e l o ca l a d v e r t i s e r s a r e p u t t i n g t h e i r h a r d e a r n e d d o l l a r s

FEBRUARY 2016

BACK ISSUES @

Just Trying To Make a Living

By Michael Heller Water LIFE Editor This time of year commercial fishing around Charlotte County is all about the mullet. The primary drop-off point where mullet boats unload their catch is at Placida. In January 2015 I did a two page spread on mullet fishing. The guys running the operation at Placida gave me access to their dock and I hung out for a couple of mornings, right after the strong cold fronts came through, when the fish began to gather and move towards the Gulf and the fishermen were chasing them with their nets.

There are always a few bad apples in every basket. Last year one of the local FWC officers told me about a problem they were having with some of the mullet fishermen leaving fish they didn’t want floating in big patches around the harbor.

It was nothing new. Hey they’re just trying to make a living, one of the other mullet anglers told me, and I wrote it.

Next thing I knew, a big fence went up around the mullet dock at Placida and photographers, me in particular, were no longer welcome. Banned from Placida... you can add it to my resume, but Hey, I’m just trying to make a living.

Commercial mullet fishing in and around the Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserve has numerous effects on our fishery.

As I hear it, there is one alleged positive connection between mullet fishermen

in the back country and the long term health of the Estuary. It has to do with mullet going out into the Gulf to spawn.

In the Gulf, both the male and the female mullet dive down to deeper water where eggs and sperm are squeezed from their bodies by the increased water pressure. In fresh water, eggs would sink and die, but in the salinity of the Gulf the eggs and sperm rise to the surface where they mix and new life begins.

Supposedly, inshore mullet fishermen, throwing nets in the back country, break up the schools of mullet, so when the fish migrate out into the Gulf there isn’t one big run of mullet in one place at the same time. If too many mullet were to congregate they would attract the attention of the big commercial fishing boats. Those boats would then come into the near shore area with their big purse-seine nets and take the whole school.

Not only would that be bad for the mullet fishery, but the big purse seine boats, which close off the bottoms of their nets and take in everything, would take in a huge by-catch.

Our Estuary is a delicately balanced breeding ground for numerous species and they all depend on each other, in some way, for survival. So mullet fishing in Charlotte Harbor (Hey they’re just trying to make a living) is perceived by some as possibly, maybe, having a positive impact.

In recent years we have seen an influx

WWW.WATERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM

PAGE 5

Mullet from a boat on a trailer, are sorted and unloaded into shipping containers at Placida.

Itʼs the female fish with the red roe that they want. Males, with white roe, are less valuable.

of non-resident mullet fishermen coming into our area to fish. They fish from boats and they fish from our local piers. They go where the fish are and they will often run through your fishing spot while you are fishing it. They will tell you Hey we’re just trying to make a living, but some, maybe a lot, of those fishermen don’t give a damn about our Estuary or us.

Go down to the Bayshore fishing pier in Port Charlotte and look in the ditch to the left of the parking lot as you face the pier. If the tide and the wind haven’t swept them out, you will probably see

dead mullet. They will all be males, discarded by greedy fishermen who only want the money-fish, the red-roe females.

I don’t have a problem with guys catching mullet, but I do have a problem with guys wasting fish from our public resource so they can make a buck for themselves. To me, that’s the same thing as when a fishing tournament monopolizes an area or kills fish so they can put on a show and turn a profit for themselves at our expense. Hey we’re just trying to make a living doesn’t cut it when you are stealing or breaking the law.

PAGE

6

EMAIL:

WATERLIFE@COMCAST.NET

FEBRUARY 2016

Bite Drops As Temperature Falls

Goliath grouper continue to populate the old Phosphete Dock at Boca Grande

By Mallory Herzog Water LIFE Fishing Winter arrived in the south as it always does, with a cool-snap and now those summer-like days are few and far between. We have had cold and rain and now the fish are feeling it too. When the temperatures started dropping, so did the bite. The last week of January was brutal.

Goliath grouper are always hungry, it seems as if these cool temps are bringing out the BIG guys to play. On a recent charter, father and son pulled up two giants pushing 400lbs! Seriously putting our 600lb line and 50w reel to the test. I bet these guys had sore arms the next morning. We are working with Greys Fishtag Research and the FWC in hopes to begin tagging these grouper. FWC has been doing a study over the last few years, trying to determine if these fish should continue to be protected or if they can open them up to limited harvest. These grouper have a very slow growth rate and were nearly fished to extinction in the 1980s. We are excited to lend a hand in the study.

Sheepshead are always a good winter bite, especially for those fishermen who like to bring home dinner. These fish like structure such as rocks or bridges pilings and can be caught by land or sea. Anglers should look for structure covered in shells

and crustaceans. On a good-water-clarity day, you can see them milling around the pilings. Drop your bait right to them.

They are known to be bait thieves, so a weight on the bottom is best, giving the angler an opportunity to feel the bite.

They feed on barnacles by using their "human" like teeth to rip though the tough shell. Many anglers also use fiddler crabs or scape barnacles from whatever structure they are fishing and put them on a hook. The best bite is during a rising tide.

Delicious and fun to catch, mangrove snapper have been a recent client favorite.

Near shore we have been catching them in the 20-25 inch range. These fish can really test your patience. They have great eye

sight and are known to eat only from very light line. This isn't an issue unless your fishing the bottom and getting broken off every other bite. How can you fix this?

Chum them up to the top. If you are doing this effectively when you look in the direction of your chum slick you will start to see fish rising to the top. We use a chum called Snapper up. It’s a wet dry mix, that gets them in a frenzy. Once you spot these fish coming up in the slick, drift a piece of cut bait or small live bait back to them. I get more bites with a more natural drift and I like to leave the bail of the reel open, as you see your line start to move, close the bail and just reel.

You can contact Big Bully Outdoors Charters for a trip with Mallory’s husband, Capt.

Andrew Herzog. Call 941-661-9880 or visit BigBullyOutdoors.com

FEBRUARY 2016

BACK ISSUES @ BACK ISSUES @

WWW.WATERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM

PAGE 7

Estero Bay Relentless East Winds but still plenty of fish!

PAGE

8

By Captain Joe Angius Water LIFE Estero Bay Inshore light-tackle saltwater fishing will teach anglers one thing: humility. This statement becomes especially true when an angler must apply his skills and knowledge to the waterways of Estero Bay. Since Estero Bay is a shallow water estuary that covers approximately 15 square miles, the slightest change in weather conditions, specifically wind, will impact your day of fishing.

Last month and this month to follow showcase some of Southwest Florida’s drastically changing wind and weather conditions.

Wind direction in Estero Bay plays an integral role in tide fluctuation, water quality and clarity ... and rough open-waters to cross. If the wind is coming from the east, usually when wind speeds reach 10 mph or more, an angler will find that an outgoing tide will flush water out faster than normal and be responsible for a shallower low tide.

This east

EMAIL:

WATERLIFE@COMCAST.NET

wind direction and speed will also slow or completely stop and incoming tide from happening. The opposite applies to a wind coming from the west, where an incoming tide will come in faster and make the waterlevel higher.

As this month moves on, Estero Bay will continue to experience unexpected and odd weather conditions that will affect the inshore fishing. It is important not to get discouraged and remember that optimal weather conditions do not necessarily mean optimal fishing. On my most recent charters, my clients braved the cold mornings and found that it paid off. We managed to get out of the wind, deep into the backwaters and find fish.

There were a couple of occasions where I was challenged with an eastward wind that blew the water out too much and left me with little to no water. In that instance I was definitely humbled from what mother-nature can do. No matter what preparation was done the night before, it often does not prepare us for tomorrow’s day of fishing.

If you decide to experience the shallow waters of Estero Bay, remember to respect other boaters and the wildlife that resides in our estuary. Rules and regulations are put into place to conserve and protect the bay and they should be abided. With our recent extreme weather events, it has left a lot of debris in the water such as chairs and mangrove limbs. The beaches are strewn with shells, starfish and other creatures. Be cautious boating from spot to spot and be mindful of the weather conditions around you.

Captain Joe Angius (727) 234-3171 Speakeasyfishing.com FlatsHQ.com Speakeasyfishing@gmail.com

FEBRUARY 2016

FEBRUARY 2016

BACK ISSUES @

WWW.WATERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM

Water Cools From the Top Down

By Capt. David Stephens Water LIFE Charlotte Harbor Winter has finally arrived in South West Florida, but even with the water temperatures dropping you can still have a very productive day on the water. During the winter months when our water can cool down below 70 degrees, a large majority of our fish migrate to deeper water. Charlotte Harbor has two main rivers that flow into it: The Myakka on the North West end, and on the North East end the Peace River. We also have miles of man made canals.

During this time of year the main reason our fish migrate to these areas is depth.

Water cools from the surface to the bottom. So the deeper the water, the warmer it will remain close to the bottom, during a cold front. Everyone that knows me knows snook is my fish of choice to target. Well, during the winter, unfortunately the snook go into a hibernation stage and do not feed very well. The good news is we have plenty of other fish that will feed well during this time of year. We just have to change up our approach and slow things down. That even goes for the type of bait we choose to use.

I have put up my cast nets for a couple months and got out my shrimp gear.

Cooler water means slowing down. A big part of slowing down is the type of bait we choose to use. Shrimp is a lot slower moving bait so fish don’t have to chase them.

There are several ways you can fish live shrimp. I prefer the two basic ways. The first way is on a jig head. I use this method when I am fishing deeper water, such as the rivers and residential canals. Current flow plays a big part on the weight of jig head I use. Normally I use a 1/8oz, but often, if the tide and current are to strong, I will bump that up to a 1/4oz. Other times I will flat line a shrimp with just a circle hook. If necessary I often add a small split shot to slow my drift.

Another way that I like to fish live shrimp is under a popping cork. Normally, when I use this technique, I am fishing depths in the 4-6 foot range. I also fish this way with a jig head.

Trout is a great species to target this time of the year. Even with the cooler waters they seem to feed very well. I have found often it’s best to try both techniques; on the bottom andwith a popping cork.

When the bottom allows you to, it may be better to get your bait down to the fish.

Some days they may come off the bottom to feed, some days not, so mix it up to see what works best. Sheepshead is another great cold water fish. During the winter months these guys school up to spawn.

Your going to want to use a small circle

hook and a split shot for these guys. Docks and pilings that have good growth is where they like to hang out. Slow your presentation down, and fish a little deeper, try some of the rivers and canals. That will help get the rod bent for you.

If you would like to experience some of Charlotte Harbor’s best fishing give me a call or send me an email. All of our charters are private and customized to fit you and your parties needs. Capt. Dave Stephens www.backbayxtremes.com 941-916-5769

PAGE 9

PAGE

10

EMAIL:

WATERLIFE@COMCAST.NET

Low and Slow is the Way to Go

By Capt. Billy Barton Water LIFE Inshore When the month of December came to an end and we transitioned into the new year it was almost like Mother Nature wasn't going to bring us a winter in 2016. However she went and flipped the light switch upstairs and in the blink of an eye we are now bearing witness to one of the coolest and wettest winters that the Sunshine State has been through in years.

So what kind of role does our climate play in our local fishing? Major! Our weather patterns are at the top of the list of factors that control how these fish are going to act.

If our weather is somewhat consistent then these fish will fall into a particular eating pattern and they won't move around quite as much. When our local weather is like a roller coaster the fish get confused and move all over the place. They won't reside in one area for long, and if you aren't out there following them on a daily basis than you could have some problems keeping up with what they're doing.

Typically during our winter months the bulk of our in-

FEBRUARY 2016

shore species will push inside the passes and migrate up into the bay and rivers in search of warmer water. The dark bottom and dark water in our upper Harbor tend to absorb what little heat is put off by the sun, making this a more comfortable habitat for them to reside.

Some fish such as snook and tarpon are extremely intolerant when it comes to cold water. We tend to not target these fish as much in the heart of winter. When our water temperatures in the bay get down into the 60s their

metabolisms slow down drastically. They don't have to eat as much to survive, nor will they exert a great deal of energy to hunt down a meal.

On a bright note however, Charlotte Harbor is far from a duck pond and we have plenty of other species of fish to get out there and keep us busy! Redfish, speckled trout, sheepshead, pompano, and flounder are all fish that cooperate fairly well when our water temperature is on the low side. These fish are all a great time on the rod and they all make for great table fair.

Their main focus food wise is on small crustaceans.

Live shrimp is always a sure bet throughout the winter months and into the early spring. My confidence currently is in a tailhooked shrimp on an 1\8th ounce gold flake jighead. I like to make a long cast and slowly

FEBRUARY 2016

BACK ISSUES @

WWW.WATERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM

twitch my shrimp. I like to make it hop a foot or so off of the bottom, than let it rest and continue. This will keep proving itself effective for the next couple of months.

Shrimp are a slow moving creature. The slower you fish this and the more patience you have while working it, the better off you will do.

During the hours of daylight a shrimp will bury itself under the sand or hide under the grass. When a predator swims by, the shrimp will spook backwards by snapping its tail to try and get away from whatever is after it. This is exactly what you are mimicking with this particular rig.

When our water temperature meets 70 degrees again and starts to climb in the later part of winter or in the early spring. This will be when it's time to transition back to live sardines and pinfish on the grass flats in Charlotte Harbor. Until then... Shrimp-On my friends!! Fish them low and fish them slow. It should be the only way to go!

If you have any questions or concerns pertaining to this article please give me a call and I'll be happy to help out however I can. Best of luck out there! Keep that line tight!

Captain Billy Barton, Scales N Tails Charters 941-979-6140 http://www.puntagordafishingcharter.com

PAGE 11

PAGE

12

EMAIL:

WATERLIFE@COMCAST.NET

NOAA Expands Opportunities for US Aquaculture Gulf of Mexico Rule opens the door for fish farming in the Gulf and open ocean

Atlantic Cod farm at Great Bay Maine

Muscles at the Tottin Inlet facility in Wash.

Floating Sablefish tanks in Washington

Oyster farming at Washington

Ocean fish cage in Hawaii

Water LIFE Staff Report Two months ago Mote Marine casually announced they were raising redfish for sale. Now we know more.

On January 11, NOAA published a final rule implementing our nationʼs first regional regulatory program for offshore aquaculture in federal waters. In doing so, NOAA is expanding opportunities for U.S. seafood farming in the open ocean. NOAA says they and their partners “are working to advance and expand U.S. aquaculture, as a complement to wild harvests, to keep our fisheries sustainable and resilient to growing demand.” State approval is expected to mimic the federal rule, so perhaps that Charlotte Harbor redfish hatchery we have been talking about for so many years might not be that far off.

The new rule took into account thousands of public comments and authorizes NOAA Fisheries to issue

New Hampshire sugar kelp

Sablefish in Washington

FEBRUARY 2016

AQUA

permits for an initial period of 10 years for growing species such as red drum, cobia, and almaco jack in federal waters in the Gulf.

The term marine aquaculture specifically refers to the culturing of species that live in the ocean. Today the U.S. marine aquaculture industry primarily produces oysters, clams, mussels, shrimp, and salmon.

Marine aquaculture creates jobs, supports resilient working waterfronts and coastal communities and provides international trade opportunities.

According to NOAA, after 30 years of innovation and learning, “the practices and technologies available today Hawaii: The diver above is shown for a size comparison to are significantly improved the fish cage in the middle photo. The cage itself has a over those available during surface marker attached, seen to the left of the vessel in the top photo. the industryʼs early years.”

NOAA, and their partners have already developed the economically and environmentally sustainable marine aquaculture practices shown here. U.S. aquaculture currently accounts for 20 percent of the value of domestic fishery landings, but U.S. production still lags behind much of the world despite representing a significant opportunity for coastal communities and domestic seafood production capacity.

Divers around an open-ocean aquaculture cage at the Cape Eleuthera Institiute in the Bahamas.

FEBRUARY 2016

ATICA

By Capt. Betty Staugler Water LIFE / Sea Grant

BACK ISSUES @

Clam Leases

WWW.WATERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM

Local Aquaculture

PAGE 13

southwest Florida with east Florida. tively involved in Those results indicated that the majority the regulatory and Shellfish aquaculture is seafood safety as- of clams were sold to other wholesale a relatively new pursuit in dealers, followed by retailers, followed by pects of the busiFlorida. It began in the restaurant buyers and final consumers. ness. To make a 1970s in the Indian River Lagoon when According to local farmer and producer profit and keep attempts were made to culture hard clams Barry Hurt, most of the clams produced their business as a means of taking pressure off declinhere today stay in southwest Florida. alive, they need to ing wild populations. Techniques for proensure their prodHow important is this industry in ducing seed clams had been developed uct is safe for con- Florida? Here are some 2015 stats. These 20 years prior and Harbor Branch sumers. Florida numbers are not available by region (and Oceanographic Institution (HBOI) develenforces strict it is important to note the bulk of clam oped early grow-out technologies based safety protocols farming in Florida occurs in Cedar Key), on culture methods already used in the for molluscan but here goes: in 2015, 1,548 acres of Clamming in 2003 behind Sandfly Key in the Gasparilla Sound Northeast but modified for Floridaʼs subshellfish to ensure submerged land were leased from the tropical and subtidal conditions. consumers are State of Florida for shellfish aquaculture, Here in the early days, Dan Leonard, getting a safe product so farmers must These early efforts got a major boost in 288 farmers worked these leases, 543 who had a lease originally in Bull Bay, sell to a Certified Shellfish Dealer. the early 1990s as a result of federallyjobs were supported by aquaculture, 136 was the project manager for the retraining funded job retraining programs designed billion clams were produced, sales by Successful clam farmers also need to programs in Charlotte and Lee Counties to provide employment opportunities for dealer totaled $19.6 million, with a total be innovators. As one told me “necessity with an office in Placida. These programs displaced workers from the commercial economic impact to Florida estimated at is the mother of invention.” And that is resulted in about 90 graduates. Tony fishing industry. The most notable retrain$38.7 million. absolutely true. Growing conditions are Heeb, who is still in growing clams today, ing program began in 1994 as a result of very different from region to region. Here Aquaculture leases in Florida are manwas also employed by HBOI as a technithe net ban. clam leases are in water deeper than aged by the Division of Aquaculture within cian and ran a shellfish nursery that was other farmed areas of the state. As a reIn 1995 a position was created within the Florida Department of Agriculture and set up in Bokeelia. sult special dive gear and harvesting UF-IFAS Extension to assist the emergent Consumer Services. Leases are ten-year In southwest Florida, aquaculture methods are necessary. Who better to shellfish aquaculture industry on Floridaʼs term and renewable with annual fees lease sites are established in Gasparilla develop or tweak tools of the trade for west coast and that position later exbased on the size of the lease. New Sound behind Sandfly Key, in Pine Island local conditions than those who will benepanded to allow for statewide extension leases can be requested through an applifit the most? activities. Through the efforts of HBOI, UF, Sound near Demere Key, and inside Bull cation process.

Bay. Over 50 leases in our area are acFlorida Sea Grant, and many others, over Up until recently shellfish aquaculture Capt. Betty Staugler, Florida Sea Grant tively farmed today, but many of the faces 350 program graduates were trained and in Florida consisted solely of hard clams, Agent. UF/IFAS Extension Charlotte have changed since the 1990s. placed onto shellfish aquaculture leases but new crops such as sunray venus County (941) 764-4346 Tending to crops is very different from of 2-4 acres. These entities continue to clams and oysters are coming online and fishing. Those that adapted to the farming support this industry through integrated others are being evaluated. Clam farmers lifestyle survived but many moved on to research, education and extension activiin southwest Florida are particuother things. Only a few of the original ties today. larly excited about sunray venus Pine Island Sound farmers clams, a species that naturally maintain their leases, othergrows here and is thus well wise those practicing shellfish suited for growing in this area. aquaculture today are new.

You might ask, where do all Successful clam farming of these raised clams go? Alrequires good, clean water, though dated, a 1999 report infree from contamination. dicated that the southwest Water quality and periodic red Florida industry sold more than tide blooms produce the half of their product to buyers biggest challenges for southoutside of the state (55 perwest Florida clam farmers. cent), 39 percent to other reClam farmers are hardworkgions in Florida, and only 6% Tony Heebʼs new generation of local clammers, sell Curtis Hemmelʼs Bay Shellfish Compant shows of a ing, business savvy, and actheir clams at a Cape Coral farmerʼs market locally. A 2009 report aggregated hand full of little clams in Terra Cia

PAGE

14

EMAIL:

January Fishing: Offshore Galore with

Steve Rogers with an AJ caught on Jan 8

WATERLIFE@COMCAST.NET

Capt. Joe Miller

Mo Hindmarsh, Glen Ballinger and a little tuna

FEBRUARY 2016

Report: The fishing out of Venice Inlet continues to be good.... on those days that the anglers can get out. Last month was tough, with two major fronts coming through, bringing gale force winds and driving rain. But there were some beautiful days too when there were grouper, amberjacks and little tuna galore

Alex Timmons and friend with their grouper, 30-miles off Venice

CANVAS & UPHOLSTERY

Patience, Confidence and Persistence FEBRUARY 2016

By Capt. Chuck Eichner Water LIFE Inshore Extra low tides and windy weather define February in southwest Florida, but Charlotte Harbor fish still have to eat, regardless of the cold and wind, and with some patience and diligence you can have some great fishing.

On this particular day, we had a cold morning with a warming afternoon with temperatures reaching into the 70s. An incoming tide late in the day presented an opportunity for fish that have retreated from the shallows to again return to feed.

Leaving the dock at noon allowed the waters to warm and the tide to rise. Our method of fishing was basic using a bait holder hook, with splitshot and a shrimp rigged weedless (Texas style). As the afternoon progressed we cast around the perimeter of mangrove islands, sandholes, creek mouths and any depression that provided a foot or more of depth over the surrounding waters. Fishing in less than 3 feet of water on high tide is not a confidence builder, but that is what it takes.

Friend Ken Ice and I methodically cast and retrieved the shrimp very slowly with occasional pauses to allow the shrimp to fall back to the bottom. The best method of presenting the bait is to raise the rod tip to move the line then dropping the rod tip to take up the slack. The fish will almost always take the shrimp as it drops back down into the water column.

If your are patient enough to cover a lot of water sooner or later you will find a group of redfish and that is when the fun starts. This time of year, expect that most fish will be under 20 inches so using a light action rod makes these fish feel like monsters. Our first hotspot produced 5 redfish before things went quiet which led us to move to other mangrove islands probing the shallows with medium sized shrimp.

Not every spot produced for sure. A strong bite on one island met with a dogged fight and a fish pulling drag.

About a minute later a monster

BACK ISSUES @

sheepshead came boatside.

Sheepies in shallow water are fun and there are more on the flats then you might think!

This time of year you won’t see sheets of silvery white bait flicking around and pinfish flashing in the grass. In fact, you won’t see much activity in the shallows, but small mud minnows, shrimp and crabs are hiding and the fish know it!

Redfish, trout, sheepshead, flounder and a host of other species sulk in the depths of the harbor only to return to feed when the water gets deep enough to search the grass flats and mangrove backcountry.

As our day progressed we hit one spot that produced 20 redfish and at times we had two on at a time! The spot was not much to look at, but small mud minnows were scurrying around a creek mouth where we found these fish which we guessed was the attraction.

Interestingly, some redfish were reddish in color and others were silver.

My belief is that the silvery redfish are ones that just came out of the deeper, cooler water of the harbor.

Patience, confidence and persistence are more important than technique for colder weather fishing. Approach the shallows with stealth and you will be sur-

WWW.WATERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM

prised at all the fish you don’t see that bite your line!

Capt. Chuck Eichner operates Action Flats Backcountry Charters and can be reached at 941-628-8040

PAGE 15

PAGE

16

EMAIL:

WATERLIFE@COMCAST.NET

10,000 Islands / Everglades City

By Capt. Charlie Phillips Water LIFE / Everglades City February 2016 is off to great start down here in the Everglades. The warmer than usual weather has offered some great opportunities for quite the variety of fish to target and made days on the water a lot of fun. I hope it lasts!

On the inshore side we have seen some great catches of redfish and snook. The warmer water had the fish really all over the place, but as each cold front finally started coming thru, it got a little more predictable each week.

I have been targeting my redfish in the back bays that hold good water, has some flow and plenty of oyster bars. Places like Pumpkin Bay and House Hammock are good starting points to look for a red. We target these guys using two methods, a big live shrimp under a popping cork worked along the bars, or artificial plastics and hard baits worked around those same bars. These method will also net you some slot trout as well and has done just that all month long.

When you can, try to take advantage of the cleaner water for some awesome sight fishing opportunities while you’re in the back. The water really does clean up in places and if you find a small bay in the lee of the

wind, it can be money this time of year. Look for fish pushing, tailing or mullet moving around and you’ll have the signs of life you need for some action.

We have been doing well on snook in the creeks that join these back bays as well this month and as the water cools down more and more, this will become an even better place to look. Also, in those same creeks, don’t be surprised to find a juvenile tarpon or two. For me, there is nothing finer then a 10-15 pound creek tarpon. The fight is incredible with lots of action and acrobatics. As we move thru the winter, take some time to do some exploring and see what you can find.

Lots of trout on the grass south of Pavilion all month, with some good catches being taken home for the supper table. A popping cork with a live shrimp is hard to beat, but for the bigger fish, remember an adult speckled trout will eat way more finned fish then shrimp, so a hard bait that mimics a baitfish is always a good search tool. Don’t be surprised to catch a few bluefish, ladyfish and Spanish macs out there as well.

FEBRUARY 2016

And if you try throwing a small shrimp tipped jig you should find a pompano or two.

We have been doing great this month on golden nuggets.

Offshore, the tripletail have been thick on the crab pots, so as you transit the area to fish your spots, its always a great idea to find a trapline to run if you can. The red grouper bite has been very strong in water around the 35-foot mark west of Marco. A knocker rig with a chunk of squid or cut grunt is all you need to fill the box.

Also, there are some big lane snapper out there right now too.

Overall January was a great month down here in the Glades. It looks like we will be transitioning to a more traditional winter time fishery now, so stay tuned for next month’s report when I will hopefully have some sheepshead for you. See you out there!

Capt. Charlie Phillips: 863-517-1829 e-mail: hopefishing@hotmail.com Web: hopefishing.com

Under the Cover of Darkness FEBRUARY 2016

BACK ISSUES @

By Fishin’ Frank Water LIFE Baitshop Death and destruction, has ended for the night.

Sound bad and a little dramatic? It’s true none the less. The drag netting of wild shrimp is not a real good thing. The average by-catch is around 15 pounds of other life or shrimp too small to sell and all of that goes over board, either dead or soon to be eaten by waiting birds and dolphin hanging around the shrimp boat.

I have learned many things in my time here at the bait shop. One of them is, we need commercial fisherman to get our bait or even a night-out fish dinner, but some things just do not make sense.

Commercial shrimping for foodshrimp in Charlotte Harbor is not a good thing. Charlotte Harbor is a favorite place for the larger shrimping boats which work the Gulf of Mexico. When the wind gets too strong to be in the Gulf safely, like it has lately, those boats head into Charlotte Harbor where the shrimpers can lay up until the wind lays down. What’s even better for them, this time of year the Harbor is full of shrimp.

Brown shrimp are on the move. The brown shrimp live in the deep waters of the Gulf from 60 feet down to almost 600 feet, but most commonly in water 100 feet deep, where they spawn and their eggs become part of the plankton. As the frey shrimp hatch they wash into the Harbor and swim as far into the creeks and canals as possible, or they scatter across the grass flats. Growing at a rate of about 1/3

of an inch a month a shrimp may become adults in a year and are able to spawn.

Shrimp is the basic food for everything including us humans. They spawn thousands of tiny eggs each time so there is

WWW.WATERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM

caught in the net of a shrimper is dumped at the Alligator Creek reef or in the hole off Pirate Harbor. Now this could be a good thing in a way, but fish like habitat, not open bottom. No reefs, man made or natural, have a chance to develop here, they will be dragged off each fall or winter by the big off shore shrimp boats.

This is one typical ʻpullʼ by a small one man shrimp boat in Charlotte Harbor. The shrimp are picked out by hand. Everything else goes back to the waiting dolphins and birds.

genetic safety in their numbers. Humans have learned to make nets and trawls to catch them by the thousands each pull.

The nets have heavy doors which drag on the bottom, keeping the nets open and close to the sand. Often a chain is dragged in front of the net to scare the shrimp up off the bottom and into the net.

Ever wonder why the bottom of Charlotte Harbor is so flat? Watch your depth finder and you will not see anything; no bumps or junk on the bottom. Anything

Why is this a big deal for the Harbor?

Let’s look at Texas. The snapper and grouper were becoming scarce, fishing was getting real bad in the Gulf off Texas.

So they did studies and a simple thing was found out: The fish were lacking food.

Without enough food the snapper and grouper did not grow or reproduce very well at all. Starving fish are just not healthy... who would have guessed?

So Texas now closes its shrimping for food shrimp until the shrimp have become

PAGE 17

large enough to spawn – about 4.5 inches, it takes about a year for a shrimp to reach that size. Only after the state of Texas has sampled its shrimp can the commercial food-take of shrimp begin. Florida has no closed season on shrimp so many boats who's home state closes its shrimping come to Florida for that time. They know Charlotte Harbor is a good place to weather a storm so these huge boats anchor up and at night they work, dragging up and down the Harbor. The biggest problem I have with this is that the vast majority of what is caught is not good to sell. Shrimp too small, bait fish, flounder and many other creatures are all tossed back dead. Food shrimpers pull/drag their nets until the boat slows down. The shrimp can not escape. It’s very effective.

We need commercial fishermen, they are not bad people or indifferent to the fate of marine life, but still, some forms of fishing are just not good. Commercial shrimping has come a long way, with nets that let out a lot of fish and exclude turtles but not all of it lives. They are good people in a line of work which is out dated.

Why is shrimping for food allowed in a National Estuary in the first place? Tampa Bay has out-lawed the take of food shrimp entirely. Why is it still allowed here? Because we do not see it. They do it at night and, most often, when the weather is too bad to be in the Gulf. They are dumping thousands of pounds of shrimp dead into the water instead of letting them grow up to feed the fish. We need to adopt Texas style laws or stop all together the commercial take of shrimp in Charlotte Harbor and other places.

Frank@fishinFranks.com 941-625-3888

Deep Water Sailboat

260’ of Waterfront!

Pirate Harbor

Call the Captain! Newly Remodeled Key West Style Home With Soaring Views! Two huge decks and a wrap-around porch, designer kitchen, huge waterviews, 4/3/2 with over 2500sf. Stunningly Beautiful! $539,000

Port Charlotte

Call the Captain! Super Bargain 4/2/2 Deep Water Sailboat Access- Only 1 Minute To The Harbor! Large seawall, dock, lift and huge yard. Open floorplan, lots of updates $235,000

Super Fast Harbor Access!

185' Waterfront!

Port Charlotte

Call the Captain! Enormous Building

Lot Huge Views! The ultimate in privacy Very quick access to the Harbor, oversize tip lot has privacy yet is convenient to town. $180,000

Pirate Harbor

Island Dream Home!

Call the Captain! Executive Level Custom Built Pool Home on 100’ Waterfront! All the features you would expect on a million dollar home! Spectacular lanai. 3/2/2, 2500sf Air, with Den. Built in 2005. $569,000

Punta Gorda

Waterfront lot with 100’ of seawall. Nice palm trees, fantastic neighborhood with no bridges to harbor. $119,900

Call the Captain!

Big Water Views!

Burnt Store Isles

Quick Sailboat Harbor Access 140’ of Seawall! Fantastic key lot with huge open water views and ready to build on.

Situated amongst gorgeous homes in a golf course community $325,000

Call the Captain!

PAGE

18

EMAIL:

WATERLIFE@COMCAST.NET

Gale Force Winds Cancel Conquistador Cup

By Peter Welch Water LIFE Sailing

That weather phenomenon known as El Niùo is upon us. It can produce hurricanes and winter crop damage and it can give us winter tornados and we’ve seen most of that already this year!

Like many others I came here to sail thru the winter. Who knew about Florida tornados? Recent events in Cape Coral and lesser damage in Charlotte County beg we adapt quickly. At 4 AM this Jan 17th a wind force of 47 knots was measured at the Charlotte Harbor Yacht Club.

The effect at the Port Charlotte Beach Complex was to throw the boats at the Sailing Center there around. One 20 ft boat tipped its trailer over. There were two dismastings and numerous minor damage.

Do we need to use our hurricane preparedness measures in the winter?

Fortunately, 18 Flying Scotts found the weather just right for their January 9 -10 regatta. Sixteen boats completed three races on day 1 and T Mcnally lead by one point over M Faugust. But a ninth place finish in race 4 left him second to Faugust by two points after race five. Mark Taylor and young daughter had two first and two

FEBRUARY 2016

tenth place finishes for sixth overall. No yelling (skippers!) and there is a great future for them when she gets her growing spurt.

The 34th Golden Conch Regatta was a victim of El Nino.

Twenty three boats were registered. The weather forecast for the No Golden Conch Regatta this day Fran Burstein for Water LIFE scheduled January 23 -24 had been correct, so when the forecast event was dire and the weather the day be- was replicated a week later the event was fore when the boats were to be delivered abandoned until next year. The right move was worse, so the event was rescheduled based on the damage in south west during for one week later. The weather forecasts that two week period.

$2 off any haircut!

Prostate Cancer Help

FEBRUARY 2016

By Michael Heller WaterLIFE publisher I am writing about this because I want other men to know there are options, good options, if you are diagnosed with prostate cancer. In 2013 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Today I am cancer free and living a 100percent normal life. I was treated with Proton Therapy, a high tech kind of radiation. You should look into this.

Proton Therapy uses protons instead of conventional x-ray’s photons. Protons release their energy at the site of the cancer, so unlike conventional radiation, there is little or no colateral damage from the 'beam' radiating its way in on one side of your body, then through the cancer and then radiating on through your organs on the other side of the cancer until it radiates out the other side of your body. 'Gentler on the patient, harder on cancer' is the mantra of Proton Therapy, but when I told my urologist in Port Charlotte that I was thinking about Proton Therapy, he did all he could to talk me out of it. He told me it was "much too expensive" of a treatment and that by me having this treatment under my Medicare insurance I was "unfairly spending other taxpayer's money."

BACK ISSUES @

WWW.WATERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM

A family with a child being treated for cancer emerges from the Proton Therapy Institute in Jacksonville. Proton Therapy is especially successful treating cancers in children, but it has also proven to be very successful in treating prostate cancer in older men.

He’s a liberal kind of guy, but a good doctor. He suggested I go to the neighborhood radiation facility down the block. “It’s the same thing, same result” he said, but I knew better. I had spoken to a number of proton patients and found out there are little or no side effects from Proton Therapy. Recovery time after treatment is short and everyone I talked to was living a normal life. With conventional radiation it is not always that way.

PAGE 19

Proton Therapy is a regemin of 39 treatments. The protons actually only zap you for about a minute, the rest of your treatment time is spent changing into a gown, being positioned on the treatment table and then changing back into your street clothes. You can’t feel the protons. Treatments are five days a week for 8 weeks, but there is one catch, the nearest Proton facility is at the University of Florida Hospital in Jacksonville. If you follow this publication regularly, you know I was up in Jacksonville for a while last spring, now you know why.

If you might be a candidate for treatment of prostate cancer, or if you know someone dealing with that disease, then visit WaterLIFEmagazine.com website and click on the FloridaProton link. This isn’t an advertisment, it’s my own blog along with some photos that I took while I was in Jacksonville – Proton Therapy worked out really well for me and I’m hoping to be able to help others.

Note* Proton Therapy isn’t just for prostate cancer, in fact, prostate cancer treatments make up only a small part of the proton facility’s case load. One of their specialties is treating children. Children from around the world travel with their parents to Jacksonville for proton treatment since Proton Therapy is an excellent approach to treating cancers of the head and neck in the delicate and still developing bodies of children.

SCUTTLEBUTT

Sometimes

GIMME A BREAK! An officer on land patrol in the Webb WMA when he heard the sound of motors revving east of his location. He drove in the direction of the noise and observed two trucks mudding and damaging public lands. One of the trucks drove into a deep ditch and began spinning mud in the air before becoming stuck. Lieutenant Ruggiero stopped the trucks and when asked what they were doing, one of the men said, “They just wanted to get their trucks a little dirty.”

Both men were issued misdemeanor citations for destruction to public lands.

FOCUS PLEASE A new underwater camera has been developed that can see two to three times further under water than existing cameras.

NOT AGAIN NOAA Fisheries seeks public comment on Amendment 28 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico to again reallocate the red snapper harvest and reallocate the Gulf of Mexico 2016 and 2017 red snapper stock annual catch limit between the commercial and recreational sectors. This would result in revising the 2016 and 2017 quotas.

YOUR FISH ARE CUT BAIT FWC officers conducted a safety and resource inspection on a commercial vessel approximately 1/4 mile off the Gulf side of Boca Grande Island. Some of the fish on board were not properly iced. When asked why the fish were not properly iced, the individual stated he ran out of ice and did not want to throw back any of the fish. The individual was escorted to the local fish house where the fish not safe for human consumption were sold off as bait.

An officer was patrolling private property

Unsubstanciated,

owned by Mosaic Mines in south Polk County and observed a vehicle trespassing. After a short pursuit, The officer was able to stop the vehicle and make contact with the driver. Two other subjects exited the passenger side and fled. The subjects were commercial fishing for tilapia and were in possession of approximately 200 pounds of fish.

BIRD BRAINS Painted and indigo buntings breed in northern Florida, spend the winter primarily in southern Florida and can be found throughout much of the

state during spring and fall migration.

Poachers illegally trap these beautiful birds to sell them. The traps that are normally used are elaborate, transparent devices that can be found hanging from trees 2 to 4 feet above the ground in high grasses, where the wintering birds like to seek cover.

SHARK TANKED An FWC officer responded to a shark placed in a condominium pool on the ICW in Lake Worth.

The complainant advised that she observed two young males running from the Marinerʼs Cay pool. Upon approaching the pool, the complainant advised she

But

Often

True

observed a 5 foot long black tip shark in the pool which appeared to still be alive. The shark was taken out of the pool and released back into the ICW by the FWC. The incident is still being investigated.

ONGOING ABUSE FROM CHARLOTTE COUNTY The intersection of Lake View Boulevard and Edgewater Drive will be closed until further notice as part of the Edgewater Drive Phase 2 Improvements that will widen Edgewater Drive from Harbor Boulevard to Midway Boulevard. Thatʼs a total distance of 1.8 miles and it is taking TWO YEARS to widen it. The Interstate bridge over the Callosahatchee too less time to build.

Worse yet, citizens are putting up with it!

RED FACES IN SPANISH NAVY Two Colombians ran a major heroin and cocaine smuggling operation to New York aboard the Royal Spanish Navyʼs official training ship, paying thousands of dollars in bribes to midshipmen on the vessel.

The sailors picked up drugs in Cartagena during a six-month international voyage and delivered them to New York traffickers in April 2014, when the Juan Sebastian de Elcano was docked near the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Intrepid .

Kayak Fishing: Trout and Blowfish on a Miserable Day PAGE

20

By Bob Fraser Water LIFE Kayaking The forecast for the day was foggy, misty and cold. The sun was supposed to come out about 10:00 am and the wind was supposed to die down. After 5 hours of fishing the wind picked up and we never saw the sun. I thought it was a miserable day, by the time we got back to the launch site I was wet and cold. On the other hand, my client that just flew down from Indiana for a two week vacation, thought it was a good day. He said it was 50 degrees colder where he just came from. Most of my clients come down from the north, so this time of the year the weather is always better in Florida regardless of what we think. We did catch some trout and plenty of blowfish in spite of the weather. The blowfish were eating my soft plastic and my clients shrimp.

The trip was scheduled for 6 hours but we called it a day after 5 hours. I would have called it a day after 3 hours if I was by myself.

My client Mike enjoyed himself despite the weather. When I take someone on a kayak fishing trip, I like to educate them about kayak fishing and teach them about saltwater fishing. I talk about the grass flats, the spotty bottom (sandy spots in the grass), I talk about fishing the tides, mangrove shore line, etc. I teach them how to use a popping cork, artificial lures, how to hook a shrimp and other tips.

I want them to be able to go fishing in the future with enough information so they have a better chance of having a successful day

EMAIL:

WATERLIFE@COMCAST.NET

on the water.

I also inform my clients of the good surf fishing we have in the area. I teach them how to fish from shore: what type of rod & reels they need, terminal tackle, bait, and places to go. I believe by helping them I’m showing our southern hospitality and hope they will come back and visit us again. Having visitors come back to our area can impact many of our local businesses: hotels, resorts, bait shops, restaurants, other fishing guides, etc.

I taught math and Special Education for 14 years before I retired three years ago. These days, I’m teaching young people and adults how to fish and my classroom is the flats of SW Florida. I enjoy having young people on my kayak charters, especially those that have never fished before.

Those of you that are new to Charlotte County and saltwater fishing, check out my next fishing class at the Cultural Center, it’s in February. We meet two nights in the classroom and our third class is at Boca Grande Beach. We surf fish for 3-4 hours, putting into practice what you learned in the classroom. We catch flounder, sheepshead, pompano, whiting, drum, Spanish mackerel, snook and sharks.

Bob Fraser is a southwest Florida kayak fishing guide – He can be reached for comments or to book a trip at: 941-916-8303 or email him at bobmfraser@gmail.com His website is ww.kayakfishingwithbob.com

FEBRUARY 2016

Manatees and science

The manatee is among the most studied creatures in Florida, and its numbers have increased over the past few decades. Manatees' range has exploded, as they are now found up the Eastern Seaboard into Virginia, and around the Gulf Coast to Texas, as they rely on thermal pollution outfalls in these new areas.

In Florida, numbers of individual animals are near 1,000 in certain winter gathering spots. There, water quality is impacted, sea grasses are impacted, and other species suffer from loss of habitat.

Whether or not the manatees are "cute," "lovable" or "beautiful" is not part of the scientific equation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has studied the science and has come to the conclusion that the animal does not qualify for "endangered" status.

The Board of Directors of Standing Watch, Florida's largest boating advocacy organization, applauds the service for its announcement, even though it took the Pacific Legal Foundation's filing a legal challenge to get the agency to act on its own science.

Emotional rhetoric should have no place in this discussion. Let science speak, and let the regulators do their jobs. The mainstream press does a disservice when it engages in the same rhetoric.

Jim Kalvin president, founder and CEO, Standing Watch, Naples

MANATEE SAVED FEBRUARY 2016

BACK ISSUES @

STUMP PASS POSTPONED On The Line

By Capt. Ron Blago Water LIFE Senior Staff

Last month I attended the the monthly meeting of the Beach and Shores Advisory Committee. I was asked to attend their meetings because they are the lead committee for the Stump Pass project.

Their meetings are always well attended by the public and the information from the county staff members and engineering consultants is more detailed and up to date at their meeting than you will find any place else in Charlotte County government. That is where I got the latest bad news about the Stump Pass project.

The Army Corps of Engineers still has not signed off on the project. They had till Dec.15th to sign the approval or the schedule would have to be pushed back.

We were assured there would be no problem. So here is where we stand now. The project time line has now been pushed back another 4 or possibly 9 months.

Now one of the biggest difficulties will be trying to work around turtle nesting season which is from May to October.

Manasota Key has one of the highest numbers of sea turtle nests in the State, so regulations prohibit any construction work north of the pass during those months. If the Army Corps of Engineers 's approval is on hand this month; the new schedule could be: March - the bids will go out for a 30 day period.

Then the selected contractor will be awarded the contract.

In July equipment would be mobilized to Stump Pass.

In July and August – beach renourishment for Knight Island would take place. The sand will be dredged from an

offshore site.

In October and November they would Dredge Stump Pass.

Then from November to January in 2017 they would build and backfill the new groin (jetty) on Manasota Key. Allegedly, the current delay for Army Corps approval is due to too many other permit applications waiting for approval.

If the approval for the Stump Pass project doesn’t come this month the project could go well into 2017, at which time nesting shore birds could become a mitigating factor.

Another bit of news that came out of the meeting was that Chuck Mopp, the lead staff member for Charlotte County’s Stump Pass group, was leaving his position with the county to work for a private consulting firm. He is a great guy, very knowledgeable and he will be missed.

When I returned home after that meeting I received a call from a reporter with the local newspaper. He wanted my thoughts on the news that the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service was preparing to remove the manatee from the Endangered Species list. I told him it was about time that the manatee be removed from the list.

The FWS as far back as 2006 said that their data showed no reason why the manatee should not be down listed. Back then the manatee population was around 3,000 and now it is over 6,000. We have exGovernor Crist to thank for the delay.

I know that there are people who will never accept the fact that the manatee can be anything but endangered, but if the population of live manatees is growing at a faster rate than the number of dead ones, the species is healthy. It's time to accept the fact that the manatee has been saved.

Captronb@juno.com

WWW.WATERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM

PAGE 21

PAGE

22

EMAIL:

WATERLIFE@COMCAST.NET

FEBRUARY 2016

February – Predictions and Suggestions

Charlotte Harbor

Frank at Fishin’ Franks 941- 625-3888

Fish With A Guide!

Youʼll catch more fish and youʼll learn something new, too!

Sheephead is probably the big thing to look for right now. We are already having one of the better sheepshead years in forever.

Placida, the 41 Bridges, El Jo-B they are all stacked up right now with sheep. The better sized fish are back on the east side, or down in the Pine Island Sound. What you are looking for is the deeper troughs up by the mangroves. For some reason they are spawning back on the flats this year. It could be because of the abundance of food there. There are not as many large ones around the bridges as the there are back on the flats. The exception to that is around Lemon Bay and the Tom Adams bridge, that area seems to hold the biggest sheepshead, there and the docks leading out to Stump Pass or around the swing bridge by Gasparilla Pass.

Seatrout is going to be the next easiest fish to find. The one thing that really isn’t going on as much as normal right now is the poppin-cork frenzy. When trout seem to want something else, consider the tandem rig. The D.O.A. or the LoveBug tandem - trout seem to be going after them more. Jigging back with

BackBay Xtremes Capt Dave Stephens www.backbayxtremes.com

941-916-5769

Speak Easy Fishing Charters Captain Joe Angius USCG licensed & Insured Phone: (727)

234-3172

speakeasyfishing.com

speakeasyfishing@gmail.com

A nice Everglades redfish with Capt.

Charlie Phillips

an upward motion of the rod is the way to go. We are seeing the best numbers and good sized fish that way.

The old Love Lure doesn’t exist any more so guys are using the D.O.A. and the LoveBug which are curly-tail Bruce Christensen said Joleen caught this 30-inch redrigs. One of the reasons the curl tail fish on a Cajun Thunder float in a Cape Coral canal.

Capt. Billy Barton put the angler below on her redfish works so well on trout is that it has a lighter frequency vibration in the water that seems to lend itself to a minnow sound and that brings on the trout when the water is cold. When the water warms up, the paddle tail will be better, but when it’s cold that sound is what’s needed to atWhiting are along the beaches a tract them up. little too, but better up off Gilchrist We have been hearing of trout Pier or at the bridges on 41. Whiting smaller and bigger ones in the same are biting small pieces of shrimp on school. I’m told it is a spawning a small hook. Use a No. 4 - or No. 6 thing. When they are spawning they hook. You tear a live shrimp in half go together more. To find the big or use a piece of dead shrimp that is trout you need a lure you can use peeled. along the bottom slowly, something There are a lot of redfish on the like a TT-18 Mirrolure, something east side, but the ones out on the isthat will get the attention of the big- lands along the Harbor are mostly ger fish. the smaller fish. If you want bigger The trick is, you have to work it reds, you got to find your way back slowly, very close to the bottom. in the islands to find the bigger The T18 falls about 1 foot a secones. It’s easier on the west side, ond, so in three feet, you see the there are not as many islands. If you splash and count to three and it find small ones that’s all you’ll get will be just off the bottom. Then untill you move and find another slowly twitch the rod bringing it group. back up.

Redfish are eating shrimp. The I’m hearing a few stories of inquestion is: live and fresh or let termittent pompano, and while the some die and get a little pink or red flounder has not been great up in before you use them. I’d start with the Harbor, they are way better live ones and try the dead ones if along the beaches. If you are looklive doesn’t work. ing for flounder along the beach Snook are doing reasonably well (on the right day) you just have to but you have to use a very light jig walk along and cast for them in the head (1/16 oz) and a large paddlesurf. tail soft plastic. What you are doing

FEBRUARY 2016

is retrieving unbelievably slow.

It’s only a slow, steady, retrieve that may get a snook interested right now. Just move it to keep the tail moving a little bit, that’s the reason for the light jig head.

If you are just going slow, you are going too fast!

The water got cold and 60 degrees leaves us with only sandbar and bonnet sharks.

There is a fair population from Cayo Costa to Sanibel. The Bonnet sharks are out by Cape Haze in front of Turtle Bay. Those sharks seem to enjoy the cooler weather.

I don’t have much from the Gulf. When and if the wind slows, the cooler water should bring red grouper close to shore. Snapper, grunts, porgy and grouper are loaded up on the near shore reefs, but getting them to hit is another thing. Try live shrimp or sardines.

Hogfish are here now and the cold brings them right up to the shore.

There are a few, but most mackerel are gone with the cold now.

Tarpon are hiding, moving up into the rivers and back in the canals. You need small, tiny lures, almost crappie size, for them. If they don’t hit get something smaller, if that doesn’t work get

BACK ISSUES @

The BIG-4 SHEEPSHEAD on docks, piers, and some on the flats

Lemon Bay - Placida Jim at Fishermen’s Edge 697-7595

There were are a lot of high waves pounding the beach and the surf got stirred up. You could hear it from here. They lost a lot of beach at Manasota. I don’t know how Stump Pass is.

I know snook fishing has been good, though the dirty water that came in changed it. Then once the water got the silt out it was very good after that for snook and trout.

It looked like chocolate milk at Boca Grande it was so stirred up. I tell guys to look for cleaner water until the water settles down, but who know when that will be.

I’ve had guys catching quite a bit of sheepshead at the pier and docks a round Gasparilla Island.

Lemon Bay seems to be cleaner than Boca Grande and it’s better on the piers and private docks around there.

Guys are catching redfish in Lemon Bay, keeper stuff, but no real giants. A lot of Pat Holmes and a beautiful 38-inch redfish

JACKINʼ SHRIMP WITH A CAR HEADLIGHT This is the Time and the Place!!

Fish you can expect in

SEATROUT On the grass flats, south in Pine Island Sound

something even smaller than that.

From Fishinʼ Frank Shrimp migrate out of the Harbor each year to go out and live in the deep waters of the Gulf and now is the peak of the shrimp migration. The shrimp now average about 5 inches long as they head out of the passes. If you were food for everything on the planet including us, would you travel during the day? The shrimp bury in the sand until the cover of darkness, then they move on. Funny thing about shrimp is they know daylight is dangerous but they are attracted to light. And a shrimp is not a very strong swimmer so they move out of the Harbor on the out going tide. So to catch your own fresh shrimp dinner you need a strong light, and a net. Here on the west coast we use dip nets and a car headlight hooked to a battery. I would also get a spare light and an extra boat or car 12 volt battery. The battery is heavy so if you are going out on the pier like Placida I would bring a cart. Use a two line electric wire and tie one end to your light, wrap it in black plastic tape so the ends are covered. Rig up an aluminum pizza pan or even a tin foil reflector so the light shines down, not up into your eyes. The wire will hold the light, but if your are on a boat, you need a stick to hold the light over the water and away from the boat a couple of feet. The light shinning down into the water will attract the shrimp to it and then you will simply dip them up and put them on ice in an ice chest. Even if it is cold out use ice to keep the shrimp fresh. Shrimp laying on top of each other insulates them and they get hot and will go bad, so spread them out over the ice, or better yet, mix them in with ice.

February

WWW.WATERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM

REDFISH In the Harbor creeks and creek mouths

big reds were here and they left, but we still have nice fish.

Guys have been catching pompano and some flounder on the inside, mostly because the beach has been so unsettled.

Last week some friends went off shore by the Bayronto. They got pretty big AJs and red grouper using pinfish and a lot of the other reef fish like porgys, grunts and mangrove snapper.

Some areas were giving up more yellowtail than others.

I also had a couple of guys tell me they latched onto a couple of hogfish. That’s an interesting bite, there are some guys who know how to catch them, their bite is different and when you finally figure it out, you will catch them better with a rod and reel.

The freshwater guys are catching bass and crappie in the ponds and canals at Rotonda and South Gulf Cove. They like rubber worms or swim baits like little Rattle-Traps or inline spinners or spinner baits. Some guys are doing pretty well with frogs right now. In the Gardens of Gulf Cove the centipede that looks like a French fry is working good now.

AMBERJACK on all the nearshore and offshore reefs

PAGE 23

Gulf Temps are mid 60s Cooler close in, slightly warmer further offshore

95˚ 90˚

Cameron Smith with a 3-foot shark at Gasparilla Pass

85˚ 80˚ 72˚ 70˚ 68˚ 50˚ 45˚

J J. Hummon with a nice 32-inch redfish from the same Gasparilla Pass area.

Brown shrimp is what you will be catching, yes the same shrimp you use for bait, the brown shrimp coming from the Harbor do not have the iodine that the pink shrimp or the ones caught in the Gulf will have, so they are sweeter tasting and really quite yummy. The shrimping stays pretty good until at least the end of March. Every pass from Venice to Punta Rassa has shrimp moving out each night. The best passes are Captiva and Boca Grande. Keep in mind, Boca Grande is not a place to anchor your boat for shrimping, where you need to anchor is behind the Phosphate docks or close to shore. Never anchor in the middle of Boca Grande Pass. You need to be on an out going tide, so plan to be there just before high tide to get set up and find a good spot.

For pier shrimping, Placida Pier being so close to Gasparilla Pass is a good place with lots of water flowing.

If you are shrimping from a pier you must consider how high the pier is off the water. If the handle on your net is 6 or 8 feet long it might only make it to the water if you lay on your belly on the pier. For the piers I suggest an 18 foot net handle figure 8 feet to the water, four feet to where you hold the net and the extra is for you to reach out with, this will give you a good chance at catching the ones right at the edge of the light.

From a boat, a six foot to 12 foot net handle is fine and you keep the light close to the boat so you don't have to reach as far. You cannot drag a net for shrimp any more without a special license, plus itʼs hard to set up a net to drag with a boat.

Itʼs better to just use a dip net!

FISHING RIGHT NOW:

Good

PAGE

24

EMAIL:

WATERLIFE@COMCAST.NET

FEBRUARY 2016