water life july 2007

Charlotte Harbor and Lemon BayCharlotte Harbor and Lemon Bay

wwwwww.CHARLOTTEHARBORMAGAZINE.COM.CHARLOTTEHARBORMAGAZINE.COM

FREE!FREE!

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

FREE!FREE!

B L U S T E RYB L U S T E RYC . H . S .C . H . S .T O U R N E YT O U R N E YPA G E 2 9PA G E 2 9

July 2007July 2007Shutter InstallShutter Install4Page 14

Keeping Boaters and Fishermen InformedKeeping Boaters and Fishermen Informed

Shark TournamentShark TournamentPPage 16-17age 16-17

MiddleGroundsDiving

Page 18

BBaahhaammaass

Page 22Page 22

IIFFAA

EEvveenntt

Page 29Page 29

P a g e 2 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E J u l y 2 0 0 7

J u l y 2 0 0 7 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 3


SUBSCRIBE to Water LIFEHave us mail your copy anywhere in the U.S.A. for $20 / YearName _______________________________________________Address _____________________________________________City _______________________________ State ____________Zip ____________________ Please watch your mailing label for expiration datePlease watch your mailing label for expiration date

Credit Card _________________________________________ ExpDate_________7/07

Out-of-state mail issent First Class

Florida zip codes aresent as Bulk Mail

GET IT ONCE A MONTHGET IT ONCE A MONTH . . .. . .

Fill out (please print) and Mail to:Water LIFE217 Bangsberg Rd,Port Charlotte, FL, 33952

Check one:o Payment included: make check payable

to Water LIFEor Bill my

o Visa o M/C account

Now Just $20for 12 monthly editions

SUBSCRIPTIONFORM

LETTERS TO WATER LIFE Water LIFEMichael and Ellen Heller

Publishers(941) 766-8180

TOTALLY INDEPENDENTWater LIFE is not affiliated

with any newspaper or otherpublication

© 2007 Vol VI No. 7 Water LIFENo part of this publication may be

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

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

Gasparilla: Capt. Chuck EichnerPort Charlotte: Fishinʼ Frank

Offshore: Capt. Steve SkevingtonReal Estate: Dave HoferSailing Advisor: Bill Dixon

Kayaks: David AllenSea Grant: Betty Staugler

Diving: Adam Wilson

on the COVER:Charlotte High Tournament

on our WEBSITE:WWW.charlotteharbormagazine.com

Links to Realtors: Connect with our realestate advertisersTide Graphs: For local watersWeather: Links to all of our favorite sites.Back editions: Pages of previous editionsArtificial Reefs: Lat. and Long local reefsManatee Myths: Read the original plan tocreate sanctuaries and refuges, as spelledout by the United Nations in 1984Kids Cup Updates and TrackingASA1000 Photography and Hot Rod Cars

WRITE US!e-mail (preferred)

[email protected] MAIL:

217 Bangsberg Rd.Port Charlotte, FL 33952

Special: – From the Vatican:

The 10 Commandments for Fishing.1) Give more room to others who are fishing2) Donʼt Chum near anglers fishing with artificials3) Donʼt waste live bait4) Donʼt run the shoreline5) Donʼt make the same mistakes twice6) Watch out for sea grass7) Say hello to manatees8) Donʼt feed the birds or other wildlife9) Learn better fish handling techniques10) Almost always tell the truth

Our neighbor Ron Snee in PortCharlotte sent us these pictures.

The launching mishap occurredin the middle east at Jebel Ali,near Dubai.

In the first photo there areapparently lose slings. Lookclosely at the middle photo. Oneguy is on the aft deck ....goingdown with the ship! Weʼre notsure where the other fellow was.In the last photo you can see thetwo men safe in the water

Dear EditorThe article written by Capt. Moore, re:ultimate predator in the June 2007 WaterLIFE magazine is very misinformed infor-mation for all readers. Using Spanish

mackerel filet for shark bait, or any otherfish that has a minimum size limit, cannot be used. All must remain in wholecondition until landed ashore, with headsand tails intact. You see this done on TVby many many captains on the Floridafishing shows. Rest a sure, they don't get

tickets from the florida fish and wildlifeconservation officers. But I did. So doyour home work, read all the regulations.If you have a question, call the FWCoffice near you and carry a copy of theFlorida fishing regulations in your tacklebox. Marty Ranzer, Port Charlotte

Mackerel for Shark Bait?

You can print out this form online at: www.Charlotteharbormagazine.com

By Michael Hel lerWater LIFE Editor

Six months ago this publication lauded the CountyCommissioners for hiring a fishery biologist for theirstaff. Roger DeBruler left a good paying job at MoteMarine to come to work for Charlotte County as a pro-gram assistant to Betty Staugler, our Charlotte CountySea Grant agent. Roger was to have administered ourartificial reef program and help Betty in various otherareas. Roger was the guy we needed. Hands on, knowl-edgeable, friendly. I liked him from the day I met him,but now Roger’s position appears to be another fatalityin the big budget-cut-kill-off of June 2007.

It’s ludicrous thatCharlotte County uses itstourism department topromote our ‘aquaticresources’ as theCounty’s main attractionwhile at the same timethe County does awaywith the only on-waterstaffer we have. Look atSarasota County look atLee County they have afull staff of people totake care of their water resource.

There are numerous, long-term flunkies on the coun-ty’s payroll, numerous subcontractors doing work thatcounty staffers should be doing – a cut in any one ofthose areas could enable us to fund Roger’s position.

The county is $12 million in the hole and paying$14,300 a day in interest on the boondoggle that isMurdock Village. Let the county default on that loserproject, give it back to the lenders and then start collect-

ing the rightful taxes on the property. The County hasshowed numerous times already that it is unable to func-tion in the private sector, one more failure won’t be sobad.

How about medical response? Tell me again why weneed a sheriff’s car, a fire truck and an EMT truck torespond to every medical emergency. If we’re going tomake cuts lets cut away the fat not the good red meat.Next Subject: I’ve received a little more informa-

tion from John Aspiolea, park manager of the CharlotteHarbor Preserve State Park, concerning the stakes in themud outside of Turtle Bay. John says he has been toldthe stakes are part of a ‘mitigation project’ for a multi-family dock on a barrier island somewhere. Mitigation isa buzz-word for ‘environmental rule-bending.’ Throughmitigation banks and mitigation funds, developers get tobuild on environmentally sensitive sites so long as they‘mitigate’ their impact by doing something environmen-tal friendly, someplace else. According to Aspiolea, themitigation involves putting dirt filled cotton sock-liketubes in the prop scars. The tubes are supposed to helpbring the prop scar back up to grade. Reseeding orreplanting the grass is unnecessary, just putting the tubein the prop scar depression and leaving it there for sixmonths is supposedly enough to mitigate a condo dock.

Whoever wrote the mitigation rules also decided to putthe stakes in the ground so cormorants could land onthem and drop their excrement in the water to make thegrass grow. I’m not kidding, that’s the official plan.The Final S traw: Permits to plant red mangrove

trees in the preserve were approved, but money for treesis also certainly not part of the county’s budget reform. Ihave heard that local citizens have been experimentingwith transplanting red mangrove trees from one part ofthe preserve to another. The first trees they planted arenow sporting new growth, but transplanting protected redmandrove trees is not covered by the permit and thereforeit is illegal. It’s all so screwed up.


2092 Nuremburg Blvd - Thischarming 3/2/2 is nestled on aquiet lot overlooking LakeHenry in the desirable DeepCreek neighborhood. This homewould be a fabulous winterhome, or a great starter home.Please call today for more details on this one of a kind deal.MLS#674810 $170,000

2619 RioPlato Dr -Located inthe desirablearea of PuntaGorda Isles,this home ispriced to sellquickly.Nestled on a quiet cul-de-sac street and withquick access sailboat water this home is theperfect home for you. This 3/2/2 withpool/spa home needs a little work, but with alittle TLC it could quickly be the home of yourdreams. MLS#671318 $490,000

The new AirportCommerce Park inPunta Gorda is thepremier industrial cen-ter in the county. This2.08+/- acre lot in theSOLD OUT frontsideof the park is locatedat the corner of themain entry road andthe road that will cutthrough to S.R. 74/Bermont Rd. This is one of theonly parcels in the county that has the scarce ILzoning code. IL zoning makes this lot perfect forflex-space, warehouse space, or storage space.MLS# 667749 $453,024

153 Tobias - Charming 3 bedroom, 2bath and seperate 2 car garage with

office – Southern Florida living atits finest on a quiet street in a desir-

able section of Port Charlotte. Thishome is a must see with a gormet

kitchen. Call me today! MLS#673390$229,000

5064 La Costa IslandCt - 4/4/2 waterfrontpool home in theheart of Punta GordaIsles. Impeccablymaintained, gourmetkitchen with cherrywood cabinets, gran-ite counters, Subzerorefrig & freezer, large panoramic window in thebreakfast area, 18 ft ceilings, coral rock fire-place, Located on intersecting canals, 80 ft.dock & 7,500# boat lift. Minutes to openwater.You will not find this level of luxury ordetail at this price with any other home current-ly on the market. MLS#672987 $1,390,000

8290 Judge Bean Rd -Here 's your chance to own aprivate island with panaromicviews of the back bays andthe Harbor. Grandfathered infor one single family homewith power and water ease-ment and room for severaldocks with over 250 ft. ofdredge canals. Come makethis your private estate.MLS#645613 $429,000

Noth ing Good to Repor t

REDUCED!REDUCED!

MUST SELL!!MUST SELL!!

Roger DeBruler at work


Screaming ReelsBy Capt. Andrew MedinaWater LIFE Staff

July is now here and fishing in the backwaters willslow down a little this month, but that’s not by anymeans due to a lack of fish. Due to increasing water tem-peratures the water on the flats will heat up to a levelthat’s not comfortable for fish. Relax, it has nothing todo with global warming, it is just summer in sunnyFlorida. How I deal with this is to fish the flats beforethe sun gets to the hottest part of the day. I’m usuallyon the flats by sunrise and off the flats by 10 in themorning.

Shallow water fish such as snook and redfish will stillpush up on a flat in the cooler part of the morning tofeed and when you find them in the morning they arepretty eager to eat. After 10 o’clock or so I will startlooking in the bushes or under docks where the water issignificantly cooler. It makes sense, the same baits arejust fished differently and when you find the right dock ordeeper shore lines chances are good you will find fish thatare willing to eat. Another good point to remember isthat bait fish such as threadfins or greenbacks will notdo well in warm water either. If you spend all morningnetting baits the last thing you want is a well full ofpotato chips (‘potato chips’ is a ‘technical term’ used byanglers to describe the stiff curled up bait on the bottomof your live well. There is a very simple solution to this

problem. Lock your well down. This is simple, the waterwhere you caught your bait or water from the middle ofthe harbor is ideal for your bait. If your well is set up forrecirculating, use it, instead of sucking up warmer water.If your well is not set up this way, another good way isto provide your bait with as much air as possible. Ialways use an oxygen infusion system this time of theyear. The oxygen infuser is made by a company calledKeep Alive. It’s a floating system available at your localtackle store that replenishes oxygen lost in the warmwater. A recirculating system can also heat water up, sozip lock bag with some ice in it or a frozen litre bottle ofwater will usually take care of this, just don’t get it too

cold and shock the fish. Sounds like a lot of work and Iguess, in a way, it is, but it beats going home for theday empty handed.

There are still plenty of alternatives around for gettinga rod bent when you don’t want to chase snook or red-fish. Tarpon in the upper harbor are feeding and withoutthe hustle and bustle of the pass or hill tides they will behappy to see your bait. These fish are what are referred toas ‘resident’ fish. They are smaller, 10 to 80 pounds, thanthe big pass tarpon and they will eat a variety of baits.

Mackerel are in the Harbor pretty thick now. Watch forbait pods and fish shooting out of the water after bait.

Whatʼs Upfor July?

Please see Whatʼs Up? on Page 8


By Capt. Ron BlagoWater LIFE Senior Staff

I just finished participating in theCharlotte Assembly which is a group of130 influential citizens that meet at therequest of the Board of CountyCommissioners to kick around the prob-lems of the day and set the direction forthe county in the future. Don’t ask mewhy I get invited to these things, butthey must feel the need to invite oneweirdo to the group and I guess that’s me.

Now, before you start to panic,remember that the Charlotte Assemblyhas absolutely no power and only makessuggestions to the BCC. During the threedays of meetings we were divided into sixdifferent groups and given a series of top-ics to discuss; everything fromEnvironmental Protection, GrowthManagement, Economic Development,Health and Human Services, Educationand County Government operations. Atthe end, a final report is issued to thepublic which should be out in about amonth.

Fortunately I have the first draft of thatreport so I can give you my personalimpressions on the issues that were dis-cussed.

I was absolutely amazed at change inpublic opinion since the last Assembly in2001. Back then, it was all about envi-ronmental issues and human serviceissues; but this year it was all aboutgrowth, economic development and taxes.I guess a hurricane, the real estate boomand thenbust; and skyrocketing taxes canreally reorient a community’s priorities.

At the beginning of the Assembly,each of us was given a survey about fund-ing levels for various programs. Youcould either increase, keep as is, ordecrease the amount of money to eachprogram. The most popular programs thatpeople wanted to increase funding forwere #1 Water supply development anddistribution issues and #2 Highway androad systems. The most popular pro-grams that people wanted to cut fundingfor were #1 Parks and Recreation and #2

Environmental protection.Without having the final report in hand

I can only tell you that I detected a verystrong pro-growth and economic develop-ment faction in the Assembly. Those par-ticipants were really pushing to increasethe height and density limits for commer-cial and residential development in thecounty. They also wanted to lowerimpact fees to encourage more develop-ment. The economic development crowdwanted the county to waive fees and lowertaxes and provide more incentives toencourage industry to locate in CharlotteCounty. I found it interesting that theaverage annual wage in Charlotte Countyis $30,766.

One of the unofficial topics at theassembly were the upcoming countybudget cut backs as a result of the recentState legislation on property taxes. Thecounty is looking at a 7-percent budgetdecrease for the upcoming year. The coun-ty’s plan is to lay off about 40 employ-ees. A lot of the building inspectors, zon-ing and planning people have already beenlet go. With the recent decline of thebuilding industry, everyone expected thosecuts. What I didn’t expect were the cut-backs that will have a major impact forus fishermen.

The new position of Sea GrantProgram Assistant (held by RogerDeBruler) has been eliminated. That jobwas to resurrect the Artificial ReefProgram in Charlotte County. Withoutoversight the program is dead for at least3 years. Besides the personal tragedy of agreat guy losing his job of less than 6months; we will also lose $73,000 instate grants to help jump start the reefprogram. Another project to get axed isthe mangrove-replanting project to restorethe areas in Charlotte Harbor that weredamaged in Hurricane Charley. Anotherprojects that is up for cuts is the taggingof redfish at the Kid’s Cup Tournament.Without a Sea Grant Assistant agent torun the program we may not be able tomuster the resources necessary to monitorthe tagged redfish .

The CharlotteAssembly always teachesme how much I don’tknow. This year I real-ized I don’t knowenough about growthmanagement. With con-versations about PlattedLands, PlanningDevelopment Zoning,Transfer Density Units,and Urban Service AreaOverlay District, I waspretty much like a fishout of water. On the lastday, the entire Assemblymet in one room to voteon the wording of thedraft report. It’s a prettyugly process much likethe final legislative ses-sion in Tallahassee, witha lot of people voting onthings they really don’tunderstand. In theWildlife andWildlife

Habitat section one of the groups hadslipped in the sentence “The Countyshould implement ‘No Motorboat Zones’in Charlotte Harbor and Lemon Bay.”With the skill of the highest pricedlawyer in the room, I jumped up andobjected to that phrase and wanted toknow how that got in there and what wasthe intention. I explained that there are no

such things as ‘no motorboat zones’ inFlorida. Nobody admitted to including thephrase but I suspect it was the kayak car-tel. I was able to change the wording to“The County should consider ‘no motorzones’ in the Aquatic Preserves wheresound science indicates a need to preservesea grass and fish habitat. We’ll see whathappens.

Capt Ron can be reached for comments at

The Charlotte Asembly and the Price of Tax Cuts

With the Parks and Recreation Department a focus of budgetcuts, area boat ramps will likely not see any improvements.The ramp photo is from Venice, last month.Below: Boaters enjoy the sandbar in late June at the conflu-ence of Horse Creek and the Peace River where the new phos-phate mine could threaten us most. Unfortunately, phosphatemining on Horse Creek may be approved.

Fishin’ FranksFishin’ FranksSumme r He a tS umme r He a tShark TournamentShark TournamentJuly 21July 21

(941) 625-3888(941) 625-3888

Shark/Stingray/CatfishShark/Stingray/Catfish

Try throwing a spoon at them. Colors arenot important at all, but steel leader is.Mackerel will bite through the best of thefluorocarbon leader materials. Sharks areeverywhere the mackerel are. Bulls, black-tips and even hammerheads will eat cutbait. And for you thrill seekers, the ulti-mate is the goliath grouper. You will findthem under bridges and docks.

Last month Capt. Derrick Jacobsen,owner of Florida Light Tackle charters,needed a mate for a Goliath trip and hecalled me. You all know me, if it swimsand eats I’m in. We picked up the cus-tomers in Boca Grande and headed to histop secret location. Before you knew it, theangler was hooked up. But this kind of fish

makes you wonder who’s catching who?The angler is strapped to the rod and reel.The rod and reel are not fastened to theboat. The angler may be in a fighting chairbut the only thing that stops him fromgoing in the water is the bear hug theCapt. has him in. At the end of the 450-pound test line is a fish the size of a smallVW Bug. Sounds like fun? I must say it’sa blast! Just remember, the laws are verystrict and possession of this fish is reward-ed with a hefty fine or jail time. So if youran adrenaline junkie this might be right upyour alley. Give Capt. Derrick a call at(941) 627-9929. Not all Charter servicesoffer this kind of angling experience andit’s for a good reason! What ever youdecide, remember to have fun and be safe.

Capt. Andrew Medina can be reached

The Xtreme is GROWING. There were27 boats in the June tournament and 18more new members.1st. / 13.68 lbs, Brad Opsahl and BillShaffer $1235 They also had biggestfish at 7.95 lbs for an additional $2702nd / 13.32 lbs, Joshua Reager andTony Kules $ 5603rd / 13.25 lbs , Mark Frisbie andJordan Frisbie $2354th / 12.81 lbs, Steve and Tyler Zylstra$130The next tournament is July 14th, at the Best Western in Punta Gorda.S ign up the morning of the event or cal l Capt Medina at 941-456-1540

XTREME Redfish Tournament

JULYJULY2121

30' Alura Classic,1989, 310 HP Marine Vortec,low hours. Ready to cruise and priced tosell. Asking $36,900

28' Bertram Fly Bridge Cruiser, 1971. Twin275HP Indmar 1991. Many Upgrades $19,900

28' Grady White Marlin, 1992. Newer Twin250HP Yamaha, 2000 models.Asking $54,500

26' Boca Grande Cuddy Cabin, 1986. 350 HPCrusader $26,500

24' Grady White Offshore. Twin 140HPmotors. Fish rigged with tuna tower, outrig-gers, down riggers, etc. $12,500

30' Young & Grant Sportfish, 1983. Single350HP Caterpillar 3116 Turbo, 2000.Asking $39,900 Owner Moving Must Sell

18' Cobia Center Console 1999. Single115HP Yamaha V-4. Great for fishing orcruising. $12,900

38' Egg Harbor Sport Fisher 1974. Twin 335HPMarine Power. New engines, new generator, FullFactroy Warranty to new purchaser. Asking $79,500

30' Pro Line 30 Walk 2004. Twin MercuryOpti-max.Great off shore boat! $89,900

23' Sea Fox 230 Walk Around Cuddy, 2002200HP Mercury Salt Water series.Asking $21,900

26' Shamrock Express, 1996. Single 250HPInmar IB. Asking $29,900

20' 6" Sea Pro 206 Center Console 2004.Single 150HP Yamaha Four Stroke. Trailerincluded. Low Hours. $25,900

36' Mainship Open, 1990. Newer 2000 twin330HP Mercury motors. Salt Shaker towerwith controls, new generator. $42,900

28' Scout 280 Sportfish Center Console2002. Twin 225HP Yamaha four strokes.Excellent fishing machine. $79,900

25' Catalina 250 Sloop 1986. Single 10HPUniversal Diesal $7,400


Whatʼs Up? from Page 6


By Fishin FrankWater LIFE Fish Wizard

Fishing line, today there are so manychoices: monofilament, dacron, nylonsuper braid, fluorocarbon, all with choicesof colors: clear, green, grey, multi-color,red, choices of hard, soft, stretch or nostretch... with so many choices how doyou pick one? And when should youreplace the line on your reel? And why doyou get broke off more in saltwater thanin fresh water? Good questions.

I have climbed the mountain and talkedto the line gods who live there for theanswers. Here’s what I know.

You should only replace your fishingline when it goes bad. That said, withmono it could be 6 months or five years.

Mono, it gets shredded when fishing insalt water by oysters and barnacles, eventhe sea weed and grass has barnaclesgrowing on it, so when your fish is mak-ing a run across the flats your line isbeing scraped against barnacles. Scrapedline looks fuzzy like it is growing hair.

The easiest way to check for nicks onyour line is to put the line between yourfingers. When you reel in and feel a nickcut the line at that point and re-tie, thatnick might be almost all the way throughand is the weakest link, so your line willnow only hold a couple of pounds ofpressure.

Super-braid lines like Power Pro orCalcutta are made from something likeKevlar, which is similar to fiberglass, soit should last almost as long as yourboat. Would you toss out a fiberglassboat because it was a year old? I thinknot, but many people want their super-braid changed just because it is a year old.Hey, I sell line for a living, but I do notlike cheating people. Super-braid line isgreat for fishing around tress and pilingsbut it is very visible. Even with a leadersuper-braid can reduce the number of bitesyou get. But because it is much harder to

cut through, you will boat more fish thanwith mono. A lot of people ask ‘will theline cut my guides?’ No, not any more.The first years the line was so rough tex-tured it would cut anything, now the onlythings I worry about it cutting is the bailarm on my reel if it comes off the reel'sline roller, or someone's finger if theyhold the line with their index digit whilesnook fishing. Braided line will cut rightinto that finger if a fast moving fish hitsthe bait.

Back in 1986 I was still new in thefishing business when a line company repcame in the store. I proudly showed himall our spools of bulk mono line from 4pound test to 125 pound test. He askedme how old the line was, I told him afew days to a few months, with someslower moving line sizes selling inalmost a year. He told me I should nothave any spools for more than 6 monthsand what I had should be thrown away andreplaced. When I received the new spoolsinside the box was a flyer promoting atournament held two years before! Mynew line from the factory was two yearsold!

Kept in the box, line can last manyyears with no ill effects, but sunlight andsalt water rubbing against barnacles canmake mono line go bad in a few months,so replace it when it is bad not when thecalendar changes.

Dacron line is usually good for 15 to20 years and very seldom will it go badin less than 10 years. So while expen-sive, dacron is a great dollar value.

What is the best color? For a whileeveryone was talking about red line andhow it is invisible under water. Not true,at all, red is the first color to fade outunder water and at 30 feet it becomesgrey. If red became invisible underwaterwould not the navy paint all their sub-marines red? Me personally, I like havingdifferent colors so I can tell which line is

which, and I can see the bright green line.If I am on fish and the bite slows downsometimes it seems like I can get the fishbiting again by changing line color.Sometimes.

Fluorocarbon line just sucks most ofthe time. It is great for leader as it bendslight the same way water does and thatmakes it invisible under water, how coolis that, but it is stiff and hard and castslike throwing steel wire. There is a newfluorocarbon line I am looking into thatmay cast better. I will let you know, sofor now it’s great leader, but crummyline.

There is a dentist in Punta Gorda, whohas a different idea of what good fishingline is. Dan Moenning uses his ownmethod of extraction. First he gets 40 feetof 1/2 inch rope then ties 6 feet of 120pound test steel leader to the end of therope, and attaches a 10/0 hook to the end.Then he ties one end to the bow cleat, soif he can’t hold the rope he will not goover. Dan makes sure any slack in therope is not tangled in his feet or he willbecome bait. A chunk of mullet is placed

on the hook, making sure the point of thehook is exposed. Now with Dentist Danon the bow holding the rig at ready,Captain Morris Campbell brings the noseof the boat right up to the pilling. Danstarts swinging the big chunk of mulletand then tosses the bait in between thepilings letting it sink all the way to thebottom. Dan holds the rope, CaptainMorris is ready on the controls. Dan feelsthe rope start to move and yells ‘backup!’ Moris puts the boat full speed inreverse and Dan is pulling on the rope forall he's worth and underwater a goliath-fish is trying to get back into the pilings.With the boat pulling back Dan is play-ing tug of war with the fish. This day theleader broke. The technique is all aboutyou and the fish, all 300 or 400 poundsof fish. Hand lining a monster is a greatexperience. Just remember watch whatyou are doing, never wrap the rope aroundyour hands, or as the say; you could besleeping with the fish. Dan is a greatfisherman and knows what he is doing, Ireally enjoyed my trip with him. I willtell you more about that day in another

This monofilament line was frayed by a barnacle or some other sharp obstruction. In theclose up photo you can see how the fibers of the line are popping off, weakening it signifi-cantly. You could almost not see this with the naked eye.

Anglers Resort. Updatedturnkey furnished 2 bed-room condo w/great viewof pool, lovely patio anddeeded boat slip. Greatrental property. $314,900

nn New upscale Sunrise Pointe Condos. 2 or 3bedroom units w/10' ceilings, garages, pool, spa,exercise room. Across from Englewood PublicBeach. From $840,000

nn Englewood Beach Place 2/2 condo on Gulf sidew/elevator, pool and gulf and bay views

9260 Griggs. Sailboatwater. No bridges, 5 min-utes to Gulf. Gorgeouscustom home.Spectacular Bay andCanal views fromthroughout $1,099,000

Englewood Beach Villa -Detached villa w/large livingarea, comfortable Floridaroom and close to the publicbeach. This active communi-ty has a beautiful clubhouseand one of the largest poolson Manasota Key. $269,000MOTIVATED!

8210 Manasota Key RoadIsland Paradise for sale. Gulfto Bay property w/ large beachhouse. Swimming pool over-looks the Gulf. Large screenedporch, huge galley kitchen andmore. $2,100,000

Gulf Sands. Customized 3bedroom 2 bath end unitcondo w/open floor plan.Partial Gulf & Bay views.Heated pool & deeded boatdock. $599,900

Just In: Oversized Gulf Cove lot - build up and enjoy fabulous river views CALL!

Same old Line

P a g e 1 0 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E J u l y 2 0 0 7

S taff ReportOn the morning of the tour-

nament tropical storm Barrywas moving through. Therewas a tropical storm warningin effect. Small craft wereadvised to stay in port. A tor-nado watch had been issued.The wind was blowing a steady25 with gusts to 35. Seas inthe Harbor were probably 5feet.

“We’ve given this a lot ofthought,” Mike James, thetournament director said. “Weput it to a vote yesterday at thecaptains meeting. If anyanglers wanted to bail out we’dgive them their money back.”Only one boat opted for therefund, 85 decided to fish.

With the wind from thenorthern quadrants it wasfiesable to set out fromHarpoon Harrys, hug the shorearound Colony Point and thenrun down the east side in thelee of the islands. It soundedgood, except for the part aboutgoing out around ColonyPoint.

The boats were all cleanwhen they came back.

Rick Shore, walked up tothe scale with his fish. Wedrove over here from the boatramp, he said, noting that aprevious crack in his hull hadworsened considerably and theywere sinking fast when theyelected to go straight to the

ramp. “That’s not allowed,”tournament weighmaster JerryCleffi told him. “You have tocome to the weigh in by boat,”but in spite of the car ride fromthe ramp the fish was alive andwas a live release.

Maybe it was the roughwater that day, some were talk-ing about the ‘cover’ the roughwater offered anglers when theystalked their fish. Either way,there were 93 fish weighed in.A few anglers braved it all theway to the Caloosahatchee.“We caught over 100 fish atRedfish Pass,” Mike McCartytold us. “It was nasty andwet,” Dave Hoke said ...as heweighed in a 7.02 and a 7.15red. Nasty and wet and good!‘We got soaked,’ one angler

complained. “It was a tropicalstorm, you had to figure itwould be windy and wet,” theweighmaster noted.

RESULTS:1st: Five Star Realty (Sifrit,Civitella, Reed) 14.602nd: Team Orthopedist Specialists

(Hoke, Hoke, Hoke) 14.173rd: D.M. Construction (Davis,Waldrop, Mut) 13.534th: Reel Thing (Barnhill, Barnhill,Glass) 13.395th: FJ Nugent & Assoc. (Truett,Legg, Nugent) 13.346th: (Tanksley,Tanksley,Garcia) 13.347th: J & E Contractors (Stover,Stover, Bartholomew) 12.95

8th: Team Gunta (Savasuk,Flowers,Flowers)12.929th: John Opsahl, Inc (Opsahl,Opsahl,Opsahl)12.8410th: Cabinets Plus of SWFl(Fry,Blackburn,Blackburn)12.65Top CHS Alumni- Hunter ReedTop CHS Coach - Bill HokeTop Female Angler - BobbieDaughtry

Waves break on the Peace River on the morning that the Charlotte High Tournament anglers went out fishing.

A Fine Morning For Fishing

Above the tide was high and the dock was awash, but by afternoon the weather subsided. Above: Roger Loweand weighmaster Cleffi with a fish with 27 spots.


PROTECT YOUR BOATFROM NATUREʼS MOSTDAMAGING ELEMENTS

CUSTOM BUILT TO YOUR BOAT LIFT

941 - 505-0237 toll free 877-201-3606

• Patented Double Rail for Ultimate Strength & Safety• Mold and Mildew Resistant • UV Protected• Fire Resistant • Maintenance Free• Quick Release System for Easy Removal

www.waterwayboatliftcovers.com

WWWWAAAATTTTEEEERRRRWWWWAAAAYYYYBOAT LIFT COVERS

The new 2400 Bay Ranger – the ultimate Bay Boat for Charlotte Harbor

San Carlos Marine3300 Palm Beach Blvd. (I-75 Exit 141) Ft. Myers

(239) 334-3424


By Capt. Chuck EichnerWater LIFE Charlotte Harbor

Southwest Florida is the mostdiverse fishery I have ever experienced.Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf Islandareas are a microcosom of nearly theentire west coast. Just about everyspecies of fish that swims in the Gulfwill end up making a pass through ourarea. To this point you may be sur-prised to realize that our man-madecanal systems are a part time summerrefuge. Canals are generally to bethought of as a winter fishing location.

Port Charlotte and Punta Gordacanals generally have good water andmany have deep water. There are lakes,oxbows, intersections, mangrove shore-lines, rip-rapped banks, docks, largeboats, oyster beds and plenty of currentflow. Whenever you combine goodwater depth and good current flow in ashallow water estuary you have defineda recipe for good fishing. Canals offerplenty of shade for the fish and withsome water depths in the 20 foot range,they rival most of the deepest waters inall of Charlotte Harbor.

Now to the fun part. There are lotsof baits in the harbor. Huge threadfins

in roving schools, grassbeds full ofpilchards and pinfish, glass minnowsand other migratory baitfish are wander-ing just about everywhere. How perfectfor the canal fishery. A smorgasboardflows in and out with the tides. By theway, there is also a solid flow of bluechannel crabs into the canals this timeof year. All of our fish love crabs andthere is at the very least small shrimpthat line the canal walls and structures.

There are monster jacks (canal tuna),

goliath groupers, snappers, redfish,snook, mackerel, trout, black drum andof course, gafftop sail cats. Thegoliaths have really piled into thecanals by July and the jacks are a yeararound friend with the biggest and bad-dest patrolling the mazes of waterwaysdaily. This is a daytime fishery regard-less of the height of the sun or tide.

How to catch them is the easy part.Yes, I said easy. Take any of the bait-fish or crabs previously mentioned andrig them on a stout leader, sharp stronghooks and 40# braid. Sometimes thismay not be enough however. There aremonster goliaths that will ‘downtown’you and say ‘see you later’ before youcan budge them! Depending on the cur-rent, tide and water depth you may needto add weight to the rig. You can driftand pitch the baits to banks, docks, sea-walls and any other structure. You mayalso slow troll, troll and pitch or anchoron a fishy looking spot and wait for thefish to come to you.

For the smaller species like snapperI suggest you downsize your rig, usemonofilament and utilize small hooksand baits. Snapper can be line shy andthis will help. It also puts the fightinto perspective having a light rig andnothing beats a rod doubled up! Thereare some whopper snapper millingaround and what a meal they make.For me, a snapper doesn’t go into myfish box until it’s at least 12-13 inches.

For lures, my selection is basic. Iuse fast swimming, shallow diving,short lipped plugs like a Bomber modelA. Fast casting parallel to the seawallsand structure will insight someabsolutely explosive strikes! You willcertainly catch snook and some bigboys too. Jacks will whomp a plug

and don’t be surprised to see a tarponsky into the air. There are tons of tar-pon in the canals right now. From 5 to30 pounds are most common.

For our deeper friends like thegrouper and redfish, use deeper divingplugs that run 4-12 feet. Experimentwith colors and use a moderate retrievewith occasional pauses.

One all around good lure is a buck-tail jig with trailer. Basically this is afairly heavy lead head jig weighing 1-3ounces with some type of hair or hackleon it. I like to tip it off with a twistertail. The glory of this lure is you cancover a lot of water fast and by varyingretrieve speeds you can fish it fastacross the top, yo-yo the water columnor pitch it out allowing it to drop andthen swim it back to the boat. Youonly have a single hook to deal withwhen de-hooking fish for an addedbonus. Soft plastic jerkbaits rigged ona heavy jig head work well too, justremember to fish it fast because the fishhave plenty to eat and a fast retrievemakes them react without time toinspect and reject.

If you like catching strong sea-goingfish but don’t want to ride into thegulf, swing into a local canal. Be veryrespective of the property owners andyou may be surprised in them pointingyou to little sweet spots that they havealready discovered. I have found thatcertain seawalls, corners and just gener-al areas seem to hold fish over others.You can only figure this out by puttingyour time in or with a little help froma friend. Take your camera with youbecause some big fish are at short reachright now.

Capt. Chuck Eichner operates ActionFlats Backcountry Charters and can bereached at 941-505-0003 or v isit his web-

Canal Tuna, Grouper, Tarpon, Snapper and More

Inshore and offshore fishing has been good, cudas and sharks have been plentiful this year.

J u l y 2 0 0 7 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 1 3

By Capt Stev e Skev ing tonWater LIFE Offshore

This last couple weeks fishing has beenmore than just good to us who live here inparadise. With very light winds every day,and clear skys most of the time it’s real hardto stay indoors now.

The permit have been biting non stopand grouper have been on the chew as wellas some bigger-than-normal mangrovesnapper.

But the real deal this lastcouple weeks has been thesharks. We’re running a fourhour trip in the morning andhooking up a dozen or so niceblack tips, as well as somespinner sharks.

The action on these fishhas been non stop, morningnoon and night, there bitinglike crazy.

Just off the beach has seenthe strongest bite, with most of the sharksbeing around three feet long.

But just a bit further offshore they are6 to 8 feet long and one heck of a fight on50-pound tackle.

The permit have been so very good tous the last few trips. They’re hitting bothlive crab's and small yellow buck tail jigs.

Most of these fish are in the twentypound class, but they fight like they are in

the 100-pound class.We’re still seeing a few kingfish

around, one this week went 47-pounds, sothere's still a few smokers out there to behad.

The barracuda are just everywhere rightnow too, thanks to the clear water we areenjoying.

The bara's will hit almost anything youcan throw at em, so be ready for that big

top water strike and the ‘cuda’s lightningfast run and jump routine.

The amberjack are stacked up offshorein about 100 feet of water, now these arethe "summer-time size" amberjack, 15-20-pounds on the average. That's just theright eating size.

Capt. Steve can be reached to book a tripor for offshore information at 575-FLAT orat 276-0565

Offshore Report

Big permit, sharks and an occasional kingfish accounted for a lot of smiles


Hurricane Shutter Basics

This New House Part 17 GE Service for the 9th time

Like anyproject thekey to suc-cess is inhaving theright tools.Most hurri-cane anchorsare 1/4 20thread. Threaded lead anchors area snap to install, if you have ahammer drill to drill into con-crete, a stepped concrete bit forthe drill and a ‘drift tool’ and bighammer to set the anchors.1.) Drill deep enough into thewall to give the anchor a bite insolid concrete, not just the stuccoexterior. When the hole is doneuse compressed air to blow outthe debris. This is important.2) Slip an anchor into the hole,use the drift tool and hammer to bottom the anchor out.What you want is the lead shield to mushroom as the steelcenter is driven in. Look carefully at the anchor picture andyou will see.3) When the anchor is in place, blow out the hole again.(this is important now to clear the threads)4) You will need a threaded stud or a bolt to attach theshutters. Hang the first shutter, position the second one anddrill away. Depending on whether the shutters fit flatagainst the wall or have to be held off to clear a brick-moulding or other raised detail around your door or win-dow, you may have to install a piece of additional trim.

By Michael Hel lerWater LIFE editor

The good news is that we haven’t hadour hot water heater switched on for amonth now. When we installed our airconditioners, Mike Hawkins, our AC guy,told us to install a heat recovery system.“It will only cost a couple of hundredbucks,” he said. The unit we got is anEnCon (energy-conservation) brand, a sim-

ple device that takes the heat your ACcompressor produces and heats your water.Two small pipes run from the unit to thehot water heater. The box at the compres-sor has a small pump and a controller.When the AC runs, the pump pusheswater from your plumbing system throughthe pipes, through a heat exchanger andthen to the hot water heater. I can honestlysay we now have hotter water (based onwhere the shower handle is when I shower)and we have so much of it that I haven’t

been able to run it out. If you are buildinga house get one of these units.

Another good thing was our decision toput heavily tinted windows on the westside of our house. That move, combinedwith thicker laminated PGT glass, goodinterior insulation and smaller overall foot-print of glass on the west side has keptthose super sunny summer afternoons out-side while the inside west wall of ourhouse stays cool and comfortable. In theold house you couldn’t stand near the westwindows in the afternoon.

Another good thing was the discoveryof Pro-Powder, in the 1776 Industrial Parkoff Hwy 17, in Punta Gorda. These guysare powdercoating specialists and after wehad Chuck and his men at Mac’s Metals inCharlotte Harbor weld up our exterior stairrails, Pro Powder gave them a beautifulwhite finish. No hassle, no problem, goodjob. We took the rails home, waxed themand put them up on the wall.

A lot of these little things, like the raildesign, take thought and time. We’re stillnot through with all the details, but that’sjust the price we pay for being in the eyeof the hurricane that day.

Now the bad news: Our GE dishwasherhas been serviced three times and I have afeeling there is a fourth service call com-ing soon. It wouldn’t be quite as disap-pointing had we not sprung for the GE

Monogram top-of-the-line series of kitchenappliances.

In the laundry room we went with theGE Profile line, a step down. The problemwith the washer is the design of the drivemechanism, more specifically the trans-mission. It’s a cheap design that utilizes arubberized ‘brake’ to control the agitationprocess. Problem is, the design is inher-ently noisy and the washer squeaks like astuck pig when it’s running. The noise ishigh frequency, shrill and unacceptable.“Oh, they’re all like that” the service mantold me on the first service call. “Notmine,” I said.

On the second service call, another guyreplaced the whole transmission. It wasbetter for a brief time and then it startedsqueaking again. On the third service callthe guy came and just replaced the ‘brake’rubber. It was better for a few days andthen; squeak, squeal, screech.

Yesterday another service guy came tolook at the problem. He said he wouldorder a new transmission, a new brake anda new metal bracket assembly that thetransmission seats on. He went to thetruck to punch the numbers into the com-puter to see about parts availability. “Iknow that part number (the transmission)by heart,” he said. He’ll be back nextweek.

In Florida the lemon law protects the

consumer. If you have three service callsfor the same problem you (supposedly) geta new product. I was advised that to beginthe lemon law process I would need proof

that we have had three service calls. But GE doesn’t give you a service tick-

et. You have to call GE to get copies ofyour work orders, I was told, so I calledand after an hour on the phone the lastlady I talked to said she would have thecopies in the mail to me in three days.The paperwork never came. I called againand it never came again. Now it looks likeit will take an attorney, not a serviceman,to make this problem go away. Stay

The grey EnCon heat recovery unit.

Need Painting?


Redfish Tracking Notes from the Field

First Dart Tag Reported toRedfish HotlineBy Betty S tauglerSea Grant / Water LIFE

Well it’s been a pretty slow month for the redfishtracking with only one of our fish being observed thismonth. That observation came from one of our localfishermen who caught fish number 10 and reported thecapture to the Redfish Hotline. This fish was capturedon June 24th near the Punta Gorda Boat Club. ThanksJason for your phone call, and for releasing number 10alive, again, with its tag intact! Fish number 10 wasoriginally caught in grid C6 which surrounds HogIsland.

Only two other observations were made since my lastreport. On our May 30th VR2 downloads (underwaterunits), data from two fish were recorded. Fish number17 was recorded at Fishermen’s Village about 300 feet offthe rocks at the marina on May 17th and fish number 28was recorded at Fishermen’s Village at the corner ofHarpoon Harry’s on May 18th and 27th. Both of thesefish were initially caught in Pine Island Sound grids, sotheir continued presence in the upper harbor would sug-gest that a tournament redfish caught in Pine IslandSound and released in the upper harbor may not go backto Pine Island Sound – at least not right away.

In other mobile tracking news, we have solved the

Bluetooth problem that Tournament Director MichaelHeller reported last month. A new snook tracking proj-ect started last month in Pine Island Sound by Moteresearchers from the Pine Island field station. Theseresearchers have the Bluetooth technology that we needfor the two units located at the US 41 bridge and ColonyPoint canal. During July we plan to swap our twosouthern most VR2s with the Bluetooth units to stream-line coordination with Mote for data downloads. Thebeauty of this snook tracking program is that there willnow be additional VR2s in the water, which means ourfish have a greater chance of being recorded.

Over the next few months we will continue to moni-tor the 15 VR2s located around the harbor, but we arescaled back to one download a month which is a typicaland much more manageable schedule for us. We are veryexcited about being able to keep these underwater units(remember they are all borrowed and initially we wereonly getting to use them for one month). We will alsocontinue to do mobile track using FWC’s hand heldVR100 as it is available.

If you haven’t been to the Redfish Tracking websitelately, it is finally fully operational! All of the recordedobservations from the first data collection are now post-ed. GIS just finished the second series of maps throughmid May and they are now working on the most recentset of data which will finally have us caught up!!...atleast until we find more fish. The second data updatesshould be on the web by the time you read this.

Mote has finished working up the fin clips that weretaken at the tournament. The clips are now on their way

to FWC for genetics processing. The fin clips will tellus whether a particular redfish was hatchery reared orwhether it came from a wildstock population.

Many thanks to the volunteers who have helped withthe field collection including Fishin’ Frank, Terry &Frank Sr., Dwayne Shackelford, Rod Walinchus, KeithBenner, Elisa Allen, Joe Gilpin, Samantha Binion, DaveWilson, Thomas King, Diane Labhart, Jimmy Feid,Jimmy Hixon, Dolli Winans, Sondra Fox, Carole Neidigand my honey James Staugler.

Betty Staugler is the Sea Grant Agent for Charlotte County.She can be reached at 764-4346.

Incredible,UpdatedOnly $399,9003/2 Completely

updated, 100 feet ofseawall, oversize lot,new boat lift.

JUST LISTED! Huge \Waterfront Lot $299,000 Appx. 135ʼx 239ʼx 94ʼx166 ̓Quick harbor access!

Grand Key West Home150' Waterfront- QuickGulf Access, LuxuriousCustom Home WithElevator, Over 3800sfunder air, boat ramp,dock. $999,000

NEW PGI LUXURYCONDO- Wide Open WaterViews, sailboat 3/2plus den with dock,1800sf under air$599,000

Pirate HarborPirate Harbor

Blackbeard Blvd.-Saltwater Lot, 100ʼConcrete Seawall,Large Wooden Dock,Deep Water, GreatLocation, Sailboat$299,000

$299,500 $299,500 SAILBOAT HOMESAILBOAT HOME120 feet of WATER120 feet of WATER--FRONT!FRONT!Just incredi-ble- 4/2/2, updatedhome, seawall, immedi-ate open water access.Over 2000 sf.

Large SailboatHome3/2 Over 2300sfunder air, exception-al location, 100‚seawall, lift,Immaculate$449,900

Pirate HarborBoulevardSupreme location ondeepwater canal,seawall, dock and lift.$389,900.

PIRATE HARBORPIRATE HARBOR$429,000!!$429,000!!Modern pool home, 1661sf underair, deep water sailboat, 25 min-utes to gulf, dock, lift, boat cover,updated and simply beautiful!

Tropical Paradise Key West StyleHomeWide Open Waterviews,Custom Features,Designer Pool, SailboatWaterfront, Granite, OakCabinets, Stunning! $799,900

Incredible OpenWater Views!145ʼ waterfront, gor-geous Key Weststyle home, 2568sfunder air, pool.$799,000

BlackbeardBlvd100-foot saltwaterfrontage, short boatride to BocaGrande, $255,000 Under Contract

Under Contract

Check the KIDS CUP Fish on the InternetCheck the KIDS CUP Fish on the Internethttp://charlotte.ifas.ufl.edu/seagrant/kidscup.htm

TRACKINGMote Marine

has expressed an interestin expanding our tournament redfish tracking program.If you are interested

in becoming a tagging sponsor for the October 6

Richest Redfish Challenge at Punta Gorda, please contact Betty Staugler

in the Charlotte County Sea Grant office at 764-4346

Bruce and son Brian Laishley with fish number 4393 at theKids Cup Tournament.


Ainʼt never seen one of those The 3 BigWinners

Fishinʼ Franks Draws 580 Entries at 22nd annual Shark Stingray & Catfish Tourney

FWC research scientist GreggPoulakas cleared the air of ques-tions when he identified this sharkas a silky. He pointed out thestreamlined shaped inter-dorsalridge which he said helps give theanimal it’s speed offshore. He alsopointed out the small teeth thisspecies has.Gregg and his partner Jason donate their time to Frank’s SharkTournament, taking tissue and skin samples from the sharks and rays. Thedata they collect is being gathered for research study on shark ageing.

InnovationAbove: skin sampling a rayRight: Scotty Allen’s innovativecatfish carrierFar Right: Catfish weighmasterDarrel Green

McLean Bermont, winning ray, 41 7/8 inches, $1700

Mike Murray, winning cat, 4.56 pounds (gutted), $2400

Brinn Winslow, winning shark, 76 3/4inches, $2400

Bring em ̓back, dump ʻem on the pavement and fill ʻem with ice.Thatʼs the procedure when you have a shark in this tournament.The ice keeps the meat fresh so it doesnʼt go to waste.

Ollie Tipton brought in the only hammer, a small specimen that wasout of the money. Ollie did however win the raffle of a QuantunAruba on a Star rod worth over $600.


Fishinʼ Franks Draws 580 Entries at 22nd annual Shark Stingray & Catfish Tourney

Staff ReportMost local anglers know the drill. Go out Saturday afternoon at 3 and be back by 9

a.m. Sunday morning. The catch, all dead, is laid out on the cement in front of thestore. Frank and Robert from Fishin’ Franks mark the sharks and stingrays on thepavement and then measure the marks. The catfish are gutted and weighed, but there isa fair amount of final ‘trimming’ that goes on at the catfish scale. In terms of bloodand guts this event is a chansaw masacre. And they love it! Five hundred and eightyentrants this year, an all time record. For a $30 entry fee the winner took home $2400for a 4-and a half pound catfish. Ditto $30 entry for a $2400 shark. The lowly win-ning stingray paid $1700. The prize money is paid back to 4th place in all divisions.

Described as Charlotte County’s ‘Blue Collar Tournament,’ Fishin Franks tourna-ment draws the working man. Auto mechanics, correctional workers, small businesstradesmen, laborers... they all fish the ‘shark tournament.’ And there are some profes-sional men thrown in the mix as well. Not many fancy embroiderd team fishingshirts or shiny wrapped boats in this event.

This year it seemed like they came in late. Straggling in right up to the 9 a.mdeadline. The winning catfish weighede 4.56 pounds, gutted. Someone in the crowddid a little quick math. Hey, that’s almost $600 a pound...for a catfish.

The best part of the show is the unloading. As contestants come to thecurb the crowd gathers to watch them unload.

Angler Andy Nuesbaum unloads his sec-ond place, 75 inch, shark worth $1600.

Hereʼs the big guy, a 76 3/4 inch bull shark worth $2400 to BrianWinslow and his team. Shown here with the animal are ScottConnoly and Mike Mack. The bait was a big ladyfish.

Another Shark Event, this month! : July 21

A big crowd filled the parking lot outside Fishin ̓Franks on US 41 in Port Charlotte.

By Adam WilsonWater LIfe Diving

If you've ever wanted tomake a long run offshore toexplore some new terrain,this is going to be a greatmonth to get out there. Astring of calm days can be rela-tively easy to predict this time of year.With depths between 80 and 140 feet, theFlorida Middle Grounds may be just thechange of scenery you need.Thousands of years ago sea level was

much lower than today. The area of theMiddle Grounds, over 150 miles to ournorthwest, made up the rocky limestoneshore of Florida's west coast back then.Artifacts common to everyday Indian lifeare still found at this ancient submergedshoreline, but mention the Grounds toany avid fisherman or diver and it's trophyfish that swim into their thoughts.Rolling off the boat the average visi-

bility is 60 feet. Swimming through raineroded, crevice filled hills and over 30,40 or even 50 foot high sheer cliff facesriddled with Swiss cheese holes and cavesgives the illusion of flying. At the deeperdepths, running below the mountainouspeaks, sand channels act as fish superhighways, steering smaller fish and baitaround and through the ranges.Species not commonly associated with

the eastern Gulf of Mexico, like colorfulhard and soft corals, red hinds, large hog-fish, true black and yellowfin grouper andspotted eels give the area a more tropicalfeel.

Finding interesting dive spots isvery easy. Any large drop off will behome to myriads of marine life. Thesteeper the drop the better for finding larg-er fish to shoot. Grabbing just one GPSnumber from a waterproof chart should beall you need to get started. You can easilyfill a GPS with dozens of good drop-offsafter just one trip out by keeping an eyeon the bottom machine.On a recent trip we ran across a sharp

peak rising up from the depths that lit upthe bottom finder like the Griswold fami-ly Christmas tree. It was a fish show

unlike any other we had ever seen. Wedropped on the low side of the ledge downat 125 feet and ran hundreds of fish up theridge. Gag grouper, scamps, mangrovesnapper and hogfish were all fleeing fortheir lives, holding up under any structurethey could find. Larger groupers werechasing smaller ones out from their hid-ing spots, forcing them to hide elsewhere.Once to the top of the "grouper moun-

tain" we were at a comfortable 80 feetwith almost 30 minutes of bottom timeleft. They ensuing onslaught was enoughto make a stadium full of PETA memberscringe. Through the commotion I losttrack of my dive buddy, but I knew hewas close by the constant click of hisspeargun followed quickly by the distinc-tive clank of his shafts pinning fish tothe brittle limestone. We had stumbled


Seek and ye shall find...FISH

Spectacular ViewSouth Beach / Miami Beach / Estate Sale CondominiumOverlooking the city skyline and the cruise ship’s portEighth floor, ceramic tile, almost new appliances, 1200+ sq. ftOne bedroom, 1.5 bath with washer & dryer.Upscale building with full services and inside parking.Boat slip may also be available $365,000

Mc Carthy Realty / call Ellen Heller @ (941) 457-1316

The drop off was impressive both above and below

Ryan with his take from grouper mountain


across what few people ever see, an innumerable con-gregation of fish. Sometimes things happen that makeyou say "Wow, I may never see something like thisagain", and this was one of those times.Some tips I can pass on from experience. Keep a

list of each fish put in the boat, separated by fisher-man/species to keep track of your bag limits. FWCdoes patrol out there and appreciates a well kept fishlog, it may even save you from having to empty 200pounds of fish from a cooler. Keep 5 gallon bucketsfor each person to throw fish in. You don't want tostop in the middle of a hot snapper bite to run fish tothe cooler. That can be done when the fishing slows.Gutting your fish can keep the bite going and allowsfor a lot more fish to fit in a cooler, saving room andprecious ice. Always leave a float plan with lovedones letting them know exactly where you will be andwhen they should expect you home.Even the closest spots in the Grounds are going to

be about 85 miles west of Clearwater pass. Withsuch a long run, several days of careful preparation are

crucial for a successful trip. Fuel capacity and boatrange, ice storage, fresh water supply, food, first aidkits, foul weather gear, EPIRB's and even satellitephones are all things that need to be considered whenheading this far from shore.

We launch from the Seminole St. public ramp inClearwater. It can accommodatethe largest of trailered boats, hasovernight parking and the rampitself is open 24/7. Parkingpasses must be purchased fromthe bait house on site that isopen from 6 a.m. to sunset. Thephone number is 727-443-3207.

Adam Wilson can be reached forcomments or div ing informationat (941) 766-1661 or v ia e-mailat: [email protected]

The display on the fishfinder was impressive

Me and Carl Gill with some respectable hogfish 11 and 13 poundsUs with stringers loaded after the attack on grouper mountain

By David AllenWater LIFE KayakingCharlotte County and the area around

Port Charlotte, has some of the bestkayaking in the United States, not justFlorida. No white water, that’s right, butfor flat water kayaking, you just can’tbeat it.There are more rivers and creeks in this

area than you can count on the fingers ofboth hands and both feet. Some wide andslow moving, like the Peace and Myakkarivers. Others, like Prairie Creek, JoshuaCreek, and Shell Creek, just to name afew, are narrow and twisty with thebranches of the trees coming down tomeet your paddle on each stroke. And the

most beautiful paddle of all, FisheatingCreek, near Palmdale, simply can’t betopped. Fisheating Creek has tall, oldcypress trees along the Creek, hangingmoss and vines, loads of wildlife of allkinds and even a couple of old, slow alli-gators. And a couple of young, quickones too. During the dry season, fromOctober to May, most creeks are shallowbut passable, but when the rains come inJune and on through the summer, theflow increases to give you a real workoutgoing against the current and keeps youon your toes coming downstream with allthe twists and narrow turns.The mangrove tunnels are a whole dif-

ferent kind of paddle. Quiet, still water,

dark brown, with hardly room to swing apaddle for the next stroke, makes eachpassage a challenge. Like driftingthrough a green and brown tunnel, withlots of birds and ‘critters’, but no alliga-tors, usually. And we have lots of man-grove tunnels in the area around PortCharlotte Beach, out of Ponce DeLeonPark, along Coral Creek, and offGasparilla Sound. All unique and differ-ent: all beautiful and always an interest-ing paddle.And lets not forget the Gulf, with its

surf and waves and dolphins, and theIntracoastal Waterway. Throughout theentire area from Boca Grande to StumpPass and Englewood, the beaches andwaterways offer some of the best paddlingand some of the most beautiful beaches inFlorida. The large and small islands inGasparilla Sound, from Dog Island in thenorth, to Sandfly Key and Devilfish Keyin the south, gives paddlers a spot tobeach their kayaks and take a break for asnack and drink. In warm weather, youcan often spot manatees in the Soundgrazing on the bottom grasses; brownstingrays raise a cloud of sand as theyscurry away. And dolphins are usually

somewhere in the Sound or, paddlingthrough Gasparilla Pass, in the Gulf.From time to time, if you are very lucky,you may even see a few tarpon out alongthe coast.We have the very best here in

Charlotte County. We’re lucky to havesuch a beautiful, natural wildlife area toenjoy from the seat of a kayak. Kayaksare uniquely suited to this area as paddlerscan explore miles and miles of creeks andshorelines, even the shallowest waters andwork their way through narrow, mostcrooked mangroves channels. Andkayaks, quiet and environmentally benign,leave the flora and fauna undisturbed bytheir passage.

Port Charlotte is home to the PortCharlotte Kayakers, the largest and mostactive paddling group in this area. The‘Kayakers’ usually take two or three paddlesa week in the rivers and/or the Gulf, sobeginners and advanced intermediate pad-dlers have an equal opportunity to enjoy thesport. The group meets each Wednesday, atPort Charlotte Beach Park at 5:30 PM. Joinus if you’d like to experience the joy of pad-dling in this beautiful area. Dave Allen canbe reached at (941) 235-2588 or at:[email protected]


No Doubt! Charlotte Waters are Best!


New construction,upgraded units 3 bed-room, 2 1/2 bathBarefoot Beach unit501, $599,000also: The Palms unit#9, $685,000

Two Lots onCorner ofFleming & David

Manasota Key Condo

Barefoot Beach - Unit769 - Direct gulf front3/2 furnished ..limitedopportunity. Generatedover $31,000 in rentalincome last year. Actnow.

60ʼ on the water withseawall in and dockbeing installed. Lotscleared with water andsewer available.

Gulf Cove LotCHILCOTETERRACE Cleared,filled, with seawalland dock. 3rd fromMyakka in area ofupscale homes.98'X125' $499,000

SURF CLUBGulf View 3 BR,Nice beach andpool, beautifullydecorated and soldturnkey furnished.Ready to enjoy oroffer for rental

New Const. ON THE BEACH!

Judy KaffJudy Kaff (941) 830-0502(941) 830-0502 (941) 474-9534(941) 474-9534Judykaff@earthl ink.netJudykaff@earthl ink.net

$699,000 $599,000

$769,000

Just Listed$349,000

$749,000$699,000

Charlotte Countyʼs CompleteSwimming Pool SupplysPool Repair and MaintenanceStore

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

Specializing inHeaters and

Pumps

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

By Bil l DixonWater LIFE SailingCharlotte Harbor Boat of the Year 2006-07 wrapped up with the Key West Rendezvous.

Notably local sailor Mike Busher corrected to first over all on the race back to Naples.(See Sandy, as I told you in an earlier column, he really does not need that new jib). Onthe race to Key West, Bill Berges’Wimpie took 1st in Spinnaker, Jerry Poquett’s FancyFree took first in Non Spin and Mike Busher’s Serendipity took first in Cruising.

Boat of the year award inSpinnaker goes to Dan Kendrickfrom Marco Island in Tippecanoe.Among other top finishes, Dan wonthe Conquistador Cup. A photo ofhis boat will appear on next year’sConquistador Cup T shirt. Second inSpinnaker was Bob Knowles’Bamma Slammer. Third place wasPeter New’s Crime Scene.

Non Spinnaker Boat of theyear goes to Jerry Poquett’s Fancy Free. Second was Kay and Jerry Haller’s Jammin.Third place went to Ft Myers sailor Steve Romaine’s Air Supply. In True Cruising,Roger Rommel’s Desert Fox II took first, Ron Scalzo’ s La Boheme second and Crash

Taylor’s Ironic Breeze tookthird. Your humble scribewas 4th here. Tom Bragawwon Multihull BOTY and EdBrauer won Pocket CruiserBOTY

For next BOTY year, thefirst event will be CMCS’Summerset Regatta overLabor Day Weekend. PGSCis planning a November char-ity regatta to fill out theschedule, andmake the BOTY

a year round event. January 08 will be the Platinum Point Yacht Club’s Golden Conch.March 08 will be the 15th annual Conquistador Cup; in May will be the Key WestRendezvous, and next June the WFPHRF BOTY awards ceremony.Bill Dixon. 941-637-2694, [email protected]

Boats of the Year


By Capt. Robert MooreWater LIFE staffIt had been several years since my wife

Lori and I had had the opportunity to getaway. Several years ago when I metCarter Andrews who owns and operatesthe Crooked Island Lodge on CrookedIsland in the lower Bahamas, he enthusi-astically told me about how the fishingopportunities (inshore and offshore) wereendless there. Not only was the fishingunbelievable, Crooked Island was prettysecluded, allowing one to vacation with-out large crowds and enjoy lots of peaceand quiet. I booked a 5 day trip.Now getting to Crooked Island takes a

little preparedness. You can book a privatecharter that will fly you directly toCrooked Island, but that can be veryexpensive. We arranged our flight throughBahamas Air. The logistical part is thatthey only fly into Crooked Island fromNassau twice a week, Saturday andWednesday mornings. In order to catch theearly morning fight to Colonel HillAirport on Crooked Island, you are goingto have to fly into Nassau the day before.My wife and I made the most of it andflew from Miami to Nassau on a Fridayand stayed at one of the casinos in Nassauand then flew into Crooked Island onSaturday morning. Crooked Island Lodgedoes have their own 2000 foot landingstrip for smaller private planes, but allcommercial flights must go into ColonelHill Airport. Transportation from Colonel

Hill to the resort is provided by CrookedIsland Lodge. When you leave to returnhome there is no problem finding a laterconnecting flight back from Nassau toMiami, so another overnight stay inNassau is not necessary.We met Carter Andrews at the airport

and he drove us to the lodge. After wechecked in and got changed into some-thing comfortable we decided to walk the100 feet to the gorgeous sandy beach outour front door. My wife was commentingabout how beautiful the view was, all thewhile I was keeping an eye on the bar-racuda and jacks that were lazily swim-ming right in front of us. It didn’t takeme long to hunt down a rod and reel and

make a few casts. On my second castwith a top water plug I watched a 10-15pound barracuda swim 50 feet and explodeon my lure. I was there all of ten minutesand was fighting a nice fish. So far sogood!Carter and I had made arrangements to

go offshore fishing in the afternoon afterlunch. I was looking forward to it, butthe wind was blowing at least 20-25mph. I asked if the conditions were toorough for offshore and Carter simplyreplied “This is Crooked Island fishing,it’s never too windy”. He pointed out thatthe prominent wind at Crooked Island wasout of the Northeast. We were at thenorthwest tip of the island so everythingon the west side of the island was basical-ly protected. My reply was “That’s finebut after you get 10 miles or more off-shore I am sure it gets pretty bad.” Carterpointed out the color change about a 1/2mile offshore. “You see where the waterchanges from green to dark blue? That’sthe drop off from 40-50 feet to over 1000feet.”We idled out to the drop off and Carter

prepared 5 lines for trolling high speedlures. Before he could get all five out oneof the lines started to sing. After a 10minute battle my wife brought her firstever Wahoo to the boat. The fish was inthe 15-pound range. Carter made com-ment that was one of the smallest Wahoohe had ever seen caught, that most caughtthere are in the 50-plus pound range. Overthe next several hours we trolled within amile of shore and had two hook ups on

very large blue marlin. The second onewe hooked was in the 450-pound rangeand jumped well over 10 times. I thoughtwatching a Charlotte Harbor 100 poundTarpon jump got my adrenaline flowing,this was a new rush I had not ever experi-enced. Both marlins that we hooked man-aged to throw the hook, but just seeingthe aerial show was an awesome experi-ence and worth the trip.The next thing I was looking forward

to was the flats fishing. I have nevercaught a bonefish. Crooked Island isknown world wide for some of the bestbonefishing around. I knew this would bemy opportunity. Our guide, Capt Kenny,who is a local guide and well known asone of Crooked Island’s best bonefisher-men took my wife and I on a 15 minuteride down the beach to Acklins Bight.Acklins Bight is a very large open baywith miles and miles of shallow flats,perfect for bonefish, permit, barracuda,snapper, shark and so on. Capt. Kennypoled us up on to a flat and startedannouncing to me what direction to castinto. It took only several casts before Iwas hooked up with my first bonefish, alittle guy in the 2 to 3-pound range. Ihave to be honest about one thing. I wascasting a 1/8 oz brown bucktail jig on alight spinning outfit. I never saw the fishor felt it hit. I was just slowly bouncingthe jig along the bottom when somethingstarted peeling line off my reel. Lori tried

Fishing The Out Islands or: Capt. Rob goes on break

Affordable Marlin Run Villa $218,000

Burnt Store Marina $218,000

Enjoy the Florida resort lifestyle atBurnt Store Marina with boating inCharlotte Harbor & world class fish-

Great kitchen with easy careceramic tile, breakfast table& bar.

Charlotteareamls.com MLS # 663952$218,000 Call Nancy now for a

private appointment. 941-276-2551

See more info at:

Open floor plan with splitbedroom layout, privategarage, peaceful lanaisurrounded by the lushvegetation of a Preserve.$218,000 price includes$2500 flooring allowance& Home Warranty.

Continued on facing page


Almost three years after hurricane Charley wiped the old ones away, new lights are up andworking on the Peace River U.S. 41 bridge. The new lights mean that a shadow line is onceagain cast on the water, which in turn means the fishing at night could be back in style.The new lights also cast a line of bright spots on the water which could also be good.

US 41 Bridge Lights are Back

to catch her first bonefish too, but a bandof scattered thunderstorms came throughbringing 20 mph winds with it. We dodgedstorms the rest of the day and decided totarget some other species. Between themutton and mangrove snapper, barracudaand sharks our rods were bent all day.Bonefish were still an option, but Lori andI told Capt Kenny we just wanted to catchfish and lots of them.My next outing was another offshore

trolling trip with Carter and a few otherguys from the lodge. My wife decided tostay back and relax and enjoy a new book.We trolled most of the day and hooked upone white marlin and lots of mahi mahi inthe 25-to 35-pound range. Watching Cartertroll 5 different lines was a great experi-ence. He constantly explained how andwhat he was doing. His expertise showedas he always seemed to know which rodwas going to get hit and by what kind fish.On the days I didn’t fish with a guide I

relaxed on the beach with my wife. When Iwould get restless I simply picked up a rodand walked down the beach and startedcatching fish. I caught over 10 species of

fish within 100 yards of our room.Barracuda, horse-eyed jacks, all kinds of dif-ferent snapper, grouper and sharks were alleasily caught on artificial plugs.Now the fishing was everything I was

told it would be. The atmosphere wasbeyond relaxing. Then there was the phe-nomenal food. I honestly have never eatenso well. Fresh fish has never tasted sogood. We feasted like royalty. One of thebest parts of ending each day was finishingdinner and retiring to the local pub on siteat the lodge. I really enjoyed meeting andgetting to know some of the locals thatcome in, including most of the fishingguides. Their stories about guided tripsseemed to be no different than mine, justdifferent scenery and names.All in all our Crooked Island Lodge

experience was a great one. My wife and Iare already planning next year’s trip withsome friends and family. Crooked Islandwas paradise. Many thanks to Carter, hiswife Heidi and the wonderful staff atCrooked Island Lodge for spoiling us.For more information visit these links.www.crookedislandfishing.comwww.pittstownpoint.comCapt Rob can be reached for fishing infor-

Crooked Island continued


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

Charlotte HarborCharlotte Harbor FISHING GUIDESFISHING GUIDES

w w w. v i c i o u s s t r i k e s . c o m

Capt. Bart Marx, USCG Licensed & InsuredLight Tackle Fishing Charlotte Harbor & SW Florida

(941) 255-3551www.alphaomegacharters.com

email:[email protected] Day & Full Day trips.

SCUTTLEBUTTSometimes Unsubstanciated, But Often True

Alien EncounterA group of non-Americans bouncedone very large check at one local marine store and gotrun out of a second business trying to do the same.Hurricanes In casual conversations, the ‘H’ wordkeeps popping up and now we’ve already had our firstnamed storm, Barry. The water temperature is 85

degrees but the sea surface conditions are not yet over-ly threatening. Then again it’s only July.Overheard at the IFA redfish tournament lastmonth Two anglers talking. One was saying how athird angler had hired a local Charlotte Harbor guide tofish with him for four days before the event and whenthey got on a good school of fish they stayed on themstraight through, 24/7, until tournament day.Jeff from Fishin' Franks told us about a guy whocame in with a Gatorade bottle with an aerator hung onit. Simple, almost elegant solution to the age old ques-tion of how to gey your shrimp to the water while on

your bicycle. Granted others have discovered the baitbucket, but apparently this fellow had an aerator anddidn’t have a bucket.Smuggl ing Connection? One of the guys on thefuel dock at Fishermen’s Village commented about asportfishing boat seen locally that topped off and thentook the fuel hose down into the cabin to add another100 gallons to some ‘plastic cans in the salon.’ Thatwas the day before the last round of illegals were round-ed up on Sanibel. Then two days later that same boatwas back in the harbor. Hummmmmmm.Tarpon and the White Butterfl ies Tarpon in theHarbor have been few and far between, like the whitebutterflies, which have also been conspicuously absentfrom the local scene this year.Real Estate The previously most common word inlocal real estate ads, “reduced” has now been replacedby the a word “ motovated”

Sea Surface temperatures June 18,2007

BackcountryBackcountrySpecial!Special!

2 anglers, 62 anglers, 6


PROVIDED BY:Dave & Marlene HoferRE/MAX Harbor Realty(941) 575-3777 [email protected]

Recent area news items:

1. The Florida legislature hastilypassed a bill to win more votes fromhomesteaded property owners. The billwill permit homeowners to bet on thebetter method to save themselves morereal estate tax dollars. As if the currentSave Our Homes disparity wasn't unfairenough, a resident homeowner with a$200,000 home will, if millage rateswere to remain steady, pay about $600 inreal estate tax instead of the current$2,800. The difference will no doubt bemade up by increasing millage rates,increasing sales taxes, slashing govern-ment budgets and further burdening com-mercial and vacation property owners.

2. Marina Park Partners had garneredthe support of Punta Gorda City Counciland public opinion to build a seafoodrestaurant and shopping center at thenewly reopened Laishley Park Marina.Pressing for more concessions from theCity Council, over and above 25 years offree land rent, the Council balked.Terms of the deal will have to bereworked to get a little closer to realisticlease rates. Sometimes it does "hurt toask"!

3. Charlotte County School Boardwill be seeking voter approval to addanother 1/2 percent to local sales taxes topay for redoing Lemon Bay High Schooland various other school improvements.

4. Common sense appears to havestepped in to overturn the County'sattempt to spend more than five milliontax dollars to acquire a few waterfront lotsand nearly 90 off water lots on theMyakka River. Fears that developerspaving these lots finally gave way to real-ity when council members realized thatgrant money (someone else's pocket)wouldn't be forthcoming to subsidize thepurchase.

5. Publix closed onthe site for their new distri-bution center next to theairport. Common accessimprovements to the siteshould spur more muchneeded industrial develop-ment in the area.

6. The shell of the new mixed useSunloft Center is under way at the WestMarion Avenue site. Tenants have notyet been signed up for the 1st floor com-mercial space.

Sales Statistics:Sales volume slipped to 65 lots down

96% from the peak in March 2005.Home volume remained a slow 200 forthe month and median prices are nowdown 12% vs. last year. Nationally, salesof new homes jumped 16% in April asbuilders shed inventory. New homeinventories are down 6.5% from the peakreached in July of 2006. This represents6.5 months' supply better than the 8months supply posted in March but still50% above normal levels. Sales of exist-ing homes nationally fell in April by2.6% as fewer buyers in the market placeapparently found better values in newhomes. Expect that existing home salesvolume will continue to be slow untilNEW home inventories dip below the 5month supply level. That may happensoon as builders are less likely to holdout for high prices!

These statistics are intended to assist inanalyzing trends in supply and demand andnot to indicate specific market values.Ending inventory is not always beginninginventory plus listings minus sales sincemany pending listings are held over frommonth to month, some listings expire andare withdrawn and, therefore, do not appearas sales and new listings includes pricechanges.

Please v isit us atwww.harborparadise.com to v iew any avail-able properties from Venice to Burnt StoreMarina

RealRealEstateEstateNewsNews

In Port Charlotte the old Breakers restaurant, now Portofinoʼs, is in the process of adding an elevated Tikibar deck. The deck will attach to a long dock leading out across the shallows to the navigable part of thePeace River.


FridayFish Fry

5 – 9 pmLive

Entertainment

Dock Party every Sunday 3-7Live entertainmentevery weekend

www.bertsbar.com

Dine on the dock ~ Million $$ View! Boaters WelcomeN 26 38.040 W 082 03.958 Near Marker 55On the Matlacha Pass Dockage Available

4271 Pine Island Rd. 282-3232

Parks and Rec starts on Bayshore Live Oak Park

S taff ReportIt’s a grand plan but it doesn’t

look like it will be completed anytime soon. It’s a safe bet budget cutswill be to blame. Located at the topof Charlotte Harbor on the north shore ofthe Peace River, the Bayshore Road areahas been known for its low lying, shal-low, unprotected shoreline which during asignificantly high tide allows water toflood the entire area all the way back to

US 41.Now with numerous new sections of

concrete seawall being installed, the streetflooding issue may be improved,although a County spokesman was quickto point out that flooding is still to be

expected in the area. “The new seawallsare anywhere from the same to 2.2' high-er than previously seawalls,” he said.Of interest is the County’s approach

which side steps a lengthy dock permitprocess by simply replacing old aban-doned pilings, in the water for years.

With county finances becoming moreconstricted, the project will progress instages. According to David Milligan ofthe Parks Department: “Master plan ele-

ments slated for future constructioninclude the 2 boardwalks on either side ofthe existing mangroves at Parmely St,the fountain at the Parmely St. pedestrianaccess, observation deck and shelter eastof Oakley St, the westernmost long pierand over-water shelter, and possibly theplayground.”Dogs will not be permitted in the

park, but cars will still be allowed todrive across the sidewalk and park on the

Street flooding inthe area may bereduced by park

improvments


By Capt Ron BlagoWater LIFE Senior StaffThe rains are late this

year and because of thateverything seems to beout of sync. So far thisyear we are almost 14inches below average.To put it another way;so far this year we havehad 70-percent less rainthan in past years. That’sa lot of missing waterand the shortage is reallybeing felt not only ondry land but also inrecord low flows of ourrivers and streams. ThePeace and Myakka Riversand all the creeks thatflow into Lemon Bay arenow experiencing someof the lowest flow ratesin recent history. Anyone who has goneto their favorite freshwater fishing pondhas found for the most part a dried upstinking mud hole. Remember that whenwater evaporates from a pond the levelnot only shrinks; but also you have con-centrated all the mud and gunk into asmaller volume of water. That’s not verygood for the fish.Saltwater fish need a certain salinity to

spawn and without the right mixture offresh and saltwater the fish get thrown offschedule. I have great faith in MotherNature that we will get that missingwater back since we are entering thewettest time of the year- July throughSeptember. The question is, do we get allthat missing water at one time or will itbe spread out over time. Too much waterat one time is just as bad as not enoughwater. When we get a really good down-pour, say 3 inches in 24 hours, that firstbit of runoff contains all the oil, grease,gas, fertilizer and pesticides that washoff the land-down the roads-through thestorm water system and right into thesaltwater. This stew of pollution is thereason the Statecloses the harvest-ing of shellfish foras long as a weekafter a major rain togive time for thepollution to dilute.Fishing has

been slow for melately; not becausethe fish aren’t bit-ing but mostlybecause I’ve beenlazy about catchingthem. I’ve had ahard time jiggingfor trout on the

grass flats although my friends using liveshrimp and white-bait tell me they aredoing pretty good. I’ll take that for what’sit’s worth considering that I haven’t beeninvited for a fish dinner yet. What is outthere are tons of small ladyfish and giantsailcats. My arms hurt from catchingthose things.My Kid’s Fishing Camp is filled up

with a long waiting list of kids wantingto learn how to fish. The number of kidsI can accept depends on the number ofpeople who volunteer their boat and timeto take a kid fishing on Friday Aug. 3rdfrom 8 to 11am at Indian Mounds BoatRamp in Englewood. Here is your chanceto be a hero. It doesn’t have to be a fancyboat and you don’t have to be a goodfisherman- the kids provide there ownequipment. All you have to do is call meat my home (although I’ve always got theanswering machine on) 474-3474 or leavea message for me at the EnglewoodSports Complex- 941-861-1982- you caneven e-mail me at [email protected].

Capt. Ron can be reached at: [email protected] for fishing information orto book a guided fishing trip.

On The Line F i s h i n g w i t h C a p t R o n

This manatee was too curious about Capt. Ronʼs sea anchor.


Tournament

Hereʼs the ʻdrain, measure andbagʼ table the IFA invented.Dump the fish on the table andthe water runs out a drain. Theymeasure the fish on one side ofthe table and then slide it overto the other side where there isa cut out in the end wall. Theangler holds his weigh bagbelow the cutout and the fish isslid through. The fish in anempty bag is brought to thescale to be weighed and is thenfin clipped and released.

Watch for these silk screenedtype, ultra cool fabric, tourna-ment shirts done up in customsponsor livery to make anappearance on the local fishingscene soon.

This Maverick Ghost ultra tech super skinny, super light back-country boat had allthe hi-tech cool stuff. Check out the sun-radiant insulated live well with a clean per-mantly installed oxygen bottle and regulator mounted behind it. And...check out thatbus-driverʼs seat!


IFA Redfish

Staff ReportGood weather, an 86 boat field and intense fishing pressure made this event a success. Troyand Christine Perez weighed in at 6.14 and 7.67 for a first place combined weight of 13.81pounds. Second went to Bryan Watts and John Ochs with a 13.43. In third was Geoff Paigeand Terry Brantly with a 12.94. Fourth went to Alex Suescun and Fabian Guerrero at 12.81.Entry Fee was $400/team, the winner got a $5,000 check and a new boat.

Winners Troy and Christine Perez Local heros Bob Boudreau and Fred Hammond placed 16th This was one of only three 7 plus pound fish weighed in.

Mike Mannis had two fish in his fish bags.

Water Toys, Water Skis, & FloatsWater Toys, Water Skis, & Floats in stockin stockGel Coat, Spot Repairs • Major Structural RepairsGel Coat, Spot Repairs • Major Structural Repairs

Professional Quality Awl Grip FinishesProfessional Quality Awl Grip FinishesComplete Detailing and Brightwork • Free Estimates • Mobile ServiceComplete Detailing and Brightwork • Free Estimates • Mobile Service

CompleteComplete Land & SeaLand & Sea onLine Shipʼs StoreonLine Shipʼs Storewww.al l f iberglassrepairs.com – Scott Steffe Ownerwww.al l f iberglassrepairs.com – Scott Steffe Owner

17261726SteadlySteadly

AveAve

S h o p 9 4 1 - 5 7 5 - 8 9 1 4S h o p 9 4 1 - 5 7 5 - 8 9 1 4H o m e 2 3 5 - 2 2 4 3H o m e 2 3 5 - 2 2 4 3


J u l yJ u l yF i s h i n g R e p o r tF i s h i n g R e p o r tCharlotte Harbor:Robert at Fishin' FranksPort Charlotte: 625-3888

Strange things so far. Not many tar-pon along the beaches and few if any inthe harbor ... except for a couple of odd-balls and stragglers. The weird thing isno one knows why. The tarpon in theIntracoastal are staying down and evenalong the edges of the main passes therehasn’t been a lot of tarpon action. Thesharks are here, but many days theyaren’t eating anything. It’s been unpre-dictable and it’s got everybody confused.Down south, around Naples, it was justan average tarpon year. They showedearly, but didn’t stay as long. There wasno huge tarpon run at Chokoloskee andthe bigger fish seemed to just movearound the juveniles when the schoolsheaded north. Kind of strange.There is an abundance of small juve-

nile sharks in the Harbor right now. Nomore than normal big sharks, but a ton

of juvenile and baby sharks this year.Many more than in years past. Lots ofsharks less than 2 feet long. If you wantto have fun downsize your redfish tackle,put a little steel leader on and go havefun with the little sharks. You’ll have alot of bites. Anywhere in the middle ofthe Harbor is the place to shark-fishright now. Bigger bait for bigger fish,small pieces for the small ones. You’llgo through a lot of bait, but you’ll catchsharks...after they nibble for a while.Near shore reefs are good for slightlybigger sharks, say those in the 3-to 10-foot range. That should be the way it isthrough July and even into August.There are a lot of cobia around right

now. The west wall, on the outside edgeof the bar, the upper part of the Myakkaand all around El Jobean, both on theharbor side and the river side, all have alot of nice cobia right now and it mightstay that way for the rest of the summer.Live whiting and sugar trout aresome of the better cobia bait choicesnow. Start with frozen sardines to getgoing until you catch your other baits.D.O.A. bait busters and any larger lurelike a Bomber will be good artificials forcobia.

New snook regulations will be 28 to33 inches, with a season open from Sept1 to Dec 1 and then not again untilFebruary through April - The snook sea-son will still be closed in May untilSeptember. Personally I think theyshould just close snook off for a while.They seem to be playing games with theregs. and that just breeds more poachers.Definitely, this is the time of year to

start dead-baiting for redfish. Frozenshrimp, cut sardines, cut ladyfish, dead-bait will produce fish this time of year

because the water is hotter, there is lessoxygen and therefore the fish are lessaggressive. Be patient. The early-earlymorning bite is still good on artificials,but only about the first hour of the day,then it slows way down. Anyplace wherethere is some shade, deeper drop offs anddeeper sand holes are the redfish hauntsthis time of year.Lately, tripletai l have been showing

up in the harbor. We are hearing a lotabout tripletail in shallow water off theBayshore pier. continued

Capt. Angel Tores was on the sharks.... before his brand new motor broke. Now heʼs just onthe phone!

Offshore, if you stay within 10miles, Spanish mackerel , boni-ta and permit are on the man madereefs and should be there for thenext two months.If you are willing to go 40 miles

or more, in the cleaner water thereare a lot of small dolphins andstill some kings mixed in. Thereis also a chance you will hook intoa sai l fi sh, bigger snapper arealso out further, right now.There is an over abundance of

gol iath grouper in this area.They are eating everything on ourreefs, but over on the east coast ofFlorida there are almost none. Ithink they need to re-evaluate thegoliath situation on the west coastand perhaps issue tags for goliathsjust like they do for tarpon. Thatway they could control the fishingbetter. Since goliaths are protected,you can’t technically target them,but if you had a small snapper or agiant stingray on the hook, theywill take it. Basically, if it has finsand will fit in its mouth thegoliaths will eat it. 200 poundPowerPro on a 6-0 to a 9-0 reel

will handle the goliath pressure. A4-0 reel might work for a while,but you’ll wind up blowing the reelup!

Lemon BayJim at Fishermen’s EdgeEnglewood: 697-7595The biggest thing here is tarpon

fishing, there are still quite a few inthe pass, they are starting to headout along the beaches, some alreadyheading up toward Venice.Everything has been a couple ofweeks off, so I think we are goingto have a later season in the Harbor.It will get going when it’s hotter.A few guys are playing with

snook on the beaches, in StumpPass and around Cayo Costa, alongthe Gulf shoreline and inside at the

boat docks in the bay. Snook andredfish on the docks seems to bethe thing. Redfish is pretty goodnow too, mostly in the Gasparillasound, Whidden Creek and Bull Bay.Medium sized shrimp are the ticket,not the overly big ones, just thesize you can cast.Offshore is still active.

Kingfish are still offshore, and inthe past week we have heard of fishin the 30 pound range. Bonita,black tip sharks , snapper, anddolphin in the 80 foot depths havebeen good. Really big jolt-headporgys are there too, andAmericanred snapper as well. I’ve had abunch of fresh fish given to me of


BIG-4BIG-4 Julyʼs Target SpeciesJulyʼs Target Species

GOLIATH GROUPER areabundant if you are up to it

SHARKS are still all over,until the rains come

REDFISH continue to beconsistent

TARPON are here, in thePass and in the Harbor

FishingRIGHT NOW:

Excellent!

n July 1: Bruce Mathews Memori alTournament , $350 entry, Laishley ParkMarina, 639-8705n July 7: Pi rate Redfi sh Tournament , $400entry, Punta Gorda at Harpoon Harry’s, 941-637-5953, a Port Charlotte H.S. Benefit

n July 14: Ex treme Redfi sh Tournament ,Best Western, Punta Gorda, sign up at the dockor call 813-363-5266n July 21: Caloo sa Catch & Rel eas e BackCountry Classic, NaplesnJuly 28 & 29: Flatsmas ters RedPlugChal l enge 2 redfish- combined weight

Artificials lures OnlynAug 18: Northport Bobcats Benefi t Redfi shTournament, Punta Gorda, Location TBAn Octoberr 6: Riches t Redfi sh Chal l enge ,Punta Godrda. Abenefit for the Good ShepherdSchool, sign up at Laishley Marine, 639-3868

C a l e n d a r o f E v e n t s

THE ALL NEW 2008 F-450 KING RANCH SUPER DUTYTHE ALL NEW 2008 F-450 KING RANCH SUPER DUTY

October 6, see P-2

GoliathFish, a.k.a. goliath grouper, a.k.a. jewfish, with Robsʼ Lugiewitz and Moore

water life july 2007

Documents

t e rw

wa t e r

n e j u

u s t e ryb

u s t e ryc

i f efree

water life water lifemichael

water lifeno