Balloons & Fishing Inshore Florida at Sharky’s on the Pier

Balloons & Fishing Inshore Florida at Sharky’s on the Pier

By

Gary Anderson

The evening started as most do when trudging up the ramp to the bait shop at Sharky’s on the Pier, with glanderous thoughts of bringing in the new year with the big one. My cart, as usual, was filled with a couple of mullet heads, Spanish and a bag of fillet of sail kitty along with gaff, buckets, gloves, a snap-float, rags, spotlight, terminal tackle and rods; the usual garb in fishing for sharks! The infamous balloons, left behind months ago when I learned of their destruction to our marine wildlife, replaced by the ingenious Aqua Gem Snap Float, a marvel to work with but as with balloons the currents and wind must work together or it becomes a perilous achievement. The wind was prevailing out of the south blowing in a straight parallel line with the “T” at the end of the pier. Light at best but no wind really described the blow and the current, partnered to the wind, was meandering in the same direction on a northbound trek. Looking out across the vast empty plane of inshore Florida waters were the occasional silhouettes of vessels crisscrossing the seas on journeys to somewhere as the clouds played tag with the setting sun to images of rods lining the rails, on the boards with the snowbirds and locals alike bidding the day a goodnight.


Looking for fellow Island Anglers, I spotted Mike Cavallo,
“Hey Mike”, I shouted as he answered with “Hey Garr”, looking about to find an opening to which I could cast, I decided to lean on a rail and shoot the…you get the drift. Mike said he had arrived about twoish and a few macks were caught along with the local lizards and the area was frequented off and on through the afternoon with tunny or false albacore or as we refer to the bunch as bonita. To us pier anglers, no matter what their name, these fish are but used for the same purpose, shark bait! Avet to Internationals lined the rails all in wait for that familiar click to scream, putting a gleam to any angler’s eye. “Any runs I asked?” Heads shook to silence and that answered that. I cut up Spanish into chunks (hand-sized pieces of cut bait) and placed one chunk on each pole. Casting the six (Penn 6/0 high-speed) in-between a garble of lines stretched across the waters of the pier, one heard the plunk of a splash and tightened the slack to see where your line was in conjunction with the others on the pier. If you are lucky, or good at casting into the night, your line might go right where you want it too but if you are like me, it is a crapshoot! I compare casting fishing lines to playing golf; some slice, some do not. I slice a lot. Get over it, it is a public pier and if you cannot handle this, go build your own. Overall, most anglers fishing on piers all understand because we all do it at one time or another, so it is put up with. What most, including me, do not understand is why I do it all the time. Oh Well, go figure.

On the south end of the “T”, groups of anglers were attempting to drop balloon sets in drifting their baits out into the abyss of the night in lure of a big shark. This is a practice that is practiced world wide in a bait delivery system to which one can use a 6/0 or larger to get the bait to the fish big baits. A 9/0 or larger reel is used with hundreds of yards of line spooled out and the balloons are released so as the wait begins with the bait on the bottom. As more and more anglers became aware of this method in catching big sharks and as equipment became more technical and lighter in weight, more anglers took up the sport of ballooning out. Thus, a problem is in existence in both the use of balloons and using the correct equipment or in some cases the lack in brains as to how to use a balloon in fishing. On the Venice City pier at Sharky’s, located near the base of the “T” at the end, is a big silver box with antennas, poles, solar panels and atop a wind vein. Most people with logic would look up at the wind meter to see at which direction they are pointing and gather that if the arrow is pointing north, the wind is blowing from the south to the direction of the arrow, north. Maybe these anglers had not the capacity to look up or wet their finger, point it to the sky and figure which way the wind might be blowing or maybe they did not have a clue. I’ll choose number three! Fifteen lines into the waters beyond the pier pointed to the west, on the bottom, in lure for a big fish and these anglers, on the south end of the “T” are launching balloons. Balloons traveling north with a nine foot leader attached underneath crossing fifteen rods pointing in a direction of intersection is a problem. If you are going to learn the talk, then please learn the walk and you will have a better time out fishing, the next time.

In most states of our United States of America, God Bless America, angling with a balloon is against the law and you will be fined, go to jail or both. In Florida balloon fishing, regulated by the county and not the state, except in the usage of garbage bags and that is against the law, so you need to check out your local regulations before blowing up that balloon. In Sarasota county, there is no mention to balloon fishing in their statutes or regulations. The reason ballooning in angling is unlawful and outlawed is because when the balloon is released it could become a mariner’s navigational obstacle, it pollutes our waters with more plastic or latex and is eaten by both marine fish, animals and marine birds. Once eaten, they usually die a slow death. No good, not very responsible and plain dumb if you asked me so why use the balloon. The garbage bag became outlawed because it is plastic, pollutes, and can obstruct propellers or water jet propulsion if becoming entangled. Balloons do not just float away to be played with in some distance land by unknown children. Balloons decay in the sun and saltwater, break and float along the currents of the waterways. Some balloons are biodegradable and that is great unless eaten for by the time it degrades in the throat of a bird or stomach of a fish; it is dead. Balloons kill so just do not use! Buy a snap float and save a fish. They do not work as great as a balloon but they are safe to your environment.

As 2008 was approaching, about an hour or so, Dave, on of our local professional shark guys reel started that slow moan to groan in a full-blown scream. One, two, three sets to the tip and we had a fish it was screaming drag like a runaway train, “Fish On!”

This fish knew how to shake his head and commanded the pier with all at attention to the bent pole and monster into the night. The battle ensued a good twenty-eight minutes as we all got our first glance of this rising shark to the surface. Snaking its body and thrashing its head this beauty was that of at least an eight to nine foot nurse. Nurse sharks are not of the best table fare and I do not know which book out here in Florida says so but believe me, they do not taste good no matter how you cook them, so gaffing or landing was out of the question. Anyway, even if it was the best meat in the world, how do you preserve two hundred pounds of fillets and who wants to clean a three hundred pound shark? Judging by her size, she was most probably pregnant anyway and needed to be released. Photograph taken, she was cut loose and all went quite through the rest of the night, with the exception of a couple of quick runs at the bringing in of the New Year.

Happy New Year to all and to all remember if in doubt, do not do it, practicing Catch & Release as much as possible ensures more catches for years to come.

“FISH ON!”