03/11/2009



Photo

24/10/2009



Photo

On my ultra-lightweight tackle. Popping cork + finger mullet, 1/0 hook. Five minutes of furious fight. *** put in at the county ramp at CNS at daybreak. i used my new crappie rod—rated for 2# line, i was using 10# power pro and 20# leader. i love this rod with spoons and topwater, but everyone tells me it’s not the right equipment for the lagoon. what do they know?i caught a nice, appx 25 inch red first thing with a freelined mullet cast along the islands in the shotgun. we moved to the area right along oak hill and fished the channel. i was being lazy and decided to fish mullet off the end of a popping cork (had been fishing shrimp but the bait liberation league was at work, so decided to switch it up). apparently a finger mullet on a popping cork is really effective—the dogg was fishing the same mullets freeline, and no takers. i caught 5 nice trout in rapid succession. something about the mullet struggling right above the grass drove the trout crazy. we got tired of this after a while and headed back to the islands on the east side of the lagoon. i caught another trout (on a piggie) right at the edge of the shore. at this point, tdogg was skunked, and i refused to go in until he had caught something. we started working the edges of islands. down to the last couple of mullet. supper time. we decided to each take one last mullet. i was still fishing the same cork and 1/0 heavy circle hook. the last mullet was a wee one, so i hooked him through the lips and cast out to where i saw some interesting wake. BAM. a hard pull, and then i guess whatever it was spit it out. threw it out again. same thing. at this point, t  casts in the same area and a wild ride around the boat ensues until the fish spits his mullet out. we continue to fish, and the same thing happens a couple more times. finally, i hook into one of the reds there. i was pretty helpless—it was unclear whether my rod would break first, or my line. so i just loosened the drag and lit it scream out, then heaved it back. 10 steps forward, 4 steps back… this went on for, i dunno, seemed like 1 minute but t  said it was more like 5. finally wore it down and very slowly and carefully brought it to the boat. 29 inches. on my rappala “xtreme” ultralight weight. what a great way to catch a great fish. tdogg never did catch a fish that day… that’s ok, tho, he usually outfishes me.

On my ultra-lightweight tackle. Popping cork + finger mullet, 1/0 hook. Five minutes of furious fight.

***

put in at the county ramp at CNS at daybreak. i used my new crappie rod—rated for 2# line, i was using 10# power pro and 20# leader. i love this rod with spoons and topwater, but everyone tells me it’s not the right equipment for the lagoon. what do they know?

i caught a nice, appx 25 inch red first thing with a freelined mullet cast along the islands in the shotgun.

we moved to the area right along oak hill and fished the channel. i was being lazy and decided to fish mullet off the end of a popping cork (had been fishing shrimp but the bait liberation league was at work, so decided to switch it up). apparently a finger mullet on a popping cork is really effective—the dogg was fishing the same mullets freeline, and no takers. i caught 5 nice trout in rapid succession. something about the mullet struggling right above the grass drove the trout crazy. we got tired of this after a while and headed back to the islands on the east side of the lagoon. i caught another trout (on a piggie) right at the edge of the shore. at this point, tdogg was skunked, and i refused to go in until he had caught something.

we started working the edges of islands. down to the last couple of mullet. supper time. we decided to each take one last mullet. i was still fishing the same cork and 1/0 heavy circle hook. the last mullet was a wee one, so i hooked him through the lips and cast out to where i saw some interesting wake. BAM. a hard pull, and then i guess whatever it was spit it out. threw it out again. same thing. at this point, t  casts in the same area and a wild ride around the boat ensues until the fish spits his mullet out. we continue to fish, and the same thing happens a couple more times. finally, i hook into one of the reds there. i was pretty helpless—it was unclear whether my rod would break first, or my line. so i just loosened the drag and lit it scream out, then heaved it back. 10 steps forward, 4 steps back… this went on for, i dunno, seemed like 1 minute but t  said it was more like 5. finally wore it down and very slowly and carefully brought it to the boat. 29 inches. on my rappala “xtreme” ultralight weight. what a great way to catch a great fish.

tdogg never did catch a fish that day… that’s ok, tho, he usually outfishes me.

19/10/2009



Text

Fishing South Mosquito Lagoon, 10/18/2009

Cold. So cold. And windy. So windy. The fish didn’t like it any better than we did. We got undersized trout and snapper all day… And froze. Oh, and almost swamped the boat in the 2-3 foot waves. We resolutely refused to go home empty handed, and the old trick of fishing the rocks around the clinkers proved just the right trick… we went home with two nice keeper trout. But the day was full of errors—I snapped the tip of my new rod, Tdogg and I misjudged speed and wind and dented his boat on a marker we wanted to tie-up to. Tdoggs knot slipped on his bait bucket and we liberated a couple dozen shrimp. On the whole, for once, I think I would have been happier and surely warmer in my garden this weekend.

09/10/2009



Photo

I got a slightly late start this morning, tossing my ‘yak out of the Eldora launch around 7:15am this morning. I kicked it out around the islands directly west of the launch and found a massive pod of large mullet churning the water. (It sounded like a municipal swimming pool in July.) I tossed my huge Top Dog along the edges until, predictably, I scored a nice seventeen-inch trout. Had some fun dragging it to the ‘yak on my ultra-lightweight setup (“perfect for panfish!”). I cast a few dozen times into the pod, but surprisingly had no other takers. I spent the rest of the morning freelining shrimp, but lost almost all of them to the legions of pinfish that were hanging out with the mullet. I did manage, though, to hook another keeper trout mid-morning. Man, it was HOT out there—I couldn’t even wear my sunglasses because they steamed up the moment I put them on.

I got a slightly late start this morning, tossing my ‘yak out of the Eldora launch around 7:15am this morning. I kicked it out around the islands directly west of the launch and found a massive pod of large mullet churning the water. (It sounded like a municipal swimming pool in July.) I tossed my huge Top Dog along the edges until, predictably, I scored a nice seventeen-inch trout. Had some fun dragging it to the ‘yak on my ultra-lightweight setup (“perfect for panfish!”). I cast a few dozen times into the pod, but surprisingly had no other takers. I spent the rest of the morning freelining shrimp, but lost almost all of them to the legions of pinfish that were hanging out with the mullet. I did manage, though, to hook another keeper trout mid-morning. Man, it was HOT out there—I couldn’t even wear my sunglasses because they steamed up the moment I put them on.

07/10/2009



Link

Broad fishing ban would be 'devastating,' captains say

he National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration could announce by the end of the month whether to ban all red snapper fishing for six months, which could be extended up to a year.

The large-scale closure, if approved, could take effect sometime next year, but it faces a potential lawsuit from fishing groups such as the Fishing Rights Alliance, which sued the government over a grouper closure in the Gulf of Mexico. Public meetings are scheduled in Florida in November.

The proposal, being considered by the council at its December meeting in North Carolina, would close bottom fishing in waters from 90 feet out to 200 miles deep. There are some variations: The smallest proposed-ban area would cover about 8,100 square miles of ocean and the largest ban would cover 26,600 square miles of ocean.

According to a federal fishing study, the red snapper is overfished, down to 3 percent of a healthy stock. Scientists have found the red snapper population lacks the larger, older fish which are key to the fish’s reproductive capacity and its future.

20/9/2009



Photo

Tdogg and I wade fished into the lagoon, about a quarter mile out into the water off parking lot #5. Did the usual pigfish thing. I used my nifty new 8’ 6” baitcaster—made tossing those piggies WAY out very easy. Early on T hooked into something huge—he thinks it was a red, I think it was a tarpon. I’ve never seen anything in the lagoon tear line out like this did—within a minute, maybe, it looked certain to spool him. He tightened the drag and POP. Probably bit through the leader. As usual in the lagoon, T had most of the luck—he caught a 16” trout, a 16” blue and lost several other trout. I did manage to yank this 18” trout out of the lagoon. On my heavy tackle it didn’t stand a chance… which is too bad, since the fight’s the fun. I’ll do trout the way the miller’s wife would make it tonight for supper.

Tdogg and I wade fished into the lagoon, about a quarter mile out into the water off parking lot #5. Did the usual pigfish thing. I used my nifty new 8’ 6” baitcaster—made tossing those piggies WAY out very easy. Early on T hooked into something huge—he thinks it was a red, I think it was a tarpon. I’ve never seen anything in the lagoon tear line out like this did—within a minute, maybe, it looked certain to spool him. He tightened the drag and POP. Probably bit through the leader. As usual in the lagoon, T had most of the luck—he caught a 16” trout, a 16” blue and lost several other trout. I did manage to yank this 18” trout out of the lagoon. On my heavy tackle it didn’t stand a chance… which is too bad, since the fight’s the fun. I’ll do trout the way the miller’s wife would make it tonight for supper.

13/9/2009



Text

fishing report, 9/12/2009, canaveral #5

ok, tell me when i shouda stopped…

  1. when both my buddies cancelled on me, whining about rain
  2. when on my VERY FIRST CAST my line broke (never happens) and i sent 5oz of lead into the ocean
  3. the first horsefly bite
  4. my first fish was an 8.5 inch pompano
  5. my second fish was an 8.5 inch pompano
  6. when, while i watch a tarpon or huge ladyfish tear into a bait pod just 100ft off shore, and cast, and the line snaps (again, this NEVER happens)
  7. when someone flipped a switch and, suddenly, a huge bed of weeds apears in the surf (including, and i shit you not, a tree)… causing me to lose BOTH of my rigs (all total… a pound of lead so far)
  8. the second horsefly bite
  9. the catfish appear
  10. i get stung in the hand by a HUGE (#$%(*&%$ catfish
  11. i get stung in the foot, angrily kicking another %$(*&%$(*& catfish (i do dumb things…)

not an awful day… i caught my biggest blue ever—well over 2 feet. better than decent fight. i’ve never seen so many fish crashing the baitpods, but it happened at exactly the moment (highest tide) when the weeds appeared. the pompano were thick, but disappeared as soon as they appeared.

winds out of the south and then east and then south again… high tide and two hours after… water was pretty clear, but the surf was heavy (i think it must have been a very high tide today). fishing dead mullet and stinky frozen shrimp (too cheap to buy fresh today). a bit muggy on the beach, but quiet and peaceful. gave away a bunch of blues to some chinese guy who told me he’d give me free acupuncture…

12/9/2009



Photo

The Earl Brin surf rig. A great rig, since it lets you use a heavy leader/main line (black) and then tie into that main line, a thin line hook line (red)… I use very small hooks (1/0) for pomps and whiting, and the eyes are too small to pass a thicker leader line. This solves the problem. It also allows you to very easily and very precisely place the hook lines.

The Earl Brin surf rig. A great rig, since it lets you use a heavy leader/main line (black) and then tie into that main line, a thin line hook line (red)… I use very small hooks (1/0) for pomps and whiting, and the eyes are too small to pass a thicker leader line. This solves the problem. It also allows you to very easily and very precisely place the hook lines.

04/9/2009



Link

in human culture is the preservation of wildness...

More good news…

Longlines are miles of metal cable strung with thousands of baited hooks, which fishermen deploy along the ocean bottom, including on coral reefs and rocky “hardbottoms” where red and black grouper forage. Loggerhead sea turtles forage there, too, and if they are snagged on the hooks, they may drown before the lines are hauled back to the surface.

The council, which regulates fishing in federal waters from Texas to the west coast of Florida, voted to close some areas to longlining, and only about half of the approximately 125 boats now using the gear will be allowed to continue. Fishermen will be allowed to catch grouper using vertical lines, which are dropped overboard.

03/9/2009



Text

Turtle news...

Some good, some bad. Since dedicated conservation attempts are relatively new (within the past couple of decades) and turtles are so long-lived, and they begin to breed at 10-15 years, it makes sense that numbers of leatherbacks have continued to dwindle. The real effects of these efforts take time…

A slight increase in loggerhead turtle nests on Florida beaches last year had turtle experts hopeful they might see an end to years of dwindlingnesting. Instead, loggerhead nesting resumed a dramatic decline this year.

“Out of 20 years, this is one of our five lowest for loggerheads,” said Jennifer Winters, who oversees Volusia County’s beach habitat conservation program.

It was also a slow summer for loggerhead nesting at Canaveral National Seashore, resource management specialist John Stiner said. Not only were loggerhead nests down at Canaveral, the number of green turtles returning to the beach there was “way down.”

Green turtle nests also dropped in the part of Volusia County north of Canaveral and in Flagler County. But Stiner said the number of green turtle nests typically fluctuates every other year.

On a positive note, the number of nesting leatherback turtles grew and fewer nests were washed out to sea.

“We set a record for leatherbacks,” Stiner said. “We’ve had 26. The most we had in previous years was 21 in 2007.”

Favorable beach conditions so far this season mean more turtle hatchlings are making it safely to the ocean, Winters said.

Page 1 of 8