water life july 2016

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Charlotte Harbor, Lemon Bay, Venice, Estero, 10,000 Islands and the Gulf

WaterWater LL II FEFEThe Don Ball School of FishingThe Don Ball School of Fishing

txt us ur fish pix!see page 4see page 4

Like a snook stamp, is aGROUPER-SNAPPER STAMPin our future?Page 20

July 2016

True Black GrouperOFFSHORE6

Oyster Reef Progress UpdatePage 11Page 11

Tarpon and SnookPage 6Page 6

KeepingʼKidsHappyPage 9Page 9

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Michael & Ellen Heller Publishers

(941) 766-8180217 Bangsberg Rd.

Port Charlotte, FL 33952Independant - Not affiliatedwith any other publication!

Vol XV No 7 © 2016 NO PART of this publication (printed or

electronic) may be copied, reproduced or re-used without specific written permission fromthe publishers (and thatʼs never happened!).

Contributing Editors:Photography: ASA1000.com

Senior Editor: Capt. Ron BlagoBaitshop Commentary: Fishinʼ FrankPeace River: Capt. David StephensPunta Gorda: Capt. Chuck Eichner

Venice: Glen BallingerEstero: Capt. Joe Angius

Everglades City: Capt. Charlie PhillipsDiving: Adam WilsonKayaking: Bob Fraser

Sea Grant: Capt. Betty StauglerBeach Fishing: Mallory Herzog

Pier Fishing: Bobby Vitalis

On the Cover: Thanks to Glen Ballinger for eMailingthis monthʼs cover photo of Rick Hillfrom Brooksville Florida and his 34-

pound true black grouper. For more offshore see page 20

eMail letters and photos to: [email protected]

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NO BRAINER! IT WORKS FOR US”

About Txting us Pictures: txt to: 941 457 1316

store this number in your phone!

LEONARD AT TOP NOTCH CANVAS“... A LOT MORE CALLS FROM YOUR PUBLICATIONTHAN FROM ... THAT OTHER WATER PUBLICATION”

Fishing Captain Wanted Are you a full time captain? Have you been at it for more than 5 years?Do you like teaching kids about Fishing? The Water LIFE magazine Don Ball School of Fishing has an opening for a teacher this fall. This is a paidposition. For more information please eMail [email protected]

NO Fish-Kill Freezer-Fills

We said: Txt Us Ur Fish and we got this picture and thefollowing text:

Preston Olson and crew aboard asailboat going for American redsnapper and yellowtail over theweekend. Boca Grande.

Editor notes: Sailors? Thatʼs a lot offish for a sailboat.... two fish for aweekend on a sailboat is a lot! And ifthese guys were really sailors theyʼdall be drinking beer!

Bryce,Tylerand Aiden

headed outof Boca

Grande forsome fish-

ing.

We like kidson-the-water

pictures!

We like Fresh Fish soplease donʼt send old pho-tos.

We like the First Catch sodonʼt send us fish if you arealso sending the same fishto another publication, likefor instance, the CharlotteSun ;-(

Know the Bag LimitOne or two photos is all weʼllprobably have room for.

Bigger is Better, higherresolution is best. Pleasedonʼt adjust, crop or sharpenyour pictures, let us do thatif necessary.

No towels! Hold ʻem withwet hands and please holdbig fish horizontally.

Send Where? Txt them to 941-457-1316and be sure to include yourname and type of fish(txt only, voice calls cannotbe answered)You can also eMail picturesto: [email protected]

Best Picture Wins Youdonʼt really win anything, butif itʼs a better picture of abigger fish or somethingcool or unusual, it has avery good chance of gettinginto the magazine or evenonto the cover!


By Michael HellerWater LIFE editorMy old friend Lenny used to say

“Get By In July,” he was from Miami,he knew about the heat and the rain.But when most people around theseparts are slowing down and rollingwith the humidity of the season, weare gearing up for another year of ourDon Ball School of Fishing. This willbe year 15, and although the classeswon’t start until late September webegin preparations, starting this month.Every September, when we start

signing up students, there are kids whowant to attend our program but for onereason or another are unable to. Thereare home-schooled kids and kids withintermural sports or band practice, kidswhose parents work and can’t get themto an evening class, and so on.Soon, I hope, things will change.

We have applied to the Charlotte Com-munity Foundation for a grant whichwould allow us to put together a vir-tual version of our Don Ball School ofFishing and make it available online.The virtual Don Ball classes will

be on our website and on You Tube, soanyone will be able to audit the courseand it will be free.I am also going to make the course

available to a test class of 6th and 7thgrade students who will receive freerods and reels and tackle, much like

the in-school Don Ball students. Thefirst year will be a pilot program, then,if we have continued funding, we willopen it up to more students. Now if you’re a kid thinking: cool,

I don’t have to go to the after schoolclasses, I can just sign up online andget the free stuff ... please think again.I wasn’t born yesterday. Online

students will have to work harder thanthe in-class students to get their equip-ment and there will be online teststhey will have to pass!The make up of the virtual class

will be videos of local captains talkingabout specific local fishing-subjects,interspersed with local Go-Pro stylefootage of fishing action. (If you areone of those people who shoots a lot ofGo-Pro action fishing and you’d liketo share some of that footage with ourkids, please call me at 766-8180.The learning will be fun and excit-

ing and if we make this program suc-cessful locally we will offer it in othercoastal communities around the Stateand Capt. Charlie Phillips, president ofthe Florida Guides Assn., has indicatedthey might want to be part of that. The grant we applied for will go

towards production and fishing equip-ment, but to field a full class of onlinestudents our program still needs addi-tional support from the community.Can we count on you? Call me!

TACKLE BOX VIDEOS: our Virtual Evolution

Looking back at all the spectacular fish you guys are catching only reinforces my belief thatCharlotte County is really missing the boat when it comes to promoting fishing as the singlebiggest thing that brings people here, and keeps people here, year after year. – Thank You!

My 20 pound cobia was 36-inches - caughtthis weekend. It was a great catch!

Chrissy Marie Mosley.

13 year old Joseph Stinson from Nokomis caughtthis 11-pound largemouth bass in Sarasota on a

flipping jig.

Txt Us Ur Fish PixTxt Us Ur Fish Pix - Thank You, Everyone!

EMAIL: W [email protected] JULY 2016

By Mallory HerzogWater LIFE FishingSummer fishing can be great if you

know where to look. We are lucky thisyear, so far, with great water temperatureas we cruise into July. During thesewarmer months I love spending my timein the Gulf of Mexico. Our natural and ar-tificial wrecks hold some pretty greatcatches. The Stockslager family joined us for a

day of near shore fun. We started the daywith some barracuda and small shark. Afew feet away from our boat we saw somefish on the surface crashing in the baitschools. We knew permit have been in thearea and threw a crab out. These coastal fish inhabit tropical grass

and sand flats, near reefs and wrecks.This member of the jack family can reach40-inches and 50-pounds! Within a fewminutes, Chris was hooked up on his firstpermit! These fish give a strong fight, butpersonally, I don’t think they are verytasty. The angler tagged and released hiscatch, we hope it gets hooked again in thefuture. What is the craziest catch you've

caught using a "cuda tube"?! This is alure that is made out of tubing and isbrightly colored. Barracuda LOVE themand it’s a blast using them to hook up on afew. On a recent near shore trip, Alex

hooked up on the 2500 reel. That fish wasOUTTA here, dumping nea rly the entirereel. Alex won though, and on 15-poundline! Catching up to this fish and gettingit boat side we discovered it wasn't a bar-racuda but a HUGE king mackerel thatwas on the end of his line. That was oneto take home for the smoker. We didn'tweigh his catch, but estimated it at wellover 40-pounds. But no picture.Tarpon are still here, spreading out,

schooling on our local beaches. Smallernumbers of fish are in these schools, butthey have been eating. These are late sea-

son fish, they know what you are up to bynow, so try to set up quietly on schooled-up fish. If you have side-scan, take ad-vantage of it. Look for the signature donutshape to show up, those are happy fish. Sunset and evening hours have been a

great bite. Inshore, pinfish have been thego-to for redfish through the BocaGrande/ Placida area. One client recaptured a snook tagged

with us on a previous charter months be-fore. This juvenile snook originally was19 inches in April 2016 and upon recap-ture grew nearly two inches. This was ourfirst recapture for Gray Fish Tag Research.I hope for many more.

Summerʼs Variety Show

You can contact Big Bully Outdoors Chartersfor a trip with Mallory’s husband, Capt. An-

drew Herzog. Call 941-661-9880 or visit BigBullyOutdoors.com


By Capt. Charlie PhillipsWater LIFE / Everglades CityWhat a month it has been down here

in the swamp. Our fishing has finallygotten back in the real swing of thingsand opportunities have abounded bothinshore and offshore for all of our popu-lar species.Inshore, we have had some great

snook action on the outside points withgood tidal flow, and in the deeper chan-nels. A baitwell full of pilchards andyou’re in the game. Snook are an am-bush predator, so just remember they arestaged looking into the current waitingfor the tide flow to flush their next mealby their hiding spot. Cast your baits try-ing to make sure to be in the strike zoneof where a snook might be lying in wait.We have also been using a lot of artifi-cial baits, both hard baits and plastics,they all produce.Speckled trout fishing has been on

fire down in the grassy areas of Ever-glades National Park. Popping corkswith live shrimp or a scented soft plasticare all you need to get started. You aregoing to pick thru some shorts to getyour limits. Make sure to treat themwell, wet your hands before touchingthem and get them back in the water asgently and quickly as possible. Remem-ber, these are tomorrows slot fish.For those that like the toothy oppo-

nents, the Everglades have a big varietyof sharks to choose from right now. Ihad customers this month that onlywanted to fish for sharks on multiple daytrips and while not the norm for ourarea, we are always happy to oblige. Inshore we have some great fighters;

blacktips, lemons, bulls, nurse and ofcourse bonnets. I look for sharks in oneof two places, the deeper cuts with goodflow that spill onto a big shallow bay oron the drop off edges of the grass flats.

Tackle is easy, I use an 8/0ish good qual-ity, NON STAINLESS hook, tied with a300-pound floruo leader, to a big swivel,to my mainline. Non-stainless hookswill rot out fast when you are cut off, sothat’s a no brainer. The flouro leaderworks well as most of our inshore sharks

can’t/won’t cut it at all. I figured this oneout targeting the big goliaths offshore –we would routinely hook and catch thebig bull sharks on that leader out there.So I brought it inshore and it works

great. I prefer it over wire.I also learned to tie goodknots vs crimp, as I don’talways have crimpers whenI am inshore fishing –again, it works but it takessome practice. For bait, Itypically use a humble cat-fish, sail or hardhead, ei-ther one will work. Cutthem off behind the dorsal

fin and onefish equalstwo baits.Free linedinto thecurrentwith noweight, itusuallydoesn’t take long forsomeone to find it. Offshore we have

had some great groupercatches this month. Bothred and gag grouper.The snapper bite hasbeen strong around thesame live bottom areaswe are catching those

reds on. Still some permit and cobia run-ning around right now too. Keep a jighandy to pitch quickly to the curiouscobia that swims up to the boat whileyour bottom fishing.

As we come into July, it’s gonna’ beHOT!! Be careful out there, drink plentyof fluid and keep a close eye to the sky.Many times the strong storms will buildinland and get pushed out in the after-noon - then the only way to get home isto go right thru them and it’s not fun. Besafe and we will see ya’ll out there.

Capt. Charlie Phillips: 863-517-1829e-mail: [email protected]

Web: hopefishing.com

10,000 Islands / Everglades Cityopportunities have abounded

Tom Lyons and daughter Lexie with oneof many snappers Jim from Wisconsinʼs drumMike from St Peteʼs tripletail

Kevin from Wisconsinʼs gag

My wife Laura with one of several big red grouper we tooktrolling plugs – always a blast catching them like this!

By Capt. David StephensWater LIFE Charlotte HarborAs a kid growing up on the Peace

River, summer was my favorite time ofyear. School was out and I could spendevery day fishing. Looking back, I didn’treally care what I caught. It didn’t have tobe a certain species, the size didn’t reallymatter. The only thing that mattered wasthat my rod had a bend in it. A good buddy of mine that I did some

tournament fishing with called me. He hadhis boy, Justice, in town for a couple

weeks and wanted to get himon the water. So we set up adate – we planned to try forsome juvenile tarpon, afterthat we would just see wherethe day went. On the days leading up I

had some really good successin some of the residentialcanals, however tarpon beingtarpon, on the day we wentout we had a tough bite. Wemanaged to jump one and had

a couple more hits. Atone point we had a lit-tle juvenile bull sharkhanging around theboat. We just about lost all interestin the tarpon and were focused onthat shark. The boy managed to finally get

a hook in him and got him to theboat. At that point, after seeinghow excited he was, I decided tochange things up. I had been doingwell on some snook on a shore-line. They where not very big, wellat least not the day before. So wedecided to move over there and trysomething different.We pulled up, and tossed out a

few chum baits. It didn’t take longfor Justice to have a 30-inch snookto the boat. So I baited him backup and as soon as the bait hit thewater, Fish On again! Then, Snap!The line broke. I grabbed anotherrod, bait hits the water, Fish Onagain. This time he managed tobring a 33-inch snook to the boat. We sat on that shore line for an

hour laughing and catching fish. Ihad so much fun watching and lis-tening to him scream, ‘Oh My GodAnother Giant Snook!’ I’m notsure exactly the total number offish he caught that day, however Ido know it’s a memory he willcarry for a very long time.

I finally feel confidentenough to write about tar-pon. Over the last coupleweeks the number of big-ger fish in the Harbor hasbeen increasing. We havebeen having very goodsuccess catching them,also. I have been havingmy best bite in the morning while thewinds are calm. It’s much easier to locaterolling fish at that time too. Threadfinshave been getting bites for me, however agood buddy of mine did well with crabs,so it’s up to you what to choose and onsome mornings I have had to do a little

looking. If you’re not happy with an areadon’t be afraid to take a boat ride andkeep your eyes out for free jumpers. Thesetarpon are fish that will clear the water!

If you would like to experience some ofSouth West Florida’s finest fishing give us acall, or send us a email. All of our charters areprivate and customized to fit you and yourparty’s needs. Capt. Dave Stephens www.backbayxtremes.com 941-916-5769


Charlotte Harbor’s Great Fishing


CANVAS &UPHOLSTERY

On The LineWith Capt. Ron BlagoWater LIFE Senior StaffOver the many years I have lived in Charlotte

County I've learned a thing or two about how thingswork around here. If you have a controversial plan orproject you want to get approved, you try to get itdone during the summer when most of our citizens areout of town or on vacation. This year is no different. For the last five years a local Manatee Protection

Committee has been working with State officials, try-ing to get Charlotte County to sign on to a State runManatee Protection Plan (MPP). Recently the commit-tee released a 141 page plan that they want CharlotteCounty to approve. I have read it twice and I have alot of serious problems with the plan. In 1988, then Governor Bob Martinez ordered that 13

counties have their own state approved MPPs which were“A county-specific management plan developed, ap-proved and used by Federal, State and local governmentsto ensure the long term protection of manatees and theirhabitat within the confines of the county boundaries.”This approach was put in place at the height of what I callthe Manatee Hysteria Period, when officials were tryingto make us believe the manatee was on the verge of ex-tinction. Because of local opposition, it took the stateuntil 2007 to get those 13 counties to come up with astate approved plan. Charlotte County is one of them. So how have these MPPs worked out so far? Manatee

slow zones, rules, regulations and taxpayer dollars spenton management increased. A look at the data shows thatin the 13 counties, total manatee deaths have also in-

creased, as have deaths due to watercraft. So based onthose results, providing improved protection for the man-atee gets a failing grade.One of the glaring defects of Charlotte County’s pro-

posed new plan is a failure to acknowledge the manateepopulation has been growing at an accelerating rate. Thefirst statewide manatee population synoptic survey wasconducted in 1991. It found 1,267 manatees statewide.The latest survey, in 2016, found 6,250 manatees. That'sa 400-percent increase! I would think that would be a sig-nificantly influental factor to consider in a MPP. Another problem is with the time-line they used for

their data – 1976 to 2010. Data collected before the firstsynoptic survey in 1991 is not at all reliable, it falls underthe category of SWAG (scientific wild-ass guess) and thatcan not be used to make any intelligent future plans. The report says they used the best data available; so

why did they not include the mostcurrent data available, that from2011 – 2016? I think I have an an-swer. During that period there were2,451 reported mortalities, mostlydue to red tide and cold stress, in-cluding the all time record of 830manatee deaths in 2013. And at thesame time watercraft related deaths,as a percentage of total deaths,dropped to 16.23-percent, that iswell below the long term statewideaverage of 22-percent. Why is anydata that shows an increasing num-ber of manatees alive and a decreas-ing percentage of deaths fromwatercraft not important enough toinclude?Who is going to pay for this new

plan? Taxpayers of course, but what group of taxpayers?The plan proposes to get funding from the West Coast In-land Navigational District, that is money currently help-ing pay for Stump Pass improvements and helping to payto keep our waters navigable and safe. The new plan alsowants money from the State and local Boater Improve-ment Funds which comes out of our boat registrationfees. The answer is, once again, Let The Boaters Pay. The scariest part of all this is that if Charlotte County

approves this plan they can't back out of it, no matterwhat happens in the future. This wording is directly fromthe proposal; “State or Federal delisting of the manateein no way affect the enforcement of this plan.” These areall things for the County Commissioners to consider be-fore they turn over control of our County waterways to abunch of non-elected bureaucrats. [email protected]

New Plan for Saving Manatees


Commentary By Michael HellerWater LIFE editor

Sea Grant Agent Betty Staugler’scolumn usually appears here. This monthshe’s been sidelined and here’s why.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) con-structed 3 small oyster reefs in the PeaceRiver, off the Harbor Walk, at PuntaGorda, in September of 2015. When thereefs were put in, Fran Perchick, the PRperson at TNC, told me the reefs wouldbe monitored every six months. In June itwas 9 months and we still hadn’t heardanything, so I asked Betty to see what shecould find out and write about it for herJuly column. Betty knows mollusks.

Betty talked to some biologists at TNCthat she knows and a few days later Bettyand I went down to the river to see thereefs for ourselves – it was all pretty nor-mal journalism reporting. That afternoon Ireceived the following eMail from Betty:

Michael, FYI… I received a voicemessage from Fran Perchick while wewere over at the restoration site. She indi-cated the information Laura discussedwith me is embargoed. I called Fran backand apparently this embargo is an agree-ment they have with the City (of PuntaGorda) and the other project partners.Their communications plan is to issue apress release along with the City and part-ners in mid-July to share their story, dataand results collected to date with themedia. She asked me not to run a storyuntil then. I’ve never actually heard of in-formation being embargoed, but in my SeaGrant capacity I am obligated to honortheir request. Fran indicated she was verywilling to provide information, photos,etc. for developing an original story forpublication after the media release.I called Ms. Perchick at TNC. She

wouldn’t tell me who was behind the em-bargo idea, saying only “it was part of anagreement they had with the City of PuntaGorda.” That response from the million-mem-

ber strong Nature Conservancy, a worldwide group whose motto is “We carry outour work with a deep commitment to ac-countability and transparency,” was unac-ceptable and I believe it came because I

asked tough questions about the costs andexpenditures for building and monitoringthose reefs, and now I probably had moretough questions which could detract fromtheir big press release with the city.So here’s what I know. Betty and I

walked out into the river. We talked and Itook some pictures. You draw your ownconclusions. Only time will tell.

It was low tide, the water was still

about 18-inches deep. The 16-inch squareplastic mats that 1200 volunteers so care-fully zip tied thousands of old oystershells onto, one at a time, and then care-fully arranged into a 12x36 foot ‘reef’ ....they appeared to be covered with algaeand river mud. The ‘control box’(wherethey would sample) was mud filled. Bettytold me if oyster spats (babies) floated by,they could still attach and grow on top ofthose shells that were not yet fully sunk insilt. We did not see any spats. “TNC has

had some successful oyster restorationprojects,” Betty said.In a presentation made to the Punta

Gorda Boater’s Alliance on May 19, TNCclaimed that the reefs at Punta Gorda haveresulted in 100,000 to 200,000 newly set-tled oysters. Betty and I walked along theproject site. In order not to interact withtheir study we picked up our oyster shellsfrom outside the marked boundary. “All Isee are a lot of small barnacles growing.This area, clearly, has been submerged forsome time,” Betty said.Oyster spats need the right salinity to

attach and grow. This has been a very wetyear and the Peace River has been runningvery high so there has been mostly freshwater. The river brought with it all the siltand mud. Maybe things can still change.

We walked back to shore and up theMulti-Use-Walkway to the runoff-settle-ment area, reentered the river and walkedto another oyster site. This one is made ofsubmerged mesh bags of oyster shells.They need oyster shells or other shellswith the right calcium to attract the spats.The bags weren’t as sunk-in-the mud asthe oyster mats at the other site, but therewas nothing we saw growing. No spats.“Oysters grow pretty rapidly,” Betty

told me on our walk back. I later read thatnine months would be more than enoughtime to start seeing them, they would bedark one-inch splotches by then. Wedidn’t see any. Maybe oyster spats willlatch on soon, or maybe someone will sur-reptitiously ‘seed’ some oysters there. It’s

hard to trust people who embargo infor-mation for their own ends.Things are changing around Charlotte

Harbor. There is more “We know what’sBest for You” coming from the environ-mental front again. The National EstuaryProgram has drafted a new managementplan for Charlotte Harbor and there willbe a new NEP Director with perspectivesunknown. There is pressure for CharlotteCounty to give up its own successful man-atee plan and adopt a State plan. A dozen more oyster sites are planned

and I believe no-wake zones will accom-pany all of them. Watch the Bayshore Pierarea, Alligator Bay, Hog Island and theEast side by Pirate Harbor and BurntStore. They are on the map.

Oyster Reefs Update

Initial construction, Sept 3, 2015

Mud and algae covers the oyster mats

Barnacles are growing but no oysters spats

Capt. Betty Staugler is out standing in the oyster field

The Only Sign of Growth is in the Nature Conservancyʼs Arrogance


Readerʼs photos Txt Us Ur Fish Pix! see page 4

May 31st Jason Patterson of Nashville TN.fishing with Capt. Ryan McGee

Mike DeFranco caught and released this 31 inch cobia. Charlotte Harbor, east side.

Jordan Richey Amber jack

Snook on thebeach, fishing at

Captiva at 4amon Memorial Day.

Martha Trujillo

Elaine Bretts caught this 22-inch mangrovesnapper off shore, on the Island Sun with

Capt. Jim Hoffman

Mayan cichlid, caught from PG drainage ditch on ultralight tackle.Jigs and Beetle Spins. Mike Gussin

John with aMyakka bass

Clint Norris, Charlotte Harbor redfish, lastweek of May.

Red Durand, nice trout off Boca, still tooimportant to catch only once - limit your kill

don't kill your limit



T.J. Oakes; Snook, caught on an artificialaround Gordon Pass.

John with a muddy Myakka Snook

Here is Christian Van-DerVeer my stepson witha monster AJ. It was justshort of 60 inches andabout 80 pounds. He wasusing a Penn Battle 6000spinning rod! Christian just graduatedfrom Venice High with a4.5 gpa and was defensivefootball player of the year.He will be attendingFlorida Institute of Tech-nology in August on a fullscholarship! He's come along way from the littlesquirt Capt. Bart Marx andI took fishing in the 2010Water LIFE Kids CupTournament Adam Wilson

Jack Crevalle caught from our PGI dock, May 29.Zara Spook. Mike Gussin

John with aMyakka bass

Austin Biederwolf, redfish in Matlacha Pass

My name is Justin Miante, this snook was a 38-inch, 24-poundfemale, caught on Siesta Key, surf Fishing before a storm

front hit.Brenda Scott caught this 32-inch red fishing a Sanibel dock


By Captain Joe AngiusWater LIFE Estero Bay Summer weather patterns are in full

swing, which means sunny days followedby evening thunderstorms. For an estuarylike Estero Bay it is important to under-stand what these conditions can do to ourfishery.The most influential player in our

equation of summer weather patterns israin. With high volumes of freshwater en-tering Estero Bay through the five majorriver systems, it can be difficult to locatehealthy brackish water that holds activefish. When conditions like this occur, I

focus a lot of my attention toward juvenilebackwater tarpon. Backwater tarpon can

be found virtually any-where in Estero Bay duringthe summer months.Catching them can be diffi-cult, but there are variousbaits, lures, and flies thatcan be tossed in front ofthem that will trigger astrike. On charters, my favorite

live bait to use for thesefinicky tarpon are white-baits, threadfins, and pin-fish. I find that if you freeline one of these baits on a2/0 Owner circle hookalong a mangrove edge orinto a deep hole, the tarponcan’t resist. If the school of fish are

scattered and out of range,don’t be afraid to use apopping cork or float.Allow the corks to drift

into the school andwait patiently forthe cork to com-pletely submerge. Another ap-

proach to the juve-nile tarpon isartificial lures andflies. My go-tolure is a Flats HQjerkbait, white incolor on a 3/0Owner weighted1/8oz bass hook.There are plenty ofother options such as the Rapala X-Rap orMirr-o-lure Mirrodine, but the Flats HQjerkbait has never failed me and alwaystriggers a strike. When I take fly fishermen out to fish

for them, I’ll always suggest using fliesthat I’ve tied. Some of my favorite pat-terns are crab, shrimp, deceiver style, andtop-water gurglers. While using artificialbaits, remember that it takes patience anda cast with minimal room for error.Finding the inshore game fish in Estero

Bay around this time should not be thedifficult part, it is the finding of active andfeeding fish that poses the hardship. Tidesare more important than ever due to whatthey are bringing in and carrying out ofEstero Bay. The outgoing tide will moveout the freshwater from the rivers and theincoming tide will flush in good qualitywater high in salinity. You may run out to your favorite bait

spot only to find dark brown brackishwater that has moved your bait offshore.Be sure to have a backup plan for whenbait is almost impossible to get. As days get hotter and you’re trying to

beat the heat, understand that the fish aredoing the same. E xplore different fishingtechniques for lethargic fish. One of myfavorite types of fishing, that I offer as aservice in the summer time, is night fish-ing for snook and tarpon. The cool sum-mer nights of Florida are a great way tospend your time fishing and it always pays

off. If you do decide to take on this en-deavor, don’t forget to pack bug spray orto wear long sleeves. There are trade-offsin the sport of fishing and with night fish-ing there are no exceptions.

Captain Joe Angius Speakeasyfishing.com(727) 234-3171

Estero Bay: Fishing Nights to Beat the Heat


Jack from Venice LA with a Jack

Jason Troyano with a Snook

Joseph Eubanks with a 31"snook Paul Swetkoff wrestles a Harbor tarpon

Joe Gallo, Ft Desoto Park, Father's Day snook

Hi! I caught snook in Charlotte Harbor Cynthia Timmer

My daughter 10 year old daughter Rylee landed this 10lb 6oz Snook at Boca GrandePass, but we sent her picture to another publication before seeing your rules, but hereis me with the fish before releasing it. Thanks. Send it to us anyway! we said, and he wrote back: Absolutely, your resolution is a lot better and your print too!

Eric Frank , muttonsnapper caught 6/4 at

Big Pine Key

My name is WillWoodruff, I'm on holiday,from my job in Indone-sia, visiting my parentsin Nokomis. Very inexpe-rienced angler and sowas happy to catch a fewfighting bonito off Delraybeach with some friendsin June. Fish on!



This spring, two brothers, Kyleand Ryan, from Venice Florida, hadtheir first fishing adventure in VeniceLouisiana. Capt. Chad from VooDooFishing Charters had put the brothersand their friends on tuna, and 8 niceyellowfin were already in the fishbox. Capt. Chad moved to an area

known for red snapper since the sea-son for those hard fighting and tastyfish had just opened. A few snapperjoined the tuna in the box and thecommotion around the boat drew theattention of some cobia.

As a large cobia swam past thebow, Ryan was able to hook-up using

a piece of cut bait. Ryan won the bat-tle and Cap. Chad gaffed the cobiaand tossed it in the box. Seeing an-other cobia, Kyle put his rod in aholder with his just retrieved jig dan-gling in the water. Kyle tossed a cutbait at the curious fish, however thecobia ignored the cut bait and insteadswam over to the dangling jig andgrabbed it. Kyle grabbed that rodfrom its holder and wrestled his firstever cobia to within gaffing distance.The newly dubbed “Cobia Brothers”had a day on the water they willnever forget.

Offshore charters with VooDoocan be arranged at (504) 920-3474

Red snapper season arrived in June and Captain JoeMiller knows where they are in the Gulf of Mexico.On a recent trip out of Venice Inlet, he anchored 50feet from a ledge more than 60 miles offshore. “Iknow they are here” he said and he was correct.Within minutes everyone on board was hooked intokeeper size red snapper. But on his third drop, RickHall, from Brooksville Florida, encountered a dif-ferent species. His fish darted for the ledge, but Rickplaced his thumb on the spool and manages to slowthe strong swimmer just before it could find refugein the rocks. After several long runs Rick brought inthe 34 pound black grouper shown above.

Offshore charters with Captain Joe Miller can be arranged at (941) 237-8050

BLACK IS THE NEW RED

The Cobia Brothers

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OFFSHOREwith Glen Ballinger

Matt Liss, with one of the red snappers

By Fishin’ FrankWater LIFE BaitshopWith the rain and the river running hard, filling the

Harbor with freshwater, there are plenty of tarpon to gochasing after. The redfish have come out of hiding withgood numbers on both the east and west sides of the Har-bor, but big fish is what I am thinking. Let's face it, sum-mer time thunder storms are a regular thing, and the windis blowing hard one day and then OK the next. Planninga trip out into the Harbor is sometimes kind of iffy. Sowhat other big fish can you find in sheltered waters? Themonster fish, black drum ...and what a great fish it is. The black drum has whiskers like the old man of the

sea and it likes to hang out back in the canals and aroundthe bridges. Just a month ago there were schools of thou-sands of these drum from 15 pounds to 60 pounds – theaverage fish in the school was about 40 pounds. Now thebig spawn is mostly over and the black drum are in theirsummer homes. The I-75 bridge and the 41-Bridges bothhave a bunch of black drum around their pilings now. The other places which are full of black drum are the

bridges in the P.G.I. canal system. For some reason thereare many, many more black drum on the Punta Gordaside of the river than on the Port Charlotte side, probablybecause the water is deeper and there are fewer openingsto the canals in P.G.I., so the water moves faster andstronger going in or out than the canals over in Port Char-lotte. I think that is the larger reason there are so manymore drum in P.G.I. Black drum are not fussy eaters .. until they are, that

is. Think of it this way: if you like, say, Italian food, doyou stop at every Italian restaurant you see? No of coursenot, some times you are just not hungry or maybe youwould like just a burger instead. I am sure fish are the

same way. I may like to eat something, just not everyday or all day long. So when would be the best time to be there, when the

drum would be eating? I would say half way through atide, that is when the strongest water movement is andeverything is getting stirred up. That’s is your bestchance for a good time catching instead of a good dayjust fishing.What is the best bait for black drum? No 1 is blue

crabs that is the best. I normally cut the crab in half to getmore of the smell out in the water. But if there is a bunchof drum they will eat crabs whole.A black drum has a large crusher plate in the rear of

its mouth and can smash a blue crab flat in a couplethumps, making it easier for them to swallow.

Crabs are not the only bait which works well on theblack drum. They will eat shrimp, and they may be liveor dead, drum don't care, and they will also eat cut fish. Ihave not done well on whole fish when trying to catchblack drum, cut pieces seem to work much better.The main thing when fishing for black drum on a day-

to-day basis, is that it is bottom fishing. The whiskers onthe drums lower jaw are there as taste buds, so to speak,or extra smelling devices. Black drum use their whiskersthe same way a catfish does, to find food, so somethinglaying on the bottom will get their attention, and if itstinks a bit, so much the better.Black drum as a rule are not leader-shy, so using a 50

pound test leader is most often OK and even though thefish weigh, on average 40-pounds, they may often becaught on 15-pound test line. It takes time, don't be in ahurry or start tightening your drag, the drag is there as apressure relief for when the fish pulls too hard. Take iteasy and you can land this fish.

I should say that I havehad black drum on at the41-Bridge and they havecome to the surface withone big head shake andsnapped 50-pound test linelike it was sewing thread.When fighting a black drumit is steady pressure thatwins the fight, a big suddenjerk or lots of fast pullingwill tell the fish to do thesame thing. This fish ismuscles. Big head, bigshoulders and a huge tail toreally put the pressure toyou when the fight is on.

So find a canal with a road bridge over it and just tosson the bottom with a 40-pound mono leader about 3-feetlong, with enough weight to keep it there (I would say 1to 4 ounces) and with a 4/0 to 7/0 hook and a chunk offish the size of your hand or a couple shrimp tails, or(best bet) a half of a blue crab. Then kick back and wait. When the drum hits it is

often slowly moving away from you. If you set the hookand then just hold for a while you stand a very goodchance of landing the fish. Have fun with the drum. If it is a very big fish, when

the water is hot, like now, there are often a bunch of para-sites in the meat. So for the summer black drum shouldonly be catch and release fishing. Once the water coolsdown you can go after your black drum dinner. The meatis wonderful, white, flakey, and solid, it’s excellent eat-ing, just wait for the water to get back in the low 70s orcolder.

[email protected] 941-625-3888


Black Drum: Monster fish to play with

Txt Us Ur Fish! Pat Murphy caught thishealthy black drum last month, fishing with his daughterShawna at her secret black drum spot ! Third of the week!

By Bob FraserWater LIFE kayakingI have lived in Florida for

over 50 years so that youwould think by now I wouldknow not to trust the accu-racy of the weather report.Last Friday I cancelled aguided trip because the fore-cast called for 80-percentchance of rain and winds 15-to 25-mph. I called theclient and said we need toreschedule. I woke up Fridaymorning to blue skies andlight wind – go figure?After about an hour I didn’t

see any rain clouds in the dis-tance so I told my son, who hap-pened to be off that day, let’s gofishing. We loaded up thekayaks and went to the Gaspar-illa Sound. The wind was blow-ing pretty good by the time wegot to the launch site. It wasn’tblowing 25 mph as the weather-man predicted but it was proba-bly a steady 15. The skyremained clear while we werefishing, no rain.Our choice of bait for the day

was suspending Mirrorlures. Wecaught a decent size trout fordinner, should have had two fordinner, but I let one get away atthe kayak. We also caught sev-eral smaller ones that were re-leased. My son also caught a17-inch grouper in 4 feet of

water; it was released unharmed.Lesson learned last week -

don’t call off a fishing trip untilthe morning of the trip. On another trip, to Blackburn

Point, I took out an experiencedkayak fisherman from Atlanta.We launched about an hour aftersunrise. I didn’t have to give himany instructions on kayaking,but I did talk to him about thegrass flats and looking for spottybottom (sandy areas in grass).He was a very experienced

fly fisherman and he tried that

for about two hours without abite. He said he did see a redfishfollow his fly for a short dis-tance before it darted off.It was a calm day, so I tried a

Spook Jr. topwater plug for thefirst 45 minutes without a strike. For another two hours, he

fished with a spinning rod andreel. We used live shrimp undera popping cork and Zman softplastics. No takers on the softplastic, but we caught some trouton the shrimp. My client alsocaught a few catfish along withthe trout.

I managed a couple of fishon a suspending Mirrorlure. We caught some fish and en-

joyed a beautiful day on thewater.

Bob Fraser guides kayakingtrips. He can be reached at 941-916-8303

PAGE 18 EMAIL: W [email protected] JULY 2016

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To become a sponsor and see your name here next month, visit www.waterlifemagazine.com100% of the money goes to the kids!

There is still time for YOU to become a sponsor too, and WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

Kayak Fishing Blackburn Point

By Bobby VitalasWater LIFE Pier FishingThe snook fishing is good at the Venice south jetty right now. I

caught this snook in the early morning hours. Snook fishing is out ofseason in July, so you have to put them back into the water. Whencasting, I like using artificial lures. This lure that I am using is veryeffective there at the south jetty. So far I have caught 7 snook on thislure. It is the Berkley Gulp saltwater 3-inch in shrimp color (rootbeer gold/chartreuse). It comes in a six pack. The good thing aboutBerkely Gulp is its scent. The jig head I am using for the artificial shrimp is the D.O.A

C.A.L short shank 3/8 ounce with a chartreuse head. Sometimes thewater can get really rough. Then, I will go to a 1/2 ounce weight, butmost of the time, when the water is calm, I use the 3/8 ounce weight.If you want to use bait for snook at the jetty, try using live shrimp.The hook size to use is from 2/0 to 3/0 - Owner or Gamagatsu circlehooks. And, I suggest you use the smallest sinker as possible. When spin casting with artificial lures, I use 30-pound test SUFIX

ADVANCE SUPER LINE (BRAIDED), color (green) as my mainline. For my leader line, I use no less than 3 feet of 25-pound testSufix invisline 100 percent Fluorocarbon leader line. When tyingyour leader line to the jig head, I suggest you use the RAPALA knotbecause it will create more action out of the jig. However, whenusing artificial lures, it does take some practice. So, have a great time fishing!

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$2 off any haircut!

By Capt. Chuck EichnerWater LIFE InshoreAt the end of last month I rode

through Boca Grande Pass and onlysaw a handful of boats on the last ofan outgoing tide. This is typically thebest tide to catch tarpon and the tar-pon boats were gone. For me, thiswas the signal of great fishing aheadfor tarpon….. that’s right tarpon. Andfor that fact, big fish in general. Common belief is that tarpon leave

the Pass after months of frolickingand then go offshore to spawn.Sounds good to me, but there are stillplenty of tarpon that come and gofrom the Harbor and beaches. Theyare hungry and not harassed by otheranglers and they are often reckless intaking your bait. The earlier you fishthe better chance you will have spot-ting them on the calm.July means warm water, 90-degree

water on the flats and beaches is notuncommon. The warm water meanselevated metabolism’s for all fish andas migratory baitfish swarm the Har-bor all fish go into a feeding frenzyon a daily basis. For anglers, there isa lot of competition from all the bait-fish swimming around, but a partiallyinjured bait is what they look for, aneasy catch. This the month I often catch the

biggest snook, tarpon and redfish in-shore, but offshore it’s the same story

for red grouper and snapper; big fish! To be successful you have to catch

bait, that is typically the hardest partof the day. Full time captains are setup on the bait holes as the sun comesup at 6:00 am. That’s an early start,but the bigger bait appears early onthe flats, after that the micro-baitswill be seen in swarms. The threadfins that tarpon and

snook like are great at running from acast net in the bright sun, but at dawnthey don’t see the net coming. With tarpon swimming around the

Harbor threadfins are the easiest baitto fill the well with. The problemwith threadies is the catfish are herein swarms and often you cannot keepthem off your bait. About the onlytarpon bait that is easy to catch anduse is the hardhead catfish. Use thetail end of the catfish with an 8/0hook, 80-pound test and soak them onthe bottom at anchor. Their relativeswon’t eat them and tarpon love them. If you hook-and-line ladyfish you

might also be in business, but theyusually disappear this month! Generally, I try to bring threadfins,

pinfish, ladyfish and catfish whenfishing around the harbor. It is a lotof work filling the well, but withthese 4 baits you can target just aboutanything. Redfish will school up this month

and threadfins fished live or cut work

great as do pinfish for reds. Bigsnook will munch these two baits aswell!Sometimes threadfins are hard to

catch. Here are a couple of pointers tohelp you. First, you need a net with5/8” mesh so it sinks fast. With somuch bait of different sizes aroundyou need to have 3 different netsaboard: 1/4”, 3/8” and 5/8”. Secondly, these baitfish will run

from any motor noise. Differentschools have different personalities.Some schools are skittish and somewill swim right up to your boat so trydifferent schools and always have asabiki rig ready in case you can’t netthem. This month, patience, persever-

ance and a super early start shouldput “Miller Time” around noon withsomething really good to talk about!

Big Fish Are Everywhere

If you look closely you will see this fish has a sore jaw.When dehooking we found another hook inside the fishesmouth with a tag end hanging out. I could tell by the scumon the tag end it had been there a while. We removed theextra hook and ours with no problem.

Capt. Chuck Eichner operates Action Flats BackcountryCharters and can be reached at 941-628-8040.


By Nicole CoudalWater LIFE Delicious!My love affair with sweet piquante pep-pers (branded as “Peppadews”) startedabout five years ago. I bought a packageat the supermarket deli because theylooked interesting and I thought they’dmake a nice addition to an olive/cheeseplatter I was making. How could I haveknown that I would fall in love with thesesweet, mildly spicy little gems, the size ofa cherry tomato and the color of amaraschino cherry? If you haven’t triedthem yet, pick some up at your local su-permarket or deli - they’re wonderful.

My friends and I recently limited out onbeautiful American Red Snapper duringan offshore fishing trip, but we alsonabbed an 11-pound Mangrove Snapper!Like all varieties in the Snapper family,Mangrove is truly delicious in just aboutany preparation, and it’s known for itslight, sweet and flaky flesh. For this dish,I simply pan-seared the fish and topped itwith a fresh salsa made with tasty Pep-padews and sweet, ripe peaches -- a per-fect complement to this delicious fish.Enjoy!

P.S. if you're feeling adventurous andwant to make something fun (and tasty)to top the dish, thinly slice some flour tor-tillas and toss the pieces into some hotolive oil until they’re crispy :)

INGREDIENTSSalsa:6-8 sweet piquante peppers (Peppadew),chopped1 large ripe peach, peeled and chopped1/2 lime, juiced1 Tb. flat leaf parsley, chopped1 Tb. red onion, chopped1 Tb. celery, choppedpinch kosher salt & freshly ground black pep-perFish:2 (6-8 oz) Mangrove Snapper fillets (or otherlight, white fish)pinch kosher salt & freshly ground black pep-per1 Tb. olive oil1 Tb. unsalted butterINSTRUCTIONSCombine salsa ingredients in a small bowlthen refrigerate until ready to use.Heat a non-stick skillet to medium/high andadd butter and olive oil.Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper then placein hot pan.Cook about 2 minutes, then flip (edges shouldbe crispy). Reduce heat to medium, then cookanother 2 minutes on the other side.Remove from pan and top with salsa.Please check out www.MyDeliciousBlog.comfor more tasty recipes like this. Nicole Coudalis an avid fishing gal who hails from New Eng-land but has lived in SW Florida for 25 years.MyDeliciousBlog.com showcases her "coastalinspired" cuisine using fresh, seasonal ingredi-ents, from sea to land.If you like Nicole’s food column, please votefor Nicole’s MyDeliciousBlog in the annualSaveurMagazine blog awards:http://www.saveur.com/blog-awards-2016-nominate

Mangrove Snapper with Peach & Peppadew Salsa

Grouper Snapper Stamp will the Gulf be next?The South Atlantic Fishery Management Councilʼs proposed compre-hensive management approach includes options to reduce discards byestablishing a federal private recreational snapper grouper fishing sea-son, allowing a limited recreational bag limit for red snapper during theseason, use of descending devices and venting tools, changes to sizelimits, and limiting the number of hooks allowed. The approach also in-cludes requirements for a federal recreational snapper grouperstamp. The Council voted to address options for a limited entry programfor the for-hire sector in a separate amendment.


SCUTTLEBUTTSometimes Unsubstanciated, But Often True

MANATEE ZONE ENFORCEMENT FROMTHE AIR FWC Lieutenant Frantz,and otherofficers participated in a joint Manatee ZoneEnforcement detail with US Fish and WildlifeService Agents during the Memorial Day week-end. Officers patrolled north Charlotte Countyand observed violations by both air and sea.During the three-day weekend, approximately50 citations and 75 warnings were issued byboth agencies. Along with the Manatee ZoneEnforcement detail, the officers also issued ap-proximately 8 citations and 25 warnings forboating safety and licensing violations. Theyalso responded to multiple fight/disturbancecalls on the water throughout the weekend

FUTURE IS CLOSE Rolls Royce and its part-ners in the Advanced Autonomous WaterborneApplications (AAWA) initiative released a whitepaper on their vision for the future of computer-controlled merchant vessels – and they believethat we will see the first such ship by the end of

the decade. "Autonomous shipping is the futureof the maritime industry,” they said.

HED UP... DOWN UNDER The Navy has de-veloped the Divers Augmented Vision Display,

a high-resolution, see-through head-up display,embedded directly inside a diving helmet.

MINT ASIAN CUISINE is brand New in PuntaGorda, in the same shopping center asElenaʼs, next to the Medicine Shop. Mint is theownerʼs name. She is from Burma. Sheʼs thereal deal. We will soon be ʻregulars.ʼ

THATS My FWC Officers responded to aboating accident involving a vessel and an un-known submerged object in the Caloosa-hatchee River. The entire outboard had fallenoff the transom and into the water. The enginesat on the bottom of the river still connected tothe fuel lines and wiring harness. Since themotor was in waist-deep water, the two officerswaded into the water and, with the assistanceof a volunteer firefighter on scene, were able toput the 125 horse power outboard motor on thedeck of the vessel.

CLOSURE A Charlotte County circuit courtjudge ordered Gary Ingman and the owners ofthe Professional Tarpon Tournament Series topay nearly $7,000 in attorney's fees, courtcosts and other expenses to Save the TarponInc. The order comes three years after Ingmanand his Silver King Entertainment LLC unsuc-cessfully sued for $500,000 in lost sponsorshipand other revenues. The tournament wasbased around a now-illegal tarpon-jig.. TOO EASY Officers working in Boca Grandeenforcing tarpon regulations ob-served someone fishing with an il-legal jig. It is illegal to fish with alure that the bait and weighthangs lower than the hook. Afterspeaking with the individual andchecking his history the officerseducated the man and issued awarning.

NOT FAR ENOUGH Officersstopped a vessel for a fisheries in-spection approximately 25 milessouthwest of Big Carlos Pass. Asthey approached the vessel, theoperator was seen removingsomething from a fillet table andthrowing it under the transom gun-wale. During the inspection, theofficers found eight undersized redgrouper. They also found a redgrouper fillet under the transomgunwale, apparently what the op-

erator had tried to conceal. The vessel opera-tors, who were clearly not expecting to be in-spected so far from shore, were charged withmultiple criminal fisheries violations.

SALTWATER ECONOMIC STATS Commer-cial and recreational saltwater fishing in theUnited States generated more than $214 billionin sales and supported 1.83 million jobs in2014, according to a new economic report re-leased by NOAA. Saltwater angling sales in-creased 4 percent from 2013, generating $61billion in 2014 and supporting 439,000 jobs.

NICE PARK, NOT SO NICE ACCESS The new park (wecall it Power Pole Park) on the NE side of the US-41Bridge is only accessible from the northbound lane ofthe bridge. There is parking for 63 cars, but if you live inPort Charlotte you have to drive south over the Bridge toPunta Gorda and then circle back north to get there.

How did this sharp turn off a main artery get by FL D.O.T?How did this sharp turn off a main artery get by FL D.O.T?Charlotte County simply approved its own plans.Charlotte County simply approved its own plans.

With 27,000 cars passing at 50 mph everyWith 27,000 cars passing at 50 mph everyday, we think there will be accidents hereday, we think there will be accidents here

US 41 US 41 NorthNorth

Park AccessPark Access


Charlotte HarborFrank at Fishin’ Franks941-625-3888Redfish are doing pretty good,

we have been seeing quite a bit.They came back through a tear inthe time-space-continuum. Like lastyear when there were no redfisharound and while everybody waswondering about them, they justcame back. Same thing this year,none and then suddenly there aregreat numbers on the east side ...and the west side is a close secondchoice. We now have reds up on thePeace River and at the Myakka Cut-off. The largest reds around are stillout in front of Bull and Turtle Bay.Cut bait is your number one bait,dead or partially dead and nastystinky shrimp are number two. It’sgotta’ smell bad.Down by Gasparilla and out by

the Gulf, live shrimp are the bait,but up in the Harbor some kind ofdead bait is the plan. Fish it on thebottom with a jig or just freeline itout. There is really no bad thing todo – just toss it out where the redsare. The thing the jig does is giveyou more tossing distance.Snook is number two, literally.

They are scattered everywhere: outon the beaches, up in the rivers,there are just so many snookaround. The largest numbers are atTwo Pines and around Bull and Tur-tle Bay.... and along the lower partof the West side. They’re in themore salty areas down there. Maybeit has to do with spawning?For snook it’s the same basic

thing when it comes to bait. If youcan find live bait and keep it aliveyou’re golden, but how do you keepthem alive? With the heat and the

salinity changes, if youmove from one spot toanother they are goingto die. More so for thethreadfins but sardinestoo. So if you want tofish live bait, you haveto fish where you catchyour bait. With artifi-cials for snook, proba-bly the number onechoice is the Rapala Ex-treme, but you have towork them slow... thator a Storm Twitch.Out in the Gulf,

Spanish mackerel andpermit are both on theclose-in reefs, three- tofive-miles from shore.One of the new tricksis trolling your normallures and adding a rat-tle-trap to the array. I’mnot exactly sure why itcomes on, that way,but it is very produc-tive. There are alsosnapper, grunts, progys – tons ofbottom fish right now.There are keeper gags in Boca

Grande and Captiva Pass and thenyou have to go out to 60-to 80 feetof water to find them again. It’s an-other riddle happening... why?Fishing tarpon, you have your

choice of tarpon places now. Bocaand Captiva both have tarpon, buttarpon are best along the beaches,from Captiva to Venice. The nicepart is, they have also moved backinto the deep holes of CharlotteHarbor and they are at the 41-Bridges at night. Cape Coral, theCaloosahatchee River, Matlacha...any place you have a bridgeseems to have some tarpon at night.

There have been 60- to 80-poundersaround the bridges, 80 and up in theHarbor holes and in the Peace Riverand Port Charlotte canals the baby5-to 50-pounders are there now.Trout continues to be pretty

good. On the East side, up aroundthe 41-Bridge you’ll find silvertrout. Jigs, live or dead shrimp,doesn’t matter, trout are one of thefew things you can actually bobber-fish right now.At Alligator Creek there are a lot

of small sharks that came back upin the Harbor. I think they cameback in with the tarpon. Right now there is a lot of shark

activity. The river is starting to drop

Capt Dave Stephenswww.backbayxtremes.com

941-916-5769

BackBayXtremes

Fish With A Guide!Youʼll catch more fish and youʼll

learn something new, too!

Speak Easy Fishing ChartersCaptain Joe AngiusUSCG licensed & Insured

Phone: (727) [email protected]

July July –– Predictions and SuggestionsPredictions and Suggestions

Lianna Hamsher with a snook almostas big as she is. This 33-incher was a

little too heavy for her to hold up.

Tyler's first red grouper.Bet heʼs got another one by now!

Tommy Tucker, off shore fishingBoca Grande and the Venice area

Adam Wilson was able to ambush this turtle beforeshe headed back to the deep. “She wasn't shy atall, she hung out at the surface and let me swimright up to her,” Adam said. Below: diving on anold shrimp boat wreck in 115 feet.

almost a foot a day, so there is lessfresh water... which means moresharks. Black drum are around the Al-

ligator Creek Reef, along withsome nice snapper. At the I-75 and41 -Bridges, at Ponce Park andBass Inlet... if there is a canal witha car bridge over it, chances arethere is a black drum sitting underit – in the Port Charlotte canals, alittle less. I don’t know why, maybeit’s the dredging and deeper waterin Punta Gorda. Cut blue crab isthe best bet bait for black drum. Orfish a 4/0 or 5/0 hook with 4- to 5shrimp on it. Use the bigger hookand load it up with bait, or try achunk of squid and a shrimp tail ontop. You want something enticing.

Lemon Bay - PlacidaJim at Fishermen’s Edge941-697-7595People are attempting to fish

but bait has been a problem. It’stough getting pilchrads but shrimphas been good.There’s been lots of mangrove

snapper on the docks toward theGulf. And a lot of catch and re-lease snook. I have quite a fewguys still getting nice pompano.One guy said there were so manyhe could have thrown a net onthem... but that’s illegal with onlya recreational license. Guys are catching bigger red-

fish, keepers, up around LemonBay Park at night by Bay ParkBlvd. Mostly they are fishing withshrimp at night.Throwing a cork with a shrimp

catches nice trout. There havebeen redfish, and a lot of snookaction as well.Most guides around here try to

avoid snook fishing (closed sea-son) and if they do, they want todo it responsibly and let ‘em goalive. Big snook are in the passesand on the beach now too. There is plenty of shark activ-

ity right now. Guys have seen allsorts of sharks; sand sharks, bulls,blacktips, there are sharks every-where. If you have anything put-ting out signs of distress, the bull

sharks are going tobe ripping the fishto shreds. For sharks it

doesn’t matterwhat you are fish-ing with. Someguys like wholebonita or wholemullet. Jacks andrays are big as areladyfish. The big-ger the bait thebigger the sharkyou’ll get.Not as many

tarpon in the Passbut not as many an-glers now either.With hardly any of the tournamentactivity this year the guys packedit up and went home. Offshore fishing has been good.

Grouper and snapper and far off-shore exotics like wahoo. Onceyou’re into blue water stuff likereally nice dolphin and trueblack grouper. Everybody isusing frozen bait like mackerel

and cigar minnows and they areall chumming like mad-men outthere, trying to catch those fish.


TARPON On the beach and inthe Deep holes in the Harbor

SNOOK On the move andeating their way to the Gulf

REDFISH More on the EastSide, some on the West Side

95˚

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72˚70˚68˚

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45˚

The BIG-4The BIG-4 Fish you can expect in Fish you can expect in JulyJuly

SHARK following the tarponinto the Harbor

Gulf Gulf TempsTemps

are high 80sare high 80sFishing isFishing isHOT. StayHOT. StayHydratedHydrated

Hello my name is Sean Sileno. I caught this snook near BurntStore Marina.

Dylan Jordanʼs Stump Pass Inlet snook

21-inches. 7-pounds 14oz. Blue Tilapia caught in aCape Coral canal while kayak fishing on ultra-lightgear. Thanks, Water LIFE, for continuously giving usthis great magazine!! Jody Reed Editor says: thank YOU Jody!

txt us UR fish pix!see page 4

FISHING FISHINGRIGHT NOW:RIGHT NOW:

GREATGREATBob Perry shows a beautiful largemouth bass.

More Readerʼs Fish Pix

Aiden Herzog and friend

water life july 2016

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