Water LIFE Oct 2010

Charlotte Harbor and Lemon BayCharlotte Harbor and Lemon BayFFFFRRRREEEEEEEE!!!!

October 2010October 2010

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P a g e 2 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0

MYAKKA RIVER VIEW – Waterfront livingat its best. If you are thinking of a home onthe River, this one is for you. 2,770 sq. ft.built 2006 home with all the upgrades youʼlllove. 3 bedrooms, 3 ½ baths. 3-cargarage. Walkway to dock and boat lift.Master downstairs with living, dining, fami-ly room, kitchen and nook. 2 bedrooms, sit-ting room and bath upstairs. Breath-takingdécor in all rooms, with ceiling fans, trays,molding, lighting, wood cabinets, corianthru out. This one is a charm at $574,900 Call Ellen McCarthy 235-5648

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OVERSIZED CORNER WATERFRONTLOT. Water on side and back of lot size135x12 for a great waterfront view. Justone bridge and 20 min. to the Harbor.Across the street from Collinwoods PointeEstate million dollar homes. Most of the lotis cleared lately leaving several palmtrees. Seller will look at all offers.$139,900 Call Ellen McCarthy 235-5648

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ONE-OF-A-KIND Entertainer SeriesMobile Home in out-of-park Punta Gordaarea. Over 1,400 sf, this 3/2 home is allfenced in with 2 metal sheds, largeconcrete patio facing open pasture, insidelaundry, open living area, breakfast bar,glass top range, recessed lighting, built-inentertainment center and much more.$88,900 Call Ellen McCarthy 941-235-5648

ROOM TO SPREAD OUT – This lovely1,842 sf, 3/2/2 home is set on 2 lots withoption to purchase 3rd lot. Open floorplan, large lanai & caged patio, parquetflooring, carpet & tile. Inside laundry, over-sized Master Bedroom. Quiet neighbor-hood. Call for a viewing today. $149,900 Call Ellen McCarthy 235-5648

ATTENTION INVESTORS, SEASONALOR FIRST-TIME HOME BUYERS!Home sold AS-IS. This 2/1 with carporthas been painted outside and yardcleaned up. So convenient toeverything. Priced at todays market.Don't wait -- this home will not last long.$39,900 Call Ellen McCarthy 941-235-5648

HOME ON LARGE CORNER LOTin Grassy Pointe area with canal viewONLY NO WATER ACCESS. This 3/2/2pool home has 2,010 sf under air and fea-tures all new tile floors, cherry wood cabi-nets, granite tops and new paint.The living and family room areas are

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Ellen McCarthy Broker AssociateEllen McCarthy Broker Associatewww.portcharlotte-pgi.com www.portcharlotte-pgi.com [email protected]@portcharlotte-pgi.com

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SHROEDER CUSTOM-BUILT HOMEshows like a model. Only lived in a fewmonths, this 3/2/2 1,614 sf home built in2007 features 17” tile floors (except inbedrooms), split bedroom plan, opengreat room, white wood cabinets &Corian countertops $159,900Call Ellen McCarthy 941-235-5648

BANK-OWNED 3/2/2 home sold As Is.Newly painted, this 2,830 sf bargain has ahuge family room with fireplace andaquarium, French doors, split bedroomplan and spacious Master bedroom suitewith garden tub, walk-in shower anddual sinks. Check this one out today!$189,000 Call Ellen McCarthy 941-235-5648

CUSTOM-BUILT POOL HOME ON 2LOTS. This gorgeous 3000 +sq ft homehas all the whistles and bells, built 2006.Upgrades in this 3 bedroom, 2.5 baths, 3car garage home with pavered drivewayand pool area. Features tri-level wood cab-inetry, granite, gourment kitchen, built-inentertainment center and a master suite todie for. Call for a list of all the features, thelist goes on. Wonderful buy at $399,900Call Ellen McCarthy 941-235-5648

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Water LIFE i s the o ffi ci al publ i cati on o fthe Charl o t t e Harbo r ReefAs so ci at i on , the o ri g i nato r o f theKids Cup Tournamentand the producer o f theDon Bal l Schoo l o f Fi shing .

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publicationVol IX No 10 © 2010

www.WaterLIFEmagazine.comNo part of this publication (printed or electronic)may be copied or reproduced without specific

written permission from the publisher.

Contributing Editors:Photography: ASA1000.com

Senior Editor: Capt. Ron BlagoPort Charlotte: Billy Barton

Gasparilla: Capt. Chuck EichnerCommercial Fishing: Kelly Beall

Sea Grant: Betty StauglerReal Estate: Dave Hofer

Inshore: Fishinʼ FrankDiving: Adam WilsonKayaks: David Allen

Sailing: Bill DixonOffice Dog: Molly Brown

on the COVER Dave Jacobs all-for-fun snoopy pole tour-nament had a class for smallest ladyfish.Page 12

www.waterlifemagazine.com

www.waterlifemagazine.com


Letters to: [email protected]

Port Charlotte cartoonist Harry Thomas gives us his take onBP, Exxon and the spill in the Gulf.

Hi Michael & Ellen Greetings from Nova Scotia. I just dissed (sic) the (Charlotte Sun) Waterline issue of

last week and received back a detailed and polite responsefrom them which was very nice.

I was thinking, its one thing to dis something but not oftendo we extend kudos........well, you and yours and your issuesof Water LIFE are due my utmost Kudos.

Your utilization of local contributors and newsy and gutsyeditorials are absolutely fantastic.

If I had a business in Florida, I would be advertising inyour monthly journals just to show support.

Your dedication to the local youth and fishing scene iswonderful.

Keep up the good work, Douglas Simms.

Dear Water LIFEI sure hope boater-voters remember in November about

Charlie Crist not allowing the Florida Fish and WildlifeConservation Commission to follow scientific data and down-list the "endangered" West India Manatee! I sure hopeboater-voters vote for Charlies opponent, Marco Rubio, forthe Florida U.S. Senate seat.

I think that for the Florida Governors position Rick Scottshould be elected to replace good 'ole Charlie! Rick Scott justmay have made enough money in business that he would notbe bought off by the Save the Manatee Club! If Rubio andScott get elected, there just might be a slim ray of hope forFlorida, the boating industry, and boaters!

Sincerely, Budd Hegele, Venice

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Michael Hel lerWater LIFE EditorThere will be no Kids Cup

Tournament in 2011. The Kids Cup was ahigh-end fishing event, designed to be afund raiser for our 7th grade fishing class-es, but the era of high-end fund raisingevents has ended. We have taken the Kids Cup through a

full 7-year cycle. Some kids who were 10when they fished the first Kids Cup arenow guideing younger kids. A few havekids of their own. Life moves on.My wife Ellen and I are committed to

continuing our 7th grade Don Ball Schoolof Fishing classes, but we are no longeralso able to spend the time it takes to puton the Kids Cup. We have our own kid inDenver and we would like to spend moretime with her. So the Kids Cup is going to go away

but the fishing classes are going to stay.The school fishing classes are taught

by prominent local fishing guides so thekids in the classes get a chance to learnabout local fishing from some of the bestfishermen around. This are not a babysit-ting class. This classs is a model for aprogram that will ultimately expand intoother coastal communities. The classes start a lot of kids on a life-

time of fishing. Our workbook containsgood fishing stories as well as a wealth oftechnical information. A full time schoolteacher told me her kids “actually like to

read it.” Fancy that!The Kids Cup was a fun and education-

al event with a cool scientific component– sonic transmitters implanted in redfishto track their travels, but the stuff wasexpensive. Unlike the Kids Cup the 8-week middle-school program only costskids $12 and every student receivesalmost $100 worth of ‘fishing stuff”including a good rod and reel. All thatstuff costs money too. It has to comefrom somewhere. (Right about now ifyou are thinking you want to help go toour website www.waterlifemagazine.comand click the Donate button.)So it’s time to re-balance a little, but

the goal is always going to be to intro-duce kids to fishing. We have to keep oureye on the goal. One of the reasons theKids Cup ended was it just wasn’t intro-ducing any kids to fishing, but it surewas fun and I will remember it always.The enrollment for this years 7th grade

classes, which start this month, is at 115.This program also takes a huge amountof time and coordinated effort.The class at Englewood’s LA Ainger

school is the largest with 29 studentsenrolled. Both Capt. Rod Walinchus andCapt Ron Blago teach that class. Thesmallest class is at Heron Creek MiddleSchool in Northport where Capt. BobDeKeulenae re has 13 students, but theremay be a few more 7th graders rotating infrom the Imagine School down the road.

Capt. Bart Marx at Port Charlotte has 27students, Capt. Andy Medina at Murdockhas 25 and Capt. Danny Latham at PuntaGorda has 21. It’s shaping up to be good.As president of the Charlotte Harbor

Reef Association I am committed toteaching our students about local fishing,ethical angling and good in-the-water andunder-water environmental practices. I believe teaching kids about ethical

angling goes a long way towards improv-ing the future of all fishing and all fish-ing events. In our class I tell kids: Youdon’t have to do anything special. Justkeep your eyes open, go out and have funfishing. When you get older you will

know what has to be done for the envi-ronment. Teaching kids about these issuesnow helps guarantee we still have the‘right’ to fish in the future.But we are still missing one major

component as far as introducing kids tofishing goes. It needs to happen on aboat. I’d like to see a program where kidmembers would be eligible to fish for freeevery Saturday. There would be a big pon-toon boat waiting at the dock everySaturday with a captain and a mate.Around here, kids could fish in the localcanals or on the nearby Harbor and par-ents could go along too. Thats somethingthe whole County would benefit from.

Thanks for a Great 7 Years

The Nokomis Youth Fishing Tournament drew 95 anglers age 14 and under in a catchand release surf casting tournament on Nokomis Beach. Local bait shops provided shrimpfor bait. The First Place Winner was 4 year old Hunter Dupree Naeve of Nokomis, whocaught the most fish (12) during the 2 hour tournament .


On the Line By Capt Ron Blago, Water LIFE Senior StaffAfter a grueling 10 year process,

which involved millions of taxpayersdollars and thousands of hours spent bystate staff and leadingmarine mammal experts;the Florida Fish andWildlife Commission hasdone, what they seem tobe best at when it comesto manatee matters – theyhave done nothing. The FWC recently

voted to change the waythey classify imperiledspecies in Florida, butdecided to make an excep-tion for manatees.According to the FWC,the manatee will remain an endangeredspecies in Florida as long as the mana-tee remains on the federal endangeredspecies list. Talk about a lack of courageto make a call based on the best avail-able science. Basically the FWC has saidthey are afraid they don't know whatthey are doing, so they are willing to let

the federal authorities tell them what todo.

This mess started in 2000 when theSave the Manatee Club threatened to suethe state for what they called a lack of

effort in protecting themanatee. The statereached an out of courtsettlement with theSMC which resulted invast numbers ofManatee Slow Zonesfor boaters throughoutthe state. Around thesame time the CoastalConservationAssociation (CCA)asked Dr. Tom Fraser(former head of theMarine FisheriesCommission) to do an

unbiased study on the manatees inFlorida. His report sent shock wavesthrough the environmental community.Three of his key points were:1. The population of manatees has

sustained an increasing populationfor the last 25 years; and is increas-ing at a rate of 6-7% per year.

2. Increases in manatee populationshould be expected to coincide withincreasing numbers of dead manateesfrom all causes including boats overtime. 3. The building of water cooled elec-

tric generating plants along Floridascoastline beginning in the 1950s haveprovided manatees with artificial winterrefuges north of historical winteringareas. However, these areas are becominga risk area for disease with huge num-bers of manatees that crowd together inthese “non-natural tiny ecosystems”.As a result of this report the CCA

requested a review of the BiologicalStatus of the manatee in Florida in

2001. During the last 10 years theFWC staff of manatee experts have rec-ommended that the manatee be removedfrom the endangered species list. In 2006, three biological review pan-

els, each consisting of five expertsappointed by the FWC has recommendedthat the manatee be reclassified fromendangered to threatened. From 2006 tonow the FWC has postponed voting onthe issue. And all during that time themanatee population kept growingthroughout red tide outbreaks and wintercold spells; and still the FWC could notfind the courage to admit the manateewas not endangered. I guess its politicsas usual.

Manatee Remains Endangered (In Name Only)

Please! Say it isnʼt so! Stop the insanity! Tell me these are not SMC-cult-leggins!

“Talk about a lack

of courageto make acall basedon the best available science”

By Bi l ly BartonSpecial to Water LIFE

Another month has come to pass andthe salt lifes as good as it ever was! Ican't lie, I really wasn't out on the waterthis month as much as I would've liked.But one things for sure, the bite was on,the Fish Gods treated me well, and everysecond was cherished!

It hurts me to say it, but I spent ameasly three days on the water thismonth! Ouch! I'm gonna have to makeup for lost time next month. It just sohappens though that of all the months to

go out there and make up lost time,October is the best. October my friendsis one month to fish in Charlotte harbor.Over the years it has deemed itself RedOctober due to the abundance of redfishspread out all over the place. Sounds likemy kinda month!

This month, with the declining watertemperatures, and less rain you will startto see red fish move further up into theharbor. My bait of choice for them inOctober is probably either a live selectsize shrimp, a cut pinfish, or a piece ofcut ladyfish. These fish are still not mov-

ing as fast as they could be moving, andduring the heat of the day they most defi-nitely look for an easy meal. The white-bait is still plentiful along the east side ofthe Harbor so this can be another goodchoice. However the white bait numbersshould start to decline in the Harbor inthe next month or so. This means the fishwill be more likely to lay on a piece ofartificial.

My favorite type of artificial to throwduring Red October would have to be ahalf or three quarter ounce gold spoon, ora Berkley-Gulp three-inch shrimp (anycolor). I like to fish the Gulp shrimp on aone-eighth-ounce jighead, and fish themreal slow. One thing to always rememberwhen fishing use something that imitatesa shrimp. Just when youthink you're working itslow enough, work it slow-er! Shrimp don't swimfast! I've had a lot betterluck fishing shrimp jigssuch as a D.O.A. when Iam actually working themvery slowly.

When fishing thespoons you just want asteady retrieve, no jerkingof the rod you just wantyour spoon to swim and itsdoing its job. Prime time

conditions for fishing spoons? I like anice early afternoon high tide on myfavorite shoreline. During the afternoonhours these fish are up against the treeslooking for some shade. You want tomake your cast right up next to the bush-es, then start your retrieve. The sunnydays are ideal for fishing a spoon so yourspoon can reflect light as its supposed to.

If theres one fish I love to catch its aredfish! If theres one fish I like to put onthe grill, its a redfish! If theres a monthto go catch redfish, Its October! I hopeyou guys all tear em up this month like Isure know I'm gonna! Good luck outthere, and remember to savor it, everyminute of it.


There are still some little tarpon out there this Red October too

Joe Pocklington,former owner of Fort Myers Yacht,

Burnt Store MarineService, GasparillaMarine Service andCharlotte Harbor

Boat Storage,is at it again!

Joe has assembleda top notch crew toconcentrate onpainting bottoms

and waxing hullsides.

Joe offers his services only to a limited number of customers so he has the abilityto concentrate on quality.

Call Joe at 941-769-0493 for information

Bottom painting and hullside waxing up to 55 feet

RedRedOctoberOctober


PROVIDED to Water LIFE BY: Dave Ho fer RE/MAX Harbor Realty(941) 575-3777 [email protected] www.harborparadise.com Recent area news i tems:1. The City of North Port and

Charlotte County are in heated compe-tition to see which can squander moretaxpayer funds on ill conceived proj-ects. North Port spent $90K on outside

consultants to evaluate whether theyshould change the name of their fastgrowing berg. Now the largest city inSarasota County, North Port is becom-ing sensitive about the misnomer(they don't really have a "port"). TheCity Council has earmarked $450K toobtain a license to build a replica of aniconic baseball stadium (Fenway Park,Wrigley Field, etc.). The franchisor,Big League Dreams, is a company thathas already convinced nine other citiesin California, Arizona, Nevada andTexas that $4.5 million was a reason-able price to pay to bolster the esteemof their middle aged softball playing

constituents.Charlotte County seems to be

thinking positively about swapping137 commercial acres in MurdockVillage for 30 acres of industrial prop-erty that they will then give away inan attempt to lure employers to the I-75/Jones Loop area. After theexchange, The Laishley Group willthen attempt to have WildernessResorts (a Wisconsin Dells developerof water parks) build a water park and400 room resort at the Rt 776 loca-tion. It should come as no surprise,Wilderness will likely rely on taxpay-ers to provide the required $110Million in Tax Increment FinancingBonds and other tax concessions tomake the investment viable.2. The Best Western has moth-

balled plans to develop a mooring fieldnext to their marina. They were plan-ning to add 82 mooring balls as wellas extending the harborwalk acrosstheir property. Since the City is in theprocess of developing its own mooringfield at Laishley Park, council prudent-ly opted to wait for its completion inFebruary to determine if their will be

unmet demand before committing tofund a second field. They also suc-cumbed to the reality that the purchaseof a pump-out boat was not a justifi-able expenditure (even if most of thefunds would be provided by Federalassistance).Recent area news i tems:In other news: The Artist Atelier

is moving forward in the Punt GordaParking Garage. FGCU will be creat-ing a program for entrepreneurship atthe garage in the coming months.They should be up and running byOctober 1. A new Sunday outdoormarket will begin operation in the

Punta Gorda History Park starting onOctober 5. Cafe Ruelle reopened undernew management. Water billing rateswill rise 3% in October. Sales S tatistics: Lot pricing

has risen slightly in Port Charlotte andNorth Port over the past few monthson significantly lower volume. Waterfront sales are still rare. Home salesare still dominated by distressed situa-tions. The upper end market is VERYquiet. New foreclosure filings inCharlotte County jumped to 212 inAugust from 168 in July. Sarasota fil-ings have been running consistently inthe mid 400s.

Real Estate News

Heres what Wisconsin Dells Wilderness Territory looks like from a website photo. See:Item #1 Charlotte County, at left.


By Capt. Chuck EichnerWater LIFE InshoreThe biggest fishing rodeo of the year is

happening this month. Nearly everyspecies that swims has gotten the signalthat it is time to feed up for the leanmonths of the winter. Fall is truly hereand you have probably noticed that thecalm, smoking hot summer days havegiven way to windy, warm days. Themornings late arrival of daylight and theearlier darkness of the evening has been agradual effect that is largely overlooked byus, but the aquatic world has no calendarother than this, to tell them the time ofyear. Water temperatures have fallen intothe comfortable 80s and the fish are readyto rumble!My biggest challenge is what species

to pursue. A nice problem to have, butyou have to be flexible because the weath-erman will play a big role in where youcan fish. Migratory pelagics will showup at inshore locations not normallyfound the rest of the year. Redfish willschool up, snook will pile up in the back-country and everything from sheepshead totarpon can all be part of your day. A shortbreakdown of the species to pursue andwhere to find them may be an eye opener. Offshore Species- The good news

is that you don’t really have to go off-shore to get your arms broken by majorfish. Kingfish up to 40 pounds, bonita to12 pounds , sharks to 200 pounds andcobia to 30 pounds will show within amile of Boca Grande Pass. Watch for div-ing birds and fish breaking the surface.Small fish blasting on the top often havemajor fish feeding below. Big threadfinsor pilchards are an easy recipe to connect.You will likely have to chase these fishdown as they constantly move chasingbaitfish. Do not run up to the fish or youwill put them down. Set up a drift tointercept their direction and wait for themto come. Oversize jack crevalle up to 20pounds may jolt your rod as well!Spanish mackerel will show up all overthe beaches and harbor and small jigs andspoons will get the job done. Grouperwill be moving closer to shore, but youwill still need to go 10 miles-plus off-shore.Beach Species- Pompano were

already showing themselves in Septemberand can be found around sandy areas alongthe passes, Johnsons shoals and the like.Sheepshead have already made an appear-ance and rocks and dock pilings are mag-nets. Whiting and flounder will start tobless your line when fishing along thebeaches and bluefish will come chargingby at any time. A jig tipped with shrimpor squid will make any of these fish chew. Lets not forget the migrating lizard fish

and puffer fish which will begin appear-ing. One fish that many don’t associatewith the beach is the redfish. Monsterredfish will be traveling the beach nearany strong current areas. All of the passeshave major redfish traveling through. Fishbetween 15-20 pounds like a fat pinfish,crab or chunk of mullet to dine on.Backcountry & Flats- Some of my

biggest snook catches take place inOctober. Snook spend the summermonths sulking on the beach and move tothe mangroves and bars in search of ahigh protein diet of shrimp, crabs,pilchards, threadfins and pinfish. All ofwhich are conveniently living in thegrassbeds. Grassbeds are experiencingchanges as well as the rest of the ecosys-tem. Reduced daylight and cooler tempera-tures will affect photosynthesis and thecharacteristics of our grassbeds begin toquickly change. This change triggersaggressive feeding. Redfish can still befound in schools but many fish will bescattered throughout the harbor making forgreat fishing. High tides, mangroves and apinfish on your line will guarantee a pull.Trout fishing will be good this month andbigger fish will show themselves.Drifting the grassbeds on high tides andcasting lures will produce non-stop action.Open Harbor- Tarpon will likely

remain strong, ladyfish are everywhere andSpanish mackerel will be crashing bait-fish. Cobia will begin to show up more

frequently. Threadfins and ladyfish willcatch the tarpon.The hardest part about fishing in

October is choosing which fish to pursue.A mighty nice problem to have!

Capt. Chuck Eichner operates ActionFlats Backcountry Charters and can be con-tacted for charters at 941-505-0003 or v isitwww.backcountry-charters.com

OctoberFeedingFrenzy

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By Mathew P. DunnLegislative Director, GovernmentRelations, National MarineManufacturers AssociationAs you may know, in the spring of

2009 Growth Energy, a pro-corn ethanollobby group, petitioned theEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA)to allow ethanol to comprise up to 15%(E15) of gasoline sold in the UnitedStates from the current level of 10%(E10). As mandated by law, the EPA had270 days to make a decision on thewaiver petition, which would have beenDecember 1, 2009. On that date, EPAannounced that it would delay its deci-sion until late summer of 2010 to allowmore scientific tests to be completed.We now anticipate that the EPA will

make its decision later this month orearly next month. As we wait for EPAsannouncement, NMMA and our partnerorganizations in the “Say NO toUntested E15” coalition are encouragingconcerned boaters and people in themarine industry to visitwww.Fol lowTheScience. org towrite an email to President Obamarequesting that he urge the EPA to thor-

oughly and comprehensively test allgasoline-powered engines, includingmarine engines, before allowing E15into the marketplace. What You Can Do to Help: The

ethanol issue has and will continue tohave a large impact on the boating com-munity and we need your help to spreadthe word. If you reach boaters or othersin the marine industry through other

venues like your organizational web site,blogs, newsletters, Twitter, Facebookand/or other social media, we encourageyou to use these resources to driveboaters towww.Fol lowTheScience. org . Wealso have Follow the Science banner adsin several sizes and template newsletterarticles that we can email you uponrequest.

Tell White House to Say No to Untested E15

These photos were shot by Stewart Browning who just happened to be there taking pictures.

Special to Water LIFERIP Capt. Tom Henry. Tom was a long time friend , not just to

me but boaters everywhere. I don't think hehad an enemy anywhere. His boat isWaterdog, a 48 Garlington. Tom had beenin/out of Jupiter Inlet over a 1000 times.Tom used to fish Hatteras every spring,Ocean City in the summer and the rest ofthe year in Jupiter with many spring tripsto the Bahamas. Tom always had a kind word for every-

one on the VHF and always shared adviceon the days fishing to other seasoned prosand weekend warriors alike. On Friday the break on the bar at Jupiter

was 8-10 feet. This inlet can be very diffi-cult in most any situation. The swells werecaused by the offshore hurricanes.Unfortunately, Tom was thrown from the

bridge, struck the deck, broke his neck anddied. The mate regained control of the boatand returned to the dock with the 5 peoplefrom the charter unharmed.

Tom was originally from Maryland andwas a lawyer briefly before deciding his truelove was the water and fishing.

Captain Dies in Freak Accident at Jupiter Inlet

941-627-577723269 Bayshore RdCharlotte Harbor

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Water LIFE says NO!

to Charlie Crist ... for

any office, ... ever.

And its allbecause of theway he treated

boaters andmanatees

This is an advertisement sought to influence the way you vote


By Betty S taugler Water LIFE / Sea Grant Do you know the answer to these

questions? If not, check in with a 4HMarine Ecology kid, because these ques-tions and many more like them are whatthey spend countless hours studying toprepare themselves for the statewide 4HMarine Ecology Event, held each year inNovember in Orlando.To help the kids from southwest

Florida prepare for the event, the SeaGrant agents in Collier, Lee and Charlottecounties held a “mock” event onSeptember 23rd in Ft. Myers. Kids, ages8 to 18 participated. The kids rotatedthrough four stations in 20 minute timedintervals. At three of the stations, the kidshad to identify up to 25 specimens bymatching them to a specimen list (thatcontained far more specimen names thanwere on the table). One station was fullof coastal vegetation, including needlerush, sea oxeye, black mangrove andmarsh elder. The kids learn to identifyplant species by looking for key character-istic such as leaf shape, whether theleaves are opposite each other or alternat-ing, and whether they’re succulent or not.They look for nodes and edges when

indentifying marsh grasses.A second station contained vertebrates,

most of which were fish species includingblack drum, pinfish, sheepshead and gulfkillifish. The kids know the best way to‘cold read’ a fish is by shape. They alsolook at mouth orientation, placement andsize of the eyes, placement of the fins,whether the fins are rounded or not, thenumber and size of spines, and key fea-tures like bars and spots. The kids knowcolor is not a good way to identify a fishbecause it can vary within a species dra-matically. A special thanks to the folks at

FWC who collected the majority of ourfish specimens. The vertebrate table alsoincluded the identification of bird speciessuch as the little blue heron and ringbilled gull. These were stuffed birds fromthe Florida Museum of Natural History.The third identification station con-

tained invertebrates. The kids will tellyou invertebrates lack a spine. Many ofthe invertebrates were live specimens thatwere held in tanks and released after theevent. These included blue, stone and spi-der crabs, lightening whelk and Floridahorse conch.

The last station is where the scavengerhunt took place. Here specimens werelinked to clues about them. Vegetation,vertebrates and invertebrates were all partof the hunt and our specimens includedskulls and shells. This was a difficult sta-tion for some of the kids, particularly theyounger ones, who would say “I know itsa pipefish, but I don’t know what the clueis.” That clue was “The male of this fishgives birth” and the answer could havebeen either a pipefish or a seahorse…butin this case a pipefish was what we hadon the table.Events that allow kids to learn about

and compete in the area of natural sci-ences are a lot of fun and help them learnstudy skills that will benefit them farbeyond the event. So, which crab is not a true crab? The

answer is a horseshoe crab. A moon snail produces an egg mass

surrounded by a sand collar. And, a toad fish is also known as an

oyster cracker. Betty Staugler is the Florida Sea Grant

Agent for Charlotte County. She can bereached at 941.764.4346. Sea Grant is aUniversity of Florida IFAS program.

Kids Prepare to Compete in the Marine Sciences

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The SnoopyPole Tournament

Water LIFE S taff ReportThis is the fun side of fishing, the 4th ‘annual’ Snoopy

Pole tournament put on by Dave Jacobs and friends. Its nobig deal Dave told us. It started out as me and some friendsand then friends of the friends and other friends. Last yearthey had 35 boats lined up along the beach at the Port Charlotte Beach Complexfor the weigh in. Last year they had some 4-foot sharks Dave noted, remindingeveryone that sharks had to be greater than 54 inches this year and there werenone.The whole idea is to fish with a snoopy pole or a cinderella pole or some

other little kids spin caster. The ones from Wal-Mart seem to be popular. Everycompetitor puts $10 into the pot and the angler with the heaviest fish (just solong as its legal) wins the pot. Catch and release, 1 pound penalty for dead.There was also a prize for second place and for the smallest legal species, whichwas announced the morning of the tournament to be ladyfish. Two four ounceladyfish ‘twins’ wound up sharing that crown.There were fewer boats this year because of a local tournament scheduled on

the same day, but still there were 20-plus entries and all with good smiles.

There were a few small stingrays (top) but the one gar thatJoe Jacobs weighed in (above) at 4.6 pounds was a crowdfavorite.

The heaviest fish was a beautiful 6.9 pound 26 inch redfishthat was subject to the 1 pound dead fish penalty, but was still awinner at the adjusted weight for Jennifer Mercer.

By Adam WildonWater LIFE Diving

Its feeling like fall already with short-er days, east winds, a little less humidityand thoughts of stone crabs just aroundthe corner. Opening day for stone crabs isFriday October 15th. Thanks to a firstquarter moon the current should be mild,especially combined with a long incom-ing tide starting Thursday afternoon andslowly building to a high around 6 a.m.Friday morning. As long as we don’t getany strong westerly winds in the daysbefore, its going to be a stellar seasonstarter.If you’re planning on heading out

Thursday night to gear up and be ready todive at midnight, well, I will see you outthere. Now I have no reservations aboutrunning 80 miles offshore and rollinginto 200 feet of clear water to explorewrecks or shoot fish. But make no mis-take, even in only 12 feet of water; I con-sider stone crabbing some of the mostchallenging diving around and every year Iget the willies before jumping into thedark waters of Gasparilla sound. Night diving under bridges and trestles

with entanglements at every turn, razorsharp barnacle and oyster encrusted pil-ings, low- to no-visibility and possiblecurrents that can take your mask off ifyou look sideways can be hazardous. Anddon’t forget the occasional manatee or dol-phin. Sure they are quite harmless, untilyou look up and find a curious one rightin front of your face, startling the day-lights out of you. Keeping your gear con-figuration minimal is a good idea. Stonecrabbing is no place for fancy gear like airintegrated computers, expensive regulatorsor your favorite $500 wetsuit. At least 2flashlights is a must. Water temp is usu-ally between 79-82 degrees. Although thetemperature doesn’t dictate need for ahood, I wear one just for protectionagainst head bumps and cuts. A wetsuitwithout sturdy kneepads will be quicklyshredded. I’ve had Kevlar knee pads sewnon some of my older suits by my friend

Don Ham. Don does incredible wetsuitrepairs and alterations 624-3646. Ofcourse a measuring gauge is mandatory.Two nand ¾ inches is the minimumlength, measured across the bottom, fromthe tip of the non-hinged claw to the firstjoint. After a few dives your eye willbegin to see the difference between akeeper claw and one thats just a hairshort. The same rule we use whenspearfishing also applies to crabs, if youcan’t determine if its legal at first glance,best to leave it and go to the next one.Personally I prefer to hunt for jumboclaws that make you say WHOA!

Heres a little stone crab 101. Theycan live up to eight years. Their spawn-ing season runs from summer into thefall. Mating only happens after the femalemolts, revealing a softer outer skeleton.Molting is the process that takes placewhen a crab grows too large for their hardshell and is forced to escape the constant-ly constricting confines by shedding theirold exoskeleton and growing a new, largerone. A female can molt up to six times aspawning season and produce up to onemillion eggs after each molt. If you find afemale with an orange or brown spongymaterial on her under carriage, (photobelow) that is her egg sack. Because amolested female will likely drop her egg

sack when stressed, thereby killing all thebabies, egg laden females are off limit toharvest. Sometimes you will find largemale crabs near and protecting egg carry-ing females. The most asked question Ihear, “Do you take both claws”? Yes,both legal sized claws can be legally &

ethically harvested. Extensive research bythe State of Florida has shown removingboth claws causes no harm to the crab. Aclawless crab adapts by remaining moreconcealed, scavenging for sea grass, a dietthat actually re-grows claws faster thantheir normal diet of mollusks, crustaceansand dead fish. Octopus regularly feed onstone crabs regardless of having claws ornot. Unable to fend off aggressive malesduring spawning season, a clawlessfemale may actually produce many morebaby crabs. A defense mechanism to avoidpredation, stone crabs can eject theirclaws to get away from hungry groupers,octopus or turtles. Sometimes when yougrab a crab you will find that the claw lit-erally falls off into your hand. Othertimes they will struggle and give you alot of resistance. I have found if youbreak off a claw when the crabs are resist-ing there is a much higher chance of afatal wound. If you hold a struggling crabfor just a moment you will feel himrelax. Thats the time to go for the pop.A fast downward snap will remove theclaw. Avoid twisting claws off as it tearsexcess tissue from the crabs’ body, killingit almost every time. The second most asked question I hear,

“How long does it take for a new claw togrow”? A tiny pincer appears after thecrabs’ next molt. Each molt thereafter the

claw becomes bigger. It is thought a legalsized claw could be grown in as little asone year. Stone crabs have fingerprintsindicating whether or not they have everbeen harvested. On the inside of the clawby the upper, hinged pincer is a series oflines similar to a thumb print. Solid,unbroken lines indicate an original claw.Broken lines looking like dots and dashesof Morse code reveal a claw regenerated.

In recent years FWC has been onscene at the most popular spots. A 20inch by 24 inch, well lit dive flag isrequired on the boat, or a 12 inch squarelit tow behind flag. Max limit is one gal-lon of claws per person or two gallonsper vessel, whichever is less.Despite the concerns of the advanced

skills needed to safely stone crab, theirhabitat is home to some of the best div-ing in southwest Florida. The railroadtrestle at Boca Grande is essentially anartificial reef over 100 years old and itshows. The amount of life is overwhelm-ing. Every species of critter found Gulfwide can be found right here, usually justin miniature form, and sometimes fullgrown. When visibility exceeds ten feet Iwould put it in my top 5 list of must dodives. If you do make it out openingnight and only find silted up water andcrabs running in every direction with noclaws, change course, you’re behind me!

O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 w w w. Wa t e r L I F E m a g a z i n e . c o m P a g e 1 3

Stone Crabs Open 10/15

Tiny (blue) blennies are hard to spot being the size of a pinky. Even harder trying to get aclose up of one. They usually bolt backwards into their homes.


ATLANTIC BLUEFINThe 90-day finding released

September 24 states that theCenter for Biological Diversitys(CBD) petition under theEndangered Species Act (ESA) tolist Atlantic bluefin tuna contains“substantial information” that thepetitioned action may be warrant-ed; it is not a listing for Atlanticbluefin tuna, but the finding isthe first step in a prescribedprocess for responding to everypetition filed with NOAA Fisheries to list a species under the ESA. An affirmative 90-day finding is required if the petition presents sufficient information to meet criteriaspecified in the ESA. As a result of this affirmative finding, Atlantic bluefin tuna arenow considered a candidate species.

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By Kel ly Beal lWater LIFE Commercial FishingI think within us all is a fear of gov-

ernment. Particularly when it comes toany police agency. Luckily we live in acountry of checks and balances. It maytake years and years but sooner or later anabuse of power catches up to the abuser.I guess pay back time has arrived in NewEngland. Secretary of Commerce GaryLocke announced sweeping reforms toincrease accountability and transparencyand strengthen the publics trust inNOAAs office of Law Enforcement. This came in the wake of a report by

the US Commerce Dept Inspector Generalwhich found multiple cases of likelyabuse of police or legal authority in thefederal fisheries law enforcement systemand argued that NOAA needs to "lookback" and redress miscarriages of justiceagainst fishermen. So what triggered this investigation? It

was the story of so many fisherman whofelt the wrath of over zealous enforcementpersonnel. After hearing the countlessstories of abuse in power US SenatorOlympia Snowe voiced just how appalledshe really is.

“For centuries, fishermen have beenthe backbone of our coastal communities,

and the Inspector Generals findings ofbias against them by some enforcementpersonnel in the northeast region areappalling,” Senator Snowe said. “On multiple

occasions, the NOAA Administrator hasreassured me of her commitment to‘rebuild the climate of trust’ betweenindustry members and regulators in NewEngland, yet allowing individuals with adocumented history of bias against fisher-men and egregious abuses of power toremain on the payroll would run com-pletely counter to that goal. I fullyexpect that the individual cited in yester-days report, and any other personnel foundto have engaged in these actions willimmediately be removed from their posi-tions.”

“Furthermore, I find it extremely dis-turbing that NOAAs former head ofFisheries Law Enforcement, who was‘reassigned’ on April 8th – nearly sixmonths ago – remains on the payrolltoday pending resolution of his case.While there certainly are protocols thatmust be adhered to, there is no doubt thatthis individuals actions, including theshredding of case files while under inves-tigation by the Inspector General, merittermination of his tenure with the agency,

not what amounts to a six month paidvacation at taxpayers’ expense.”Larry Yacubian, a longtime fisherman

in New England has been a victim ofthis agencies bullying and ultimately lostone of his loves in life due to their tyran-ny. He was cited in December 1998 off-shore when he was boarded by the USCoast Guard. Just out scalloping, mak-ing his living, they question him of his

whereabouts of the day and cited him forallegedly going into closed waters. Theyalso, prompted by someone coachingfrom onshore, asked him the weight ofhis catch. With no way to weigh it, outthere, he explained he could only estimateit because it didn't get weighed-in untilthe boat docked. They knew that, butthey also knew you can't refuse an answerto the Coast Guard. They ended up con-fiscating his catch and making him comein. When he arrived at the dock therewere newspapers, customs agents, TVreporters and all kinds of craziness goingon about it. He said you would ofthought they just brought in JohnDillinger or Bin Laden. They began to demonize the commer-

cial fishermen at that point over nothing.When the case finally went before theCoast Guard court they fined him$220,000 for incursion into a closed areaand $30,000 for lying about the weightof the catch – which of course he was offin his estimate. Hes a fisherman, hes notpsychic.

The fines sound steep but that is noth-ing compared to being permanently barredfrom scalloping and losing his licensewhich is what made his boat so value-able. Thats like getting a speeding ticketand losing your drivers license FOREV-ER! Of course he fought it and two yearslater a Federal Court Judge ruled that hiscivil rights were violated and ordered theCoast Guard court to re-evaluate the find-ings of fishing in closed waters because,after all, this was the first Vessel MonitorSystem case and they weren't known fortheir accuracy. This was before they wereGPS based, when they worked off onesetellite and could never be exact. By the time the Federal Court reduces

his fines (by taking off the $30,000) hehas already sold his boat at a HUGE loss,relocated to Florida, sold his property upnorth, and is completely out of the scal-lop fishery and out of a job. Where islady justice in that?? Well, the dirt bag behind harassing

these fisherman not only ruined theirlives, but he kept tens of millions infines levied against these US CommercialFisherman – money held in anUNRECORDED account to be used bythe fisheries law enforcement division ofNOAA to fuel extravagant purchases andforeign travel. This according to a foren-sic audit for the US Inspector General. Go online and read about how the

NOAA fisheries law enforcement broughtin 96 million dollars in 4 and a half yearsfrom fining innocent commercial fisher-man! This misuse of authority did not put

these guys behind bars. Just shining alight and a camera is the first feeling ofvindication for fishermen who for yearshad complained to congress about theabuse of authority, grudge settling (as inLarrys case) and harassment. This didn'thappen in Florida - it was New Englandand Mid Atlantic, but the scary thingis...it was still here in the US, justanother reminder that the best governmentis less government.

Kelly Beall owns and operates PeaceRiver Seafood at 5337 Duncan Road, PuntaGorda, Fl 33982 (941) 505-8440


Asset Forfeiture Fund How Lives are Ruined


How about an Indian Gaming Casino atthe north end of the US 41 bridge, where theold Oyster Bar Restaurant used to be? Weoverheard such an idea in a high end localrestaurant.

Officers responded to the report of whatwas thought to be decayed human remainsin Black Water Sound. One officer wadedinto the shallow waters to conduct aninspection. He determined the object to be amanatee carcass ...and went to wash ishands.

Dr. Julie H. Ball (below) of Virginia Beach,VA, USA, who has 11 world records to hercredit may have a 12th after catching a33.57 kg (74 lb 0 oz) cobia. She is a young

lady who is adept with fly fishing gear

Kill Em and Eat ʻEm Florida Keys -- Morethan 100 divers submerged on Sept. 11 tocollect 534 Indo-Pacific red lionfish duringthe initial concerted effort to reduce the pop-ulation of the invasive species in the FloridaKeys National Marine Sanctuary. The first ofthree planned Keys-based lionfish derbiesattracted 27 teams that competed for cashand prizes to collect the most, largest andsmallest lionfish. And after the weigh in theyate the lionfish, which we have been toldtaste good.

Related Subject: LionfishI've been hearing steady reports of lionfishfrom up and down the coast for a few weeksnow. So far the closest has been in 50 feetoff Sarasota, confirmed with photos. I'vetalked with guys that are seeing them as farnorth in the Gulf as the Homosassa/ Crystalriver area. Just a matter of time before westart to see them here I'm sure. I'll be shoot-ing and eating them when I do.Adam Wilson

Wes Skiles story was on the cover ofNational Geographics August issue. It con-tained the magazines second-ever tear-out,fold-out photograph. But Skiles did not havethe chance to enjoy the recognition. He died

tragically in Julywhile diving offthe coast ofFlorida, at age52. The detailsof the accidentare unknown.

We needmore of that

Local anglerDave Jacobstold us he founda fishbox with two redfish in it before aCharlotte Harbor summer tournament thisyear and he released the fish. The goodpart of the story is Dave was willing tospeak on the record. We need more of that.

Vague Inuendo stories of fish swapping -two teams combining fish to make a win-ning pair and then splitting the winnings.According to the DAs office thats fraud.

The annual Pirate Invasion and general midsummer excuse to get wet went and havefun happened at Fishermens Village last

month in good weather and with good spiritsfor all.

Whale with a pocket knife FWC officersinterviewed subjects regarding their contactwith a pygmy sperm whale that washedashore in Delray Beach. A man fishing fromthe beach came across the whale and cut itstail off using a pocketknife.

Slow Learners Tournament anglers arereportedly being reminded regularly they areonly allowed to keep two redfish in theirlivewell at any time. The FWC has been pro-viding this same information to tournamentanglers as part of the culling waiver process,since 2004.

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By Capt. Jim O'BrienWater LIFE Englewood

Hey y- all I hope y- all got out andgot some fish'n time in. Fish'n has beenat its best. This month should be goodalso. It looks like snook season will beclosed for another year, till Sept 2011.Florida FISH and WILDLIFE commis-sion made there final decision' Snook sea-son should open September 1 2011. Makesure you CATCH and RELEASE. Snookfish'n has been good in the passes, and onthe beachs. White bait, large shrimp, andpin fish are an excellent choice of baits.Red fish'n has been good from Pine

Island to Lemon Bay, also from Sand Flyisland going into Bull Bay, fish aroundthe oyster bars artificial baits I still likethe gold johnson spoons 1/4 to 1/2 oz.Trout season is open now. If you fish

the Harbor, or bull bay fish the sandy potholes. I like to use a Cotee jig red headwith a white curly tail tipped with a pieceof shrimp, for scent and a rattling pop-ping cork. Thats a DYNO= MITE set up.

Spanish mackerel are in Boca GrandePass, and just off Gasparilla Pass andStump P ass from 3 to 20 miles out.Sharks are all over the place. They are

on all the artificial reefs inshore they arein the harbor, off johnson shoals, and inBoca Grande pass. There has been somebig bull sharks up in the upper harbor.Snapper fish'n has been very good last

month and should be great this month,there are mangrove snapper on all theinshore reefs and the bigger mangs, yel-low tail, and lane snapper are on most ofthe offshore wrecks and ledges.Grouper fish'n has been good. On my

last charter we started fish'n at 30 miles,we went to 4 or 5 spots and I didn't seeanything on my fish finder that trippedmy trigger so we went out to 35 milesand I only seen a few fish on my screen,So I come back to 30 miles and went to a

way point number that was in the middleof the spots we went to earlier, and myfish finder lit up with large fish symbols.I mean to tell ya it seamed like all thebig grouper come to this particlar spot.My screen had consistent big fish on thebottom all day long. We caught one nicered grouper and lost at least 5 more.When ol' Capt. here sees his stoutgrouper rods bent over double and staylike that I will tell ya that fish will go inthe box. After the last fish break off wecouldn't raise another big grouper go fig-ure. Well I guess thats why they call itfish'n instead of catch'nIn my photos this month you will see

Micheal with a nice MUTTON SNAP-PER, and Ken Lathrope with a nice RedGrouper for bait we was using pin fish,sardines squid, mullet.

Remember: Get out and snortsome of that good clean sal t aircuz - i ts good fer ya!

If you have any questions or if you have agood ol' fishin’ story or a recipe for cook ingfish that I can share with our readers give mea call. To book an offshore charter with us -aboard the Predator II call (941) 473-2150

From the Olʼ Fishʼn Hole

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By David Al lenWater LIFE KayakingIn late September and early October an

increasing number of new potential mem-bers show up for the weekly Port CharlotteKayakers club meetings. Each year it seemsmore and more Floridians and snowbirdsbecome interested in the sport of kayakingand want to learn more about it. And whynot? I believe we have in CharlotteCounty, but truly all across Florida, thebest kayaking in the U.S. From the tran-quil creeks and streams, to the spring-fedrivers north of Tampa, in the Everglades ofcourse, on the beaches and inlets, a grow-ing number of kayakers are enjoying thissport every day. What other sport can trans-

port you to another world of natural beauty,far removed from daily life, with abundantwildlife to experience and enjoy. And at thesame time get you some healthful exercise.For newcomers to the sport, selecting a

kayak can be a daunting experience, and onethat often results in a kayak that is unsuit-ed, in some respect, for the kind of pad-dling most of us do. Often, the first kayakpeople purchase is too short, under 12 ft.,and the paddler finds that it doesn’t trackwell and is too slow to keep up with thegroup. Sometimes, the kayak is too heavy,making it a real chore to load and unloadfrom a car-top. A small cockpit can make itdifficult to get into, particularly if thekayaker has stiff legs or has a bad back. Akayak that is too narrow for the paddlingskills of the novice will feel “tippy” andunstable.

Take your time when purchasing akayak. Many of these problems can beeliminated by not rushing to purchase yourfirst kayak. Most dealers will let you tryout several kayaks and tell you the advan-tages and disadvantages of each style. Somedealers also conduct free paddle demoswhere you can try out a variety of kayaksand paddles before you buy. This is a greatway to decide which kayak you like andwhich fits you best before you make thebig investment.

Here is a l i ttle background infoand a few tips to point your ini tialsearch in the right direction.

You’ll find thatessentially all the kayakclubs in the area haveone or two paddles aweek for their mem-bers. These paddleswill be about 2-4 hourslong, usually in thecreeks and rivers in the

area, but occasionally in the open water ofthe bay or Gulf. Most clubs have a longerpaddle each week for intermediate paddlers;usually 10-15 miles, usually in open water.I’ve never know a club to intentionally pad-dle in bad weather or rough water, althoughit does happen, and you need a kayak thatwill handle those difficult conditions.Kayaks suitable for this type of paddlingare recreational and touring kayaks.Recreational kayaks are generally used

on calmer waters like rivers and shelteredbays. These kayaks are generally wider andshorter than the touring kayaks, usuallybetween 12 and 15 feet long and about 24-27 inches wide. They are fairly easy toturn, but often they do not track well andthe shorter kayaks are slow. These kayaksare attractive to many kayakers becausethey are relatively inexpensive, $700 toabout $1500, and are easy to car-top.

The least expensive kayaks are roto-molded polyethylene and the more expen-sive are made of fiberglass, Kevlar or car-bon fiber. Carbon fiber kayaks can costwell over $3,000. The 14 and 15 ft. recre-ational fiber glass or roto-molded kayaksare ideal for the kind of paddling mostclubs do.Touring kayaks are longer, very stable,

and slightly heavier than the recreationalkayaks. They are designed to handle choppywater and more challenging conditions, butthey are very suitable for all types of pad-dling. They do not turn as easily as theshorter kayaks, but their long, narrowdesign allows for more speed and bettertracking abilities. With large, watertightcompartments in the bow and stern, theyare suitable for over-night or longer trips.About half of our club have touringkayaks, ranging in length from 16 to 18 ft.Prices of fiberglass touring kayaks canrange from $1500 to over $3000.Be aware of the compromises of each

type of boat. A recreational boat will bevery stable initially but will not track well(so you have to paddle more to keep theboat straight) and you have to paddle harderto keep up. Touring boats are longer andnarrower, they are speedier and easier topaddle straight. But some paddlers feel theyare less stable initially. And a last, but very important considera-

tion, is comfort. You will spend hours pad-dling your kayak, often in hot weather,often unable to get to a beach to get out ofyour kayak for a break. Make very surethat the seat and back-rest are very comfort-able and that the leg braces and foot restsare comfortable and properly adjusted aswell. You can’t tell if a boat is comfort-able in a 15 minute demo paddle, so takeyour time before you spend your hardearned money and start this season with theright kayak.

The Port Charlotte Kayakers meet eachWednesday evening at 5:30 PM at PortCharlotte Beach Park at the end of HarborBlvd. All are welcome to attend. For addi-tional information contact Dave Allen at941-235-2588 or [email protected]


Paddling:Start this Season

with the Right Kayak.

Charlotte County s CompleteSwimming Pool SupplysPool Repair and Maintenance Store

575-2525575-2525Located in the Punta Gorda Crossing Shopping Center Next to Publix Mon-Fri 9AM-5:30PM Sat 9AM-3PM

Specializing in Heaters andPool Pumps

“Green Pool” “Green Pool” Clean Up & MaintenanceClean Up & Maintenance

Mast service is often specialized

By Bi l l DixonWater LIFE SailingWell, summer is over. Highs are

upper 80s, lows low 70s. No rainfor 10 days at this writing. Firstsnowbird is back. Sailing scheduleis growing. My boat is still dis-assembled. As usual, I was overlyoptimistic on how much work Icould do at 94 F.New organization on the racing

scene, St Pete YC and Davis Islandhave started up some sort of a regat-ta marketing organization. Theysay this is not a new rating organi-zation, not competition forWFPHRF. Their first concreteaction was to change the scoring on

PHRFs Sun Coast BOTYseries. ?????Flying Scott fleet has a

Florida district event inCoconut Grove Oct 2,3.Next District event is Nov

13, 14 in Sarasota. Contact MartinHolland [email protected] fall series is underway, #4

will be Oct 4. See the PGSC website at www.pgscweb.com Charlotte Harbor YC Wednesday

night series continues. ContactMartin Holland as above. Caloosahatchee Marching and

Chowder Societys SummersetRegatta October 16,17. ContactCMCS at www.cmcs-sail.org. Seven Seas Cruising Association

is having a 2 day event October 22,23 at Isles YC. Contact IYC direct.More information is on Seven Seas'website http://ssca.org/cgi-

bin/pagegen.pl?pg=home&title=HomePGSC Moonlight Regatta will

be Oct 23. Details on PGSC web-site www.pgscweb.comGo!! Sail!! Its not gonna get

any [email protected]


These photos are of Bill Dixons mast. It suffered continued exposure to saltwater. “I am considering buying a foot of extrusion and cutting off the badlycorroded piece, welding new on.” Dixon wrote. Bottom of the mast wasunder water most of the time. The bad corrosion/pits are near water line.Bilge is flat and water stood in it till enough collected to lift the float switchand run the bilge pump. Stupid design, but then mast is 31 years old.

Notice of Regatta:Florida Regional Sunfish ChampionshipNovember 6 & 7, 2010On Charlotte Harbor at the YMCA Bayfront Center750 West Retta Esplanade, Punta Gorda, Fl.Sponsored by the Charlotte Harbor Community Sailing Center.


The Water LIFEWater LIFE Distributors Club

Cooks Sportland

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 FREE at select locations around the state. These free ads to our loyal distributors rotate on a monthly basis. and is distributed FREE at select locations around the state. These free ads to our loyal distributors rotate on a monthly basis.

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F i s h i n g F i s h i n gR e p o r t R e p o r t Charlotte Harbor:Robert at Fishin' FranksPort Charlotte: 625-3888

October is one of the two bestmonths of the year. Everything isin transition, period. It goes fromsummer to winter for a lot ofspecies. Tarpon have their lasthurrah in the harbor, the migratory fish aregetting ready to leave. There are fish scat-tered on the beaches in the passes and upriver. They are usually concentrated intighter schools because they are feedingreal heavy. They are eating threadfins inthe passes and in the Harbor they are feed-ing on ladyfish. After the full moon ofOctober the tarpon pretty much disappear.At the US 41 bridge to the bridge at I 75there have been several hundred fish, butthey have been hard to get to eat. Nightfishing at the bridge has been excellent.Redfish are the predominant species

now throughout the whole state. This isthe time they tend to school up for the prespawn. The majority of the schools areconcentrated down around the Intracoastal.

For locating the fishdrift or blind cast infour feet of water along the flats. Thattends to be the depth for those fish now.Sometimes you will see them up on theflats and some of these schools are 300fish strong. They will eat just about any-thing that you throw in front of them. Trya weedless spoon for locating the fish.they will eat anything: topwater or shrimpor cut ladyfish or cut sardines. There arealso a lot of individual redfish along theupper end of the harbor on the east andwest walls.

Trout are starting to get better andbetter as the water temperature drops.Soon the trout should move in and be big-ger in size and numbers. Usually you cancatch quite a few trout drifting the flats

when you are looking for the redfish.Trout are not as fresh water tolerant sothey are still abundant around Bull andTurtle Bay. They won’t move up hereuntil mid November when the salt movesup.Spanish mackerel are already in the

Harbor. They will only get better and bet-ter throughout the monthFlounder are starting to make a huge

presence now. Some fish have been hereall summer.Sheepshead will show at the near

shore reefs this month and slowly trickletheir way inshore later. King Mackerel and Cobia should

show soon as it cools off.

Pompano are really going to begood this season. I think this will be areally good year for pompano because ofthe oddball pompano that have lingeredaround here all summer.Shark are leaving the Harbor. You will

see some decent size sharks as they getready to migrate offshore. The grouper and snapper bite has

been very very good offshore so long asyou can avoid the wind.Snook will be moving off the beach-

es and up into the Harbor now. You shouldfind lots of small schools of snook sincethese fish are traveling around a lot gettingready for winter.

Fishing Report Continued on following page

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The FWC suggests that redfish be held horizontally and not bythe gills. Tarpon, on the other hand should be left in the waterunless there has been a tarpon tag affixed to the animal. Theseare CHS graduates Matt Crabtree and Brennen Rueff, both nowjuniors at Edison State College. The tag may just not be in view.

Capt Angel Torez (left) has this tarponout of the water to collect a DNA samplewith Capt. Rob McQue

CALENDAR�� Oct. 1-3: Conservancy of Southwest FloridaRedSnook Charity Tournament, Registrationforms online. e-mail: [email protected]

�� Oct. 1-3: KEY LARGO, RedboneCelebrity Series that raises funds to fightcystic fibrosis

�� October 16: Middle Keys Lionfish Derbyat Keys Fisheries in Marathon, FL

�� October 16: Youth Sailing, Punta GordaCommunity Sailing Center, show up at noon.Retta Esplanade.

�� November 13: Lower Keys LionfishDerby at Hurricane Hole Marina in Key West,MOST LIONFISH: $1,000 cash, $500 cash,$250 Divers Direct Gift Certificate BIGGESTLIONFISH: $500 cash, $200 cash, $100Divers Direct Gift CertificateSMALLEST LIONFISH: $500 cash, $200cash, $100 Divers Direct Gift Certificate.Contact:[email protected] or call 305-852-0030

�� Nov 20: 11th Annual Charlotte HarborNature Festival Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.Charlotte County Sports Complex

Send your calendar events to:[email protected]

F i s h i n gF i s h i n gRR e p o r te p o r t .

continued from page 21

Lemon Bay:Jim at Fishermens Edge,Englewood: 697-7595We have had snaper and grouper offshore

and still some mackerel and kingfish. Thegrouper I have seen come back are nice fishwith thick fillets.There are still plenty of nice tarpon up in

Charlotte Harbor. The guys that are going upthere are throwing Bait Busters or big pinfish.The redfish have been good around the

docks on the Intracoastal, around the shallowback side of Boca Grande and out towards Bulland Turtle Bay. There have been some trout showing up

around the shallow end of the clam lease areabehind Sandfly Key. It seems like the trout arehanging in the deeper cut that runs around thenorth side of the island. One of the guys whocomes in here regularly told me they weredecent sized trout there.I have already heard some sheephead sto-

ries but only an occasional fish so far. Afterthe water cools off a little they will be thick aspea soup on the Placida Trestle.I have had some reports of snook in Ski

Alley off the Stump Pass inlet. The shallowwater in the inlet doesn’t seem to bother thefish coming or going but the boaters are surescreaming. And we have had some big pinfish in

Lemon Bay lately, pinfish in the 6 to 7 inchrange. That’s a pretty big pin fish.

The BIG-4 The BIG-4 Fish to expect in Fish to expect in OctoberOctober

SNOOK coming in from off-shore but season is CLOSED

SHARK heading out of theharbor

REDFISH are showing up inschools, holding to the south

TARPON ARE all still aroundthe Harbor till the full moon

FishingFishingFor NOW:For NOW:

Everything!Everything!


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Snook Snook is closed is closed untiluntilSept 2011Sept 2011

Offshore in 125ft on Sept 12th, 50 miles out, 4 guys4 rods bent over at the same time for 8 red grouper

Itʼs on out there!!!!!!!!! T hanksDennis Gore (above) Shan Swelland (below)

Southeast/Gulf of MexicoSoutheast/Gulf of Mexico - NOAA WillReopen the Recreational Red SnapperFishery in Gulf of Mexico Federal Waters

Recreational red snapper fishing will reopenfor an added season to allow fishermen to catch

the quota they did not reach because a portionof the Gulf was closed due to the DeepwaterHorizon/BP oil spill. Recreational fishing will beallowed on Fridays through Sundays for eightweeks, from Oct. 1 through Nov. 21.

Water LIFE Oct 2010

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Transcript of Water LIFE Oct 2010