Water LIFE Dec 2006

Charlotte Harbor and Lemon BayCharlotte Harbor and Lemon Bay

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Real EstateReal EstateNewsNews

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Keeping Boaters and Fishermen InformedKeeping Boaters and Fishermen Informed

December 2006December 2006

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W a t e rW a t e r L I F EL I F E

TroutTrout0n A Fly0n A Fly

Page 16Page 16INTO THEINTO THE

WINDWIND

Page 12Page 12Eating Local Green MusselsEating Local Green MusselsDiving With Adam WilsonDiving With Adam Wilson

OffshoreOffshoreInshoreInshore

INSIDE:INSIDE:AllAll

SortsSortsofof

FishingFishing

P a g e 2 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 6

By Michael HellerWater LIFE PublisherTalk about planting red mangrove trees

around Charlotte Harbor is on theincrease, but due to the sensitivity ofmaking any changes to state protectedlands, it’s been low key. Evidentlyadding or subtracting from the sum totalof protected mangrove trees is a delicatesubject in some circles.It is difficult to assess the develop-

ments, but here’s what I know so far:According to Jaime Greenawalt–

Boswell an environmental scientist withthe Charlotte Harbor National EstuaryProgram, the NEP is currently havingtalks with a diverse group, including;Florida Sea Grant, Marine ForestResearch, FDEP, Charlotte Harbor BufferPreserve and Sate Park, FWC-FWRI,FDEP, Charlotte Harbor AquaticPreserves, Charlotte County NaturalResources, FGCU, Charlotte Harbor ReefAssociation, Capt. Ralph Allen of theKing Fisher Fleet and the PGI FishingClub. The people in this group representmost, if not all, the movers and shakersin the boating, fishing and environmentalworld of Charlotte Harbor.The public hasn’t heard much about all

this because the players are apparentlystill working out the game plan, but itlooks like all the right people are going

to pull together to make this happen fast.Boswell says that mangrove propagules

(banana-shaped seed pods) travel (float)no more than two miles from the treethey fall from. So they are looking atthose areas that are at least two milesfrom live trees as the places where newgrowth should be started. The basis of themeasurements are made from a map ofHurricane Charley’s track through theHarbor. Boswell outlined the next stepsin a correspondence to the group:

The Charlotte Harbor NationalEstuary Program (CHNEP) is seekingassistance from the boating communityto fill a gap in our knowledge about theshoreline condition throughout our estuar-ies. Many of you, as representatives ofvarious groups and organizations haveexpressed an interest in this program. Wewill be holding a steering committeemeeting in mid-December to hash out thedetails of this project. The goal of theCHNEP is to create a digital map of theshoreline that would be available for pub-lic use. We are aiming to begin data col-lection this winter in Charlotte County.

At the meeting we will:1) determine the categories of data that

will be collected, 2) discuss the methodsto use in collecting data, 3) create a listof groups/organizations to target for par-ticipation, 4) determine a reasonable

timeline for data collection.But privately, some people say that

time is really of the essence and thatplanting new red mangroves should beginimmediately. “They will study this todeath,” one member of the NEP’s groupwarned. “This needs to be started, rightnow, this winter.”An interesting thing is happening.

There are some ‘alternative environmen-talists?’ (AEs?) who want to apply com-mon sense to the problem. “What arethey going to do, throw us in jail forplanting trees?” one ‘AE’ asked. “I wantto see what it takes to make these treesgrow.”To date I have heard four different peo-

ple talk about planting small areas oftrees on their own. They all say that wesimply cannot wait any longer tobegin.What could it hurt? Everything isdead there already.A few fishing guides I know have vol-

unteered to plant trees. You would thinkthe state would jump at the chance tohave volunteers like them do some of thework.In the end, this project is going to cost

a lot of money. Grant money will be onesource of revenue, volunteers and dona-tions will make up the rest. We needmore red mangroves for fish habitat andwe don’t care who plants them. What wedon’t need is Brazilian pepper trees.

D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 6 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 3

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By Capt Dan CambernWater LIFE Offshore

There’s something about a good coldfront that gets fish biting. To be morespecific, the best action is usually justbefore or a day or two after a front pushesthrough. I think it’s mostly due to baro-metric pressure changes. It also helps tolet the seas calm down and let the windturn from a strong north blow to a north-east or easterly direction.

Now that winter is here we won’t haveto run as far offshore to catch grouper asthey move in closer to spawn and we canalso start trolling for them, which is onemy favorite ways to catch them. A lot ofmy customers are surprised when I tellthem we can troll for grouper and somelike it even better than traditional bottomfishing. For one thing it doesn’t requirethe brute strength necessary to get a largegrouper up off the bottom quickly to keephim from getting back in his hole orwhatever structure he happens to be on.Trolling is an especially good way forkids or elderly people to catch nicegrouper.

I like to use deep diving lures such asMann’s stretch 25’s, 30’s, or even 40’s,depending on the depth we’re in. Runningthem just off the bottom you can enticethat large grouper away from his struc-ture, and once he is hooked and beingdragged away by the moving boat hedoesn’t have a chance. Well, almostalways, because if you let them have anyslack at all they will take advantage of itand shake off.

Obviously, you want to get the lureclose to the bottom because that’s wherethe grouper live, right? While this is true,I have also found that grouper will swimup quite a way to eat a lure. It seems thatthe sound of the rattle inside of the luregets their attention. As long as the wateris clear enough for them to see it theywill come up and grab it. The deepest Ihave trolled up grouper was at 106’ witha stretch 40 running about 55’ deepwhich means the fish came up morethan 50 feet from the bottom!

The trick to getting these lures as deepas possible is to use a thin diameter braid-ed line such as Power-Pro which is mypersonal favorite. I use 50- 65-pound testline with a 5’- 6’ of 80-pound monoleader or a couple of feet of 64-pound wireleader if there are lots of kings or cudasaround. Trolling speed and the amount ofline you let out will also affect how deepthey run. I troll at about 4 to 5 knots andlet out over 200 feet of line to get astretch 30 down to about 48 feet.

You can experiment with lure colorsand also other brands of lures as there is awide variety to choose from. I generallyrun a red/white combo on one line andexperiment on the second line. Gold/black and silver/black have produced gagsover 20 pounds as well as plenty of bigkings.

Trolling more than two deep lures is arecipe for disaster with a huge tangle, butit doesn’t hurt to run a ballyhoo or lureon top for a shot at a king, bonita, blackfin tuna or possibly a sailfish.

One more thing I’d like to add is thatif the water temperature drops down to the50’s or low 60’s after a real cold night it’sbetter to wait until late morning or earlyafternoon before you start trolling. Thefish get real lethargic on those cold morn-ings and don’t seem to want to chaselures until later in the day. Start with cutbait such as squid or sardines to get somescent in the water and wake them up.

On a related note I just received an e-mail that confirmed the rumors that therewill be a one month seasonal closure forthe recreational red grouper, blackgrouper, and gag grouper fisheries in fed-eral waters of the Gulf of Mexico fromFebruary 15 to March 15 2007. The sea-sonal closure will occur annually, andcoincides with the commercial grouperfishery closure established in 2000.

Captain Dan Cambern runs HammerheadCharters out of the Placida Fishery boatdocks and can be reached at 941-625-6226 or941-380-6226 or on the internet at:www.hammerheadcharters.com

Cold WeatherBrings Hot

Off Shore Action

Above: Curt Vilt with a 22-pound gagBelow: Robert Masula and his son with a couple of nice gags caught while trolling.

ThisHoliday Season

Give the Gift ofFishing

Local guides will be happy toprovide a GIFT CERTIFICATEfor a half-day or full-day fish-

ing trip for your favorite sports-man. see page 24



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PLACIDA LOSES AN OLD FRIEND Water LIFEMichael and Ellen Heller

Publishers(941) 766-8180

TOTALLY INDEPENDENTWater LIFE is not affiliated

with any newspaper or otherpublication

© 2006 Vol V No. 12 Water LIFENo part of this publication may be

copied or reproduced without the writ-ten permission of the publishers

Contributing Editors:Fishing / Environment: Capt. Ron BlagoCharlotte Harbor: Capt. Robert Moore

Gasparilla: Capt. Chuck EichnerPort Charlotte: Fishinʼ Frank

Offshore: Capt. Steve SkevingtonTechnical Advisor: Mike Panetti

Sailing Advisor: Bill DixonKayaks: David Allen

Sea Grant: Betty Staugler

on the COVER:A spotted sea trout, caught on a fly in a 20

knott wind. See Capt. Chuck EichnerPage 16

on our WEBSITE:WWW.charlotteharbormagazine.com

Links to Realtors: Connect with our realestate advertisersTide Graphs: For local watersWeather: Links to all of our favorite sites.Back editions: Pages of previous editionsArtificial Reefs: Lat. and Long local reefsManatee Myths: Read the original plan tocreate sanctuaries and refuges, as spelledout by the United Nations in 1984Kids Cup Updates and registration formsASA1000 Photography and Hot Rod Cars

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217 Bangsberg Rd.Port Charlotte, FL 33952

By Capt. Dan CambernHammerhead Charters

Harry VanPetten wouldwalk the docks when he wasback in port from shrimpingat the old Placida fish house.With his trusted lab Jake byhis side he would come downand see what the charter boatshad caught that day and talkabout fishing. You could tellhe liked to fish and we wouldswap fish stories until it wastime to call it a day.

I had only known Harry fora few years before his tragicdeath while down at FortMyers beach where he washaving his shrimp boat MissCindy II repaired. A soft spo-ken man who could say a lotwith just a few words, he willbe missed by all who knewhim.

When I asked Miss Cindy,who was Harry’s wife andBecky, their daughter, whotogether own and operate MissCindy’s Placida SeafoodMarket if I could put in somekind words about Harry theywere gracious enough to writedown some of their favoritememories.

The following is written intheir own words:Harry was born in Arcadia,

Fl. and his family owned andoperated the VanPetten FuneralHome for many years. Hisfamily moved to Boca Grandein the 50’s where Harry raiseda lot of hell playing pranksand got into all kinds of trou-ble. He loved having fun andhe was a wild and crazy guy.When he was 17 years old

he lied about his age andenlisted in the army to servehis country. He went toVietnam and served two toursearning two purple hearts, twobronze stars, one air metal,sharp shooter and many otherhonors.Harry returned home from

war in 1970 and met MissCindy in 1972, and were soonmarried. They had two daugh-ters, Rebecca VanPettenCaspolich, and WendyVanPetten Porter. He had fourgrandchildren and was happilymarried to Miss Cindy for 34years.Harry was a true fisherman

who found his calling at theage of ten. As a commercial

fisherman he was very wellknown and respected by many.He could sit on the boat fordays at a time and would spotthe mullet way before anyoneknew they were there. Heknew when the fish weregoing to come out of thecreek.After the net ban in 1995,

Harry went to shrimping butfishing was his passion. Heworked hard as a fisherman,but even harder as a shrimper.He would go out to sea for aweek to sometimes twoweeks depending on his catch-es.There wasn’t anyone who

Harry didn’t like or who didn’tlike Harry. He had manyfriends! Any time someoneneeded a hand or help, Harrywas the first one there. He did-n’t have any enemies. Hewould tell his family andfriends ‘There ain’t many of usleft!’ That was his famous say-ing.The one thing he loved the

most in this world was hisfamily. If you were to mentionthem you would see the twin-kle in his eyes and a story

would unfold. Harry loved andenjoyed cooking. He made thebest swamp cabbage andsmoked mullet. He wouldn’tgive out his recipe either!When he cooked anything hemade enough to feed an army.Every Thanksgiving he wouldalways make the turkey do adance and all the kids justloved it.

He is loved and will bemissed dearly.

Christmas Gifts for fishermen: Donʼt be afraid to Come In!


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24' Wellcraft 2400 Coastal, 1997, single 225Johnson Ocean runner. Lift kept, no bottom paint.Asking $24,900

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By Capt Robert MooreWater LIFE Staff

Winter has finally arrived and lots ofchanges are taking place. The water tem-perature is dropping and the tides aresuper low during daylight hours. Thesechanging conditions will also meanchanging my tactics as well. Last monthI wrote about targeting sand holes tolocate fish. This approach will lastthroughout the winter, but for the nextcouple of months I will add another fac-tor while trying to locate the right sandholes.

That factor will be mullet. The largerthe school the better. And not schools ofsmall mullet, but very large mullet aswell. My belief is that a wide variety offish like redfish, snook and trout willfollow schools of mullet during the win-ter months. I have heard lots of explana-tions from different anglers as to whythis occurs. My own explanation is theyare simply using the mullet as anotherambush tactic when they try to blend inwith a moving school of mullet.

I am not necessarily changing theareas I like to fish or running around theflats looking for large schools of mulletto fish. I am simply returning to theshorelines and flats where I like to fishand the first thing I will look for is‘activity’ from schools of mullet.

Mullet will do many things that canbe interpreted as ‘activity’. The firstthing to remember is that if you are inan area and there are schools of mulletbut they are not very active in any waythen the tidal movement in that area isslow or none existent and more thanlikely the bite will also be very slow. Ifyou come back to that same area andobserve the mullet moving around andleaping out of the water then, more thanlikely, any predator fish mixed in withthem will be active as well.

The ‘activity’ I am referring to is mul-let moving along the surface, swirling,leaping from the water and creating a dis-turbance on the surface. If you stop andscan a flat or shoreline for a few minutesyou can observe this very easily.

When I see where the schools areworking that is the area of the flat orshoreline I will work. And do not counton the mullet staying in one area forvery long. As they move you must qui-etly move with them. The tide will usu-ally dictate which way they will move.

As for the depth, the only important fac-tor that I have found is that the bestresults come when it is less than threefeet deep.

Now, as for how to fish a school ofmullet, I simply look for sand holes orsandy bottoms where the mullet areactive. A variety of baits will work.With live bait such as shrimp I will castinto the middle of the school with an 1/8ounce jig head and let my bait sit on thebottom and let the fish locate it. Justmake sure the bait is sitting on sandybottom and not buried in the grass. Deadcut bait such as ladyfish, mullet or sar-

dines will also work well. Artificial luressuch as gold spoons, soft plastics or topwater plugs are also very productive. Ifind with artificial lures you can covermore area of the schools of mullet thanwith live or cut bait resulting in moreopportunities.

Fishing in amongst large schools ofactive mullet is not the only way tocatch fish during these colder months butit is definitely a great tactic that will pro-duce over and over for you. Good luckand tight lines!

Capt. Robert Moore can be reached at

INSHOREFollowingthe Mullet

Mullet in a grass bed. Do other fish use mullet schools as anmbush points?

By Capt Ron BlagoWater LIFE Senior Staff

I bet you thought the Florida mana-tee had been down-listed from endan-gered to threatened. If you did, youwould be wrong. The Florida WildlifeCommission (FWC) has so far onlyvoted (unanimously) to accept the rec-ommendations of their scientific staffand several panels of marine mammalpopulation experts that recommendedthe down-listing of the manatee. Inorder to change the manatee’s classifica-tion to threatened, the FWC must firstapprove their ‘first-in-30-years’ ManateeManagement Plan. Who knew youcould go 30 years without a plan?

This has given the SMC anotheropportunity to wage a counter attackagainst the rich, evil, watercraft own-ing, sportsfishing club which asked thata population study and managementplan be produced in the first place. If Iwas a more sensitive guy, I mightthink that they are talking about me andmy fellow CCA members.

Everyone knows, especially after thisyear’s elections, that if you tell a liebig enough and often enough, people

will begin to believe it.The SMC new big lie is that this

new MMP, which comes before theFWC in June 2007, does not protectmanatees enough and may even resultin a potential for a 50% populationloss in the near future. The SMCbases this prediction on the elimina-tion of warm water discharge from ourpower plants during the winter season.

Back in the late 50’s and early 60’swhen Florida was primarily a wintertourist destination, the power compa-nies started planning for the future byplacing coal and oil powered plants onpublic waterways. The power plantsproduced large quantities of heatedwater which was dumped into the localwaterways. Some of the local environ-mentalist at the time warned that thiswas not a good thing to do because itwas artificially changing the naturalenvironment.

People noticed that manatees ratherthan travel south to warmer water,would stay the winter in this artificiallyproduced warm water environment.Organizations like the SMC, lobbiedthe State for money to build observa-

tion decks and parks where people couldsee these wild manatees. Back thenthere weren’t that many manatees so itwas no big deal; but now the popula-tion has skyrocketed to over 3,000manatees and the power plants haveswitched over to natural gas and don’tproduce that much free warm water anymore. The SMC has calculated that ifthe warm water is turned off, 50% ofthe manatee population may go bellyup. How ironic is it that? The SMC’sown efforts to protect the manatee couldresult in the biggest threat to their sur-vival?

One solution is to force the powercompanies to continue to produce warmwater and discharge it into the publicwaterways. We can always fine them ifthey don’t produce enough thermal pol-lution for the manatees. Of course wewill allow them to pass the expense onto us.

It’s funny how expensive manateescan be. The FWC estimates that theyspend $11 million dollars a year onmanatee research and protection. TheFeds spend an estimated $1 million ayear. That’s $12 million a year, and

with an estimated population of 3,000manatees, we spend about $4,000 annu-ally on every manatee we’ve got.Consider that the oldest manatee I knowis in Bradenton and he is 58, we couldbe looking forward to spending about$232,000.00 for every manatee inFlorida. Maybe a 50% reduction in pop-ulation might not be such a bad thing.

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Seasonal SPECIALS.

Save The ManateeClubʼs Next Big Lie

Too Much Time on His HandsDear Water LIFE:

I just read where the dead manatee found in Biscayne National Park onNov.10th had died of natural causes and not at the hands of some sick

pervert. I also read that the SMC is offering a $10,000 reward for information onthe identity of person who removed the tail and fins.

For discussion purposes only;Is it illegal to assault a dead manatee? I know there are

alot of threatend species around. Supposed I came open a dead eagle inthe middle of the road that had been run over by a few carelessmotorists and I go over and kick the carcass, can I be arrested?

If not, can I turn myself in and confess to being the manatee mutilator andcollect the $10,000 reward; and stay out of jail?

One more hypothetical;If you needed a taxidermist to mount a tail and some fins, who would you call?

Expenses are again outstrip-ing revenue for the Manatee

Club

Save the Manatee Club Losing Money


Save the Manatee Clubʼs financial information from www.charitywatch.org

www.boatclubflorida-cc.com

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By Capt. Betty S tauglerWater LIFE / Sea GrantSawfish are modified rays with a shark-like

body. The earliest sawfish arose about 100 mil-lion years ago. These sawfish were distantcousins of the ones we see today, whichappeared about 56 million years ago. Sawfishget their name from their ‘saws’, which are usedto locate, stun and kill prey. They feed mostlyon fish, but they also eat crustaceans.At one time, sawfish were abundant, but

unfortunately they were never studied. With fewremaining, it is important to learn about their

life history, biology and ecology so that conser-vation efforts will be successful. This has beenthe premise behind the Fish & WildlifeConservation Commission’s (FWC) sawfishresearch in Charlotte Harbor which began inNovember 2004. According to Gregg Poulakisof FWC, sawfish research efforts are focused pri-marily in the Caloosahatchee River (from theMid-Point Bridge to the Miserable Mile) and inthe upper Harbor (from I-75 on the Peace Riverto the mouth around Hog Island). The majorityof FWC’s captures and the majority of anglerreports

Tracking Sawfish in the Charlotte Harbor Estuary

continued on following page Newborn sawfish swimming near the Cape Coral Yacht Club

FWC’s research includes both ran-dom and directed sampling for sawfishusing a variety of gear. For instance,a600-foot seine is used to sample in theshallower waters, whereas a mini-long-line is a used in deeper waters.All captured sawfish are tagged and

released. In 2005, 23 sawfish were cap-tured, with one recapture, and so far in2006, 29 sawfish have been captured,with 10 recaptures. Recaptures weremade anywhere from 2 weeks to 14months following the original capture.Captured sawfish have been betweenabout 2 (newborn) and 7 feet long.Three types of tags are placed on

each captured sawfish. The first is a‘PIT’ tag. This is similar to the tagsput in dogs and cats. It’s injected underthe skin and is about the size of a grainof rice. The tag is picked up byresearchers during recapture using ascanning devise. These tags are themost permanent of the three. The sec-ond tag is a ‘roto’ tag. This tag isbrightly colored with identificationnumbers and contact information on it.These tags, located on the 1st dorsalfin, are used for angler reports.Information on how to report a sawfishcatch is given at the end of this article.The last tag is an acoustic tag. It is

about the size of a AAA battery and islocated on the 2nd dorsal fin. These tagstransmit at a specific frequency to aseries of moored hydrophones that

record underwater activity 24 hours aday. Mote and FWC have hydrophonesin the Caloosahatchee from theMiserable Mile up to the Franklinlocks. These hydrophones collect infor-mation for a variety of tagged speciesincluding snook and sharks. The infor-mation obtained using this method pro-vides a general picture of where sawfishare and where they are moving withinthe hydrophone array.Gregg also uses a manual tracking

method where a hydrophone is deployedoff the side of a boat and feeds informa-tion to an onboard speaker to fine tunemovements and behavior informationinside and outside of the array. Rototags and acoustic tags last a few monthsto one year. For more information onsawfish and the research described aboveyou can visithttp://research.myfwc.com/sawfishSmalltooth sawfish are listed as

endangered under the Endangered SpeciesAct, which makes it illegal to harm,harass or handle them. Accidental cap-tures do occur while fishing for otherspecies. A sawfish hooked or nettedshould be released immediately.

Sawfish:Safe ReleaseGuidelines

From the Museum of NaturalHistoryWarning: Sawfish are powerful ani-

mals that can cause serious injury. Foryour safety, and the safety of the saw-fish, use caution if you do hook or netone of these animals.If hooked: Keep sawfish in the water

at all times. If it can be done safely,untangle the line if it is wrapped aroundthe saw and remove as much of the lineas possible. Cut the line as close to thehook as possible. Do not handle theanimal or attempt to remove any hookson the saw unless you have a long-han-dled de-hooker.If you do encounter a sawfish, you

can greatly help conservation efforts byproviding the following information.n Your name, phone number, and

email addressn Date, time, and location of the

encounter

n Number, size, and fish behaviorn Your activity at the time of

encountern Information on any tags (look for

number on tag), scars, or marksPlease report this information to any

of the below contacts:Gregg Poulakis, FWCe-mail: [email protected]: (941) 255-7403;Colin S impfendorfer, Mote

Marine Laboratoryemail: [email protected]"phone: (941) 388-4441George Burgess, Florida

Museum of Natural Historyemail: [email protected]: (352) 392-2360.Betty Staugler is the Sea Grant Agent for

D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 6 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 1 9

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For Fishing or Real Estate:For Fishing or Real Estate:JustAsk The CaptainJustAsk The Captain

A small tracking tag is attached to the rear dorsal fin of a sawfish. Similar tags could beused to track other fish, such as redfish or snook.

continued from following page

By Kent FreshwaterSpecial to Water LIFESnook fishing from a kayak is both

fun and challenging, especially when afamily of dolphins decides that yoursnook would make a good dinner.On October 30, I caught a 28-inch

snook from my Prowler 13 Oceankayak by the lights in the channelalong the pilings near Tom Adamsbridge in Englewood. From the waythat snook fought, I thought it was alot bigger. I caught a 33-inch and a 35-inch snook that have made every othersnook I've caught seem small.One of the biggest obstacles to

bringing in a snook isn't caused fromthe fish itself, but from the dolphinsthat swim alongside the kayak and stareat you as if they are expecting you toshare. Dolphins will try to steal thesnook right off your line.Another thing I have learned from

fishing for snook from a kayak nearstructure is; don't anchor. If you anchorand hook a big snook, you won't beable to fight the fish and control the

situation.Fishing from a kayak has its advan-

tages. Kayaks are smaller than regularboats, so you can fit into tighter spots.With most boats, you have to anchoraway from the structure and cast towardit, with a kayak you can be right nextto the structure and fish the whole area.This means more fish.Another advantage is that you can go

through very shallow water and fish ingrass flats without harming the envi-ronment. My Prowler 13 is rigged forsportsfishing. It has three fishing poleholders. One is in front of the seat andtwo are located on each side behind theseat. This means I can troll or carry anextra pole and fish from the front orsides.For fishing at night, a kayak must

have a stern light. Everyone must alsowear a lifejacket and have an emergencywhistle or other emergency sound equip-ment. I rig my pole with 20-poundbraided line and 20-, 25- and sometimes30-pound fluorocarbon leader with noswivel.

It's important that the drag is not tootight or too loose. If it is too tight, ifthe fish goes into the piling, it willbreak your line and you will get pulledaround more. If the drag is too loose,you can't pull the fish in and youmight lose it.I like to use Yo-Zuri, Bombers,

Rapala and Gulp shrimp with a jighead

for snook. If the snook aren't hittingwell on artificial, I go to live shrimpby taking a small flashlight and goingalong the pilings and grabbing them byhand or with a small dip net.Fishing from a kayak isn't easy, but

if you like to catch lots of fish, it beatsfishing from the pier.

Kent Freshwater, 15, lives in Englewood and has been fishing since he was 5. He startedin a backyard pond castnetting for gar. He has been fishing at the Tom Adams bridgessince he was 8. Last fall Kent moved up to kayak fishing. According to his mother, somedayhe wants to get a fishing boat and go after the big gamefish.

KAYAK FISHING:A Lifetime of Angling at Age 15



Recent area news items:PROVIDED BY: Dave & Marlene HoferRE/MAX Harbor Realty(941) 575-3777 [email protected]. November's Charlotte County election brought

in Richard Loftus to replace Matt DeBoer, while AdamCummings retained in seat on the board.2. Punta Gorda City Councilman David Phelen

passed away and was replaced with Bill Albers, the cur-rent President of the PGI Civic Association. TheNovember election brought in Harvey Goldberg andCharles Wallace. So the City Council is now domi-nated by younger, forward thinking members withextensive managerial experience.3. Joe Suriol picked up his lance once more to

joust with the Punta Gorda City Council. Althoughhe received a huge variance to permit him to build the204 unit Harbor Inn and condominium on this 4.6 acresite, he is stumbling over the timing of a condition,that he had already offered. The city approval was con-ditioned on the granting of a waterfront easement forpublic use at the time of commencement of the devel-opment rather than the required completion date.Bringing this seemingly inconsequential technicalityto a court of arbitration for resolution seems to be thewrong tactic for a developer in need of a whole com-

munity's support.4. Charlotte County Board gave Kitson & Partners

the nod over Forest City to develop Murdock Village.Unlike Forest City's, Kitson's new vision includes a50 acre allocation out of the 870 acres for the con-struction of a new FGCU campus.5. The site committee of FGCU selected the

Hudson Sun River site on US 17 near the DeSotoCounty Line in rural east Charlotte County to con-struct its new campus almost entirely at the expenseof a New York developer hoping to establish a newcommunity from the remaining land holdings. TheFGCU trustees also voted to accept the recommenda-tion of their committee. The State Board of

Governors, however, nixed the site because of policyviolations and what they termed "lack of consensus"among County leaders. It also feels a mandate not toencourage urban sprawl by building outside of existingdeveloped areas. To top off their profound lack ofcommunication, they played the environmental card,citing the potential loss of sensitive open areas if thefarms out by the new Wal-Mart distribution centerwere to be developed. Their spokesman said "... theball is now in Charlotte County's court...". Sincethe state is not supplying the funds to acquire the site,build the buildings or infrastructure, it sounds like itSHOULD BE the County's decision.

Contintinued of page23

RealEstate

News

Inside the new waterfront PORTOFINO RESTAURANT (this was the old ʻBreakersʼ) on Bayshore Rd in Port Charlotte.Now completely re-done with dining tables around panoramic windows overlooking Charlotte Harbor and there is a new barwith live music and food service and an upstairs dining room designed in marble for special-occasion dining.. The night westopped in they were still in shake-down mode, but hereʼs what we had: Drinks: one premium bar call drink, with aside of club soda and one fruit juice mixed drink. For dinner we had a calamari appetizer: light, flaky with a nicemarinara sauce. Then the Portofino salad: cold crisp iceberg lettuce, Italian tomatoes, olives, ham and gratedparmesan with a house Italian dressing; good salad. Then linguini with shrimp and a white wine garlic and olive oilsauce. Nice sized portion and again good flavor, plus the linguini cooked to perfection. Total tab $27. Weʼll be back!


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Ta k i n g I s s u e w i t h t h e

C C AAn OpinionBy Fishin’ Frank

This month I would like to discuss ... maybe just‘cuss,’ the C.C.A. In many ways we very desperatelyneed a group like the C.C.A. to keep fishing as a part ofour heritage. Now here’s the BUT: but we have to bevery careful or the C.C.A. will become another Save theManatee Club. They are now fighting for more regula-tions, needed or not. The local chapter is fighting againstthe black salty, a bait fish that the state and other scien-tists say is not a problem.The C.C.A. fought the good fight and the net ban

happened and unlike the Lone Ranger they did not rideoff into the sunset to wait for another injustice, theystayed and people started making jobs from the group.But when you have a job you have to justify your pay-check, so you begin to look around at what you can doto keep this going. OK, maybe get involved in makingmore laws about fishing. Hey people are catching toomany fish. That's not right, let’s cut back the limit. Andon and on.Any group that always thinks they are saving us

from ourselves and they always know best is, in myopinion, usually wrong. The correct answer is alwayssomewhere in the middle.

At first the C.C.A. would not fight against thephosphate mine because it was not politically correctthen, when it became a popular cause, they joined in.Now they are upset about a bait fish that is to be usedin saltwater. The black salty is a very close cousin to thecommon gold fish. We sell them in our store, but this isnot about us possibly losing a product to sell. This isabout common sense.Both the salty and gold fish are illegal to use in fresh

water. Think about all the millions of gold fish sold inthe state of Florida. To think that some do not escape orget released into the water, or even used for bait byresourceful fishermen is ridiculous. But to this day gold-fish have not become a problem. Another cousin of theback salty is the grass carp. The state of Florida intro-duced them to the waterways for weed control and madethem protected. I am not aware of any body of wateroverpacked with grass carp.

The arguments are as follows. Are black saltys goingto get loose? Yes. Will some survive in our localwaters? Probably yes. Is this going to be a disaster? No.Who knows, maybe the darn things will develop a

taste for armored catfish. It is very likely they will com-pete with the very invasive species of plecostomus,walking catfish and armored catfish which are all loosein our canals.The worst case is, we end up with another fish that

grows to 30 pounds, fights good on a rod and reel, and isedible. Would this be a bad thing? No one complainsabout Oscars in the Everglades, a non-native species thathas become a favorite; or peacock bass in Miami. Doyou want to get rid of them? Give me a break. Justbecause it is not familiar to you does not mean it is bad.

CCA we need you to fight long liners, to keepwatch so the net ban is upheld, to fight the phosphatemines. Fight all the good fights, but do not fight whenthere is nothing to fight about. We did our homework.We gave samples of the black salty to the state. We triedto look at all sides of the issue before we ever sold thefirst one. Who did you check with?


Real Estate: Contintinued6. The Charlotte County Assessor willbe hearing the pleas of non homesteadedtax protestors over the next couple ofweeks. He will be asked to defenddowntown vacant land valuations ofmore than $100 SF. Hopefully, he findsa way to fend off the meltdown that isnow occurring with commercial develop-ment as a result of the triple whammyof skyrocketing insurance, impact feesand now, real estate taxes.7. The City of North Port voters

passed its sewer bond proposal thismonth. Current development plans callfor the existing customer base of 13,000households in the Northeast section toincrease to more than 33,000 over thenext 10 years.8. The City of North Port is also

considering the annexation of some 54square miles to its land mass as it zerosin on becoming the largest city inSarasota County.9. On a more modest note, the City

of Punta Gorda is considering annexingexisting properties along the US 17 cor-ridor. The City estimates that it willcost upwards of $22 Million to bring thearea up to current standards for utilities,roadways and drainage. They project anincrease of approximately $162K inannual tax receipts as a result of theincorporation. $162K on $22Mil that'sa tidy 8% return.... er, no, I guess it's

only .8%! Well, what's another taxincrease?10. City of Punta Gorda is evaluat-

ing the merits of building a 3 storyparking garage next to the courthouse onHerald Court. The garage should house300-400 cars at a cost of about $22,400per space. The city hopes to get mostof that cost recouped from parkingimpact fees levied on future commercialdevelopments. For example, a modestrestaurant of 2,400 SF will require 40spaces at a cost of $400,000! Althoughcheaper than the County's schedule,other impact fees would approach anadditional $425K. I guess when we startpaying $10 for a gallon of gas, we won'tmind spending $250 for a hamburger!11. City of Punta Gorda will be hir-

ing a development director to seek outand encourage new development in thiscommunity. We're hopeful that theissues mentioned in items 6 & 10above, don't necessitate that "miracleworker" be one of the job requisites.12. Charlotte Tech Center will move

into a new 85K building in January at18300 Cochrane in Port Charlotte.13. John Cannon Homes is propos-

ing to build 1278 units on 440 acresadjoining Myakka Pines Golf Club. Nozoning change is required of this highend builder.14. The developers of the Loop

expect to break ground in late 2007 onwhat is expected to be a 1 million square

foot retail center with 400 residentialunits on Jones Loop Road at TaylorRoad. This exciting development isexpected to be even larger and more suc-cessful than their existing centers inOrlando and Massachussetts.15. Home Dynamics was approved

to build 2 story condos south of BurntStore Village on Burnt Store Road. The270 units met with little staff and coun-cil opposition. Further roadwayimprovements are becoming more urgentin this area.16. The Punta Gorda Housing

Authority will seek $14Mil in bond pro-ceeds to finance the redevelopment of170 units on Myrtle Street. No localtax support is required for the repaymentof these bonds.Other area developmentsin the works:New restaurants will be opening next

month. Lemoncello is building a newbuilding on 41 south of Burnt StoreRoad. This Italian restaurant will beoperated by the former owners of thehighly successful Mama Nunzio's restau-rant in town. Portofino is now open onBayshore in Port Charlotte west of the41 bridge. The owners of Coral RockCafe are working out the logistics ofpresenting another quality Italian restau-rant to our market. The owners of theRed Fish Chop house on restaurant roware changing their motif to Asian. ‘ Zen’

will open around the first of the monthwith an awesome selection of Asiandishes. Best of luck to all of our newenterprises. The Microtel will start con-struction soon, expecting to open itsdoors in August at 4056 Tamiami Trailin Port Charlotte. The City will sooncommence construction of a 700 ftboardwalk extending from Fisherman'svillage eastward.Sales S tatistics:WCI Communities, one of America's

premier condo developer reported 9 newcondo sales nationwide in the quarterended September 30. Contrasting thoseresults to 333 sales in the same period ayear ago is a sign of the times .... ormaybe a sign of significant pentupdemand that will surface to reduce ourexisting oversupply of inventory.Median home prices are now 12%

lower than a year ago. This is moreindicative of demand still holding up forlower priced homes being purchased byworking families and tepid interest inupper end retirement homes.Lot sales south of the Peace River

fell to only 3 during the month as spec-ulators continued to stay away andwould-be builders are put off by escalat-ing costs, taxes and insurance.

These statistics are intended to assist inanalyzing trends in supply and demand andnot to indicate specific market values.Please visit us atwww.harborparadise.com to view any

By Bil l DixonWater LIFE SailingNovember’s Pitcher of Beer

race to Cabbage Key turnedinto a motoring contest.Smooth waters did howevermake for a nice cocktail raft upand a wonderful opportunity todecorate your boat. Seventeenboats and 40+ sailors enjoyedthemselves in this year’s edi-tion of one of PGSC’s oldestevents. Since there was norace, Donna Greve andWallywith their Palm Tree and TikiHut won the decorating contestand with it the ‘Picture ofBeer’... and they get to runnext year’s event.Dinner on Cabbage Key was

a lively event after the Dingyraft up for Happy Hour. There

was however some grumblingabout $25 for a cheeseburger. Ihad a fish sandwich; I wouldwant to mount a cheeseburgerthat expensive on my wall.Some people got to go toCabbage Key for breakfast onSunday morning. Those of uswith dogs aboard spent theearly hours on a nearby name-less key splashing afterFrisbees in the shallow warmwater. The trip home was alsoa motoring event, but it was anice day and a pleasure to beout on the water.Snowbird season is here

again. I saw a bunch of palefaces at the November PGSCmeeting. In addition to crowdedrestaurants, highways andstores, that means more boatsracing and cruising. We desper-ately needed the S-2 snowbirdsto fill out the spinnaker fleet,and hopefully 2007 Race Fleet

Captain Tom Bragaw can rustleup some snowbird multi hullsto race against. Tom was theonly multi out there for manyof the summer and fall seriesraces. High on Tom’s Xmaswish list is a cruising multi-hull fleet. If we can get 3entrants PGSC will score andtrophy the cruising multi’sseparate from the Corsair andFarrier race boats.December of course has hol-

idays, decorated canals, andboat parades on the 2nd and16th. PGSC is running a spe-cial decorate your boat and crewrace on Dec. 17 with no entryfee. Perfect for non racers, wecan get you a temporary handi-cap, awards for decorations andcostumes, and your own per-sonal uncrowded start time. Allfor free. Then you can join usafterward at some local restau-rant and lie about why you did-

n’t win, just like we racers do.E-mail me for details: [email protected] Golden Conch Regatta

is right around the corner, Jan6, 7 at Platinum Point YC. Itis a great regatta, counts toward

the Charlotte Harbor Boat ofthe Year Series and you allshould compete. Check thePlatinum Point web site fordetails: www. ppyc.sail1.net.l

Lack of wind drives sailors to drinkToo much wind would probably have had the same effect

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Dinner on Cabbage Key was a lively event after a Dingy Raft Up forHappy Hour.

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Trade-inWith a New Boat Dealer

Many boaters use a new boat dealer totrade in their old boat against the purchase ofa new boat. The benefits of trading in yourboat are the speed and ease of the transac-tion; generally youʼll have little, if any, down-time, which is especially critical in the boat-ing season. Not all dealers take all trade-ins –it depends on what you are trading in andwhat you are buying. There can be tax advan-tages to a trade-in; check with me and I willhelp make the trade easy and worthwhile!

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We weren’t even paying attention. The fleet had tacked solidly tothe south and then east before laying over on a run around the firstmark. The fleet was taking the mark, an inflatable buoy labeled‘A’, on a reach, more like sailing past it than actually ‘rounding’ it.But Oui’ Oui’ a big Swan 40, somehow came up on the mark fromthe southwest. Two smaller boats were in line, set to graze by themark on their port sides, when Oui’ Oui’ came barreling down onus all.

Oui Oui took us on her starboard side slithering past us like a u-boat; silent with only that tight muffled noise of dacron sails fullof wind and power.

The second boat approaching themark was Bill McLearn’s red hulledAble 24 Frisbee. He must have seenthem coming. There was a collectivehard look at Oui Oui as she boredown on them. Clearly, McLearncould have been first boat to themark...but it may not have been pret-ty. Coming from the southwest itwould have taken a difficult cross-wind jibe-like move to get Oui Oui

around the mark. Hadthey faltered orrounded-up they verywell could have beent-boned ... right inthe galley.So, Oui Oui said

No No! She let offever so slightly andbore away just a tad, from the mark. That was it.McLearn was first to the mark, Oui Oui second.One small ‘cluck’ in a game of chicken that issometimes sailboat racing.

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SAILING:Know when to hold ?em know when to fold

Above: Oui Oui, a Swan 40, baresdown on Frisbee (right) and Frolic(left) just as Frolic is alongside themark.

Photos Below: In the end, Oui Ouilet off to finish 4th in the NonSpinnaker A Class while Frolic fin-ished second. Frisbee ended up7th in Non- Spinnaker B


The Water LIFEWater LIFE Distributorʼs Club

CooksSportland

4419 So. Tamiami TrailS. Venice493-0025

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 publicationPick up a copy of Water LIFE at any of these and 120+ other locations. Water LIFE is not affiliated with any newspaper or other publicationand is distributed at select locations around the state. These free ads to our loyal distributors rotate on a monthly basis.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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By Capt S teve SkevingtonWater Life - Fort Myers BeachWell it’s that time of year again;

grouper and snapper fishing is flat outhot! This is the time of year when off-shore ledges and artificial reefs load upwith hungry gag grouper. Catch them inthe right mood this month and they willtry to tear your arms off... and thismonth they are almost always in the‘right mood’ with cooler water tempera-

tures. Gag and black grouper will movein closer to the beach now than any othertime of year and with all that travelingwhen they do get there, they’ll normallyshow up hungry. The shallow watergrouper bite should get really good thismonth.Just a little bit further offshore we’re

finding lane snapper piled up on hardbottom. Almost any bait they can fit intheir mouth is going to get gobbled up.

Throw in a lingeringkingfish bite here andthere and you’ve got themakings of a hotDecember day on thegulf!My favorite way to

fish these guys is to startout in about 30 feet ofwater trolling with a cou-ple of downriggers.When you hook a

quality fish, a nice king-fish or gag grouper, juststart a slow circle. When

the bite slows down, drop an anchor andsoak some live bait’s on bottom. You’llbe surprised how many fish you connectwith.For those of us looking for tackle

busters, the amberjack are back. Thesefish have been showing up bigger and-meaner for the last couple of years, duein part to good management.

Just about any live bait dropped out

over a deep wreck will get slammed rightnow.Nighttime grouper fishing has been

great this month as some of the biggerfish become just a little less shy aftersunset – having a frisky live bait downon your favorite ledge right at sunset isa surefire way to get that ‘write home tomama’ size grouper to swallow yourhook.After dark, the whole world down

there changes. The bigger snapper thatdidn’t want to eat all day long can nolonger see that hook and leader that wasspooking them all day.Nice fat yellowtail and mangrove

snapper just seem almost suicidal as theyhit cut sardines and frozen shrimp.There’s a lot of fish out there right

now, so if you can pull yourself out ofthose big lines at the mall long enough,I will try to keep a seat open for you onour next trip.

You can reach Capt. Steve at575-FLAT or at 276-0565

C o l d W a t e r H e a t i n g U pC a p t S t e v e ʼ s

O f f s h o r e R e p o r t

By Michael Hel lerWater LIFE EditorMy wife ran into a friend in town a

couple of days ago. “How much longerare you going to write about thathouse? Aren’t you living there? Haven’tyou milked that story long enough?”This fellow never had a problem com-ing right to the point.‘No’ is the answer, “...not quite yet.”

This, it turns out is not just aboutbuilding a new house, these stories areabout rebuilding our lives. I’ll quitwhen things are ‘a little closer to nor-

mal,’ but that hasn’t happened yet.I can still dig pretty-much-anywhere

on our property and find some smashedsmitherene of our old life. Not necessar-ily storm smashed stuff, although thereis still a lot of storm glass around inour landscaping; but I’ll find a bluepiece of tile from my old bathroom, apiece of wood from the parquet floor inthe living room, maybe a fleck of thegreen plaster from the living roomwalls. No one else would know what itwas, pieces crushed up in the demoli-tion and left now for future archaeolo-

gists to rediscover. Or to be a futureoyster bar. But I know.A lot has changed in our neighbor-

hood. The biggest thing is the invasionof the ‘big houses.’ I call it an inva-sion, even though I’m one of theinvaders. FEMA made us do it. I wouldhave been very happy to roll the diceagain and still live at our old 7.5 footelevation. In the event of anotherCategory 4 storm, I’d still do the samething I did last time...get out!But now we have a big cement

house with a finished floor elevationthat is 5 feet higher than our old floor.If anything, these big new houses maygive us all a false sense of security.Time will tell, and I hope I still run.What’s become evident, as new

houses sprout up, is the disparity inelevations when compared to the oldneighboring houses. In areas like theEdgewater corridor of Port Charlotte,where so many houses were torn down,the contrast is striking.This neighborhood was hit with

what residents all pretty much agreewas an outbreak of small tornadoes.Parts of the eye wall were danglingdown like dreadlocks. Finger-likeappendages touching one house, andskipping over the next.Now the new houses are here, many

with steeply sloped tall metal roofs thatmagnify their already disproportionatesize.

Where once people in the olderhouses had a view out a side windowwith sunlight coming down from abovethere may now be a tall cement wall tocontend with and no sun at all.I’ve already noticed the shadow from

our own second floor roof and how theystretch across the street and cover halfof our neighbor’s garage in the earlymorning. With all this new cement andthe new contours on the ground whatwill happen with the old drainage andrun-off when we have our next big bigrain event? Some of these new housesare simply built on mounds of dirt.What will wash away, or undermine andwhat will remain is also a question.

How real estate prices will be effectedby the advent of the ‘Big Houses’ isanother important concern.And the fabric of our neighborhood

has changed as well. Gone now are thetravel trailers that people lived in forthe first two years. Where once we werea seamless knit of residents, today weare a patchwork of more transient types.There are houses for sale, vacant lotsfor sale, houses for rent, constructiontrailers, pick up trucks, heavy machin-ery, concrete pumpers, trash dumpsters,boats, motorhomes, generators running,nail guns hammering, still more pickup trucks and trailers.Not much real construction inside

our house this month. Our GEMonagram high end stainless steel dish-washer, the one we bought from BillSmith Appliances, coughed up itspump after less than a month. The GEwashing machine squeaks like a subwaytrain and the service-rep tells me I haveto accept the noise. We narrowed thesource to a metal rod that rides on ametal plate. ‘Bad design’ I said. “Yeah itis,” the service guy concurred, “...butthat’s the way they make ‘em. Youcould put some lithium grease on it, ifyou want to,” he added.So, new GE owners: – don’t forget

to grease your brand new GE washingmachine when you get it. Come on!This is the holiday season. Things

can’t end on a sour note. Not on holi-day. I look down our block and there areholiday lights wrapped around the palmtrees and icicles on some roofs. Thereare red bulbs in the bushes and outback, on the canal side, a neighboracross the water already has his poolcage decorated. In the next canal over,some neighbors are rigging up Santa ona sleigh for the mast of their sailboat.There are two lighted boat parades thismonth. I’m going to put our boat inthe water tonight and see what else islit up around in our neighborhood. Theholidays are here and this community isstill a great place for night boating atChristmas. I’m glad that hasn’tchanged.

This New House Part 17

The NeighborhoodInvasion of the ʻBig Houses”

Across our canal itʼs easy to see how much bigger and higher the new houses are.



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DecemberDecemberFishing ReportFishing ReportCharlotte HarborRobert at Fi shin' FranksPort Charl o tte: 625 -3888

I’m thinking sheepshead are goingto be the number one species thismonth because they’re here in goodenough numbers right now and that’sthree to four weeks early. For shore fish-ermen, sheepshead are great. Placida, El

Jobean, even the beach at Boca Grandeor the jetties at Venice, anywhere thereis structure ... sheepshead ought to bethere. They feed on fiddler crabs whichare their favorite. Sand fleas or peeledpieces of shrimp are other sheepsheadbaits. Since you are fishing aroundstructure, you have to beef up the tacklea little bit. A 12-to 20-pound test linewith 30- to 40-pound leader is the bestsheepshead rig.Anglers in boats will find sheepshead

Continued on facing Page Maybe this is more of a ʻfishyʼ picture than a fish picture, but we thought it was a goodʻcatchʼ for December. Ho, Ho, Hold on!, Santa!

Continued from page 30You’ll sometimes find sheepsheadtailing around the oyster bars.Seeing them tailing, a lot of peo-ple get them confused with redfishbut they are just looking for crus-tacceans. Sheepshead are measuredto the fork of the tail, with 12inches being minimum.Snook season closes Dec 15.

Right now, snook fishing is start-ing to really pick up at this end of the har-bor and in the rivers. El Jobean at nightwill be very good for the shore fisherman.In the PGI and PC canals right now we arestarting to see a lot of nice legal sizesnook. They are also starting to catchsome nice fish at the San Souci trestleright now. Shrimp is definitely the bestsnook bait gong since when the tempera-ture drops the white baits disappear.Redfish start to become a little more

scattered right now. Fish the deeper sandholes on the east side of the harbor andaround Bull and Turtle Bay. The water isshallow this time of year and the redfishwill be in the deeper spots. This is thetime to use circle hooks when you targetredfish. The fish are getting smaller nowand there will soon be mostly small ‘ratreds’ around.Flounder are starting to show up in

really good numbers. Along the edges ofany sandy channel, over around Bull andTurtle Bay and at Cape Haze Point you’llfind flounder in the sand now. Out alongthe Boca Grande beaches all the waythrough December and into January you’llfind some nice flounder in these waters.Tripletai l are still out offshore but

with this cold weather they may start tomigrate inshore soon too. Look offshorearound the stone crab traps. We had a regu-lar in the store who caught a 12 and a 19pound tripletail last week ... on 4 and 6pound test. That’s cool! Free-lining ashrimp or hanging a crab in front of them

is usually just perfect.If you time it just right, during the full

moon and the new moon this month, therewill be millions of mullet runningthrough the passes and out into the Gulfto spawn. It’s an unbelievable spectacle tosee – a mile long school of mullet; sharksgather along the side, a few mackerel, anoccasional tarpon, osprey and eagles over-head, everything gathers to feed on thosemullet.They are getting $1.10 a pound for

mullet roe, so a lot of guys will be look-ing to net mullet. Near shore reefs likeTrembly and Novak are loaded with fish;mangrove snapper, grunts, porgysand sheepshead. Now the barracudamove in closer to shore because of thehigher salinity in the water. Gags willmove in a little bit closer as well.Crappie fishing is going to do noth-

ing but stay good for most of the winter.You don’t need a boat because it’s allfreshwater when crappie fishing. Drivearound to any freshwater canal in Rotunda,Northport or Port Charlotte, they all havenice concentrations of crappie. Fish with asmall white tube-jig or a beetle spin. Fan-

cast the area and give it a chance. Whenyou do find them, just use your live crap-pie minnows under a float and you’ll limitout. The limit on these fish, they are 1.5or 2 pounds each, is 25 per person, perday. Crappie are either scaled and cooked orthey can be fillet. It’s a white flaky meatwith no fish flavor at all.

Lemon BayJim at Fishermen’s EdgeEnglewood: 697-7595Lots of success stories with snook and

redfish as of late, but on the low waterdays you have to be able to get into wherethe fish are holding. In the deeper pocketsin the back country there are 20 redfish inone hole, 20 to 30 trout in the next one.There are also a lot of snook in the

canals, The bayou at Boca grande is loadedwith ladyfish and the snook are startingto get in there now. A lot of the seawallsact like a radiator in the afternoon, givingback the sun’s heat. A lot of fish areattracted to the warmth. Casting undersome of the boats in the canals is goodright now too. Anything from

sheepshead tosnapper and snookare under there. I’vehad reports of 28 inchtrout caught, mostlyin Whidden Creekwhere the nice grassypatches are.Sheepshead are

starting to show, butthe water is stillwarm and they aren’treally biting yet.There are black

drum andmangrovesnapper around too.Offshore there was alittle bite of king-fish out along thebeach. There havebeen some kings atVenice and then thenext day they were atBoca Grande. Mary’sreef and Helen’s reefare producing somegood fish.Porgys, Key

West grunts and anoccasional stragglergrouper have comein from offshoreand some scat-tered pompanohave beenclose to thepass, but they


BIG-4BIG-4 Decemberʼs Target SpeciesDecemberʼs Target Species

SNOOK are moving into thecanals

TRIPLETAIL Starting tomove into the harbor now.

TROUT Handle with care,season closed!

SHEEPSHEAD are movingin and big ones are out front

FishingRIGHT NOW:

Very Good!

ChristmasChristmasLightsLights

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$10 adults, Kids under 12 $5,



Screaming Reels:Screaming Reels:Just Think DeepCapt Andy MedinaWater LIFE Charlotte Harbor

Christmas is coming soon. Thewoman folk are out spending money. Isay let them – that gives us a barteringchip. While they are out shopping wecan be fishing. And this is a good deal,because now is the time to be on thewater.

I feel I do my best with tides reachingnegatives most of the time. It’s notonly because the fish have no place tohide, because there is still plenty ofwater and if they don’t want to be foundthey turn into ‘Jimmy Hoffa’.

But when the water falls to unbeliev-able lows, the fish – not just any fish,but all the fish, will start seeking outdeeper spots. It may only be a couple ofinches deeper, but it’s better than whatthey had.

So we want to look for the deeperspots.

Fishing the last part of Novemberwas spectacular. With more upper slotsize fish being caught than I couldremember in previous years ... and now,it’s only gonna’ get better.

December will bring more negativetides. The trout fishing has been goingfull force. Trout are catch and releaseonly this month but the shore line insidePonce Inlet, or the Pirate Harbor channelwill pretty much keep your rod bentmost of the day. Another good spot isaroundAlligator Creek. The markersthere seem to hold some nice ‘specs’ thistime of the year and they’re pretty eagerto eat a shrimp under a cork. A dozenshrimp probably won’t last you long atAlligator Creek. You either bring plentyor switch to an artificial shrimp afteryou locate the fish.

The good thing about ‘plastics’ is,you can catch fish after fish on the samebait. Most of the time, at least, unlessthey chew the tails off or something. Ilike Riptide’s shrimp flavored realisticshrimp, in a natural color with a char-treuse tail. Rigged on a flutter hook ifI’m on potholes, or under a poppingcork, otherwise. Both ways produce a lotof fish. Remember to try and not handlesmall specs too much. If possible, grabthe hook and remove it with the fishstill in the water. You don’t want to betouching the trout’s skin.

For you all that like the catch andrelease snook action, here are my threerules: boats, boats, and more boats. You

may not believe this, but there is stillplenty of white bait around. It just takessome looking, but when you find it acouple casts will have your well full.

With the lack of water, when I’m outto target snook I pay close attention toboats that don’t move. We’ve all seenthem in the Punta Gorda canals. Peoplewho buy boats to keep up with theJoneses and then don’t use them. Or peo-ple who just don’t have time for them. Ifind time for them, and so do the snook.

A free lined ‘greeny’ under a boatcould easily produce a good linesider. Inthe afternoon, move out to the flatswhere the sun has a better chance ofwarming the water. Snook like that too.

On a fly, a green and white clauserhas produced many short snook, consis-tently. This is just a ton of fun foranglers just starting out. Remembersnook season closes Dec 15.

On the redfish subject; keepers arebeing caught in the cut-off. And in theMidway canals. A lot of anglers havetrouble fishing for deep water reds, butwith a little practice and forgettingeverything you know about patterns ofshallow water fish you should do prettywell. Just think deep. Now go get them.And have a safe and Merry Christmas.Capt. Andrew Medina can be reached at(941) 456-1540 or on the web atwww.bentrods4u.com

Capt. Andrew Medina caught these nicekeeper snook and redfish on the busiestshopping day of the year.

By Fishin FrankWater LIFE Port Charlotte

Back to basicsOk, I got to say it. It’s the Holiday

season. Yes that’s kind of obvious, Iknow, but it’s important because every-one has kids or grand kids here, and whatdo you do to keep them busy? Well ifyou are reading this, the answer is takethem fishin.

When you are fishin with kids it isimportant to remember that little boyswould rather play in the bait bucket thanfish. It is much more fun to grab ashrimp and watch it jump while he imag-ines a shrimp Indy 500 in the bucket cir-cuit. Let them play. It makes their daymore fun and if all the shrimp die thenyou just fish with dead bait. Watch himand try to remember the time whenshrimp in a bucket would be so interest-ing and cool.

On the other side, little girls will

hold a fishing pole and be quite contentjust to be with you ...as long as youtalk. Yes talk about the birds or the wateror school or whatever. It seems to be agirl’s way of being close.

But be warned. Letting children enjoythe fishing experience can lead to younever going fishing alone again, unlessyou sneak out the poles the night before.Everyone I have ever talked to remembersfishing as a kid. Right down to who tookthem and what they caught. Even whenthey did not catch anything they stillremember the day.

The one thing kids, boy or girls, dolike is bobbers. They can see it move. Abobber seems to make fishing more realto kids. It gives them something to focuson.

All kids have a hard time setting still,so casting and jerking the rod and reelingin are fun and make fishing something todo rather than something to wait for.

Now let’s changefrom bobber to poppincork. A poppin cork ishollowed out on thetop to make it morelike a surface popperlure so the more a kidjerk’s it or splashes itthe more trout andlady fish they willcatch. Cold weatherbrings in the trout andladyfish. It is like a‘Perfect Storm’ of hol-iday fishing.

Make sure the kidsare far enough apart sothey do not hook eachother and set the bob-ber just far enoughfrom the hook so theycan cast – sometimes12 inches sometimesthree feet.

The correct hook isalso important. A Mustad 37140 #2 isthe best bet. This is a wide gap hook. Itis safer because of its shape. It is harderfor it to hook the kid, but it alwayshooks the upper lip of the fish andalmost never gut hooks. The 37140 iskind of a half-circle-half-J hook. A circlehook is the safest style of hook. For acircle hook try an Eagle Claw L702g-1

Circle hooks are more than likely thebetter choice for kids and someday I willhave to change my recommendation, butwhen I started fishing I remember myelder yelling “set the hook, dummy.” Iguess you do remember those first fish-ing experiences because to this day Ialways set the hook ... and with a circlehook it pops it out of the fishes mouthevery time.

When you rig a kids fishing polemake sure there is enough weight on theline so they can cast. Use a weightedpoppin cork and a No. 5 split shot,sinker so when the kid casts it will gosomewhere. May times I have seen chil-dren trying to cast throwing as hard asthey can and the line barley touches thewater because it has no weight. With

even a 1/2 ounce of weight the line canbe easily cast. No weight is the most dif-ficult cast you can make.

Beginners and fish make a dangerouscombination, not knowing what you aredoing will kill a lot of fish and maybeget you hurt. Here are a few simple waysto avoid this:

First of all, when you get a fish it isexciting, so stop and take a breath. Slowdown reel the fish close, then take a wetrag, yes a WET rag to hold the fish. Ifyou use a dry rag it will take the slimeoff of the fish. Then, even though thefish swims off the fish will die withintwo days. A WET rag will not strip theslime and the fish will live on, no worsefor the experience. The slime that is soimportant for the fish’s survival is whatmakes them hard to handle. When yougrab a fish, do it with sure movementsand hold on. If the fish starts to slip fromyour grasp, let go and try again. When afish slips and you try to re-grab the fishremember, the head is on the hook, sonow when you go to squeeze, you mayget the hook. It’s not what you intendedbut that's what happens. Simply let goand try again.

Fishing is not, and should not bework. Relax and take it easy. Kids 3years old will enjoy being part of yourtrip. The concept of holding the pole andwaiting for a fish to bite comes at 5 or 6years of age. Then they get it. Hold thepole and when a fish bites the hook thefight and the fun begin. It is importantfor kids to enjoy the experience even ifit’s different from what you had in mind.

Holidays spent fishing with childrencan be the best memories of all. Myadvice is take your time and enjoy theday, only part of it is catching fish.Sometimes the best memory is justbeing there and watching a youngsterplay in the bait bucket. One last thought;the only bad fish you can catch is the oneyou complain about. To a child reeling ina fish, a little catfish is just as thrillingas a snook. Remember it's all good,. ifyou let it be.

Frank or Robert can be reached at

Getting Kids Into Fishing

What Do You Need?

Capt. Andy Medina, shown holding a ʻfish gripperʼ teaches in the eight week Don Ball School of Fishing pro-gram at Murdock Middle school. Four Charlotte County and one Sarasota County school in Northport now offerthe extra curricular course on local fishing taught by local fishing guides.


MIke

We Service All Brands of Outboards

By Capt Ron BlagoWater LIFE Senior Staff

I’ve put the long pants back on andstarted to wear a jacket in the morn-ings – a sure sign of winter. I evensaw my first flock of white pelicans inLemon Bay. I remember people upnorth telling me that we had no sea-sons in Florida just wet and dry, butthe older I get the narrower my com-fort range becomes. I work my bestbetween 68 and 78 degrees, just likethe fish I hunt.

Last month I did a lot of hiking andcanoeing around Gottfried, Ainger andOyster creeks; checking things outbefore they get totally developed. I sawmore snook in these shallow watersthan I’ve ever seen before. It showsjust how clean and valuable as a fishnursery these waters are. The lack ofrain has left the water gin-clear and thefish super skittish. You have to reallysneak up and be extra quiet if youwant to have success with these fish.This is the time to use the push pole.

Trout season is closed and snookseason will close Dec 15th, that leavesredfish left as a gamefish to try for.Speaking of redfish I was buttonholedby Bob Leonard of the CCA at the lastMAC meeting and he asked me how Ifelt about closing redfish season inDecember. I’m not a big fan of thatone and asked him where he came upwith that idea. He and a few otherCharlotte Chapter CCA members hadattended a FWC meeting in FortMyers to discuss changes in the redfishregulations. It seems not many peopleshowed up for that meeting. Closingthe season was one proposal but themost popular suggestion was to

change the slot limit to 20 to 26 inch-es. Bob wanted to know where thefishing clubs, guides and the presswere. Good question. A lot of us weretaking a nap on this one. All is notlost; these are just proposals so far, ifyou want to express your opinion,Byron Stout of the News Press isgoing to put the State’s RedfishWorkshop questionnaire on their website and forward the results to theFWC, for anyone who wants to beheard on the subject. Check out:www.new-press.com

I’ve been asked to send a messageto the group of so called fishermen,fishing of the Forked Creek area inLemon Bay. You have no right or rea-son to keep a dozen undersized redfishor keep out of season trout. You knowbetter than that and you are an embar-rassment to all the rest of us that obeythe fishing laws. You were seen, youwere warned and if you keep doing it,you will be caught. Do the rightthing.

The next Fishing College has beenscheduled in Englewood. The 5thCollege of Fishing Knowledge will startWed. Jan. 17th from 2pm to 4pm at theEnglewood Sports Complex 1300 S.River Road in Englewood. The Collegewill meet each Wed. for six weeks withthe last class on Feb. 21. The cost is$30 per student, payable to SarasotaParks and Recreation Dept. This yearyou can register in person or by phonewith a credit card. For additional infor-mation call the Sport Complex at 941-861-1980. Of course your’s truly will bethe head instructor. Seats go fast so reg-ister early.Call Capt Ron with your fishing ques-

Now Open in Fort MyersAlico Road Exit, 1-75

On the LINEFISHING WITH CAPT RON BLAGO

Capt. Chuck Eichner with a nice winter red caught around Thanksgiving.


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By Adam WilsonWater Life Underwater

Offshore is where the action is goingto be for the next several months if youwant a big trophy fish. Large amber-jacks are already here in the 100 footdepths. Let me warn you now, be veryconfident in your scuba skills beforepulling the trigger on these fish. Theycan be curious at times, appearing tomake an easy target, but even a smaller20 poundAJ can get you into troubleextremely fast. These fish never stopswimming, ever. They are incrediblyquick, notoriously strong and have atiny kill spot the size of a quarter con-sisting of either their brain or spine.They are not an easy fish to land onhook and line or with a speargun. Ihave personally been wrapped up byone in a matter of seconds. Once beingcinched tight around an anchor ropewith my arms at my sides, unable tomove, while the fish's tail whacked mymask askew. Luckily for me on thatoccasion my buddy was right behind meand had me unwrapped in no time.Scenarios like this easily lead to a panicsituation in a hurry, so always have abuddy nearby when wrestling reef don-keys. I admit I still hesitate for a sec-ond before putting a bead on a largejack anymore. Any place you find jacksyou are also likely to find bottom fishlike grouper, snapper and possibly hog-fish too. The thick blanket of cuda'scovering each reef and wreck are thin-ning out faster with each passing coldfront, so if light tackle snapper fishingis your bag, it's just about time tobreak out the ultra lights with 10 poundtest.

Inshore diving for crabs has been apopular pastime when the winds areblowing with the approaching coldfronts. Unfortunately somebody inLemon Bay thinks it's smart to cut ourcrab trap buoys off, leaving our trapslost on the bottom. You know who youare and hopefully you'll get yours.

We have been seeing new residents atall of our crab spots, large green Asianmussels. Attached to bridge pilings,navigational markers and even on aban-doned junk, they appear to be thrivingin our warm and salty waters.Apparently they first arrived in TampaBay roughly 7 years ago via cargo shipbilge water, where they immediatelybegan clogging intake pipes for powerplants and threatening native oysterbeds. Through tides and currents theyhave worked their way into Charlotteand Lee county waters also. I havenoticed an increase in the number ofhorse conchs and whelks in the samelocations. Each cluster of musselsseems to have a horse conch steadilymunching from one mussel to the next.Maybe this will be the key to control-ling the non-native mussel invasion inthe future.

Some locals have taken a more handson approach to eliminating the alieninvaders. My friends and I recently madea delicious pot of seafood gumbo, mak-ing sure to include several recentlyfound mussels. Asian green musselshave been a major food source for thecoastal Indo-Pacific region for manyyears. The same common sense rulesapply to harvesting mussels as oysters.Because mussels and oysters are filterfeeders, eating microscopic plankton,

they easily absorbtoxins from thewater. Never harvestshellfish from a stateclosed area or frompolluted waters. Redtide also eliminatesany thoughts for har-vest. Only harvestduring the colderwinter months.Because Asian greenmussels ( Pernaviridis ) are a non-native species thereis no size or baglimit. Limiting yourcatch to what youcan eat right away isalways wise withshellfish, althoughthey can be kept onice for a day or two.

A great way to enjoy recently gath-ered mussels is by simple steaming.Melt enough butter in a stove top potto cover the bottom. Add sliced onion,

salt, pepper, garlic and a can of beer.Bring to a simmer and add your mus-sels, continuing to simmer for another7 or 10 minutes, until the shellfishopens. Don't eat any shellfish that don't

Diving with Adam WilsonGreen Asian mussels are tasty’ invaders


According to Betty Staugler of the Sea Grant office in CharlotteCounty, Asian green mussels are OK to eat, so long as theycome from clean moving water and there is no red tide around.


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By Ann SzeztayeSpecial to Water LIFE

What do you get when a Northerngirl moves to the Florida coast forsome sunshine, warmth and water?

A fisher-woman! Sound silly? It isnot an entirely unusual phenomenon.Women are finding that the peace andquiet of a day on a boat with a line inthe water is a great way to alleviate thestress of work, hectic family life andanything else that comes with the day-to-day responsibilities.

Out on the water, there are nophones ringing (okay, maybe), laundrypiling up, dishes waiting or the kidsbeing kids. And fish don't playfavorites ... "The one that got away" isa story you can hear at the dinner tabletold by mom or dad, brothers, sistersand significant others.

As a relocated Jersey girl, I havefound that there is much to be said foran afternoon or evening on the water,just quietly casting a line. It is a Zen-like experience, whether you're activelycatching a redfish, snook, snapper ortarpon, or just feeling the lure of

nature, listening to thequiet sounds on thewater. Fishing isn't justa man's sport - it is achance to feel connectedto something bigger.

Sound a little dramat-ic? Perhaps. Of course, Icannot deny the sheerjoy of going out with"the guys" and being theone to bring home thefish, but there's so muchmore.

In four years,through my friendshipswith Frank and Robert at FishinFrank's, I've learned to fish and nav-igate the waters of Charlotte Harbordown to Cabbage Key, which hasturned out to be one of my favoritepost-fishing spots. I even feel a con-fidence that now I can take friendsand family out on my boat and sharesome of the same wonderful experi-ences I was exposed to.

A sport traditionally dominatedby the "guys" was somewhat intimi-

dating, but some of the localCaptains helped out and werehappy to share their perspectiveof how to catch, release,respect, and appreciate fishingand the creatures on thesewaters.

Now I've even introduced myNorthern girlfriend and her eightyear old daughter to the tran-quility and freedom of an after-noon on the water. With anyluck I will continue to raise herawareness of the natural beautyof the South West Coast ofFlorida - all through the experi-ence of a boat, a pole and thequest for elusive fish.

So ladies, when someoneasks you, "what would you liketo do for relaxation? say: -Lets Go Fishing!” It's morethan a guy-thing, it's an "us"thing!"It's not what is happening to

you now, or what has happenedin your past that determines whoyou become. Rather, it's yourdecisions about what you focuson, what things mean to you, andwhat you are going to do aboutthem that will determine yourultimate destiny."

– Anthony Robbins

Fisher-WomanThe quest for elusive fish

Itʼs not a Guy Thing!Top: Keri Phiefer and a nice snook.All others: Ann Szeztaye with some of her fish


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By Capt. Chuck EichnerWater LIFE Inshore Fishing

A fishing trip that is planned well inadvance is always at the mercy of theweather gods. When the long awaitedday arrives we always hope for flatcalm water and sunny skies. High tideswith strong flow would be nice aswell.

Of course, now we are in the winterseason and at best you can expectsunny skies and a breeze with low tidesthe norm. Danny Adams from NorthCarolina is an experienced fly anglerand was joined by his father-in-lawDon on a recent day on CharlotteHarbor. We had been in the middle of amajor cold front for 4 days with 20knot winds and 60 degree temperatures.On the phone the prior day I confident-ly assured Danny that the fishingshould be good despite the conditions.Our only limitations would be navigat-ing on the open harbor.

That morning I loaded the Maverickflats boat with a snowmobile suit,gloves and a winter hat. When I discon-nected the power cord from my battery

charger it was stiff and couldn’t becoiled. We were leaving the dock inPunta Gorda but it might as well havebeen Montauk New York!

The day started with deceptively flatcalm water and sunny skies whichseemed just perfect. My first stop wasat 9:30 a.m. in a deep hole that I hopedspeckled trout would have moved toduring the cold overnight. Our fishingwas to be simple – cast a light jigheadwith shrimp trailer and yo-yo it off thebottom. Instantly we were on the fishwith small trout coming to the boat.Don cast to a nearby sandbar andbanged a larger trout. With beautifullyclear waterwe could

Fly-ing in the WindA remarkable number of fish were caught

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bigger trout which were laying in theshallows sunning themselves. A goodtip to remember as the small ones weredeep. As we cast and worked differentareas we began to focus on the shallowsthat the sun had been hitting from theeast. Departing from the deep wateridea was good because Danny whippedout his fly rod and began to catchsnook after snook. Not big fish butscrappy eaters that just couldn’t resist ashrimp imitation clouser.

The last of the outgoing tide hadstopped and we decided to fish shallowflats hoping for redfish to push in withthe incoming tide. Of course, this wasthe signal for the wind to start howling.Blind casting Texas rigged shrimpresulted in blowfish, flounder and cat-fish.

Our next stop was a large potholeadjacent to a sandbar. Tide was pouringinto the depression and sunlight wasshining bright on the bar. With an 18knot wind at our back I struggled tohold the boat position and ultimatelyanchored both the bow and the stern.

With remarkable tenacity Dannybackcast into the wind while standingon the deck, dropping fly line onto thelower deck floor. It took 3 fly changesto find just the right one and then thetrout began to bite.

A deep clouser in shrimp patternwith red head fished with a fast stripand we had found the mother-load.

Nearly every cast for the next hourwas a fish. The sizes ran from 14- to18- inch, terrific sport on an 8 weightoutfit. As a guide, I just marveled atthe skill and determination Danny exer-cised under the horrible conditions.Don, on the other hand was content tobang countless trout on a jig andshrimp. The shallow bar adjacent todeeper water was again the ticket for thebigger trout. In a while, conditionsactually worsened and even with a dou-ble anchor we couldn’t hold.

The next feat was to catch redfish.At this point the tide was up about afoot so we methodically worked man-grove shorelines with shrimp. It was apatience game, but a short flip castunder a mangrove lead to Danny’s firstredfish. An experienced angler that

recently landed false albacore on fly upto 18 pounds yet he couldn’t believe thestrength of an 18-inch red. When an 8pound red inhaled his bait, ‘out of con-trol’ would be the best description ofwhat followed.

Drag burning 20 pound braided linewas ripping off the reel heading straightto the mangroves. Danny pointed therod at the water and pulled back hard tobreak its stride and the fish moved outof the bushes. I breathed a sigh ofrelief as the battle ensued in open water.Then, another rush for the bushes withrod buckled, drag screeching and thenthe rod went limp. Gone!

The big fish had sawed off the lineand again the old saying is replayed onemore time- ‘the big fish got away’! Aremarkable fish and a memory that willlast until the next big redfish encounter.

A handful more fish were caughtbefore we were done and we logged atotal of 7 species. A beautiful sunsetsignaled the end of the day with a 20knot wind at our back as we rode thewaves back to the dock. A remarkablenumber of fish were caughtCapt. Chuck Eichner is a local charter

captain. For information or to book a guidedfishing trip call (941) 505-0003 or go to:www.back-country-charters.com


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Water LIFE Dec 2006