A Florida Sportsman Fishing and Boat Show will be held Sept. 26 and 27 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
It will be at the Florida State Faigrounds, Expo Hall, located at I-4 and Hwy 301 in Tampa.
For more information, visit www.floridasportsman.com/shows.
Sometimes, after being in the heat of the day, fishing rods can be stuck together because the heat expands the rods.
Anglers can simply run an ice cube, maybe in cloth, along the joints of the rod. The coldness will compress those areas of the rod, allowing the rod to be taken apart.
Redfish should be showing up in larger schools in the next monthThere will be more concealed weapons classes on Aug. 22 and 23 at the Manatee Community College Lakewood Ranch campus.
Joe Naples of House Calls Firearms Training will be conducting the classes. Over the past three months, Naples had put over 80 students through college and private classes.
For more information, call 941-932-3298 or visit www.housecallsfirearmstraining.com.
Capt. T.J. Stewart of Cast Away Charters captained the winning inshore team at the second annual Fire Charity Fishing Tournament on Sunday.
The boat teammyself.com/Cast Away Charters pocketed $2,500 with a catch of redfish (31 and 32 inches), a 23 inch trout, a small tarpon, and snook of 39 and 33 inches.
Redfish lovers should be in heaven the next couple months.
The big spawners from the Gulf are coming in, and anglers will see more and more of them through October. Already, there have been reports of some big schools of redfish in south Sarasota Bay, and up around Tarpon Springs.
The thing is, redfish can move several miles overnight. So what redfish could be in the south end of a bay at night could have moved to the northern part of the bay by the next morning.
As always, find the food source, and you've found the fish.
The recreational harvest for snook will open on Sept. 1.
On the west coast of Florida, regulations are one snook per angler, per day, and the snook must be bewteen 28 and 33 inches.
Angler Bill Homan, 30, from Texas, was fishing under the Sunshine Skyway south pier less than two weeks ago and landed a 30-pound tarpon.
Sounds normal, right?
Well, Homan was injured in Iraq years ago, resulting in many injuries, including a missing right eye. He was a member of the Armed Forces.
Homan always had wanted to catch tarpon, and he caught this first one 10-minutes in with local Capt. Jason Ramsey.
And guess what? The tarpon was missing its right eye as well.
Look for the story, with a photo to prove it, in this Sunday's Bradenton Herald.
Dave Heil of the Fishing Rights Alliance filed suit over grouper rules in Jacksonville today in federal court against National Marine Fisheries Service.
Claiming, in part, a fallacy on the position of the NMFS on grouper stocks, the Fishing Rights Alliance is hoping for relief from certain measures of the Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization Act.
For complete deatils on the suit, visit www.thefra.org/FRA%2016%20Complaint.htm
Here's a real doozy of a crab found off Bradenton Beach, and possibly one of the rarest found in the United States.
On July 22, Capt. Joey Sweet found this hermit crab near the boat ramp at Bradenton Beach. Sweet said the crab appeared to have gotten his home entangled as the tide went out.
Sweet brought the crab to MOTE Marine Laboratory in Sarasota. Sweet said a senior biologist said he hadn't seen a hermit crab of such size in the 25-plus years he has lived in this area. The biologists are studying the crab to determine, among other things, how it got so big.
More to come in an upcoming column.
I will be on vacation from Thursday until July 13 in Colorado.
It has been a while, and anyone who read my column today knows that I have some stories to tell them "yankees." (I say with a wink and smile.)
Hopefully, I can get some fishing in. Trout aren't the same as tarpon. But what kind of outdoors writer would I be if I didn't try to hook a few rainbows?
Until then, I wish you all tight lines and burning drag.
With the opening of American red snapper season on June 1, fishing offshore has been phenomenal - when the weather has permitted even going to the deep blue.
Sometimes, anglers don't have to go far. In the above picture, Capt. Larry McGuire of Show Me the Fish Charters guided Roxann Dolan and Ali St. Paul to this keeper gag in 50 feet of water offshore of Anna Maria Island. The grouper hit a live pinfish. McGuire also led the charter to red grouper, mangrove snapper, triggerfish and kingfish.
N.R.A. gun lessons will be held at Manatee Community College.
There will be classes Aug 7 and 9 at the Venice campus, Aug. 14 and 16 at Bradenton, Aug. 21 and 23 at Lakewood Ranch and Aug. 28 and 30 in Venice.
For more information, contact Pam Haskin, MCC Continuing Education Specialist, at 941-363-7203 or 941-373-7795. E-mail is haskinp@mccfl.edu.
Team Galati, captained by Chris Galati of Galati Yachts, won the 26th annual Treasure Cay Billfish Tournament in the Bahamas last week.
Galati's son, Chris Jr., 13, took top anger awards with a pair of blue marlin.
Look for the complete story in Sunday's Bradenton Herald.
The Sarasota Bay Watch's second annual Sarasota Bay Great Scallop Search is scheduled for Aug. 8.
Last year, I participated in the scallop search and it was a great way to get into the outdoors, not to mention help determine the health of Sarasota Bay. Scallops are a relatively fragile creature, and high population numbers indicate healthy water.
To sign up for the scallop search, visit http://sarasotabaywatch.org and click on the "CONTACT US" page to let Sarasota Bay Watch members know how you would like to be involved.
Paddling the Upper Manatee River on Sunday, I was almost one mile from the Lake Manatee dam, gliding on a canoe with an incoming tide.
The day was sun-scorched and full of promise, from the recent opening of Lake Manatee that sent clusters of freshwater fish such as bluegill and catfish cascading down the dam and into the river 40 feet below.
The fall into rocks often scars many of the fish. But I wouldn’t even make it to the dam.
The whole fishing trip was cancelled when I passed three women on a canoe.
I heard shouts down the river from one woman asking if I wouldn’t mind pulling them back to their launch point, almost four miles back up the river. They were exhausted, even intoxicated, and going the wrong way. The tide had carried them far, but it was the same tide they could no longer fight against. The sun was almost down.
Two of the women had never paddled before. One had paddled once. It would be a long journey back, one canoe tied to another, a two-canoe train.
But this train wasn’t tame. One woman often hollered rap lyrics; some were on the phone, exhausted, sending text messages and placing panicky phone calls. That, coupled with the extra weight and a head-on incoming tide, made it a paddle that made me want to relax on a rock.
It was the first time I’d ever towed another canoe, and after maybe 50 yards of slow-paddling, it never ceased that the mechanics of this clunking contraption, bobbling down the river and whipping circles like a lost manatee, caused the whole train to dip toward the shoreline. My arms probably hadn’t felt this tired since extensive tarpon-fishing two days prior. Before that, it would have to be my first junior high school wrestling practice. But I kept calm.
The sun was crawling ever closer to the horizon, draining daylight. Darkness would have made us almost blind to stumps and overhanging trees that on a low tide were exposed to their fullest.
Two women said they would never paddle again. I told them that’s not a bad idea, and that we’d get there, eventually.
Before I knew it, one of the women recognized the turn closest to home base. We were almost there. The women celebrated. After about three more figure-eights in the water, two canoes, now side-by-side, angled into the ramp.
A boater never knows when they’ll be the one being asked for help. That’s why it’s good to bring extra water, even food, for yourself and others if such a situation arises. Always attempt to notice the condition of any passers by.
And, of course, behind this little tale of two canoes are inexperienced paddlers who should have been more wary of trekking deep into this drop of pure Manatee County jungle.
Whitney Scott, left, and Sarah Stephenson, were two of the volunteers who sold raffle tickets and displayed raffle and auction items at last weekend's 26th annual Sam Crosthwait Memorial Fishing Tournament.The weather should be ideal for the 26th annual Sam Crosthwait Memorial Fishing Tournament Friday through Sunday at the Bradenton Yacht Club.
Most weather forecasters are calling for around 10 knots of wind and a 20 percent chance of rain this weekend.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Crosthwait Tournament chairman Malcolm Edwards had counted about 80 entries - 10 in the offshore division. He expects that number to reach about 130 boats by the time offshore boats leave the BYC on Friday night.
"It's a good weekend for fishing," Edwards said. "The bait is thick and I hope everybody has a great time."
Registration is 6:30-7:30 p.m. Friday night. The awards presentation, weigh-in and banquet begins at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
To register or for more information, visit http://www.fishcrosthwait.com/.
The Jerry Hill Memorial Kids Fishing Tournament on the Green Bridge is this Saturday, as kids will gather along the pier and fish for free.
The tournament was renamed from the Green Bridge Kids Fishing Tournament in the honor of the late Jerry Hill, longtime Bradenton Herald outdoors writer.
Registration is from 7 to 8 a.m. for this catch and release tournament, following by fishing until 10 a.m., a free lunch, and an awards presentation.
Children between the ages of 7 to 14 are eligible. Baits, hooks and sinkers are provided. No tackle boxes are allowed on pier, and a child must be accompanied by an adult and must fish only with bait provided by tournament members. Each child must have their own rod and reel, but if a child has no access to equipment, the tournament committee will be able to help.
Call 794-2806 for more information.
The recreational harvest on snook ends Thursday, April 1.
Snook between 28 and 33 inches can be kept on this coast.
Snook season re-opens Sept. 1.
Snook, widely regarded as Florida's premiere game fish, are under strict regulations to help protect their populations. That said, Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute snook scientist Ron Taylor has recently said that snook populations are robust.
But don't expect any letting down on the regulations any time soon. The regulations on snook have steadily become tighter over the years, and although there have been talks from various FWC sources about possibly adding a month of open season, it could be at least a couple years.
The Southern Manatee Volunteer Firefighter Association 2009 Fishing Tournament will be held Friday, April 17.
Half of the donations will go to support the SMFR Volunteer Firefighters Association.
Entry fee is $110 per boat with a four angler maximum.
Registrations forms are available at www. smvolunteerfire.org and at the SMVR administrative offices at 2451 Trailmate Dr. in Sarasota.
“Of course this being the fishing capital of the world it goes over very well,” said Thomas Hennessy, chief of the Southern Manatee Fire Rescue. “It attracts people of all different aegencies – police, fire and EMS.”
For any anglers wishing to hit the waters for the first time or improve their navigation skills, the Manatee Sail and Power Squadron offers Boat Smart classes, which include emergency procedures, boat handling, onboard equipment requirement, and more.
Information is available at www.manatee-squadron.org or by calling Lorraine Sarnowski at the Power Squadron at 746-3368.
I would like to see a Florida panther one day.
Haven't had the luck yet, and believe me, I've been looking, but Gov. Charlie Crist maybe has made it a little more possible.
Gov. Crist proclaimed March 21 Save the Florida Panther Day.
That alone will not help save the Florida Panther, but the awareness that may trickle down to Florida residents is one element we need to protect this elegant cat.
According to an FWC press release, in the proclamation, Crist said, "It is proper and fitting for all Floridians to pause and reflect on the plight of the Florida panther and the task of preserving this rare component of Florida's diverse natural resources as a legacy to generations of Floridians yet to come."
The release added that the proclamation also said preservation of the Florida panther, which also is the state's official animal, " . . . is the will of the people and therefore a mission of their government..."
The release also said that the FWC and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials say the panthers' numbers have risen slightly in the last two decades.
I'm not sure there's a more regal and mysterious animal in Florida, and with over-developed lands cluttering our outdoors paradise, its population number are always threatened.
Someday, I hope to find out just what a wild panther looks like.
To view the governor's proclamation or to learn more about Florida panthers, visit www.MyFWC.com/panther.
The recreational open season on snook opens Sunday, and will remain open through April.
Limits are one snook per angler, daily, between 28 and 33 inches.
Although water temperatures have been around 63 in the morning, and generally warming to 68 in the afternoon, which is cold for snook, the linesiders reportedly are a decent target.
Capt. Jason Ramsey even caught snook in 62 degrees in the morning. But, of course, we all aren't professional fishing captains, so for the average angler, catching that keeper snook will not be an easy task.
To give yourself the best chance, spot the snook before you motor over them. Snook will scatter in a hurry and typically will not bite once you have shown them your presence. If you can use a push pole and creep in on them, you may have a chance. Snook are scattered in various areas of the flats, including Terra Ceia Bay and Miguel Bay.
Currently, anglers can use shrimp, or a shrimp threaded on a Carolina rig, for example, if the snook are lying at the bottom. Artificials that imitate a shrimp (Berkley Gulp baits, D.O.A. shrimp) or any artificials can work. Small pinfish have been doing the trick as well from this area south to Boca Grande. Soon, however, once white bait becomes thick in the spring, snook will primarily be feeding on white bait. So get handy with a cast net if you're not already.
Also, with the current clear-water conditions, consider using as light of lines as possible. On the flats, where there is no structure, anglers may be able to get away with 15-pound test line. But 20-pound test strength is recommended, with a 20-to-25-pound leader. Around structure add at least 10 pounds of line strength to both of those.
Finally, snook are nocturnal feeders, so if an anglers can catch them at night, all the better. Bridges in the Manatee River have long been great for snook. Bring the coffee.
Snook populations are as robust as ever, thanks in part to the strict regulations, and in the end, in can only benefit anglers with those line-raking runs.
Once again, the Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival lured thousands of seafood, fishing, and people lovers to the backstreets of the Cortez Fishing Village.
I went on Sunday, and had to get some smoked mullet prepared by Rick Gullett, and honestly it was the best I had ever had. Dip the mullet in a little gator sauce and I was feeling Old Cortez.
It was incredible to see how many people turned out, and from so many states. They came out to listen to live music, eat from a supreme variety of seafood, and smell the saltwater from north Sarasota Bay.
Thanks again to everyone who put on the event, and to A.P. Bell and Star Fish Co. for allowing themselves to be at the center of the mayhem.
I'm sure we all look forward to it next year.
In response to a reader's comment, here's some more information on parking at the Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival on Saturday and Sunday.
There are two off-site spots at Coquina Beach and Sugg Middle School on 59th Street West. Shuttle buses will run from both of those locations.
Other than that, you can park right in the village if you get there early enough, or across from Sunny Shores on Cortez Road.
Also, there's a huge parking lot at the Fish Preserve on 114th Street off Cortez Road, although there's no street sign.
Seafood, Old Florida - the essence of the old-time Cortez fishing village - is soon upon us.
On Feb. 21 and 22 the Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival returns to Cortez, and typically hundreds fill the blocked-off streets for a sort of seafood carnival. OK, forget hundreds - the average attendance for the two days is 20,000.
Smoked mullet is of course a staple, and almost every type of seafood imaginable will be for sale.
Boats, fishing gear, and old fish houses will be around for this rare taste of the spirit of Cortez. There's always plenty of outdoors items for sale, from small signs and magnets to clothing and paintings.
As it is every year in this third week of February, the festival is properly based around A.P. Bell and the Starfish Co.
To get to the village, hit Cortez Road and, heading west, take a left on 124th St. Ct.
For more information, and more detailed directions, visit http://fishnews.org/festival/.
Capt. Rick Gross of the charter boat Fishy Business on Anna Maria Island gave me a call this morning and said it's time to go get some mangrove snapper.
Apparently, they're biting on nearshore reefs, and some of the mangos are very good-sized.
The plan this week is to to get some shiners and drop them to the bottom of these reefs, which could produce a variety of tasty fish. Gross said the shrimp haven't been working well in these areas for snapper. He reported that this setup recently produced a nice hogfish that one of his clients had mounted.
Anyway, look for the column on the trip in this Sunday's sports section.
If the trip is anything like my other outings with Gross, it could be interesting.
OK, so the last time I blogged about fishing on the Upper Manatee River, I had come up short of any kind of catch.
I didn't plan ahead. I hadn't brought anything worth catching fish with. It was a last second idea. I grabbed the tackle box, a couple poles, and chugged out the door.
Well on Sunday, I planned ahead. Sort of.
I brought the right tackle, a killer bait (which I promised to the person who uses it that I would tell), aimed on catching some catfish.
I brought everything but extra batteries.
In the first couple miles, the catfish weren't having it. So I paddled 5 1/2 miles and stopped just before the Lake Manatee dam, where catfish are known to stack up. I got there just as the outgoing tide began, and I just knew that the whiskered pests would be rolling out of Lake Manatee in big numbers.
If you read my column on Wednesday, Jan. 21, you know the rest of the story.
The batteries on my flashlight went dead, and I had not brought any extras. So I had to reel in my bait, and begin my journey back through a gauntlet of overhanging trees and stumps - in the dark.
If you didn't read the column, check it out: http://www.bradenton.com/sports/outdoors/story/1167713.html
It's certainly an adventure I won't forget anytime soon.
And I will catch a mess of fish on that blasted river.
A few days ago, on a whim, I set out to Rays Canoe Hideaway on the Upper Manatee River to fish the night.
I didn't plan the trip - just brought a couple random, lightweight poles and my tackle box. I paddled out at about 9 p.m. into the darkness of the river under a half moon that cut cleanly down the face of the river.
The water was brackish, and mullet were crashing frequently about a mile down the river, so I took out a MirrOlure MirrOdine and flipped it around the mullet, hoping for an offer from a snook, redfish, or whatever was bold enough to go for the lure. The visibility was so limited, however, that I couldn't approximate the closeness of the shoreline as I cast. In turn, my MirrOdine snagged up high in a tree, and I was forced to cut it loose.
I paddled farther down the river, many times dipping my finger into the water and into to my mouth to determine its salinity. I wanted catfish. Freshwater catfish, of course, but I only had a couple options. (Remember, I didn't plan for this at all.)
The best option for catfish in my tackle box, I figured, was, unfortunately, a package of chunked squid. Catfish are not especially picky, and anything that a) stinks, and b) is edible, can get an offer from a catfish. So I tossed out the squid with a split shot, kicked back in my canoe, and stared at the stars. (It turns out, after talking to freshwater fishing charter captain "Doc" Lee, squid is pertty much the worst freshwater bait you can use.)
I found a position in which I could lean back with my arms extended on the gunwales, and at the same time, I positioned my paddle across the canoe behind my head for a backrest. I was fully extended, and I could have slept.
I simply drifted, and listened. I heard some sounds of hogs off the the meadows, a smattering of birds. I began to wonder, in my Zen-like state, what the river must have been in the 1920s, before the trees had been cleared out and the wild life was no doubt more vast. I floated along, like a gator, one with nature, now up the river on an outgoing tide.
No bites from catfish. And the darkness did not encourage me to want to re-tie with every break off or hook change. I just wanted to relax.
And there I was, in the middle of the night, immersed in the wild of the river. Next time, I'm gonna catch some fish, if it takes all night.
And next time I'll actually plan for it.
Robinson Preserve recently completed a paved trail that winds through the northwest Bradenton park on 17th Avenue and 99th Street.
The trail is ideal for cyclers and bikers, but can also be used for any wheeled contraption that is not suited for offroad, whether that's someone avoiding the dirt in their polished Timberland boots, or scooting down the path on rollerblades.
Michelle Modisett, a 23-year-old Bradenton resident, often takes advantage on her rollerblades.
What does she think of it?
"No comment," she said.
Huh?
"No, I like roller blading there because it's a very smooth path," she said, "you're not hitting a lot of bumps. And it's wide so multiple people can pass at the same time, so bikes and strollers can go ... and it also covers a great deal of the park, so it's not like you're roller blading 100 feet."
The park also offers kayaking, spectular views from a tower, and endless hiking.
