Florida’s Free Fishing out in Three Years

Florida’s Free Fishing out in Three Years

Saltwater angling to require Federal Fishing License

Posted Dec 24, 2008

Public Policy

Federal registration would be good for one year, and would allow anglers to fish anywhere in U.S. waters.

The first year will be free, but thereafter, a fee of about $15 to $25 per year is planned, NOAA said.

As currently drafted, the requirement will affect “anyone who fishes in federal waters (3 to 200 miles from shore), as well as anyone who fishes anywhere for **‘Anadromous or Catadromous’ species,” the DEM said in a report about progress by the R.I. Marine Recreational Fishing License / Registry Study Group. Anglers 15 or younger would not be required to register, nor would people who fish only from licensed party or charter boats.

Looking for Numbers in Florida?

Anybody can purchase a LORAN or GPS unit but without your Basic Numbers where you going to go? You can spend hours in front of Google looking up hot spots to fish or for pennies on the dollar and a whole lot quicker you could spend $9.99 for a twenty-five page download for most all the public numbers needed to dive or catch fish around the inshore to offshore Florida waters.

BASIC NUMBERS;
An Anglers Bible to Neptune’s Secrets

You have your secrete spots and numbers and then there are those “Public Spots” or numbers that everybody knows, if they get them from a friend or spend the time to do some research. No Need! They are all here in a convenient 25-page, e book format waiting for you to print up and laminate for your vessels usage.

Bass Pro Shops Twenty Dollar Give-away...

Bass Pro Shops has an exciting offer just in time for you last minute gift shoppers! Purchase $100 worth of gifts from selected categories and receive a free $20 Bass Pro eGift Card! Offer lasts until December 24! Here are the categories this offer applies to:
• Shoes and boots
• Hunting Clothing
• Men’s Clothing
• Ladies’ Clothing
• Kid’s Clothing
• Gifts & Toys
Purchase $100 in gifts and receive a free $20 eGift Card!

Look Ma I Am Shark Bait!

Here's a look at the "ultimate shark diving experience":
If you are going to use a cage, make sure it is up to date!

A 2 ton, 15 foot Great White barrels into my cage and breaks through the bars... Patrick Walsh videographer.


The Trailer Life RV Parks, Campgrounds & Services Directory is the most widely used and recognized RVing Directory in North America. With 11,700+ RV parks, it is the Official Directory of the Good Sam Club and the primary source to find all of the Good Sam Club discount locations. For over 36 years, it continues to provide essential, comprehensive RVing information to make RV trip planning easier.

Hooks to Hats; Tackle that works!

A ReelnFish Tacklebox Store

‘Inshore Florida-Offshore Anywhere’

HOOKS TO HATS

Since moving here to Florida in 1992 and operating a Guide Service from Snook Haven on the Myakka at Venice, Florida, I opened a partnership with area professional sportsmen, writers, tackle shop owners and the Florida Wildlife Commission. Through websites, Blogs and affiliates of Inshore Florida- Offshore Anywhere we have evolved as a leading resource for brackish water and saltwater anglers seeking the best tackle for their fishing experiences anywhere. Articles to Tackle, ReelnFish Products and more; "Respecting the environment is everybody's game, if you plan on playing in the future!"
Gary A. Anderson

Shell Drops Plus Plastic Yield Lunker Trout

Wait for the passing of a good front, as we get every week this time of year. Move out into the ICW and look for shell drops to either side of creeks entering the area or grass flats approach. If wading, just work, the ledges against the rocks and under the bridges and you will find fish too. The key is finding the shell drops from eight to twelve feet deep. Like cordwood the fish generally stack in these areas for forage as well a shelter from rouge currents and boaters or such. If you do not get a fish after six or eight casts then move to a new area. As I said once, you find them, it is on and it is some of the easiest fishing I do all year. I use a quarter ounce jig head with white 4-inch curl tail plastic bait; Luv lures are my favorite. All you have to do is bounce it off the bottom very slow. Once you get the first few fish and figure out how to work it, you will catch a Trout almost every cast as well, any stacked snook within them. They will pick up the baits on the drop and you will feel an ever so slight twitch to your line. Reel in your slack quickly and set back that rod tip high to the sky with “Fish On!”

A Knot for Sharks & More...

The Double Uni-knot or the Goliath Griper
The Double Uni-knot or the Goliath Griper great for big game to sharks too when angling with four to six-hundred pound test leaders. This clip demonstrates how to tie an extra strong heavy-duty knot for such fishing. The knot is a double variation of the Uni knot.



Pack of bull sharks attack, rip apart a stingray, and then turn on the trolling motor and attempt to rip it off the boat. Bull Sharks are the most unpredictable meanest natured sharks in the world…BULL ATTACK!

STRAWS: A Must Need in Your Tacklebox

Fishing With Straws? Get Ready to Catch Some Spanish Mackerel
McDonald's is the place and it's not for the burgers! I've got a Mac attack on my mind and I need some straws. The next time you go there, order a couple of extra shakes and keep the straws; you're going to need them to satisfy your Big Mac attack. Brussels to Florida, straws catch fish, are free and come in a wide range of colours, sizes and thickness matching your lure to your prey; the possibilities are endless....
View more »



AND FOR SOME MORE IN BLOGS'N THINGS, check out the new Venice Pier Anglers Forum Blog from out on the boards of the pier at Sharky's in Venice, Florida; home and vacation spot for sharks worldwide from Tigers to Bulls, Welcome to Venice Beach.

Revenge of Killer Turtles Haven from Regular Angling

500 E. Venice Ave., Venice, (941) 485-7221.

Take I-75 south to exit 191 and go west about a mile, and then turn left onto East Venice Avenue.

River tours run Wednesday-Sunday, 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., $10-$12 person.

Don’t let the dirt road fool you, just keep on trekking and you will dead end into the river or parking lot, and they both are at the end, next to Snook Haven.



At Snook Haven little has but changed but the faces and styles; all that remain of a day from our past. If you sit back, you can still hear Johnny Weissmuller ordering a cold can of brew from over the bar back. Old style pictures still hang at crooked angles and if you listen carefully, ignoring the hustle and bustle of the modern world down the road, you will hear a raptor’s cry as Marlene orders the same, waiting from a break in the rain, before filming again begins with Revenge of the Killer Turtles (1947). As an old Florida, bayou-style restaurant and pleasantly primitive entertainment venue, Snook Haven Restaurant & Fish Camp has been a fixture in Venice for more than 50 years. Even before that, fishermen traversing the fish-filled waters of the Myakka River in the early 1900s camped in the area. Used as everything from fish camp to fish house, this journey back into time is well worth the time to visit. Back when I first moved to Venice, Florida, Snook Haven is where I set up my head quarters and rendezvous for ReelnFish Charters. Running clients up the river for a chance to mingle with our Florida wildlife and catch Bass to freshwater Channel Catfish. Big cats in the twenty pound plus range on light tackle to cane poles. Camping on the banks or overnight pack-ins. Moving down stream we would catch everything from Snook to Reds and if the tides are right, you can catch Bull sharks on one side of the river and Bass on the other, along with an occasional Blue crab too. Now retired to angling and writing about it I enjoy my visits back where “Tarzan” slept lazily along an out stretched branch of a giant oak draped with Spanish moss beyond the restaurant's waterfront, back deck. There one can find a canoe tucked between a fleet canoes to kayaks loosely tied to the aging dock. Here you can elect to explore the slow-moving waters by powerboat or as Snook Haven's slogan states - "You and a Canoe" – paradise to me! In the canoe, the river is yours, at eye level with the crocks, the beauty is bountiful.

Snook Haven is on the sun-dappled shores of the winding Myakka River in Venice. Think giant oaks draped with Spanish moss, graceful cabbage palms, and tea-colored waters flowing by. Two movies have been filmed there, the most famous a Tarzan flick called Revenge of the Killer Turtles. On Thursdays, the public is invited to hear the Gulf Coast Banjo Society practice from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., and every Sunday the place overflows with weekend bikers and other regulars who gather round the shaded outdoor picnic tables to listen to live music. For overnight stays, you can bring your own RV or rent one of the fully furnished cabins. Call first, though, as many are undergoing renovation. Snook Haven also offers guided pontoon boat charters up and down the Myakka River. Bring a camera; one November afternoon, one of the largest alligators the boat captain said he’s ever seen charged the charter and dove straight under. Even grown men shrieked. But the boat also meanders down some spectacularly scenic stretches of pristine county-owned lands that will never be developed. River tours are available Wednesday through Sunday. You can eat indoors or dine outside at a wooden table overlooking the river. Lunch is served from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; dinner runs from 4-9 p.m. seven days a week. Specialties include gator bites (of course!) and grouper, fried, grilled or blackened. Try it stuffed with crab or with the shrimp and clam platter. December, when the early mornings and evening are cool, is a splendid time of year for this experience. Bring bug spray, as the mosquitoes can be vicious.

Some of our Favorite Links:
Florida Nature Lover

Myakka River State Park

Friends of the Myakka River

The True Florida Cracker Meal

A Florida Combo Delight;

Your favorite saltwater fish plus a combo of:

Choice of the fish that you caught today plus the crabs you also caught today in making your Spicy Florida Crab Cakes and Florida Fire Cracker Cornbread topped off with a green salad and ice cream. And if you really want to eat like an ole' time Cracker, try out a ole time taste before supper with a tasty treat of Fried Snook Baits? The Lunkers eat em...

Sheepshead on a Bite Means…

Sheps on a bite means heads on for winter and a smorgasbord in delights of November inshore fishing. Heads, drum, flounder and bass, bluefish, ladies and mackerel too, join in a party of reds to snook with sea trout thrown in for good measure in making for a boiling pot of hot inshore action for our southwestern Florida waters.

Medium spinning tackle with 20-pound fluorocarbon leader will handle nearly all these species. If you encounter blues or mackerel, add a piece of 50-pound leader to reduce "sharp teeth" cutoffs. One- quarter to one-half ounce jigs will catch all of these species, if used with the right presentation or use a plug or spoon. For sheepshead and black drum, use live shrimp hooked through the horn or fresh dead shrimp covering the hook or fiddler crabs hooked through the back of the shell, on a #1 hook and just enough split shot weight to sink it to the bottom.

Diving birds are a sure fish finder of feeding fish. No need for electronics’ when the birds are around for they tell it all whether it be bluefish, mackerel, ladyfish and speckled trout. As for snook and redfish, they are now located in the backcountry areas. Creeks and rivers hold will be holding more of these species than open flats with winter-like conditions upon us, look for deep channels and ridges to hold fish. Gags, Sheepshead and even some Porgies will be on most bay reefs by now in the area. Sheepshead and black drum also will be around bars, bridges and barnacle-ridden docks. Flounder are on the move and found near structure, such as submerged rocks, oyster bars, bridges and such on the out flowing tides. Silver trout and whiting can be intercepted off beaches and in gulf passes with your best bets on the piers and jetties using dead fresh shrimp.

Grab Your Partners Two by Two, Ladies and Trout the Duce C Due;

Grab Your Partners Two by Two, Ladies and Trout the Duce C Due; Onward tournament CCA and Redfish angler’s doe c doe, the toe to toe! The cool to cold weather action has brought on a much-needed change to both fresh and saltwater alike in both feeding patterns as well, strikes to bites as well! I find wither angling Lake Okeechobee to the flats of Lemon Bay to the Harbor, angling with a single hooked spoon by itself, under a Carolina Regina knocker rigging or a bobble is a deadly combination in catching redfish to largemouth bass, kings to Spanish, cobia to tarpon and dancing ladies to dip diving trout. Single-hook spoons have been ideal lures for fall fishing throughout Southwest Florida since the last arrivals and departures of our fall hurricanes. Almost all game fish, from redfish to king mackerel, strike minnow-imitating spoons to shinny mirrored like plugs and jerk baits with reckless abandonment to their own safety. Toothy fish, like the mackerels, rarely cut a metal spoon off a line. Out-of-season fish, like spotted Seatrout (November-December) and snook (December-February) rarely are seriously injured by single-hook lures and in general never fall off or are foul hooked as is the case with a Gotcha or similar lure or plug. Spoons dictate a cutting of the edge technology for all generations as they can never be improved, just imitated, casting through stiff fall breezes with ease, trolling with fish-catching flash that’s hard to beat and hook up ratio’s to far exceed those of its revivals the treble. Speaking of Lake Okeechobee, them Big Mouths were over heard a bragging about not being caught somewhere around the Rita Point Island area around em weeds and reeds. They say they cain’t be caught but they sure be tempted by them frogs skittered through the grass, mmm, mmm. Makes ya ungary! Crickets are the tickets for all else with minnows fallen a fast in-between back up baits for bass to specks but for this ole boy it is back to the bays; just thought I’d bring it up because I use to fish with Roland back in the day every once in a blue Sunday. Now it is rare to none but you never know, we just might go back to church some day.

Kingfish VS Spanish; a Tail of Two Fish…

To the untrained eye, a Schoolie (young king mackerel usually fewer than thirty inches) looks much the same as a large Spanish mackerel. Not knowing the difference can land you a citation or worse, a night in the poky. Large Spanish and Schoolies run together this time of year and the only real difference you need to know is that the king must be 24 inches in length to the fork for possession. The ways to tell the difference is either one is a smoker at 40 inches plus in size or has a quick break at its lateral line in the shape of a “L” slanted to the side; generally speaking. Also, the dorsal of the Spanish is usually darker in color than that of the infamous kingfish whose colors are generally a grey to whitish in shade, with a gentle sloping into its head vs. the straight up and down of the Spanish on the start of its dorsal. These are fine points to remember for a clean and responsible trip angling upon our inshore Florida waters. Edwin below holds a 26 inch Schoolie King on the left caught on a red head and silver Gotcha on a Pflueger with Trilene 12-pound test on an Ugly Stick. The Spanish on the right was caught on the same tackle except I was using an Orange on clear plastic Gotcha bounced off the bottom. Ladyfish were abounding with large smokers and Cobia hitting threads and Greenbacks; go figure.
“FISH ON!”

Wind Equals Bait Direction, Yields Fish in the Box!

Windy, cold northeaster conditions have stopped the boats and most pier anglers from venturing out to the wave tops this week but that is not where to be but to go down and jig off the bottom in a fast and irregular sweeping and dropping of your rod tip as the bite occurs on the drop. From baited, tipped jigs to casting small spoons in your favorite color, it is of the same sweeping motion that yields a sure fire wham bam fish on! The smokers are on again off again with a few caught right off the beaches of Casperson’s on surf gear under mini-balloons, Caught in Flight Kites and Aqua Gem Floats with live threadfins or needlefish. Boats trolling one, two or four ounce rudders with there favorite island lure or any which leads a bubble trail has been doing pretty well on the King Mackerels, with an occasional one pulled on to the boards in Venice, Florida, on their City Pier. If wind should shift slightly, and the temperatures not drop too sharply, this Halloween weekend ought to be hot on the Kings in Venice, Florida! As the winds change direction, the baits, like a magnet, change direction with them and make a move towards the next area of hard bottom in that direction. AS the wind blows from the north or south for a couple of days, the bait will follow the wind; a key point to know if angling from a vessel.
“FISH ON!” ©

Kings, Cobia & Tripletail, Destination: Venice Florida

Looking to the diving birds at the front of the “T” at the end of the pier at Sharky’s in Venice, Florida, one will see anglers Trollying for big Kings and landing quite a few. When trolling across the front of the “T” be sure and stay at least 300 feet in front of the pier, 100 yards, for your safety and it is a law through a Venice City Ordinance to which the Marine patrol, Sherriff or Police will ticket. Cobia are a migrating right along side the smokers as of now and are seen more often than not in the Venice Pier area for there are a number of crab pods dropped out in pursuit of those prestigious stone crab claws. Pods and baits have leached the waters with fish oils for a couple of weeks now acting as a big box of chum. The best bets for Cobia are as the sun rises over the Venice reef to the north of the pier at about a quarter of a mile and a few hundred yards off the beach. Look for the pods and the Tripletail along with Cobia circling among the pods. Sight casting for Cobia is a real treat as you will actually see the bite occur as you make the strike and reel’er in! That sight-casting challenge is great as you pass each crab pod buoy for that is where you will find the Tripletail, in the shady side. Throttling down and approaching from the opposite side of the fish, pulling parallel in a drift, cast your live shrimp or small white bait under a float towards the drift side of the pod float. As your bait drifts by, wham, bam, “FISH ON!” ©

In Hot Pursuit; The Raw Claw-Stone’s

She built low to the ground and always in Hot Pursuit because this Stony is about her claw and her début was this morning. In search for the elusive crab”, Elusive you say? Yep, these shell fish are always on your baits when fishing or at a glance swimming by on the top of the water when you don't want them but try and more times than not, at this time of year they can be elusive and hard to catch! The other night we were trying to hook up with a big shark and couldn't keep our baits on the hook long, enough to get a bite, for the crabs were hungry. Therefore, today I brought the crab baskets and will try for a crab dinner and as an extra treat, I will be using my bridge net as a super sized crab catcher. It Ought to be hot tonight!
You can purchase crab baskets, string or bridge nets from your area dept. stores and they work well. They are easy on the pocket book too, with the exception of a bridge net, which start at around thirty bucks for the small ones and up to seventy for the large ridged ones as I use in Kingfish to Cobia/Snook hauling. Crab baskets, as are bridge nets are designed to lift your catch from the waters below bridges, docks or piers, much like a landing net. Baits range from left over fried chicken bones to fish scraps. I like using an oily fish like the Jack Carvel or mackerel carcasses and heads. The Jack, as is the Mack is easy to catch and you get to fish while crabbing; the better of two worlds! Jacks will hit shrimp, cut bait, or anything that fits in their mouths when feeding which, by the way seems to be all the time when schooling. They can be found in cuts, passes, along the beaches and in the bays. I catch more than not using jigs or Got-ch-A's. Butter flied out and attached with wire to the bottom of the crab basket, I am armed to catch crabs. You don’t need a large armada of baskets to catch crabs. For this outing, I am using two baskets, a bridge net filled with two pieces of Jack in the crab baskets, and three Macks tied in the middle of the bridge net. Lowered to the bottom and checked periododicly on fifteen-minute intervals. If no crabs within four checks or an hour, move the traps and repeat until your bucket is full.
The air temperature this morning is in the mid 70’s. No need for ice, just a bucket and with luck we will get some crabs. Dropping our baskets to the bottom next to the pile on out here on our city pier "Sharky's", I await for supper. This time of year along the Gulf coast crabs of all varieties can be caught. Spider crabs, hermits, stone claws, speckled or sand crabs and the infamous Blue Crabs tally up to what may be caught along with the occasional clown crab. All of these varieties may be caught today but we are only interested in supper; blue claw and sand crabs, though it is possible to capture a stone claw, they usually feed only at night. When catching the famous Florida Stone Claws, you must remember that you are only after its claws and the Stone Crab claws must measure at least 2 3/4-inches in length measured by a straight line from the elbow to the tip of the lower immovable finger and Stone Crab Claws are seasonal from October 15-May 15 here in Florida.
Clown crabs are considered ornamental, as if those one sees in a fish tank, spiders are funny looking and are considered bottom scavengers like their brothers the horseshoe crab. Blue crabs, sold the world over like Stone Claws are seasonal from May to November in Florida, though can be caught year round for recreational purposes with no females bearing eggs and a ten gallon limit per person, per day. Though I believe in 'limit your catch, don't catch your limit'!
Checking the net every five to ten minutes for crabs and to ensure you still have bait is my rule. When handling your catch be careful. The claws of the sand and blue crabs can cut you and are painful. The stone claws may not cut you but they can break your fingers. Be prudent when handling these critters. Best rule is to approach from behind by placing your foot (if you have shoes on) lightly on the back of its shell and pick up by grabbing both claws simultaneously. Place in bucket or ice for safekeeping. On the stone claw crab, if the claw is a keeper, twist counter clockwise until the entire joint and claw is removed with a quick jerk and be careful not to pull the claw off as to not injure the crab. They will grow a new one back to catch next year, so after removing its claw return the crab back to the water.
Stone crab claws are high on the list of favored Florida seafood. These crabs have the unusual ability to cast off their legs or pincers if caught by one leg or experience extreme temperature change. The separation always occurs at one of the joints to protect the crab from bleeding. During the life of the crab, the same appendage may be generated three or four times.
Florida law takes advantage of this ability of regeneration by making it illegal to harvest whole stone crabs. One or both of the very powerful black-tipped claws may be removed provided the length of the forearm measures 2 3/4 inches. If not, the claw must be left on the crab and the live stone crab returned to the water. If is also unlawful to remove claws from egg-bearing females.
It is a good idea not to put it back in where you have your traps or you will catch the same ones repeatedly. I walk them down to the other side and drop them back into the water.
Please note that when catching your own crabs it is illegal to catch female crabs during the summer months when they have eggs. How do you know the difference? Look at the abdomen on the underside of the crab. The female abdomen is dome shaped, like the U.S. capitol; the male abdomen looks like the Washington Monument.
OK, it is time to clean the crabs. Today’s outing only produced about two dozen sand crabs but what a dinner that will be for the family at home.
The crabs have to be alive and must be cleaned first! That means taking kitchen shears and cutting away the eyes and mouth. Then you must pull back and remove the top shell to expose the gills so they can be removed. Finally, you must pull away and remove the bottom tail flap, known as the apron. These steps are done to remove the parts that are inedible or are bitter and will impart unwanted flavors.
All that is left is to boil up my catch. The cleaned crabs and stone claws are cooked by placing them in boiling water and heating the water back to a boil. Total cooking time should be 7-8 minutes. Running cold water over the cooked claws is often suggested to insure the meat does not stick to the shells. Most people are purists when it comes to crab meat and prefer it cold or steamed only long enough to heat it and served with clarified butter or warm lemon butter.
Nutritional Information Stone Claws: 60 calories, 0 fat, 15 gm protein, 45 mg cholesterol, 300 mg sodium, and 4 gm calcium.
Nutritional Information sand & blue crabs: Calories 80, Calories from fat 10, Total fat 1g, Saturated fat 0g, Cholesterol 55mg, Total carbohydrate 0g, Protein 14g
And remember, crabbing is a great family sport where all can participate when inshore fishing in Florida waters…it keeps the little ones occupied so you can fish.
Bon-Appetite...."Fish On!"

Venice Kings; A Real Jim Dandy

King Mackerel, Cero Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel
Photo by Thisha Anderson

“Kingfish are hardcore predators, so moving baits really get them going. Keep them fresh and active is the ticket to successes as we slow trolled the beachhead for that first screaming bump.

Hard bottoms equal tails of sizable kings off Venice beach in a Jim Dandy of a deal while trolling for smokers ahead of the pack. Lever-drag reels are easiest to use, with a 200lb trace at least three yards in length, attached to twelve-inch thirty-eight pound test wire leader. The wire is there because of the razor sharp teeth on a kingfish. Wired to the 10/0 circle hook is a smaller 6/0 circle hook we call a “stinger”. Circle hooks must be used now when angling for Kings in a boat for they are considered Pelagic and have a new set of rules about them. The wired 10/0 live-bait hook set up also is connected by a ball-bearing swivel. This may all seem like overkill, but even with this gear, I have lost fish. Kingfish will turn up when it suits them. Like big sharks, they feed when hungry. However, one very definite pattern I have seen through the years of angling for Texas to Florida King Mackerels is that the prime time to be on the water is around low tide. I’d guess around 70% of kings we see and hook is present during this period of falling water. Combining a midday low tide, away from a full moon, is a recipe for success in catching smoker to schoolies kings. Full moons are great for bass fishing and werewolves but really suck in the catch department in saltwater angling, period!

When slow trolling, almost all the baits are hooked the same way. Kingfish candy or Bluerunners get the main hook through their nose. This hook is wired to a piece of number four or five leader wire, the stinger attached to the other hook of choice and attached the top back of the fish or as some prefer just to dangle. Top speeds will range between 1.5 and 2 knots, a brisk walk, at best. Slow trolls are best in keeping your baits alive longer but all will drown eventually and be dead! Save them all for later for as you run out of live baits and have but only dead, one needs only to speed up the boat and dive the baits deeper by use of egg weights above the leaders or on planers or Nose cones and trolling skirts. They usually come in colors of white, chartreuse, pink, yellow and they act to attract the mackerels. No smokers as of Sunday but we sure caught the schoolies fever at around forty or so CPR’ed not to mention the hundreds of Spanish that followed and cut us off all daylong. The great thing about it was we were using straws and yard flies for baits only this time we had a number one Eagle Claw hook inside the yarn bunch. Loads of fun, lots of action and there it goes again…”FISH ON!”

Eco-Friendly Angling; Yarn Flies

For years I have caught toothy fish with nylon stockings, drinking straws and knitting yarn because they are cheap to use and easy to make on the spot lures. The drinking straws work on almost any species of fish where as the stockings only on those with teeth but both are not eco-friendly as one is plastic and the other nylon, both lasing hundreds if not more, years to degrade if ever. Yarn on the other hand is rope, twine and is esuriently, biodegradable and hook free if you wish to fish that way making it kid friendly! Yarn Flies are with a hooks optional clause but try without and just see how many mackerels you will still catch. Add strips of flash as in foil or spray with glue and add silver glitter; the colors are endless and the price is unbelievable. You won’t know until you try it, so what do you have to lose. Other people in other parts of the world and country use this for Pike to Musky like in this video on how to make such a lure. Try it, have fun and “FISH ON!”

How to Tie a Yarn Fly for Fly Fishing -- powered by ExpertVillage.com

Fish Tails; Kings vs. Spanish

Fish Tails; the Difference between a King and a Spanish mackerel
A Kingfish by any other name is a summons or even jail time it your that stupid. The first king mackerel have appeared with most of them falling within the 10 to 20 pound class, and a few smokers at 48 inches today, caught on spoons to trolleys with live suspended baits. Ladies, Jack mackerels, Jack Crevalles and large Threadfins were the choice live baits of the T head, with Threads taking in monster twenty inch plus Spanish and the Jacks as prime for the Kings, both schoolies and smokers. Rolling Tarpon a plenty but no hook ups today. The schoolies were living up to their names as they were congregated in schools of 50 to 100 or more as they boiled the pods of baits about and around the boards of the Venice Pier at Sharky’s in Florida. The inshore waters were black with bait and the pier loaded with anglers catching plenty a fish and not a clue as to what it was they were catching other than it was a fish or maybe a mackerel; think God it did not have wings or they might have thought it was a bird. I even heard one Father tell his son it was to small to be a Kingfish. Ehhh? I wondered what he was when he was born, a Gnome.

On my son, Edwin’s, last cast with a silver cast master, jigging along at a medium retrieve using a Pflueger loaded with Big Game Trilene Blue 12 pound test, he hung on to a fish which seemed to pull in an odd fashion. Drag pulling mamma it was at twenty-one inches at the fork, this Cero Mackerel was not caught on his lure but on another. Somehow, his hook had slid through the eye of the barrel swivel attached to a leader, half-ounce weight and Clark Spoon with fish attached. What are the odds? I took that same Clark Spoon, attached to my line and casted out this Clark Spoon, ripping it in across the surface of the lapping northwestern waves as a monster of a fish slammed the spoon and peeled out about 150 yards of my twelve-pound test fluorocarbon. My Pflueger reel and Ugly Stik bowed in agony as the line sang a tune in the wind. Twenty minutes later Edwin, my son, dropped the bridge net, and we brought up a 26 inch at the fork Schoolie kingfish. The person standing next to me said wow nice Spanish Mackerel, I did not think they got that big. You know you have to take a hunters safety course in order to hunt. They ought to make one take a fishing etiquettes and I.D. test before allowing one to go fishing, if I had it my way!

You know folks if a Game Warden had been present today Edwin and I would have been the only people left on the pier, just about, with the exception of a couple of friends I know who also know what their doing, like Barry Garmen. The rest would be in county, waiting bail on Monday, maybe reading the rules and regulations on Florida Saltwater Fishing Laws. Especially the picture pages on the differences between the different mackerels and yes the do come small!

Fish Tails 101

It is all in the tails folks, from the dorsal to the tail and you too can tell the difference. Some of you experts say it is in the color or spots and sometimes that works but sometimes all mackerel look similar and it can be confusing even to an expert just by judging it spots. All fish have a lateral line on them. Some are colored in scale others in an actual line, like the Mackerels. By looking at this line, you can save yourself the embarrassment of a ticket and be an expert too. King Mackerels have a break or sudden drop in their lateral line in the shape of a slanted “L”. Spanish and all the other mackerels have either a wavy or dropping lateral line with no slanted “L” shape. In addition, Kingfish minimal slot is 24 inches at the fork to keep with a possession limit of two per person. All other mackerels are minimal slot 12” at the fork, with 15 fish in possession per person. Stupid is not looking for that slanted “L”. “FISH ON!”

Sprits and Straws and Mackerels OH MY!

As we approached the beach, it had that look of dead floating seaweed awash on the lapping waves, yet none was sticking to the sand on the back flow of the wash. Upon closer review of the waters edge, revealed acres of greenies to threadfin herring abound as far as the eye could see! A black line of batfishes against a mixed greenish muddied sea, diving seagulls as in numbers like out of Hitchcock’s “The Birds” and many a mackerel breaking the surface in giving chase for a mixed and fulfilling dinner. Pulling out a Johnston ‘Sprite’ my son Edwin whipped it out across the diving birds and to the edge of this migrating pod of bait on the move. Bam on the first skip as not even a rotation of a crank happened and it was “FISH ON!” as his Pflueger spools drag screamed in an agony of despair. “Twenty-one inch Spanish at the fork, not bad for my first cast eh Dad,” Edwin exclaimed. “Wonder how many more I’ll get cause it is the only one we have with us today, maybe they will take a straw, is that what your going to use?” He was probably right as I chunked out a Gotcha in a smirk and said, “Lucky You, Watch the ole man work!” and work I did as I was changing lures like they change tires at Daytona and still looking for that first nudge much less a real hit and fish. Hmmm…he did say straws right. On that note, I too was now in catch up mode to Ed, as I tied a Jansik onto two #1 hooks and rigged up a pair of straws… Start calling your friends Ed and I will call mom to go to the store, looks like a fish fry tonight. In two and a half hours, we bagged out and headed for the house as the sharkers were heading out to the setting sun on the “T”. Bet it is a good one tonight but then again I will hear about it tomorrow and let you all know the rest of the story...
Angling the skinnies of Lemon bay via kayak to getting the legs wet the bite on the flats was not exclusive at all this Saturday morning. Spanish from last night out on the pier at Sharky’s to a hit on redfish, trout, snook and jack, all in a cooperative mood to feast on my soft crank baits or live greenies under a Cajun bobber. A true smorgasbord of fish this week and smiles for all, including the Offshore groups where I have heard reports of big Bonita’s to bunker sized Blues mixed with large Schoolie Kings and a mix of marauders out of the Inlet to New Pass from Grouper to Scamp. Sharks in an abundance around three miles out with yellowtail, lane and mangrove a bit further to the west from New pass at around thirty-six miles to the spot of enlightenment.
…”FISH ON!”

PURRE Announces New Website;

PURRE Announces New Website; the new site is more dynamic, interactive and user-friendly. It is designed to help educate and raise awareness about the ongoing battle to restore and protect the marine ecosystem of South Florida. www.purre.org

“This is a very special day for all involved with the organization and our mission,” said Capt. Bob Pascale, PURRE’s marketing director. “The economic impact that our waters and beaches have on Florida is tremendous, and educating everyone about the problem is the first step to ensuring the economic profitability of the area.”

Founded in 2005, PURRE is a nonprofit volunteer group comprised of concerned citizens and business people residing in Southwest Florida. Michael Valiquette currently presides as the organization’s chairperson.

Take a moment to visit www.purre.org and explore its features. We will be continuously working to update and improve the site and welcome your comments and feedback.

Contact PURRE anytime!

Capt. Bob Pascale

PURRE Marketing Director

Cell: 239.671.5696 Emilie Alfino

PURRE Communications Manager

Office: 239.274.7873

Venice, Florida's Kings of the Beach

Kings of the Beach!

Many people talk about “fishing the beach”, when they talk about angling for king mackerel in Florida. They are not talking about surf fishing, but rather the methods they use fishing from their boats until now with the introduction of a new type of kite, used to propel the bait from the beach to the bite or in the use of a Trollied rig from a pier or jetty. Therefore, whether angling for Kings of the beach in a vessel or from the shore, anybody can catch king mackerel with just a little blow and the right rig.

Kings are migratory, and even when they move into an area, they seldom hold in one location always on the move and always looking for a bite. They are pelagic, and must follow their food. Having no bladder, they must remain in a swimming state or they will perish. Feeding on Blue Runners to Cigar minnows, Kings will hit or chase most any small species when on the hunt. Hardware to live baits work best but dead Spanish, filleted with tail in tack work extremely well on a fast current, under a trolley or kite, on a windy day.

When I first heard the term, “fishing on the beach” for Kings, I pictured boats just beyond the breakers slow trolling back to fro between the bars. This certainly is done, and many fish are caught this way, however, fishing the beach can mean something far different from that. Trolleys, boats, balloons and kites all have one thing in common; they produce a catch called kings and occasionally sharks to tarpon too.

If angling from a boat start on the beach just behind the breakers, early in the morning, looking for schools of menhaden or greenies on the break to boil. A couple of throws from a net usually will produce enough bait to fish all day.

With a live well full of live minnows to runners, you off and ready for action. Two baits go halfway to the bottom on port and starboard downriggers, and two baits are free lined on the surface off the stern. A slow troll, around two mph or a slow stroll if you could walk on the water, insures that the baits actually swim, and are not dragged.

Zigzagging your way down the beach with each maneuver a little further out than the last and one will eventually be as far as one to two miles off the beach. The term “fishing the beach” comes from the fact that you start on the beach but never lose sight of the beach.

One to two miles off the beach in Venice, Florida usually means water depths in the twenty to forty depth ranges, depending if you are moving north and a shallower foot range in a southern direction with exceptions that do occur. Live bottom is patchy across the Swiss cheese bottom, and without a good group of good numbers, the zigzagging works to cover as much bottom as possible. If you are on the need of local wrecks to reefs, Inshore Florida is coming out with an eBook soon with over three hundred groups of numbers for Loran and GPS. You could go online and find them free or just pay the buck, a dollar, and download it to your favorite spot. Structure always holds fish and if by chance you catch or spot a barracuda on the troll, chances are you found some type of structure; mark it down or throw over a marker to come back too for further investigation. Cuda’s like kings for they pick up the scraps left behind these messy feeders. Remembering the kings are on the fly in a constant move, as the Cuda or shark underneath has the time to enjoy scrapes left over. Fishing the beach from a boat is a great way to spend a day on the water a slow troll for fast fish!

Balloons to Kites produce big kings too, sometimes bigger than caught in boats due to the fact your baits can go where a slow troll boat cannot! Sandbars to shallow water (on the skinny side) reefs do wonders to a prop, much less the hull.

Free lining out a bait balloon, those 24-inch monsters clipped on with a clothespin, over a stainless steel 38-pound test wire and an Owner 7/0 bait hook with attached stinger to a Blue runner will surely entice but the biggest of fish. The only drawbacks on the balloon idea are that they are not eco-friendly to the environment and the wind or current must be moving offshore or away from the beach. The only other way to “balloon” out is off the end of a pier or jetty. You will have the advantage to distance off the beach here but are still at the whims to wind, current and boats which might cut you off as they speed by not even noticing anything other than the avoidance of the marker ahead; your balloon. Speaking of piers to jetties, angling for kings usually comes in the form of a trolley. Upon first encounters of the Kings, word spreads like a wildfire down the grapevine to bring on the anglers in search of Kings. Armed with anchor weights, attached to ten foot plus rods and three-inch wide PVC pipes to lash to the rails, the daily routine starts as the early morning sunrises and the pitching out of the trolleys begins. The anchor weights are but small pieces of cut rebar or four plus ounce lead weights with ten-inch pieces of coat hangers attached with electrical tape. The wire, bent out from the weight to form a type of umbrella, is attached to the anchor line (fishing line) of the anchor rod (a ten foot or more fishing pole) and casting out as far as possible will secure itself to the bottom; hence anchor weight. Upon securing the anchor to the bottom, the PVC piping tied to a pier railing or post directly in proportion to the vicinity of the anchor becomes the focal point of all the action. The anchor rod, placed in the PVC pipe, gives additional height to the trolley (fishing line going out to the anchor weight). A second fishing rod, used in actually catching the King mackerel, rigged with at least three foot of stainless steel single strand wire in the forty to sixty-five pound test range and attached Owner bait hooks with a stinger. The stinger is usually a single treble hook of at least a number four. This King rigging placed onto the trolley line via a trolley or trolling release clip, is now ready for bait placement. With the trolleys in place, anglers go about the ritual of catching the trolley baits. Trolley baits, caught with regular spinning rods throwing spoons, jigs, straws or sabiki’s, consist of legal Bluefish or Spanish, Bluerunners, Ladyfish and large Thread Herring. Placing the bait hook just under the dorsal fin of the batfishes and either allowing the stinger to swing free or hooked just under the anal fin, the bait is ready for presentation to its prey. Free spooling out the baits, on twenty to thirty pound test line, with stand up gear, the bait rods reel positioned next to or on the railing with a Down-East rod holder in gear, clicker on, with a light set on the drag, the wait is on. When the bite occurs, the King moving at lightning speeds will dump a couple of hundred yards of line off the reel in seconds. The clicker screams and “FISH ON!”

SO, let us go fly a kite!

On the beach, people are swimming, sunning, building magnificent sand castles, fishing, and flying kites. Ever noticed that person hauling out past the bars and breakers at break neck speeds while kite boarding? Well, on that same principal, the kite skips out your bait as far as you have line and can catch fish on the skip 9trolling) or after you quick release your bait to your chosen spot for the bite. ‘Caught in Flight Kites’ are specifically manufactured for the beach and pier to jetty anglers looking to hook it up where they have yet to have been before, unless they own a boat. You can save on shipping from Australia if ordered from us or, if you prefer and do not mind the extra charges, buy direct from them Ericka or Steve at

When finished angling for the kings on the beach and watching one of our breath taking southwest Florida sunsets take the time come evening to walk to elegant retail shops and visit Venice, Florida’s unique set of bistros to shell shops, Fine Arts to side walk café’s or drive less than one miles to "Sharky’s on the Pier", one of Southwest Florida's hottest night spots around. Dining to dancing on the deck with live and flashy bands or a stroll out on to the boards and watch as one of our area clubs brings in that big one; sharks in all sizes and shapes, rounding out your day of play in Venice Florida and its inshore Florida waters.

Venice, Fl., the Shark Tooth Coast; World's Shark Tooth Capital Presents

Vacations to Angle and Dive for

By Gary Andersons Inshore Florida-Offshore anywhere, an Angling Entrepreneur’s Adventure, whether you are looking on the skinnies of kayaking the flats to extreme shark angling off the local pier or just a dipping of the sand scoops in search of Megalodon Shark Teeth, the beaches of Venice Florida are known as the World's Shark Tooth Capital. What could be more fun than getting up early...?

Imagine an adventure in combing the beaches, looking for shark's teeth and sea shells and not just any sharks tooth but that of the most feared of all sea creatures of the time, Megalodon (believed to be over 60 feet in length) with an open jaw largest enough for a six foot person to stand in. Chances are good on excavating one of these teeth and more along the shoreline of our Venice Florida beaches, with sand scoop but do not, despair if the great mega tooth is still buried out there somewhere; tiger, bull, sandbar and mako are a sure scoop. Bring a snorkel and fins to pick up some nice souvenirs off the fossilized coral bottom off Alhambra, which is nice at an eight-foot dive for easy pickings. Further off the beach is “The Bone Yard”, located on the shoals of the “Venice Reef”. A swim from the beach is possible but a boat is better for the return swim can become tiresome. Located in 25 to thirty feet deep waters to the wash or sides of this concrete, rebar structured reef are some rather large finds in big teeth and quaintly too. Located between the Venice Pier and the run off pipes on the beach, the reef is a tricky one to find unless you have its numbers or wish to crisis-cross until you find that 17 foot bump; top of the reef. A new eBook called Numbers is coming out early next month for around a buck and with it; you can have all the dive/angling spots you ever wanted to add to your own numbers book. A listing of all reefs, their consistency and GPS/Loran coordinates. Now you too can fish like the pro’s or dive with the best in finding beauty to artifacts from the depths of Davie Jones Locker!

Prehistoric relics of miniature horses to giant wooly mastodons are strewn everywhere and mixed along among the seashells, which you find here are beyond description! Stunning! If you are looking for a weekend day-trip, remember the beaches of Venice, Florida! Venice is less than an hour's drive south of the Clearwater, Safety Harbor area or driving north from the Ft. Myers area; it is the perfect place for a family adventure! Six to nine foot sharks are caught and released in an Eco-Angling Event on the weekends by local area Venice Pier Anglers, (The Island Anglers), catching present day tigers, bulls, nurse, hammerheads and at least 10 other smaller varieties of “jaws.”

Great restaurants to places to stay, motels to quaint Bed and Breakfast’s; Venice Florida is but centrally located to fun and adventures abound. Drop on by and see just why downtown Venice is a transudation of laid backed luxury in visitor’s reclamations of our old style Floridian past. “Pull up a chair and stay awhile, y’here!”

Protection on Your Thumb in Fishing; THUMB DINGER!

Contact us for B2B or Retail Pricing.
inshoreflorida@gmail.com

MIKE ALSTOTT FAMILY FISHING TOURNAMENT

MIKE ALSTOTT FAMILY FISHING TOURNAMENT

Presented by Thunder Marine

Captains Party: Thursday July 31

Fishing & Weigh In: Saturday August 2

Inshore / Offshore Rodeo Fishing Tournament:

First of its kind in Tampa Bay!

This unique and rare multiple specie points style event was created to give an equal playing field to all participants.

Points are awarded per specie and per pound or inches of fish.

Only two of the same specie can be weighed and a total aggregate of six fish will determine the winning teams.

CAPTAINS MEETING: (Mandatory for Anglers)

Date: Thursday, July 31st, 7:00 pm, 2008 (Captain’s Bags for Registered Boats)

Where: Thunder Marine, 8701 Bay Pines Blvd. St Petersburg, FL 33709

Open to the Public - Come for the Festivities

• Kids Casting Contest • Raffle • Great Food, Drinks and Music • Review of Tournament Rules and Regulations

ENTRY FEE: $175 per Boat

**Pre-Register online NOW (www.ThunderMarine.com) for a chance to win a special prize!

RULES AND REGULATIONS/SPECIES: PDF attached or go to www.ThunderMarine.com

FISHING: Saturday, August 2 - Fishing Begins at 12:00 am

WEIGH IN: Saturday, August 2, 4:00pm to 5:00pm

Where: Thunder Marine, 8701 Bay Pines Blvd. St Petersburg, FL 33709

More Fun, Food, Drink, Music, Kid’s Casting Contest, Awards to Follow

Divisions (Inshore & Offshore): Over All - Youth - Ladies - Family

PRIZES AND PAYOUTS (Inshore - Offshore):

Over All:

1st Place Inshore - $2,500 / 1st Place Offshore - $2,500

2nd Place Inshore - $1,500 / 2nd Place Offshore - $1,500

3rd Place Inshore - $1,000 / 1st Place Offshore - $1,000

Youth, Ladies and Family Divisions: prizes and trophies

FISHING: Saturday, August 2 - Fishing begins 12:00am

WEIGH IN: Saturday, August 2 / 1pm - 5pm (see rules and regs. for details)

Where: Thunder Marine, 8701 Bay Pines Blvd. St Petersburg, FL 33709

Open to the Public - Come for the Festivities - Food • Drinks • Music • Live Weigh In and more!

For More Information:

Mike Alstott Family Foundation: 727-369-8525

http://mikealstottfamilyfoundation.org

Thunder Marine: 727-381-4444

info@thundermarine.com

http://www.thundermarine.com

All Proceeds benefit:

Mike Alstott Family Foundation Appreciates your Support

Avet Quad Drag TRX 30W 1,000 pound Hammerhead

CHEW ON THIS!

Sport Fishing Capital to the World; Islamorada And Angling The Florida Keys

THE BEST OF THREE WORLDS:

THE GULF OF MEXICO, FLORIDA BAY AND THE ATLANTIC OCEAN;

A COCKTAIL OF FISH TO CATCH,

THE MIGHTY GULF STREAM!

Starting from Key Largo, the overseas highway crosses some fifty bridges before ending up in “Papa’s” town, Key West Florida. Key West is the last island in the Florida chain and has the distinction of being the southernmost point of the continental United States. Every Key has its own distinction and flavor but for angling in style, Islamorada is but the Sport Fishing Capital to the World and one of my favorites in catching a great time while angling the Florida Keys. At the southern most tip of Florida, located between the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and Florida Bay are a string of islands known as the Florida Keys. Great for vacationing, with breathtaking scenery, sandy beaches, and clear waters but known for its abundance of game fish that inhabit the warm currents called ‘The Gulf Stream’. These varieties of fish species ranges from Kingfish to Permit, Tuna to Marlin and Tarpon to Wahoo, with everything else in-between. You can go offshore angling for the big game such as Tuna and Marlin or hang in the skinnies of the flats for Bonefish to Tarpon. Islamorada is located in the Upper Keys and is the Sport Fishing Capital to the World because it has more IGFA record-breaking fish recorded anywhere else in the world. This is most likely because the Atlantic Ocean intertwines with the currents of the Gulf Stream, flowing together in a cocktail of fishing favorites. Offshore favorites in the blue-green waters of Islamorada will produce such as Sailfish, Dolphinfish, Marlins, Kingfish, Yellowtail, and Wahoo, Snappers, Cobia, Groupers, Wahoo and sharks. While angling the backcountry bays, one finds Redfish, Snook, Sea Trout, Tarpon, Bonefish, Permit, small sharks and a variety of baitfish.

Islamorada is a match made in heaven but before casting off, you will want to decide what type of fishing appeals to you. Two areas of angling with options open to your imagination; the skinnies or back country waters of Florida Bay or The Gulf Stream; deep sea fishing. The Back Country can be approached via your own vehicle in the form of a boat or swimming trunks and rod in had to paddling the mangroves in your kayak; an awesome way to traverse open skinny waters and catch a variety of fishes or hire one of the many and experienced Charter Captains. Hiring a Guide is not as expensive as one may think when backcountry fishing and they can target you what you are angling for. Deep sea (Charter Captains) to Party Boat excursions (Head boats), are your best bets offshore with the difference being in a more affordable price to take out the entire family or for the novice fishermen looking for a chance to reel in the big one, also not as heavy on the pocketbook. With serious fishing in mind, deep-sea angling is what you are looking for in hiring out a Captain and chartering to the Gulf Stream, providing you with more challenging and exciting fishing, at depths of 100 to 2,000 feet. Seasoned anglers will delight in the hunt for Dolphinfish, Marlin, Sailfish, big Shark, Tuna’s and Wahoo.

For those of you with your own boat or wish to rent your own while angling the Florida Keys, Dolphin catches have become very good off the Upper Keys. Chicken to Bull Dolphinfish are most abundant this time of the year with catches of blue marlin and mackerels to snapper off the reefs throughout the upper keys. Finding structure, any structure in the gulf including markers will hold permit and across the bays, sea trout, mangrove and pompano are simply just ravenous. Fishing is the name with Tarpon the game through most of the keys this month, techniques used to catch tarpon include fly fishing to live baiting with mullet, crabs, ladyfish or even chunking out cut bait which can also be a productive method too but it also can hook it up on a shark. Where there are Poons, there is sure to be a set of Jaws not far behind! For more information on everything from accommodations to the Keys ecology be sure and visit the Florida Keys online before you get there, for planning ahead is sure to land you what your angling for.

When angling the waters of Islamorada, one will find a variety of fish year round but there are certain seasons when specific fish are most abundant. In the springtime, the best bets are Blue Marlin, Dolphin, Snapper, Tarpon, Yellowtail, Wahoo, moving over to Blue Marlin, Dolphin, Snapper, Tarpon, Yellowtail, Wahoo as the waters warm in the summer. Fall brings in a bite of Wahoo, Kingfish, Grouper, Bonefish and Snook, with winter filling the bag with Cobia, Grouper, Kingfish, Sailfish, Tuna and sharks; remembering, again, that you can catch all of theses fish throughout the year, the different seasons coincide with spawning to migratory movements to when certain species are more abundant than others.

If you are not of mind in that of wading or surf fishing and are not in possession of a boat, there are many a charters, boat rental or guide found there through one of the local marinas offering everything from flats to offshore. Wither it be of a Bed and Breakfast to a Waterfront Retreat, the best place to find a place to stay or fish would be the Islamorada Chamber or if your into the free lodging and don’t mind the drive for concessions, try camping out on Seven Mile Bridge, about thirty miles to the south with access to Pigeon Key.

“FISH ON!”

Surf Board Shark Fishing

In a word;NUTS!

KAYAK SNOOKIN!

Captain Chancey’s “Chew on This”
KAYAK SNOOKIN!




“Believing in CPR (Catch, Photo and Release) while practicing a Positive Mentoring through Fishing attitude, keeps us all as stewards to our marine ecosystems”...
Gary A Anderson

Venice Florida; A Hammerheads Retreat, A Feast of the Kings

During the past week, the spring run of the Kings has started to trickle down the beaches of our west coast from Boca north to Venice and across Tampa Bay. Most are sporadic at best but it is starting with plenty of schoolies along with a few smokers in the forty-pound range, thrown in for good measure. It started with my putting up a trolley on the Venice City Pier last weekend as all laughed and said, “Mr. A, it is too early to be trying this out.” To which my reply was watch and learn for the voice of the sea has spoken to my soul and the poons are here. Sure enough, I landed and released a small but fatty seventy-pounder as all watched in awe with my Penn Mariner toped out at 850 yards of twenty-five pound test Big Game Green. With the kids out of school (High School) for spring break, hence it is easily stated after I put up a story on a couple of Blogs and on both The Island Anglers and Inshore Florida, the pier has been chalked full of trolley anglers in the daytime with the sharkers to follow the setting of the sun. Everybody that encounters me wants to know more about trolley fishing; the best reel to use and what bait gets the bite. Now that season is moving up the beach, I concur this would be of an excellent time to get you in gear and head for the beach for the run has begun. With the Kings and Tarpon presence, their groupies and fan clubs, the sharks, have arrived in great numbers also this week. It started with my nine-foot hammer and has produced lemons, sandbars, blacktips, reef, bruiser bulls and a 13-foot hammer caught last night on an Avet. On any given weekend, the sharkers out on the pier, range between 18 to 36 baits in the water and reels include Avet, Accurate, Penn, Penn International, Shimano, Calcutta and Duel’s, all in a battle to who will catch the biggest fish.

Last night most of the bait at the pier was on spring break too, as they have left to party elsewhere, with the Kings to tarpon tagging right along. The only ones staying around are the sharks and this year is one like never seen before, or at least in my 18 years here on the Sharks Tooth Coast, where the Hammerheads are as thick as can be with nine caught this first week of the run on the beach.

Using Black Salties that I purchased in North Port at Fine Bait & Tackle, 14503-D Tamiami Trail 941-240-5981,

I managed a couple of under sized slot snook and double rigging the baits (one on the main hook and one on the trailing snag) I lost a really nice king due to my hook size. Oh well, live and learn. I called Mike Cavallo (The Tarpon Terminator) this morning, he, and son Dennis were out on the pier looking for, any guesses, tarpon when he got slammed by something and then it was nothing; “FISH ON! FISH GONE!” After two hundred yards of Suffix peeled from his Calcutta this fish said adios but at least Mike got his rigging back, minus a hook. Sounds like shark to me!

If I can shake this cold or flu or fishing trip killer, I will be back on the boards tomorrow at sunset with trolley in place in hopes for a smoker king for my smoker; King Pate’ an anglers delight on any cracker.

“FISH ON!”

Action Water Sports Products

We here at our shops are proud to announce that we now carry Action Water Sports products, kayaks, windsurfing, sailboats, water-ski equipment, wakeboards, tubes, floats, banana boats, pedal craft, snorkeling & diving equipment. We can acquire over 350 water sports related items featuring RTM Kayaks, Hobie Kayaks, Hobie Sailboats, HiFly Windsurfing equipment, Obrien Sufboards, Wakeboards and Kneeboards, and Connelly Wakeboards, Surfboards and Kneeboards. We sell to the public and accept payment via PayPal. For more information or pricing on a model or item you are of interest too, just drop us a line and I will be most happy to send you a reply. Thank You and have a great day. “FISH ON!”

Gary Anderson

Kayak Manufacturers Directory

Innovex Clear Kayaks
The more you learn about Innovex Kayaks, the more it seems like one of those good ideas that are obvious in retrospect. However, it took us quiet a few years to accomplish the fit finish and functionality our customers have come to expect. With two utility patents issued and a third pending, Innovex has a full suite of innovative products redefining kayaking.

Emotion Kayaks
Emotion Kayaks, headquartered in scenic Berks County, Pennsylvania, and we make our living in the great outdoors, putting our hearts, souls, knowledge and experience into the products we make. All of us are long-time recreational kayakers, with a serious passion for fun. We continually strive to improve our existing products in pursuit of the ultimate kayaks built for fun and manufactured for years of pleasure and carefree use.

Heritage Kayaks
At Heritage kayaks we pride ourselves on making it easy for you to have a great day on the water. Whether you are looking for the perfect place to kayak fish, bird watch or take pictures from places few others can access, Heritage kayaks provide sit-in or sit-on - top quality and value that will insure you are satisfied with your choice.

Hobie Kayaks
The World Is A Water Park, And Since 1950 We've Made The Best Rides. We have surfed. We have sailed. In addition, to each sport, we have brought flat-out, live fast, have-fun, and adventure.

Hurricane Kayaks
Hurricane kayaks are industry veterans with over 100 years combined experience at all levels of kayaking. Some of us are guides, some are designers, some are instructors and some are production wizards. Some of us drive 40,000 miles a year just to turn you on to our kayaks at demos. Join us on the adventure!

Kiwi Kayaks
Kiwi is committed to the preservation of our waters and wetlands. We recycle unused polyethylene from the manufacturing process of our kayaks.

Liquid Logic Kayaks
Liquidlogic is not just a name - it is a new way of thinking. Our personal motivation has established an open individualistic environment where creativity flourishes. To you, this means world championship whitewater designs and lifestyle bending trekreation kayaks that change the way you (and we) develop the sport.

Malibu Kayaks
Malibu Kayaks is a leading manufacturer of roto-molded, linear polyethylene sit-on-top kayaks. Offering seven models suited to everything from beachfront surfing to angling, we proudly serve the fishing, diving, surfing and recreational communities

Perception Kayaks
At Perception we have been making kayaks for 25 years now. In that time, other manufacturers have come and gone but Perception remains the worlds leading manufacturer of modern kayaks. We have paddled more water, created more innovations and introduced more people to the sport of kayaking than any other boat maker. Welcome to the world of Perception

RTM
RTM has been designing and manufacturing kayaks for over 25 years. We focusing on providing high quality, easy to use and durable boats at a good price supported by top-notch customer service.

Kayak Accessories Directory

Accent Paddles
The carbon shaft is an example of Accent's excellence. We use a proprietary carbon twill shafting technology to achieve a lightweight yet sturdy shaft. The same material used on the shafts as on the blades to achieve a seamless appearance that most other paddle makers overlook.

Barrecrafters
Over fifty years ago, Barrecrafters began making products to meet America’s need to carry sports equipment. Barrecrafters succeeded through masterful engineering, dedication to hard work, and by listening to our customer’s needs.

Cannon Paddles
At Cannon our business is simply paddles! Our commitments to deliver high Quality paddles at exceptional values to our customers. Pick one up and you will discover Cannon Paddles are "Engineered for Adventure."

Danuu Kayak and Canoe Covers
Keep your kayak, canoe, surf ski, rowing shell or outrigger ready to hit the water when you are! Whether on your car or in the yard, covered keel up or down, protect your investment. Covering and protecting it keeps that craft set to go, longer!

Malone Auto Racks
Malone soft rack kits offer the convenience of a professionally packaged, affordable transport system for your canoe or kayak. The Seawing is a single boot mid-point mounting carrier that provides quick set-up for large beam kayaks while providing more rooftop space than any other traditional bottom down system.

MTI Adventurewear
Those 75 years of experience have helped make MTI one of the best paddlesport brands in America. The Takashina family oversees all aspects, from design, production in a modern factory in Shanghai, to the new sales, marketing and distribution headquarters of MTI in the States.

Seairsports
A great adventure starts with high-quality gear that you can
rely on. We started out by creating the best kayak seats money can buy. Now we are expanding our line to include some great kayak fishing seats, fishing accessories and adventure gear. First, get yourself one of our seats!

SportsRack
We fit your lifestyle! From removable roof racks to bike racks, ski & snowboard racks, watersport racks, and cargo carriers, SportRack has what you need!