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10kman
Posts: 984 Officer
Where are the fish?
10kman
Posts: 984 Officer
Where's the fish?And by fish,I mean in backcountry reds,
snook,trout and tarpon.Offshore,60 miles out grouper and
decent size snapper.
Gone seem the days of 150 reds caught in a year,slot
snook and trout and sheepshead when you expect to
see them temp wise.
Certainly one of the reasons is the huge increase in
boat traffic,SeaDoo's,Skillcraft's.
Maybe the real reason I seem to be losing a step
or two!
snook,trout and tarpon.Offshore,60 miles out grouper and
decent size snapper.
Gone seem the days of 150 reds caught in a year,slot
snook and trout and sheepshead when you expect to
see them temp wise.
Certainly one of the reasons is the huge increase in
boat traffic,SeaDoo's,Skillcraft's.
Maybe the real reason I seem to be losing a step
or two!
Replies
I'm beginning to suspect that the all those red tides that never made it past Marco in recent years - did put a serious dent in our inshore action... Hope I'm wrong.
Bob LeMay
(954) 435-5666
Things change - and not always getting worse (I hope...).
Bob LeMay
(954) 435-5666
1.Red Tide has moved further South.
2.Oil spills are moving towards us.
3.Increased guide activity and boat traffic.
4.Increased water pollution coming from Big O.
5.Warmer water at wrong times accounting for trout and sheepshead decline.
6.Far more East Coast fishermen coming to West Coast.
We've not seen a single red tide either... We have noted a much reduced trout population this past year though and suspect the kills on the west coast have hurt us... but that nasty red tide has not made it over to Choko at all...
Bob LeMay
(954) 435-5666
Once again - I'm talking about my own actions - and what I've seen. The only fish cutting facilities I use are the Park's cutting tables at Flamingo and the cutting tables at Outdoor Resorts so maybe I'm just not seeing the activities described. I have, of course, heard on more than one occasion of places where illegal taking is going on - but not where I am at all...
Bob LeMay
(954) 435-5666
I see no reason why it doesn't apply all the way down to your area.
The Locals..and I was one, would not think twice about keeping an overslot Snook or 2 Reds..but they ate them for dinner that night and never kept more than they needed for right then.
The Folks that drive 100 miles twice a year are out to Fill the Coolers.
did not see a boat for first four hours.
sheepshead,few trout.But today, a 27"red,tarpon on,two
slot snook and few decent snapper.
Couple of guesses.First time in awhile some jumping
small baitfish.Second good rising incoming tide.
I was at Cape Hatteras, NC last week fishing the Pamlico Sound and among 4 guys, we caught 3 nice trout and 1 small red over 2 full days.
Some of the comments about non-residents doing wrong need to be caveated:
"Local"s have no moral superiority when it comes to doing what's right for a fishery. On the contrary, my experience seems to make me believe that people think "these are our fish, I have a right to keep it".
I drive 90 miles each way to fish 10K islands or Flamingo at least once a month and have never in my life kept an out of season or under / over slot fish, or more than a bag limit.
In contrast, I have a friend that lives in the upper Keys and his neighbors won't throw back a snook or red no matter the size or season. In Chokoloskee, I ran into a guy bragging about shooting goliaths with a .30-06 years ago.
It's no better offshore with people keeping 9" blackfin and every skinny 20" dolphin that comes along.
Yet I hear locals talking about out of season snook they kept.......or tourists keeping every fish they catch.
1999 Pathfinder 1810v had a fuel fill hose issue (cracked, holes and just general old age) which kept the boat in the shop most of the week. Pathfinder agreed the design was poor, not enough space to install replacement hose without cutting holes in the boat. So now I have an access hatch in the gunnel and one on the the deck, but the good news is I no longer pour fuel into the hull (I spent a couple of hundred $ doing that in my ignorance, I thought something was wrong....), they also replaced the fuel sending switch gasket so I no longer smell fuel on those very hot days.
We went out Thursday last week and fished the outside first. Nothing on the topwater so I switched to a bucktail sweetened with scrimp, got a few snappers, small snuke and of course I was the catfish king! Ran into the back on a falling tide, there was less water in the back than out front (how does that happen?). Getting later in the morning now, sun is beating on us. I pull a 22" snuke off a bar on a shoreline and a couple more snapper, Chris is still throwing the topwater, he can be stubborn like that. Move farther out in the bay to another bar, now it's 11 o'clock and hot! I'm fishing the bar pretty hard without any luck when Chris's reel starts singing. I maneuver the boat away from the bar and get the net ready, Chris is hollering for the net long before the snuke is ready for it so I take my time. Stick the net in the water boatside and Chris perfectly guides the fish in.
I don't know where the fish are, but we found this 29 incher on a topwater in the middle of the day, in the middle of a bay. Perfect revival and release, even if his shoes look funny.
We went out for a couple of hours Friday as well but the weather was sketchy and the wind was relentless as well as a flood tide. I did put a bucktail into something so large I couldn't turn it away from the mangroves...
"If it's not one thing, it's an alternator"
for tarpon if calm waters,blowing,then in a back bay.But should
be ok,rising tide little moon.
The Good....rising tide and 1/4 moon.The BAD...
no tarpon,no reds& a few small snook.But we
did catch ten mangroves above legal.
And one other good thing about Memorial
Day week end....Docks not crowded Fri.