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The Workingman’s Drum By CAM Staff

Young angler Hayes Grinnell did battle with this big black drum while fishing the Texas coast with Slinging Mullet Guide Service and Get Em Guide Service.

n some circles, black drum don’t get the respect they deserve. Maybe it’s their appearance? With weird chin barbells and a humped head, they hug the bottom, looking like the hunchbacked cousins of the sleeker redfish inshore anglers adore. Or maybe it’s their reluctance to take a lure? Black drum feed primarily by scent, and while you might catch one slinging a spoon, targeting them requires bait, which is more effort than plug and paddletail aficionados are willing to put forth. However, for anglers who aren’t too prissy to get their hands dirty, black drum have a whole lot to offer. They are the workingman’s drum, found nearshore and inshore throughout the Gulf of Mexico and up the Atlantic seaboard to New England. Black drum pull hard, with powerful bulldogging runs regardless of size. And they grow quite large, reaching weights well over 100 pounds. On top of that, they provide consistent action in a wide range of areas where they can be caught. Shore-bound anglers can target them from docks, bridges, jetties and piers, where drum hunt crustaceans around structure. Surf anglers often connect with them on quartered blue crabs cast outside the breakers. From a boat, passes and inlets are prime feeding grounds as is nearshore structure. Shallow-water anglers find younger specimens way up in the estuaries tailing like redfish for fiddler crabs in tidal creeks.

Their movements are seasonal, but as long as you’ve got bait, you can pursue black drum pretty much anywhere you choose. Like most fish, they bite best on a moving tide, when your bait’s scent disperses over a wide area. They’ll eat halved blue crabs, whole fiddler crabs or mud crabs with backs cracked to let a little scent out, and also live or dead shrimp or fresh cut bait. On the northern end of their range, anglers add clams, mussels and blood worms to the array of baits a drum will eat. As long as your bait is on the bottom and smelling like food, it’s likely to draw the attention of a drum. Rigging and gear are pretty simple. A classic Carolina rig with just enough weight to keep the bait on bottom will get the job done in most situations. Up in the creeks, where you’ll be doing more casting and maybe even sight fishing, baits can be fished on a jighead or even a simple hook with a split shot. Tackle in the 20-pound class is a good starting point, and it’s wise to beef up to pull big drum off structure. They do get big. The IGFA world record, caught in 1975 off Delaware, weighed 113 pounds, 1 ounce. Fish in the 40- to 50-pound range are regular catches across the drum’s range. Those big fish aren’t good to eat, though. The meat is often full of worms by the time fish reach weights heavier than about 15 pounds. Smaller drum are excellent table fare. For more information, go to coastalanglermag.com.

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IT’S GROUPER TIME AGAIN! By Capt. Quinlyn Haddon

ay is finally here, opening grouper season for fishermen on the Atlantic Coast. For the past several months of the season closure, charter captains in the Florida Keys have been boasting incredible throw-back grouper catches. The reopening of this species enriches each fishing trip with an extra opportunity for a great fighting fish, which is also excellent tablefare. Grouper fishing can easily be peppered into a day of fishing by dropping a bottom rig down while yellowtail fishing, trolling lures or stopping offshore to deep-drop for snowy grouper while on the mahi hunt. While the fishery in the Keys may not be famous for its bottom fishing, there is no reason it shouldn’t be. Red, black and gag grouper are plentiful and close to land. Snowy grouper aren’t too far either, and can be reasonably reliable to target. Snowy grouper are found within 1,000 feet, and can be targeted with electric or hand-crank set ups. Electric reels are advisable when mahi season is in full swing, as to make quick work of the one-per-boat limit of snowy grouper. The trek offshore for a single fish might seem like a waste of time, but there is a little more to it. Snowy grouper can get quite large and yield impressively sized, excellent tasting fillets. There

are also the welcomed bycatches of rosies, barrelfish and tilefish while deep dropping in these areas. Furthermore, there should be ample opportunities for mahi fishing on the way to and from the spot. Another reason the electric reel is preferable is an 8-pound weight should be used to keep your bait on the bottom in the heavy current. Keep your weight as close to the bottom as you can and utilize a chicken rig, with multiple hooks along the leader, baited with just about anything. Continuously recheck the bottom to make sure it hasn’t gotten away from you, and bring a spare weight or two, as it isn’t overly difficult to lose one while fishing this way. Targeting red, black and gag grouper on the reef can be a little different than typical grouper fishing on the west coast of Florida. Heavy weights can easily get snagged on the rocky bottom in the heavy current, potentially making inexperience quite expensive in terms of lost tackle. There are also plenty of smaller reef fish waiting to pick apart your bait. Over-baiting can be a good tactic, but the most reliable way to bypass these conditions, is to simply freeline a live bait on a jighead. After breaking client’s hearts by releasing trophy grouper throughout the closed season, we are thrilled to be able to add these tasty critters to the icebox yet again. Right now is an excellent time to visit the Florida Keys and enjoy our full fishery. Capt. Quinlyn Haddon guides with Blue Magic Charters out of Marathon, Fla.

LURES

CASTING FAR: THE DYNAMICS OF LONG DISTANCE LURES

PATRICK SEBILE

’ve enjoyed fishing from the shore since I was a teen angler, and one thing that became obvious to me very quickly was there are numerous situations when casts are a tad bit short to reach targeted fish in specific situations. This is a constant truism when fishing from the bank, the beach, a pier or jetty, but it also applies to boat anglers. Quick, long casts are often required for fastmoving fish like tuna. Long casts are also useful when it’s necessary to keep the boat away from reefs, boulders and breakers for safety or to avoid spooking fish. Long ago, I began making sure to always have lures in my possession that

were especially efficient for reaching out long distances. These lures sometimes trade realistic swimming action for distance, yet there are also a few that find a balance between great range and great action. When you read the packaging of a saltwater lure, and especially a surffishing lure, it often mentions how good the lure is for longdistance casts— or how good it is supposed to be. The problem is, there is no scale. There is no quantifiable reference for comparing lures that honestly presents the real numbers of yards any given lure will deliver. Marketing promises do not

always translate into real performance. To make things more complex, there is theoretical and real distance. A lure that casts great on a parking lot with no breeze can turn into a disaster when casting into an onshore breeze at night, which are conditions many serious fishermen face in the surf. There’s no magic, and what makes some lures reach farther distances than others is a mix between their concept, their balance and, to a certain extent, the gear used to throw them when the goal is to reach a little bit farther than other anglers. This conversation is all about the physics that translates to longer casting distance for better fishing results. The key points that will help you pick the proper lures to do the job are shape, buoyancy, the position of weight on the lure, the total weight and sometimes extra appendages, such as side wings that really help a lure fly as far as possible. These elements are just a primer to a discussion on lures designed for distance. Next month, I plan to go in-depth on ways you can select lures that will truly help you cast super-long distances to reach fish other lures cannot. Arming yourself with a longcasting arsenal gives you an edge in catching fish, simply because you’ll be able put a lure in front of them.

Legendary angler Patrick Sebile is a world record holder and an award-winning designer of innovative lures and fishing gear. Check out his creations at abandofanglers.com.

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Shiner Fishing for Giant Florida

LARGEMOUTHS

ass tournament anglers get excited about 20-pound five-fish limits, and a 30-pound tournament sack is a lifetime achievement for most. It takes a little bit more to impress hawg hunter Sean Rush. Rush makes a living guiding clients to trophy largemouth bass, mostly on Rodman Reservoir in north Florida. The best five fish haul his boat has seen weighed 61 pounds, 9 ounces. Think about that. That’s a more than 12-pound average. Rush said it was the best fishing day he’s ever witnessed, with two fish well over 13 pounds and the smallest of the five weighing a measly 11 pounds, 1 ounce. Most bass anglers across the country spend a lifetime seeking out a single 10-pound-plus largemouth. Rush’s anglers did five lifetime’s worth of trophy catching in a single day on April 26 of 2021. “And we probably lost between three and six fish that were that big or bigger,” Rush added after rattling off the astounding statistics. “Those guys were from New Jersey. They had never done any Florida shiner fishing before. I told them it was all downhill from there.” The downhill slide, however, is not too steep. Even a decent day using Rush’s techniques on Rodman produces results that would impress just about anyone. When it comes to catching big largemouths, he’s got several advantages over your average angler. Location is a big factor. Rodman is a 9,500acre giant bass factory. It is a 15-mile long stump field with a deep river channel running down the middle of it and the matted vegetation Florida

By Nick Carter

fisheries are known for. In more than three decades guiding, Rush said his clients have boated close to 1,000 bass better than 10 pounds. He landed 73 10-plus-pounders last year alone and has overseen the landing of eight fish on FWC’s TrophyCatch Hall of Fame list, which is for fish heavier than 13 pounds. He does 95 percent of his trips on Rodman. “If fishing is good, we commonly catch 30 to 60 fish a day,” he said. “The average size at Rodman is pretty solid. Usually we’ll have fish in the 8- to 10-pound class on the top end of that range.” Tactics are everything when it comes to catching fish like that. Live bait provides a huge advantage over the lures tournament anglers must fish. Rush fishes exclusively with live, wildcaught shiners, which he keeps lively in a huge bait tank on his custom-built, 22-foot Prodigy Razor. The tournament guys can keep their fiberglass glitter rockets. Rush’s sturdy aluminum boat is rigged out for the style of fishing he does, and it’s powered by a 150 hp Mercury with a power-assisted hand tiller. The tackle is also sturdy. Rush pairs heavy duty Daiwa 300 Lexa baitcasting reels with super heavy 7 ½- and 8-foot rods he said are essentially musky rods. He fishes straight 20-pound Berkley Big Game in green, which is thin enough for low visibility and strong enough to get the job done. He hooks his shiners through the tail above the anal fin with 3/0, 4/0 or 5/0 Eagle Claw 84s, which

are standard J hooks with a slight offset. In a typical spread, his anglers will work shiners under bobbers set 3 to 5 feet deep, and he’ll throw out one or two shiners on freelines to swim up under the vegetation. For big fish, he prefers shiners 7 to 9 inches long. Rush’s big-fish reputation has gotten around, so he stays booked 300-plus days a year. His favorite time of year is fall, before the December through February spawn. “It’s prespawn, the fishing pressure is lower and the fish are feeding up that time of year,” he said. “The fish are also big then. They look like gorillas.” Late spring and summer are also good, once fish settle back into normal patterns after the spawn. Most of the year he targets them around floating mats of vegetation and deep river bends. The exception is during the spawn, when bass push up on the flats. Rush does not bed fish, though. He’ll set up on mats near known spawning flats and try to catch big females staging. One more thing: don’t call Rush if you want to eat bass or have a trophy mounted. Rodman is managed under regular Florida regulations— which allow five fish, with one fish longer than 16 inches—but Rush’s trips are catch-and-release. “I’m up front and honest about it on the phone,” he said. “If they even talk like they want to keep one, I just won’t take them.” Contact Capt. Sean Rush and Trophy Bass Expeditions of Central Florida through the website at www.floridatrophybass.com.

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Monster Blue Cat Smashes Mississippi Record By CAM Staff

he Mississippi River near Natchez, Miss. has a history of producing giant blue cats. The most recent monster catfish, caught on April 7, weighed 131 pounds and absolutely crushed the existing state rod-and-reel state record. Eugene Cronley, of Brandon, Mississippi, had just set up in a 90-foot-deep hole downstream of Natchez. About five minutes after making his first cast, the big fish took the cut skipjack he was using as bait, according to a report in the Mississippi Clarion Ledger. “He hit the rod and started pulling drag,”

Cronley told the Clarion Ledger. “We had to untie the boat and float down the river. “I couldn’t move him. I’d pull on him and take in a foot of line and he’d pull and take 10 feet. I just sat there like I was hung up.” After a 40-minute fight on 30-pound line, the angler’s exhaustion made hauling the fish into the boat a chore. Cronley has caught 50-pound fish from the area before, and he didn’t

realize exactly how big this fish was until he put eyes on it. Then, it was time to start looking for a certified scale with the capacity to weigh such an enormous fish. Cronley’s fish waited on ice for three days before he was able to get a certified weight. Fish lose weight when they are out of the water. The Clarion Ledger reported that the fish had an initial weight of 138 pounds on uncertified scales. Even out of the water for three days, Cronley’s blue cat shattered the previous rod-and-reel state record of 95 pounds, caught from the Mississippi near Natchez in 2009. In 1997, a 101-pound Mississippi trophy record blue catfish was caught in the same stretch of river. The IGFA all-tackle world record for blue catfish is 143 pounds. It was caught from Kerr Lake, Buggs Island, Virginia in 2011. Cronley’s catch, if certified by IGFA, would possibly be a new 30-pound line class record. The 30-pound line class record stands at 111 pounds. It was caught in 1996 from Wheeler Reservoir in Alabama. For more Mississippi fishing records, visit mdwfp.com.

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Permit Monitoring Funded for Western Dry Rocks

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVE POWELL

ast year, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), initiated an annual total fishing closure from April through July at a popular fishing location off Key West known as Western Dry Rocks. Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) recently announced a $600,000 investment to monitor the effectiveness of the closure in protecting spawning permit. Western Dry Rocks is an area of reef and rock about 10 miles southwest of Key West that hosts large spawning aggregations of permit and various snapper and grouper species each year. Its proximity to Key West and the dependable nature of the fishery make it a popular spot for bountiful half-day trips. The intent of the closure, which bans fishing in a 1 square-mile area from April through July for seven years, is to protect populations of several species

by allowing them to spawn unmolested by anglers. Permit, yellowtail snapper, mutton snapper and gray snapper are all known to aggregate at Western Dry Rocks from April through July. These spawning aggregations, along with the swirling currents that sweep past Western Dry Rocks are thought to play a role in the distribution of fish eggs and larvae throughout the Florida Keys and up the Atlantic coast of southern Florida. BTT’s investment will fund a monitoring program for three years. “We can’t overstate the importance of this analysis for fisheries management and how appreciative we are to our partners at Bonefish & Tarpon Trust,” said FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto. “Working together on this important research initiative helps to ensure Florida’s status as the Fishing Capital of the World.” FWC is requiring updates on regulation effectiveness at three, five and seven years, with a sunset clause at seven years if the closure is not meeting expectations. BTT scientists expect the spawning-season closure will have positive impacts on the behavior of permit at Western Dry Rocks, resulting in more relaxed schooling behaviors and enabling spawning fish to remain at the site longer. BTT will work with collaborators from previous permit research projects to test these predictions by comparing data collected at Western Dry Rocks (WDR) with data from other known permit spawning locations where fishing is allowed. “The monitoring will build on datasets that measured depredation, spawning permit aggregation characteristics, and permit spawning migrations at key spawning sites prior to the closure,” said Dr. Ross Boucek, BTT Florida Keys Initiative Manager. “By studying permit at WDR and comparing the WDR data to information gathered at other permit spawning sites that aren’t protected, we’ll be able to assess the effectiveness of a spawning season closure at WDR as a management tool.” The monitoring program will utilize acoustic telemetry, sonar technology and laser-mount underwater cameras to monitor permit spawning behaviors, estimate permit abundance and estimate permit size. The program will also employ methods previously used at WDR to determine rates of depredation at spawning locations that are still fished. For more information, visit myFWC.com.

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here’s a whole lot of gift-card money out there for the lucky anglers who catch one of 10 pink-tagged largemouth bass that were distributed around Florida waters this spring. To celebrate the tenth season of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) TrophyCatch program, biologists stocked 10 trophysized largemouth bass with bright pink tags into 10 different freshwater fisheries. Each angler who catches and documents a pink-tagged bass will score a $5,000 gift card to Bass Pro Shops, $1,000 to shop at AFTCO, and secure a chance to win an additional $10,000. “Our freshwater biologists tagged 10 huge bass across the state – just about everyone is within a day-trip’s distance to fish for one of these tagged bass from a boat, kayak or even the bank. Now comes the fun part for anglers!” said TrophyCatch Director KP Clements. “Get out there and catch one! Tag, you’re it!” FWC’s TrophyCatch program is a valuable tool for freshwater fisheries research and management. It provides reward incentives to encourage anglers to catch, release and report trophy-sized (weighing 8 pounds or more) largemouth bass in Florida. The program develops public-private partnerships to protect trophy bass, promote fishing and support fisheries conservation programs. TrophyCatch anglers with approved bass receive rewards from program partners while FWC biologists learn more about producing and sustaining the best trophy bass fishery in the world. Here’s a list of the waters where pink-tagged bass are swimming: • Newnans Lake, Alachua County • Lake George, Putnam/Volusia counties • Lake Talquin, Gadsden/Leon counties • Lake Walk-in-Water, Polk County • Tenoroc Fish Management Area, Polk County • Lake Trafford, Collier County • Lake Istokpoga, Highlands County • Lake Griffin, Lake/Orange counties • Lake Rousseau, Levy/Citrus counties • Johns Lake, Orange County For more information, visit www.trophycatchflorida.com.

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ecently, federal fisheries managers approved cuts to cobia harvest in federal waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. At the May 4 meeting of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, FWC staff will recommend regulations for state waters that are consistent with the new federal regulations. The proposed rule would: • Increase the minimum size limit from 33 to 36 inches fork length in all state waters. • Reduce the commercial bag limit from two to one fish per harvester, per day for Atlantic state waters. • Reduce the recreational and commercial vessel limit from six to two fish per vessel, per day for Atlantic State waters. These regulations changes were spurred by a recent stock assessment that shows cobia are undergoing overfishing. According to the proposal, a substantial portion of Florida’s cobia harvest comes from state waters. Staff is recommending the commission adopt these new regulations without further hearing. For more information, go to MyFWC.com.

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Summer-Long Statewide Fishing Competition Launches May 28 F or the first time in the history of Florida STAR, CCA Florida, will launch the annual STAR competition presented by Yamaha with a Title sponsor. CCA Florida STAR is proud to announce West Marine as the Title sponsor of the 2022 competition. West Marine began its support of the STAR competition in 2016 and each year has stepped up to a greater level of sponsorship. For 2022, West Marine has chosen to title the competition in order to increase awareness of the company’s commitment to the conservation of our fisheries resources for future viability which is so important to the future of its business. The West Marine CCA Florida STAR competition kicks off on May 28, the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. The 101-day, summerlong event invites anglers and non-anglers to participate and win their share of prizes valued at almost $500,000, including boats, motors, scholarships and more. Launched in 2015, STAR focuses on conservation with its technology-based, catch-photo-release format. STAR’s dedicated smartphone app promotes the proper handling of species and allows participants to upload competition photos, eliminating the requirement to harvest or capture and transport fish. CCA Florida also uses data collected from the app to educate the public on the importance of protecting Florida’s marine resources. This

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important data is also available to other conservation organizations and universities for use in their studies on conservation, habitat and stock assessments. “In the past seven years, it’s been amazing to see STAR participants support conservation by embracing the catch-photo format and picking up garbage during the annual competition” CCA Florida STAR Director Leiza Fitzgerald said. “Even more exciting is the participation of over 7,000 registrants annually and awarding more than $2.1 million in prizes, with $700,000 specifically awarded in youth scholarships.” The 2022 STAR competition is comprised of 17 divisions targeting 12 inshore and offshore species plus the cleanup of trash. STAR’s signature Tagged Redfish Division offers winners the choice of a Contender Boats 22 Sport, Pathfinder Boats 2200 TRS or Spyder Boats FX19 Vapor, all powered by Yamaha Outboards. For the first two youth anglers who win this division, prizes include two tiller boats powered with Yamaha Outboards, trailers, Minn Kota trolling motors and Humminbird electronics. The best opportunity to catch this year’s tagged redfish will be in Brevard, Citrus and Charlotte counties, STAR’s 2022 Destination Counties which each have eight tagged redfish in their coastal waters. There will be on average four STAR tagged redfish in every other coastal county of Florida for a total of nearly 170 released

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tagged fish. There is one tagged fish that is worth $50,000 cash. This special tag is sponsored by Alta Equipment Company. For offshore anglers, the Tigress Outriggers and Gear Tagged Dolphin Division offers one winner a $10,000 cash prize. The first STAR registrant and CCA Florida member who catches one of the tagged dolphin will win. These dolphin will be tagged and released in the coastal waters of Florida for STAR by the Dolphin Research program implemented by the Beyond Our Shores foundation. STAR is a family-friendly competition, and CCA Florida youth members (ages 6 to 17) can participate for free. Kids are encouraged to submit entries in the Youth Scholarship Division presented by Realtree Fishing for an opportunity to win one of 12 scholarships totaling $100,000. Other divisions include ladies, kayak, conservation, guides and many more. Since most division winners are determined by a random drawing, it is not about catching the biggest fish. Any size fish can win. Registration is open throughout the competition, but anglers who register before May 28 will be entered in the Engel Early Bird Drawings for weekly prizes. To register for STAR 2022 or receive additional information on divisions, prizes and more, visit ccaflstar.com or Facebook.

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Spring is here and summer is creeping up fast. The water tables are steadily dropping down to low pool for the summer rains and hurricane season. The hydrilla is now at the water’s surface, it is easy to see the edges. The bass are moving to current at the canal entrances and are hanging around the edges of the sand bars. Bait of choice is crank baits, X-Raps, and Rattle Traps. A lot of the bass are heading out to open water hydrilla patches and will stay there all summer. Bait of choice in open water vegetation is plastic baits. Zoom Speed Worms, flukes, Skinny Dippers, and Gambler Easy Swimmer are the hot baits this month. Good colors are June bug, watermelon seed, black and blue.

Lake Okeechobee’s water level is slowly coming down, typical for this time of year so be careful when out on the lake. Boat running trails that were accessible have become very shallow and some parts of the lake have rock. April is a good time to start targeting the deeper water areas like canals, deep holes (down south) and the river on the north end. Typically, the bream will move up to the edges to spawn. This can produce several situations for fun fishing…using light spinning tackle to catch the bream and moving baits for bass like top water and crank baits. Most of my customers prefer fishing the lake vs. a canal or river but when the water level keeps get lower and the bite picks up in these areas, it makes for a fun-day and safer boating. Just recently a few bass tournaments were won fishing the Kissimmee River. The river has drop-offs, ledges, and some good rock bottom to fish in certain areas. This type of fishing is great for brushing up or 6 ORLANDO

MAY MAY 2022 2022

Crappies are out in open water now. Troll at various depths until you get a bite. The bluegills have moved up into shallow water to compete for spawning areas. This is the best time to locate the spawning areas when the males are really aggressive and are starting to fan the beds - they will be easy to see. Shell cracker will also be mixed in the same area. They are finishing up and will be spawning in a little deeper water. Both panfish prefer the same type of spawning area but will move out deeper to spawn due to the warming water temps. This is one of my favorite times of year. I love to catch them on fly rod with a popping bug. Good artificial baits are beetle spins of various colors. If you are a live bait fisherman crickets under a float is the best bet…Capt Randy DuMars.

fine-tuning certain styles of fishing such as Carolina rigs; deep crank baits; Jigs/big worms up ledges and just going along the edge throwing top water. Color patterns to stick with are crawdad; bluegill and shad for crank baits; Junebug/redbug/ white for plastics and bluegill/shad colors for top water.

It is that time the year when you can catch bass in all three spawning phases and depths. Pre-Spawn/ Spawn / Post Spawn. Shallow, Mid-level depths and deeper water. It is a fun time of year to be on the water in Florida. You can also watch for the bream spawn. Listen for bream up shallow in old bass beds - you can even smell them, really no kidding. The bass love this forage. There are shad spawns going on too. Fan cast these areas with rattle traps, swim baits, and swim jigs. With all the bait in the water, you will have no trouble at all catching bass these days. Get out on the water early and watch all the activity around you. Now is the time to get your personal best bass! Speaking of best - your Seminole Junior Anglers are having one heck of a year. Right now, we are leading a huge field of 155 plus high schools in the State of Florida for High School Club of the year. This is the highest honor you can receive as a high school fishing organization. I am so proud of each of our teams. We are a young group, but we can fish. We also have a team that already qualified for the National Tournament on Lake Harwell in August. This same team has been awarded the all-around Team of Year Title for 2022. This means they tallied up more points in the year than another high school team in the state of Florida. Congrats to Bryce DiMauro and Justin Lawrence for your well-earned title. We are currently raising funds to send six teams to the State Competition in June. This is the most we’ve ever sent – we need your help. We’re raising funds to help send our teams to the National Competition in August on Lake Harwell. Thank you for your support. To donate please contact Dave DiMauro - SJA Director of Fishing - phone (407) 353-4575 or email dave@dbgpromotions.com.

For bream fishing, areas that are producing bites have been certain spots along the Shoal area; points of the Monkey box; around Dyess Ditch; Point of Horse; some spots around Dupree Bar, Indian Prairie, and Tin house. For bait, live red worms and crickets rigged on ultra-light tackle with 6 lb. stren mono tipped with a small bobber, split shot and hook works very well. Not sure where to start or what to do? Book you’re funfilled educational trip by calling me at 863-228-7263 or check out my website for up-to-date catches; hotel into; past fishing reports etc. I would like to thank all my sponsors for their support! Caymas boats (Toho Marine located in St. Cloud, FL); Mercury Marine; Lews; G-Loomis; Maui Jim; Gill; Bullet Weights; BnM Poles (Bucks Ultra-Light jig poles and BMR1 reels); Mid-South Tackle; Mega Strike; Gene Larew and Pradco Brands.

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act 07) Cold weather is behind us. May signals a more stable weather pattern with warmer weather in Central Florida. Post-spawn largemouth bass, sunshine bass, stripers, spawning shellcracker, and spawning catfish are the freshwater targets this month. Early morning schooling bass can be found at first light near the St. Johns River mouths of Lake Harney and Lake Monroe. Throw shad imitation slash baits like a Rapala X-Rap, Yozuri Minnow, or the time-trusted Rattle Trap. Bass will readily eat the live shad if you can cast net some, but the schools have mostly moved north. After the early bite, focus on deeper edges near lily pads or eel grass with Carolina rigged soft plastics – use dark colors. Live shiners

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are always good, wild shiners are best. Sunshine bass are stocked by the FWC solely for recreational anglers. Look for the stripers to shadow schools of shad in the lakes. Use the same shad imitation hard baits above. Daily panfish catch limits bestow the anglers with patience and a big can of red worms or live crickets. The spawn is on for shellcrackers! Target them along sandy shorelines anchoring before or after the bends in the St Johns, close to the bank in 3-8 feet of water (warmer water, go deeper). Hook size should be #4; weight the wiggler to the bottom with one or two split shots. Fly anglers using poppers will enjoy all day action especially when the love bug hatch occurs. Bring on the rains! One to three days following a big rain, the water begins rushing from the creeks into the St Johns River system flowing north. This signals catfish to swim upstream to spawn – use peeled fresh shrimp on a 2/0 circle hook in the river or creek bends to catch them.

May is here on The Harris Chain of Lakes and that means that early summertime fishing patterns are starting to get the fish moving here. Bream and bluegill, redears, shell crackers are all in their spawning stages around hard bottom shallow areas in 4 ft. of water or less. If you get near them or downwind usually you can smell them (very fishy). Once you begin to get bites fan-cast the area to determine how big their spawning area is, move back a little and continue catching them. Red worms, night crawlers, crickets, small 1/16 oz. beetle spins or small jigs will work best. The best way is to fish the live baits right on the bottom. Use a small cork or bobber just for a bite indicator. Once you find these areas you will have some excellent

opportunities to catch some largemouth bass in the same areas or nearby. The bass are just coming off their spawning cycle and love fattening up on the panfish before heading to the deeper water for the summer. Best baits for the bass: swim jigs, bladed jigs and also different varieties of soft plastic swim baits. Any natural color like orange-perch, green pumpkin, black-blue, white, or gold is what you should have tied on. The Panfish spawn in areas that the largemouth bass have so it is worth the time and effort to find these areas. Another bait to try is a topwater plug or hollow body frog, both early and late in the day or low light conditions. Walk the dog type baits and poppers can really make for some explosive strikes. Remember to wait a second to feel the fish on the lure before setting the hook. Panfish are great for kids to catch, usually fast action once you find them stacked up, take a kid fishing and make a memory that will last a lifetime!

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Boat improvement / Service & Repair Centers / Replacement Parts 36 - All American Marine (407) 855-9988 7024 S Orange Ave, Orlando FL 32809 www.allamericanmarineorlando.com

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48 - Mud Hole Custom Tackle, Inc.

51 - Vapor and Company (407) 878-7397 3621 S. Orlando Dr., Sanford, FL 32773 SR 436 Altamonte Springs East SR 50 Orlando www.vaporandco.com

Areas Best Picks for Restaurants 47 - Jolly Gator Fish Camp Bar & Grill (407) 349-5554 4650 E State Rd 46, Geneva, FL 32732 www.thejollygator.com

39 - Fish on Fire (407) 812-6881

7937 Daetwyler Dr, Orlando, FL 32812 www.fishonfireorlando.com

40 - High Tide Harry’s (407) 273-4422

4645 S Semoran Blvd, Orlando, FL 32822 www.hightideharrys.com

33 - Boston’s Fish House (407) 678-2107 Aloma Square Shopping Center, 6860 Aloma Ave, Winter Park, FL 32792 www.bostonsfishhouse.com 17 - St. Johns River Steak & Seafood

(407) 878-0980 550 N Palmetto Ave, Sanford, FL 32771

37 - The Steer (407) 286-6802 8015 S. Orange Ave., Orlando FL

56 - Orlando Outfitters (407) 896-8220

13 - Camp House Restaurant (407) 915-5401 100 S White Cedar Rd, Sanford, FL 32771 www.camphousebarandgrill.com

2814 Corrine Dr., Orlando, FL 32803 www.orlandooutfitters.com

Home Improvement Contractors & Service Providers 26 - DWR Plumbing LLC. (407) 293-3717 6344 All American Blvd, Orlando, FL 32810

23 - Talon Marine Services (407) 542-7600

28 - Millennium Electric (407) 420-2001

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439 Aulin Ave, Oviedo, FL 32765 www.talonmarineservices.com

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20 - Team Marine Services (407) 260-8326 1350 28th Street, Orlando FL 32805 www.teammarineservices.com

41 - Water Works Pressure Cleaning & Sealing

MAY 2022

50 - Campbell Renovations Inc. (407) 947-0016 285 Campbell Ranch Run, Geneva, FL 32732 www.campbellrenovationsinc.com

22 - Huey Magoo’s (407) 706-6004

27 - Orlando Painting Service (407) 896-0839 65 Harold Ave, suite B, Winter Park, FL 32789

8 ORLANDO

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32 - Portside Marine (407) 249-1124 2730 Forsyth Rd, Orlando, FL 32792 www.portsideorlando.com

19 - Ahoy Marine (407) 323-8373 511 E 25th St, Sanford, FL 32771 www.superpages.com

451 Fairvilla Road, Orlando, FL 32808 www.codepyramid.com

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52 - The Deli (407) 332-8800 4360 Carraway Pl, Sanford, FL 32771 53 - T J’s Seafood Shack (407) 365-3365

197 E Mitchell Hammock Rd, Oviedo, FL 32765 12231 E Colonial Dr. #230, Orlando(407) 250-4191 www.tjsseafoodshack.com

54 - Oasis On The River (407) 636-6300 4380 Carraway Place, Sanford, FL 32771

56 - Celery City Craft (407) 915-5541 114 S. Palmetto Ave., Sanford FL 32771 celerycitycraft.com

55 -West End Trading Co. (407) 322-7475 202 Sanford Ave, Sanford, FL 32771 www.drinkatwestend.com

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Consignment Sales – Outboard Service – Storage – Ship Store – Sailing Classes

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Campbell Renovations Inc.

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State Certified Contractor CBC 1255779 Residential & Commercial New Construction – Renovations – Kitchens – Bathrooms – Additions – Tenant Build Out

4503 N Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL 32804 Phone: (407) 295-0117 www. Lakefairviewmarina.com

437 N Palmetto St, Leesburg, FL 34748 or 1931 N. Hwy 19, Crystal River Phone: (352) 787-5792 www.noblesmarine.com

Owens Fishing & Marine

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Fish and is st a lo foun and baitfi Man begi diet sour Lago shrim the feas and your and good the l ladyfi thos will

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islander lures with small ballyhoo or strip baits. On bright sunny days go with the yellow or pink or bright blue. On darker days go with black, red, and purple colors.

Where are the cobia? We had a few good days then beautiful weather with an empty ocean. We even saw a few hundred rays with nothing on them. Odd. But the good news is that this is also the time frame we start seeing them free swimming out on the reefs. While you’re out there slow trolling for kings, keep an eye out the back of the boat for that cobia trailing you. If your bottom fishing, keep an eye on what follows your fish up to the boat. The sand bar sharks seem to be holding the nearshore reefs. Good numbers of dolphin have been caught the last few weeks and should only increase this month. Start in the 90-to-120-foot range as many seem to think you must go to 300 feet right off the get go. Unless someone is out there telling you to C’mon, start shallow. Start looking for color changes and temp breaks. Also look for weed lines and currents, as that is a good place to start. I like to use smaller

s–

Shark fishing has been on fire as well. I know many say I don’t want to deal with sharks, or you can’t eat them. You are completely wrong. On light tackle they are so much fun, and blacktips are great to eat. Ever wonder why Grills always runs out of the shark kabobs? And I assure you, there’s no shark shortage. Just take what you will eat - No waste! We need there to be plenty of sharks and every other species for our future kids.

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May 2022 Time

1Su

3Tu

5Th

732 0

Kingfish will continue to do well this month too. Best bait is going to be the bunker. Now that the water is warming up, live bait is much more consistent. Some days you may have to ride far south to get it and some days its right there in the port but at least it’s around. Beach fishing is really starting to heat up as well. We’ve already seen some nice buoy line kings and tarpon. If the bait is around, chances are there will be larger fish feeding. I like to start with 60# mono till I start getting cut off then I switch to #4 wire.

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baits in a heartbeat.

Fishing on the Indian River and in the Mosquito Lagoons is starting to come alive after a long winter. Redfish can be found tailing on the shallow flats and each day more and more baitfish are returning to the flats. Many of the predator fish will begin to turn the focus of their diet to this newly arrived food source. Redfish in the Mosquito Lagoon will eat crabs and shrimp all year long but during the warmer months, they also feast on mullet, pinfish, pigfish, and other small fish, so shifting your lure selection from shrimp and crab to finfish patterns is a good move. When using bait on the lagoon flats, cut mullet and ladyfish is your best choice as those same pinfish and pigfish will devour crab and shrimp

Speaking of sea trout, the topwater bite will turn on this month. Fish around the schools of mullet with your favorite topwater plus for best results. Try fishing the topwater plugs at first light and stand by for some explosive action. Also remember the water is starting to warm up and warm water holds less oxygen, so practicing catch, photo, and release will help keep our stocks healthy. On the St Johns River, crappie will still be available in deeper water and the bluegill, shellcracker and redbreast bite will improve as they move on and off the beds. Also look for the channel catfish bite to improve once the river levels begin to rise with the arrival of our summer rains. For largemouth and sunshine bass, focus your attention on schooling threadfin shad in Lake Monroe and north in the river.

7Sa

8Su

Miami, Government Cut

Height

3:23 AM 0.1 9:43 AM 2.4 3:34 PM -0.2 10:16 PM 2.6 4:01 AM 0.2 10:19 AM 2.4 4:12 PM -0.2 10:53 PM 2.5 4:39 AM 0.3 10:55 AM 2.3 4:49 PM -0.1 11:31 PM 2.4 5:16 AM 0.4 11:32 AM 2.2 5:27 PM 0.1 12:10 AM 2.3 5:56 AM 0.5 12:11 PM 2.1 6:07 PM 0.2 12:52 AM 2.2 6:39 AM 0.6 12:54 PM 2.0 6:52 PM 0.3 1:38 AM 2.1 7:28 AM 0.6 1:43 PM 1.9 7:44 PM 0.4 2:29 AM 2.0 8:26 AM 0.7 2:40 PM 1.9 8:43 PM 0.4 3:23 AM 2.0 9:26 AM 0.6 3:43 PM 1.9 9:46 PM 0.4

10Tu

11W

12Th

13F

14Sa

15Su

16M

17Tu

18W

Time

Height

4:20 AM 2.0 10:23 AM 0.5 4:48 PM 2.0 10:45 PM 0.4 5:15 AM 2.1 11:15 AM 0.3 5:48 PM 2.2 11:39 PM 0.3 6:07 AM 2.2 12:03 PM 0.1 6:44 PM 2.4 12:30 AM 0.2 6:57 AM 2.3 12:49 PM -0.2 7:36 PM 2.6 1:19 AM 0.1 7:45 AM 2.4 1:36 PM -0.4 8:26 PM 2.7 2:07 AM 0.0 8:33 AM 2.5 2:23 PM -0.5 9:15 PM 2.8 2:55 AM 0.0 9:21 AM 2.6 3:11 PM -0.6 10:05 PM 2.9 3:44 AM -0.1 10:11 AM 2.6 4:01 PM -0.6 10:56 PM 2.9 4:35 AM 0.0 11:02 AM 2.6 4:54 PM -0.5 11:48 PM 2.8

(Approximate Times)

19Th

20F

21Sa

22Su

23M

24Tu

25W

26Th

27F

Po nce de Leo n Inlet Hig h Ti de -11 m in ute s Lo w Ti de +19 m in ute s

Time

Height

5:29 AM 0.0 11:57 AM 2.5 5:51 PM -0.4 12:43 AM 2.7 6:28 AM 0.1 12:55 PM 2.4 6:51 PM -0.2 1:40 AM 2.6 7:31 AM 0.2 1:57 PM 2.4 7:56 PM -0.1 2:39 AM 2.5 8:37 AM 0.2 3:03 PM 2.3 9:03 PM 0.0 3:39 AM 2.4 9:41 AM 0.1 4:10 PM 2.3 10:08 PM 0.1 4:38 AM 2.3 10:41 AM 0.0 5:15 PM 2.3 11:08 PM 0.2 5:34 AM 2.3 11:34 AM 0.0 6:14 PM 2.4 12:02 AM 0.2 6:26 AM 2.3 12:23 PM -0.1 7:06 PM 2.4 12:50 AM 0.2 7:13 AM 2.3 1:07 PM -0.2 7:52 PM 2.5

Time

Height

28Sa 1:35 AM 0.2 7:55 AM 2.3 1:49 PM -0.2 8:34 PM 2.5 29Su 2:17 AM 0.2 8:36 AM 2.3 2:28 PM -0.2 9:14 PM 2.5 30M 2:57 AM 0.2 9:14 AM 2.2 3:07 PM -0.2 9:52 PM 2.5 31Tu 3:35 AM 0.3 9:52 AM 2.2 3:45 PM -0.1 10:30 PM 2.4 1W 4:13 AM 0.3 10:30 AM 2.2 4:22 PM -0.1 11:08 PM 2.3 2Th 4:51 AM 0.4 11:09 AM 2.1 5:00 PM 0.0 11:47 PM 2.3 3F 5:30 AM 0.4 11:49 AM 2.0 5:39 PM 0.1 4Sa 12:28 AM 2.2 6:12 AM 0.5 12:32 PM 2.0 6:21 PM 0.2 5Su 1:10 AM 2.1 6:57 AM 0.5 1:19 PM 1.9 7:08 PM 0.3

Ft. Pie rce Inlet, S. Jetty Hig h Ti de -31 m in ute s Lo w Ti de -18 m in utes

Po nce Inlet, Halifax Rive r Hig h Ti de +5 m in ute s Lo w Ti de +33 m in ute s

Jensen Beach Hig h Ti de +2 ho u r s, 17 m in ute s Lo w Ti de +3 ho u r s, 4 m in ute s

Po rt Canave ral (Tr i dent Pie r) Daily Pre dictio ns

Sewell Pt Hig h Ti de Lo w Ti de

Patr ick Air Fo rce Base Hig h Ti de -1 ho u r, 4 m in ute Lo w Ti de -38 m in ute s

Ju pite r Inlet, S.Jetty Hig h Ti de -10 m in ute s Lo w Ti de -9 m in ute s

Sebastian Inlet Br i dg e Hig h Ti de -48 m in ute s Lo w Ti de -24 m in ute s

Po rt Eve rgla de s - Tu r n in g Basin Hig h Ti de -31 m in ute s Lo w Ti de -13 m in ute s

COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

MAY 2022

+1 ho u r s, 13 m in ute s +2 ho u r s, 9 m in ute s

ORLANDO 11

Y S th r m

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MAY MAY2022 2022

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ORLANDO 13

One of the most consistent questions I get while speaking at fishing seminars and on the water with clients is, “If you only had one lure to use for the rest of your life what would it be?”. This is a tough question to answer due to the ever-changing conditions we face as anglers and the various areas you could potentially face in your fishy adventures. Is there really a lure that could be effective from your neighborhood pond bass trip to the blue water’s miles offshore and everything in between? In my opinion, yes! This seemingly magical lure is and has been a staple of my tackle box since I was a child accounting for an uncountable number of catches over my fishing life. The paddle tail shad soft plastic is one of the only lures I can pinpoint as ready for any situation. A bucktail jig might garner a close second but tend to not be as effective in shallow or grassy situations. This leaves the paddle tail as the undisputed all-around winner in my opinion. The paddle tail can come in many shapes, sizes, colors, and come both in pre-rigged or a do-it-yourself style. The pre-rigged one can be bought with the traditional jighead or weedless hook as separate from the tail or as an all-in-one shad that integrates the hook and weight inside the plastic body. The all-in-one style are effective in many situations however they are typically not weedless and are a one-shot lure meaning that the lure cannot be re rigged and you must tie on a completely new lure once it gets destroyed. The more traditional two-part pre-rigged most likely will come with an extra tail or two and instructions on how to re-rig when the tail becomes unusable. I don’t usually go with the pre-rigged ones to fill out my tackle box. I buy the tail, hook, and jighead separate from each other and rig them myself. This allows me to change tail size or color and replace unusable ones quickly. For lagoon and inshore fishing applications I like to use tails in the 3-to-6-inch size range with either a light jighead or weedless hook. The depth of water and expected structure I will be fishing determines what hook style I look to use. The weight forward fast sinking presentation of a jighead excels in water deeper than 3 feet. Whereas the weedless hooks are the best choice for shallow water, grassy areas, or for utilization around cover like mangroves or docks allowing you to cast far under the structure and not hang your lure as much. For use near-coastal and even far offshore I always look for a jighead rigging style and use tails from 6 inches and up. This rigging with jigheads from 1 oz. and up can be used to cast at everything from giant tarpon to mahi around weedlines and you can even send your paddle tail deep with a heavier jighead to ply the reefs for grouper and snapper. This versatile lure should be the goto for any serious artificial lure angler.

14 ORLANDO

MAY MAY 2022 2022

Tuesday May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 - 5pm till dusk, Jolly Gator Bass Tournament Series, every Tuesday evening plus 1 Saturday per month until the Classic in August. Cost is $40 per event, 2 anglers per team. Teams that finish in the Top 10 in points or win an event and fish at least 20 events will qualify for the end of year Classic. All Tuesday events start at 5pm till dusk, Saturday events (1 per month) are safe light till 2pm. Launch ramp at CS Lee Park next to Jolly Gator Fish Camp on SR 46 east of Sanford at St. Johns River Bridge. Contact Jim “Squirt” Chaudoin at 407-4322822 or Phil Wolf with Coastal Angler Magazine at 407-7909515.

Launch ramp at CS Lee Park next to Jolly Gator Fish Camp on SR 46 east of Sanford at St. Johns River Bridge. Contact Jim “Squirt” Chaudoin at 407432-2822 or Phil Wolf with Coastal Angler Magazine at 407-790-9515.

Friday, Saturday May 20, 21- 36th Annual CFOA Offshore Fishing Tournament. Captains Party and meeting at 630 pm Friday evening the 20th hosted at Fish Lips Bar & Grill at Port Canaveral for tournament registration. One day tournament on Saturday the 21st. Bluepoints Marina will be the host for the afternoon weigh-in. Over 20 K in Cash & Prizes! Several divisions including Junior’s and Women’s, $2500 for largest Friday Saturday May 6 and fish of the Day! $175 Entry Fee 7 – 11th Annual Central Florida per boat. For more info visit Shootout – Captain’s Party www.MyCFOA.com on Friday hosted by Space Coast Harley Davidson from Friday, Saturday June 3, 5:30pm until 8:30 pm. Anglers 4- Florida Sport Fishing may begin fishing 9:00 pm Association Annual Offshore on Friday, May 6, 2022, with Tournament, hosted at Port scales open at Noon Saturday Canaveral. Over $22K in May 7, all boats must check- guaranteed pay-outs. This is in by 5:00 pm. Two weigh-in the 53nd annual event bringing locations - Sunrise Marina at some of the best anglers Port Canaveral and Captain in Central Florida. $5,000 Hirams on the Indian River in for Biggest Fish, $3,000 for Sebastian. Awards Ceremony winning the General Slam, & Raffle Ticket Drawings for weigh-in hosted at Sunrise the $70K Avid Boat on May Marina at Port Canaveral, 15th at Grills Riverside in to register or info visit www. Melbourne from 11:30 am till OFFSHORESLAM.COM 2:30 pm. Over $20K in Cash and prizes will be awarded for Saturday June 3rd – Safe 10 different species inshore light till 3pm, “Help our Heroes” and offshore, plus prizes for Bass Tournament on the lady and junior anglers. Visit Kissimmee Chain of lakes, www.centralfloridashootout. hosted by Toho Marine at the com to buy tickets and register Joe Overstreet boat ramp. to fish. $10,000 for 1st place based on 150 boats. 2 anglers per team, Saturday May 7th – “Safelight $175 entry fee. For more till 2pm, Osceola Anglers High info or to register your team School Bass Scholarship visit www.tohomarine.com or Fundraiser Bass Tournament phone them at 407-892-3200. hosted at Joe Overstreet Park Registration closes the Friday and boat ramp off Canoe May 27th a week before the Creek Road, Osceola County event, no sign-ups the day on Lake Kissimmee. 2 anglers of event. All proceeds go to per boat, $125 entry fee by Local and National Wounded April 29th, $150 day of event, Veterans Groups. Big Bass and Junk Fish Pot $20 each, includes steak dinner after weigh-in, come If you have an event or meeting support this great club of you would like included in young anglers. To register visit the “What’s Hitting Around OsceolaAngler.com Town” column, send your details to: Phil Wolf phillip@ Saturday May 14 – Safe- coastalanglermagazine.com. light till 2pm, Jolly Gator Bass Deadline for inclusion is the Tournament Series, Cost is 10th of the preceding month. $40 per event, 2 anglers per team. Big Bass for the day $10 per boat. Your team can register the day of the event,

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Capt. Angie Douthit Fishing is hot at the “Big O” with

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t the May 4 meeting of the Florida Wildlife Resources Commission, staff plans to propose several changes that will alter the way redfish are managed statewide. This initial presentation is a first step that seeks to obtain approval to publish the proposed rule changes and begin public workshops for stakeholder engagement. Here are the proposed rule changes: • Modify the redfish management regions • Prohibit captain and crew from retaining a bag limit during for-hire trips • Reduce the off-the-water transport limit from 6 to 4 fish per person • Increase the bag limit for the Big Bend region from 1 to 2 fish per person • Reduce the 8-fish vessel limit in each of the proposed management regions: » Panhandle, Big Bend, Northeast: 4 fish » Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor, Southwest, Southeast: 2 fish • Only allow catch-and-release fishing for redfish in the Indian River Lagoon region Along with altering bag limits, these rule changes would allow FWC to utilize smaller regional units and annual reviews to evaluate redfish fisheries using six metrics: habitat, harmful

Figure 1. Proposed redfish management regions.

algal blooms, escapement, relative abundance, fishing effort and stakeholder feedback. A summary of the proposed changes reads: “Anglers primarily target redfish inshore, so an angler’s redfish fishing experience is closely linked to local environmental conditions as well as local fishing effort. Given this link and stakeholder feedback in support of a new management approach, the FWC is using a new approach that incorporates a holistic review of ecological and human factors. Applying the new approach, staff

evaluated the nine proposed management regions (at left) and prepared the first Annual Reviews.” Jumping out ahead of the proposal, CCA Florida has issued a call to its members to oppose the increase in bag limits from one fish to two in the new, smaller Big Bend region, which would stretch from Wakulla County to Pasco County. The current region covers this area, but also includes Escambia County. CCA Florida commended FWC for its other management redfish management efforts. These rule changes will be introduced at the May 4 FWC meeting beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center in Gainesville. The meeting is open to the public. For more information, see the “Commission Meetings” link at MyFWC.com.

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The 2022 Central Florida Shootout features a weekend of fun, from the Captain’s Party to the Awards Ceremony & Angler Ticket Drawing. OVER $20,000 in cash prizes will be paid out for the Tournament! Award categories include 10 different species, a general entry category, as well as entry categories for Lady Anglers and Juniors. You can also purchase tickets ($50) for a chance to win a brand new 2022 Avid Magnum w/Yamaha VF250 V MAX SHO, aluminum trailer, and T-Top VALUED AT $70,000. Winner will be drawn at the Awards Ceremony. You do not have to fish in the tournament to participate in the drawing.

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LIONFISH REMOVAL EVENTS MAY 8-15 M ay is Lionfish month in Florida. In a continuing effort to raise awareness and combat this invasive pest that populates Florida reefs, there’s a host of activities centered around Destin this month. The 2022 Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day Festival will be held May 14-15 at HarborWalk Willage in Destin. The two-day festival includes lionfish tastings, fillet demonstrations, conservation and art booths, an interactive Kids’ Zone and more. For more information on the festival, go to FWCReefRangers.com. The Emerald Coast Open, the largest lionfish tournament in the world, will be held in conjunction with the Lionfish Festival. With big cash prizes as well as tens of thousands of dollars in gear prizes, divers will compete for most, largest and smallest lionfish. There will also be raffles for gear. Pre-tournament runs through May 12. The tournament will be held May 13-14. Final weigh ins will be held at AJ’s Seafood and Oyster Bar in Destin at 11 a.m. on May 15. Registration is $100 at emeraldcoastopen.com. May 8-14 also brings on Emerald Coast Open Restaurant Week, when the chefs of Destin-Fort Walton Beach’s featured 18 FLORIDA

MAY 2022

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restaurants will highlight lionfish in unique and delicious dishes. Here’s the daily line-up of featured restaurants: DEWEY DESTIN’S - MAY 8 CRAB TRAP DESTIN - MAY 9 HARBOR DOCKS - MAY 10 LA PAZ - MAY 11 BROTULAS - MAY 12 AJ’S SEAFOOD & OYSTER BAR - MAY 14

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REPORT YOUR COBIA CATCH

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAPT. CEFUS MCRAE

f you catch a Florida cobia, scientists want to know. FWC is researching reproduction and movement of cobia in Florida waters, and anglers are being asked to help by reporting their cobia catches through September. Cobia along Florida’s coasts have been fitted with conventional dart tags and surgically implanted with acoustic transmitters. Data collected by acoustic receivers along the coasts allows researchers to track cobia movements and learn more about the spawning migrations of the Gulf and Atlantic stocks. Scientists are also working with the public to sample the reproductive organs of harvested cobia. This data will allow scientists to determine if and where cobia are spawning along Florida’s coasts. If you catch a cobia from now until September, call (561) 882-5975 to arrange for a biologist to meet you and get a $50 reward. Fish must be kept whole or filleted with the carcass and organs intact on ice. If you catch a tagged cobia: • For the purpose of this study, harvest of tagged cobia is discouraged. • Photograph the tag. • Record the tag number, fork length, date and general location of catch. • Release the fish in good condition with tags still intact.Call (561) 8825975 to report the cobia and get a reward and shirt. Releasing tagged cobia will allow researchers to continue gathering valuable data. If you harvest a tagged cobia: • Report all information listed above for tagged cobia. • Return both the internal acoustic transmitter and plastic dart tags to: Attn: Jim Whittington Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Tequesta Field Laboratory 19100 SE Federal Hwy. Tequesta, FL 33469 The internal acoustic transmitter can be found implanted just inside the body cavity on the underside of the fish. This will provide valuable information to researchers. E-mail questions to Joy.Young@MyFWC.com or Jim.Whittington@MyFWC.com.

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n Illinois angler broke the Missouri state record for paddlefish in March. He snagged a 140-pound, 10-ounce paddlefish at Lake of the Ozarks. It beat out the previous record— set in 2015 at Table Rock Lake—by just one ounce. Record-breaking angler Jim Dain, of Pittsfield, Ill., was on a family fishing trip and almost decided not to take the boat out because of shifting weather conditions the day he caught his monster fish. “The forecast was calling for storms, and then it changed to no rain, so we went out, but it just kept getting colder,” Dain said. “We weren’t having much luck, but decided to fish for another hour. So we took another turn, and that’s when the drag on the reel started. It felt like a tree was on the line!” Paddlefish are an interesting target for anglers because they are filter feeders and will not take lures or baited hooks. The most popular method for catching them is to troll large, un-baited treble hooks to cover water and hopefully snag one. “We got 16 one-gallon bags of meat out of this catch,” laughed Dain. “We’ve fried it, grilled it and made paddlefish tacos the other night. We’ll be having paddlefish for a while!” Missouri’s paddlefish seasons run March 15-April 30 on its major paddlefish snagging waters: Lake of the Ozarks, Table Rock Lake, Truman Lake and their tributaries. There is a minimum length limit of 32 inches. The paddlefish season for the Mississippi River is March 15 through May 15 with a fall season of Sept. 15 through Dec. 15. For more information, see the Missouri DNR website at dnr.mo.gov.

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MAY 2022

FLEXIBLE LIMIT

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OAA Fisheries has proposed establishment of a flexible retention limit for shortfin mako sharks with a default limit of zero in commercial and recreational highly migratory fisheries. This measure follows a 2021 approval to ban mako shark harvest in the North Atlantic in 2022 and 2023 in a decision handed down by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). ICCAT’s juridiction is over highly migratory species, like sharks, which cross international boundaries. NOAA’s flexible retention limit would fulfill ICCAT’s recommendation, while allowing flexibility if conditions change. During the fishing year, NOAA Fisheries could increase the shortfin mako shark retention limit from the default, or subsequently decrease the retention limit, for the commercial fishery, the recreational fishery, or both, based on regulatory criteria and retention allowed by ICCAT. Strict conservation measures have been on the table for mako sharks since 2017, when a stock assessment indicated the species was being overfished. Annual take from both sides of the Atlantic ranged between 3,600 and 4,675 tons, mostly caught with commercial gear. ICCAT warned that catches must be kept below 1,000 tons to rebuild the population. Off the U.S. east coast, Atlantic shortfin mako sharks are found from New England to Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Texas, and in the Caribbean Sea. For more details or to comment on the proposal, see www.fisheries.noaa.gov.

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t’s tarpon time, and as big fish flood the channels, bays, flats, beaches and passes up the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, every angler with a monster silver king on the bucket list hopes to get a piece of the biggest show on water. Most of the time, all they’ll get is the aerial show. Whether it’s a thrown hook from a head-shaking leap, a sharp gill plate that cuts the line, or a big hammerhead that makes the line go slack, hooking a big tarpon is a lot easier than putting hands on one. Studies have shown less than 40 percent of hooked tarpon make it boatside to have their photo taken. Here are a few tips to help you turn a hook-up into a great release photo.

TARPON FIGHTING TIPS By CAM Staff

1) Bow to the King:

If you have any interest in tarpon at all, you’ve heard this one already, but let’s just get it out of the way for those who don’t know. When a tarpon jumps, stop reeling, drop your rod tip and point it at the fish. When the fish is doing all its head shaking and tailwalking, a slack line doesn’t provide as much leverage to throw the hook. When the fish lands, lift the rod tip back to about 45 degrees and reel quickly to take up the slack.

2) Predict the Jump: Watch the fish’s behavior and you can often predict when it will go airborne. A hard run usually culminates with a big jump. Also, when you see the line angling up, it means the fish is headed to the surface. Pay attention and you won’t be caught off guard.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAPT. JEFF MAGGIO

3) Go Hard on Them: Tarpon are big and powerful. If you don’t break their spirit quickly, they just might break yours. Use heavy tackle and do everything you can to get them in quickly. Use an anchor buoy to quickly unhook and chase fish down. This allows you to gain line and maintain the upper hand. By adjusting the drag, you can let the fish tire itself out more quickly. Start with the drag lower in the early stages of the fight, when the fish is still making long powerful runs that can break the line. As it begins to tire from running and jumping, start ramping up the drag pressure and continue pumping and reeling. If you’re good enough, palming the reel allows you to manually control drag pressure without committing to a higher setting. This can save you if a fish has a sudden second wind. Keep the heat on a big fish from start to finish. If it runs to the right, swing your rod to the left and vice versa. By keeping constant pressure against the direction the fish is trying to go, it is sometimes possible to convince them to give up.

4) Don’t Feed the Sharks: Sharks always seem to show up when there’s tarpon fishing going on, and it’s a pity so many big tarpon end up getting sharked on the end of a line. When sharks show up, ethical anglers pull lines up and move. Reeling in half a fish is worse than reeling in no fish at all. If a big shark shows up during the fight, clamp down on the drag and try to break the line. For more, go to coastalanglermag.com.

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Tim Barefoot

s you should know by now if you read my articles or subscribe to my YouTube channel, I like to fish for everything with fins. From offshore in 300plus feet of water to creeks, there is one thing that makes us more effective now than we were years ago: electronics! When I was very young, we went to the very first mark off the beach and loaded up on sea bass, gray trout (weakfish), flounder and whatever else would bite a crude chicken rig with cut mullet. Those days are gone. Now, we have evolved to using the most advanced electronics available to locate and stay on fish. We’ve got side imaging and live imaging technology, which is not (almost) cheating, to… screw it… It’s cheating, and I’m doing it. I love a gag grouper like Peter loved the Lord, and I also like to fish for bass as well as drum, trout and snook. Electronics like side scan make me dangerous. They are the difference between being close to a good place on a ledge or wreck versus being ON THE SPOT. It’s now possible to see whether you’re close to a stack of baitfish or on it. The stack of bait is the key to catching instead of just soaking baits. Look for the giant stack of bait, because that is what holds

predators, bottom fish below and pelagics above. For example: The video link at the end of this article as well as the blue photo on this page are a prime example of electronics telling us what’s below us and how deep. The marks near the bottom are African pompano and other bottom fish. The marks in the 100-foot range are blackfin tuna. The other photo is of crappie in a creek. I was watching them in real time using Garmin LiveScope. Regardless if you’re fishing in 300 or 15 feet of water, having the correct electronics will make a huge difference. We rely on our fishing instincts to catch fish. I’m a believer in the “cleanest” terminal tackle being the most effective tackle. The most important thing of all, though, is to position your boat on top of fish. For this, proper electronics have become essential. Check out barefootcatsandtackle.com, and watch this video https://youtu.be/qGzW6QFZHKE on using electronics offshore.

COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

MAY 2022

NATIONAL 19

Making Memories M

ay is a great month to take or introduce a child to the sport of fishing. The summer crowds haven’t arrived, the weather is tolerable, and there should be a nice breeze to keep it comfortable. If your child is already catching more than you, this is a great time to teach them some new techniques or how to use a new lure. Jetties, piers or docks are great locations to target this month, and sheepshead can be an entertaining target for the beginner. They can be corporative, and a nice trophy for a child. At times, they can be easy to catch and will provide a solid fight for the saltiest of anglers. Sheepshead love structure. Focus your attention on the most barnacle-encrusted structure you can find. At times you can hear them munching on those barnacles! If it is legal in the area you are fishing, scraping barnacles off the structure is a great way to chum for sheepshead and really gets them fired up. Small live or fresh dead shrimp are great, readily available bait. Small jacks, croaker, pinfish and whitting are also good options to give young anglers a strong tug and a good time. Once again, live and dead shrimp are a good choice to lure in these aggressive feeders. Beach fronts, jetties and structure are good areas to target them. If your child is up for a challenge and wants to learn something new, like my 11-year-old, May

By Capt. Michael Okruhlik

is a good month to explore. With optimal water temperatures that keep fish aggressive, May is ideal. My son and I were in our favorite local tackle shop one day, and he picked up a custom painted lure and showed it to me. The owner, Mike, had painted these and they are renowned for catching big trout. My son had never fished one, but wanted to learn and catch a big one! For a few weeks, every time my son walked into the lure room and saw the Corky hanging on the rack, he would say, “Dad let’s go fishing.” He wanted to use the lure from Mr. Mike and catch a big trout. When we finally had a chance to hit the water, conditions were not ideal. We went to learn how to work the lure, if nothing else. My son did accomplish catching his first fish on a Corky. Even though it was not the big trout he planned on, it gave us a good laugh and memories that will last forever. This photo shows his first fish on that style of lure… the first of many I am certain. Go grow up little pinfish. Hopefully the next time we meet you are in the belly of a big trout! Take a kid fishing, leave the electronics at home, and everyone will have fun learning something from each other!

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conversations. Satellite phones are an option but are cost prohibitive for most of us. Luckily, the satellite network has created a new choice with two-way texting devices like the Garmin inReach Mini, which I find offers a great mix of features, affordability, size and peace of mind. All these devices require a subscription plan, but most are affordable and allow you to pause them during off seasons. There are several manufacturers and options on the market, and they have many different features. Some have built-in keypads for easy composition of messages, but that makes the size larger. Most will pair with your cell phone, making it simple to create and send messages. They all also have SOS buttons that send a distress message along with your location to a communication center. Like EPIRBs and PLBs, they will continually transmit your location to By Will Schmidt search and rescue, helping them to find you quickly. Unlike the others, you are notified when your SOS is received. You can also communicate the nature of your emergency and answer vital questions from rescuers via text. The small size and waterproof rating means you can clip these devices to a life vest and continue sending and receiving information should you need to abandon ship. Furthermore, you can send non-emergency messages to check in with others. The inReach Mini allows you to create three preset messages that can be quickly sent and have unlimited sends on each of their data plans. This is a great feature for sending useful updates and non-emergency messages such as: “Just checking in, everything is fine.” Or “Everything is ok, but we are running late.” Other features many of these devices offer are waypoint navigation, tracking and weather reports. If navigation features are of primary importance to you, a larger device with a bigger screen might suit you better. Since mine is a backup navigation device, the connection to my phone is sufficient. I can even pair my inReach with my chart plotters to quickly send and read messages while underway. Whether you travel offshore, into the backwoods or to a remote island ith technology helping us get farther away from shore, it is lodge, if you want the ability to summon help or just check in at home when imperative that we have a reliable way to communicate with others. off the grid, these satellite devices offer great usability in an affordable easyIt’s not unheard of for people to take a bay boat 40 miles offshore to-use option. where VHF might not be heard. While Emergency Position Indicating Will Schmidt is a seasoned tournament angler who has been writing Radio Beacons (EPIRB) and Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) are a great about fishing from more than two decades. way to request assistance in an emergency, they lack the ability for two-way

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 “The play of color in opals is so gorgeous they sometimes don’t even seem real and yet they are.” —from the Couture Show under $60. I think it’s safe to say we more than met our price promise. We exceeded it... by well over 16,000%! Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. Slip this rainbow on her finger. If she’s not absolutely delighted, simply send it back within 30 days for a complete refund of the item price. See if your jewelry store can match that! The Five-Star Opal Ring is one of Stauer’s fastest sellers. Supplies are limited. We can’t seem to keep this ring in stock. Don’t miss this rare opportunity. Order the Five-Star Opal Anniversary Ring today and catch this radiant rainbow before it’s gone! Jewelry Specifications: • Ethiopian Opals in gold-finished .925 sterling silver settings • Ring: whole sizes 5–10. Earrings: post backs Five-Star Opal Anniversary Collection A. Ring (1 ½ ctw) $399 $59* + S&P Save $340! B. Earrings (1 ctw) $199 $79* + S&P Save $120! Ring & Earrings Set $598 $99* + S&P Save $499! *Special price only for customers using the offer code.

1-800-333-2045

Your Insider Offer Code: OAR305-04

Stauer, 14101 Southcross Drive W., Ste 155, Dept. OAR305-04, Burnsville, MN 55337 www.stauer.com

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AFFORD THE EXTRAORDINARY

IT MIGHT JUST BE CRAZY ENOUGH TO WORK! Berkley played a pretty good gag for April fools that likely sent a group of very specialized anglers to the store looking for a product that doesn’t exist. The company, which produces scented and flavored artificial baits, announced the release of the Berkley PowerBait Noodling Glove. “Infused with PowerBait, this glove is designed to give noodlers a way to successfully wrangle catfish and give the fish a flavor so good, they’ll never let go,” read the press release. Berkley went on to tell sportsmen the following: Originally designed to withstand the fight of giant catfish, the team at Berkley Labs quickly discovered that the PowerBait Noodling Glove can be effective on more than just catfish. Extensive field testing proved that the PowerBait Noodling Glove increased angler catch rates for bass, trout and other species. The team even tested the glove with local hunters and found it’s just as effective in luring white-tailed deer as it is in luring catfish. There is nothing that can’t be caught using the PowerBait Noodling Glove. The Berkley PowerBait Noodling Glove may also get its time to shine on the bass tournament trails this year thanks to Berkley Pro Angler John Cox. Cox says, “The way I fish is very similar to noodlers; they go down the bank and look for holes. Well, I go down the bank looking for a 5 or 6 pounder either on a bed or chasing bluegill. So, when I heard about noodlers using the Berkley PowerBait Noodling Glove, I thought ‘Hey, this might work really well for me.’ Noodling is definitely not for just catfishing anymore. That was a pretty good one, Berkley.

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SCIENCE OF SMASH. SALTWATER HARD BAITS Five marvels of engineering that earned their stripes smashing fish in lakes and rivers, supertuned by Berkley® scientists to conquer the salt and its fiercest inhabitants. Action, vibration, casting distance, hook-up ratios – every aspect has been optimized to your advantage. All built for battle with virtually bombproof bodies and hardware, featuring ultra-sharp, anti-rust Fusion19™ 3X Hooks for ultimate endurance. Over 80 sizes and colors to choose from.

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Berkley_SW_Topwater_CostalAngler_8.125"x10.875"_Final.indd 1

4/7/22 10:19 AM

PARTING WATERS

LIKE NO OTHER INNOVATION DRIVES SUZUKI ON THE WATER Unparalleled throttle response and silky-smooth shifting along with the outboard industry’s first Contrarotating Dual–Prop design, the 350hp outboard is in a class of it’s own. With Suzuki Marine’s reputation for performance and reliability, you can rest assured your boating day is going to make memories that will last for years to come.

YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY

5 YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY applies to qualifying purchases of Suzuki outboard motors sold and delivered to the retail purchaser, for pleasure (non-commercial) use only, from April 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022. See Suzuki Limited Warranty for additional details. Suzuki, the “S” logo, and Suzuki model and product names are Suzuki Trademarks or ®. Don’t drink and drive. Always wear a USCG-approved life jacket and read your owner’s manual. © 2022 Suzuki Marine USA, LLC. All rights reserved.