waterlife dec04

Charlotte Harbor and Lemon Bay FloridaCharlotte Harbor and Lemon Bay FloridaFREE!FREE!

wwwwww.CHARLOTTEHARBORMAGAZINE.COM.CHARLOTTEHARBORMAGAZINE.COM FREE!FREE!

WaterWater LIFELIFEKeeping Boaters and Fishermen Informed December 2004Keeping Boaters and Fishermen Informed December 2004

FestiveFestivePiercingsPiercingsFor MackerelFor Mackerel6Page 16

PETA:PETA:ʻFish are soʻFish are somisunderstoodʼmisunderstoodʼPage 21Page 21

Flatsmasters WinnersFlatsmasters WinnersThe Morr is BrothersThe Morr is Brothers page 25page 25

PlentyPlentyof Shrimpof Shrimp

Page 14Page 14

Ever Been?Ever Been?R A P P E LR A P P E LF I S H I N GF I S H I N G

Page 19Page 19

AFTERMATH:AFTERMATH:

When the ʻRʼ isWhen the ʻRʼ ismissing from RVmissing from RVpage 26page 26

P a g e 2 W a 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 4

Except Tees, Hats, Belts and Raingear

D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 4 a t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 3

By Michael Hel lerWater LIFE EditorIf this keeps up I’m liable to regain

my faith in humanity. Time after time,in the wake of H-4, (you know whatthat was) local people have been com-ing together to bring back little piecesof life - that once was a very good life- in Charlotte County.My absolute favorite aspect of

Charlotte County has always been thecounty’s strong affinity for the water.Not only do we fish it and swim in itand boat on it, but we orchestrateentire events around the water, here.We have fishing tournaments almost

all year round. It even looks like the130 boat FLW Redfish Tour will becoming to Lemon Bay this year inJuly. There are three or four major sail-ing regattas in the harbor every year.We have the Fourth of July PeaceRiver swim, raft ups, clean ups, pad-dle-ups, yacht trips and sunset cruises,the only thing missing is a full-blownboat race.One of my favorite times of the

year on the water in Charlotte Harboris December. This month the fishing isgood in the daytime and at night thereholiday lights to see.The Lighting of the Fleet on

December 9 and the annual Lighted

Boat Parade on December 11 at PuntaGorda take place early in the month,but the lingering benefits of the fleetlaying lit in the yacht basin and theholiday lighting display on shore inthe surrounding canals will last allmonth long.Granted, there may be fewer houses

illuminated this year than in yearspast, but don’t underestimate yourneighbors. There will be plenty oflights to see and maybe even a Santaor two.Coming upon this phenomenon out

of the darkness, by boat, is akin to dis-covering Emerald City so cruising thePunta Gorda canals at night hasbecome a popular holiday past time.This year for the first time, the

Punta Gorda Isles Yacht Club hasopened its property to non- membersfor December 11, to provide landlub-bers a viewing space for the lightedboat parade.The boat parade route will again

start in Edgewater Lake on the PortCharlotte side of the river. Severalhomes in this area have now beendemolished and viewing space herecould be wide open this year. Theparade will cross the river to PuntaGorda where it will, for the first time,go into the Pompano Inlet and turn

left, traveling all the way down to theYacht Club’s boat basin. The boatswill then reverse course and head upriver past Fishermen’s Village and outunder the US 41 bridge where theparade will disband. The new open airupstairs patio at Smugglers restaurantin Fishermen’s Village might be anespecially good vantage point for theparade night. The bridge is also good.

The fleet remains lit every nightuntil New Years Day Eve.Quiet andcourteous behavior is the only price topay and if you don’t have a boat, thereare commercial sightseeing trips oper-ating from Fishermen’s Village.Charlotte Harbor is a great place to

Lighting of the Spirit

HOLIDAY LIGHTS BY BOATCANALS SHOWN IN GREEN AND RED

Pom

pano

Inle

t

FishermenʼsVillage

i

IslesYachtClub

Basin

Charlotte Harbor’s most popular boat and motor from the #1 Action Craft and Yamaha dealerCome by for your piece of the ‘Action’

3300 Palm Beach Blvd. (Exit 25) Ft. Myers • (239) 334-3424


Water LIFEMichael and Ellen Heller

Publishers(941) 766-8180

TOTALY INDEPENDENTWater LIFE is not affiliated

with any newspaper or otherpublication

© 2004 Vol III No. 13 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 DixonCartoons: Ron Mills

Kayaks: Various Contributors

on the COVER:Small kingfish and large SpanishMackerel have been in the area.

This is a big Spanish.

on our WEBSITE:WWW.charlotteharbormagazine.com

Tide Graphs: For Punta Gorda, ShellPoint, El Jobean, Pine Island, Matlacha,Redfish Pass, and Lemon Bay.Weather: Links to all of our favorite weath-er and radar web-sites.Back editions: Pages of previous editionsArtificial Reefs: Lat. and Long. for 24 localartificial reefs off Charlotte, Sarasota andLee Counties.Manatee Myths: Read the original plan forsanctuaries and refuges, as laid out by theUnited Nations in 1984Links to Realtors: Connect with advertis-ers

WRITE US!e-mail (preferred)

[email protected] MAIL:

217 Bangsberg Rd.Port Charlotte, FL 33952

CMRT

Hi WaterLIFE(I have attached) some clarifi-

cations on your article, as well assome links to a couple follow-uparticles printed after HurricaneJeanne. Also attached is a docu-ment I found on the DEP website,which explains their emergencydirective to treat and releaseprocess water that had accumulateddue to the extreme weather condi-tions.Since I live and work in

Charlotte County, I am very sensi-tive to anything printed about

Cargill/Mosaic/Phosphate and thePeace River. I want to make surethe Water LIFE readers have accu-rate information. Please let meknow if you have any more ques-tions, as I would be happy toreview any copy regarding thephosphate industry in the future.

In addition, Mike, can yougive me more details on the loca-tion of the algae bloom in theassociated photo? I want to try tofind out more information on it. Ilook forward to taking you all ona fertilizer manufacturing tour!

I have a great idea for a fishing-related story! Mosaic could hostyou to a fishing trip on our pri-vate reclaimed lakes. We have alittle hunting lodge on the borderof Polk and Hardee counties wherewe host customers for duck hunt-ing trips during that season, andfishing trips during February,March or April.I know Water LIFE is more

salt-water related, but it neverhurts to throw in a freshwaterstory, right?If you are interested, we can

schedule something in January.Kaley Miller

Editor notes: The phosphateindustry response to the article BillDixon wrote in our Novemberissue is far longer than space per-mits to re-print here. To be brief,they say they are not doing any-thing wrong. In an effort to be fairand balanced, we will take themup on their offer to fish the phos-phate ponds in January. We hearthe bass are glowing there.Stay Tuned! – MH

LETTER TO WATER LIFE

SUBSCRIBE to Water LIFEHave us mail your copy anywhere in the U.S.A. for $19 / YearName _______________________________________________Address _____________________________________________City _______________________________ State ____________Zip ____________________

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D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 4 W a t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 5

By Capt. Robert MooreWater LIFE Senior GuideEvery year in the early winter I make

my annual drive over to Harbor HeightsPark and launch my shallow skiff and ven-ture up the Peace River and Shell Creekarea in search of anything that will bendthe rod. I always start out hoping to catchsome snook that I hear and read about.Fishing the Peace River beyond the I-

75 Bridge has always been somewhat of achallenge for me. I usually apply the sametactics as I do for fishing the flats andmanage to catch a fish or two, but havenever seemed to master a consistent style Ican depend on. So when Jeff Calkins ofPort Charlotte and I were casually talkingabout snook fishing and he mentioned thesuccess he has had in the Peace River hegot my attention. His confidence is whatattracted me. I asked (ok, so I begged) himto share a day with me so I could experi-ence it first hand and he graciously agreed.A week later we met at Harbor Heights

Park and launched my boat. We headedover to the mouth of Shell Creek andstopped. Jeff took his rod and cast out. Iturned the motor off and grabbed my rod.Jeff smiled at me and said “we are going totroll” and turned the motor back on. As Idug through my tackle box I asked Jeffwhich plug he recommended. “Anythingthat rattles,” he replied.I took out a 1⁄2 ounce Rattle Trap in

the Bleeding ShadWhite color and tied iton. Jeff was using a 4” Yo-Zuri MagMinnow in the Ghost Color.I estimate we were trolling at 4-5

knots. With our lines out about 75-100

feet behind the boat. We managed to trollabout 500 yards before I felt a hard hit. Iset the hook and out of the water camewhat I estimate to be a 20 inch snook.The fish threw the hook on its secondjump. Jeff smiled at me and said “now weknow where some fish are.”We turned the motor off and dropped the

trolling motor and began blind casting.The first thing I noticed was that Jeff wascasting into the middle of the creek andnot towards the bank, not towards anystructure, just out in the center.

About 5 minutes later I hooked andlanded another snook in the 20 inch range.The first thing I observed was how hardthat little fish fought. At first I thought Ihooked a 25 plus inch snook. We landed 5more fish before we headed on.As we began trolling again I picked

Jeff’s brain as to what he looked for whenfishing this technique. Jeff’s experience isthat as the rainy season ends and the firstcouple of cold fronts come through thatsnook begin a migration up river. Hisemphasis is on the salinity level. He likesto follow a higher salinity level up riverand finds that the snook will not be farbehind. As the salinity increases the fur-ther he will go up river. Although he findssnook well into fresh water conditions, hecontends you will find more concentrationsat that break between fresh and salt.We trolled for another 10 minutes or so

and hooked and landed another snook. Westoped once again and began casting to thecenter of the creek. Once again we caughtseveral more fish before moving on. Jeff’spattern is pretty simple. Troll until you

hook a fish and the turn around and fishthat area. I tried several different plugs buthad the best success with the 1⁄2 ounceRattle Trap.We continued this pattern up Shell

Creek until we reached the U.S. 17 bridge.By then it was around noon and we decidedto call it a day. In all we landed severaldozen snook ranging from 18-22 inches. Anormal day for Jeff is 20-30 fish with afew in the 30 inch range. The day we wereout was a Sunday and we saw only 4 boatsall morning and a couple of kayakers, a

welcome scenario compared to a weekendon the flats.If you’re looking for a change of pace

and scenery, try a casual trip up one of thetwo rivers that dump into CharlotteHarbor, the Myakka or the Peace River.Keep in mind these two rivers are nowManatee Zones with speed restrictions.You can reach Capt. Robert Moore for

fishing information or to book a charterfishing trip at (941) 637-5710 or(941) 628-2650 or via e-mail [email protected]

Fishing Up The Rivers

On another trip with Capt. Rob Moore Nick Georges of Punta Gorda with brother Johncaught this a 6-pound Snook in the Myakka Cut Off.

Rigginʼ Right fromFishin̓ Frank TieingthePalomarKnotDoubleabout sixinches ofline andpass itthrough theeye

Tie anoverhandknot

Place the hook.lure or swivelthrough the loop

A simple knot recommended for all but the heaviest leaders

Tighten the knotand trim the tagend. Make sure thetwo lines are para-lell. If they arecrossed cut theknot and start over.

Build yourDream HomeJust 3 minutes to Harbor.Home in process of beingdemolished. Seawall,water and sewer cappedoff and water meter left inplace. Build your dreamhome here! Near GrassyPointe area. MLS#EM300,$399,900, call Ellen.

SAILBOAT WATER LOT

This One Won't Last!Sailboat canal home in Beach Complex Area. Charley left little damage. Roof has some shinglesblown off with no leaks and seller will replace roof. 3/2/2, living and family room, large lanai 11 x 24

plus caged patio 9 x 24 offLanai. New Lennox A/C ,refinished glass top range,2 commodes, all just beforeCharley. Concrete seawall,dock, davits, water andsewer, irrigation system,deco driveway. This onewon't last. $439,900, CallEllen

Home with pool featuring3 bedrooms and 2 baths.2 car garage, 2,012 sq ft under A/C with

formal living and dining roomand huge 16x22 family roomall open to kitchen withbreakfast bar and nook.Home just off Ohara inCollingswood Pointe area ofbeautiful homes.All neutral colors to add yourchoice of decor to. Tile, car-pet, volume ceilings thru out,8 ft pantry, inside laundry,storm shutters, garden tub,all Maytag appliances andthe list goes on. mls #448586 299,900 Call Ellen

NEW CONSTRUCTIONJUST FINISHED!!

Just Minutes to the Harbor!

What A Find!! Take a look at this 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 baths, 2 car garage attached to home and a 2nd 2 cargarage with pole carport for Motor home/boat and storage space on this beautiful 3 oversized lots, one on cor-ner. Over 2,400 sq ft with heated pool/spa plus 2 lanais. One huge area, tiled floor, room for furniture and apool table, 2nd lanai has complete bar with ref. ice maker and sink, great for entertaining. Home features gour-met kitchen with corian countertops, tile and new carpet, interior paint, all new exterior doors, fireplace ingreat room, jetted tub in master and so much more. You have to see this one to appreciate. Nothing to do,it's all been done by owner. EM1111 $374,900 Call Ellen today.

Oversized 15,480 sq. ft. saltwatercanal lot with home damaged byCharley. 3/1 home sold as is.Carport blown away. Price basedon lot only. New dock 10 x 20, justminutes to the harbor by way of theElkcam waterway. For the buyerwanting a project to work on andbuild a new home.PRICED RIGHT. $179,900.

Call Ellen235-5648

Pending In 6 Days!



WE are Back at our old address4256 Tamiami Trail, Port Charlotte

(on US 41 just north of Harborview)

We offer MOBILE SERVICE 6 days a week (Mon - Sat)If needed please call (941) 255-3106 or 769-8064

Thanks to all our friends, neighbors and customers for all your help.

MOBILE SERVICE

Let Us Sel lYour Boat

Chuck Wi l l • Tom S t ivi sonJohn Georges • Kurt J i l sonwww. redfi shyacht . com

21942 Edgewater DrivePort Charlotte (941) 206-6280

andOn The Water at Royal Palm Marina

779 West WentworthEnglewood (941) 474-0140

Now at2 Locationsto better serve

you

This is a new addition to Water LIFE.Sponsored by Realtor Lori Moore (wife of our senior guideCapt. Robert Moore) We encourage readers to send or e-mail([email protected]) a photo of their recent catch.Photos selected for publication will receive a $25 gift certifi-cate courtesy of Lori, to Laishley Marine or Fishinʼ Franks.Photos will not be returned and may not have been previ-ously published elsewhere. Remember to include photo info.

Lori Moore Aztec & Associates4456 Tamiami Trail, Port Charlotte(941) 629-3188 (941) 628-3174

This 30lb redfish was caught by Terry Urban of Kent,Ohio while fishing with Capt Jim Adam aboard theBay View in 56 feet of water trolling a Clark spoon.

The fish was caught and released.


S taff ReportFishermen are a superstitious breed.

Gotta' have the right hat, the right rod,lucky shirt and yes please no bananas.And no coins. We have fished with morethan one team who emptied their pocketsof loose change, right into the water, assoon as they leave the ramp. Not so themoney doesn’t jingle and make noise, butinstead to appease the gods of fishing.Casting off your coins is an offering tothe fishing gods that is big medicine.Just ask Rhett Morris, who along withhis brothers Bruce and Chace ‘lucked’ intothe $12,000 grand champion’s payout atthe end of the 2004 FlatsmastersChampionship Tournament series inPunta Gorda last month.“We had our red early,” (a 6.8 pound

fish)Rhett explained. “It was a good day.We had caught maybe 50 snook, but wewere still waiting for the right one.Chace had two pennies and a dime in hispocket. He rubbed the two penniestogether and said, make a wish. Then hethrew the two pennies into the water andright afterwards we caught an 8.5 poundsnook.”“Then things slowed down. At the end

of the day, in our last spot, and justbefore my last cast, Chase took out thedime and rubbed it. ‘Make a wish,’ hesaid and he flipped it out. ‘This is goingto get us a 10-pounder,’ Chace said and itdid, 10.6 pounds to be exact.”

“It’s great that wecould all fish togeth-er, Chace is here onleave from theMiddle East and goesback to Kuwait inJanuary,” Rhet said.But if the Morris

brothers were luckyothers were not andin spite of an arsenal of live bait thatincluded shrimp big enough to put on aBoga grip, pinfish, sardines, sugar trout,whitebait and ladyfish chunks, fishingwas tough.“The big problem was the no beer reg-

ulation,” one angler not wanting to beidentified, complained. “This tournamentwill be televised next season and Ithought we might as well get with thealcohol-free program,” tournament direc-tor Jerry Cleffi explained.Every team weighed in a redfish, but

most had trouble finding snook on thefinal day. Only two of the top ten finalistteams came back with a snook.“I’m convinced snook have a hard time

eating on Saturday and Sunday,” Capt.Andrew Medina observed. “ The tide was-n’t moving we were seeing the fish,(snook) but they just weren’t eating.These weren’t red-mouthed fish (fish thathave been caught and released with a sorejaw) so they weren’t pressured,” he said.“They just wouldn’t eat.”

Flatsmasters2004 Finale

Above Rhett Morrisʼ redfish.

Below: This 55 gallon baitwellmade from a poly-drum wasinnovative and it worked.

Right: In Saturdayʼs quallifying Mitch Williamsonbrought in this beautiful 11 pound snook.

P a g e 1 0 W a 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 4

LightTackle

Half orFull

Capt. Andrew MedinaA Total Backwater

Adventure

(941) 456-

Special: 1/2 Day Guided Trip $225

T n TTailwalkersBack Bay and Flats Fishing

Captain Jerry Tomas941/815-1495Toll Free 877/675-1982USCG licensed

Charters20–50 mile trips

We help you put charters together• Grouper • Snapper • Kingfish • Shark • Tarpon and more!

Capt Jim OʼBrienUSCG 50 ton license since 1985

Bus: 941-475-5538 Res: 941-473-2150visit us at www.captjimsbigfish.com

S taff ReportFor those of

you who arenot familiarwith theFloScan instru-ment it is afuel totalizerwhich uses asmall sensor inthe fuel line to measure the exact amount of fuel that passes.A gauge on the panel then displays the real-time fuel flow ingallons-per-hour as the motor is operating. A small window atthe bottom of the instrument displays the total fuel burned intenths of a gallon. Once initially calibrated this device is soaccurate that in four year of operation we are seldom off morethan about 1/10 of a gallon when it comes time to re-fuel. Ifthe FloScan showed 55.8 gallons burned since the last fill-upthat’s what it will take. The in-tank fuel gauge on our boathas become a flimsy backup for this invaluable piece ofequipment ... until last month, when the FloScan began read-ing erroneously. One day we ran down the harbor at 5800rpms with all six barrels wide open on our carbureted 200Merc and the FloScan showed we were burning about 8 gal-lons per hour. If only that was true! It should have been closerto 20 gallons per hour. Something was wrong.We removed the FloScan sensor and disassembled it and

found the rubber diaphragm was eaten away, a chemical reac-tion to something in the fuel. Previously we reported onproblems with Shell gas. We now suspect that either a newShell additive introduced in July and then discontinued some-time afterwards might have eaten out our diaphragm or thereaction to Shell gas mixed with one container of marine dry-gas was the cause. There are no other variables.

Fuel Problems PersistSomething is disolving

the rubber parts

Flatsmasters TournamentChampionshipFinal Results, Final DayTop TenFirst Place Team Rushmor

10.60 snook 6.85 redfishtotal – 17.45lbs

Rhett MorrisBruce MorrisChace Morris

Second Place Team New South6.95 snook 6.20 redfish

total – 13.15lbs.JB BradshawJoel BeyerleJosh Reager

Third Place Team Lake & Bay5.45 snook 6.30 redfish

total – 11.75lbs.John OchsSylvester DixonMark Becton

Fourth Place Team Bent Rods0.00 snook 6.20 redfish

total – 6.20lbs.Paul LambertGene WeidemoyerDwayne Gibbs

Fifth Place Team Nasty Hookers0.00 snook 5.70 redfish

total – 5.70lbs.Andrew MedinaTrent CheatamAlex Gutowski

Sixth Place Team Screenprint Plus0.00 snook 5.25 redfish

total – 5.25lbs.Matt Hamilton

Seventh Place Patricia Scott Oral Surgery0.00 snook 5.00 redfish

total – 5.00lbs.Brian HindmanRay HindmanBrad Opsahl

Eighth Place Team Addiction0.00 snook 4.75 redfish

total – 4.75lbs.Dave StephensJosh SmithDave Wallin

Ninth Place Team Famouscraft0.00 snook 4.20 redfish

total – 4.20lbs.Derrick JacobsenBob JonesAndy Nusbaum

Tenth Place Dream Chaser0.00 snook 0.00 redfish

total –0.00lbs.Bill GageJohn RossettoJanet Rossetto


By Michael Hel lerWater LIFE EditorAccording to a public notice posted in

a Miami newspaper on November 17, anEnglish company, Marine CurrentTurbines Ltd. (MCT) has made applicationwith the Federal Energy RegulatoryCommission to obtain a preliminary per-mit to construct and operate a power plantcontaining 20 to 40 submerged underseagenerators.The generators would be a twin rotor

design and placed in a 25 to 30 mile longtransmission facility located in the gulf-stream current off Dade county Florida.The energy farm would have a submerged33 KV line running to shore. The farmcould theoretically produce 168 to 336gigawatt/hours of electricity annually,which would then be sold to a local utili-ty. The generators might be within sightof land.Marine Current Turbines Ltd was set

up to pioneer the technical and commercialdevelopment of tidal stream turbines. Thecompany is working in partnership with amajor industrial consortium which isreceiving significant financial supportfrom both the UK government through theDTI, and the European Commission.The basic requirements for cost-effec-

tive power generation from tidal streamsusing MCT's technology are: a meanspring peak velocity exceeding about 2.25to 2.5m/s (4.5 to 5 knots) with a depth of

water of 20 to 30 meters according to thecompany:“Although the relentless energyof marine currents has been obvious fromthe earliest days of seafaring, it is onlynow that the development of modern off-shore engineering capabilities coincidingwith the need to find large new renewableenergy resources makes this a technicallyfeasible and economically viable possibili-ty.”Marine Current Turbines Ltd. has no

intention of manufacturing the technology.The company has said that function willbe achieved by its partners and "third par-ties."The technology proposed by MCT con-

sists of twin axial flow rotors of 15m to20m in diameter, each driving a generatorvia a gearbox much like a hydro-electricturbine or a wind generator. The twinpower units of each system would bemounted on wing-like extensions at eitherside of a tubular steel monopile 3-metersin diameter. The monopile would be setinto a hole drilled in the seabed from ajack-up barge.Last month the company closed a 3-

million pound stock offering whichincluded investors from the Danish venturecapital firm, BankInvest. London PowerCompany is already on board.The fund raising followed initial test

results and subsequent performance of theturbine over the winter period. Thoseresults had shown rotor Coefficient of

Performance consistently between 40%-45% and energy capture up to 27% betterthan expected performance.According to the company’s website:

“The scope for meeting future energyrequirements solely from land-basedresources will be constrained by conflictsover land-use; so large renewable energyprojects will need to move away fromcrowded land areas - it is significant thatthe wind industry is also moving offshore,yet many potentially energetic marine cur-rent sites are not far from large electricitymarkets.”But there could be one problem here in

Florida.MCT has said

that an environmental impact analysiscompleted by consultants “has confirmedthat the technology does not offer any seri-ous threat to fish or marine mammals.”They have said “The rotors will turn slow-ly (10 to 20 rpm) and the risk for sea lifeof impact from rotor blades is extremelysmall.”“Nature has adapted marine creatures so

they do not collide with obstructions,”their findings conclude.It will be interesting to see how the

Manatee Club reacts to this idea.

Tidal Currents Could Fulfill Energy Needs

This artistʼs impression of a row of turbines shows one raised formaintenance from a small workboat. The design of the turbineunits enables them to be installed and maintained entirely fromthe surface. Right a prototype turbine in the North Sea.

By Don CessnaWater Life EnglewoodThis past month of fishing has been

really good for the near shore gulf fisher-men. Most now have plenty of king andSpanish mackerel in the freezer. As usual,trolling bally hoo with skirts was the bestbait going. The mackerel were plentifulfrom Englewood beach to Boca Grande.Most of the fish were between 30 inchesand 40 inches. I hadn’t heard of manysmokers being caught, but some peopledid have encounters that ran off a bunch ofline and ended with a large fish gettingaway. There were plenty of 30-inch-sizefish caught. The Spanish mackerel were

generally about 24-inch fish. Some of thecharter boats out of the Venice area havealso found fishing better down our way asof late. The mackerel run is about at itsend with the cooling temperature of theGulf, but it was a very good and plenty offish were caught.Soon, during December, the grouper

fishing will be picking up and the fishwill be in closer. Some nice red grouperare being caught as are a few gags. Thereare also plenty of mangrove snapper overthe wrecks and reefs and at the same timethere are small black tip sharks in thesesame areas. Pin fish have been workinggood for the grouper and small mullet

(live or chunks) for the sharks.Cobia have been caught on live shrimp

around the reefs. The cobia have been largeones and are difficult to bring all the wayto the boat. I’ve seen some straightenedhooks left after a battle with large cobia.They should continue to be plentiful thruDecember and triple tail fish are justbeginning to pick up now. It is not unusu-al that while fishing the crab trap lines fortriple tail to see a pod of cruising cobia soit is a good idea to keep a rod ready. Iwould suggest a spoon or cuda-tube lureon the ready rod.December normally brings storms in

the Gulf and rough surf conditions in themorning, but the water normally settlesdown during the late morning hours. Itseems that when there are storms in theGulf many fish from the Gulf come intothe passes and some come as far back in asLemon Bay.Large mangrove snapper, bluefish, and

Spanish mackerel are among the invadersof the Bay. While back here they are feed-ing heavily. There have been just bunchesof bait in the Harbor and Bay. The largeschools of fat mullet are everywhere rightnow and have been a good choice of baitin the back water areas.With trout out of season the snook and

red fish are being targeted now. Snook onmullet and reds on pin fish or even betterare green backs. Jigs and lime green tailswith sparkles have been hot as far as artifi-cials go. Don’t be surprised though to tan-gle with a Gulf species in the Bay duringDecember. Remember snook season endsDec. 15th and remains closed untilJan.31st.The best thing is that as we get cold

fronts and the water cools the fishingpicks up later in the day. (Good for thosewho need their beauty rest.) Later in themorning the sun warmed shore lines andflats are the place for some good feedingactivity to be found.There have been groups of tailing red-

fish located late into the day. Don’t forgetthis would be a good opportunity to chum

the redfish closer if you know they arepresent. Being quiet on the boat and chum-ming the reds when you find tailing fish isa good tactic to increase the length of timethey remain and shorten the distancewhich will then increase the chances ofgetting more hook ups.There are lots of large sheepshead hang-

ing around docks and pilings now with thecooling water. Live or frozen shrimp willwork for them and the mangrove snapperthat are also in the same spots. These fishwill not normally eat anything artificialand both these fish are notorious baitstealers so smaller portions of bait on thesmaller hooks will work best to getthem.Sheepshead and snapper are both very

good for the table. I have also had a lot ofcrab and mullet fans as of late. The crabsare nice big ones and it seems to be a greatyear as far as numbers and size. Crabs areplentiful this year. If you enjoy mullet Iwould suggest getting them as soon aspossible before the commercial boats workthem over.December brings a different aspect to

Gulf fishing, it seems to be the best oftimes for the locals, and our winter guestsas many of them are avid grouper fisher-men. The wrecks and reefs of our area willbe loading up with fish that were out along run all summer long. Whiting willbe moving to populate the beaches soonand make for hours of fun for those whodon’t have a boat. Whiting are also goodbait fish for sharks and chunks of whitingare good for grouper fishing.Watch the weather and be safe on the

Gulf and take advantage of the effects of astorm in the Gulf. A storm can leave somegood fishing conditions in its wake.Happy Holidays!

Don@Ray’s Bait & Tack le480 W. Dearborn St.Englewood, (941) 473-1591Two blocks north of the IndianMoundBoat Ramp


UncommonBaitsTwo unusual Flys: A four-inch squid imitation anda three-inch ʻfly plugʼ

B-rrrrrrItʼs

GettingCold

D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 4 W a t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 1 3

S taff ReportContainer ship owners apparently

like a single engine/single propellerdesign and the new generation of larg-er container ships needed a biggerengine to propel them.

Enter the Wartsila-Sulzer RTA96-Cturbocharged two-stroke diesel engine,the most powerful and most efficientpowerplant for container ships in theworld today.

The first of these engines was builtat Diesel United, Ltd. by Aioi Worksof Japan.

The RTA96-C is available in 6through 14 cylinder versions, all areinline style.

The cylinder bore is 38-inches andthe stroke just over 98-inches. Thatmakes total displacement right around1,556,002 cubic inches. Each cylinderdisplaces 111,143 cubic inches andproduces 7780 horsepower in the four-teen cylinder version.

The total engine weighs 2300 tons

(The crankshaft aloneweighs 300 tons.)it is89 feet long, 44 feethigh and the maximumhorsepower is a stagger-ing 108,920 at 102 rpm.It produces over 5.5 mil-lion pounds of torque.Even at its most effi-cient power setting, the‘Big 14’ consumes 1,660gallons of heavy fuel oilevery hour.

The internals ofthis engine are a bit dif-ferent than most automo-tive engines.

The top of theconnecting rod is not attached directlyto the piston. The top of the con-necting rod attaches to a ‘crosshead’which rides in guide channels. Along piston rod then connects thecrosshead to the piston.

This is done so the the side-

ways forces produced by the connect-ing rod are absorbed by the crossheadand not by the piston. Sidewaysforces are what makes the cylinders inan automobile engine take on an oval-shape over time.

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Bumper Cropfor Shrimpers

S taff ReportShrimp, big shrimp, have moved into

Charlotte Harbor. Shrimpers – some locals,some from Fort Myers – have been dragingthe harbor for the last month. “I’ve beenhere for thirty years and I have never seenanything like this,” Richard Lolly saidfrom the deck of his shrimp boat as hesorted through a catch. “The shrimp are get-ting red-legged now, so soon they’ll go off-shore to spawn. Then the regular run willstart in late December or January,” Lollysaid. “Guys were getting 1000 pounds in4-5 hours at first,” he added.

The life cycle of a shrimp is about 18months. It is thought the shrimp will behere until the first good frost.

Shrimp nets with special doors letturtles and rays pass through. A net isroutinely dragged for about 20 minutesbefore it is pulled upand the contents arespilled out onto asorting table.Anything that’s notshrimp is uncerimo-niously shoveledback into the water.It is catch and releaseof a sort, and the

birds prey on the disoprient-ed or dead bycatch.

“We are getting $1 apound,” Lolly told us. Weare limited only by our boaton how many shrimp wecan take. It only staysgood for so long withoutice. Shrimpers without iceuse salt to preserve their

catch.“The bigger boats,

freezer boats, they arecalled, can stay out as long as they want,”Lolly said.

Shrimping is a practice which has forthe most part gone on at night in CharlotteHarbor but there are so many shrimp herenow that shrimpers are working both day

and night.“Most of what we get goes to Winn-

Dixie,” Lolly told us. “They bread it andmake it up for frozen fried shrimp.”

Lolly also owns a restaurant, MissJudy’s Cafe, in Bokeelia. “We serve a lot offresh shrimp,” he said.

Above: After 20-minutes the ball shaped bulge in the net is shrimp and by-catch.Below: This is an average sized shrimp. There are many bigger ones.Bottom: The ʻfreezer boatsʼ can catch and keep large hauls of shrimp.


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Night Trips on Fridaysand on the Full Moons

By Bi l l DixonWater LIFE SailingCommentator

My all time favoriteboating story occurredwhen we were headed southto the Miami boat show.The east coast ICW is aterrible place for a sailboatwith a 60 foot mast and asmall diesel so we wentoutside from Ft. Lauderdaleto Government cut inMiami. The ‘cut’ is a 3mile long really deep andnarrow channel used bycruise ships and seaplanes.We were on high alert forserious traffic as weentered.

A Coast Guard boat pulled up and said for us to followthem to the dock. I said OK. We both sat there drifting inthis busy channel for a while. Finally, I said to the Coastie,you have to put your boat in gear and lead if you want meto follow. He eventually did and led us to the Coast GuardStation Dock.

The dock was mobbed, two guys in suits, some coastguard uniforms, and dozens of muscular young men andwomen in fatigues and unmarked black t shirts with blackholsters and black guns. No badges, no name tags, no rankinsignia or alphabet labels on their shirts, just plain black.The only thing missing were black ski masks.

One of the ‘t shirts’ said where are you coming from?When I said Ft Lauderdale all of their faces fell. Clearlythey were hoping for a more exotic point of departure.Another t shirt said that this was a multi jurisdictional taskforce, from Treasury, Immigration, Dade County Sheriff,DEA, DOT, ATF, and FDLE. They said they knew we hadto let the Coast Guard board us, and that the two suits wereJudges who would do Judge stuff to us if we didn’t allowthe alphabet-soup-group aboard.

OK, I said, come aboard. Not so fast, t shirt said, haveyour wife take the dogs up on the foredeck. They lookvicious. OK, I said. When the male dog got to the fore-deck, he lifted his leg and squirted the dock, causing thejudges to retreat in haste. A female black t shirt cameaboard and asked about guns. ‘Yes’, I said. ‘Loaded?’ ‘Ofcourse,’ I say. What good is an empty gun? She says ‘youstay in the cockpit’. ‘OK’, I say. Male black t shirt cameaboard and went below. He came back sneezing and cough-

ing with red eyes. He said to the dockie, ‘I’m allergic todogs.’ I wonder what he thought the two creatures on theforedeck were? Three or four new black t shirts came aboardand went below. Said I should come down and ‘show themthe guns. ‘I can’t,’ I said. ‘The lady black t shirt said I hveto stay in the cockpit.’ Long delay, while I shout directionsdown the companionway and they search out guns. It wasdifficult communicating with t shirts that didn’t know for-ward from aft.

As they unearthed a gun, they shouted the serial numberup to the female black t shirt who mumbled into her radio.Longer delay while we wait for radio to announce that gunswere clean. Meanwhile lotsof noise below as they rootthrough every drawer, lockerand cabinet on the boat.Finally near dusk, they arefinished. They thank usprofusely and say that thiswas a valuable trainingexercise and that this wasthe first time they havedone anything like this. Ihad already guessed that.

‘What about my flares,my head, my holding tank’,I say. ‘Oh we don’t careabout any of that stuff’female black t shirt says.

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By Michael Hel lerWater LIFE Editor

Seems like the best fishinglately has come when we’re notreally trying. This is a reportabout two outings on the waterduring one week in lateNovember.

The first trip was on aSaturday. It was supposed to be aleisurely boat ride with my wifeand dog. I make it a point neverto go out on the water without arod, and if I am going to take justone lure it will be a gold Hobospoon - usually one with yellowfeathers. I buy them by the box, adozen at a time for a little overtwenty bucks (don’t ask, I won’ttell you!).

I’ve been using these samespoons for the last five or sixyears and have caught everythingfrom grouper to tarpon on them,with plenty of snook, trout, red-fish and who knows what else inbetween.

But the last box must havebeen made with slightly differenthooks since at least six of themhave broken off recently. I hadn’tfigured that out yet, on theSaturday we went for our boatride.

The water was remarkably clearwith the healthy characteristictannic brown stain of CharlotteHarbor. Any day on this estuarybeats any other day on land.

Somewhere between MarkerNo. 5 and Cape Haze we shutdown and began a slow drift southon the outgoing tide. It was amindless moment, just sittingwith a cold drink and soaking upthe sun.

Our dog Molly was slurpingwater out of her collapsible bowl,drooling and dribbling all over thedeck like she wishes she was

allowed to do at home when sud-denly we were visited by a ratherlarge mackerel which propelleditself up from beneath the surfaceto a height of six or seven feet inthe air, almost directly alongsidethe boat. We looked up.

Like I said, this wasn’t goingto be a fishing trip. My tacklebox was still at home, but I hadmy trusty spoon, or so I thought.I cast it out and began to retrieve,but something was wrong.

If you use a particular lure alot you get to know the feel andsomething felt different. I reeled itin and had a look. The hook wasgone. So here we were, sitting off

Cape Haze, with mackerel fallingfrom the sky, me with one rod anda broken lure.

I looked around and found asingle rusty short shanked livebait hook under the seat. It was astart. Next I searched for aMcDonald’s yellow striped straw,they make fine mackerel lureswhen simply slipped over theshank of a hook, but I couldn’tfind one. Mackerel will hit aboutanything when they are feeding.Once we teased a mackerel intostriking at a hook with two pop-

tops from a beer can tied andthreaded to it, but the boat hadbeen cleaned up and there were noold or even unused pop topsaround.

We hadn't seen another fish,but I was sure there would besome. I needed a lure.

Then in the corner of the con-sole something gold caught myeye. It was a Mepps Aglia stylebait, a tiny hook with a dimesized gold disc and a fat goldenweight about the size of a bigpea.

This will work, I said. I tiedthe rig onto the remaining 20pound leader hooked to my 10-pound line and made a cast thatwent nowhere. The lure wasn’tvery heavy.

Nothing, then again – stillnothing. By now we had drifted100 yards from where we saw thefish so we motored back and I castagain. Next cast, Bingo!

The drag sang, the fish ran, andin a while we had him aboard. Icast again and again after thatwithout any luck. Could it be thatwas the same fish we saw flyinglike a football through the air?Was it a coincidence, did we catchthe only fish around? Or was it a

fluke? That’s fishing, but eitherway, I’ll take it.

We released the fish. It had asolid lateral line so it wasn’t aking mackerel, but there havebeen a few small kingfish caught

Use It ʻTil You Lose It and Donʼt Throw Anything Away Barefoot Fishing

Bluefish like this one were plenti-ful, mixed in with the mackerel andladyfish. This fish glove is here forthe photo only, more suited for useon a bigger more ʻhostile ̓fish.

PENDING!

PENDING!

right in the Harbor at Cape Haze. Fast Forward to Friday.

My regular barefoot fishingbuddy Capt. Ralph Allen and Iwere offshore at Captiva checkingout the new “Charley Pass” cutthrough the island. The water nowflows through the full range of thetide. We tried to get my 21-footParamount through the pass atlow tide but we couldn’t, so weheaded south to Redfish Pass tohave a look at South SeasPlantation. By the time we headedback towards the intracoastal thetide was ripping in and there werefish boils everywhere.

Again, this wasn’t going to bea fishing trip. Ralph didn’t evenbring a rod, but we were in theright place at the right time andthis time I had two rods aboardand my tackle box as well.

Ralph took the rod with ZippinZiggy on it, a nice little topwaterplug on 20 pound leader and Ithrew another used Hobo spoon.Wham, Bam, thank you mam, wewere hooked up in an instant, butRalph had a hard time getting thefish to hang on to the tiny treblesof the topwater plug. Then thefish bit through the leader and asthe lure lay motionless in the

incoming tide another mackerelcontinued to hit it and then anoth-er struck at the motionless lure.“Ain't never seen that before,” wenoted, laughing at their stupidity.

Then, bang, my spoon camezinging back, I thought the fishsimply shook it off, but it wasanother broken hook. Hmm, Ihave seen that before, I thought,and I tried to pass the defectiveHobo off to Ralph who was him-self looking for another lure. But,Ralph wouldn’t fall for it.

“Take what you want,” I saidto Ralph laying my tackle boxopen, and he picked up a

Johnson’s spoon. Bingo! Fish on,first a ladyfish, then a mackerel,then that lure was gone, choppedoff, next lure... and so was minein about the same time. Re- rig.Gone again. We fished two otherspoons, and lost them in no time,switching then to a DOA terroreyes, and finally an artificial

shrimp. Mackerel, ladyfish andbluefish swarmed on whatever wethrew and in the end all the rustyold spoons and nasty old plasticsin my tackle box got offered upand taken. Ten pound test, twentypound leader ... gone!

I knew I was saving all thatold junk for something.

Above: Houses on theshore just north ofRedfish Pass took thebig hit, but they remainstanding.Right: The fuel dock atSouth Seas is open forbusiness but the rest ofthe resort is closed andis predicted to remain closed for one year.


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The new “Charley Pass” that cuts North Captiva in half runs in and out at even the lowest tide. While we havetalked to a number of anglers who reported running through the new pass, we were sucking mud in our 21-footParamount at dead low one day last month and didnʼt make it through.


By Capt Ron BlagoWater LIFE Executive StaffA number people were nice enough to

point out the mistakes I had in lastmonths column concerning closed seasons.Let me set the record straight. In CharlotteHarbor, snook season closes Dec. 15 andwill open again Feb. 1. Trout is closednow and will open again Jan. 1. Redfishseason is open, it’s always open - there isno closed season on redfish. Sorry if Icaused any fist fights among my fishingbuddies. Remember, if you want the mostaccurate fishing regulations in Florida goright to the source atwww.MyFWC.com/Marine.

Editor notes: It was I, not Capt. Ron,who screwed up the redfish dates– MH

I love this time of year. The preciousfew weeks between hurricane season andforest fire season. The temperature is per-fect: cool mornings, warm afternoons andgood sleeping weather. The fishing pres-sure is still on the low side, but it willsteadily increase as more of the snow birdsarrive. Still plenty of room at the boatramps. There has been very little rain sothe water is crystal clear making the fisheasy to spot.

I've had good luck finding large pom-pano in Lemon Bay. They seem to bestacked up in the bigger potholes aroundlow tide. Most were caught on grub tailjigs either gold metal flake or pink metalflake. I never was a big pompano eater,but recently I've developed a taste for friedpompano. Cut out the dark meat and fry itlike grouper. I've found good numbers of snook in

the shallow grass flats feeding on glassminnows. The splashes they make whenthey charge the bait are unmistakable. Topwater plugs work, but I've had better luckwith the gold spoon than anything else.

When I see the splashes I throw the spoonright at it and crank it in fast. The snookalmost rip the rod out of my hand. It's a good time to fish the docks for

redfish and sheepshead with live shrimp. Ifyou have friends and relatives visiting forthe holidays, this is the easiest and mostproductive fishing they can do. Rememberthey need to buy a fishing license unlessthey are under 16 years of age. A lot of my fishing friends have been

going back to the recently re-opened VeniceFishing Pier. I've heard nothing but ravereviews about what a great job they didrebuilding the "T" portion at the end ofthe pier. The regulars are catching king-fish off the end of the pier just like the olddays. Because you pay a buck or so to usethe pier, you do not have to have a fishinglicense. I sure wish we had a pier like thatin Englewood.So far it’s been a record year for off

shore grouper. It seems that all those hurri-canes have really made these fish hungry. Still plenty of kingfish out there and if

we are lucky they should be around ‘tilChristmas. This year's most unusual gift for

Charlotte County boaters is a yearly park-ing permit to park at the public boatramps. I want to wish everyone a happyand safe holiday season. Last chance to sign up for the "College

of Fishing Knowledge" at the EnglewoodSports Complex. Classes start Jan. 4 andmeet for two hours each Tuesday for 6weeks. Cost is $30 for the course. Wecover everything from Hooking toCooking. For more information call theESC at 861-1980 .

Capt. Ron Blago can be reached forfishing information or to book a charterfishing trip at (941) 474-3474

On the LineFishing with Capt Ron Blago

I love this time of year. The precious few weeksbetween hurricane season and forest fire season.

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By Fishin FrankWater LIFE StaffWhere is the problem? Fishing upriver

in the cold weather seemed like the bestidea. I remembered a bridge a short drive upriver and it had places to fish. Not wantingto spend all day lost, I called my Dad. Heknows every creek, lake, pond, mudhole,and riverbank where you can walk up andfish in three county’s.

Explaining to him where I wanted totry, he knew where it was immediately,however he warned me the water was verylow and that it may not be good fishin’.Life’s a risk and I had not been out that wayfor quite a few years so we took a ride.

We left Fishin’ Franks and headed outKings Highway. Turning right on S.R.760, down a little ways, on the right handside just before the bridge, there is a boatramp and parking. A very nice place.

We parked off to the side and got out tocheck out the area by the bridge. As wewalked up we could hear what sounded likefish smacking the surface.We walked a little faster, strained our

necks a little higher and sure enough rightat the side of the bridge in the shadow line,the fish were really jumping out of thewater, chasing bait. It made our heartspound. Pow, pop, smack. For one or twoseconds we stood there letting it sink in... the "yea" there are really fish here feel-ing. Then we turned and sprinted for thetruck.

Dad took his rod with a Johnson Spritealready tied on, his tried and true favorite. Itook a borrowed rod because Charleyplayed a little rough with my own stuff. Irigged up the rod with a blue back, silversided, floater, diver lure about 4" incheslong.

Frank Sr. was already casting by thetime I got there. Looks like bass schoolingdad said, but it is early for that. Just thenbam !His ‘sprite-jig,’ as he calls it gets nailed

and out of the water come a snook? Yep itlooks like a bunch of young buck snookdecided to spend the winter up river. Dadlands his fish. Getting it up the bank wasnot too bad, however the release was a bithard because of the banks height. The fish

got in a one anda half triplegainer on hisway down.

Excited bythe fish I makemy first castworking the lureback with smallpulls and slowcranks. One fishboiled on it, butmissed. Whenmy lure got tothe shore Ithought I could just lift and it would dragup the concrete. That was when I realizedthe sides of the banks are concrete, wrappedin burlap, laid in pattern from the water upthe bank. It’s great for stopping erosion.looks really cool from a landscape view-point, but the damn burlap grabbed mylure like a catchers mitt. Now what do I do?

Dad’s got that grin on his face. He can’twait to see me try that steep slope and mostlikely take a swim for my trouble.

Then the little cartoon light bulb overmy head flashed on. Laying my rod downI walked back to my truck. I needed a ropeor something I could hold onto it, since itis too cold for a swim this morning. Iwanted my lure back and this delay wasscrewing up my fishin’ time. In the bed I found a ratchet strap, and

under the seat a canvas tow strap.I tied the two together and attached one

end to the bridge. Then, with my rod in myteeth, over the side I went.Getting to my lure was easy, but how to

hold the strap, hold the rod, and unhook thelure? So I tied a loop in the strap and put itaround my waist. Then, just as I was get-ting my lure unstuck, Dad gets his secondsnook and to save the fish from the highrelease it was easy for me to release it atwater level for him. Finally I got time tofish. I almost started back up the bank butthen I found myself in a great spot. Withthe strap around my waist it was easy tostand and fish. Rappel fishing is born. From this spot I could cast right in front

of the pilings. The fish had slowed down alittle by now, maybe laughing too hard at

the jerk tied to thebridge to eat.The snook had

been popping likecrazy just upstreamfrom the bridge. I castout. I tried slowr e t r i e v e s , f a s tretrieves, short pulls,fast jerks, longerslower pulls. Theywould hit at it but notbite. Even Dad withhis sprite jig couldnot get a hit. Pullingmyself up higher I was determined that thiswas a good plan.

I had a smoke while talking to Dad whois still laughing at my fishing techniques. Iasked him if he wanted to try, he passed onthe idea so back down I went. This time Itossed the lure across the current letting itfloat only giving it a short pull under thenletting it rise back to the top. That did itand pop goes the snook.Fish on I had to work him back slowly.

When we came out, I thought we weregoing fresh water fishing so I did not bringany leader. I had straight 4 pound test tiedto the lure. If I was going to save that$8.00 lure I was going to need a lot of skilland ability, or in other words, be real darn

lucky. I got lucky, set the hook right andlanded my first S.R. 760 bridge snook in15 years. Later I caught one more usingthe lure as a top water bait. Dad mean whiletried a jig down and dirty, no luck but he didhave a couple of swirls working the jigslowly near the surface. We had been fishing and rappelling for

almost an hour but as much fun as thisspot was there was work to be done back atthe bait shop.

It’s a tough way to make a living ....Awww, who am I kidding it’s great.See ya at the bait shop. Stop in and say

hello! We’re Fishin’ you a Happy Holiday.

The Birth of Rappel Fishing We trace it back to its roots and itʼs a short trip

FLW TOUR COMING TO LEMON BAYThe word is out that the Ranger BoatsFLW Redfish Tour with a 130 boat fieldwill fish for two days from Stump PassMarina at Lemon Bay this coming July.

Empire Building at Rocky Creek Thecountyʼs Parks and Rec. boondoggleidea of buying the Rocky Creek Marinain Englewood may not yet be dead.According to sources close to the marinathere are two new buyers looking at theproperty and the owner now perceivesthat the property value has gone up. IfParks and Rec. is still interested in theproperty it looks like the county will windup paying more.

Cape Haze Marina A Columbian devel-oper is reportedly paying $50,000 amonth for the option to buy the CapeHaze Marina. The proposal is for a 300unit hotel and 100 condominium unitswith a large convention hall and meetingcenter. There is a growing consensusthat this could be a good idea.Englewood likes it because it will bringthem business, Punta Gorda likes itbecause it is far enough away and BocaGrande likes it because they will raisethe toll to the island and make moremoney.

Citizenʼs Watch We have heard several

complaints that a ʻCitizenʼsPatrolʼ with absolutely noauthority to do anything isharassing boaters onLemon Bay. They are evencoming up to boats whoare fishing and askingthem to display safetyequipment.

18,000 Homes andBusinesses Will bedemolished in CharlotteCounty.

Ft Myers Boat ShowReports are excellent from the Nov 11-14 Ft Myers Boat Show. Vendors report-ed strong sales for the first three daysand in spite of rain on the final dayattendance was up, sales were up andthe show was packed with new modelseverywhere.

Cleansing Habitat People we spoke toare working on a submersible habitat forfilter feeding organisms which whenʻoccupiedʼ will help clean dirty water inareas under docks and at marinas.

FishVille News The pumpout station isonce again open at Fishermenʼs Village. A new harbormaster has been named.The upstairs at the Captainʼs Table hasits new open deck almost completed.Holidaze Boat Rentals will be movinginto a village based out-building and allthe fish cleaning tables around themarina have been moved so cleaningdebris doesnʼt fall into the water.

ForeLands, the upscale condo project inPort Charlotte located on the PeaceRiver where the old Peppinʼs restaurantused to be is apparently having troublepaying its bills. Blame is being placed ona management company and projectofficials say the project itself is allegedlynot in any financial trouble.


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ongoing special events. Plus ahuge selection of clothing fromthe top names in technical wear,designed to give you advancedsolutions for your outdooradventures. When it comes toall-around family fun, Bass ProShops® Outdoor World® is theplace!

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The trash pile at the Zemil road landfill continues to growsince Charlotte County is not burning its trash.


This turn key condominium near Fisherman'sVillage, in Punta Gorda, includes 2BR/2BA, 1160sq ft of living space and a deeded dock toCharlotte Harbor and the Gulf. It sold in April2003 for $130,000 and again this past Septemberfor $234,900.

Pho to no t avai l abl e: Beeney - 3 bedrooms 2 baths and 1287 sq feet. This home sits onone of the best canals in Pt Charlotte, with direct and immediate access to the harbor. It wasalso one of the hardest hit by Charley. It was purchased in June of 2004 for $359,500 and nowPROPERTY IS OFFERED FOR SALE IN ‘AS IS’ CONDITION, SUBJECT TO EXISTING HURRI-CANE DAMAGE, new price after Charley $599,000.

Another Clipper Cove condominium inPunta Gorda but on the second floor andslightly larger, also sold previously in 2002but for $179,900. This past October 2004 itsold again for its full asking price of$309,000.

This condominium in Clipper Cove PuntaGorda is on the first floor, on the waterwith a southern facing lanai. 3BR/2BA,garage and deeded dock are part of the pack-age. In 2002 it sold for $190,700 and againthis past November, 2004 for $285,000.

Near the Myakka River but on a small fresh watercanal in El Jobean these villas are also small withonly 868sq ft. They are within walking distance to theriver and fishing pier and include a community swim-ming pool. In April 2003 one sold for just $38,500and a year and a half later in October for $80,000.

Harbour Village PH 1- These condos sit on thebank of the Myakka River with no bridge to theGulf of Mexico. Small with only 750 sq ft, 1BR,1BA but community dockage & fishing pier. InJanuary 2002 a unit sold for $74,000 and this pastNovemer 2004 for $140,000.

Housing Since The Storms This is NOT an AdFactual Information compiled from the Charlotte County Association of Realtors.Real estate value in waterfront property is enhanced by various factors. Sailboat water, areaʼs where water-way depth can accommodate a sailboatʼs keel and no bridges to the open water, are considered prime.

Charlotte Harbor and the surrounding areas arel beautiful areas in whichto live. Real Estate prices continue to rise both in single family dwellingsand condominiumsas more people discover SW Florida

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By DAVID CRARYAssociated PressNEW YORK - Touting tofu chowder

and vegetarian sushi as alternatives, ani-mal-rights activists have launched a novelcampaign arguing that fish -- contrary tostereotype -- are intelligent, sensitive ani-mals no more deserving of being eatenthan a pet dog or cat.Called the Fish Empathy Project, the

campaign reflects a strategy shift byPeople for the Ethical Treatment ofAnimals as it challenges a diet componentwidely viewed as nutritious and uncontro-versial.''No one would ever put a hook through

a dog's or cat's mouth,'' said BruceFriedrich, PETA's director of vegan out-reach. ``Once people start to understandthat fish, although they come in differentpackaging, are just as intelligent, they'llstop eating them.''The campaign is in its infancy and will

face broad skepticism. Groups such as the

American Heart Association recommendfish as part of a healthy diet; some aca-demics say it is wrong to portray the intel-ligence and pain sensitivity of fish ascomparable to mammals.''Fish are very complex organisms that

do all sorts of fascinating things,'' saidUniversity of Wyoming neuroscientistJames Rose. ``But to suggest they knowwhat's happening to them and worry aboutit, that's just not the case.''PETA, headquartered in Norfolk, Va.,

has campaigned for years against sportfishing, challenging claims by Rose andothers that fish caught by anglers do notfeel pain. PETA also has joined other crit-ics in decrying the levels of mercury orother toxins in many fish and the pollu-tion discharged by fish farms.The Empathy Project is a departure in

two respects -- attempting to depict thestandard practices of commercial fishing ascruel and seeking to convince consumersthat there are ethical reasons for not eating

fish.''Fish are so misunderstood because

they're so far removed from our dailylives,'' said Karin Robertson, 24, theEmpathy Project manager and daughter ofa fisheries biologist. ``They're such inter-esting, fascinating individuals, yet they'reso incredibly abused.''The project was inspired by several

recent scientific studies detailing facets offish intelligence.Oxford University researcher Theresa

Burt de Perera, for example, reported thatthe blind Mexican cave fish is able tointerpret water pressure changes to con-struct a detailed mental map of its sur-roundings.''Most people dismiss fish as dimwitted

pea-brains. . . . Yet this is a great fallacy,''wrote University of Edinburgh biologistCulum Brown in the June edition of NewScientist. “'In many areas, such as memo-ry, their cognitive powers match or exceedthose of `higher' vertebrates, including

nonhuman primates.''PETA activists plan demonstrations

starting next month at selected seafoodrestaurants nationwide. PETA also willurge changes in commercial fishing prac-tices, for example proposing that trawlercrews stun fish before cutting them up.Friedrich questioned why there is popu-

lar support for sparing marine mammals --dolphins and porpoises -- yet minimal con-cern for species like tuna, ``whose suffer-ing would warrant felony animal crueltycharges if they were mammals.''Fish-welfare rules would be a new

realm for U.S. commercial fishermen. TheNational Fisheries Institute has pledged tohelp sustain fish stocks but members havenot faced cruelty accusations.''It's irresponsible to discourage people

from eating fish at a time when doctorsand dietitians advise eating it twice aweek,'' said institute president JohnConnelly.

PETA POSITION: Fish don't deserve being killed to feed humans.

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By Capt . Andrew MedinaWater LIFE GuideBeing on the water for the last eight days pre- fishing

for the Flats Master Championship (that I am glad to saywe took fifth place in for the year) I learned one thing.Our harbor and its surrounding waters are piled up rightnow with just about every winter species we usually havehere in sunny Florida. Inshore anglers have a shot at whatwe call ‘the slam’: a snook, redfish and a trout in one day

of fishing. We addeda few to that listcatching grouper,snapper, flounder,jacks, ladyfish, afew mackerel andeven a nasty bar-racuda. Fishing isfantastic right nowand even noviceanglers can go outand have a lot offun in a day of fish-ing. The most welcome of the fish here right now is the

flounder. It was like going to the grocery store withoutever getting off the water and just about anyone can catchthem. All you need is shrimp or whitebait on a weightedhook and a sandy area to fish in and you should have apretty good shot at catching a ‘flatty.’

I would like to share what we saw while we were net-ting bait on a grass flat in the Pine Island Sound. Anolder couple in a tri-hull bow rider were in front of us alittle ways and hopefully they are reading this now. Theywere catching trout, but she must have been scared of thefish because she was grabbing them with a towel andshaking them off the hook. OK, here is this months fish-ing lesson: Spotted sea trout are not a hardy species andgrabbing them with a towel removes all their slime. Thatslime is what protects the fish’s skin. Trout do not have

scales, and by doing this there’s a good chance a lot of thefish that were caught by that couple ended up as floaters. If you have to handle trout, wet your hands and don’t

touch the body. Don’t forget, they are out of season. Sodon’t purposely fish for them, try going to the docks andfishing for mangrove snapper instead, that can be just asfun! Capt. Andrew Medina can be reached at (941) 456-1540for fishing or charter information

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Above :Trout wearing a gold spoon.Right: Capt. Andrew Medina with anice redfish.$$ REWARD

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ANALYSISBy Capt Ron BlagoWater LIFE Senior StaffJust when you thought we had

run out of things to worry aboutalong comes the FloridaDepartment of Health with newadvisories concerning mercury lev-els in fish. This makes Florida the43rd state to issue warnings abouteating fish that may contain mer-cury. Florida now has 59 saltwater

fish species that carry mercurywarnings no matter where they arecaught in Florida. For somespecies such as shark, swordfish,king mackerel and tile fish; it isrecommended you don’t eat themat all. For others, such as pom-pano, snook, trout, redfish andgrouper, it is recommended thatyou limit your weekly intake tono more than 7oz per week withspecial concern for small childrenand women of child bearing age. The good news is that shrimp,

clams, oysters and crabs are not onthe warning list. If you want tosee the new fish advisories go towww.myfloridaeh.com orwww.doh.statefl.usAre we killing the oceans, the

fish and ourselves with mercurypoisoning or is this just the latestenvironmental crisis-du-jour? Letslook at what we know. Mercury is a natural element

and by itself is pretty inert. I’msure most of us broke open theold thermometers and played withthe slippery gobs of quicksilverthat rolled around. This stuff ispretty harmless until it is heatedor vaporized or reacts with otherchemical to form new compounds.The organic mercury gets washedinto our waterways and is acted onby bacteria and converted into ‘thebad guy’ – methyl mercury. Smallfish digest the methyl mercury,the big fish eat the little fish and

we, at top of the food chain, eatthem both. Since methyl mercuryaccumulates in the flesh, the big-ger the fish the higher the concen-tration and therefore the more fishyou eat, the higher the level ofmethyl mercury in your body.Of all the mercury in our envi-

ronment, 66 percent of it comesfrom natural sources such as outgassing of minerals or the naturaldecomposition of organic materi-als (leaves and grasses). This is afact people tend to forget; therehas always been (and there willalways be) some methyl mercuryin fish, it is natural. Most of the discussion these

days focuses on the remaining 33percent , the mercury that entersour environment from humanactivities. Back in the 50s and 60smost mercury pollution camefrom the production of chlorine,where waste mercury compoundswere commonly dumped into thenearest waterway. One of theworst cases of mercury poisoningoccurred in Minimata Japan

around 1960 where 111 peopledied because chemical plantsdumped tons of mercury com-pounds directly into MinimataBay. Some of the fish that werecaught in the bay had methyl mer-cury level up to 40 parts per mil-lion(ppm) some of the highestlevels ever recorded. Fortunately,that type of pollution has beenstopped and mercury pollution hasdecreased 80 percent since then. Today, the leading source of

human activity caused mercurypollution is thought to be fromthe burning of coal in electric util-ities, from medical incineratorsand to a lesser extent from cementfactories. The Federal Government has

required that coal powered utilitiescut mercury emissions 70 percentby 2018. They can do this byusing low mercury coal, mostlyfound in the western states, or byinstalling high tech pollutionscrubbers.Will the decrease in mercury

pollution and the new regulations

on coal burning take care of themercury problem in fish?Unfortunately, probably not. Thisis where science and politics inter-act, bringing out the worst inboth. The new theory is that low lev-

els of methyl mercury may bemuch more dangerous than previ-ously thought. The scientificresearch on the heath effects oflow level mercury exposure issketchy at best. In 1969 the FDA set the level

for total mercury in fish at 0.5ppm. In 1979 they raised the levelto 1.0 ppm. In 1990 the WorldHealth Organization issued areport that concluded, “the generalpopulation does not face a signifi-cant health risk from methyl mer-cury.”In 1998 the FDA actually

stopped widely testing for mercuryin fish. Everything was going fineuntil Feb. 2004 (an election year)when the EnvironmentalProtection Agency issued a com-puter analysis that predicted

“about 630,000 children are borneach year at risk for lowered intel-ligence and learning problemscaused by exposure to high levelsof mercury in the womb.”The only long term study done

on humans is an FDA supportedstudy by the University ofRochester of the people ofSeychelles Islands off the coast ofEast Africa. The people there eatapproximately 12 times more fishper person than the averageAmerican. Over 10 years theyhave studied the island’s pregnantwomen and their fetuses and haveyet to find any detrimental effectfrom eating fish. On the local level we are pretty

lucky. Most mercury hot spots arewithin 50 miles of the source ofincineration. Most of our powerplants are now burning natural gasand the closest coal burning powerplant is in Tampa, outside of the50 mile range. Closing down pollution sites

can have an immediate effect onmercury levels. Three years agothey closed down a medical wasteincinerator on the edge of theEverglades and the next year therewas a 30 percent decrease in thelevel of mercury in bass from theEverglades. Whether you want tocut down or eliminate fish fromyou menu is a personal choice.Remember, the American HeartAssociation still recommends thatyou eat two meals of fish a week. If you are worried about mercu-

ry remember that you probably aregetting a bigger dose from the oldfillings in your teeth and youstand a greater chance of dyingfrom eating raw oysters. Morethings to worry about.Personally, I’m just going to gofishing and not worry about it. Have a safe and happy holiday!

Mercury Raising

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Not for KIDSLast month NASCAR announced itwould allow hard liquor companiesto sponsor race car teams.

This month a Lord Calvert promotionuses a lure called FRENZY to sell itsCanadian Whiskey.

Next month PETA (People for theEthical Treatment of Animals) willannounce that fishing is cruel.

What can be new for the New Year??

This display was in an ABC liquorstore near Kissimmee, FL.

5004 La Costa Island Dr. P.G.I. - Gorgeous 3/2/2 (plusden) Sailboat access PGI home with 27,000 lb boat lift..This home offers a new diamond brite pool, beautifulItalian porcelin tile throughout home, new AC with newhumidity control system, plantation shutters, new gas poolheater, and a beautiful Florida palm tree landscape. MLS# 437066 Offered at $775,000

28507 Sabal Palm Dr. - Come build your perfect dreamhome on this great lot! Minutes to the Peace River withGulf access, dock, and sea-wall! Survey and site plan

on file. MLS#445695 Offered at $225,000

2153 Palm Tree Dr. P.G.I. - At this price lot will becleared and a 60 foot dock installed. Awesome wide open view of Charlotte Harbor. MLS # 421393 Offered at $1,100,000

16256 Alcira Circle - Vacant lot in prestigious BurntStore Village. Paved road, electric, cable TV, phone,

and public sewer. Will not last long!MLS#438640 Offered at $65,000

FWC FilesAfter an extensive two-week investi-

gation, FWC officer Arthur Mattsonissued three citations to three LeeCounty residents for failure to transfervessel title. The violations were dis-covered as a result of a request for ahomemade vessel inspection from aNaples resident. Officer Mattson’sinspection revealed the vessel was not ahomemade vessel and with the help ofnumerous SEA dispatchers discoveredthe vessel had last been registered in2000.Eventually, the rightful owner was

located. The rightful owner told the offi-cer that he had gone through a bitterdivorce and he didn’t know what hap-pened to his boat. Apparently, the ex-wife gave the boat to someone inexchange for a haircut. The new ownerthen traded the boat in exchange for apontoon boat. The second individualthen sold the boat to the Naples manfor $1,800. Since purchasing the boat,the Naples man invested $2,000 incosts to transport the vessel and per-form repairs. Officer Mattson issued awritten warning to the Naples man andexplained the matter would have to beresolved through a civil process sincethe vessel title was still issued to therightful owner.


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Crab Lovers Gif tCrab Lovers Gif tCommercial crabbers harvesting

both blue crabs and stone crabs arereporting an excellent season this fallwith especially large examples beingcaught.

Locally, the Peace River Sea FoodCompany at 5337 Hwy 17 east of theInterstate in P.G. is the place to go forcrabs.If you havenʼt been there yet youare missing the best local connectionfor crabs and shrimp that we know of.

Open Tuesday through Saturdaythey serve lunch ʻtill 6 and are openʻtill 8 on Friday and Saturdaynight.They will also steam crabs andhave them hot and ready for you to

pick up.Kelly

Beal runsthe-seafoodmarket &restau-rant.

Her hus-band Jimmyis a com-mercialcrabber.Check itout, you

wonʼt be sorry.

S taff Report“Our trailer is showing the wear

already. The furniture is all coming apart,there are electrical problems and the door-way is sagging badly at the threshold. I'mliving back in the house,” a friend saidwhen we came to visit. For the last three months he and his

significant other had been living in a 34foot travel trailer in back of his house inHarbour Heights. In the house whereworkers hammered and sawed, the drywalldust lay thick in the air like a heavy win-ter cloud. Most of the interior walls hadbeen stripped and the rooms were nowdefined only by bare studs still strung withwiring. Back in the master bedroom, cov-ered with plastic, a king size bed completewith pillows and sheets stood protected. “I’m not going back in the trailer”, my

friend said to me explaining that his part-ner had decided to quit smoking andthings were a little tense in such closequarters.Other people are waking up in similar

close quarters, trailers dot every block inthe hardest hit parts of Port Charlotte. It’sa shared experience. If you wore the bluetarp of courage then trailer dwelling isanother merit badge you don’t want to col-lect. No one seems happy.“It’s not like camping,” one trailer

dweller said when I walked up to his‘camp’ on Harbor Blvd and asked himabout living conditions. “When you arecamping it’s fun to make do and rough it,but this is day to day living and there aremore and more necessities that creep intothe small living space you have.”Computers, microwaves, video games, faxmachines they all become indispensibleand once inside they never leave.

“When camping we make do with avery few cooking utensils. Here we have adeep fryer, an iron skillet, a copper cladskillet, a small microwave and who knowswhat else, now,” he said, adding that lifeoutside has become a bramble of barbe-ques, shovels and brooms. “Living likethis you find out which broom is the bestone in a hurry,” another ‘camper’ said.Back on our own street, a neighbor is

in the process of having his house torndown. He too has begun to live in a trail-er, with his wife and two big dogs. Whenthe movers came this week to empty outhis house they didn’t take everything, theyran out of boxes so he now has some ofhis belongings stored in the garage of anempty house next door. When it rains itall gets wet. The ‘blackwater tank’ on histrailer is filling up quickly. He can’t get apump out scheduled and until the house istorn down he can’t hook up to the sewer.He is using the bathrooms in anotherempty house. This man is not some downand out drifter, this is a man who willhave a half million dollar home when it’sall over. “I’m going to stay right here onthe water, until then,” he said.“It looked good at first,” another man

commented, “but every time the windblows the canopy comes off and it’s reallystuffy inside, even with the windows anddoor open.” “The mattresses are the pits,”his wife chimed in “... and where are wegoing to put the tree?”


Top: The lifestyle of trailer camping is already gettingold at Harbor Heights.Center: Coolers for storage and bathroom inconven-iences at the Snee ʻcamp. ̓Left: White picket fence along Edgewater Dr.Bottom: This trailer city has been established byFEMA off Airport Road

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Kids Cup UpdateAccording to Jerry Jensen, director of the

Charlotte Harbor Reef Association, thisyear’s Don Ball School of fishing will goon. “Absolutely,” Jensen said, explaining

that the start of the program was delayedbecause of this season’s storms.“With Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte

sharing a campus on split sessions we hadto wait, but as of January students in thearea’s four middle schools (Punta Gorda,Port Charlotte, Murdock and Englewood)will begin signing up. The Don Ball School of fishing uses

local fishing guides to teach 7th gradersabout fishing, rigging bait, casting and theenvironment in Charlotte Harbor andLemon Bay. One hundred children, twentyfive from each school sign up for the pro-gram every year. “This year there will be eight sessions,

two in February, two in March and four inApril,” Jensen said.So far to date the Don Ball School has

graduated over 400 students. “Interestedchildren should check with their homeroom teacher to obtain details for enroll-ment,” Jensen said.Don Ball was a local conservationist and

fisherman, this year’s Don Ball School ofFishing is funded with community supportraised last year through the Water LIFEKid’s Cup Redfish Tournament.

The Oberto Redfish Cup producershave begun talking about scheduling for thefuture and although no one will admit it onthe record, they are giving Punta Gorda apass for 2005, but are planning to returnhere for 2006. Although reasoning pointsto a lack of accommodations as the mainfactor keeping the Cup away there was sig-nificant chatter on the Redfish Cup websitewhich pointed to the difficulty anglers hadin catching redfish here, compared to othervenues. Two years of weigh-ins with someempty fish bags on the final day may havebeen an influencing factor in the decision.On the brighter side, the Kids Cup isn’ttied to the Redfish Cup so we are lookingat several tournaments as potentials foranother Kids Cup this year.

Kids Cup and Redfish Cup UpdateBy Capt. Stev e Skev ing tonWater LIFE Offshore ContributorWOW, this November has been

one of the best months in recentmemory when it comes to kingmackerel fishing here in SWFlorida. November, of course hasalways been a great month on bothkings and Spanish macs.But for some reason, and I don't

know if it's just excitement abouteverything getting back to normalafter Charley or what, but it justseems like these fish are jumping inthe boat. As I write, I still havefresh images of the limit of kingswe bagged today.They're just everywhere! Every

wreck, every artificial reef out therehas kings just piled up and hungry.But enough about the kings. We'vebeen limited out on them everydayby about noon and that of courseleaves plenty of bottom time forthe few big gag grouper that arealready making a show on shorenear ledges and artificial reefs.Next month should really have

gag grouper and big mangrovesnapper on the menu and droppingdown your favorite live bait should do itevery time.Looking back on this month, lane snap-

per have been really good to us with fifty toseventy five fish every day going in the box

and for a few days there we pushed one hun-dred and twenty fish.With a few keeper sized grouper- trigger

fish, cobia, white grunts, mangrove snap-per, hogfish, porgys etc.. . . . . . . it's been a

Offshore Report

Capt. Steve Skevington of the Kingfisher Fleet witha late October catch of cudas, kings, snapper,grunts and one lone AJ at the rear.

This time of year I love fishing sand andoyster bars using the Old Bay Side Shrimpand Shrimp Jig Head. Using a 1/8oz red headjig I will slowly bounce the jig along the bot-tom. Old Bay Side's Shrimp Jigs aredesigned to land with the hook up rather thandown like most jig heads, minimizing snags.

My choice of colors in the Shrimp this timeof year are pumpkin with the chartreuse tailor glow with a chartreuse tail.

LEFT: pump-kin with the chartreusetailRight: glowwith a chartreusetail.Old Bayside Baits available at Fishin ̓Franks & Laishley Marine


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By Capt. Chuck EichnerWater LIFE Gasparilla EditorMake no doubt about it winter is on its way and the

patterns have changed. Gamefish react to lowering watertemperatures and shorter daylight hours which are subtleclues to nature that cold weather is on the horizon.Shrimp become an even bigger source of prey to redfishand trout as the migratory baitfish move out of the harbor. Snook will become lethargic and increasingly more dif-

ficult to catch. The good news is there are lots of otherspecies to catch in a day including sheepshead, black drum,ladyfish and jacks.

So Letʼs Go Fishing! To me, December fishing is as simple as it gets. Take

a handful of jigs and a bucket of shrimp and that’s it. Forequipment I like a 6-7’ medium spinning rod with 10pound test and 10-inches of 30 pound shock leader. I preferto use medium shrimp and break them in half just behindthe hard collar. Hook the head piece from the underside through the top

in the front. For the tail piece, hook through the undersideof the shrimp tail then out the top just behind where youbroke it off. These hooking methods present the jig without too

much water resistance which keeps the bait from tearing offas frequently.The “winter species” have a tendency to school up in

areas of deeper water. Canals, basins, creeks and potholesin the grass will harbor lots of fish. I like to treat fishingthis time of year like the bass pro’s on TV. I cover a lot of water by casting continuously, working

the bait from the shore all the way back to the boat. Thekey is to stay in contact with the bottom. I prefer to letmy jig fall on a slack line then tighten up and use very

short snaps of the rod tip to impart a darting shrimpaction. Definitely, drop your rod after each snap to allow the

bait to settle back to the bottom. Most of your hits willcome as the jig is falling. Any little “tick” you feel is the

fish actually inhaling the bait. Trout, redfish and othersdon’t really bite it, they inhale water as they chase it downand the tick you feel is the weight of the jig bouncingaround in the fishes mouth- so, set the hook!

Size and Color MattersTo stay in contact with the bottom you need weight. I

prefer a 1/4oz jig for most situations. In grassy areas a1/8oz jig may be in order however you will get a lot lessbites with an 1/8oz jig in waters deeper than 5 feet. If youdon’t believe it, go to a 5-8 foot spot and put a light jigon your buddies line (same color) and you go with a 1/4oz.He may not realize the difference in jigs, but he will defi-nitely know you have the “hot rod”.Color does make a difference and I have narrowed it

down to red, orange, pink and chartreuse. Experiment oneach fishing day and the fish will let you know what theylike. Water temperature and sunlight penetration seem toaffect their color preference.Jigs come in lots of shapes but I find a bullet head or

flat head works best. Pick a brand that has a short shankhook so your overall bait is compact. Long shank jighooks generally have a wider gap which makes it evenmore difficult for tricky biters like the sheepshead to gethooked.When heading out on the waters this winter I suggest

you take 20-30 jigs along and at least 100 shrimp for theday (200 baits). Yes, it would be nice to catch 200 fish,but with all of the deadfall branches and submerged debrisbelow you’re going to lose some tackle. But, then again,you’re gonna catch a bunch of fish.

Capt. Chuck Eichner operates Action Flats BackcountryCharters. He can be found online at:

www.backcountry-charters.com

In December ...In December ...DanceDanceTheTheJigJig


Charlotte HarborRobert at F i s hi n' FranksPort Charl o tte: 6 25 -3888You have the first half of December to catch your

last s nook , so if you want snook for Christmas din-ner, better catch it before the 15th when the seasoncloses.Snook fishing at El Jobean has been picking up at

night and fishing for snook – even the 41 bridge isdoing fair at night – in spite of the fact that the lightsare still out on the bridge. Laishley pier is stacking

up the snook pretty good too, because the past fewcold fronts have really made the fish move towards theriver. This is also a good time to start looking forsnook at the spill dams along U.S. 41. Presentationhas to be slowed down with the colder weather, nomatter if it’s a jig or a stick-bait. Fl ounder fishing has been incredible for the last

month and a half. I think it’s because a number of theshrimp boats were wrecked in the hurricanes and thepressure is off. Flounder are a popular by-catch for thelocal shrimpers.

December Fishing Forecast

Nice cobia are in the area as witnessed by this by-catch at thelocal Flatsmasters Redfish&Snook Tournament last month.

S hrimp di ppi ng is hotright now. Guys are getting twobuckets full out at the pier atPlacida at night. It’s quite a bitbetter then normal right now.Sheepshead are startingtomove out along the beaches.Look for them around Placida andat the docks at Boca Grande. Fiddler crabs work best on them, but you canpeel the shell off a shrimp and that also makes a good bait for them. Westill haven’t heard whether the sand fleas are back this year. Remember, lastseason? ... there weren’t any sand fleas around.Grouper and mangrove snapper are starting to really turn on in some

of the passes and offshore. On Novak Reef and at Mary’s Reef there are nicelegal fish now. We have even had reports of nice legal grouper down at PineIsland with some legal fish coming out from under the bushes. On the real calm days look for the amberjack and the barracuda. Check

out the boxcars or any of the other reefs in 50-or-more feet of water.In the early morning and late afternoons look for cobia cruising the outside

of the bars or along the crab traps offshore. There have been a lot of nicecobia this season and there are usually some triple tai l mixed in with them.Another nice fish in December is whiting . There are plenty of them out

along the beaches and in the smaller passes. They are a fun fish to catch andare under rated, but still a great fish to smoke and eat.Redfish are always around, but this is the time of year when the rat reds

are starting to show up. Be conservative and learn to use circle hooks to helpthe little guys grow up. Up in the canals, close to the mangroves in PortCharlotte and PGI, is a good place to look for them. Any redfish caught in the25 inch range or bigger would be an exceptional fish for this time of year.Trout are readily available, but the season is closed and the fish are very

fragile right now so handle them carefully.There are a lot of little bluefish from 12- to 16-inches out around Placida

and in the passes on the incoming tide. There should be little pods of themmixed in with the Spanish mackerel right now. This is a good time to startpracticing with artificials because this is the time of year the fish will chewon them readily.

Stump PassTravis at Stump Pass Marina Englewood: 697-2206Inshore, there are a ton of trout in the bay and quite a few redfish are com-

in' in too, plus there are a few snook around. In the passes and off the beach

there are a bunch of Spanish mackerel . Offshore, we have prime time forKing and Spanish mackerel. It depends on the water temperature, once it getsbelow 67 or 66 degrees the kings will end. There are a load of sharks outthere too, mixed right in with the mackerel. As the temperatures drop thegrouper and snapper will be coming in closer to shore. Right now, they arestill in 60 feet of water or more. Way offshore (30 plus miles) in 100-plus-feet of water, blackfin tuna, amberjack and even some wahoos are beingcaught. Cigar minnows, blue runners and pilchards are the best baits for off-shore.

Lemon BayJim at Fishermen’s EdgeEnglewood: 697-7595Fishing has been decent this past week. It hasn’t gotten that cold, so

snook fishing has still been good. Redfish are scattered throughout LemonBay and into Gasparilla and Pine Island Sound. The fish aren’t herded up, butthere are plenty of tailing fish and sight-cast-fishing is the way to go. Thatlong flat down by the Gasparilla Inn golf course... that has been holding red-fish and guys were catching them like crazy this week. Sheepshead are start-ing to show up. There have already been a couple of good days for them aroundthe Placida trestle. The frozen sand fleas this year aren’t oversized like theywere last year so they are more popular. Guys have been buying sand scoopsso I guess the live fleas are back. Big flounder – 16 or 17 inch fish – arebeing taken close to the Big Pass and some are coming from around the rockrubble on the beach front. Offshore, mackerel and king mackerel fishinghas been good. There are a lot of fish close in, in the 25-30 foot range.Trolling spoons and plugs or drifting live bait on the days you can get out infront works well. Grouper fishing offshore, according to the charter boatguys, has been pretty good on many days. There has been quite a bit ofcobia around down on the beach and up in the Harbor, the fish must bemoving down the coast now. Assorted pompano , bluefish, and a vari-ety of visitor fish are all coming and going. Out on the beach front, triple


n December 9: Lighting of theFleet, holiday festivities at IslesYacht Club, Punta Gorda, at sun-down.n December 11: Lighted BoatParade, starts in Edgewater Lakeand proceeds past the Isles yachtClub, Fishermenʼs Village andunder the U.S. 41 Bridges. Beginsat sundown. 639-3720 n December 12: Change of Watchinstallation of new officials for thePunta Gorda Sailing Club,Victoria estates, 5 p.m.

n December 22: Fishing Seminar,West Marine, Charlotte Harbor,Capt. Dan Cambern, OffshoreWinter Fishing, 5 p.m. 625-2700n January 5: Fishing Seminar,West Marine, Capt. Andy Medina,Redfishing, 5 p.m. 625-2700n Jan 8-9: Golden ConchRegatta, Platinum Point YachtClub, Burnt Store. 639-3868 n March 5-6: Conquistador CupCharlotte Harborʼs largest Regatta.

BIG-4 BIG-4 Decemberʼs Best Bets Decemberʼs Best Bets

SHEEPSHEAD are movingin from offshore

FLOUNDER are still allover the Harbor

SNOOK are heading to thecanals and rivers

SMALL REDFISH will beshowing up big time

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