Beware Moving Fish — Even Native Bass | WFN

By Bob Wattendorf

How often have you caught a great fish and wished you could release it somewhere special for you or a friend to catch again? Catch-and-release has caught on, especially among bass anglers, but sometimes the release isn’t immediate. There are times when it is not good for the resource to release the fish; paticularly when the fish is relocated to a different lake or river.

Catch-photograph-release (CPR) is a great way to collect memories. The big thing to remember is if you are going to release a fish–do it legally and do your best to ensure the fish will survive to thrive. Proper handling means keeping the fish out of the water as short a time as possible—consider holding your own breath while the fish is out of the water as a gauge. If the fish is going in a live well, remember to exchange the water frequently and keep it cool.

With that said, when and where should you release your catch? First, if the law requires a freshwater fish to be released in Florida, it should be done as quickly and effectively as possible, but taking the necessary measurements or a photo is permitted. It should be released in the immediate vicinity to where it was caught without placing it in a livewell or stressing it.  Click Link Below for Full Story!

via Beware Moving Fish — Even Native Bass|World Fishing Network

Snook fishing: South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

By Steve Waters, Staff Writer

CHOKOLOSKEE ISLAND ——

I felt my bait get nervous, then watched in awe as a snook grabbed the herring and streaked away, its back making a wake as the fish headed for a tangle of dead trees.

Capt. Brian Sanders snapped me out of my daze by telling me to grab the spool of the spinning reel to keep the snook from reaching the trees.

I stopped the snook a foot short of the line-busting snag and eventually reeled the healthy, silvery fish to the boat so Sanders could remove the hook from its lip, pose for a quick photo and return the 31-incher to the water.

“We’ve been catching a lot of snook like that,” said Sanders, of Davie, who has fished the Southwest Florida coast for more than 30 years and guides there full-time (visit sandersoutdoorguide.com or call 954-609-6260).

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Yet not too long ago, Sanders was wondering when his customers would ever catch a decent snook again.

“I was not fishing for snook,” said Sanders after our recent trip, which also produced snook of 29 and 32 inches, along with sea trout, redfish and a Spanish mackerel. “There were no snook to catch.”  Click Link Below for Full Story!

via Snook fishing: Southwest Florida – South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com.

Beach fishing for tarpon – St. Petersburg Times

By Terry Tomalin, Times Outdoors Editor

SAND KEY

When you are beach fishing for tarpon, you have to pick your shots. “We don’t need a lot of bait,” guide Tyson Wallerstein said as we hooked pumpkinseeds in the early morning light. “A dozen or so will do.” In June and July, schools of tarpon move along the local beaches. Some pods of fish move south. Some move north. The trouble is you can never tell which ones will eat. “For the past week, the northbound fish haven’t been hungry,” Wallerstein said as he stopped his flats skiff about 100 yards off the beach. “But you never can tell.” The trick is to be the first boat on the water, when the water is slick calm, so you can see the fish as they approach. Then, when the pod is still 50 yards away, you drop your bait right in their path. “When it hits … just reel, reel, reel,” Wallerstein said. “You won’t get many chances.”  Click Link Below for Full Story!

via Beach fishing for tarpon – St. Petersburg Times.

No license needed for fishing weekends | Pensacola News Journal

There will be two weekends in June when a saltwater fishing license will not be required statewide in Florida.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced the license- free weekends at a meeting Tuesday in Panama City.

The first license-free weekend is June 4-5 — the first weekend red snapper season opens in the Gulf of Mexico. The second license free weekend is June 18-19.

FWC also announced that it will expand bay scallop season to open a week early, on June 25, and extend the season by two weeks to end Sept. 25.

For more information, visit http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/

via No license needed for fishing weekends | Pensacola News Journal | pnj.com.

Outta’ the Woods: Hunting Public Land Turkeys | Hunting

Written by Tony Young, FWC

Back in November, my girlfriend, Katie Hughes, and I each applied for 2011 spring turkey quota hunt permits. Katie has never bagged a turkey before, so I really want her to have an opportunity to get one.

I was hoping the “guest permit” would increase the odds of us being able to hunt together. If I got drawn, we would obtain a guest permit in her name, and if she got drawn, she would take me as her guest.

I was not successful this year in drawing a spring turkey quota permit, but I am happy to report that Katie was, drawing the weekend of April 15-17 on L. Kirk Edwards Wildlife and Environmental Area in Tallahassee.

For those who didn’t get drawn, missed the application period or want even more hunting opportunities, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has 42 wildlife management areas (WMAs) where you don’t need a quota permit to hunt during all or parts of the spring turkey season. All you need in most cases is a hunting license ($17 for residents, $46 for a 10-day nonresident license), a management area permit ($26) and a turkey permit ($10 for residents, $125 for out-of-state hunters). On a few of them, you also need a daily quota or daily use permit, both of which are free and given out at the management areas’ check stations on a first-come, first-served basis. For a list of these 42 WMAs, go to MyFWC.com/Hunting.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Outta’ the Woods: Hunting Public Land Turkeys | Hunting.

Bagging an Osceola turkey is a big deal for sportsmen | ChipleyPaper.com

“As I see it”

FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto

Florida is known, near and far, as the “Fishing Capital of the World” and with good reason. But the Sunshine State also enjoys some pretty good hunting opportunities, with arguably the best gator and wild hog hunting around. And Florida is home to one game animal that has hunters from all over the world planning trips here for the chance at harvesting one of these fine birds.

I’m talking about the Osceola wild turkey, also known as the Florida turkey.

What really makes the Osceola special is that it lives on the Florida peninsula and nowhere else in the world. That fact alone makes the bird extremely popular with out-of-state hunters who might be trying to complete a Wild Turkey Grand Slam by harvesting each of the four subspecies that occur in the United States – those being the eastern, Rio Grande, Merriam and the Osceola.

When it comes to appearance, the Osceola looks very similar to the eastern subspecies, found in the Panhandle, portions of North Florida and the rest of the eastern United States and parts of Canada. The Osceola, however, tends to be a bit smaller and typically a darker shade with less white barring on the flight feathers of its wings.

The most noticeable difference is the white bars on the Osceola’s primary flight feathers; they’re narrower, with an irregular, broken pattern, and they don’t extend all the way to the feather shaft, as compared to the eastern.

When you observe a turkey in a relaxed posture, the whitish, triangular patch that is formed when its wings are folded across its back is less noticeable on the Osceola than it is on the eastern, because of the reduced white barring on the Osceola. Another visible difference is the feathers of an Osceola tend to show more iridescent green and red coloring, while the eastern’s feathers have more of a bronze coloring to them.

Now, it can be argued that the truer Osceola turkey is found in the southern portion of the state. But to help clarify for hunters where each subspecies resides, for record-keeping purposes, the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) recognize any wild turkey harvested within or south of the counties of Dixie, Gilchrist, Alachua, Union, Bradford, Clay and Duval to be the Osceola subspecies. Eastern turkeys occur north and west of these counties into the Panhandle.

And regarding turkey hunting, I am very pleased to announce that in February at the FWC meeting in Apalachicola, Commissioners passed into law a new rule, establishing a special, two-day youth turkey hunt the weekend prior to the opening of spring turkey season in each hunting zone. I need to mention, though, that this youth spring turkey hunt weekend applies only to private property and does not come into play until the 2011 spring turkey season.

Only those under 16 years old are allowed to harvest a turkey while supervised by an adult, 18 years or older during the new youth season. However, any adult supervisor who has a hunting license and turkey permit will be allowed to “call in” a turkey and otherwise participate in the hunt, but only the youths will be permitted to harvest one.

So, this spring, you can expect to see some new hunters in our turkey woods, and I’d like to personally welcome them to our great state. After all, these visitors help stimulate our economy, plus, there’s plenty of Osceola longbeards to go around.

Good luck and happy hunting.

via Bagging an Osceola turkey is a big deal for sportsmen | osceol – Sports – ChipleyPaper.com.

Phew! Nothing like tarpon fishing – Bradenton.com

BOCA GRANDE

We’re far from the herd now.

A mammoth tarpon has dragged our 23-foot Dorado tower boat away from the swarms of boats taking advantage of possibly thousands of tarpon that are feeding in preparation for their upcoming spawn.

Now, seated in a fighting chair, I have a decision to make.

I can only feel stinging pains in my hands that have clenched an 8-foot Billy Stick custom-made rod for a half-hour. My arms are shaking each time I dip the rod and reel 50-pound line into the spool of my Shimano Trinidad 20 reel. Each revolution of the handle, a sweat-spitting ordeal, gets the tarpon maybe a couple yards closer from the bottom of this deep water pass.

So I decide to lean back, straighten my arms, and put the burden of this beast on my back muscles. Then, once I’ve worn out that option, I cradle and cross my arms around the rod, my tense hands free to sweat in the sun.

“You can hand the rod off,” one of the anglers on the boat said — I’ll never remember which one after my dizzied state. “We do that sometimes.”

Not an option. I’d gone this far. The tarpon hit our standard tarpon jig and, after that, it was 30 minutes of heavy weight lifting. The pole would have to fall from my hands.

This, perhaps, is the addiction anglers have with tarpon fishing in Boca Grande Pass. Besides the camaraderie, the pods of tarpon that suddenly roll their great silver backs through the water, the whole spectacle of sometimes fishing 10 feet from four boats, this is the habit Boca Grande silver-king fanatics may never snap.

“It’s addicting, isn’t it?” one angler onboard said.

I struggled to say, “Oh, yeah.”

Finally, the tarpon was boat side. We managed to grab the leader — the closest thing to landing a tarpon because it is now illegal to boat one.

I wondered why I felt so crippled after this fish put it to me. A high-five to a fishing buddy felt like squeezing an over-pumped tennis ball.

It swam away and I watched its awesome girth part a wavy path in the choppy water. That’s when I found out why.

“That,” Capt. T.J. Stewart, “is the fattest tarpon I’ve ever seen.”

I had to ask if that was true.

“Really,” Stewart said, “it was.”

Later, Dave Stark brought a tarpon to the boat that a team of Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute members estimated was between 160 and 170 pounds.

“If that’s true,” Stewart said, “yours was probably 180 or 190.”

We’ll never know.

Regardless, it was an adventure of a lifetime. There were two hooked tarpon that escaped pursuing fish after either Dave Stark or Steve Fecher, on board from Daytona and fishing with Stewart as their team “MyELS.com/Castaway Charters” prepared for Sunday’s Professional Tarpon Tournament Series, opened the spool and let the silver king run. There were multiple tangles in lines where jigs were removed from other boats’ lines. There even was a swapping of rods.

This came when Stark’s tarpon went underneath another boat. On that boat, an angler also had hooked a silver king. Because their angler couldn’t get their line over our tower, we simply traded rods and fought each other’s fish.

Both fish got off and all tackle was given back to its proper owner.

In all, we hooked nine tarpon and “landed” five.

Looking back on this epic adventure, it seems there are two reminders that mark a stellar day of Boca Grande tarpon fishing — the memories of curling rods and the battered limbs that could cramp for days.

THE GUIDE: Capt. T.J. Stewart of Cast Away Charters can be reached at 737-5985. Web site is www.castawaycharters inc.com.

via Phew! Nothing like tarpon fishing – Sports – Bradenton.com.

Shoreline fishing now has a price

By KEVIN WADLOW

kwadlow@keynoter.com

The end of most license-free shoreline fishing in Florida seems to be as inevitable as the Mallory Square sunset.

Beginning in August, state officials will require most recreational bridge and shore anglers to hold a state $7.50 annual license, newly approved by the Florida Legislature.

Only a veto by Gov. Charlie Crist — fishing in a GOP fundraiser this weekend in Key West — would prevent the shoreline-license law from taking effect.

“We hope the governor understands the situation and will be supportive” of the license, said Ted Forsgren, executive director of the Coastal Conservation Association-Florida.

“We think people who use fishing resources should help pay to maintain the resource,” Forsgren said of his group’s longtime support of a shoreline license.

This year, a mandate from federal fishery managers for a more accurate accounting of Florida’s recreational angler population made the shoreline license a necessity, Forsgren said.

“Removing this glitch [in the state saltwater fishing law] will save Florida’s recreational anglers about $20 million they would have spent on a federal license,” Forsgren said.

Martin Alsobrook from Linda’s Bait Shack on Big Pine Key said he has mixed feelings about a shoreline license.

“We do need a little more [marine] enforcement,” Alsobrook said. “If the money stays within the fishing area, I guess I have no problem with that. But if they just put in the general-revenue fund to spend how they want, I’d be really not happy.”

Proceeds from the shoreline license, as with all fishing license revenue, will go into the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund, which helps pay for things like enforcement, habitat protection and hatcheries, Forsgren said.

As part of the same law, the cost for special stamps required on regular saltwater licenses for snook and lobster will increase.

Lobster stamps will cost $5; snook stamps will cost $10. The stamps have cost $2 since 1989.

Legislative background reports say the shoreline angler license will apply to an estimated 115,000 to 185,000 anglers, and generate about $900,000 annually.

Under the state saltwater fishing law enacted in 1989, Florida residents were not required to have a license to fish from a dock, bridge, pier or shoreline.

Out-of-state residents already must buy a license to fish in Florida whether they fish from a boat, bridge or shore, unless they fish on a for-hire vessel with a boat fishing license. The least expensive license for out-of-state residents costs $17 for a three-day permit.  Click Link Below for Full Story!

via Shoreline fishing now has a price.

Where to hunt spring turkeys without a quota permit in Florida

Tallahassee, Fla:

If you weren’t lucky enough to get drawn for a special-opportunity or spring turkey quota permit, don’t fret; there are numerous wildlife management areas (WMAs) that don’t require them.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) offers 37 public hunting areas statewide where hunters need only to “walk on” to hunt spring turkeys.

These hunts are made possible through the FWC’s partnerships with the state’s Division of Forestry, Florida’s water management districts, the U.S. Forest Service, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the National Park Service and Department of Defense, who contribute their lands to the state’s public-hunting system.

Hunters need only a hunting license ($17 for residents, $46.50 for a nonresident 10-day license), management area permit ($26.50) and turkey permit ($5 for residents, $100 for nonresidents) to spring turkey hunt on the following areas.  These licenses and permits are available for purchase at county tax collectors’ offices and at most retail outlets that sell hunting and fishing supplies. Also, hunters can purchase them with a credit card by calling 888-486-8356 or online at www.wildlifelicense.com.

The spring turkey season runs March 7 – April 12 in the South Hunting Zone and March 21 – April 26 in the Central and Northwest zones, unless otherwise noted below.  Shooting hours during spring turkey season on WMAs are one-half hour before sunrise to 1 p.m.

Osceola turkeys inhabit these areas

• Arbuckle WMA – 13,531 acres in Polk County.  Season runs March 24-26 and April 7-9.  There are 10 no-cost, daily quota permits available at the check station on a first-come, first-served basis. Camping allowed only by permit from the Division of Forestry by calling 863-635-7801.
• Big Bend WMA-Jena Unit – 12,522 acres in Dixie County.  A no-cost, daily use permit is required and available at the check station.
• Big Cypress WMA – 565,848 acres in Collier, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.  Season runs March 7 – April 12.  Camping allowed.
• Bull Creek WMA – 23,646 acres in Osceola County.  Camping allowed.
• Devil’s Hammock WMA – 7,635 acres in Levy County. Season runs March 21-29.  There are 15 no-cost, daily quota permits available at the check station on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Green Swamp WMA – 49,768 acres in Polk, Sumter and Lake counties.  Hunters must have a quota permit to hunt the first weekend, but there are 200 no-cost, daily quota permits available at the check station on a first-come, first-served basis for the remainder of season. Camping allowed only by special permit from the FWC.
• Jumper Creek WMA – 10,552 acres in Sumter County. Camping allowed.
• J.W. Corbett WMA – 60,288 acres in Palm Beach County.  Season runs March 7 – April 12, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays only.  Camping allowed.
• Kissimmee River Public Use Area – 23,433 acres in Glades, Highlands, Okeechobee, Osceola and Polk counties.  Area is split between Central and South hunting zones.  When hunting the South Zone, the season runs March 7 – April 12. For camping information only, call the South Florida Water Management District at 800-250-4200, ext. 3019.  Management area permit not required.
• Lochloosa WMA – 11,149 acres in Alachua County. Camping allowed only by permit from St. Johns River Water Management District; call 386-329-4404.
• Log Landing WMA – 1,147 acres in Dixie County.
• Richloam WMA – 58,146 acres in Hernando, Pasco, Sumter and Lake counties.  Hunters must have a quota permit to hunt the first nine days, but those without one may hunt the remainder of the season, beginning March 30 through April 26.  Camping allowed only by permit from Division of Forestry; call 352-754-6896.
• Three Lakes WMA – 54,628 acres in Osceola County. Camping allowed.
• Upper Hillsborough WMA – 5,178 acres in Polk and Pasco counties. Wednesdays and Thursdays only. There are 75 no-cost, daily quota permits available at the check station on a first-come, first-served basis. Camping allowed.
• Upper St. Johns River Marsh WMA – 124,623 acres in Brevard and Indian River counties. Camping allowed.

Eastern turkeys inhabit these areas

• Apalachicola National Forest – 581,837 acres in Franklin, Leon, Liberty and Wakulla counties. Camping allowed.
• Apalachicola River Wildlife and Environmental Area – 86,140 acres in Franklin and Gulf counties. Camping allowed. Management area permit not required.
• Aucilla WMA – 47,532 acres in Jefferson and Taylor counties. Camping allowed.

Big Bend WMA:

• Hickory Mound Unit – 14,427 acres in Taylor County. A no-cost, daily use permit is required and available at the check station.
• Snipe Island Unit – 11,687 acres in Taylor County. Hunters must have a quota permit to hunt the first 16 days, but those without one may hunt the remainder of the season, April 6 – April 21.
• Spring Creek Unit – 14,600 acres in Taylor County.
• Tide Swamp Unit – 19,538 acres in Taylor County. A no-cost, daily use permit is required and available at the check station.
• Blackwater WMA – 191,148 acres in Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties. Camping allowed.
• Eglin Air Force Base – 265,000 acres in Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties.  Hunting and camping allowed only by permit from Jackson Guard Natural Resource Office by calling 850-883-1152. Only shotguns, bows and muzzleloaders are legal.
• Escambia River WMA – 34,476 acres in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Camping allowed.
• Joe Budd WMA – 11,039 acres in Gadsden County. Saturdays and Sundays only.  There are 20 no-cost, daily quota permits available at the check station on a first-come, first-served basis. Hunters may use bows and muzzleloaders only.  Camping allowed.
• Lower Econfina River WMA – 2,837 acres in Taylor County. Season runs March 21-29.
• Mallory Swamp WMA – 29,463 acres in Lafayette County. Season runs March 21 – April 5.
• Ochlockonee River WMA – 2,790 acres in Leon County. Saturdays and Sundays only. Only shotguns, bows and muzzleloaders are legal.
• Osceola WMA – 266,270 acres in Baker and Columbia counties. Camping allowed.
• Pine Log WMA – 6,911 acres in Bay and Washington counties. Season runs March 21 – April 5.  Camping allowed.
• Point Washington WMA – 12,414 acres in Walton County.
• Santa Fe Swamp Wildlife and Environmental Area – 5,627 acres in Bradford County. Only bows and muzzleloaders are legal.
• Steinhatchee Springs WMA – 20,909 acres in Lafayette, Dixie and Taylor counties. Season runs March 21 – April 12. There are 40 no-cost, daily quota permits available at the check station on a first-come, first-served basis to hunt the first nine days.
• Talquin WMA – 3,053 acres in Leon County. Saturdays and Sundays only.
• Twin Rivers WMA – 9,288 acres in Madison, Hamilton and Suwannee counties.  Season runs March 27-29 and April 17-19. There are 12 no-cost, daily quota permits available at the check station on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Upper Chipola River WMA – 7,377 acres in Jackson County. Camping allowed only by permit from Northwest Florida Water Management District; call 850-539-5999.

For more information on spring turkey hunting, or to download management area rules and maps, visit MyFWC.com/Hunting. Brochures also are available at tax collectors’ offices in counties close to the wildlife management areas.