State to host tarpon meeting in St. Petersburg

Florida has made great strides in tarpon management in recent years, thanks to ground-breaking research by state biologists who have learned how to track the silver king of gamefish.

But researchers rely on average anglers like you and me to help with this ongoing study. To learn how you can do your part, join in the discussion on Dec. 3 when the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's hosts a tarpon tracking seminar in St. Petersburg.

Biologists from the FWC's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI hope tarpon enthusiasts and anyone else interested in helping preserve one of Florida's signature gamefish will attend the seminar.

The presentation, which is free and open to the public, will run from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the FWRI headquarters, 100 8th Ave. S.E., in downtown St. Petersburg.

State researchers will update anglers on the Tarpon Genetics Recapture Study. For the past four years, scientists from FWRI and Mote Marine Laboratory have been using DNA samples to track tarpon in the Gulf of Mexico.

However, the success of this project depends on the participation of local anglers. For more information, call 727-896-8626.

Big bass could tie world record

George Perry, a farmer in Montgomery, Ga., never intended to set a world record when he went fishing on June 2, 1932. The weather was too bad to work in the fields, so he rowed out in a homemade wooden boat to catch dinner.

Then, with a lure known as a Creek Chub Wiggle Fish, Perry hooked a bass that would break the world record of 20 pounds, 2 ounces. The farmer took the fish into town and had it weighed at the post office. It tipped the certified scale at 22 pounds, 4 ounces. Perry then went home, and cooked his catch, which netted him $75 worth of merchandise in a Field and Stream contest.

Manabu Kurita, however, had his eye set on breaking Perry’s 77-year-old record.  On July 2, the Japanese angler hooked a monster in Lake Biwa northeast of Kyoto. Details of Kuria’s catch were subsequently submitted to the Dania Beach International Game Fish Association for consideration.

 The fish, which measured more than 27 inches long and had a girth of nearly the same size, is currently under consideration. But if approved, it will only tie Perry’s record. Could an even bigger fish be lurking in some Florida lake?

Lobster season

Divers and snorkelers from all over the United States are heading to the Florida Keys for the special, two-day spiny lobster “sport” season.

This “bug” catching frenzy, which occurs every year on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July, is designed to give recreational lobster hunters a chance to gather some of these tasty crustaceans before the commercial traps go in the water.

The regular lobster season begins Aug. 6 and runs through the end of March.

State and local law enforcement officers will be out in force for the two-day mini season. So be sure to follow all rules and regulations.

For the record, Florida spiny lobsters must have a carapace (body) length 3 inches or longer. Divers must carry a measuring tool. Lobsters must be measured in the water.

Bug hunters may keep up six lobsters per person daily in the waters of Monroe County and Biscayne National Park and 12 lobsters per person daily in other Florida waters. You may not possess more than the daily bag limit of lobsters when on the water. Off the water, you may possess the daily bag limit on the first day and double the daily bag limit on the second day.

Free kid's fishing clinic

Want to do something to help save the planet? Take a kid fishing. That may seem like a stretch to some of you, but studies have shown that children who are brought up to respect and enjoy the outdoors, will most likely carry those ethics into adulthood.

If you don’t know how to get started, have no fear. Hook Kids On Fishing, a statewide organization that promotes youth oriented fishing clinics, will stop in Clearwater on Saturday, July 25.

The instructional event, scheduled for Big Pier 60, is low key and no pressure. All participants must pre-register with The Complete Angler, Florida’s only drive through bait shop, at (727) 441-2248 by Friday, July 24.
 
Then on Saturday, from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m., kids will learn water safety, how to tie knots, casting and catch and release techniques. Then from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., the children will fish off The Pier with the help of experienced captains.

All participants will receive a new fishing pole and tackle box. This event is open to children between the ages of six and 16. Each participant must be accompanied by and adult.
 
This free event is made possible by the following sponsors: Sea Striker, Tackle Company, Aylesworth's Fish & Bait Inc., Anglers for Conservation, DOA Tackle Company, Diachi Hooks, D & R Tackle and the Florida Outdoor Writers Association.
 

Snook season is now closed

June is my favorite month to fish for snook, but unfortunately, this is also the first month of the closed season that runs through August.

But just because snook season is closed doesn't mean you have to stop fishing for this prized game fish. According to research from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, roughly 98 percent of all snook that are cuaght and released survive the ordeal.

So summer anglers should take a moment to brush up on the finer points of catch and release:

Whether you fish with artificials or live bait, start by pinching the barb down on your hooks. Barbs are designed to keep live bait on a hook and do little to help in the landing of a fish. Use non-stainless steel hooks. If the fish swallows the hook and you must cut the line, the fish's digestive juices will cause the hook to deteriorate quickly.

Tighten your drag and use a line of adequate strength to land the fish quickly. Don't fight a fish until it is exhausted. Leave the fish in the water if possible. The fish will be less traumatized if it stays in its natural environment. If possible, don't use a net; it damages the thin, slimy membrane that protects the fish from disease. If you must handle the fish, use a wet towel.

If you bring the fish inside your boat, don't let it thrash around the deck. The fish usually will calm down if you turn it on its back. Keep a pair of needle-nose pliers handy so you can unhook the fish quickly. If the fish is hooked deeply, cut the leader or the hook shank.

Don't throw or drop the fish back in the water. Gently place it in the water. If the fish responds slowly, hold its mouth open and move it back and forth in the water to move water through its gills. Watch the fish swim away. If it doesn't look healthy, pick it up and try again. Remember to keep a camera handy. Photos last a lot longer than fillets.

Ethical angling should be second nature. Still, it never hurts to pass the message along.

Grouper lawsuit

The Fishing Rights Alliance, a non-profit fishing conservation organization, filed a lawsuit this week against the National Marine Fisheries Service alleging that the federal agency responsible for managing grouper stocks violated the law by using questionable data gathered by the Marine Recreational Fishing Statistical Survey, a system the organization considers fatally flawed.

"This lawsuit was made necessary because NMFS failed to respect the Congressional mandate to base its decisions on scientifically valid information. The MRFSS program has been recognized as fatally flawed for a number of years," said FRA executive director Dennis O'Hern. "We hope this lawsuit will provide the councils and NMFS with reasonable, logical decision-making tools unconstrained by immeasurable, unachievable targets.  Given the economic and social value of recreational fishing, we have grave concerns over unnecessarily restrictive fishing regulations."  

O'Hern and the FRA maintain that the recent changes to grouper regulations have had a severe economic and social impact on Gulf Coast residents and tourists alike.

"Current MRFSS estimates say that recreational anglers have been fishing in the Gulf at near-record levels since 2006," O'Hern said. "This is contradicted by all economic indicators, from boat sales to bait
and tackle sales to foreclosure and unemployment rates, yet MRFSS figures will be used as best available science.  This cannot be allowed to continue."

O'Hern can be reached at (727) 692-6902 or via email at dennis@thefra.org.

1,000-pound hammerhead shark caught at Boca Grande

Port Charlotte fisherman Bucky Dennis caught a 1,060-pound hammerhead shark over 13 feet long Thursday morning in Boca Grande Pass. The 12-fathom-deep pass is known for its big tarpon and even bigger sharks. It is not uncommon for anglers to see their tarpon catches bitten in half by big bull sharks and giant hammerheads. To be more precise - great hammerheads. The species, found throughout most of the world's oceans, can reach up to 18 feet in length. In 2006, Dennis caught an even larger hammerhead - a 1,282-pound world record that made news reports around the world - in the same area. But after the fanfare died down, biologists with the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota discovered that the hammerhead was carrying a litter of 55 pups. "This shark was most likely also a female," said Brent Winner of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Sharks typically give birth sometime during the summer months." Terry Tomalin, Times Outdoors Editor

Bay News 9 is also reporting that on Wednesday another Florida fisherman also caught a hammerhead shark that weighs more than 1,000 pounds off Singer Island near West Palm Beach yesterday. It was almost 14 feet long.

Tarpon Tales

Florida's West Coast has been on the international sportfishing stage for more than a decade. The state's place on the world map was established in the spring of 1885 when an angler from New York named W. H. Wood became the first person in history to catch a tarpon on a rod and reel. Word spread quickly and fishermen from all over the world soon traveled to Southwest Florida in search of the silver king of gamefish.

A lot has changed since that golden age of sportfishing, but anglers can step back in time and share in the experience by visiting Tampa's Plant Museum where a new exhibit called Tarpon Tales opens on April 24.

The show, which chronicles the Gulf Coast sport fishing from the late 1800s to the 1930s, runs through Dec. 27. Visitors can sit in a Hemingway-era fighting chair and then marvel at the vintage photographs, mounted fish, rods, Edward vom Hofe reels, lures, tackle, gear, nets and souvenir tarpon scales.

To kick off the exhibit, the museum will host a sportsman's panel which will include master angler Capt. Bill Miller, host of the TV show “Hooked on Fishing.” Tarpon Tales: A Sportsmen’s Panel is scheduled for Friday, April 24th, from 5:30 – 7:00 pm in the Grand Salon of Plant Hall, adjacent to the Museum. No reservations are necessary, but only the first 175 attendees can be seated. For additional information, call Gianna Russo, Curator of Education at 813-258-7304 or write at grusso@ut.edu.

Gag Grouper Season Opens

The recreational season for gag grouper in the federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico re-opened April 1. Anglers may keep two fish per person within the five-grouper aggregate bag limit.

A pending amendment to the Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan, when implemented, will reduce the aggregate grouper bag limit from five to four and increase the red grouper bag limit from one fish to two fish.

The new rule is expected to go into effect sometime this summer. The minimum recreational size limit for gag is 22” total length, 20” total length for red grouper.

The Gulf of Mexico is warming up and that means the fish will be moving offshore to deeper water. But with the spring here and more stable weather just around the corner, anglers will be making longer runs in search of fish.

With this in mind, be sure to file a "float plan" detailing where you are going and when you will be back. Better safe than sorry.

State changes Gulf red snapper sport season

Offshore anglers will no longer have to worry about federal verses state regulations when it comes to red snapper. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has approved a rule changed  the recreational harvest season for red snapper in Gulf of Mexico state waters to match the season in federal waters.

The recreational season for red snapper in Gulf state waters will now be open from June 1 through Sept. 30.  Previously, the season in Gulf state waters occurred from April 15 through Oct. 31.

Red snapper, an offshore fish usually found in 60 to 440 feet, is pinkish to red in color, and its pointed anal fin distinguishes it from other snappers. Many biologists consider this species a fisheries success story.

During the 1980s and most of the '90s, these highly prized sportfish had all but disappeared from the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Fishery managers blamed overfishing by commercial and recreational anglers. Biologists conducted study after study and eventually suspected the real culprit was not fishermen's hooks, but shrimpers' nets.

Every year millions of juvenile red snapper are caught in commercial shrimp trawls, then discarded as bycatch. Federal officials began requiring commercial shrimp boats begin using bycatch reduction devices to reduce the number of fish killed.

Today, the fish have rebounded and during the season, skilled anglers routinely catch their limit.