Charlotte Harbor and Lemon Bay Charlotte Harbor and Lemon Bay www www. W W ater ater L L ifeMagazine ifeMagazine .com .com FREE! FREE! W W W a a a t t t e e e r r r Keeping Boaters and Fishermen Informed Since 1997 Keeping Boaters and Fishermen Informed Since 1997 LIFE LIFE Producers of the KIDS CUP Tournament Always Always FREE! FREE! May 2009 May 2009 K K I I D D S S C C U U P P K K I I D D S S C C U U P P W W I I N N N N E E R R ! ! W W I I N N N N E E R R ! ! C C O O L L L L I I N N M MO O O O R R E E C C O O L L L L I I N N M MO O O O R R E E Results & Related Results & Related Pages 12-14 Pages 12-14 Tarponʼs Tarponʼs Happening Happening Page 8 Page 8 Redfish Tracking Redfish Tracking Page 7 Page 7 The Kings The Kings are here are here Page 22 Page 22
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Charlotte Harbor and Lemon BayCharlotte Harbor and Lemon Bay
copied or reproduced withoutspecific written permission.
Contributing Editors:Senior Editor: Capt. Ron Blago
Charlotte Harbor: Capt. Robert MoorePort Charlotte: Capt. Andy MedinaGasparilla: Capt. Chuck Eichner
Offshore: Capt. Steve SkevingtonCommercial Fishing: Kelly Beal
Sea Grant: Betty StauglerReal Estate: Dave Hofer
Inshore: Fishinʼ FrankDiving: Adam WilsonKayaks: David Allen
Sailing: Bill DixonOffice Dog: Molly
on the COVER:KIds Cup Champion Collin Moore with thewinning 5.18 pound redfish on the ESPNstage at the Redfish Cup in Punta Gorda.
on our WEBSITE:WWW.waterlifemagazine.com
RealEstate: Whatʼs happening NOW!Fishing Resource Guide: Everythingyou ever wanted to know – almostDon Ball School: Class ReportArtificial Reefs: Projects and progresslat/long for local reefsManatee Myths: Read the original planto create sanctuaries and refuges, asspelled out by the United Nations in 1984
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Water LIFE is the official publ ication of theCharlot te Harbor ReefAssociat ion, the originator ofthe Kids Cup Tournament andthe producer of the Don Bal lSchool of Fishing .
Not per WEEK
Via emailI am a tournament angler who has beenfishing professional tournaments foryears. I was told about your articleabout Rick Murphy and Jeff Paige inthe recent Punta Gorda IFATournament. I got online and read itand couldn't believe what I was read-ing. First off, it is not a 322 mile roundtrip, but about 100 miles max one waywitch would be 200 miles total to wherethey were fishing. Secondly 240 gal-lons of fuel? Guys would be spendingmore time at the gas pumps than theywould be fishing. I ran to Palma SolaBay that day and only used about 70gallons total and another 10 or 11 milesmore would have gotten us to werethese other guys were fishing. Third,there were 126 boats that fished thePunta Gorda IFA Tournament, not 138.Fourth, Murphy and Paige weighed in14.16 not 14.78 like you put in the arti-cle. Lastly, how am I supposed tobelieve anything else that is written inyour magazine, especially that article ifyou don't have your facts straight. Theproblem with tournament fishing nowdays is you have way to many cryba-bies who think that everyone else isgetting an unfair advantage and thebiggest names are always an easy tar-get. In my opinion if you can't hangwith the big boys, take your ball and gohome. The complaints always seem tobe about the guys who win or always
do well. I guess that if I didn't do wellthat the guys that did do well werecheating. As a magazine, get your storystraight and make sure that you haveall the facts especially when you areaccusing someone of blatantly cheat-ing. I'm not going to say that you arewrong because I did not see the fishwith my own eyes. It just sounds likesour grapes to me.Jeff Mullett
Editor RespondsWe in no way intended to indicate any-thing wrong had been done. We simplyreported what had happened and whatwe had been told. I just ran into Geoffthis weekend at the Redfish Cup andhe has ʻno problemʼ. – MH
To Water LIFEI saw the article on Stump PassDredging in Water Life. It was Indicatedthat there will be a "redirection of the S
curve in Alligator Creek entrance". Forsomeone who is not familiar with thearea where was the "S curve inAlligator Creek"? Also, will they bedredging from the Stump Passentrance back to the Intercoastal? I never felt safe traveling from the intra-coastal to the pass with a deep draft.Also how about a significant markeroffshore to indicate the entrance to thepass. How about a solar lighted markerfor night time return? Article was greatinfo, however instead of an aerialphoto if you could draw a sketch as tothe proposed areas of dredging for uswho are not to familiar with the area itwould be a great help to understandwhat will take place. Thank you for thearticle.Bob
Editor notes: The S curve and AlligatorCreek are two different issues. The Scurve is in the channel that approachesthe creek and you will go straight inand out when the dredging is done.Stump Pass (to the Gulf) will bedredged at the mouth of the Passwhere it shoals up. I do not think thedredging will go all the way back to theintracoastal this time. Stump Pass isan inlet of convenience and as suchhas not warranted a light. Severalmarkers have come, and gone fromthat shifting inlet over the years.
TTARPONARPON and and SHARK SHARK HeadquartersHeadquartersJigs, Tails, Hooks, Cable, Shark Rigs:Jigs, Tails, Hooks, Cable, Shark Rigs: LARGEST SELECTIONLARGEST SELECTION
Shark TournamentsJune 13 & July 18
M a y 2 0 0 9 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 5
Quality of LifeBy Michael Hel lerWater LIFE PublisherI bought a bottle of dishwasher deter-
gent the other day. It had a little stickeron it: “Phosphate Free, Safe for Riversand Streams,” it said. The next day,when the sun was setting, I was up onmy second story deck watching somerays in the canal. Gulls were jockeyingfor position on the white topped pil-ings. A few pelicans made low passestickleing the water with the tippy-end-feathers of their wings. There was a podof bait and several dolphins appearedlooking for their evening meal. The daybefore, the dolphins had been chewingeither muscles or barnacles off the canalpilings, something I’d never seen themdo before. I had my camera and I wasshooting ‘tests’ with a long lens, hand-held in low light. I only shot a fewframes of the dolphins, and it wasn’tuntil later, when I went inside that Isaw what I had.I was looking at another picture first,
studying how the water broke just per-fectly across the dolphin’s snout so thata wave came up and went around with-out ever wetting the animal’s eye. ThenI looked at the next frame, another dol-phin. It had soap bubbles coming fromits blowhole. Maybe the animal ate abar of soap, but more likely, I’d guess
it was soapy phosphate in the river, dis-charged from septic tanks, like the labelon the dishwashing detergent said. The theory that I’ve heard most is
the prolonged dry spell has let area sep-tic tank drain-fields overload the soil.
Then when we have a slight rain, likewe did, it washes right out to the riverand the tide carries it into area canals.On the same day (April 21) that thephoto above was taken there was a ‘noswimming, water quality warning’ at
the Port Charlotte Beach Complex.There was a warning for high levels offecal coliform bacteria.This is more than a water quality
issue. This is a quality-of-life issue forus all.
Soap Bubbles emerge from the blowhole of a dolphin navigating the Severin canal in Port Charlotte last month. There was a water qualitywarning the same day for the Port Charlotte Beach Complex area.
By Capt Bob DeKeul enaereWater LIFE Fishing
Barracuda's have bad reputationsamongst sport fishermen. More than oneexpletive has been uttered buy the poorguy who got his bait pulverized by a bigcuda while surface trolling for marlin inblue water. Many other anglers have staredin disbelief as they watched their deepjigged snapper or grouper ripped in halfby Mister Cuda as they hoisted it fromthe deep. Some days it's hard to get awayfrom barracuda. Being apex predators theycan travel anywhere they please lookingfor an easy meal. This inevitably leads tomany undesirable encounters between off-shore anglers and these toothy missiles.
With a face full of nasty teeth,dead-looking prehistoric eyes, and badmanners it's easy to see why the barracudais hated by so many fishermen. The bar-racuda is truly the "Rodney Dangerfield"of the ocean; they get "no respect". Thisoften maligned creature is however a mag-nificent game fish in its own right. Allowme to state the barracuda's case. First ofall, they grow large. Cuda have beenknown to reach 100 pounds and attainlengths close to 6 feet. These days oneover 40 pounds is considered big and mostof the ones your likely to encounter willbe under 20 pounds. They are also pisca-torial athletes. A big barracuda is capableof making spectacular leaps with jumpsup to 6 feet high and over 20 feet longwhile making your reel look like it'sspinning at a million rpm’s. They alsorun fast, pull hard, and with all thosenasty looking teeth are extremely photo-genic. Their bad attitudes, mean looks,and propensity to kill everything in sightmake these predatory maniacs an absolutethrill to catch on light tackle and fly fish-ing gear.
Barracuda can be found on many ofour near shore reefs and wrecks. Wrecksthat tend to receive less fishing pressurecan have swarms of barracuda patrollingthem. Once located these fish are easilytargeted. Because cuda love the chase aswell as the reward they will often followlures for long distances before striking.This gives the spin fishermen a bigadvantage over fly fishermen as they areable to throw lures great distances and ripthem through the water at high speeds.All this commotion mimics fleeing bait-fish which can trigger ferocious strikes.Barracuda are suckers for big poppingplugs that are chugged along the surface athigh speed. Big metal spoons and flashyswimming plugs are also deadly regardlessof whether they are cast or trolled. Don'tforget to employ a wire leader ahead ofyour lure or you will be donating it to
Mr. Cuda's col-lection.
Fly tacklefor offshorebarracuda isfairly simple.A 9 or 10weight rodarmed with afloating line isideal and makescasting largeflies easier. Forcuda I like to fish with big flashy fliesthat are around 5 - 6 inches in length uti-lizing 1/0 and 2/0 hooks. Chartreuse isthe go to color on most days, but some-times they can get finicky and prefer a hotpink or fluorescent red and orange offer-ing. Whatever color fly you choose toemploy do not skimp on the flash materi-al which really turns them on. A 9 to 12foot leader tapering to a 12 to 20 poundtippet and 4 to 5 inches of 30 pound wirebite tippet to combat those sharp teeth isall that is needed. Wire traces longer than5 inches make it difficult to completelyturn over the leader and fly on longer castsand also tip off many cuda that this issomething they should not eat.
Many fly casters still believe thatthey must make long casts and retrievetheir fly at breakneck speeds to elicit ahit. While this can be effective it requiresa lot of work and will quickly tire evenaccomplished casters. Several easy tech-niques make fly fishing for cuda lessstrenuous and much more enjoyable.Bright foam popping bugs are one way toget a cuda to strike. Pick those that areeasy to cast but still make a lot of com-motion. To correctly fish a popping bugfor barracuda make as long a cast as possi-ble and drop the bug 20 to 30 feet awayfrom and beyond the fish. Mr. Cuda hasexcellent vision and will have no troublelocating your offering. Retrieve the pop-ping bug at a fairly decent pace and
ALWAYS keep it in motion. The constantgurgling and popping will drive him nuts.
When fishing with big, flashy fliesyou can also drop your fly about 10 feetin front of the fish and then sweep the rodup and back which streaks the fly throughthe water. At the end of the rod's sweepmake a back cast and then drop the fly inthe same place again repeating the processuntil the cuda can't stand it any more.Make sure you have a good grip on yourrod as the constantly disappearing andreappearing offering infuriates most bar-racuda. Needless to say, the strike will notbe subtle.
When all else fails start a chumline with small dead baitfish, crabs, andwhatever else is available. Once the cudasstart feeding well cast your fly into thechum line and dead drift it so they think itis just another piece of chum. Keeprepeating the process until they take yourfly. This method is virtually foolproof andprovides for some very exciting visualfishing. As long casts are not required,chumming also allows novice casters toget in on the action. Whatever methodyou use make sure to bring along plentyof flies. Cuda are brutal on flies and it isoften a one fly per fish game.
Capt. Bob DeKeulenaerecan be reached at 941-876-4586for l i ght t ack l e chart ers and fl y cas t i ng i ns t ruct i onhttp://www.coastlinefishing.net
The Cuda Gets No Respect
P a g e 6 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E M a y 2 0 0 9
VentingTools
Tothe best of
my knowl-edge venting
tools startedin Charlotte
County. Mydeparted friend
Rich Novak, whowas the SeaGrant Agent fromthe University ofFlorida inCharlotte County,came up with theidea.A tool to help
deflate the swimbladder of a fish
brought up from thedepths. Anglers had
been doing this forsome time, with knives
or icepicks but Rich sawa better way. I remember
him showing me the first tool. A 4-inch long section of a 1-inch diameter wood-en dowel with a sharpened basketball infla-tion needle sticking out of one end. Rich haddrilled a hole in thedowel so air could passthrough the needle andout the end of the dow-ell. It was the first vent-ing tool I ever saw.Five years after Richdied the state mandatedoffshore anglers mustcarry a venting tool.Now nearly a year haspassed since the vent-ing tool law took effectand several modelshave come to the mar-ket. There is a springloaded model, a plasticmodel and an aluminumcylinder. Unfortunatelynone of these float. The cheapest is thehypodermic needle for $6.50. The mostexpensive is the $46.50 PreVent aluminum. The one I like the best is the Anglerʼs Choicemodel which has a solid point with the airinlet coming from the side of the needle.That helps keep it from plugging up – and at$10.50 - $12 itʼs also a best seller at localbait and tackle shops.
M a y 2 0 0 9 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 7
By Betty S tauglerWater LIFE / Sea GrantWith the April 25th Water LIFE Kids Cup
Tournament completed, the 2008 redfish tracking projectis now underway. Remember this project seeks to deter-mine the fate of tournament caught and released red-fish…do they survive, where do they go, etc., etc. Ourproject hinges on two important tagging methods. Thefirst utilizes anchored dart tags and angler recapture infor-mation and the second utilizes more sophisticatedacoustic transmitters and tracking equipment. Tied to ourproject is an additional control group study (more aboutthat below). Anglers weighed in 44 redfish. Not all of them met
the slot limit, but all of them received the anchored darttags. Anchored dart tags were applied after the weightwas taken by Capt. Ralph Allen, the Tournament WeighMaster. Twenty-two fish also received acoustic transmit-ters. These transmitters (sometimes referred to as sonictags or acoustic tags) are surgically implanted into theabdominal cavity of the fish. The transmitters work offof an internal battery that allows them to transmit a sig-nal that can be received by our equipment if the fish islocated within our detection range (400 meters). Thesetransmitters will remain active for 820 days. In order to determine the appropriate transmitter for
the project, we look at the body weight of the fish inrelation to the weight of the tag. A great deal ofresearch has been done by the vendor (VEMCO) and byother researchers to determine the maximum size trans-mitter that can be used safely and without altering afish’s behavior. Prior to undergoing surgery, candidatefish were put to sleep using carbon dioxide (CO2) as an
anesthesia. Surgeries were performedby Mote scientist Carole Neidig andUniversity of Florida veterinarian RoyYanong. After the surgery, the fishwere revived in oxygenated tanks bydedicated volunteers. Once fully recov-ered the fish were released by Kids Cupanglers. We do want to thank SouthernOxygen in Punta Gorda and Capt.Keith Benner for providing our oxygen,CO2 and regulators for the event. This year we had two tracking boats
on the water to try to capture as manytransmitter numbers as possible withmobile tracking gear. Between the twocrews, Jean & Chris Newberry andFishin’ Frank and Terry, we were able to locate all ofour fish with transmitters.If you looked on the far side of the marina basin, you
may have noticed 5 round blue tanks. These tanks werewhere the control study took place. We placed threetournament fish in each tank and held them 48 hours.We use the control group to evaluate mortality thatmight be associated with the tournament or our taggingmethods. On Monday the 27th, Roger DeBruler and Ireleased those fish. All were spunky and ready to go. By Tuesday our receivers in PGI had already picked
up a fair number of fish. We also had some recentrecordings of last year’s fish. One recently passed HobbsPoint and another was at Alligator Creek on the 24th.By Wednesday April 29, Roger had recorded and/or trackedevery Kids Cup implanted fish somewhere between theUS 41 bridges and Ponce Inlet. We are currently working on major design changes to
the tracking website. We hope to be up and running byJune. Anglers Note: If you caught a fish in the Kids
Cup Tournament you willreceive a letter or an emailfrom me with your fishtracking information. If youdo not receive your letter bythe end of May, call me.Remember, if you hap-
pen to catch a tagged fish,please write down the tag number, length of the fish andcapture location, and call that information into the red-fish hotline. The phone number can be found on thetag. We ask that you please release the fish with its tagintact so that it can continue to provide important infor-mation about redfish survival, travel patterns and growthrates as it is recaptured. Betty Staugler is the University of Florida Sea Grant Agentfor Charlotte County. She can be reached at 764-4346.
2009 Redfish Tracking Underway
Above: preparing for surgeryRight: a dart tag
P a g e 8 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E M a y 2 0 0 9
By Capt. Mark BennettWater LIFE TarponThe tarpon have shown up already for
the season. They have been in the pass-es, the flats and a few are already cruisingthe beaches. I will fish for tarpon almostanywhere they go, but the flats of PineIsland Sound and Charlotte Harbor aretwo of my favorite places. Althoughbackcountry fishing for snook and redfishis at a peak right now, everything elsetakes a back seat to the Silver King forme.Last time we talked about the right
tackle for tarpon fishing. This time Ithought I would share a few key tips forhooking up and staying tight to a tarponon light tackle. First off, after you cast, keep your rod
tip low and take up the slack. When theybite, reel as fast as you can till the line istight. I mean real tight, drag going outtight. Then lift the rod to 10:00. If youget the line tight properly at first, multi-ple hook sets are not required. Hang onand be ready for anything. A freshlyhooked tarpon might run right at you orstraight away. When ever they start to runline off of your reel, stay ready for ajump. When the fish jumps, point the rodright at the fish. You might have heardthe expression “Bow to the King”, thisis what they are talking about. It decreas-es tension on the line when the fish is inthe air shaking its head. It makes it harderfor the tarpon to throw the hook and ithelps keep him from breaking you off. When he goes back in the water lift
the rod back up and be ready to reel. Alot of times, especially when first hookedup, they will rapidly change directionsafter they hit the water.When the fish runs, let him go. This
is the only time you can rest your arms.As soon as the fish stops, that is thetime to work on him. Pump the rod upand reel down, all of the while keepingthe line tight. Keep doing this till thefish runs again, rest your arms. Samething, as soon as he slows again, pumpand reel. You will notice when he isabout to run or jump again, he will shakehis head, trying to get rid of you and thehook. Do not take any breaks during thisprocess, that only gives the fish a breaktoo. In the wise words of my hero Capt.Bobby Buswell, “When you’re restinghe’s resting!” Try to visualize the tarpon in the
water. Which way is he going? If he isswimming to the right, you want to pullto the left and if he is going left, pull to
the right. If he is going straight awaypull straight up, always keeping the linegoing down his back. This way you arenot only helping keep your hook frompulling out, but you are applying maxi-mum pressure to the fish – not fightingcurrent, the wind and the fish. Neverchase after a hooked tarpon, unless youare running out of line. This only increas-es fight time. It gives the fish a chanceto rest while you are straining to fight themoving water and the boat. Keep chang-ing your angle of pressure as the fishchanges direction till you have the fishboat side. I think you will find this method will
greatly decrease fight time and decreasethe strain on your back too.Till next time, keep the line tight and
bow when they jump.Capt. Mark Bennett can be reached to
book a trip or for comments or questionsat: www.tarponsnook.com
or at (941) 474-8900
Now It BeginsTarpon Fishing in Ernest
Capt. Mark Bennett handles the leader as he brings one of 2009s early big tarpon boatside last month. Photo By: Jenni Bennett
M a y 2 0 0 9 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 9
By Capt. Chuck EichnerWater LIFE InshoreStaring into a livewell full of fresh
whitebait consisting of pilchards,threadfins and pinfish always brings asense of excitement to the fishing dayahead. Catching the bait is hard work andsometimes takes hours to do. As fantasticas that saltwater shiner looks wiggling onyour hook, have you ever found that fishcan ignore it? If you have fished CharlotteHarbor this spring then I am guessing youranswer is yes!The complexity of the Charlotte Harbor
estuary baffles even the best fishing guidesin the area. The snook and redfish areextremely tide sensitive. Essentially, theyhave specific tide segments where theymove into feeding grounds and specificsegments when they leave and this is onlya fraction of the equation. Add to that, theywill change their habits depending on waterclarity, existing forage species, the amountof floating grass and aquatic debri suspend-ed in the water column. The amount ofboats passing by, seasonal patterns, moonphase, water temperature, sunlight, baro-metric pressure variations and the list goeson.On a recent outing my brother Bob and
I found whitebait only 5 minutes from mydock in an area I had never seen it before.It seemed too good to be true. Four goodthrows of the cast net and we were ready torock! On a fast outgoing tide we zoomedto a hotspot that I had fished a week before.Pitching “free-swimmers” to the man-groves we waited to see a snook blast thesurface. We waited and waited and finallya nice legal snook was boated and released. What I expected was constant action
with reds and snook because this particularspot was only good on the first hour of anoutgoing tide. I had proven it many timesbefore and this was the window of tide theyfed on as the fish were leaving the back-country. Twenty fish from this spot wouldbe expected, but not today. With one fishunder our belt we moved on. Our focus was reds and snook, but the
backcountry fish gave me a clue – lockjawtold me to make a decision to struggle tocatch shallow water backcountry fish withthe magnificent pilchards or go for lessglamorous species.The plan B choice was learned many
times this spring where whitebait did notproduce much action. Normally, I wouldtry multiple spots to achieve that conclu-sion, but my fish sense said otherwise. Anchoring the boat in the middle of the
harbor on a bottom rise we set up for some“down home” fishing. Dicing and slicingand pitching livies should bring at leastladyfish and sharks and hopefully others.Bob set up a heavy rod and floated a bigpinfish under a cork. Claiming that cobialove to eat a pinfish that rod was stuck ina holder while another rod was rigged up.
Seconds later the float was gone and Bobreared back and the fight was on - a nearlegal cobe was boated and released. Anamazing call by my brother and I was rig-ging a rod now for cobia. Before I could tiea hook on he flicks another pinfish out andwham, another cobia! Bob’s chest waspretty well puffed up and we had lines offthe side in every direction. No more cobiashowed, but a nice blacknose shark, sever-al fat trout and jacks made for an interest-ing couple of hours and then the bite shutoff. Once again, live bait was not working. Nature’s clue was that this lack of bite
coincided with a tide change as the first ofthe incoming started. About the same timethe westerly sea breeze began humping andfloating green fuzz balls were suspended inthe water column. Something made thefish turn off and these were the obvioussigns.With the incoming tide I figured a move
to the backcountry might produce somefast action. My first and second spot choic-es had a deep channel that ran against amangrove edge. Figuring that reds andsnook nestled into these troughs on thelow tide, it should be easy pickins’ with astrong incoming. Free swimming livepilchards were released to the tune of 30 or40 on each spot. But, not nearly a swirlon a bait and no action for us. How canthat be possible? I just knew the fish werethere because only days before these 2spots were loaded with snook and a fewoversize reds. With the day getting long, Ineeded to make something happen. Deciding to fish a deep hole for goliath
grouper, jacks and snook in a canal basinwe idled our way in to the spot. With watervisibility excellent we peered down andbegan to see fish peeling away from theboat. Typically, these would be mullet,but perhaps 50 fish dropped into the depthsbefore we realized they were snook! Let’sgo ahead and fish the deep hole a quartermile away and then come back after thesnook settle down, I suggested. As quickas that thought came I reasoned you don’tleave fish to find fish and with a quick turnof the wheel we where back to where wehad seen the fish and set up. Anchor set,livies released and the “mash” began.Snook with reckless abandon crashed thechum baits and our reels were singingSweet Lucy as drag peeled off. For a whilewe were both constantly hooked up and afew were approaching 30 inches. A half anhour into it and I had the hot rod, cast aftercast. Meanwhile, my brothers rod wentcold. I released fish after fish and he could-n’t get a bite. How can that be? Then, thebite completely shut off for me. Back atmy dock Bob was unloading the rods andchecked my outfit out. What size leaderwere you using, he asked?Twenty fluorocarbon with a super smallhook. Bob was using 30 fluorocarbonwith a 2/0 hook. It was clear to us that at
some point the snook had an attitudechange about how our baits behaved andappeared in the water - and they ignored theheavier leader. Thus, introducing a wholenew level of variables as why fish willignore white bait. Your leader size, hookstyle and size, line size and type can mat-ter. Here are a few other variables
that wi l l affect the fi sh’s wi l l ing-ness to bi te. Residual scents left onyour hand that are transferred to your rig(suntan lotion), noise level of yourlivewell pumps and how close you posi-tion your boat to the fish. Sometimes livechumming produces a negative affect.
There is nothing natural about a dozenpilchards hurling through the air and land-ing on the water. Every day on the water is unique, with
different weather and aquatic variables.Whitebait is not a guarantee and you maywant to analyze your environment andmodify your tactics. Cracking nature’s codeis the true challenge and a big snook slurp-ing a pilchard off the surface is the ultimatereward.
Capt. Chuck Eichner is a local chartercaptain. For information or to book a guid-ed fishing trip call 941-505-0003 or go tohis website:
www.backcountry-charters.com
Whitebait Is Not A Fish Guarantee
Thatʼs Fishin Frank, skipping a whitebait under the bushes in Charlotte Harbor.
P a g e 1 0 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E M a y 2 0 0 9
By Capt. Andrew MedinaWater LIFE Charlotte HarborAs we get into May, just maybe we
will see some showers we so desperatelyneed. We will also start to see more andmore tarpon and sharks. As the bait podsmake their way into the harbor, there isplenty of bait now. But I would expect tosee large numbers of threadfin’s move inthis month. The threadfin pods are what Ilook for when I am tarpon fishing in theharbor. If you can get a piece of bait into apod of bait, there is a good chance you canget hooked up. What I will do is net upthreadfin, the bigger the better. Or go catchsome ladyfish. Ladyfish can be found thistime of the year, around any of the pods ofsmaller bait. I use a simple jig head, withany soft plastic, or a stick bait worksgreat. Once I feel I have enough bait, I willhead out on the harbor, and search for thebait pods. The bait pod’s can be seen veryeasily, and once you find the first one, youthen know what to look for. I will rig up amedium heavy or heavy action spinningrod, with 50lb test. This is only personalpreference, conventional tackle works justas well, but you don’t have the cast abilityyou would with spinning gear. The hooksrange from a 5/0 to a 7/0 depending whatkind of fish are out there feeding. I like touse longer and heavier leaders than most,60lb leader works well for me, in about a 5ft length. I use the longer leader so I canadjust the float to different depths. Theidea is to get the bait into the bait pod, andbe singled out by a tarpon. When a tarpongoes to feed on the bait and the pod scattersfor dear life. Your bait is pinned there witha cork and gets left behind by the bait.Usually if fish are feeding in this manner,your bait will get blasted. The down fall atleast for me, is the sharks that also feed onthe bait schools. If you plan to catch ashark, fish them the same way, only differ-ence is adding a piece of steel leader to thehook. This way you won’t get bit off on
the initial strike. There are many species ofsharks in our harbor from blacktips tohammerheads, and you never know whatmouthful of teeth you may hook up with.We have already caught a number of tarponand sharks in the harbor, and my guess isas the water warms we will see more fishin the harbor. Backwater has also beengreat at times; notice that I said at times.We have had great days, than we have haddays where you could see fish and they justwould not eat. Hit or miss, but when youfound fish if you sat on them andchummed, you could catch them. Redfishaction has been hot with white bait;shrimp is also still working fair. Duringthe Kids Cup we made a bold move not togo to the schools we found in prefishing.But to go to an area along the west wall, Iknew there was fish. Not that they werebetter, just because the weather had the har-bor kicked up. By fishing closer, it gave uslonger to soak bait, instead of running.Once we started chumming with dicedshrimp, we could actually see the fish bellyrolling along a shore. Just as we started tocatch fish Noah Parry, with the cameraboat showed up. They were able to getsome great shots, the youth angler I wasfishing, managed to pull a few fish out ofthe hole. All together it ended up being agood day. I would like to take the chance tocongratulate all the anglers who participat-ed in the Kids Cup. They toughed it outwith some brutal conditions, and got ataste of tournament fishing. Great job guys(and girls). One more note, snook are feed-ing well, in hopes to put their spawningfat on, this month they are catch andrelease, snook season closes May 1st. Sobe careful on how you handle, and releasethem. By doing this our children can enjoyfishing for snook for years to come.
Capt. Andrew Medina can be reached at(941)456-1540 or on the web atwww.fishfloridatarpon.com, to book a tripor fishing info.
M a y 2 0 0 9 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 11
By Capt. Ron BlagoWater LIFE Senior StaffThe biggest job of the Charlotte Co. Marine Advisory
Committee(MAC) each year is to recommend to theBoard of County Commissioners, the allocation of fundsfrom our annual budget. As taxpayers, all of this moneycomes out of our pockets; so I am going to do my bestto tell you where the money is going. This year there isabout $1.338 million in the pot which comes from threesources- West Coast Inland Navigation District(WCIND)funds which come from property taxes- BoaterImprovement Funds(BIF), that come from boat registra-tions and Local BIF, which is a special fee charged eachyear on all boats registered in Charlotte County. Eachone of these organizations have their own rules and regu-lations on how this money can be spent; but the mainrule they all have is that all money must be for boatingand navigation improvement.The MAC is not allowed to propose their own proj-
ects but accept request from mostly county governmentdepartments, like Public Works and Park and Recreation;or from non-profit organizations like the CharlotteHarbor Environmental Center (CHEC) and the Civil AirPatrol. All the MAC does is review the request and voteyes or no and pass that request on to the BCC who havethe final decision to approve or reject the request. Each year there is always a list of automatic annual
expenditures that are taken right off the top. This yearslist included; $200K for Stump Pass - $130K for get-ting abandoned boats out of County waters and $80k formaintenance to aids to navigation (local channel mark-ers). Of the new request that were approved by MAC thisyear the largest was a $400k request for a new boat rampat Bay Heights Park which is near the Charlotte-Sarasotaborder in Englewood. Next year a second funding requestwill be made for an additional $400k and this will bethe seed money to begin construction. We have been toldthat the ramp should open in 2011.$200k will go towards the straightening of the
Alligator Creek “S” curve. This project has been in theworks for over 15 years and the MAC is happy to beable to provide the funds to Public Works to begin workon a safe straight channel for local boaters. $100K willgo to putting in rest rooms at the Sunrise Boat Ramp.For years the MAC has been recommending that all pub-lic boat ramp have rest rooms instead of those awfulporta-johns we now have. We now have new leadershipat the Park and Rec Dept so maybe we can see somechanges. MAC is insisting that all new boat ramp proj-ects (including Bay Heights) will have provisions for restrooms.$55K will go for a study to find the best way to keep
beach sand from the Port Charlotte Beach Complex fromshifting into the Sunrise Waterway Channel. $15K forgas and supplies for the boat and truck used by our SeaGrant Agent. $17K will go to CHEC to help fund a pro-gram to take all Charlotte Co 4th graders on the waterfor some hands on environmental education. An addition-al $5k will be coming CHEC’s way to teach kids as partof a mitigation deal with the State DEP for removingthe Manchester Lock. The Civil Air Patrol gets $11.5Kto help fund their Sundown Patrols in which they lookfor boaters in distress from the air.Each year the MAC reviews many requests for funds
both large and small and unfortunately there is never
enough money to go around but the MAC isalways interested in any non-profit organiza-tion that has a small boating related projectthat will benefit all the people in CharlotteCo. I personally like projects that requirematching funds. If your organization wantsmore information I suggest you contact thePublic Works Dept or the Parks and RecDept. to see if your project is feasible, andthen contact the Budget Dept. to get informa-tion on requesting funds. Remember thatrequest for funds must be submitted well inadvance; usually in Jan. and if approved donot become available for use until Aug.Reach Capt. Ron at: [email protected]
Keeping Track of Your Boaterʼs Money
Sometimes itʼs hard tohold the camerastraight - photo byCapt. Angel Torres
P a g e 1 2 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E M a y 2 0 0 9
Fri. Dinner and theSat. Morning Start
At The Weigh-In Dock
The Fishing
Dinner was at Bennedettoʼs Restaurant. The boatcheck in went from 5:30 a.m. to 6:45 a.m.At 6:50 a.m. the field was released to go fishing.
Photos bySarah Coward
and Debbie Munholand
We had a 2:30 weigh-in but by 1:30 we only had four boats weigh in. At 2 p.m. wewere waiting around the dock wondering if we were going to get skunked. Then theboats started to arrive. The line stretched around the corner and the weigh in didnʼtfinish until almost 3:30. Fourty fish were weighed in. A few oversized fish were trans-fered directly to the fishery biologists with Mote Marine for sonic tags as well.All the fish were observed for healthiness and then released alive.
Fishing had been tough for the previous week. Windy conditions and high water made it all the more complicated on tournament day. Numerous anglers reportedbeing ʻon fish ̓but not being able to get them to eat. “There was a half hour window right around 11:30 a.m. when the bite turned on,” one angler said. Anglersfished from south of Sarasota down to the southern end of the Pine Island Sound.
By Michael Hel lerKids Cup Tournament DirectorHoly Cow! What a week!A dinner for 250, which includ-
ed a group shot photo of 100+Kids. Setting it all up, hangingbanners, taking it down, loadingthe cars and trucks, setting upagain, hanging all those bannersagain. You get the idea.We had one no-show and one
boat that broke down so wewound up putting 111 kids on the
water.It was a tough day, not all that
windy in the morning, but by midafternoon there were big whitecapson the open water. The wind wasout of the east and the tide neverreally went out. Fishing was hard.A number of anglers suggested the‘bite’ only lasted about a halfhour, but we still weighed in 40fish and gave them to the biolo-gists from Mote for tagging.There are so many people to
thank for making this event a suc-cess; Bob, John, Gary and Ron –the line handlers on the dock,Donna, Sheri, Rena and Patti –the angler check in staff, Ralphand Robert – the weigh in staff,the set up people Catherine andLarry, our emcee Gene Kingery,Fishin Frank, the biologists fromMote Marine, our Sea GrantAgent Betty Staugler and RogerDe Bruler, and my wife, Ellen.We’re all in this together, for the
kids, for the fun of it,and for the satisfaction.There is nothing betterthan being surrounded bya bunch of happy, smil-ing, kids. It couldn’thave happened withouteveryone, Thank you all.
There were some‘new’ things this year. For the first time
there were, I think, asmany recreational anglerssigned up as died-in-thewool fishing fina tics. Athird of our field camefrom areas outside ofCharlotte County. Every year we seem to
have more and more girlanglers. This year we hadthe most ever, 21 girls.These are all very goodthings.At the Captain’s
Meeting I stressed that this is afun tournament and it should be afun day, and if you weigh in a fishso much the better.At the awards ceremony after
the weigh- in, a contingent ofmothers, young girls and friendscheered, yelled and screamed as thenames of the age group winnersand the Top-5 were announced. Itwas a moment – with an air offamily unity and fun for all. Itwas perfect.One dad (who fishes
a lot of tournamentevents) told me ourcaptain’s bags this yearwere the best he hadever seen at any eventanywhere. That was agreat compliment madepossible only throughsuch great cooperationand generosity from allthe tackle suppliers.
At the Redfish Cup the follow-ing weekend our top-5 kids wentout again on another blustery dayand came back at 1:30 to weigh inon the ESPN stage. Taylor Crosland and Jesse
Smith came to the stage without afish, then Kyle Miller weighed ina 2.08 pound red. “How’d youcatch that fish?” announcer BobSealy asked Kyle. “With a rod andreel,” Kyle said, dryly. “Where’d did you get him?”
Sealy asked “In the mouth,” Kylesaid. The crowd loved it, Kyle wasin the lead. Then Frankie Mancinicame up with a respectable 5.14pound red. The crowd went wild. The four 15-year olds had
weighed in. All that remained wasfor little 10-year old Collin Mooreto weigh in.Collin’s fish weighed 5.18
pounds, two-one-hundredths of apound more than Frankie’s fish.It was Collin Moore’s first
tournament and he had won!
M a y 2 0 0 9 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 1 3
Kids Cup Top-5 at theRedfish Cup
Sixth Annual Kids Cup Tournament: Best One Yet!
DID YOU KNOW?The Kids Cup is a fundraiser forthe Don Ball School of Fishing.Thatʼs an eight week programthe Charlotte Harbor ReefAssociation offers in 5 localcounty middle schools.The tournament entry fees paidby the Kids Cup Tournamentanglers helps to pay for rodsand reels, tackle and tackleboxes and the fishing ResourceManual that each FishingSchool student receives. This fall will be the 7th year ofthe Fishing School program.Thanks to everyone who helpsmake all this happen!
www.waterlifemagazine.com
The 2009 Kids Cup Winner,10-year-old Collin Moore,and his adultboat-driver/guide/uncleChuck Howard, fished out ofa black Shearwater boat.(Perhaps luckily??) it wasthe same boat as the one onour 2009 Kids Cup T Shirt
Taylor Crosland no weightJesse Smith no weightKyle Miller fish weight: 2.08 lbs.
Collin Moore WINNER! fish weight: 5.18 lbs.
Frankie Mancini fish weight: 5.14 lbs.
Collin Moore 10 Chuck Howard 6.90Frankie Mancini 15 Justin Kaufman 6.70Kyle Miller 15 Eric Davis 6.28Jesse Smith 15 Ryan McGee 6.08Taylor Crosland 15 Doug Creek 5.80Jeffrey Watkins Jr 13 Jeffrey Watkins Sr 5.58Chandler Pritchett 11 Zachari Kraft 5.36Brandon Varney 16 Paul Lambert 5.34Craig Smith 13 Ken Smith 5.02Amin Mahshe 15 Andrew Medina 4.88Steven Trombley II 10 Angel Torres 4.86Michael Eisner 15 Mike Shelton 4.74Jeppe Bennetson 12 David McHugh 4.70Alexandra Smith 14 Stephen Smith 4.62Connor Peters 11 Tom Fisher 4.58Kendra Jones 10 Bill Jones 4.54Elio Fernandez 15 Sidney Lowe 4.46Phantasia Osborne 11 Angel Torres 4.34Dacota Cline 11 Bret Ezell 4.18Mathew Henderson 11 Dave Henderson 4.18Bryton Wolfe 15 Robert Amick 4.14Robby Howard 12 Darren Howard 4.12Austin Taylor 14 Jim Taylor 3.96Justin Dutton 13 Danny Dutton 3.94Cody Bailey 16 Bobby Jones 3.56Gwendolyn Fenneken 13 David Thomas 3.46David Isaacs 15 Donnie Moore 3.44Sal Crapanzano 15 Derrick Jacobsen 3.42Adriana Smith 12 Stephen Smith 3.24Rikki Epperly 13 Chad Epperly 3.14Chance Galloway 12 Dave Galloway 3.10Vincent Farruglo 13 joe Jurisko 2.74Rex White 13 Sam White 2.70Ryan Moore 14 Robert Moore 2.64Bryce Griffin 15 Paul Griffin 2.60Kristin White 15 Steve Zylstra 2.56Mark Uebelacker 12 Bart Marx 2.46Nic Marshall 15 Greg Mosely 2.40Trent Robinson 10 Roy Robinson 2.30Kingsey Rickard 10 Vernon Rickard 2.00Zack Granger 16 Fred Granger 0.00Christopher Soto 12 Bill Flynn 0.00Trevor Harris 14 Randy Harris 0.00Christopher Savage 14 Michael Savage 0.00Jonathan Meyer 16 Steven Cline 0.00Tanner South 13 Bret South 0.00Nathan Wells 15 Steven Cline 0.00Zachery Mullis 11 Tom Fisher 0.00Dane Edwards 10 Daniel Edwards 0.00Hunter Welsh 13 Lance Welsh 0.00Riley Welsh 11 Lance Welsh 0.00Jacob Jordan 14 Chuck Howard 0.00Taylor Haymans 12 Richard Harris 0.00
Austin Henson 16 Raymond King 0.00Sayje Manning 11 Dylan Hoff 0.00Miranda Cheatham 16 Trent Cheatam 0.00David Patton 15 Thomas Koder 0.00Brittany Morrison 12 John Morrisson 0.00Dylan Daughtry 16 Rick Jordan 0.00Cory Moore 16 Thomas Moore 0.00Sam Beatty 16 Thomas Moore 0.00Justin McErlane 13 Jason Semeyn 0.00Dylan Hoff 14 James Daughtry 0.00Logan Wilson 12 Robin Leach 0.00Brian Laishley 13 Chris Frohlich 0.00Brad Laishley 10 Bruce Laishley 0.00Brandilyn Laishley 14 Bruce Laishley 0.00Tylor Krafjack 10 Mark Kraftjack 0.00Kristin Knowlton 10 Phil Knowlton 0.00Nick Knowlton 10 Leland Symonds 0.00Madeline Chavez 14 Mike McDonald 0.00Jake Vale 15 Tom Vale 0.00Emily Sawyer 12 Shane Parker 0.00Michael Peet 13 Geurt Peet 0.00Ricardo Martinez 11 Ricardo Martinez 0.00Trey Llewellyn 16 Jarrett Lombard 0.00Ty Helphenstine 15 Jarrett Lombard 0.00Kaitlyn Legg 14 Bobby Legg 0.00Drew Hazlett 10 Brian Ulch 0.00Crosland Polk 16 Doug Creek 0.00Megan Malone 12 Timothy Alley 0.00William DeHayes 13 Christopher DeHayes 0.00Andres DeHayes 11 Christopher DeHayes 0.00Chris Raucci 11 Jason Semeyn 0.00Andrew Amontree 13 JB Bradshaw 0.00Mathew Amontree 10 JB Bradshaw 0.00Molly Tomlinson 14 Ricky Tomlinson 0.00Cody Bollinger 16 Andrew Medina 0.00Cyler McVay 11 Sheldon McVay 0.00Joey Severns 12 Frank Paolella 0.00Brandon Ruth 16 Robert Ruth 0.00Kyle Kirkland 12 Robert Ruth 0.00Skyler Lawson 10 Joseph Lawson 0.00Hunter Lawson 13 Joseph Lawson 0.00Devan Brandon 10 Jeff Boyette 0.00Brian Barns 14 Brian Garcia 0.00Alex Galvan 12 Bob McCool 0.00Hyland McCarrol 10 Mark Hobbs 0.00Kelly Parker 16 Jerry Adams 0.00Riley Mizell 11 Joe Gant 0.00Kyle Watkins 15 Mark Miller 0.00Angel Torres Jr 11 Mark Miller 0.00Micheala Flowers 11 Gary Graef 0.00Cody Cristello 15 Ryan Rowan 0.00Rocco Pennella 16 Ryan Rowan 0.00Kelsea Dutton 10 Luis Fernandez 0.00Enrique Fernandez 12 Luis Fernandez 0.00Wyatt Carter 13 David Carter 0.00Steven Weaver 16 Dwane McCurdy 0.00Kaylea Burlew 11 Ed Sagarese 0.00Ella Sagarese 11 Ed Sagarese 0.00Maison Skinner 15 Steve Eggers 0.00Morgan Sweeney 12 Brian Sweeney 0.00
P a g e 1 4 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E M a y 2 0 0 9
X-TREME REDFISH TOURNAMENTAll together, 38 boats fished the April11ths Xtreme redfish series. 50 fish wereweighed in, all were released alive. Only9 teams failed to bring fish to thescales.1) Mike McCarty, Heather Nichols – 13.83lbs$1500.00 also received big fish award $370.002) J.R Witt, Ryan Kays- 13.77lbs-$750.003) Timothy McGee, Josh Reager- 13.33lbs$340.004) Rob Quick, Wayne Quick - 12.49lbs$210.005) Ron Cauffman, Justin Cauffman 11.60lbs$160.006) Josh Rhodes, Robert Close 11.43lbs7) Mike Garcia, David Lassey 11.41lbs8) Dustin Hormann, Darwin Hormann 11.39lbs9) Tom Fisher, Buzzy Hayes 11.19lbs10) Lyn Bevis, Bing Blackburn 11.18lbs
April 25 Kids Cup Results Fishing was tough a this year’s Kids Cup with big water and a strong east windkeeping it up. Anglers reported 4-footers in the harbor on the way back, but therewas still plenty of fish brought back to the weigh- in scale.
Heaviest Redfish for a 10year-old Steven Trombley II
Heaviest Redfish for an 11year-old Chandler Pritchett
Heaviest Redfish for a 12year-old Jeppe Bennetson
Heaviest Redfish for a 13year-old Jeffrey Watkins Jr.
Heaviest Redfish for a 14year-old Alexandra Smith
Heaviest Redfish for a 15 year-old Amin Mahshe
Heaviest Redfish for a 16year-old Brandon Varney
M a y 2 0 0 9 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 1 5
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E-mail to Water LIFE from Parks and Rec:On Mar 13, 2009, at 3:30 PM, Joanne Larson wrote:Mr. Hel ler: As you have discussed with representativesfrom the National Recreation and ParkAssociation (NRPA), Charlotte Countyreceived a $10,000 grant from the NRPA forthe Take Me Fishing Program for childrenin Charlotte County. This grant was toeducate children on fishing and boating safe-ty in our community.Here are the answers to your questions:The money spent to date is: The totalamount spent to date is $1,177. $776.00 for Canoe Rentals from CanoeOutpost-Peace River Inc. for Summer Campfield trips. $216.00 for Mandatory Best Practices forBoating, Fishing and Aquatic ResourcesStewardship Education online course$185.00 for Canoe Rentals from MyakkaWildlife Tours for a Summer Camp FieldTrip.Special Events Coordinator Karen Helmickmade application for the grant. Ms.Helmick no longer works for the County.The Parks, Recreation and CulturalResources will be working with theEnvironmental Extension to provide thiseducational program in the CharlotteCounty elementary schools and will becompleted after the March 31 deadline.NRPA supports this plan.
Water LIFE’s Response to Joanne Larson:Ms Larson,Thank you for contacting me. I hope thisopens the door to meaningful conversationbetween us. As you must know by now Iam only interested in the Kids of CharlotteCounty receiving beneficial education aboutboating, fishing and the environment.Your initial response, although helpful, doesnot provide all the answers to all the ques-tions that have unfolded around the Take MeFishing Grant to Charlotte County.
• I need to know if Ms Helmick received afinders fee or any other special compensa-tion in relation to her grant application. • Do you have any contact information forMS Helmick which you can provide me?• I would like to see the actual applicationthat MS Helmick submitted along with anyrevisions or modifications.• What was the Kayak Festival that MrSolomon proposed to NRPA and how wasthat going to teach boating and fishing?• Would you please provide additional infor-mation on the Peace River Canoe fieldtrips, and the Myakka Tours, specificallythe dates of these trips, the number of chil-dren involved and tell me how these tripsconformed to the requirements of the grant.I'd also like contact names at the CanoeOutpost and Myakka so I can follow upwith the actual people involved.• Who are you working with atEnvironmental Extension and what are the
specifics of the new educational programyou plan to introduce in the CountySchools?• Who at NRPA authorized the extension ofthe grant deadline for completion, what wasthe reason the original deadline was notmet?• Was a revised proposal submitted toNRPA for the school program? If so pleaseprovide a copy.If you would like to meet in person to dis-cuss these matters you can reach me at941.457.1389A timely response to these questions will beappreciated.SincerelyMichael Heller
Note** We have still not heard back fromMs. Larson, and it’s now been over amonth.
In the mean time, I received this email froma person who must remain unidentified:To Water LIFE The county 4H agent was directed to devel-op an in school fishing program and itappeared to be a bailout plan for Parks andRec. Since then, 4H has been told thatParks and Rec. has returned the grant fundsso the school program has been discontin-ued. 4H had already put quite a bit of workinto contacting the schools. They were nothappy. It was indicated that Parks and Rec.did not do the field trips as they reported.
More Lies Surface in Take Me Fishing Grant Investigation Estero Report
Estero Bay has been very good despitethe wind. The snook bite is on fire with25 fish on average per trip, but as goodas the snook bite is they are running onthe short side with only the occasionalslot fish. Redfish have ben hit and miss I am get-ing them on fresh cut lady fish and bigthred herring. The redfish have been25- to 32-inches. Trout have been good on a poppingcork and a D.O.A shrimp.All over Estero Bay in the deeper cutsis a mixed bag of Spanish mackerel,bluefish, ladyfish and sharks. Here inthis picture is Chris Michelle of Cape -with a 35-inch snook caught on a char-ter with Capt Steve Nagy, in Estero Bay.
Capt Nagy can be reached at: 239-398-1528
By Kel ly BealWater LIFE Commercial FishingGrowing up in Southwest Florida I
have always been fascinated with CalusaIndians. The same things that attract meto them attract me to today’s commercialfisherman. They depended on the harvestfrom the waters to meet all their needs,they were completely nonconformist andbeautiful fierce people. Sounds just liketodays commercial fisherman to me!The best account of the Calusa Indian
lifestyle was written by Hernando deEscalante Fontaneda. Hernando was bril-liant. He saved his own neck by dancing
for the indians and obeying Thier com-mands. He was shipwrecked in 1549 and res-
cued by the Calusas. They kept him cap-tive for 17 years and released him when hewas 30 years old as a goodwill gesture toPedro Menendez de Aviles. Later, whenPedro dined with the Calusa chief, he wasserved "boiled fish and roasted fish, raw,boiled and roasted oysters... without any-thing else". He wrote in his memoir"Many spaniards have saved their lives byfinding themselves with Christian com-panions, for the natives who took them...thought the christians were rebellious so
they would kill them". He also speaks of what they caught
from the waters to eat: “They caughtmost of their fish with nets which theyeven made of different mesh sizes depend-ing on what fish was most abundant dur-ing that season. The Calusa were extreme-ly talented with spears. So they spearedfished as well. They made the nets withSpanish moss, cabbage palm leaves andsaw palmetto trunks. The common food isfish , turtle and snails (all of which arelike fish and tunny and whale, which isaccording to what I saw while I wasamong these Indians. Some eat seawolves, but not all of them. There is adistinction between higher and lower class-es. There is another fish which we herecall langosta (lobster) and one like unto achapin (trunkfish) of which they consumenot less than of the former.......I will asomention that in the rivers of fresh waterare infinite quantities of eels, very savoryand enormous trout. The eels are nearlythe size of a man. The Indians also eatlagartos (alligators).”
Like todays commercial fishermanthe Calusa of yesteryears were noncon-formist. And as much as they could, theytried to maintain their way of life. One of the funniest stories I have read
about was a time in 1697 when theFranciscans came to the Calusas to estab-lish a "mission". The Indians ridiculedthem laughing and throwing mud and sooton them when they tried to preach. Someof the hecklers turned around and ‘mooned’
the Franciscans! Left naked and strippedof their supplies the preachers were forcedto canoe to Cuba. While many of the other tribes of
Florida were brainwashed by the christianmissionaries the Calusa were one of thefew tribes that stuck to their own beliefs. They believed that people had three
souls and that the souls migrated afterdeath. The Calusa believed that the threesouls were the pupil of a persons eye, hisshadow and his reflection. The soul in theeye's pupil stayed with the body after deathand the Calusa would consult with thatsoul at the graveside. They believed theother two souls left the body after deathand entered into an animal, the soul wouldthen migrate to a lesser animal and eventu-ally be reduced to nothing.
The parallels I see among commer-cial fisherman and the Calusa's are obvi-ously not their religious beliefs, but theperspective of not allowing outside influ-ences into our way of life. (Such as thespecial interest groups who are constantlyon a "mission" to put us out.) Some maybelieve that if the Calusa had been willingto conform they would still exist, but no,once you conform you no longer exist asyou were, you just become what theywant you to be. You take on their styles,beliefs, expressions and - bam - you nolonger exist. Todays commercial industryis fighting that transformation. I'm in thisindustry till the death. No white flagshere. I am, like the Calusa, proud to beroyalty amongst warriors.
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It is better to be hated for what youare, than loved for what you are not
This dug-out canoe, thought to have been used by the Calusa, was exposed in 2007 whenthe water level in Lake Trafford was permanently lowered.
PROVIDED BY: Dave & Marlene Hofer RE/MAX Harbor Realty(941) 575-3777 [email protected] www.harborparadise.com Recent area news items:1. Despite the economic slowdown,Punta Gorda's high profile constructionprojects are moving ahead nicely. Thenew parking garage dominates theOlympia Avenue sightline and the newlyrestored courthouse. Who could havedreamed that Dutch colonial architecturecould, at one time, be so out of place andso overwhelming. The new medical officebuilding near the hospital proved it couldbe done. (below)
Apparently Punta Gorda's zoning boarddidn't get the memo about the City's mis-sion to tastefully develop its "pedestrianfriendly" downtown. Oh well, at least wewon't have to cut any grass or deal withthose messy trees. 2. Charlotte County is in line for $6.7million in TARP funds from the Federal
stimulus package. Citing the need to dosomething about 460 foreclosed homes,the County will spend 5% of the moniesto demolish abandoned construction proj-ects. The rest of the giveaway will pro-vide new housing to those families whobarely earn enough money to keep themabove the poverty level ... but are stillcapable of making mortgage payments ona new home. Yet another novel idea withno practical application?3. The Punta Gorda SMSA ranked firstin the nation in FHA defaults inDecember. Our heavy reliance on construc-tion industry jobs helped push us past theformer leaders, Detroit & Flint, MI andeven Cape Coral. Unemployment reached11.8% in February up from 6.5% lastyear, so this dubious distinction could bewith us for a while longer.4. County Commissioners are diligent-ly working on cutting $10 mil from nextyear's budget. Not willing to give up"cold turkey", they have kept in somenotably frivolous expenditures. $168,000for signage and info kiosks for BayshoreLive Oak Park? How about upgrading thexray equipment at the entrance to theJustice Center for a cool $239K?5. National builder, Pulte Homes willbe buying Centex Homes. The moveshould allow projects like Riverwood tocontinue to develop when the economyrights itself.6. Syd Kitson offered Florida Power &
Light 400 acres within Babcock Ranch tobuild the nation's largest photovoltaic(solar powered) power plant in the coun-try. When it comes online, FPL estimatesthat users in its service area will pay only35 cents/month for the benefit of movingaway from traditional fuel sources.7. After completion of a five year longtotal rehab, Charlotte High School's mainbuilding opened for students on April 13.8. The cost for the proposed floatingdocks at Laishley Park have risen to$330K. $200K of it will come fromCounty funds, the other $130K from the 1cent sales tax increase. 9. The Punta Gorda CommunityRedevelopment Advisory board votedagainst City Marketplace mogul, RonOskey's application to begin charging forparking on his vacant shopping centerproperty. Citing the developer's four year
failure to commence construction on anyof the approved plans submitted to it asthe reason, they denied him the right topursue this seemingly unrelated request.Sales S tatistics:House sales reached a peak of 525 for ourarea, eclipsing the old high set inNovember of 2005 of 436. Activity isstill concentrated in the lower end of themarket. In fact, 163 of the 242 salesrecorded in North Port were in foreclosureor short sale! Vacant lot prices continuedto plummet with the only sales takingplace below $10K. Inventories are about30% below last year's level, with manywould-be sellers now on the sidelines.Please visit us atwww.harborparadise.com to view any available properties fromVenice to Burnt Store Marina
M a y 2 0 0 9 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 1 7
Real Real Estate Estate NewsNews
Capt S teve SkevingtonWater LIFE offshoreApril has been a month full of big wind's
and big Shark's. Luckily those big sharks arejust two - three miles off the beach, so whenit is a bit snotty offshore we can still have agreat trip close to shore.Just this morning I was happily taking a
nice family from Ohio offshore fishing forthe first time, when the ringleader of thebunch (The Mother) asked if there was anyway we could stay within sight of land. Thatquestion turned our day of offshore fishinginto a shark trip pretty quick.The first chunk of fresh Bonita went in
the water at 7:22am and the first shark hit at7:35am. This is how the whole trip wentjust one shark after another, everything from3 foot long "black nose" to 10 foot nursesharks.Several four to five foot black-tip's were
brought to the boat side, but our ringleaderdid not want those "man-eaters" in the boatwith her and her children.And that's OK by me. I have always been
happy to land a large shark of almost anysize for any client, but.....when they give methe option to "play it safe" I never turn itdown.Permit, my all time favorite fish is back
in all its glory, they started showing up a
couple weeks ago and they are just abouteverywhere now.Permit are a fish that is very spooky, hard
to talk into taking a hook, and demands themost expensive bait you can buy.But boy oh boy is she worth it, drag
SCREAMING runs, that's just about all Ican say about those fish. It’s a lot likehooking a Corvette speeding down I-75 atrush hour.
These guys are slurping down silver dol-lar size crabs like there going out of styleright now, but give them a few weeks to getsettled and they will get real picky.On the days when the weather lets us we
have been sneaking offshore to some of thedeeper wrecks to do a bit of fun fishing.These places are totally covered in sum-
mer time sized amberjack, fish to about 50-pounds. Now, these are not the same backbreaking fish we were playing with all win-ter, these guy are smaller, but very aggres-
sive.On these same wrecks, if your looking
for something for the freezer, toss out afrozen squid and wait, if there's a cobiaaround he will seek you out.If you can get there, the wrecks 80-plus
miles out are covered in large black-fin tunaright now.Don't overlook Mahi Mahi while your
out there just keep an eye out for anythingfloating along, even old broken crab traplines, Dixie cups ...anything, and the Mahishould be there. Toss em a frozen shrimp ona flat-line. They are not picky out here, theywill eat whatever you offer as long as theycan fit it in their mouths.
Capt. Steve can be reached at: 575-3528 forfishing information or to book a charter trip.
Offshore with Capt. Steve
Fishinʼ Frankʼs Shark TourneysFishinʼ Frankʼs Shark TourneysJune 13 and July 18June 13 and July 18
Are Are YouYou
Man Enough?Man Enough?
By David Al lenWater LIFE KayakingHave you ever wanted to just get away
from the routines of everyday life andexperience the beauty and serenity of theFlorida wilderness? Combine that picturewith good companions, excellent dining,and you have a snapshot of our recent longEverglades weekend. Everglades City isan ideal location to access some of themore interesting areas of the ‘glades, andbest of all, it is only about two hours bycar from Port Charlotte. The EvergladesNational Park is an area of about 35,000acres of mangrove islands, waterways,channels, keys, and broad bays and inlets.Those characteristics are ideal for birdrookeries, and fish nurseries and the areaabounds in both.E v e r g l a de s
City is a sleepylittle town, popu-lation 667, on thesoutheastern edgeof the TenThousand IslandsWildlife Refuge.Everglades City iscompletely devot-ed to keepingfishermen, kayak-
ers happy, and also to accommodate visi-tors who wish to experience the evergladesfrom the deck of an airboat. Lodging atThe Captain's Table or the Ivey House arevery comfortable and inexpensive evenduring the peak season. And if you enjoya good seafood diner, you've come to theright place; The Seafood Depot, SeafoodCity, and the Oyster House are but a sam-pling of the many fine eateries inEverglades City.About 28 members of our club headed
south on I-75 early Friday morning, plan-ning to get in a mid-day paddle beforecheck-in time at the hotel. One of the bestfeatures of paddling out of Everglades Cityis the wide variety of routes available, soany weather/wind conditions can be easilyaccommodated. Since it was quite windywhen we arrived, we decided to paddle arelatively sheltered course up the BarronRiver around Everglades City.
Continued on facing page
P a g e 1 8 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E M a y 2 0 0 9
KayakingKayakingA Weekend Paddle in the "Glades
By Bi l l DixonWater LIFESailingGo! Sail now!!
Best weather ofthe year. Snowbirds
are gone. Marinas and restaurants have roomfor locals. Anchorages are emptying out.This is the season we all came to Floridafor. Use it.Racing is not over. May brings the start
of the 8 race summer series on the 10th(Mother’s Day for you calendar challengedsailors).
May always includes the Key West Race.This year it will be the 14th thru the 18th.It is a challenging open water “Port to Port”race where weather forecasting can be crucialto success, and a straight line is not always the shortest sailing route. Boats willstart at different times from Clearwater, Sarasota, Boca Grande and Naples. The finishline is in Key West Bight and it can be really, really, exciting if you finish in the dark.After a few days R&R in Key West, there is a race from KW to Naples with more R&R there. This is a Boat Of The Year regatta for all of the regions in West Florida.There will be some really exotic race boats to see in KW. Details are available on alink to Clearwater YC from the PGSC web site at pgscweb.com. Locally BobAnderson [email protected] can provide info on the Boca Grande start.May also brings other great sailor activities. The 13th is a steak dinner and spring
series racing awards. Check the PGSC web site for details. On the 25th, 26th, and27th PGSC will be at Pelican Bay for Memorial Day. For info on the festivitiescontact Jude Tessier at [email protected] Community Sailing Center is alive and well with small boat sailing every
Wednesday and 2 Saturdays a month. The water is warming up so it is much morepleasant to take spray in the face than what it was in February. Winds are good, butnot overpowering. Later in the summer, they will be working with the YMCA kids’camp. Learn to sail classes for kids will be offered after school ends and classes foradults are yet to be scheduled. Contact Dennis Peck 627-6650 for info or to expressyour desires for class schedules.
Now open at Laishley Park Marina!On the Water Kayak RentalsOn the Water Kayak Rentals
Shipʼs Store • Kayak Sales • 7am - 5pm
Charlotte Countyʼs CompleteSwimming Pool SupplysPool Repair and MaintenanceStore
575-2525575-2525Located in the Punta Gorda Crossing Shopping Center Next to PublixMon-Fri 9AM-5:30PM Sat 9AM-3PM
Specializing in Heaters and
Pumps
“Green Pool” “Green Pool” Clean Up & MaintenanceClean Up & Maintenance
Live ShrimpLive ShrimpLocalLocalInformationInformationCharts & MapsCharts & MapsAccessoriesAccessories
M a y 2 0 0 9 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 1 9
The Ranger Station on the western edgeof town is an ideal launch site with lots ofparking space, restrooms and informationon the waterways and streams. Welaunched the kayaks and paddled northwestalong the shore to the entrance of theBarron River, turning northeast toward thecity. As you move up the river, marinas,boat docks, appear and you find yourselfsharing the river with airboats.The airboats were very busy but consider-ate of our group and gave us wide berthand small wakes. You can easily circleEverglades City via the Barron River, fol-lowing the main channel to Lake Placidand back to the Ranger Station; an easypaddle of about 7 milesFortunately, we returned just in time
for a relaxing pool party before a wonder-ful seafood dinner at the Seafood Depot.The Everglades National Park has expe-
rienced the same lack of rainfall that wehave seen in other areas of Florida, and thenorth end of the Turner River was tooshallow for kayaking. So we elected topaddle a loop-route, starting at theHighway 41/Seagrape Lane entrance toHalfway Creek, going through a mile orso of dense mangrove tunnels, and thenheading back north to the launch area.This is a relatively short paddle of about7-8 miles, but it combines open stretcheswith narrow mangrove tunnels. There areusually some nice sized alligators some-where along the way. And we were notdisappointed; an alligator was stretched out
on a bank with his tail dangling in thewater. It was a beautiful day, brilliant sun,and best of all no mosquitoes. The windwas strong from the east, but again wewere sheltered most of the way by themangroves.Some of us die-hards decided to take an
early paddle Sunday morning before return-ing to Port Charlotte.A fairly short paddle up the southwesternend of Halfway Creek looked like a goodc h o i c e .The up and back route is about 5-6 miles,but it's possible to take the easterly branchto the Turner River and return toChokoloskee Bay and the Ranger Station.This turned out to be the best paddle of thethree. Paddling east from the RangerStation, you can pass under the Hwy. 29bridge ( there was some tidal current underthe bridge on the return leg), pastPlantation, a residential community, andon north into wide mangrove channels.Bird and Fish were plentiful on the Creekand the scenery was beautiful. Actually,we saw more wildlife on this paddle thanthe others combined. All in all, it was agreat weekend of paddling with friends andwe all look forward to our next weekendtrip.
The Port Charlotte Kayakers meet eachWednesday evening at Port Charlotte BeachPark at 5:30 PM. All are welcome. For moreinformation, contact me at 941-235-2588 oremail to: [email protected]. You can checkout our upcoming paddles and events at:pckayakers.org Then come join us!
Stick It !The shorter version of theStick It Anchor Pin, origonallymade for boats, are nowtaking hold with the kayakset. The reinforced resinanchor pin with a molded Thandle makes a perfect com-pact lightweight shallow wateranchoring system for paddlersand it stows anywhere a fish-ing rod will go.
Top: Florida Sportsman writerJerry McBride sticks a pin ona shallow flat.
Below: One of the early modelkayak pins, the new ones havethe molded handle.
www.stickitanchorpins.com
P a g e 2 0 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E M a y 2 0 0 9
The Water LIFEWater LIFE Distributorʼs Club
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4419 So. Tamiami TrailS. Venice493-0025
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Taxing Charters The Floridalegislature began its last week inthe 2009 session and the salestax issue for charter boatsremains on the table, but nowonly for those carrying six pas-sengers or more. On March 20an amendment was adopted tocontinue the exemption on thosecharters carrying 6 passengersor less. It took 3 more hours ofdebate, but the Finance and TaxCommittee finally voted on thesales tax exemption bill and thesix pack amendment was adopt-ed. Guides and Captains weretrying to get the remainder of thecharter boats exempted. BoatingLobbyist, Bonnie Basham, said"we are eating this elephant one
bite at a time. We could notremove the exemption complete-ly in committee because thechair would not allow it." Capt. Pat Kelly, President of theFlorida Guides Associationnotes: “By getting the six packexclusion adopted we havemade the case for the argumentthat charters should not betaxed.” The plan is to add theremainder of the charter boatseither on the floor or in theAppropriations committee.
The Senate does not particu-larly like this idea since it raiseslittle money and there is noresearch or developed numbersfor these exemptions in terms ofwhat the removal will yield in tax
revenue. Operators feel a good portion
of the cost of a guided trip isalready taxed, ie: fuel boat pur-chase, boat maintenance, CoastGuard License, fishing license,vessel license, fishing tackle,snacks, water, soft drinks, launchfees, etc.
Whatʼs That Noise? OfficerShawn Polly responded to a ves-sel accident near Naples Beachinvolving a sunken vessel. Whileunderway, the owner/operator ofthe vessel noticed his vessel list-ing so he stopped to check thetrim tabs.
Since everything seemed tobe in working order he poweredup the vessel. While on plane,he heard a loud cracking noiseand turned in time to see bothmotors rising off the stern and
fall into the water. The operatorcalled for help before the vesselsank. Naples Police Department
was first to arrive and quicklyrecovered the operator from thewater.
M a y 2 0 0 9 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 2 1
The Deadly Dozen : Charlotte HarborThe Deadly Dozen : Charlotte Harbor FISHING GUIDESFISHING GUIDES
We help put your charters togetherShark, Tarpon, Grouper, Snapper, Kingfish, and MORE!
Nighttime Trips AvailableCapt. Jim OʼBrien USCG 50 ton license since 1985
Bus: 941-475-5538 Res: 941-473-2150
CaptainRobertMooreWhen you absoloutely positivelywant to catch fish
(941) 624-5710www.captRobertMoore.com
offshore/backcountry
This Month! 4-hour Tarpon Trips
starting at $375
CALL NOW for TARPON FISHING CHARTERS!CALL NOW for TARPON FISHING CHARTERS!
Crab House to Open in August“We bought a sawmill and cut all our own wood for the interior of therestaurant.” Bruce Laishley said talking about the interior of his newCrab House. Seen here is the bar area with its big tree trunks. A giantcrab will hang overhead, a vintage truck will serve as the outside bar.
M a y F i s h i n g R e p o r tM a y F i s h i n g R e p o r tCharlotte Harbor:Robert at Fishin' FranksPort Charlotte: 625-3888Tarpon are going to be best thing going this month and
it’ll be getting hot-and-heavy any day now. There are fishalready in the upper harbor and tarpon should be pouring intothe pass within the next week or two. Jigs are the best thingin the pass, obviously – remember no break-away tackle, andonly three rods in the water. The captain has to be in controlof the vessel at all times so he can’t have a rod in his hand.For the tarpon in harbor the best bet is live threadfins or bigpinfish. The old DOA Bait Buster is still a good option forthose who want to fish with artificials. Sharks will be another real abundant fish this month,
bl ackti ps , bonnetheads , bl ackno s e are all already in theharbor. The bigger bul l s and l emons will be moving insoon. The near shore wrecks are infested with sharks at themoment.The best bait is cut fish, just set up a chum slick. For
smaller sharks (with light tackle) try the alligator Creek Reefor the Cape Haze reef right now. Have an extra pole readybecause there is a good chance a cobi a will swim up to theboat in the chum slick. Cobia are also cruising along the barson the east or west side of the harbor, if it’s ever not windy inthe morning you can see them ripple. Try a bucktail with a12-inch plastic worm (black or purple) that is the best cobiabait since it emulates an eel very well.Redfi sh are mixed and really scattered. It’s been an odd
month and a half for redfish . . . and snook too for that matter.
Start lookingfor redfish in theICW and in PineIsland sound.Even try thebeaches in theearly a.m. andevenings.Generally white-bait or fresh cutchunks of ladyfish are what reds will eat. Or try a cut upchunk of a giant shrimp. This time of year reds are transi-tioning their diet. Look for moving water and shade as theweather gets hot and you’ll find a redfish hanging out. Once the wind starts to die dow there are permi t off-
shore and they will get more plentiful as time goes on. Anyartificial reef, like Powerpole, Novak, Trembly, or PalmIsland reefs will hold permit. For some reason those fishseem to prefer artificial structure to natural contours. For the offshore guys, around the full moon of May, the
snapper will go into their first spawn andthey should school up heavy at the smallerwrecks around 25 miles offshore. The nightfishin will be phenomenal. In the 15-20mile range there will be some king mack-erel offshore and in 60-80 foot depths itwon’t be unusual to see a schoolie dolphin.May is a good month to look for tripletail
on the channel markers and around the crabtrap buoys. Throw them a crab, they likecrabs.
Continued on facing page
P a g e 2 2 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E M a y 2 0 0 9
Call the Captain! Call the Captain! Waterfront -Incredible open basin views, sail-boat pool home. Only 5 minutesout! Open floor plan with master BRthat has a 180 degree view of thewater! $399,900
Call the Captain! Call the Captain! BeautifulWaterfront Home, Wide Basin View!3/2/2, 1910sf Air in Incredible condi-tion! Modern design, Parquet floors,kitchen is like new, with new coun-ters and newly remodeled bathrooms. A remarkable price for ahome like this in PGI. $329,000
Call the Captain! Call the Captain! Incredible Water Views of the PirateHarbor Lagoon from this Tropical Keys Style Home! Only 25min to the Gulf and 5 min. to Charlotte Harbor. Nauticallydesigned 2/2/3+, "1994", 1444sf Air with separate bonusworkshop, boatlift, davits & RV parking. $329,900
Call the Captain! Call the Captain! SailboatWaterfront Key West Style! Greatupper & lower deck, 3.2.2, 2184sf Air,approx. 3800sf total living space,"1986", RV pad, dock, 2 boat lifts &brick paver drive. $399,900
Pirate Harbor
Pirate Harbor
Call the Captain!Call the Captain! BRING ALLOFFERS! Deep Sailboat WaterfrontHome, Quick Access to Ponce Inlet!Pool, open floor plan, updated kitchen,master bed room & bath. 3/2/2, "1981",1770sf Air, boat lift, dock, fenced land-scaped roof in 2005. $339,900
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Call the Captain! Call the Captain! FabulousOversized Deep Water SailboatHome! A 4/3/2 with a pool, anoversized garage, lots of storagespace, "1988", 2 fireplaces, dock& boat lift only 10 minutes toPonce Channel. $469,900
Call the Captain! Call the Captain! Rare find inPirate Harbor! Custom WaterfrontHome, Many Upgrades! 3/2/2,pool, 2076sf Air "1998", oversizedlot, dock, pavers, barrel tile metalroof and much more!. $395,500
Pirate Harbor
F i s h i n gF i s h i n gR e p o r tR e p o r t .
Lemon Bay:Jim at Fishermen’sEdge, Englewood:697-7595It’s been the same thing,
struggling with redfish thatare either smaller or wayover. Slot fish are harder tofind. It doesn’t matter if youare fishing artificials, whitebait, or a pinfish under acork. Everyone says it’sharder to get redfish thisyear. A lot of people say it’stournament activity and pres-sureSnook is closed now,
but you can catch and releasethem on the beach, in thepasses, in the back countryor on the Bull Bay or TurtleBay bar. There have beenquite a few fish around 30something or 40 inches.Those fish slipped throughthe cracks and they are safe
now.There have been pom-
pano and permit, a bunchof snapper, and the tar-pon bite is picking up. Atthe Redbone Tournament atPalm Island they did wellwith tarpon last month. Offshore, guys are going
way off for grouper andsnapper – 50 miles out.There is a lot of bait com-ing up from the south. Thewater was black with bait-fish and king mackereloff shore, 50 miles out, theother day.It should be reasonably
good fishing for a whilenow.
C a l e n d a r C a l e n d a r o f E v e n t so f E v e n t sb r o u g h t t o y o u b y :b r o u g h t t o y o u b y :
� May 1-3: Redfi sh Cup , Punta Gorda� May 9-10; Flatsmasters Redfish ClassicTournament, Laishley Park, 941-637-5953� May 9 & 16: 2-Day Boating Safety Course,USCGAux, Flotilla 87, Englewood, Lemon Bay Park. $25,697-9435� May 17: First PTTS Tarpon Tournament BocaGrande There after, every weekend until June 14, usually 7am. Spectators on the pass beach, park by the lighthouse� May 23: Sweet Heart Couples TournamentCaptain's Table/Harpoon Harry's.� May 24: Redfi sh Chal l enge , Cape Coral, 239-699-7426� June 4-7: 20th Caloosa Catch and Release, PinkShell Resort, Fort Myers Beach, 239-850-1707www.caloosacatchandrelease.com. � June 13: Fishin’ Franks’ 25th Annual Shark, Sai lcat,S tingray Tournament. Fish all night Saturday, weigh in Sunday a.m. atFishin’ Franks. 941-625-3888� June 13 Charlotte High School Redfish Roundup, Laishley ParkMarina 941-637-5953� June 27 IFA Redfish Tour at Stump Pass Marina in Englewood. Send your boating and fishing event and calendar information to:
The BIG-4The BIG-4 Fish to expect in MayFish to expect in May
SHARK: Lots of small specieshere now, very big ones couldbe arriving very soon
TARPON: More and morefish every day. Now thepass should fill
REDFISH: Lots of over-sized fish being reported,smaller reds movingaround the harbor
COBIA Inshore, offshore acommon bycatch for theshark fisherman
