16” Venice Flounder to a 48” King and the Follies

Chelsea and her Dad Keith of Massachusetts were on there last day of their vacation and thought they would give it a go on the pier. Armed with nothing but Bass to perch baits, Chelsea had a quarter ounce bass headed jig with a white and red tailed plastic grub. Flipping it out like any young semi-pro youngster would do, she bounced that jig in a slow to quiver retrieve. First cast to the deck, Chelsea landed a sixteen-inch Venice Flounder. Apparently, the kids know how to fish. To that, I changed over to a half ounce “Dude”, a white bristled jig with wraps in red, and started bouncing the bottom. Learn from what you see or as in the military; be aware of your surroundings.


Under a brisk north by northwesterly wind at fifteen to twenty, a few brave souls were out on the boards at Sharky’s on the pier chunking hardware to drowning dead baits. Added to those brave anglers trying their luck for Flounder, Bluefish, Mackerel, Pompano’s or anything that would constitute a “Fish On!”, were “the crew” of Trollyers, at the end of the pier in hot pursuit of big Kings on this cold day in April. Yes, you heard right, cold day in April when it normally would be in the high eighties to low nineties and the water at 77 would be teaming with Hammers to massive migrating schools if Kings to Tarpon. Instead, the water temperature today was a hot 71.8 degrees at the pier. Maybe next week?

The usual local crowd out on the pier were throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the water, Gotcha’s, Clarks, Silly Willies, and the list goes on with nothing but a sore arm in the taking. Some had squid, cut baits and on the main menu, dead shrimps. Nothing, nada, no way Jose was the fish in a cooperative mood. Water clarity was partly to blame as it was as clear as glass; the bottom at fourteen feet down one could see the ripples in the sand.



Alias! I hooked it up with two Blues, a Spanish and one Pompano; a bucket of fish. The only other fish and stuff to lie on the boards this day were two King fish in the forty inch plus range. The follies of it all was watching two gaffs in hooking up that one forty-eight inch fish.



A Bucket of Fish spells Dinner.

The Kings are a coming for yesterday a fifty pounder was caught along with five of his gang in the thirty to forty pound class by the “crew” or “T” gang who posses the end of the pier as their own. Tomorrow or Thursday should be even better with Friday being hot as the weather is suppose to warm up and a mild front arrives on Saturday. I suspect Friday will be hot if the water will go off color and by Sunday, it could be a scorcher in Kings on the deck.



“FISH ON!”

On the Boards in Venice Florida: Alex Caught a Blue

On the Boards in Venice Florida: Alex Caught a Blue

Alex Caught a Blue

Alex Switzer fished amongst an onslaught of anglers all trying their luck in catching the big one while out on the boards of the Venice City pier, located at the west end of Sharky’s on the Pier. As the water temperatures were non-cooperating and the off color water, due to the cloudy to patchy sun trying to peek through, one could see the bottom at fourteen feet down. This makes for a beautiful picture but hard to bite on the fish as they see hook and all. While most of the anglers were catching a case of the blues, Al actually caught his first Blue Fish and proud he was.



Between intermittent drops of passing drizzle, the Bottlenose Dolphin rounded up a ball or two of dancing ladies (Ladyfish or poor men’s Tarpon), to which also fell prey to Silly Willies and Gotcha’s alike. Cigar minnows patrolled the pillions and the occasional Pompano to Spanish fell to the bump stop retrieve of my pink and white Silly Willy.



Al Switzer, Alex’s dad snapped the photo’s of his sons prized catch, as well the sea of rays, to which were grazing the bars along the piers edges. When Cow nose Rays appear around the pier or any location you are fishing means there are probably some sort of invertebrate swimming about as these gentle gliding creatures of the sea feed on them as well clams to oysters. Rolling Dolphins to gliding rays usually means the bite is right and a turn on is near. Casting directly behind the rays can produce a number of species of fish from Cobia to Blues. While a cast just to the side or in front of the rolling Bottlenose is a best bet in finding erratic Mullet to Spanish mackerel, which are on the dolphins menu. Do not worry about catching the dolphin for it is far smarter than most give it credit. It will not take your lure but in hooking it up, it will take your catch so hast is necessary in landing your catch, unless you are happy with only half a fish to none!





Always remember to pay close attention to following the rules which apply to your particular area, watch your bag limits if taking home your catch and most of all practice CPR (Catch, Photograph and Release) when at all possible. Sustaining our marine fisheries of the future is in your hands. Just because the bag limit says say fifteen, take only what is needed to feed your bunch and release the rest. This way there will be more tomorrow and so forth.

“FISH ON!”
™

Venice Pier Fishing Tournament, Venice Florida

As a picture is a thousand words, enjoy the smiles through my lens:
























AND MORE!






























"FISH ON!" Venice Pier Anglers.











SHARKY’S ON THE PIER PRESENTED:



The Biannual Family Fishing Tournament Sponsored by Sharky's on the Pier Casual Dining & Papa's Bait Shop on the Pier in sunny Venice Florida. Home to the Sharks Tooth Coast as it is "The Sharks Tooth Capital of the World!"




By Gary A. Anderson

Papa’s Bait Shop on the Venice Fishing Pier hosted the “Family Fishing Tournament” on Saturday, April 10 2010 from 8 AM to 11 AM. Entry fees to fish were a donation of a non-perishable food item for the Trinity Presbyterian Food Bank. Donations or not, all children who had a wish to fish and have fun out on the boards of the pier at Sharky’s, also attended the event. Prizes awarded to all youth between the ages of five through seventeen. The prizes of first, second and third place awarded to each of the 3 age groups, 5 to 9, 10 to 12 and 13 through 17 and each child must be accompanied by an adult.

Continental breakfast supplied by Sharky’s on the Pier and registration at seven through the volunteers from the Trinity Presbyterian Food Bank, Carol Ann Mancuso, Barbara Jahnke and Damaris Weidner began the festivities. Prior to the rising of the sun, under a sliver of a moon, volunteers began the preparations in co-hosting this ongoing bi-annual event.

A participant named Joe caught the first two Hardheads (catfish) of the morning with both being a first. A young man of five, James Morrissey with a grand Whiting followed this (Southern-Kingfish) along with a most unusual catch of the day. James said, “I want to catch a Bonnethead. I want one to be caught on my hook.” With this said a bait shrimp placed on his hook and cast from the pier, developed into a whopper of a tale. A few minutes passed and James exclaimed, “I got a bite! Maybe it is my Bonnethead” and with this he reeled in a monster, never seen before and caught on a hook at the on the boards of the pier. There before all was a Bonnethead shark without a body. He caught a head of a small shark, which had circum to a grizzly ending to which someone, or something had decapitated this young shark. A shark without a body but never the less, he caught a Bonnet Head.

The morning continued in warming as the bite picked up with more catfish, pinfish, stingrays and whiting. An onslaught of twenty participants each grinning with enthusiasm as each bite to catch occurred. The stiff east wind and brownish to green sand filtered waters stopped none of these kids in having a great time angling with their selected partner or parent. Volunteers were moving across the boards like ants at a picnic while recording all the fish caught and snapping photographs. All were encouraged to practice CPR, (Catch, Photograph and Release), to learn to respect the marine environments to which was fished.




The following identifications of the species caught today at Papa’s Bait Shop are located in the FWC commission’s publication FISHING LINES.

HARDHEAD CATFISH - Arius felis
Family Ariidae, SEA CATFISHES
Description: brownish to gray-green; white to
yellowish below; fin spines with no fleshy
filaments; barbel at corner of mouth not very
flattened and shorter than head; four barbels
on chin.
Size: to 60 cm (2 ft.) and 5.5 kg (12 lbs.) but usually
much smaller.
Where found: same as for gafftopsail catfish usually much more common.
Remarks: commonly caught from catwalks, bridges, and piers, particularly in passes and inland waterways; edible, but
generally not eaten.
Found on page 32 of http://myfwc.com/docs/Fishing/fish_id2.pdf


PINFISH - Lagodon rhomboides
Family Sparidae, PORGIES
Description: small mouth with incisor-like
teeth; distinctive black spot behind the gill
cover; body bluish-silver with blue and orangeyellow
horizontal stripes, yellow fins.
Where found: seagrass beds, bridges, piers,
marker pilings, and around natural and artificial
reefs; spawn offshore.
Size: usually less than 8 in.
Remarks: popular live bait, notorious bait stealers found on page 26 http://myfwc.com/docs/Fishing/fish_id2.pdf




SOUTHERN STINGRAY - Dasyatis americana
Family Dasyatidae, STINGRAYS
Identification: disk almost a perfect rhombus, with
pointed corners; ventral finfold on tail long and relatively
high, dorsal finfold rows near shoulder; disk usually
uniform dark brown above, grayer in young.
Size: to 1.8 m (6 ft.) across disk.
Where found: common in bays and estuaries.
Remarks: the largest stingray along our southeastern
and Gulf shores. Found on page 4 of http://myfwc.com/docs/Fishing/fish_id2.pdf




SOUTHERN KINGFISH - Menticirrhus americanus
Family Sciaenidae, DRUMS
Description: grayish brown above, with
silvery sides: 7 to 8 diagonal dusky bars or
blotches on each side, but these marks are
obscure and never form V-shaped marks on
side; scales on chest about same size as those
on body.
Size: to 38 cm (15 in.) and 1 kg (2 lbs.).
Where found: shallow coastal waters; common
along beaches.


Found on page 31



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