A Letter to the Governor of Florida; Rick Scott

A Letter to Gov. Rick Scott; FWC & Sea Trout Delayed Action Needed!

A Letter to the Governor of Florida; Rick Scott

From the Publisher: Fisheries are an integral part of our nation's food security -- or should be. It is time we began treating them as such -- albeit a food source directly tied to the protection of aquatic ecosystems and science-based harvest levels -- and not just the plaything of a science agency.

THE LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA: RICK SCOTT

Here Kitty-Kitty; In Search of Florida Cats

Off the boards and on to the freshwater where there is no oil except on the salad at home that we plan to have with our Florida Channel Freshwater Catfish dinner. Here kitty-kitty, we are in search of Florida Cats!

Channel Cat fishing, no matter where you fish, has always been a past time to cool away under an oak tree, spinning tackle to a bamboo pole, a can of worms, your favorite stink bait or just a pint of chicken livers from your local grocery....

Eleven Foot Tiger on Nokomis Beach Florida

An Eleven Foot Tiger Shark decided to go sun bathing on the Nokomis beach as of yesterday 05/28, 2010. Mote Marine officials concluded its appearance on the beach might be due to the offshore Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which now closes about twenty-five percent of all commercial Gulf of Mexico fishing or 60,683 square miles of the Gulf. The

Gulf of Mexico fishing closures now extend all the way to the west Florida shelf, The Blue water at the 200-meter line. This closed area is one of the most abundant commercial fishing areas found off the western coastline of Florida. The shelf is about 140 miles off Venice, Florida and extends northwestwards. The new “best guess” is between 12,000 to 19,000 barrels a day are sluing into our Gulf marine environment establishing this oil spill as the largest in American history. That is nearly triple the amount spilled of the Exxon Valdez incident of 1989. Though to different monsters, it is still oil but of a higher grade. Considering our Tarpon travel some 125 miles offshore in their “Daisy Chaining” mating ritual, I wonder to what effect it will have on their migratory run and the offspring they deliver. I have talked to a number of area anglers, boat ramp owners and tackle shops and all have agreed we need to form an alliance to be prepared for the oncoming onslaught. As The Online Fisherman suggested, we need an oil spill prevention plan. Just in case.

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



To Purchase a Florida Fishing License

Our Pro Youth Anglers

Ban on Gag Grouper Fishing Killing Florida’s Economy

Federal and state fishery managers have closed recreational fishing in the Gulf of Mexico for gag starting February 01, 2009 and continuing until March to stop overfishing. Overfishing means gags caught at an unstained rate, although gag stocks do not suggest evidence of overfishing; go figure how this came about without evidence in a decision to cost southwest Floridians millions in lost revenues. Out of all the time in which to pick a closure, the council closes the season down during a time when this type of fishing is at a peak in bring in angling dollars in state to merchant revenues. A trickle down effect could cause small businesses to close and tourist dollars to go elsewhere. Tourist to locals who spend money to go private charter fishing target the first three months of the year as the best opportunity in catching a grouper and will plan their trips accordingly around this angling event. Peak Snowbird season (tourists) is February and March of any given year. With this new ruling, it doubles last year's original recreational closure, from Feb. 15 to March 15. At a time where housing is at a rock bottom low and the dollar in a stimulus mode why, would anyone wish more ills on an already plagued state of economical failings? This closure may need to be but not at a time where people are depending on Gag dollars to pay the bills. By placing an additional ban on gag grouper by extending the closed season through Florida’s peak tourists time, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Southeast Region and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council are killing Florida’s economy in Gag Dollars. These dollars represented in the forms of lost tackle sales, fuel sales, charter captain sales, fishing license sales, food, and ice and lodging all lost because of bad timing. In a time where we are all pinching pennies, someone needs to do their homework before taking dollars away area anglers and local merchants.

Florida Great White Sharks: frenzy in the Gulf

[FWC/NOAA (2007)]
This white shark head was seized by federal and state authorities from a Seminole storage facility in 2007, where
the jaws of this estimated 10- to 12-footer caught in the gulf could be worth $20,000 on the black market.

Commercial shark season recently opened in the Gulf of Mexico, but anglers should know they might get more than they bargained for if they are angling for jaws.
This is the time of year that big bulls are out on the beaches at night delivering pups between the bars with a hunger and thirst for fresh meat. If they can catch their own first-born and they do often, it goes back inside as a meal. The Venice City Pier located at Sharky’s on the Pier 1600 Harbor Drive South, sets some three hundred feet outside the last sandbar or just over seven-hundred feet from the waters edge, making it as a pearl in location for catching big winter sharks. Zebco need not apply here at night as only the mighty are amongst the victors at fights end; Penn, Avet, International, Accurate to name but a few are the names of equipment in aid to the Venice pier anglers who are in pursuit of the biggest and best shark to claim as their own. Baits range from Barracuda to Kingfish heads and reel sizes from a cheeky 4/0 to massive workhorses in the 18/0 category, one speed or two, four hundred pound test leaders and hooks to match in strength, shark fisherman are serious in their quest to be the best. Many a large predator has but picked up bait and made that long zinging sound of a reel groaning in action, only to keep right on going and spooling out five-hundred yards of line to tail whipping a four hundred pound test leader at twelve feet in length. Even better yet, to an amazing surprise of a straitened out 12/0 hook or bit in half wire leader to match none! These great sharks are the ones that got away. I wonder if it could be…
Florida Great White Sharks.