Sea water temperatures at Ponce Inlet ranged from 77 to 80 degrees. Surf and pier fishermen reported catching a lot of whiting and a few bluefish and black drum. The pompano catch has significantly slowed down. Ladyfish and large Jack Crevalle have been giving good fights to the anglers fishing in Ponce Inlet. The shrimp run has started in the Halifax River.
Anglers fishing the Tomoka River and Basin and the Halifax River have found that fishing is best early in the morning. There have been a few excellent snook catches. Tarpon have started to show up around the bridges, especially near the end of the outgoing tides. Trout seem to be hanging around the mouths of the local creeks.
In Mosquito and Indian River lagoons, the trout are feasting on pigfish. Fishing with live bait seems to be the answer. Offshore in eight fathoms of water there have been some good catches of cobia hanging out with the large rays. Further out the dolphin bite is good. The fish appear to be in singles rather than in schools. The black sea bass catch was also good. Several red snapper were released.
The second license-free fishing weekend is June 18-19, coinciding with Father’s Day.
The second license-free fishing weekend is June 18-19, coinciding with Father’s Day.
Atlantic snook harvest season to reopen soon; other areas remain catch-and-release
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission decided on Thursday to reopen the recreational harvest season for snook in Florida's Atlantic waters on Sept. 1 and maintain a catch-and-release snook fishery in Florida's Gulf waters. Only catch-and-release fishing for snook has been allowed statewide since Dec. 15, under FWC executive orders to protect snook populations affected by prolonged cold weather in Florida during the winter of 2009-2010.
Commissioners received a staff report regarding the latest information on the status of the snook population, which suggests that snook on Florida's Atlantic coast were less severely impacted by cold weather than Gulf coast snook.
Based on this information and public comment it has received, the Commission agreed to reopen the snook harvest season this fall in Atlantic waters. Snook has been strictly regulated in Florida for more than 50 years. Current regulations include summer and winter closed harvest seasons, a one-fish bag limit during open seasons, restrictive slot-size limits and a prohibition on the sale of snook.
The FWC believes these measures helped ensure that snook abundance was healthy enough before the freeze to enable the fishery to rebound and continue to grow in spite of the cold-weather impacts.
Consequently, the Commission determined that the Atlantic stock of snook in Florida's Atlantic coastal and inland waters, including Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River, can return to the regular season opening Sept. 1.
The regular daily bag limit of one snook per recreational angler will apply, as will the 28- to 32-inch total length slot limit. In addition, the current harvest prohibition of snook in all of Florida's Gulf, Everglades National Park and Monroe County state and federal waters will remain in effect until Aug. 31, 2012. This will allow the Gulf snook population additional time to rebound and allow the FWC to complete a full stock assessment that is scheduled to be presented to the Commission in early 2012.
Anglers may still catch and release snook during snook harvest closures, and the FWC encourages everyone to handle and release these fish carefully to help ensure their survival upon release. More information regarding the management of snook
FWC wraps up 2-day meeting in St. Augustine
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission wrapped up its two-day meeting Thursday in St. Augustine, in which it accepted staff recommendations on state-threatened species; discussed marine fisheries issues of concern to anglers, commercial fishermen and specimen collectors; approved hunting issues for deer and alligators; and dealt with other wildlife-related issues.
On Wednesday Commissioners elected Kathy Barco
"I am honored to be elected to serve in this role and grateful to my predecessor for his example to us all," Barco said.
"I am honored to be elected to serve in this role and grateful to my predecessor for his example to us all," Barco said.
Commissioners on Wednesday approved staff's listing recommendations for 61 species
Forty species will remain listed as threatened, 16 species will be removed from the list, and five species will remain as species of special concern. A change in status of the species will not occur until management plans are brought back to the commission for approval.
Also on Wednesday, commissioners approved revisions to the permitting guidelines for gopher tortoises to ensure the keystone species thrives in Florida. The revisions reduce monitoring requirements for landowners who receive gopher tortoises on their property and modify the conservation permit to include an on-site relocation option for certain public projects.
The revisions are part of the FWC's adaptive management strategy to ensure the most effective gopher tortoise conservation in balance with the needs of Floridians. FWC staff and Commissioners discussed the anchoring and mooring pilot program on Wednesday; Commissioners selected the city of Stuart, in partnership with Martin County, as a program site. FWC staff will work with each of the sites involved in the program, including the cities of Sarasota, St. Petersburg and St. Augustine, and Monroe County, to develop ordinances pertaining to anchoring and mooring in each jurisdiction.
Also on Wednesday, Commissioners:
# Adopted a rule change that adds approximately four hours of daylight hunting per day to the state's recreational alligator hunting season. The change will be in effect for this year's season: Aug. 15 - Nov. 1.
# Directed staff to continue evaluating a proposed manatee protection zone in Flagler County.
# Directed staff to continue evaluating a proposed manatee protection zone in Flagler County.
# Approved an executive order implementing new deer harvest rules in two areas of the Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area in South Florida, in an effort to allow the deer population to rebound. The rules will affect the upcoming 2011-2012 hunting season.
# Recognized St. Augustine sculptor Capt. Pierre Pierce for his contributions to fish and wildlife conservation through his highly acclaimed artwork. On Thursday, the Commission approved rule amendments for permit, Florida pompano and African pompano that expand their protection to offshore federal waters beyond Florida state waters, where the fish currently aren't protected, and created separate conservation-management strategies for these species.
Some of the key changes for permit include creating a special South Florida Permit Management Zone that includes a three-month closed season, and adjusting size and bag limits. The new rules also modify certain Florida and African pompano rules.
These rule amendments are expected to take effect Aug. 31. In addition, Commissioners approved rules that extend the FWC's stone crab management to offshore federal waters beyond Florida state waters. These rule amendments are expected to take effect Aug. 31.
The Commission also approved a rule amendment that will make the recreational harvest season for red snapper in Gulf of Mexico state waters consistent with this year's open season in Gulf federal waters. This open harvest season began June 1 and runs through through July 18.
Commissioners also directed staff to develop possible rule modifications that would extend state requirements governing the harvest of marine life (aquarium species) into federal waters adjacent to state waters, and to create a commercial quota for octocorals and adopt areas in federal waters currently closed to their harvest.
Commissioners also heard a report on the impact of the 2010 snook cold-weather kill and decided to reopen the harvest of snook on the Atlantic coast on Sept. 1; however, they decided the Gulf snook fishery should remain catch-and-release only until Aug. 31, 2012, to give the stock additional time to recuperate.
Capt Budd's PostScript
It has been written that “The joys if fishing are not confined to the hours near the water.”
It has been written that “The joys if fishing are not confined to the hours near the water.”
So whether you charter, ride a head boat, run your own vessel, Stay in the river, surf fish, or fish from shore or a bridge, there are fish to be caught.it is so much more important than that.
Tight lines, Capt. Budd
Editor's Note: Capt. Budd Neviaser has been with NSBNews.net since its April 7, 2008, launch. His efforts are truly appreciated.
NSBNews.net, also known as VolusiaNews.net, provides Volusia County 24 / 7 Internet newspaper coverage, 100% free with breaking news, news of record and investigative reports from New Smyrna Beach, FL, for a 21st-century digital world.