Sailing Vessel Runs Out of Gas, Founders on Venice Beach

Sailboat founders in waters off Venice beach, Florida; runs out of gas and Captain Anchors vessel. After motoring it down along the coastline oblivious to an impeding storm, running out of gas and not knowing what to do, dropped the anchor. Sailing vessel drifts ashore from pounding waves and is now an albatross on the beach. My question is why did they just not raise some cloth and sail away. Is that not what a sailboat does, sail?



From hollybigolly's Channel: Views in Venice

Cold Water Today Equals Kings Tomorrow

A strong moving cold front moved through last weekend, kicking up the waves and plummeting water temperatures from the high 80s down into the 70s. This certainly chilled the fishing on Sunday and Monday, but inshore conditions are already recovering and by this upcoming weekend, the fishing should improve. Sunday was not a complete wash out, with my son Edwin catching small undersized King mackerel, Jacks and small Blue fish using cut baits and flashy spinners to Butterfly jigs. The waters that were a greenish to brownish patch with fish bites and hook ups on the patch lines. Near the beach end of the pier, anglers were catching Flounder, whiting, trout and lingering snook. It was not like last week when hefty thirty pound plus Kings were being hauled onto the decks under the trolleys with the occasional Tarpon hook up and a couple of really nice keeper Cobia. AS the water temperature is at 75 degrees today, I suspect a number of Kings caught today and this weekend should produce an onslaught of fish out on Sharky’s on the Pier in Venice Florida. Reports of some bruiser sharks caught late night out on the boards as of late if equipped with the right tackle and baits. Bulls should be on the move as waters dip towards the sixties and birthing begins on the beach lines (sandbars). Remember to try to practice CPR (Catch, Photograph and Release) when at all possible to ensure a productive tomorrow and be responsible by following the rules to where you fish. Great Angling, Tight Lines and “Fish On!”

School Starts Means Great Fishing in S. Fl.

First of September around the Corner and the first hint of fall arrives this weekend as school has begun everywhere in Southwest Florida and the fishing should be about as good as it gets. Water temperatures will start to creep ever so slowly downward and fish will become more aggressive. Schools of redfish are now scattered through out the area. Look for tailers on a low tide then work the bars on a rising tide for easy strike ability.

Snook fishing is improving as these Linesider’s slowly begin their move back to the winter haunts. River mouths, island points, tidal creeks with good moving water should produce. Snook are fattening up for the winter and will take most offerings if presented correctly. If the fish you have found are meticulous eaters, try tackling down and finesse fishing to entice a strike.

Kingfish should start moving south and the runs in our area should be bigger and better than last year. Start looking for water temps in the mid to lower 70’s with a good hard bottom and bait, you should have success. That magic number of 75 to 80 will produce the biggest from the pier at Sharky’s in Venice, Florida.

Beach Macks Are Back!

Armed with Strike King sunglasses and our circle hooks, tagged to a free spooled live Greenback minnow, Ed was sure in hooking it up with a Spanish darting through the black bait balls moving in abundance about the sides of the pier. Along the outskirts of a large balled bait pod was a barracuda of at least four if not five feet in length, cruising in a circular motion around and around the pod causing it to become tighter and tighter and then in a burst of speed, a flash and slash, the pod dispersed and the Cuda made its kill. Awesome! Like watching the Discovery channel in prime time live action as his line also tightened and “fish on!”
The afternoon started as Edwin searched the surface for sizable Greenies, in the three-inch range and I worked an MR-17 in search of topwater action from anything trout, reds, snook or mackerel. Working the shoreline, I managed a couple of rats, a keeper trout and a couple of spit-off snook. Keeping none, Ed was motioning he had the baits and I met him out on the boards. Changing over to a 2/0 circle hook, on a forty pound test leader of around three feet long, I too was ready for macks. Hooking the greenies just below their gills, in front of their gut line, they were tossed out to frantically swim and drift with the prevailing currents or wind on the lose line. Watching for that first twitch or straighten of the line gave hint to a strike, though with my Strike Kings on, usually I saw the flash at the bait just before the strike.
Even though the water temperatures are in the high eighties or even nineties, fast moving storms and uplifts over the waters in the form of fast moving lows will produce fish to turn on and if bait is present, it is frenzy. As was the case today. Keeping an eye to the sky for boomers is necessary and a need to remove you from harms way but other wise it is a refreshing change from the doldrums of August. The fall run on the mackerel should be a good one this year and I predict an early one, Kingfish included as the Spanish we kept for the grill were full of roe and they are starting to school up.
A new thing to remember this year here in Florida is all need a fishing license on the beach as of August 01, of this year. The new shoreline licenses cost $9, while saltwater fishing licenses are $17, for residents. Non-residents need regular licenses to fish from the shore or a boat. The new law allows exemptions for resident anglers fishing in their home counties using live or natural bait, on a line or pole without a line-retrieval mechanism. The exemption does not apply to people using nets, traps, gigs, spears or who gather seafood by hand.

To purchase Florida fishing license click here
or call
888-FISH-FLORIDA (347-4356).

Mahi Mahi, Mutton Avets and Kite Angling; The wild world of extreme sport ...

Dolphin, Mahi mahi, Dorado, Mutton, Kingfish, Another Great fishing trip out of Haulover Inlet near the Nude nudist beach, sunny isles Bal Harbour, Miami beach.

Florence Oregon A Sportsman’s Extravaganza!

BEAUTY & THE BEAST: Landing in Eugene, Oregon in the middle of the night after a twelve-hour plane flight from North Port, Florida is not the best way to view the stunning landscape of the Oregon terrain as one drives their rental car from the airport to Florence. Dark and winy roads at a seven percent grade only make one think you are lost in finding the way. Cell phone usage was at a minimal, depending what side of the mountain you were on when lost and looking for directions to mom’s house. Of course I was not really lost, just misdirected and we were calling to let my stepfather know of our soon to be arrival if we were on the right road! Upon arrival at the house, the usual greetings were exchanged with the exception that mom was not there, just with us all. Catherine and I were planning a vacation out to the trail, (Florence, Oregon is where the Oregon trail meets the Pacific ocean), latter in the summer for a visit and some heavy angling of the trout filled streams, sturgeon gladdened Siuslaw and the many a species from smallies to bucket mouth bass in the lakes. Mom’s sudden loss brought us out a bit early but I now know why she moved here. Not only was Florence a total beauty with everything a sportsman could ever want but it was full of life from the birds to the flowers, the stunning color and the wildlife to include many an elk on the grazing hills abound. Chuck’s house, nestled in the hills outside Florence, overlooked a beautiful small lake, beaming with tailing fish as we awoke to a magnificent splendor; Siuslaw lake. I could have been in the lake country of Florida except the air was a crisp 55 degrees as we watched an early riser net a whopping cutthroat to his boat. Shortly afterward, gently releasing it back to the mirrored lake, with but a few ripples off the sides of his Alumaweld, a boat used in these parts in contending with both river, lake and tidal waters. As I sprang up for another cup of Joe, the martins buzzed in a grouping as another hatch lifted from the lakes edge and a flock of honkers above rode the winds towards the north to Alaska as spring was now in session.

The Rhododendrons were coming into bloom and the town of Florence was in properness of the arrival of those who follow the blooms with its annual Rhododendron Days, a festival of colorful landscapes and mountains adorned in both flowers to humming birds everywhere. We started our morning with that treat of the angler catching cutthroats to bucket mouth bass all morning long and then Chuck treated us to breakfast at Charlie’s, a roadside family restaurant located on hwy 126, the main throughralfare into downtown Florence and the Siuslaw river crossing from Eugene, about and hour or so away from the east. Made to order sour dough pancakes, sausages, bacon eggs and more coffee started our day as we laid siege to Old Town Florence, nestled alongside the Siuslaw port of the river. Little shops of Old Town, gave the charm of a secluded coastal town adorned with artist shops, trading posts and Pacific eats to treats all along its avenues. Incredible & Edible Oregon, located at 1350 Bay Street, owned and operated by Ron and Patti Gates, an Oregon products shop that boasts of many a knick-knack to Oregon wines and other local influences. The customer service is of the best in show and a real treat in finding out all one needs to know about the local area of surrounding Florence and its tidal estuary of the Siuslaw. A cold front was coming off the Pacific and winds were increasing to twenty miles per plus as Chuck suggested we try lunch at a local Mexican restaurant which he had heard was really good. Knowing of my mother’s chilies and of my being a true to the word coenuruses of most any food south of the border, Chuck suggested we try Los Compadres, just this side of the river bridge in Florence, across from the warning speakers used in case of a tsunami. I had to go to Oregon to find a true to the word Mexican food restaurant with helping heaping mounds of perfection to the palate. If for no other reason, I shall return to this establishment to curb my wants for that south of the border want in Florence, Oregon. Véale otra vez amigo! Back into Old Town, I purchased a leather hat from the Leather Factory where regardless of your purchase, from leather pants to jackets; to hats, all cost a twenty-dollar fee. Great pricing and lots of leather too.

Back one the docks, there lined with commercial fishing boats, I could see diggers out on the flats or spoils of the Siuslaw digging for Razor clams, a delicacy one must try if visiting the area. Just East of Florence, clamming at low tide, participants dig six to sixteen inches under the tidal flats in the estuary area north and south of the North Fork Bridge on highway 126 in finding their fill in these delicious clams. Extreme caution exercised; as tides are swift when coming in or going out, at all times in one could become a grave hazard.
As with most docks and commercial fleets, crab pods with buoys abound awaiting trips out to catch the Dungeness crabs, which by the way can be caught anywhere in the port city and Florence even has a crabbing dock to the south up river if you are into that type of angling. Dungeness crab is on the Siuslaw River just about anywhere from the mouth of the jetty to Old Town Florence. For a three-dollar pass, Crabbing in Florence is best at the docks at the south jetty. If you per chance decide to crab, obtain a license and be alert of the size you keep as there is a minimum size for Dungeness crab, which is 5 3⁄4 inches measured in a straight line across the back immediately in front of, but not including, the points.

While Sturgeon fishing On the Siuslaw River happens anywhere, there are drop-offs and holes in the twenty to forty depth range from the Port of Siuslaw boat ramp up river that offer you best bets in landing one of these magnificent fish. Using herring or shad as baits and depending on the swiftness of the incoming tide a half a pound up to a pound and a half of weight to keep it on the bottom, one rigs up a single circle hook in the 12/0 range and the waiting game begins. When there, Sturgeon was going on as we watched from the banks but the Siuslaw River also provides anglers with some very challenging and productive Chinook salmon and Steelhead fishing throughout the year.

The sand recreation area of the Oregon Dunes is a sight of surprising elegance as these dunes are hundreds of feet in height. The sand is that of sugar fine sand and one where sand boarding is a past time for many a local as well, tourist alike. It is much like skiing in powder and a fall is a mere brushing off with not a sand burn one. Recreational dune buggy riding, also done within certain restricted zones, is another sought after past time but just the sight of these dunes is awesome. Many an Rver choose this area for its close proximity to camping, boating, clamming and other activities all within walking distance of the shops, galleries and restaurants of Old Town Florence. There are around a hundred sites available in the local RV campground and a state park around almost every bend of the roads around Florence. Wither picnicking, camping or using the RV, one has but to choose your own paradise. No matter the time of year, the Port of Siuslaw offers river and ocean fishing for salmon, crab, steelhead, sturgeon, halibut and more. Special events are within walking distance of Old Town, to include Rhododendron Days, July 4 celebrations, Chowder, Brews and Blues Festival all located at the Florence Events Center.

Heading north up Hwy 101, the road whips around shear drop-off cliffs to a staggering seven hundred odd feet in a matter of minutes as you can see the imagistic dune turn to wave pounding rocks of the Pacific rim on the Oregon coast. A scene only described as the beauty and the beast as the wind blows a frantic howl and one looks down to see perched sea lions to seals claiming rocks below. Visiting Sea Lion Caves is an awesome sight as this cave offers a secluded visitation from the furious sea out side, lining the rocks in an obedience to nature and size as these creatures are in a mating frenzy, while just off the breaks are the sign of great whites awaiting a chance for the unexpected. Situated at the point of the Devils Elbow National Park is the often photographed Heceta Head Lighthouse, bring many a seafarer home from the fishing grounds of the rim and warning them of the tremulous rocks abound before finding the safe haven Port of Siuslaw through the extending jetties into the pounding blue green Pacific waves.

We ended the day with a bowel of Chuck’s infamouse split pea soup as we watched the sun slip westward into the Pacific and rings of tailing fish bid us goodnight on the lake below. We ended our evening at the Three Rivers Casino with a bit of gaming, returning back to the house with the days thoughts racing by. There was not enough fishing line to last this trip, but later in the year I will be back in catching a few more to remember. “FISH ON!”

New Florida Grouper Rules in Effect...

A set of new regulations went into effect May 25, 2009 regarding the harvest of reef fish in Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Fishery managers at the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council ended two years of debate and deliberation by establishing the following regulations for recreational anglers:

Aggregate grouper bag limit is reduced to four fish per person per day

Red grouper bag limit is increased to two fish per person per day

Gag bag limit is decreased to two fish per person per day

Grouper season will be closed for all of February and March for all shallow-water grouper species