Water LIFE Mar 2005

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Wa t e rWa t e r L I F EL I F EKeeping Boaters and Fishermen Informed March 2005Keeping Boaters and Fishermen Informed March 2005

RedfishRedfishCupCupQ-SeriesQ-SeriesPinelandPineland

Weigh inWeigh inpage 11page 11

KIds CupKIds CupUpdateUpdate

page 5page 5

THETHEMOTHERMOTHEROF ALLOF ALLBOATBOATSHOWSSHOWS6Page 16

REAL ESTATE TRENDS:REAL ESTATE TRENDS:WATERFRONT PROPERTYWATERFRONT PROPERTYAS IS, $495,000AS IS, $495,000 SOLD!SOLD! Page 23Page 23

BiggerBiggerBaits?Baits?Page 7Page 7

P a g e 2 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E M a r c h 2 0 0 5

M a r c h 2 0 0 5 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 3

More Manatee Mumbo JumboBy Michael Hel lerWater LIFE editorAs far as I’m concerned, all this

‘news’ about downlisting the mana-tee (see Name Game, page 23) isjust more smoke and mirrors fromthe people who stirred up the messin the first place. Using a new ‘rat-ing system’ for determining thelevel of endangerment to manateesis a slap in the face to boaters.Boaters brought science to the tableand boaters were right. We now needto down list the manatee becausethere are plenty of them. And kidsin schools need to know what theManatee Club had to say was wrongor at least, misleading.We should not be fooled into

thinking the pressure from overzeal-ous environmentalists is letting upnow. Conversely, we should redou-ble our efforts and be wary of anyliberal attempt to subvert theUnited States’ rule of law for some-one else's ‘international’ rule.In case you don’t remember, this

whole manatee thing started ‘inter-nationally’ in the late 1960s whenthe United Nations CaribbeanEnvironmental Program tookshape. Sanctuaries and refuges wereconceived at that time as a way tocontrol growth and limit access to

coastal areas. Less access, they rea-soned, would mean less pollution.That concept is all still on the inter-net, and it is linked from our ownw e b -site:www.charlotteharbormagazine.com. In that report the U.N. advo-cates:

“By stimulating appreciation andpride on the species, it may be pos-sible to induce the development of aconservation philosophy, andachieve the goal of resource preser-vation. By being a high-profilespecies, the manatee may functionas a catalyst in bringing togetherinterested governmental and non-governmental agencies to elaboratecomprehensive conservation plans.Manatees may be instrumental aswell in the establishment of sanctu-aries and attainment of the overallgoal of preservation of coastalecosystems with all their associatedspecies.”After that, the Manatee Club

was formed and the ‘spin’ began.The fact of the matter is, we

have plenty of manatees and theyare not endangered. If we want toprotect manatees we need to tagthem, track them and mind themwhere they are. We need not influ-ence their migrations with artificial-

ly heated water and we must quitsaying there are two species of man-atees when there is really only one.Be it known, the Florida Manateeand the West Indian manatee are thesame animal. There was great debatewhen the species was divided intotwo sub-species in the first place,and that was at the time of the UN’sfirst involvement. But the realproblem is that of adopting interna-tional standards above our owndemocratic choices. This trend mustbe watched carefully.Some judges are now looking

abroad for guidance. It’s a liberaltrend called trans-nationalism . In

the case of Knight vs Florida thejudge said he found “useful courtdecisions” on the matter at hand inIndia, Jamaica and Zimbabwe.Should we be taking our legal cuesfrom Zimbabwe? Are we nuts?Adopting the UN’s designation

for the manatee is not a good idea.The UN’s conventions and treatiesare all produced by paid U.N.bureaucrats and powerful U.N.non–governmental organizations(NGO’s) with almost no democraticinput. The NGOs – mostlyAmerican – are predominantly far,far out on the cultural left. Theyspecialize in producing non-binding

and apparently harmless documents,which they then work to convertinto explosive and legally bindingtexts that undermine national sover-eignty and deflate the democraticprocess.Lets stay focused. School kids

need to be told the manatee is morepopulous than they were taught. Weshould change the animal’s designa-tion, but do so under the currentEndangered Species Act and down-list it to ‘a species of special con-cern.’ With a stable population ofover 3,000 animals, the manatee byany standards, can no longer be con-sidered endangered.

The Charlotte Harbor Marine Research crew samples a net full of fish taken on the east side last month.Hands on research with accurate documentation is the key to successful resource management.

With the water very clear this time of year, lightcolor baits such as The Old Bay Side OpeningNight and Pearl Silver colors will give the perfectcontrast in clear surroundings. Small baitfish willbegin to arrive on the flats this month. To best imi-tate the smaller baitfish try using the 4" SaltwaterShadlyn on a 1/16 or 1/8 jig head in these colors.Flats with sand holes surrounded by thick grasswill hold the most fish.

Old Bayside Baits available atFishinʼ Franks & Laishley Marine

Pear & Silver(left) andOpening Night


Water LIFEMichael and Ellen Heller

Publishers(941) 766-8180

TOTALY INDEPENDENTWater LIFE is not affiliated

with any newspaper or otherpublication

© 2005 Vol IV No. 3 Water LIFENo part of this publication may be

copied or reproduced without the writ-ten permission of the publishers

Contributing Editors:Fishing / Environment: Capt. Ron BlagoCharlotte Harbor: Capt. Robert Moore

Gasparilla: Capt. Chuck EichnerPort Charlotte: Fishinʼ Frank

Offshore: Capt. Steve SkevingtonTechnical Advisor: Mike Panetti

Sailing Advisor: Bill DixonLemon Bay: Don Cessna

Kayaks: David AllenLocal: Capt. Andrew Medina

on the COVER:Redfish Nation Q-Series at Pineland

on our WEBSITE:WWW.charlotteharbormagazine.com

Tide Graphs: For Punta Gorda, ShellPoint, El Jobean, Pine Island, Matlacha,Redfish Pass, and Lemon Bay.Weather: Links to all of our favorite weath-er and radar web-sites.Back editions: Pages of previous editionsArtificial Reefs: Lat. and Long. for 24 localartificial reefsManatee Myths: Read the original plan tocreate sanctuaries and refuges, as spelledout by the United Nations in 1984Links to Realtors: Connect with ourrealestate advertisers

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Water LIFE CommentaryBy Michael HellerIn Part 1 we laid out the background: A

professional fishing team (who are alsofriends of ours and who write for this paper),the Kids Cup Tournament (our 100-percentbenefit fund raiser for the 7th graders at PortCharlotte, Murdock, Punta Gorda andEnglewood middle schools) and this publica-tion all got stiffed - to the tune of $6,000by a local condominium project. Afterrepeated unsuccessful attempts at collectionwe began to report the story here.In Part 2 we went to the state’s

Corporation Commission website andresearched the companies involved and thepeople behind them. We figured somewhereamid those intertwined names there was aperson responsible for our bill. The story hitthe street and our phone began to ring.The first call came from Dean DeGross

president of Quality Homes in PortCharlotte. Dean told us Tom Smith was theman who owes us the money. We calledTom and he told us it was Dean DeGrosswho should be writing us a check.Tom worked for an independent manage-

ment company hired by the condo project,Dean was overseeing the project’s construc-tion spending for an offshore group. Deansuggested we meet at his office and that hewould explain the intricacies of the situa-tion. “I’ll see if I can get Tom Smith tocome,” Dean said.As luck would have it, Tom had to cancel

in the last minute, which did not makethings look good for Tom since he was notthere to fend off a bashing.

Dean said that two of the other people wereported on (Ron Osky and his wife CarolGross) were ‘old people’ and that they hadsold the corporate name years ago. “Theywere not involved in your deal at all,” Deansaid and he mentioned that we might expecta letter from Osky’s lawyer, Cort Frohlich.Cort, as it happens, was a Kids Cup sponsorand help to draft the liability release for theevent. We had lunch together, he’s a goodguy. I wondered how Cort would look at itwhen he found out the kids got stiffed.

We went to see Mr. Osky and told himthat based on what Dean had said it appearedwe were wrong and we apologized for includ-ing his name under the last story’s“Deadbeat” headline. All was forgiven. Then,the next day, I got a call from Punta Gorda’soutspoken city councilman Tom Poole. “I’dlike to meet with you and tell you aboutRon Osky,” Pool said, and that afternoon wehad coffee with Tom at IHOP .Poole apparently had his own axe to

grind. Osky, Poole said, was the fellow whoowned the Punta Gorda Mall. After the hur-ricanes, Osky was left with a vacant piece ofland in the middle of the downtown. Pooletold me Osky had ‘not performed’ on a con-tract he had made with the city and that hispast record of business dealings elsewherecould easily be considered to be of question-able integrity. Poole suggested I might haveapologized too soon.At the earlier meeting with Dean

DeGross, Murray Baker – another name webrought up last month – was present. Atthat time, Murray noted that the defunctmanagement company, Dream Resorts, was

made up of shareholders and most were stillaround. Murray straddled the fence speakingwell of both Tom Smith and Dean DeGross.“I’m a 10-percent shareholder I’ll pay youmy 10-percent,” Murray said, adding that atleast two of the remaining three partnerswould also agree to pay their share as well.‘Get your checkbook,’ was my reply.Murray didn’t have his checkbook with

him that day so I was again suspect, but ina couple of days we did get a check in themail from Baker and then another one frompartner Marc BeShears. We deposited themand they cleared. So far so good.We met partner Tom Smith at Bob Evans

restaurant. Tom brought his son to takenotes of our meeting. Tom told us how thewhole condo project was his concept andhow he had been ousted in a boardroom couplead by Dean DeGross. “But that’s not yourproblem,” Tom said, and he wrote us acheck (post dated) for his percentage. Tomlooked like a good guy too ...until we got acall from Jamie in Georgia who said heworked for Tom at Dream Resorts and hetoo had been maligned in a business transac-tion. “If his check doesn’t clear, let meknow,” Jamie said. “I’ve got records.”Someone had apparently faxed Jamie ourreport in Georgia. Did this story did getaround?Now another month has passed. We have

a little money in the bank, one post datedcheck, two more checks due, and some newleads. I suppose an optimist would considerthis a fortuitous development. Perhaps allthese guys aren’t so bad after all.Like they say, when all is said and done -

Outstanding Balance Report: Part III Latest Developments

By Capt. Chuck EichnerWater LIFE Inshore EditorMy dog Gunner always makes

a good com-panion. Shenever com-plains, getsexcited likeme when afish issplashing inthe water anddoesn’t carehow the boat is positioned.On this day there was a high

incoming tide. It was a brightsunny day on Charlotte Harbor andthe water was calling us.We were going to fish new

water and cover it fast withspoons, but just to be sure, Idumped 4-dozen shrimp in thelivewell which pretty much guar-antees a fish dinner around here.When you push the throttle

down and put the boat up on stepthere is a sense of freedom that canonly be found on the water. It’sstill a great life here on the harbor.Without other anglers aboard I did-n’t need to worry about scaringthem, so I pushed my 18’Maverick to 58 mph on thespeedometer and high tailed itsouthbound towards Matlacha.Pulling into a fishy looking

basin I quietly dropped the trollingmotor and positioned the boat on ashoreline that took advantage ofthe southeast breeze. I just love todrift fish and cast with no noise ofany kind.With no distractions, I rhyth-

mically cast the shoreline; long

casts with thin braided line and a3/8 oz. gold spoon. Ten minutesinto the game I had a bang on thelure, but no connection. The tidewas super high and my castsbecame more accurate with time,making good shots under over-hanging mangrove branches.Then, wham! Fish on!

A redfish slammed the spoon andthe fight was on with a scrappy19-incher. Releasing this fish, Ijust marveled at my luck. A neverbefore fished shoreline in a newarea and not a boat in sight. Fivecasts later and a second identicalred came aboard. Nothing like acouple of quick fish to make a fel-la’ feel confident.The wind continued to push the

boat down a long stretch of man-groves that went without a strike.Occasional bumps on the trollingmotor helped me stay at the rightdistance to the shore. Stealth isvery important in any shallowwater estuary and I always try to

keep trolling motor use at a mini-mum. I also try to position sothat wave slap on the hull is non-existent.Casting into a slot between

two islands I had small reds followthe lure to the boat. With the sunhigh and the water clear I was justfascinated watching these fish try-ing to decide whether my spoonshould really be dinner.A horseshoe crab went by and acouple of stingrays gracefullyswam in wide circular pattern onan adjacent flat, a good signindeed. Repeated casts and noeaters so I decided to drift throughthe cut that I just cast. Lookinginto the water I saw mullet scurry-ing about ... or was that a redfishthat went by? I mumbled tomyself. Gunner with her pawsdangling off the front deck seemedequally interested as she lookedinto the shallows. Then, itdawned on me- I was drifting overa school of reds, perhaps 50 of

them. Let me tell ya, it’s prettyrare for a redfish to let you getclose let alone drift over top. Iwonderedwhy this happened to methis day. No one to share thismarvelous experience with, andwho would believe it? I drifted for3 minutes and I had reds under theboat the whole time, scurryingaround the boat seeming to notwant to separate from the pack.Eventually I drifted onto a shoaland they reassembled with nointerest in hitting my spoon.I decide to pick mangroves that

were shaped and geographicallypositioned like the one that was soproductive in the first hour of fish-ing. Largemouth bass fishermancall this ‘pattern fishing’ with thehopes that similar types of spotswill hold fish even though they’rein different areas. Two hours ofcasting without a bite proved thatI didn’t have much of a patterngoing. Cast after cast remindedme that my wrists were not ‘con-ditioned’ or should I say I was outof shape for the job of hours ofcasting. To relieve the achingwrist, I decided to rig a nice hand-pick shrimp Texas style on a 3/0offset mustad hook with a smallspitshot immediately above theknot.Choosing an isolated island

closest to the outer sandbar I againdrifted and slow cast the shrimp tothe island branches. Simple fish-ing, just like a plastic worm- drag-drop-drag-drop. The key is tolower your rod on the drop so theshrimp falls to the bottom on aslack line. Twenty minutes of

this and I was surprised a trout,blowfish or something hadn’t bitand then it happened.A fair cast against a mangrove

was made and I let the shrimp set-tle, lifting my rod high to movethe shrimp caused it to raise to thesurface. In the bright sun theshrimp flicked just a bit as Idropped the rod to allow it to fallinto the depths and a huge red fishrose to the surface and slurped itin. For just a split second, Ithought I was seeing things. Wasmy imagination playing tricks onme? The line moved off towardsthe mangroves and I slammed thehook home. Nope, I wasn’tdreaming and I was clearly under-gunned.This red was a monster ripping

off drag as I lay a huge bend in myrod to try to break his stride. Withonly 8-pound monofilament onthis rod, I figured that it would begod’s gift to land this brute.Many times he had 30 yards ofline out with drag running straightinto the bushes. But luck was onmy side this day. A 34-inch fishthat was as big around as my thigh– perhaps 13-14 pounds somehowmade it boatside and was thenreleased to swim away. Alone inthe pristine backcountry ofCharlotte Harbor, my dog and thisfish made for a memory that willlast a lifetime.

Capt. Chuck Eichner is a localcharter captain. For information orto book a guided fishing trip call941-505-0003 or go to:

www.back country-charters.com


Rigginʼ Right fromFishin̓ Frank TieingtheBloodKnot

Overlap the two parallel lines by 12 inches.Take 5 wraps on one side and pull the endback through between the two strands.

Repeat on the other side pulling the otherend through the strands in the oppositedirection.

Wet the area with ʻspitʼ to make it slideeasier and pull the two tag ends slowlyto gather the knot.

One of the best knots for splicing two monofilament lines of similar diameters

Once gathered neatly , pull the standingends to tighten the knot, then trim thetag ends.

Silent

Partner


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Sponsored by Realtor Lori Moore (wife of our senior guide Capt. Robert Moore) Send or e-mail ([email protected]) a photo of your recentcatch or a newsworthy fish photo. Photos selected for publi-cation will receive a $25 gift certificate to Laishley Marine orFishin ̓Franks. Photos will not be returned and may not havebeen previously published elsewhere. Remember to includecaption information and a phone number.

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By Capt. Robert MooreWater LIFE StaffThe theory of bigger bait, bigger fish

started for me when I was 10 years old. Iwas fishing with my grandfather for large-mouth bass in a chain of lakes outside ofOcala. We had a five-gallon bucket full offreshwater wild shiners. Every cast pro-duced a bass ranging from 2-pounds to 5-pounds. I remember, as if he said it yester-day, “the bigger your bait, the bigger thefish you will catch.”After that I would spendseveral minutes inbetween catches searchingfor the largest shiner. I honestly can not tell

you with absolute cer-tainty whether or not thebass got any bigger afterthat, but my imaginationremembers it that way. As I got older and

started my transformationover to the world of salt-water fishing I took thattheory with me andapplied it to my pursuitof snook, redfish and trout. I was veryloyal to that theory, searching for hoursupon hours for the right size bait that Iconsidered to be the minimum acceptableproportion to catch nice fish. And when Istarted fishing with artificial baits I canremember always opting for larger baits. Ifyou stop and think about it, in generalterms, it doesn’t just stop with fishing.Society as a whole commonly uses theanalogy that bigger is better. After 20 years fishing saltwater, 10

years of that as a guide and four yearschasing Redfish tournaments across thecountry, I still in no way proclaim myselfto be an expert at fishing. But when youspend 150 days a year on the water youexperience many different things and learnfrom them. When it comes to fishing, themore you experience and retain the betteryou will become and one thing I haveretained from my experiences is that biggerbait is not necessarily better.Without a doubt, I agree when your tar-

get is only to catch very large fish thenyou will definitely want to use largerbaits. But when you are targeting the aver-age size fish of two-to-10-pounds, fish thatare abundant on the inshore flats here, thenin my opinion smaller is better. When cleaning fish, I always inspect

the contents of each and every fish’s stom-ach. I have always believed that you canlearn a lot about a species by looking atwhat they eat. One common characteristicI found in snook, trout & especially red-fish is that they all had small baits in theirstomachs. Sure, there was the occasional

fish that had a large finger mullet or shinerin there, but all the fish I cleaned had littlecrabs and baitfish in their stomachs. Thisis when I started to wonder about the big-ger bait, bigger fish theory.Over the years when I catch fish consis-

tently in one area I study the bottom. Ilook and watch to see what was swimmingand crawling around that kept these fish inthat particular area. Usually it is smallpinfish that I see. Once you focus in on

them you start to see themby the thousands.Sometimes it is small bait-fish frye, but none the less– they were usually smallerthan an inch. This is why Ihave come to the beliefthat bigger is not alwaysbetter.Several years ago while

fishing with artificial baitsand targeting slot redfish intournaments I would exper-iment by down sizing mybaits as much as possible.Success was not far behind.I remember a redfish tour-

nament where I could not figure out whatthey wanted to eat. I started downsizingmy baits until I got to an 1/8 oz goldspoon. Then like a light switch had turnedon, it was literally one fish after another.After several fish my partner switched overto the smaller bait and started catching too.I also started to catch more snook thanbefore with the smaller baits. The onlyproblem I was having was trouble makingcast of any distance with the smaller baits.

So I started downsizing my tackle aswell as my size line. My distance increasedand so did my catches. Then I started toput it together. All those years I was fish-ing with small live bait with little suc-cess, it wasn’t the bait, it was the fact thatI could not cast it more than 30 feet.My overall belief is that redfish, snook

& trout will scour the shorelines and grassflats eating almost everything that crossestheir path – usually, small baitfish andcrabs. Yes, they will eat a large white baitor finger mullet if the opportunity arises,but these fish are primarily opportunists,eating what requires the least amount ofenergy to get. Present a small bait in frontof them and they will eat it. Try downsizing your bait, tackle and

line size, make long casts and work yourbait just off the bottom. You will learnfrom your own experiences.

You can reach Capt. Robert Moore forfishing information or to book a charter fish-ing trip at (941) 637-5710 or (941) 628-2650 or contact him v ia e-mail at [email protected]


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S taff Report U P D AT E“We absolutely, definitely want to con-

tinue on with the Kids Cup. You can putthat in the book!” those were the wordsfrom David Healy, point man for J.M.Productions, and TV producer for the OhBoy! Oberto Redfish Cup on ESPN2.“Obviously we can’t come back to PuntaGorda this year, there are no hotel rooms,but we will be back in 2006 and we wantto continue on with the Kids Cup in themean time.” Healy added that the KidsCup action could still be part of their2005 year end TV broadcast even thoughthe main tournament will not be here.“We’ll get the Kids Cup in the newRedfish Cup magazine, Redfish Nation

and we’ll put it all up on our website aswell. This was just such a successful eventlast year that we want to continue to sup-port it. The concept of teaching kids aboutconservation and good fishing practices iswhat we are all about.” I’d even like tofind a way to have the Kids Cup winnercome to the Redfish Cup finals inOctober,” Healy added.Healy and tournament director Bob

Sealy were in Pine Island for the latestround of their Q-Series tournament in lateFebruary. “Charlotte Harbor is the place,and kids are where it’s at,” Sealy said,noting that he is in the process of buyinga condo here. “We are going to be a part ofthis community and support the Kids

Tommy Davis2004 Kids CupWinner

Kids CupKids CupThe 2005Water Water LIFELIFE

ComingComingJuly 16July 16

20052005

By Capt Ron BlagoWater LIFE Executive StaffRed tide has been showing up in

small patches from Tampa Bay to FortMyers. Most of the large blooms areoff shore around the 11 to 14 milemark. The wind has been pushing themup and down the coast for the last twoweeks and it will probably stay in ourarea until we get some rain. Most of the offshore boats have had

to travel between 20 and 30 miles outbefore they find clean water. Those whohave gone that far have been rewardedwith good catches of grouper and snap-per.Inshore fishing has been a little

spotty. Most of the boat ramps andfishing piers have been pretty empty.It's not so much the red tide that iskeeping people off the water as thesmell of the dead fish which most peo-ple find offensive. But you can still find fish during

redtide. If the fish are alive when youcatch them, they are apparently ok toeat. Shellfish like clams and oysters,are another matter all together. Becausethey are filter feeders, they accumulatethe red tide toxin without dying; so noeating shellfish until the State givesthe all clear signal – that will probablybe about a month after the red tideleaves.If you have to fish, I suggest you

get as far away from the passes as pos-

sible. That is where the red tide entersthe bay. I have had good luck fishingthe creeks that flow into Lemon Bay.Remember, freshwater kills red tide andthe fish know that too, so some ofthese tidal creeks are holding prettygood fish. Friends have reported good luck fish-

ing Forked Creek, Gottfried Creek andBuck Creek. I have seen small pods ofbait fish and pin fish in the deeperholes on the grass flats and have evenseen sheepshead around the pilings atsome of the local docks, but most ofthe fish seem to have lock jaw. The only steady catching I've had is

on some of the grass flats nearManasota Key bridge. Good numbers oftrout are being caught on live shrimpunder a poppingcork there. I understand a local chapter of the

Sierra Club is threatening to sue theFWC and Mote Marine because neitherorganization, after millions of dollarsin research, has been able to find a linkbetween red tide and human caused pol-lution. The Sierra Club must feel thatMote Marine is just not trying hardenough and maybe a judge is needed toset them straight. Don't you just loveit when environmental groups sue eachother. The lawyers will be laughing allthe way to the bank.

Capt. Ron Blago can be reached forfishing information or to book a char-

On the Line Fishing with Capt. Ron BlagoRed Tide & Weather Calling the Shots Lately

This weekly updated map of Karenia Brevis or Red Tideconcentrations around the state is available online at:http://www.floridamarine.org

P a g e 1 0 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E M a r c h 2 0 0 5

By Capt. Andrew MedinaWater LIFE Inshore Guide

Chasing a dream can be hard work. I’mtalking about the dream of becoming aprofessional redfish angler and fishing on anational tour such as the Oh Boy! ObertoRedfish Cup. A tour that travels aroundTexas, Louisiana and Florida is good expo-sure for an angler and his sponsors. If youdo well there is money to be made, butyou have to qualify to fish in it.

To qualify for that tournament youhave to fish a qualifying series called theRedfish Nation Q-Series. Unless you aredirectly involved you might not know howcompetitive it really is

The week before the tournament for theQ-Series, Trent Cheatham (my partner) andI, were pre-fishing the east side of the har-bor and every day we were on 12 to14-pounds of fish. They were easy fish andthey were eating, or so I thought.

The day of the tournament we left outof Pineland Marina headed north, it wascold and the wind was howling. When werounded the bar at Bokeellia we ran rightsmack into a washing machine (the harborwas churned up) and straight-on winds putthree-to five-foot seas in front of us. Wetook our beating and got across the harbor.Usually we won’t change our plans – if weplan on fishing an area, and we pre-fished

that area, then that’s where we are goingon tournament day.

When we finally made the 12 mile haulwe were beat, the tide was negative plus-some and we couldn’t even fish the schoolwe found. So we plugged pot holes as wecould until we got our redfish movingfrom one spot to another – it all cametogether for us at the end, but unfortunate-ly, 31 other tournament teams did notweigh in any fish at all. That’s more thanhalf the field – it was a tough day. The red-fish many anglers had pre-fished the weekbefore the tournament were gone. There isno accounting for the weather.

The following week, on Tuesday andWednesday after the tournament, whilefishing clients on paid charters, we hit tail-ing redfish in the same place, at the sametime of day on top water and rubber bodiesand they ate well. Where were they onSaturday when we needed them? Call itMurphy’s Law.

Just have fun and be safe on the water.Capt Andrew Medina can be reached

fo r fi s hi ng and charter i nfoat(941 )456 -1540 or Emai l atBentRods4U@ao l . com

Ed No t es Capt Andrew Medina’s teamis tied for 1st place in points in the series.The top 15 teams in the Q series go on to

Dr. James Edmond with a 26 in. 7 lb redfish caught on a topwater plug two days after thetournament. Note how the fish is being held horizontally. This is the best position for the fish.

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Q SeriesS taff Report

One thing everyone agreed onwhen the Redfish Cup’s Q Seriestournament came to Pine Island inlate February was that the condi-tions in the morning were brutal.Cold temperatures a low tide and a20 knot wind out of the north madefishing miserable. Spots that wereaccessible earlier in the week whenanglers prefished the area were nowout of reach.

“We went over dry land,” JoshSmith said of their boat ride whenhis team returned for the weigh in.There were some old timers in there- they thought we were coming inan air boat!” Other anglers told ofspending hours aground and mostsaid they had to get out and push atsome point. And yet there werefish, and some nice fish at that.The winning team of Artie Priceand Carl Smith brought in 13.34pounds of redfish. The biggest fish,caught by Levi Merritt tipped thescale at a healthy 7.45 pounds. Inall 27 out of 58 boats weighed infish.

Surprisingly, a number of themore productive locals – ChrisRush, J.R. Witt, Phil O’Bannon –only weighed-in one fish. “The fishjust disappeared today,” Rush said.“The red tide has been moving thefish around,” O’Bannon explained.“I didn’t pre-fish at all,” Witt said.There was no need for excuses. Itwas just tough.

“Paitence was the main thing,”Artie Price said. “We picked ourspot and waited. I threw a pearlwatermelon Berkley and I threw itweightless. The fish were just too

spooky to throw anything on ajig.” Price and his teammate head-ed south to find their winning fish,in the ‘relative protection’ of PineIsland Sound. For others, thosewho had scouted their fish inCharlotte Harbor conditions werefar worse.

“We rounded the corner and itwas a wall of water,” one anglersaid. Others who went to find fishat Pirate Harbor, said there werefive foot wavesinside the bar.

In general,anglers didn’thave as big afish as theywould haveliked (do weever?) but thosewho were in thepoints and inthe money wenthome smilingand that’s theimportantthing.

Place Capt. Teammate St.Pete FtMyers Jax Total1. Capt. Andrew Medina Trent Cheatham 120 119 0 2391. Jason Cofrin Dave Dickens 123 116 0 2393. Mark Hollan Bret Gamrot 125 113 0 2384. Tim Shadareck Jim Hobles 111 120 0 2315. Wayne Gatlin Robert Shamblin 114 110 0 2246. Capt. Kevin Merritt Capt. Steven Sorbara 118 105 0 2237. Capt. Carl Smith Arthur Price 0 125 0 1258. Billy Harris Warren Girle 124 0 0 1249. Capt Chuck Jenks Capt Tim White 0 124 0 12410. Wes Bedell Jeff Legutki 0 123 0 12311. Scott Rush Wally Thomas 0 122 0 12212. Will Palmer John Olivero 122 0 0 12213. Chuck Howard C.J Howard 121 0 0 12114. Derrick Jacobsen Darryn McGowan 0 121 0 12115. Jim Taylor Stephen Andreu 119 0 0 11917. Tom Winrow Chris Wittman 0 118 0 11818. Capt. Greg Watts Curtis Sanford 117 0 0 11718. John Landry Wayne Quick 0 117 0 11720. Mike Mahan Ron Horton 116 0 0 11621. Walter Powell Tom Tamanini 115 0 0 11521. Capt Michael Manis Capt Jay Withers 0 115 0 11523. Bill Walker Paul Weber 0 114 0 11424. Tom Fragomeni Michael Immersek 113 0 0 11325. Ron Hueston Geoffrey 2 0 0 11225. Ozzie Lessinger Sean McGarry 0 112 0 11227. David Stephens Josh Smith 0 111 0 11128. Lance Welsh Bob Welsh 110 0 0 11029. Shawn Harrell Rick Harrell 109 0 0 10929. Jarett Lombart Leland Symonds 0 109 0 10931. George Medders Danny Wade 0 108 0 10831. Michael Laramy Scott Hughes 108 0 0 10833. Bill Rizzo Julius Rauch 107 0 0 10733. Derek Carlson Jason Dudley 0 107 0 10735. Michael Faulconer Scott Kleiber 0 106 0 10636. Tommy Kelley II Dan Matthew 0 104 0 10437. Thomas Clapp Brian Harris 0 103 0 10338. Steve Duke J.R. Witt 0 102 0 10239. Aaron Diaz Phil O'Bannon 0 101 0 10140. Alex Suescan Chris Rush 0 100 0 10041. Capt. Rob Locke Steve Salter 0 99 0 99

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Winners at Pineland: Artie Price (right) and Carl Smith show off 13.34 pounds of redfish

Levi Merritt weighed in the biggest fish at 7.45 pounds

Current Standings

The crowd was small at the under-reconstruction Pineland Marina, butthe Q series tournament was important since it is a qualifying event forthe O Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup. Anglers who place well in this seriesbecome eligible to register for entry in the ESPN2 national event.

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S taff ReportWhen it comes to break-away tackle,

according to Cappy Joiner, leader of theBoca Grand Guides Association: “We’re notgoing to do anything different. I’ve beentying my lead on tight for years,” Joinersaid. “The reason for break away tackle wasto keep a light line tension. A big leadweight puts more pressure on the line andthen it’s easier for the fish to spit thehook.” Joiner was speaking about thedilemma some tarpon fishermen will befacing at Boca Grande this year. Break awaytackle – lead that comes off when the fishstrikes – is banned.

“That’s why the jig fishermen lose somany fish. Last year out of 148 hook upsthey landed only 40 fish, that’s a 30- per-cent success rate. In the same time wehooked 90 fish and landed 48 of them.That’s a 50-percent success rate,” Joinersaid. He, like all the traditional live baitfishermen at Boca Grande, believes jig fish-ing is not productive and that it snagsrather than catches the fish. “Sixty four-per-cent of the fish hooked on jigs in the studydone last year were hooked from the outsideof the mouth in,” Joiner said.

The Boca Grande guides are planning anew tournament for May 23-24. It is stillnot clear if the guides are distancing them-selves from the Boca Grand Chamber ofCommerce’s Worlds Richest tarpon tourna-ment in July or if the two events willcoexist peacefully. Some guides may fishboth events or there may be a boycott.

“In our tournament, all we are going todo is fish from 2 until 6 p.m. on the firstday. If no fish are caught we’ll fish onehour overtime, that’s it. Same thing for thesecond day, 2 to 6 and one hour overtime ifnecessary.” Joiner said if no fish are caughtat all, all the money will be given back.“And we will be paying 92-percent of theentry fees collected back as the purse,” hesaid.

There is a 40 boat limit. “The field is

just starting to form. Anyone is welcome,The entry fee is $250,” Joiner said. Phonehim at 697-6052 for more information.

The Boca Grande Chamber of Commerceis launching its own new tournament twistthis year as well.

According to chamber president CraigLutz “We will fish July 6-7-8 in two sepa-rate tournaments. The traditional World’sRichest Tarpon Tournament is limited to 40boats on July 6-7 and as a new twist thisyear, steel, monofilament and fluorocarbonleader will all be allowed. “We will fishfrom 3 to 8 pm to get hard falling eveningtides on the new moon (July 6) We have areduced entry fee of $3,500. (down from$5,500) With a full field, we pay $67,200first place, $26,880 for 2nd and $17,920third.” Lutz said. First and second place aredetermined by weight, third place goes tothe angler with the most releases.

On July 7-8 the Chamber also has anall-release beach tournament starting at6:30 a.m. with lines up at noon. They willprovide a specific map showing the desig-nated fishing area. In that event each teamwill have an observer aboard to count thereleases. The beach tournament is all aboutthe most releases. Entry fee for the newbeach tournament is also $3500. Theawards for both Chamber events will bepart of the Silver King block party festivalat Boca Grande July 8.

According to Lutz, it will be live baitonly in the pass tournament, but anglers inthe beach tournament may fish any singlebarb, single hook, artificial lures. “No jig-ging rigs will be allowed in either tourna-ment,” Lutz said.

It is our hope that there is a decline injig fishing. We’re hoping there will besome responsible legislation coming thisyear to address the jigging problem. BocaGrande is a fishing community,” Lutz said.Any one wishing to enter either of theChamber tournaments can call(941) 964-0568.

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Water Pumpgives up theghost andreveals itsflimsyancestry

S taff ReportThis is an automotive

story, but the relevance toall things mechanical isworth a look. This water pump is off aGM Gen VI marine big-block installed ina car. In a car, the pump is belt driven andwater recirculates, in a marine applicationwater comes from below the boat. A smallleak, an annoying drip appeared one dayand quickly got progressively worse. Theculprit was not the usual place a waterpump will leak from (around the impellershaft) but from the rear cover of the pumpitself. Water pumps are made with aremovable back cover so the impeller(shown here) can be pressed onto the shaftduring assembly. Then the pump is sealedup at the factory and should be watertightfor 100,000 miles or more but in thisinstance at 10,000 miles, the gasket usedbetween the pump body and the rear cover

was leaking. The motor was never over-heated, and there was always coolant, notjust water, in it. This part should not havefailed. We took the back cover off and itwas easy to see that the gasket had simplyeroded away.

During the last few years, in severaldifferent applications, we have encountereda number of sub-standard gaskets forintake manifolds, valve covers and waternecks. Some were off brand gaskets – nomore than cheap cardboard – but one bigname gasket wasn’t much better, weepingliquid through it like a sponge.

The lesson here is: for major parts, buybrand specific gaskets from the manufac-turer. It’s cheap insurance and they usuallyfit better any way.

Mechanical Connection


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M a r c h 2 0 0 5 Wa t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 1 5

By Capt. S teve SkevingtonWater LIFE Offshore Contributor

Wow, what a month February turned outto be. This month is not really popular forit's calm seas, but February 2005 was justthat. Nearly every day this month turnedout to be flat calm. Even as I am writingthis, there's not so much as a ripple on theGulf around us for as far as I can see.

As far as the fishing is concerned, redtide kind of put a damper on our normal‘fishing plans’ for this time of year, but itdidn't manage to put a damper on the ‘fish-ing.’ If there's anything we've learnedaround here over the last seven months,it’s to make lemonade when MotherNature hands you lemons.

We’ve been running out passed the redstuff to 70-75 feet of water. Bagging upbig yellowtail snapper, limits of man-grove snapper, hogfish, keeper sizedscamp grouper, gag grouper, and evensome red grouper. Today we released threebig amberjack and some monster goliathgrouper.

As far as March, there is really onething on my mind; those big March‘mangs.’ Mangrove snapper two to fourpounds and some up to ten pounds willstart to stack up on some of our area ledgesand wrecks. My favorite way to fish theseguys is to chum them to the surface and flatline them with light tackle. Ten to twelvepound test is a lot of fun on these fish.

Fluorocarbon leader is almost a must, andwhatever you’re using for bait, ‘hide yourhook.’ Another fish to look forward to inMarch will be the spring run of Spanishmacs. Trolling up and down the beach withsmall jigs and spoons is deadly on thesefish. In fact, the only mistake an anglercouldmake this month is to not go fishingat all. See ya next month.

FISH ON! Offshore Report

A February pair of porgys or ʻjolt headsʼ

BEENEY - Before Charley remodeled in August thiswas a 3/2 pool home built in 1968 with 1287 sq ft. Ithas some of the easiest Harbor acces in Port Charlottewith 100' of seawall.In June 2004 (two months beforethe storm) it sold for $359,500. It sold again "as is" inJanuary of 2005 for $475,000.ROCK CREEK DRIVE - Complete with 800# boat lift,dock and seawall this home was built in 1983. It has1850 sq ft, 3/2 and a heated pool and separate in groundspa. Harbor access but not for sailboats. It sold in 1999for $161,900 and just this past January 2005 for$383,000.

TROPICAL AVE - Newer home built in 2002 on 2/3 of anacre with 105' of waterfront and dock along the Pellamwaterway. Not on sailboat water but an easy out to theHarbor. This house sold after only 3 days on the marketfor $500 over the asking price of $349,500. Prior to thatit sold in May of the same year for $285,000.

SUNRISE AVE - Fifteen minutes to the Harbor with Gulfaccess this 3/2 home was built in 1973. It has no poolbut a yard large enough to build one and 1,296 sq ft. Itsold in March 2004 for $149,300 and nine months laterin December of 2004 for $240,000.

Area Real Estate

Whatʼs Selling NOWThis is NOT an AdFactual Information compiled by Water LIFE from the Charlotte County Association of Realtors database.

Homes in the Edgewater area of Port Charlotte continue tosell quickly and very close to or above asking price. Many houses in the area are

on canals with varying amounts of time to the Harbor. Sea walls here are the responsibility ofthe homeowners.

Gulf to BayNO BRIDGES!Sailboat wateronly minutes to

the Peace River andCharlotte Harbor with Gulfaccess. Three bedrooms, twobaths, over 1500 sq ft with newpaint, carpet and upgradedeverywhere. New roof andhuge lanai with gorgeous sun-sets! MLS# 453602 $394,900

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MLS# 458167 $775,000

E. Darin Dr - Few left of this kind - oversized sailboatlot - fantastic long east water view - new large dock -great access out by boat or car - upscale homes on quietstreet. Room for a large home or very large (plans avail-

able) 2-story home. MLS# 456076 $725,000

PRESERVE ON PEACE HARBOR - Great opportunityto own a waterfront condo on the Peace River. Ea. ownerwill have option to purchase dock when built (approx.$30,000 ea.). 42-slip marina, wood cabinets, granitecounters, custom tile & more. Gated private community -to be completed Sept. '05.MLS#456326 $555.000

95 N Marion Ct #241 - FANTASTIC BUY!.Pre-con-struction penthouse end unit . Floor plan boasts over3,000 sq. ft., featuring two Owner's Suites, a 3rdBR/guest suite & 3 full baths. Expansive terrace forviewing spectacular Harbor sunset or sunrise from theowner's suite balcony . Seller motivated.MLS#454102 $929,000

McCleod Ave -Executive compound with 3.98 ac -waterfront, gulf & lake access - nearly 900 ft. of waterfrontage backing up to Riverwood development - awhopping 173,466 sq. ft. of land - perfect for an estatehome - priced to sell ! MLS# 446322 $3,000,000

S taff ReportBetter faster boats, carbon

fiber kevlar hulls, high tech elec-tronic engine controls, Chinesekayaks and lures, lots of color,thermal coatings, high-teck lubri-cants, flat screens, projected ther-mal, low light and Gen III nightvision imagery, interphased elec-tronics, cleaners and polishes ofevery denomination, bowthrustersand side-shifters. A flamelessoven, Ullman impact seating anda shock absorbing deck. Womendressed to the nines with bigstones, kids in t-shirts, men withbeer, Cubans speaking a mile a

minute, and southerners talkingwith a slow drawl. Miami had alittle of everything, and more.

In the world of outboardsSuzuki and Tohatsu have their

four strokes. Mercury has it’ssupercharger, Yamaha is in themiddle and the ‘new’ E-TecEvinrude appears to be the onlymanufacturer committed to highpressure high performance two-strokes.

There were more “off-brand’outboards on display boats at theshow than ever before, but thedisplay booths at Tohatsu and

Suzuki were quiet compared tothe activity at the big three.

Around the show, plasmascreens were the show-and-telltool of the year with image loopsrunning everywhere you turned.The smell of fresh fiberglass justout of the mold filled the air insome areas. To boat and accessorymanufacturers, this was themother of all boat shows.

The sexy looking Everglades290 won the National MarineManufacturers AssociationInnovation of the Year award.This $165,000 boat begs to betaken out in the nastiest ofweather; with a full pilothousethat can run 52 mph and is sureto be seen on the SKA circuitthis year. “We are already talkingabout air conditioning as anoption,” one of the Evergladessalesmen said.

Automotive technology con-

tinues to burr the line into boat-ing with Ilmor’s 625 hp V-10Viper boat motor designed for theoffshore set. “Twenty of these arealready in the field with over 200trouble free hours on them,” thefactory rep said. They are builtunder an exclusive license withDodge by Teague Marine.

On the lower end, power surf-boards and wakeboards continueto make more inroads in thesurfer market. Surfango out ofShanghai China came to townwith their new $1,800, 25 mph,motorized kayaks. Powered by aproprietary 4-stroke motordesigned specifically for thisapplication. The boat looks andfeels like a real kayak! Retracting

pistol grip controls steer from theleft and power up on the right. A

Observations at Miami

High speed ʻdemo ridesʼ across the bay are a fun part of the Miami show


3656 PEACE RIVER DRIVE - Spectacular sunsets from thelanai and free-form pool 4 BR and 3 BA with an office/den foryour large family; expansive glass across rear to afford magnifi-cent water views along with a dock, 10K lift and deep wateranchorage for your large boat. $879,000

413 VALLETTACourt –3/2/2 sailboathome on a quietcul-de-sac withan extra widecanal view inBurnt StoreIsles. With tilethroughout andalmost all newappliances, roof, and kitchen countertop, this home is like newand ready to move in! $675,000

8416 RIVER-SIDE DRIVE –2 BR creek-front home,over 200ʼ ofseawall, easyaccess to ShellCreek.Oversizedgarage, workshop that could accommodate 3 or 4 vehicles.Possible mother-in-law set-up for bonus room in rear ofgarage. Room for a pool or RV. $298,000

4900 RIVERSIDEDRIVE - Beautifullyrenovated andexpanded 2-storyhistoric home, near-ly 2 acres on thePeace River withdelightful caretakercottage or mother-in-law home. Familyroom and master suite overlook the River, 7 original fire-places, lots of decking for entertaining and enjoying thewater views. $1,950,000

25188 MARION AVENUE,UNIT 23 – The Peace Riverlaps at your back door in thisEmerald Point villa.Spectacular view of the har-bor from this 2/2 unit withlarge rooms, your own pooland lots of open decks forenjoying the outdoors.Deeded dock included withthis unit. $699,000

8663 SW SUNNYBREEZE ROAD – Custom designed 2/2home located on 17 waterfront acres on Thornton Creek withaccess to the Peace River. Unique decor accented by thefabulous setting of wrap around porches and atriums makethis a spectacular estate home. $975,000

second version is powered by atiny 24 volt brushless electricmotor giving the electro-yak a 7mph top speed and 1.5 hours full-throttle-endurance on a singletypical automotive battery. Bothboats will come in sit-in or sit-on configuration.

Chris Craft shows it’s classicheritage with the new wood trimretro-looking Speedster, poweredby a 270 hp volvo inboard and

priced at $45,900.If you wanted speed it was

there for sale with ‘reliable’ 100

mph performance for under$150,000 from several manufac-

turers.In the inboard realm

Caterpillar’s C-32, 1825 hp elec-tronically controlled, tur-bocharged, diesel was the bad-tothe-bone choice for the superpow-er, super-yacht.

While the Miami ConventionCenter had over 4,000 vendorsAcross the bay, the Simply Sailexhibition at the Bayside MiamiMarina was less spectacular. Anarray of boats, perhaps 100, satin the water ready for inspectionwhile 50 or so vendors filled astrategically placed tent thatattendees were routed through.Overall, the powerboat crowdappeared more ‘well healed’ while

the sailors were best described askicked back and comfortable.

Leisure Sail had their not newbut now elegantly refined tech-nology on display: roller furlingboom equipment that can makethe cruising life easier and only

set you back 10 large in theprocess (without the required newfurling-specific sails).

Twin rudders set theSoutherly 110 apart from the restof the fleet and made severalpassers by ask what happenswhen you go straight?

The Etchells, a 30-foot one-design racing sailboat was builtto compete against the Soling

boats in Olympic competition.Built on a fractional rig design(the fore-stay only extends 7/8 ofthe way up the mast) this boat’srigging is almost infinitelyadjustable. A favorite with theMiami based club sailors theEtchells has not gained populari-ty in Charlotte Harbor, perhapsdue to her 6-foot keel but shewas an attention getter at Miami.The boat sails with a three orfour person crew and a 678-poundweight limit for racing.

In the world of luxury yachtsthe Indian Creek area alongMiami Beach’s Collins Avenuefloated more hardware than everbefore stretching five city blocks

with yachts tied up three deep.“This is the most boats at thisboat show I have ever seen,” onesalesman commented and we hadto agree.

In the end, the NationalMarine ManufacturersAssociation reported a year-over-year increase in attendance andsales at the 2005 MiamiInternational Boat Show &Strictly Sail. Attendance at theshow, which ran Feb. 17-21, was145,355 compared to 138,034last year. This represents a 5 per-cent year-over-year increase and a3 percent increase from the aver-age attendance figures for the pre-vious three years.Dealers in bothparts of the show reported strongsales and agreed the 2005 MiamiBoat Show was another success.


Boat Buying Tips

Ken Cook / Boats Unlimited4809 Tamiami TrailCharlotte Harbor941-628-8250

Whether you are shopping for a newor pre-owned boat, it is a good idea toshop new first at one or two of the hun-dreds of boat shows across the country.Boat shows offer an excellent opportunity to seewhat is out there with regard to boats and boat-ing equipment.

When you are ready to buy, find a dealernear you. Interview a few dealers. The dealerwho wins your business should be the one whogoes out of his or her way to make you feelcomfortable with your boat and the entire buy-ing process.You are creating a long term rela-tionship with this dealership. Find someone youfeel comfortable with and can trust.

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Harborʼs Biggest RaceS taff Report

Lots of planning goes into a big eventFor the past several years this publica-

tion has made photographs available of pastevents which the Conquistador Cup Racecommittee has used for brochures and t-shirts. In time it has become a traditionthat in addition to the winning boat receiv-ing the coveted conquistador’s helmet theirboat’s picture is used for the followingyear’s T-shirts.

This years Conquistador Cup T shirtswill feature the image of Breaking Wind,one of the new multi-hull class boats thatstarted last but finished first in 2004.

Race committee rules dictate that afterthe completion of sailing on the first day ofthe “Cup” the boats starting order for thesecond day is inverted. Boats that finishfirst on day one, starts last on day two. Itis a design which, at least theoretically,gets all the boats to the finish line atroughly the same time. Usually it works.

For spectators, this race presents better than average options. Since the race is held atthe top of Charlotte Harbor, in the Peace River below the US 41 bridge, race watchersgather either on the bridge itself or at one of the waterfront restaurants at Fishermen’sVillage for a view of the course. Since the final mark is usually near the bridge, boatspass in front of the village twice enroute to the finish line. The race is March 5-6.

This image of ʻBreaking Windʼ will be on thisyears Conquistador Cup T-shirts

March 5-6 Conquistador CupMarch 12 Small Boat Racing

March 13 Spring Series #4March 20 Spring Series #5

March Sailing Calendar

Let me help choose the right boat for you


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By Betty S tauglerSpecial to Water LIFEfrom Sea Grant

Have you ever wonderedwhat those foamy streaks ofscum on the Harbor are? Haveyou ever wondered why thebubbles seem to align them-selves in streaks and not justcover the surface on windydays?

Those streaks or scum linesare due to a rather complexwater movement phenomenoncalled Langmuir Circulation. When a spe-cific blend of wind speed and wave move-ment occurs, we experience LangmuirCirculation.

Langmuir Circulation was discoveredback in 1938 by scientist Irving Langmuirduring a cross-Atlantic voyage. Langmuirnoticed the sargassum (floating seaweed)forming linear patterns on the waters sur-face during his journey. Upon returninghome, Langmuir conducted experiments inLake George, New York, in order to explainthe sargassum formations.

What Langmuir discovered was that aswind blows across the surface of the water,convection cells begin to take shape as theshearing forces of the wind push the surfacewater. The surface water is pushed in a per-pendicular fashion to create a circulationpattern below the water. These cellsbegin to rotate as ‘tubes’ of waterfor the length of the bay waters justbelow the surface and pointed in thedirection of the wind. The tubesrotate in opposite directions to theconcurrent tube next to it.

Simply put, when wind pushes aunit of water from point A to pointB, more water rushes to fill pointA. This causes an upwelling tooccur. At point B, where there ismore water than before, a downwellingoccurs. This upwelling and downwellingeffect, which happen over and over again,creates the spiraling tubes mentioned above.

While we can only see the surface, theevidence of this phenomena occurring liesin the two concurrent, counter-circulating

tubes that clear the surface on the up-welling and concentrate floating bubbles onthe down-welling. Because the two adjoin-ing cells or tubes are rotating in oppositedirections, what we see is the accumulationof bubbles, foam, and debris on the waterssurface.

Next time you’re out on the water andyou see the telltale scum line, look aroundfor another. The distance between the twoscum line streaks is equal to two tubes. Ifyou position your boat on top of a scumline, the water beneath you will be movingdown and downwind. As your boat driftsbetween two scum lines, the water beneathyou will be moving up and downwind.

Langmuir Circulation can be observedon any body of water including oceans,seas, lakes, estuaries, and rivers. This phe-

nomenon can form very quickly and lastfrom several minutes to several hours. So,have you seen those foamy streaks on thewater lately?

Betty Staugler can be reached for marineex tension information at (941) 764-4346

Reading Between the Lines

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By Fishin’ FrankWater LIFE Grand Advisor

An interesting thought occurred to me.Over the last 30 years or so their have onlybeen three or at the most four outbreaks of redtide in the upper part of Charlotte Harbor. Itwas like we had a get-out-of-red-tide-free card.The Peace and Myakka rivers kept red tide outof the harbor simply because red tide can notlive in fresh water, but now that we haveanother phosphate mine drawing water out ofthe river and two or three municipalities draw-ing their water and farms drawing water and allof us in general drawing water – one way oranother – from the river, in dry seasons theremay no longer be enough fresh water in theriver to keep us (and the fish) safe from strongred tide outbreaks in the harbor. This has nowhappened two out of the last four years. Itwould be easy to only blame the phosphate mine, but Ibelieve they were was just the last straw that broke thecamel’s back.

So what kind of fishing can you do when thered tide is ravaging the gulf water?

Here are a few ideas:Canal fishing is at its peak. People are traveling from

Tampa to Fort Myers to fish and escape red tides there. Theupper harbor and the canal systems show why this is one ofthe best places in the world to fish. Lady fish are easilycaught with a shrimp under a bobber in the Ackerman canal,trout are a blast in Alligator Creek, and by using jigs inAlligator Creek you get more of the hard ‘smack’ of the trouthit. Bright color jigs are working best.

Three Islands, north of Pirate Harbor and just inside thesand bar is a very exciting place for trout fishing right nowwith fish five and six pounds being caught on a regular basis.The Smithwick Devils Horse, is the best lure for non-lureanglers. Slowly reel it in, stop every once in a while - startagain, and if you jerk it the trout will come. Three feet ofwater is best.

Snookin' at the auditorium parking lot next to the US 41bridges at night with an outgoing tide is also hot. Use a 15Bomber Classic Snook or the secret Mirror Lure TT_1_ I'lltell you that here, call me for the whole number. Cast it outfrom the seawall not from the corner, but back 15 feet sowhen you retrieve your lure it passes by the corner of the sea-wall. Retrieve the bomber slow and steady, no jigging orsnapping. The mirror lure should be retrieved with slow pullswith stops between pulls, the water is still in the 60's andsnook need more time to react.

The Shell Creek dam is snook heaven right now. Slow

high retrieves with a Green Ghost is producing keepers everyevening.

The East Spring Lake canal on incoming tide will get youtrout. Use a shrimp about four feet under a popping cork, castout to the middle of the canal and let the tide take it in.

Sheepshead and snapper have been hitting on the south sideof the bridge at West Spring Lake. Pieces of shrimp on goldhooks are your best bet. El Jobean is king at night for snookfishing but the first bridge on Midway has its own share ofsnook and little or no people fishing it.

One of the best but almost forgotten snook holes in thecounty is at the first canal off U.S.41 on Forest Nelson. Theleft, or south side is salt water and the pipes that overflowfresh water from the other side holdmany snook over the legallimit. F-8 Yo-zuris or a 16axs104 Bomber are good choicesfor lure guys.Fresh watershiners are the best bet forthe more relaxed angler.

These are just a hand-ful of places you can fish.When the coast is makingyou cough, come back tothe brown water of theupper harbor. The fishingis just fine.

Fishin Frank can bereached at the store for fish-ing information or helpwith selecting the rightequipment. Call 625-3888


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By Capt Ron BlagoWater LIFE

Senior GuideA lot has happened since the manatee was placed on the

endangered species list in 1973. Back then the widely heldbelief was that there were less then 1000 manatees inFlorida and they were worth protecting. There was no realscience or data to back up that assumption, but back thenFederal and State biologists, boaters and environmentalistswere all on the same side trying to help out the poor man-atee.

In the 80's a new player entered the game, the Save theManatee Club and things soon began to go south as far ascooperation was concerned.

The basic premise of the SMC's creedwas that the man-atee was on the road to extinction and the main culpritswere the very boaters who helped start the manatee protec-tion movement in the first place. The SMC's assumptionswere also not based on science or data, but it did strike aresponsive cord with several biocrats (biological bureau-crats) from the old Florida Department of EnvironmentalProtection. Several of those biocrats are still currentlyworking for the SMC.

The 90's was supposed to be the decade where sciencewas going to confirm the desperate plight of the manatee.The first thing they did was increase the use of aerial sur-veys to determine the population of manatees in Florida.

In 1991 they counted a population of 1478. The SMCused that data to support their conclusion that the manateehad not recovered much from 1973 and that more restric-tions on boaters were necessary to protect the manatee.

The SMC skillfully manipulated the mainstream mediato hammer home the fact that manatee deaths were increas-ing each year and now more restrictions on boaters andwaterfront growth limits were required.

Facts can be such stubborn things, and by 1999 the aer-ial surveys (now required by law) found 2,360 manatees inFlorida.

Even some of the biocrats, now working for the newFWC began to have second thoughts about the plight ofthe manatee.

The SMC took this as treachery and developed a newstrategy. The SMC sued the Federal and State biocrats in2000 saying they were not doing enough to protect themanatee. After all, why waste money on science when allyou have to do is get a judge to determine what a scien-tific fact means. That was the reasoning Galileo usedwhen

they threatened to burn him at the stake if he didn'tadmit that the sun revolved around the earth. This

was pretty much the low point for coopera-tion with all parties concerned; and it did-

n't help when in 2001 the aerial sur-veys found 3300 manatees in

Florida.Out of the fog of con-fusion came the FloridaC o a s t a lC o n s e r v a t i o nAssociation (CCA)

which filled a request with the FWC to review the status ofthe manatee. They figured that since the proven populationof manatees in Florida had increased 123-percent in 10years, maybe the manatee wasn’t so endangered anymore.

Back in 1999 the FWC had updated their imperiled list-ing criteria to try and put science back into the classifica-tion process. At that time, all parties agreed to three listingcriteria: endangered, threatened and Species of SpecialConcern. When faced with the real possibility of the man-atee being delisted, the SMC was in a panic.

They said the aerial surveys were not accurate and thelisting criteria was flawed. They said that people would beconfused if the manatee went from endangered to threatenedstatus.

Some other people said that the real problem was ithurt the fund raising efforts of the SMC; after all, a threat-ened manatee just doesn't have the same fund-raising zingas an endangered manatee.

Now it appears a compromise is in the works. Alongcomes the International Union for the Conservation ofNature (IUCN) one of those UN sanctioned environmentalgroups. The IUCN classifies imperiled species in three cat-egories; but their's are different from the FWC categories:Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable andSlightly Endangered.

So here is one possible plan: Adopt the IUCN categoriesand down-list the manatee from the top ICUN category ofCritically Endangered to Endangered. That way the manateegets delisted and the SMC can still call the manatee endan-gered.

Unfortunately there is a down side to the plan. TheFWC staff is against it. After all, they just changed theircategories in1999 and nobody complained then; and theterm "Endangered" is used all through the Florida statutesso if you change the definition of the word, you probablyhave to change the laws.

And then there are those dammed facts again. It seemsthat the IUCN doesn't even recognize the Florida manateeas a sub species of Trichechus manatus. They recognize anAmerican Manatee, a Caribbean Manatee, a NorthAmerican Manatee and the West Indian Manatee; but noFlorida Manatee. One other little problem has popped upas well. It seems that the IUCN has already assessed themanatee and in 1996 categorised it only as Vulnerable, thelowest ranking they have.

So now all the SMC has to do is convince all partiesconcerned that having more manatees in Florida means thatthey are ever closer to extinction and that approach justmight work for them, after all, that type of logic has gotus to where we are today.

From Blame Game to Name Gamethe manatee is in the spotlight again

Snooty,the Parker

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been in captivityover 30 years


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Beautifully landscaped pool home, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and 2 car attachedgarage. This home is on an oversized corner lot and you can have the lot behindthe home for $29,900 (MLS #459652). Home features a green house full of

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By Dave Al lenWater LIFE Kayak ContributorWe had planned this trip for several

weeks at Port Charlotte Kayakers clubmeetings, over dinners, and by telephoneconversations back and forth. The plan, asit developed, was to take an overnight pad-dle from Everglades City to Rabbit Key, adistance of about 12 or 13 miles to thesouthwest. We would leave Port Charlotteat 6 a.m., Saturday morning, February 19,camp out on Saturday night and returnSunday morning. A group of seven decid-ed to go: Hal Waller, Jim McKenzie,Klaus Mehlhorn, David Rog, LoraineHelber, Ron Rosiere, and myself.For those who haven’t paddled or

camped in the Everglades, the process ofgetting a camping permit is time consum-ing and involved. First, someone has todrive to the park service in Everglades Cityand get the permit 24 hours before theintended trip. Hal Waller generously vol-unteered for this job. Then, permits areissued on a first come, first served basis,so you need to have some alternate camp-ing locations selected in case your firstchoice is taken by another party. As itturned out, our first three choices weretaken, but we lucked out and got a permitfor Tiger Key.It was still an hour before sunrise when

we loaded up the cars and trailers and head-

ed south on Interstate 75. Everglades Citywas a two and a half hour drive from PortCharlotte. We planned to be in the waterby 9 a.m. It was a perfect day for a paddle:temperature about 50 degrees with a lightbreeze from the southeast, and lots of sun-shine. No rain was in the forecast.At 9:30 a.m., the tide was dead low at

the ranger station, so we hauled the kayaksand gear across the muddy beach to theshallow water beyond. We headed south-west, across Chokoloskee Bay toward theentrance to Indian Key Pass. Flashing-green ‘23’ marks the pass entrance: a pairof ospreys had built a nest on top of themarker and didn’t want us to get too close.There was a little current running againstus, but we made pretty good time.There were quite a few fishing boats,

large and small, most heading west to theGulf. One of the fishermen back at theramp had told me that the fishing had beenpretty good the last week or so.Sightseeing boats passed us regularly,loaded with holiday visitors who wanted tosee the Everglades. Two men paddling aheavily loaded canoe were paddling hardagainst the current as we passed. Theywere headed to Lulu Key for several daysof camping and fishing.Shortly before noon, we were almost to

the Gulf end of Indian Key Pass, and madethe turn northwest toward Tiger Key.

Even though the wind was now stronger,as we turned toward Tiger, the mangroveislands blocked some of the wind, and weslipped through the channels to the southtip of Tiger Key. The campsite was mid-way down the key on the Gulf side. Tiger Key turned out to be a beautiful

little island with wide, flat shell beachesideal for setting up a camp. There are notoilet facilities on Tiger Key, but as wefound out, there are also no raccoons, rats,or mosquito’s. We did need a squirt of‘Off’ to discourage some sand flies.It felt good to get out of the kayaks and

stretch after the 2 .5 hour paddle. Wequickly set up camp, and got our gearorganized. It was still early afternoon afterwe finished these chores, so Ron and Haldecided to paddle around Tiger Key andexplore Picnic Key to the east of us. Therest of us explored the beaches north andsouth of the campsite, but found that wecould only walk about a half mile beforethe mangroves became impassable. Everyone was ready to eat by about five

o’clock, so we found a shady spot undersome trees, and ate and talked until it start-ed to get dark. We pulled some deadbranches up on the beach, and had a roar-ing fire going in no time. Sack timecame early, as we were all tired from thedays’ paddling.Sunday morning, as we woke up, we

were surprised to find that the low tide hadleft about 150 yards of sand to cross beforewe reached open water. There had alsobeen heavy dew the night before and thetents were soaked. So we decided to havebreakfast, dry out the tents and gear, andwait for the tide to come part way into thebeach. Coffee was made, everyone got hisor her breakfast together and we talked,waiting for the tide.By 9 a.m., the tide was close enough to

the beach to begin moving kayaks andgear to the water. The temperature wasquite warm, but the wind was blowing atabout 15 knots from the east, so we wouldbe paddling directly into it most of theway back to the ranger station.Ron and Hal decided to take the scenic

route back, around Tiger and Picnic Keys,meeting us a few miles east of Tiger Keyin Indian Key Pass. As we rounded the tipof Tiger, the wind and waves hit us, butthe conditions were not too difficult – justsome hard paddling ahead of us.There seemed to be even more fishing

boats out on Sunday, and the sightseeingboats made their regular trips out andback. We stayed on the east side of thechannel as much as possible to shelter usfrom the wind. About half way to theranger station, we stopped for a shortbreak on a sand bar on the lee side of thechannel. As Indian Key Pass became nar-rower, we could feel the effect of the cur-rent pushing us along, a boost against thestrong wind.At noon, we entered Chokoloskee Bay

on the last leg of the return paddle. Alarge group of girl scouts, about 20 girlsin 10 canoes, were heading up the Pass fora Sunday outing. Soon we were at the launching beach

where we had put-in the day before. Thetide was in this time, so we could pull thekayaks up close to solid ground. The carswere quickly loaded, and our group headednorth to home, a hot shower and a warmmeal.

The Port Charlotte Kayakers schedule at leasttwo paddles each week . We meet ev eryWednesday evening at Port Charlotte BeachComplex at 5:30 PM. Join us when you can.Dave Allen can be reached at (941) 235-2588 orv ia e-mail at: [email protected]


Overnight Kayak Trip in the Everglades

Above: The beach at Tiger KeyBelow: Campsite on the beach


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By Don CessnaWater LIFE Englewood

Our fishing season has beenspectacular for more months in arow than in years past. More peo-ple have caught nice large fishand there has been plenty for allto enjoy on most days. Overall,both the gulf and backwater fish-ermen have enjoyed a spectacularyear. Before the red tide, pompano

were here and many sheepsheadfishermen had nice catches. Wehad a whole bunch of fun catch-ing bluefish, more large bluefishthan normal. The gulf was offer-ing lots of grouper and moremangrove snapper than last year.Even some nice yellowtail snap-per. The folks who could get outfar enough offshore found plentyof nice amberjack too. I guessafter all that fun it had to slowdown sooner or later.

We have been fortunate untilnow there hasn’t been a problemwith red tide for a while, but nowthe news of the last few weekshas been all about red tide. All ofus should be concerned about ourenvironment because, as the say-ing goes, ‘we all live down-

stream’. Nothing on this planetcan survive without water, hencethe quality of water influences thequality of life. Fishermen andboaters are on the leading edge ofthose who see any obviouschanges. We are the guardians ofthe environment and we areentrusted to protect it. It does notmake any difference where onelives, the fact is we all live,breathe, eat, and drink within thesame environment-- and all prob-lems get to each and every one ofus sooner or later.

The last few days most of thecalls at the store have been frompeople wanting to know what todo. This is somewhat difficult toanswer since the red tide does notremain in one spot. It moves onthe current and wind.

Are you hoping for a place tofish or a place to go where thesmell won’t be so bad? Theanswer of the day is normallyinfluenced by the direction of thewind especially if fishing is sec-ondary. To fish areas without deadand dying fish I understand theSarasota area has cleared since thered tide bloom began up that wayand has been moving south.Generally bays, inlets and thepasses where the tide washesthrough from the gulf get it theworst. This is one instance where the

poor flow of water coming south

from Venice in the intracoastal isa good thing for the fish and fish-ermen. For the time being atleast, Lemon Bay has had verylittle of the effects. The area fromManasota Bridge south toCharlotte Harbor has been fairlygood. Mullet, trout, catfish and all

the baitfish seem to be the fishwhich are affected the worst.There are still large schools ofmullet in Lemon Bay which lookto be perfectly normal and happy,or at least as happy as they canbe while being herded andattacked by dolphin and snook.But that is the way of life forthem most of the time anyway. I have not seen many dead fish

in the Bay so far. My customershave continued to catch somenice trout and redfish. One youngman had a nice snook on for awhile before the fish got lucky. Ithink by far the worst effect willbe the lack of baitfish Bbay. Ihave not seen any baitfish at alllately, but there are a lot ofshrimp riding the out going tideat night.The good news is that it is

amazing how fast the fishingrecovers after the tide goes away. Hopefully, in a week or two,

we will be back in businesscatching nice fish everywhere. InMarch the serious fishing nor-mally begins to pick up as this

is spring time and the waterwarms. Soon we will be getting the

warm-water fish moving into ourarea bringing some of the bestfishing of the season. It shouldbegin with Spanish mackerel andwhiting on the beaches and nearshore in the gulf. Hungry snook,redfish, and trout will appear inthe Bay. I wouldn’t be surprisedif the pompano show up againtoo right along with the macker-el.

During the next week or two,why not get the boat in primeshape and check your equipment.As a side note, the Marine Patrolhas been vicious as of late, goingover boats looking for one thing

or another trying to find anythingto write up. There have apparent-ly been no warnings and largefines. Some guys have paid forexpired flares or no sound makingdevice. Safety gear is paramount,tickets suck, so check everything. Get your rods and reels in

good working order and look atyour line to make sure it’s notkinky or rotten so you will beready for the time when the fish-ing picks up again – it will besoon and it would be a shame tolose a good fish fight becauseyou weren’t ready. The dayalways is better when you gofishing and win.Don @ Ray 's Bait and Tack le 480 . , Dearborn St. Englewood


Fishing AlwaysMakes the DayGo Better

Plenty of Key West Grunts in this cooler. They came from way offshore.


Charlotte HarborRobert at F i s hi n' FranksPort Charl o tte: 6 25 -3888Fishing has been good in general.

There was even some talk about tar-pon in Estero Bay but those may beresident fish. The warm weatherbrought the water temp up 4 degrees.We are probably at the last of anymajor cold fronts so the water temper-ature will be going up steadily now.We are getting into the spring pattern

with all the fish. Now, hopefully therain at the end of February will havewashed the red tide out.Species to target this month are

trout and s nook . The snook aregoing to still be up in the canals andwill be slowly migrating out to themouth of the canals and heading to theflats. Not until the beginning of Aprilwill they be out there in force headingto the passes. This is a great time tostart working the artificials because

the fish should be feeding heavily try-ing to replenish their body weight forthe coming season. Trout is always a goodone in March too. They will be schooling

up sporadically out on the flats and as thewaterwarms up in the middle of the day theywill be moving out to the 6-to 8-foot range.

March Fishing Forecast

New from China These Strike Pro, broken-back lures have a nice rattle in them,but weʼd change the hooks out for something more sturdy before using them.

There have been a lot of really bigtrout this year compared to otheryears. Trout are feeding primarilyon shrimp and taking a little whitebait as well. The early morningand late afternoon bite has beengood on top waters plugs like theJohnny Rattler and the Top Dog.Redfish will start getting bigger

as this month progresses. The biggerfish, the old breeders, will start mov-ing in from the Gulf. Out along theGulf, in the 30-to 40-foot depths,this will be the time to start trollingfor big reds. Guys looking for king-fish early will be trolling Mann'sstretch 25s and 30s will be the onescoming up with the big bull redswhile trolling. Start watching for the 69 degree

temperature incline when the kingsand Spanish mackerel start show-ing up. This should be the month forthat.Here’s something strange. I’ve

been bringing home the bad shrimpfrom work and fishing out back.Usually, the sand brim and cat-fi sh show up, but I haven’t seenany. In fact, a number of guides whohave stopped in the shop lately havementioned that they have not beenseeing catfish. I wonder what’s upwith that. It could be a good thing.One fish that has been big lately

is the mangrove snapper. At ElJobean they are catching them up toa-pound-and-a-quarter. They will bedoing the same thing with the springfeed, moving out of the shallower

canals and heading into the harbor.The Alligator Reef and the CapeHaze Reef should be good for snap-per. They are catching 5 and 6-poundsheepshead and big snappers onthe inshore reefs right now. Thosefish could be moving south as well,as soon as the red tide clears. Flatsfishermen will be seeing them asthey move through and it’s only thecolor of the blue tinted tail that setsthem apart from tailing reds.Tarpon have been reported in thekeys and a few fish have been spot-ted in the Flamingo area. This is thetime to start dusting off the big-fishtackle and get the shark rigs cleanedup. Some tarpon will start migrat-ing out of the rivers here this month.They will hang at the bridges and inthe river at the mouths. Guys at ElJobean walking sugar trout under acalcutta pole for snook are usuallythe first ones to find the tarpon andget wrecked by them!

Lemon BayJim at Fishermen’s EdgeEnglewood: 697-7595Now tournament season starts

and most of the snook, trout and red-fish in are area will become ‘hunted

men.’ March is a good month. Thechange in the weather and the warm-ing water come in March. Thebiggest thing will be the red tide andwhat effects it has. Normally,snook start to migrate out of theback, coming out of the rivers in atransitional mode heading toward theharbor. Trout fishing is usuallygood in the spring. Guides arereporting bigger than average troutthis season. We should start seeingmackerel and kingfish, a real indi-cator of the spring season. Hopefullywe will have a good kingfish run,good like it was in years past. Thereare always a lot of things in March:the end of the pompano and thesheepshead season. Piers, boatdocks, rock outcroppings have beenholding those fish. Sand fleas andfiddler crabs are the bait for them.

Offshore, mangrove snapper,and hogfish – a lot of hogfish, 6 onone boat one day a couple on anoth-er – that’s unusual. Hogfish are usu-ally a more tropical species.

Stump Pass & The GulfTravi s at S tump Pass

Marina Lemon Bay 697-2206

Yesterday we had a 30 poundblackfin, lots of snapper andgrouper but everything is comingout of deeper water, nothing lessthan 80 feet. Last week I got a 30pound king in 100 feet of water (30to 35- miles out) and we had anoth-er one on that day, so they arearound. The snook population thatusually hangs out here at the mari-na got out of dodge when the redtide rolled in and they haven’t beenback yet. Everything inshore has

M a r c h 2 0 0 5 W a t e r L I F E M A G A Z I N E P a g e 3 1

n March 2: Seminar Capt AndyMedina on Snook fishing, WestMarine Port Charlotte, 5:30, 625-2700n March 5-6: Conquistador Cup,Charlotte Harborʼs largest Regatta.n March 8: Kayaking FishingSeminar with Dave Loger, GrandeTours, Placida, 697-8825 n March 12: Flatsmasters GrandSlam Plug Tournament, PuntaGordan March 16: Seminar Paul LeBlancon safety requirements, West MarinePort Charlotte, 5:30, 625-2700n March 23: Seminar Capt DanCambern on kingfishing, West Marine

Port Charlotte, 5:30, 625-2700n March 25: Full Moon Kayak Trip,departs 5 p.m., Grande Tours,Placida, no launch fee! 697-8825 n March 26: Old Mossey PlugTournament, Punta Gordan March 30-April 1: Edison BigSnook Tournament, Ft Myersn April 9-10: Leukemia CupRegatta, Charlotte Harborn April 9: Bobby HollowayMemorial Tournament, Pine Islandn April 24: Matlacha Fly FishingTournament, Viking Marina, fly fish-ing only, separate kayak division,239-980-5803

n April 28-30: OʼBannonTournament, Cabbage Keyn May 7: Flatsmasters SummerRedfish Tournament, Punta Gordan June 9-12: Caloosa Catch andRelease, Captivan June 11: Old Mossey RedfishTournament, Punta Gordan June 18: Couples TournamentBurnt Store.n July 10: Charlotte High RedfishRoundup, Punta Gordan July 16: Water LIFE Kids Cup,Punta Gorda 766-8180n Aug 19-20: Summer Slam, South

BIG-4 BIG-4 Marchʼs Target Species Marchʼs Target Species

SHEEPSHEAD are movingaround the harbor

TROUT have been big allyear and are on the move

SPANISH MACKEREL will beshowing up in the passes

SNOOK are bulking up andfeeding well

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Fishing Report Continued from facing page

FishingRIGHT NOW:Good!

At Fishin ̓Franks, a vacuum cleanermakes it easier when Chris getsbehind in his work.

Water LIFE Mar 2005

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Transcript of Water LIFE Mar 2005