September 29, 2005
Great Trip Offshore
I took a great trip offshore last weekend with my friend and fellow shark, err, Florida personal injury attorney, Joe Saunders. We took Joe's 31' Cabo, Viola Belle, out about 55 miles West of Pinellas county into 150 feet of water. It was fairly rough early in the day as the Gulf was still settling down from the recent hurricanes. However, as the day progressed the seas began to calm.
Joe had some good numbers and before too long we were hooking up with Amberjack, Snapper, and large Grouper. We returned home that night with maybe 25 fish in the box. Thanks Joe!
Posted by captain at 11:03 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 28, 2005
Tampa Boat Show
The annual Tampa Boat Show is this weekend at the Tampa Convention Center downtown. As many of you know, Genmar will not be there displaying their Aquasport line as the brand was discontinued a few months ago. That's probably for the best as the direction Genmar was taking Aquasport was getting very far from from the brand's classic looks and functionality.
Posted by captain at 12:18 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
February 03, 2005
Good ole' boys don't like new-fangled technique
As Pete over at Fishing Jones first posted a few days ago, the controversy over jig versus live bait fishing for tarpon in Boca Grand pass continues on. The Boca Beacon asserts that an exhaustive three year study comparing the mortality rates of tarpon caught on live bait to those landed on jigs, may have been swayed by bias in the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.
This controversy has been raging for years. Live bait fishermen in Boca Grande pass pioneered the fishery decades ago. However, in the last 10-15 years, anglers using jigs have had great success in landing tarpon in the pass. This has angered the old guard live bait crowd, as they claim the aggressive techniques and boats (generally outboards) used by the jiggers disrupt the natural flow of the pass and the fish that call it home.
The jiggers on the other hand claim that the live baiters are just suffering from a case of sour grapes, refusing to bring their techniques into the 21st century. I'm undecided on the impact that jig fishing has on the tarpon fishery in Boca Grande. However, I have also personally been on the receiving end of some of the old schoolers in Boca who for all intents and purposes tend to think they own the waters of the pass. And, if you ain't doing things their way, then you're just doing things wrong.
Several years ago, a live bait charter captain ran up on me while I was fighting a tarpon just outside the pass (in an area known as "The Pan"). In a maneuver to position his boat and client in a favorable location vis-à-vis the pod, he intentionally ran over my taught line and proceeded to reach into the water, lift my line (w/ tarpon attached), place it in his mouth, and bite the mono until it broke. Needless to say, not a very friendly bunch!
Posted by captain at 08:56 PM | TrackBack
Boca Grande multiplier at work?
We do a lot of fishing in southwest Florida, particularly in the Boca Grande area. Often a 10 pound Snook morphs to 20 pounds after several drinks. We call this phenomenon the "Boca Grande Multiplier Effect." It's basically just a form of "fish-tale'ing."
These guys may have brought the art of the fish tale to the next level. See the link below. Let me know if you think it's for real.