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| The Case for Party Boats For those who crave deep sea fishing adventures, but don’t have the wherewithal to buy the expensive fuel and maintain a proper offshore vessel, there is the popular party boat. Available at quite reasonable cost is a fleet of well maintained, comfortable and secure multi-passenger vessels called party or head boats in virtually every seaport in the U.S. The venerable party boat awaits any person who might occasionally care to break away from their shore-bound existence for an enjoyable, fun-filled day of fishing. |
| Monster In The Tank There is a "new" monster catfish in the Nickajack Tank at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. On April 9, Eric Maurer from Cleveland, Tenn. caught a monster blue catfish on Chickamauga Lake that weighed in at 78 pounds. Maurer knew the Tennessee Aquarium needed to replace another big blue cat that died, so he called the Aquarium. Immediately, biologists and a transport truck were sent to the lake to meet Maurer and retrieve the big fish. |
| Rowing a Canoe I was sitting on my porch overlooking the Little Manatee River in West Central Florida one Saturday morning with a cup of coffee when a guy and his girlfriend come by in a canoe. That would not normally attract much attention, except this guy was rowing the canoe, and he was scooting across the water. In a few seconds he was around the point into Tampa Bay and out of sight with speed that two guys with paddles could never hope to achieve. |
| Destination: Bar Hopping in Lemon Bay It’s still dark. The water is slick calm. The stillness of the morning is slowly but surely passing us by. The Pelican’s as well as the Osprey’s are in flight looking for breakfast as the sun rises. The dolphins are frolicking off in the distance. Everything is coming alive. As we idle past Stump Pass Marina in search of bait it did not take long to quickly spot some birds working a certain area nearby that holds bait. |
| Gag Grouper of the Gulf of Mexico Prized by restaurant-goers and recreational anglers alike, the gag grouper is one of the most popular fish of the Florida Gulf coast. Unfortunately, this popularity, mixed with its proclivity for sex changes and a generous dose of poor fishery management, has resulted in a significant threat to gag grouper from overfishing. Despite the challenges, however, it is not too late for us to reverse the trend. |
| Reducing Catch and Release Mortality Recreational anglers often fish for the sport of it, choosing to release what they catch. Many fish that are caught must be released because for many fish species, the size and number that may be caught by an individual is regulated (see Florida Saltwater Fishing Regulations for Florida’s recreational saltwater fishing regulations, and Florida Freshwater Fishing Regulations for recreational freshwater fishing regulations.) |
| The Lunker Reds of Upper Tampa Bay The dramatic recovery of redfish has to be one of Florida’s most remarkable marine success stories. In 1987, the state shut down the harvest of this popular species for a full year. Then, in 1988, the FCA (now the CCA) won a four year battle to achieve gamefish status for Florida's drastically depleted redfish stocks. This marked the first time since 1957 that a commercially caught species was removed from Florida markets. |
| Mote Treating Pygmy Killer Whales at Hospital These days, it seems, more and more offshore anglers are discovering the advantages of fishing the flats. Heretofore deep-sea grouper troopers have looked at their marina, gas and maintenance bills and said to themselves "there has to be a better, more affordable way to get a fishing fix." And many of these blue water mavens have also concluded that those "dark-to-dark" trips have gotten tiresome and old. |
New Rule: Don’t Feed the Pelicans |
| “How do you get a job like Capt. Mel’s?” July will mark my 23rd anniversary with 970-WFLA. It all started in 1982 when then sports talk host Tedd Webb asked me to do a weekly Friday evening fishing report for his popular “Sports Huddle.” Not only was it a blast teaming up with the zany Tedd, but it provided an opportunity for me to get back into my life-long profession of broadcasting. The Friday reports led to more appearances with Tedd on the “Sports Huddle” |
| The Joys of Taking A Kid Fishing The red and white bobber bobbed on the surface of the small pond. Although it was still early in the day, summer insects buzzed and whirred in the warm, still air. My tee shirt clung damply to my back and my pony tail itched. But, my eyes were glued to the bobber until they were almost crossed. Then it happened. The unmistakable 'plop' of the bobber going under and the slight tug on my line that meant I had a fish. |
| Fly Fish the Mountains Many fly fishers look for ways to avoid the oppressive summer heat which not only affects us, but drastically changes our accessibility to once cooperative shallow water prey. Tarpon and beach snook are very exciting targets, but sometimes a change in venue is a welcome respite. While giving a presentation about trout fishing in Argentina to a local fly fishing club, I asked how many members fished for freshwater trout. |
| The Causeway Gang Let me first confess that, for the last couple of years, I’ve been boatless. I gave up “The Front Porch,” which I shared with the late Canoeman for many years. When not mooching trips with guide friends or buddies with boats, my only option these days is fishing from shore. I have sampled many of the excellent land based Tampa Bay venues, but the one I’ve settled on is the Dunedin Causeway. Now let me tell you why. |
| Cross Florida Greenway is a well-kept secret INGLIS -- Most everyone agrees that the Cross Florida Barge Canal project, which was terminated more than 30 years ago, was a dumb idea. Today, what remains of the barge canal and the adjacent lands is a classic case of making chicken salad out of chicken manure. |
| What Are Lake Drawdowns? Why Does Florida Need Them? Our Title is a question many people ask the (FWC), particularly when one’s favorite lake is scheduled to be drawn down. A drawdown is a technique used by lake managers to enhance fish and wildlife habitat by radically reducing water levels in a lake to expose the mucky sediments on the bottom so they can dry out and compact. |
| New Gulf Reef Fish Gear Required The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reminds anglers that new rules go into effect June 1 requiring all people fishing from a vessel in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida for any reef fish species to carry and use circle hooks, dehooking devices and venting tools. These new rules are intended to help more Gulf reef fish survive if they must be released when they are not legal to harvest. |
| Catch and Release: Plan Before Your Line Gets Wet Size, weight, bag and seasonal limits are a central theme in restoring almost every fishery, from snook and tarpon to red snapper and grouper. The catch - pun intended - is that fish don't always know they're too small or out of season before they hit a tempting treat on a hook. Depending on the fishery, studies at the Florida Marine Research Institute indicate that anywhere from 2 to 70% of fish released die shortly afterward, from injuries, stress or predators who take advantage of its exhausted state. |
| A Few Fresh Ideas For Possibly Helping Our Fishery As a new arrival to Florida in 1969, I remember walking down Tampa’s main drag, Franklin Street, thinking to myself, “what a nice sleepy little town. “ The entire area (later to be known as Tampa Bay) appeared to me at the time to be a typically quiet, low population Florida west coast community. Now let’s jump ahead 38-years to 2007 The Tampa Bay population has exploded to about three million residents, and that once sleepy little Tampa village has become a major city of more than one million. |
| Fishing Andros in South Bahamas The group met at the Ft. Lauderdale International Airport on Saturday morning and anxiously awaited our 1-hour Lynx Air flight over to Congo Town. The level of anticipation was high as group members swapped stories, compared flies and checked their gear over. |
| Florida’s Kayak Fishing Boom For as far back as he could remember, Gil’s fishing activities had been confined to bridges, beaches and banks. It was a case of pure economics. With his meager salary, he simply couldn’t afford even the most modest of power boats. And now, with gas prices at the pump climbing ever upward, the possibilities of ever owning one became even more remote. Yet, standing there on the shoreline of Tampa Bay, Gil would look longingly at that lush spoil island several hundred feet out. He just knew that there were great bunches of gamefish that would never even think of running along the banks to which he was confined. |
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