(Ft. Myers Beach to Charlotte Harbor) Last week I had the pleasure to meet new clients as well as take some repeat clients to catch Snook, Redfish, Seatrout and Mangrove Snappers. The tides were good allowing me to get into the backcountry on the incoming tides. Pictured here is Mr. Ben Shepard of Toledo, Ohio proudly displaying his 33″ Snook caught on a weighted jig head using a cut Pinfish on the bottom, close to some Mangroves. I could tell that Ben has done a lot of fishing as he ‘angled’ her like a pro. Ben was spending a week with his immediate family on Sanibel. Several of them joined Ben that day and agreed to take some time early in the charter to get him on the Snook (since it was his ‘birthday’), prior to everyone fishing the flats for Seatrout. Ben got his Snook of a lifetime! Nice going Benjamin.
Previous clients and friends (Mr. Dan Blackman and family from Abingdon, MD.) joined me on a separate charter to do a repeat performance from last year; to catch some Redfish. Dan’s lovely wife Tracie, proudly displays her first Redfish, as son Tim and his lady friend Jordan Levush, caught theirs as well. Snook, Seatrout and Mangrove Snappers rounded out the day for all of them. Looking forward to doing it again next year. Dan is retired Army and now works for the Dept. of Defense. Thank you Dan for your service to this country! Always a pleasure to see you guys.
Weather permitting and with the full moon phase just days away, fishing should be fantastic. Rains are swelling creeks and rivers so be sure and get into the backcountry locations two hours ahead of high tide or it will be too late to get the fish before they find refuge in the Mangroves. During low tides, look for Seatrout holding in deeper holes and fish a cork above the grasses. White baits are all around for those with nets. Otherwise, live shrimps, pinfish and artificial baits will produce. The bite offshore has been good for Snappers, Grouper and other species on grunts, Pinfish, shrimps and cut baits like squid.
This is Captain Terry Fisher wishing everyone ‘tight lines’! Charter information may obtained by calling me @239-357-6829 or email [email protected]
Just finished one of those long weekends that you really wish would go on for several more days (or weeks!). My family had the good fortune of being invited to spend a few days with friends at their house on Blackwater Sound in Key Largo. What a spot!
Sitting with a cup of coffee on the dock in the early morning, before the heat of the day kicked in, and looking out over the quiet sound while most were still sleeping off the night before, was just spectacular. Herons working the shoreline, frigate birds circling overhead and a school of about eight tarpon rolling and literally swimming by under my feet. I’m too relaxed to even think of grabbing a nearby rod. Maybe as you get a little older your focus changes but I could not help but think that those still snoozing were missing the most beautiful time of day (until perhaps we get to the sunset!).
This was not planned as a hard core fishing weekend and it was a little too windy for a run offshore with kids and wives but the beauty of the area is that there are always plenty of other fishing options. Before long Aaron, our host, my son Kyle and I were headed across the sound and through a beautiful mangrove canal into Florida Bay. Still pretty windy and not the greatest fishing conditions but for someone who doesn’t get to enjoy these waters on a regular basis, just being out and polling in the shallows along magnificent mangroves made the fishing somewhat secondary.
Aaron avoided beating us up heading home across the bay by a little longer run through a different mangrove canal, then across Long Sound and Little Blackwater Sound. If you are familiar with the 18 mile stretch of U.S. 1 from Florida City to Key Largo, these are the bodies of water you first see on your right as you approach the bridge at Jewfish Creek. From there we ran into Blackwater Sound, past Jewfish Creek (no we did not stop at Gilberts!) and back to the dock. Just in time for lunch and a cold beer.
Then we pile the whole gang into two boats and head back across the Sound to a great shallow anchorage and beach. Ladies, kids, dogs, cold beers, “boat” drinks and serious relaxation. As busy as that area of Key Largo can be, we were completely alone. Can it get any better than this?
Yes, it can!! Back at the dock, just hangin’ out when Aaron comes out with a block of chum and a bucket of live shrimp. Another 5 minute run across the sound to his “can’t miss” mangrove snapper hole. The wind was still getting in the way but the kids had a great time catching a load of little mangroves and we had enough keepers to chow down a little later on Aaron’s Key Largo smoked fish dip.
And just to close out the perfect boating day, how about fresh fish dip, the perfect rum drink, and as magnificent a sunset as you will ever see. I know it can’t get any better than that!
It really was a great day. Spending time with family and close friends is special no matter where you are. But as I write this I realize just how incredibly lucky we are to have these kinds of water so available to boaters in Southwest Florida. Yes, it was great to be in Key Largo, but the reality is, this kind of day, these kinds of waters, and that beautiful sunset can be found anywhere from Tampa Bay, through Sarasota, Fort Myers, Naples and the Keys.
Inshore, Offshore, Islands, Mangroves, Flats, Beaches. Big boats, little boats, new boats, old boats. Doesn’t matter. As long as it floats and can get me from here to there, count me in. Can’t wait ‘till that next perfect day on the water!
(Ft. Myers Beach to Charlotte Harbor) Last week produced some super big fish including the 29″ Redfish caught by Mr. Jose Romanelli of Cape Coral, Florida on his birthday charter with his family (father, mother, sister and girlfriend). Jose is just turned 20 and is a junior at Edison University in Ft. Myers and is studying law as well as majoring in Marine Ecology. He is a friend of marine life and I consider him a good client and contact for future reports on studies concerning the health of our valuable estuary. Jose also caught a nice 23″ Snook. All members of his family caught Redfish as well as lots of Seatrout and other species before the day ended. Happy Birthday Jose!
The new moon phase contributed to good tides and wind directions added additional bonuses by shoving water into areas holding the big Redfish and Snook species. I am pictured holding a 33″ Snook caught on an incoming tide in the backcountry. The flats produced good Seatrout action early in the mornings and late in the evenings. Both outgoing and incoming tides produced good bites in the deeper holes over the Turtle Grass flats.
This week should continue to be good on both incoming and outgoing tides on the back side of the new moon phase. Baits such as Pilchards, Threadfins, Pinfish and Shrimp are plentiful and should produce lots of bites. Artificial presentations will generate catches as well. Soft baits such as; Berkley Gulp and other brands should be in one’s arsenal and utilized when the opportunity arises, as sometimes they will prompt a strike when live baits do not.
This is Captain Terry Fisher of Fish Face Charters. Charter information may be obtained by calling me direct at 239-357-6829 or email me at [email protected]
ST. PETERSBURG — Water taxis, kayaking and courtesy boat slips all made the short list for the city’s new pier, reflective of a community eager to turn its signature waterfront into a maritime playground.
But those plans may be unrealistic, according to a consortium of about 50 local boat builders and nautical firms who are warning that the unprotected waters around the pier would damage moored boats and often are too choppy for activities like kayaking and paddle-boarding.
Although attention has been focused on the high-profile pier project, behind the scenes, leaders of the Tampa Bay Marine Industries Region have been telling local leaders they need to invest in breakwaters to calm the waters around the city’s downtown.
“None of this is going to work without a breakwater,” said Jopie Helsen, group chairman.
The group, with members from Catalina Yachts and Mastry Engine Center, has been meeting to draw up a proposal to transform the city’s waterfront. Now the group is going public and looking to gain support for its proposal.
Breakwaters would help protect the city’s downtown from storm surge in the event of a hurricane and calm the waters in the city marina and other moorings. That would attract yacht and power-boat owners who shy away from tying up expensive vessels in St. Petersburg because they fear wave damage, Helsen said.
“St. Petersburg should be the No. 1 boating destination in the Southeast and Gulf of Mexico,” Helsen said. “But it’s a lousy boating destination. When it’s rough, there’s no protection.”
A preliminary design produced by the group shows 1,200 feet of breakwaters including a submerged breakwater west of the pier and two above-water structures extending from Vinoy and Lassing parks. Those could become extensions of the parks, giving walkers, joggers and cyclists a fun trip out into the bay, Helsen said.
Rubble from the demolition of the old pier approach could be used to construct the structures that would then be overlaid with lime rock. Over time, the underwater breakwater would become like a reef and attract marine life, Helsen said.
Such a project would not be cheap. Industry estimates run between $15,000 and $25,000 per foot, which means construction costs could run up to $30 million. Any such project also would have to navigate a host of permitting and environmental hurdles.
“There is a lot of environmental and cost issues,” said Dave Metz, interim administrator of city development. “The city has listened. As we develop the pier area and the Downtown Waterfront Master Plan, those ideas will be looked at closer.”
Some of the cost could come from federal funds. President Barack Obama recently signed into law a bill that makes more money available for dredging, ports and harbor projects.
Helsen and other leaders of Tampa Bay Marine Industries Region have shown their ideas to several local groups including the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce.
Ross Preville, who is chairman of the chamber’s Downtown Waterfront Master Plan Task Force, said the idea was well-received at the chamber and that he would be pushing for its inclusion in the waterfront plan that is being developed by AECOM Corp.
He said the results of the public meetings and online poll conducted by the Pier Working Group show residents want more activities on the new pier than just a place to fish and stroll.
“My understanding is in order to accomplish this we do need to add protection, and I don’t know any other way to do that than a breakwater,” Preville said.
Catering to boaters may make economic sense. More than 47,000 recreational boats are registered in Pinellas County, the most in Florida. Add Hillsborough and Pasco counties, and there are more than 111,000 registered recreational boats within a day-trip of the city.
But few boaters visit St. Petersburg because of a lack of available courtesy boat slips and because easterly winds often kick up strong waves that slam boats against their moorings.
On ActiveCaptain.com, boat owners leave reviews for other boaters. Reviews of the moorings in St. Petersburg rave about the city and its downtown but frequently leave warnings about conditions.
“Pass it by if winds are E or NE above 10 knots,” wrote Apollo Beach resident John Stocksdale, reviewing moorings in the Vinoy Basin. “Surge gets in the basin and makes it feel like the inside of a washing machine.”
Those same conditions would likely play havoc with boaters trying to tie up at a new pier or navigate a kayak, said Nancy Frainetti, who for seven years ran The Electric Marina Boat Rentals in the North Yacht Basin renting out kayaks, pedal boats and 21- and 24-foot electric boats. She shuttered the business when the pier closed.
“There were at least 100 or more days a year I had to close the business because the wind was blowing out of the east and the waves were just crashing,” she said. “It wouldn’t be safe to send out people, plus it was damaging my boats.”
Boat slips and kayaking also were part of the ill-fated Lens pier design that voters soundly rejected in a referendum last year.
That may have been a blessing because that pier would have suffered from the same buffeting, said Robert Weisberg, distinguished university professor at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science, who specializes in physical oceanography, which is the study of ocean circulation and waves.
Weisberg said the pier design was unrealistic for Tampa Bay conditions and likely would not have stood up to a Category 1 hurricane. The activities proposed for the new pier also may not be practical in some weather conditions.
He said he hopes this time around the city will take advantage of the world-renowned marine research institution it has in its backyard.
“For the Lens debacle, I don’t think anybody consulted with anybody in my college,” he said. “That was a serious error. It remains to be seen how much we get consulted on any new projects.”
The son of a boat builder, Helsen has been involved in yachting all his life. Once a yacht designer, he now runs Sailor’s Wharf, a boat servicing company in the Salt Creek area.
For St. Petersburg, he envisions students taking water taxis from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg to go out in the evening, and yachts docked in transient slips so the passengers can dine along Beach Drive and sleep in calm waters on their boat.
But he worries that most leaders and planners do not understand boating. The group’s video that was released Friday claims most planners view the downtown area from the land looking out.
“We see it from the water side looking in,” the narrator says.
BY CHRISTOPHER O’DONNELL
Tribune staff [email protected]
(727) 215-7654
Twitter: @codonnellTBO
With Florida Lobster Mini Season just over one week away, it’s time to get out on the water and scout out these tasty Florida creatures. Yesterday, I ventured out on my first prospective dive of the season departing the Hillsboro Inlet on the east coast of Florida in Pompano Beach. The wind was light, visibility was great, but I experienced an unusual and strong south current that brought some confusion to the dive. There have been many scattered reports for the season, and I decided to start off with a deep dive on the third reef in 100′ of water near the Commercial Pier in Ft. Lauderdale. Throughout the dive, I came across about a half dozen Hogfish in the 12-14 inch range. I was fortunate to land my spear shaft in one of these hogfish, and the fish got off my spear and swam into a hole in 93 feet of water. As I swam up to the hole, not only did I see the injured fish, but I found lobster! It is common when diving to find grouper and hogfish seeking shelter in a hole with lobster. Throughout the dive, I came across 4 lobster which were small and well hidden. Of these four, two of the bugs would have met the legal size requirements if season were open.
It is important to remember that the Carapace of the lobster needs to be at least 3 inches and needs to be measured in the water. My favorite technique to catching the lobster is to use a “tickle stick”, a 2 foot metal prong, and a small net. Throughout the state of Florida with the exception of Monroe county, divers can harvest 12 lobster a day during the 2 day mini season which is double the regular season limit of 6 per person. However, Monroe county only allows 6 lobster per person to be harvested during the mini season. Remember to get your Florida Fishing License with a lobster stamp and get out on the water and enjoy the great Florida tradition of lobster mini season on July 30th and 31st.
(Ft. Myers Beach to Charlotte Harbor) In my last report, I felt that coming into the ‘Full Moon’ Phase would produce some good fishing if the winds allowed access to ‘less pressured’ areas for both Snook, Redfish, Seatrouts, Pompano and other species, and it did. Pictured here is junior angler, Tom Moslander III., of Granite City, Il. proudly displaying a nice Redfish he caught on a jig with a shrimp (under a cork); while hIs grandfather, Tom Moslander caught this large Jack Crevalle on the flats, just off of Sanibel in Pine Island Sound.
A few days later, Mr. Mike Swift of Ft. Myers was given an ‘anniversary’ charter by his lovely wife, Rebecca. Mike landed this 29 ” Snook in the back country behind ‘Burnt Store Bar’. Mike also had lots of success when he landed a couple of nice Redfish in the Pineland backcountry earlier in the day.
Inshore fishing should continue to be good all this week as the ‘Full Moon’ just begins to phase out. Tides will be good and if southerly winds ‘blow’, lots of opportunity awaits anxious anglers to access more remote areas. The Seatrout bite seems to have picked up a bit and hopefully will continue. Pompano, are being caught off of the sand shoals in about 5 to 6 ft. of water on shrimp under corks. Look for ‘murky’ greenish colored water.
Offshore reports good Red Grouper, Cobia, Gray and Yellow Tail Snapper bites. Tarpon still around with the better bite off of the lighthouse around Sanibel Island.
This is Captain Terry Fisher wishing you ‘tight lines’! Charter information and other fishing articles/tips/ reports may be obtained on my website; www.fishfacecharters.com. Feel free to call me at 239-357-6829 or email me at [email protected] to book a charter.
Nine CCCC members made the trip to Burnt Store Marina for a 3 day cruise beginning June 17. Participating were cruise leaders Jack and Elsie Harris on Running Water, Robert and Carol Peterson on C R Slide, Ted and Beverley Hutson on New Horizons, Jim and Edie Limbright on Never Mind, Phil and Pat Kryger on Y Knot, Hal and Dee Moss on Hardee II, Lee and Brenda Jetton on Moonlighter, and Mack and Bobbie McEwen on Bullfrog with Bruce & Sue Longman arriving on Surface Interval Thursday.
We had perfect weather Tuesday going to Burnt Store with light winds and flats seas. The Marina staff assisted in securing all the boats shortly after arrival. Happy hour started at 5pm. Diane Myers, Sonja Wright, Jon Lynch, & Phil and Lin Quick all drove to the marina for a delightful cheeseburger cookout at the Marina pavilion.
Wednesday was the Bocce ball tournament with Mack McEwen officiating. The winning team was Sonja and Diane & Phil and Pat. Happy hour with heavy hors d’oeuvres concluded the afternoon. This is always a fun part of CCCC cruises as the women come up with some exciting and different appetizers. We had lots of good food followed by a spirited game of “99”. Brenda Butler showed off her quicker than the eye double drawing. A hat full of quarters was won by Phil Kryger.
Thursday was a free day with lots of swimming and game playing. Happy hour started at 5 pm (a few began cooling off sooner) Diane Myers, Sonja Wright, Larry and Ana Maria Mitchell, John and Patti Queen, Larry and Mary Ann Habich, and Pat Evans and her daughter Gina drove up to join in the group dinner at Porto Bello restaurant. The food and service was excellent. Unfortunately the staff ran short of rare prime rib. Yet there were other equally delicious selections from which to choose. Many then adjourned to Y Knot and Moonlighter for an after dinner drink and good conversation.
The trip home on Friday was clear and sunny with a flat Charlotte Harbor. Most of the trawler style boats left at the crack of dawn, while others slept in choosing to depart for home later in the morning. This was the last CCCC monthly cruise for the spring as many members go north for the summer and, due to the heat, the Club suspends organized cruises until September. Another successful CCCC boating event logged.
The Cape Coral Cruise Club is open to new members who own a boat with overnight accommodations and reside in the Cape Coral / Ft. Myers area. For membership information please contact Larry Mitchell at 239-560-2823. View a short picture video of recent Club activities and read additional Club information on its website, www.c-c-c-c.org.
(Ft. Myers Beach to Charlotte Harbor) Tarpon are still in the area; off of the beaches, in the ‘passes’, in San Carlos Bay, Pine Island Sound and especially Charlotte Harbor. Their whereabouts depend on whether the tides are incoming or outgoing. Baits of choice are small Blue Crab, ‘Pass’ Crabs, Mullet and other bait fishes. However, the bite becomes slow after they get a look at a lot of presentations from the numerous boats; as they are surrounded like ‘wagon trains’ surrounding a campfire. My suggestion is to get out early and get on them before that happens.
Back-country fishing is good as tides are strong and high, offering daily access to less pressured areas for those adventurous enough to seek out Redfish, Snook, Seatrout and the numerous other species that occupy these locations. I recommend fishing early morning and get in before the weather becomes too hot, bringing strong storms and lightning to the area.
Offshore bottom fishing continues to be good as well. Live baits such as Squirrel fish, Pin fish, Crabs and Shrimp will all do the job.
Pictured here is six (6) year old Andy Lam of Cheyenne, Wyoming holding the biggest fish of the day on his family charter, showing his grandfather, Lloyd Wilder (‘Pop’) how it is done. Way to go Andy! Not to be outdone, Andy’s mother Carey is shown with her first Jack Crevalle. We all had a great time that day and I am looking forward to taking Andy out again on his next visit, as he is a fantastic junior angler, ahead of his years.
Next week should be productive since we are just coming off of the new moon. Fish areas with good water movement on the top half of either the incoming or outgoing tides for best results.
This is Captain Terry Fisher of Fish Face Charters. Check out my website at www.fishfacecharters.com for charter rates and additional fishing tips. Feel free to call me at 239-357-6829 for immediate assistance or email me at [email protected]. Until next week; tight lines and happy boating!
