Great White Sharks in Florida

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

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

Hot Tips on a Cold Bite Inshore the Offshore of southwest Florida

The limestone ledges and hard-bottom areas along the 10-fathom (60-foot) curve, located on nautical charts inshore the offshore, have always been productive for pelagic and benthic fish. Amberjack moved onto the 10-fathom wrecks and provided drag-pulling action for anglers trolling large plugs or anchoring and fishing with large live baits. The biggest surprise was scattered schools of kingfish feeding near the bottom in several areas in the 60-foot depths. Linking your line to your downrigger ball with a short length of monofilament leader material of a pound-test appropriate to the size of the bait, the depth of the weight and your trolling speeds to get plugs and spoons deep enough, but once found, bag limits filled the box. You could use a No. two or three planner but Downrigger releases suffer from a notoriously undependable reputation. Rubber bands fail on their own capricious schedule, and mechanical devices succumb to problems caused by immersion in salt water. When you are ready to use your downrigger, start by setting the bait back the desired distance and wrapping a sturdy rubber band (at least number 32, but 64 is sometimes better) to the line and thread one rubber-band loop through the other to secure it. Now attach the mono release loop to the rubber band with a loop-to-loop connection. Finally, attach the other release loop to a snap on the downrigger ball.
To make the link, use a 10-inch section of mono with the breaking strain that you desire and tie a loop in each end. (A double surgeon's knot makes a good loop.) When deploying the rig, lower the ball to the water carefully so you do not break the nylon link in the process. Now when the mono link breaks, you know that you just got a strike and not just another release failure.

BIRDS TO THE RESCUE ON A COLD BITE...

The usual method of looking for baitfish on the surface to locate schools of kingfish underneath will not work this time of year because of the absence of the bait and colder waters. An alternative is to begin deep trolling wherever several cormorants, those deep-diving ducks, are in the area submerging. Their presence usually indicates that schools of smaller fish are in the area along with the larger predators that feed on them.

El Jobean Florida Feeding Frenzy

Inshore Florida Offshore Anywhere: is an advocate in helping to keep the sport of game fishing ethical while working to improve the survival outlook for several of our pelagic species through research, habitat protection, public education, community outreach, networking, and advocacy.


Feeding Frenzy of January Begins at Dusk
The full moon occurs on Sunday at 3:47 a.m., while the lunar perigee happens a day later. Both facts combined create the largest nighttime feeding period of the month and if the daytime weather is ideal, perhaps the largest daytime feeding period of the month.
Normally, the new-moon event produces the best daytime fishing experience of the month, but as in all cases with judging which fishing day is better or was better, the weather usually determines the winner.
Today, however, the major feeding migration of the day occurs during daylight hours from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. with a peak time of 10 a.m., however the amount of fog and clouds or lack of, along with any barometric pressure changes, will influence when exactly the peak period will actually occur.

The secondary feeding migration of the day occurs during nighttime hours from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Expect this to increase in intensity and duration each day over the next week as the moon causes the majority of fish to feed in unison by the light of the waxing full moon. The nighttime feeding session normally becomes the major feeding migration of the day, over the daytime feeding session, during the full moon-event week. Nevertheless, if the weather produces cloud cover during the night and the barometer rises or remains unchanged, less fish will feed successfully, meaning they will attempt to feed again during the daytime migration period. We found this true this week as we fished El Jobean Pier for a wide mixture of fish caught on live shrimp to grunts and Pinfish.

Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast

Bean Bay from El Jobean Pier

It has been spotty on the El Jobean Pier with Spotted Seatrout on the grass-flats. Small sharks, Snapper, Bluefish, Black Sea Bass, Ladyfish, and many short Grouper are scattered all around the pier and channel. We found some slack times but most of the times allotted us to bait ups and loosing up drags to running fish. This is also the time that keeper size Grouper start coming into the bay, holding just under the causeway near the channel. The channel at 23 plus feet deep rises to skinnies and six-foot ledges as a perfect spot for may a fish on a falling barometer or approaching cold front. If angling at night, be sure to being plenty of bug spray or you will find out who really is the bait.
Fresh caught live Pinfish and Grunts make excellent bait on the bay for the larger fish like Grouper.


Historical Facts:
From 1888 until 1921, Southland existed solely as Charlotte Harbor & Northern Railroad depot that serviced Hall Naval Stores and Stephen Brothers turpentine camps that leased prisoners for labor.

In 1922-23, Joel Bean had the town replanted and renamed to an anagram of his name, El Jobe-an, and began building up the town by providing a Post Office & General Store and a Hotel.