In the past week, sea water surface temperatures have ranged in the low to mid-eighties. Anglers fishing the surf and those fishing from the piers have been catching slot sized red drum, blue fish, black drum, whiting, and small hammerhead sharks. The large amount of mullet usually attracts a considerable number of tarpon, but as of now relatively only a few have shown up.
There are plenty of jellyfish in the inlet. Plenty of bull redfish are being caught from the Inlet Marina Villas north to Inlet Harbor. Medium-sized jack crevalle and mangrove snapper are also being caught. In the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons fishing remains reportedly slow.
Some action occurs when you fish early in the morning with live bait. In the Halifax River, there has been some good tarpon and red drum action using small live baits. In the Tomoka basin and river, there was considerable tarpon activity intermixed with good red drum catches.
Offshore, a few boats have been reporting some sailfish hookups and sightings. The bottom bite remains good with good catches of various species of snappers and groupers, black sea bass, triggerfish, amberjacks, and porgies.
Squirrel survey under way in Florida
Courtesy photo / The Florida fox squirrel is twice the size of an ordinary squirrel.
If you have seen a big squirrel with a long, bushy, fox-like tail, Florida wildlife biologists need your help. What you saw was a Florida fox squirrel, and biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are asking you to go online and record your sighting of this creature twice the size of an ordinary squirrel.
Fox squirrels often have distinctive, masked faces with a black head and white nose and ears but, there are wide variations in coloration - from tan to gray or black.
You can use the FWC's Google map application at https://public.myfwc.com/hsc/foxsquirrel/GetLatLong.aspx to enter the location where you spotted the fox squirrel. Your squirrel sighting will be logged automatically and assigned a specific latitude and longitude.
"The fox squirrel survey is a wonderful opportunity for children and adults to become amateur naturalists and get involved in conserving Florida's wildlife," FWC wildlife biologist Courtney Hooker said. "We will learn more about where the Florida fox squirrels are by asking the public to go online and report their sightings of fox squirrels."
The fox squirrel survey is part of a research project by the FWC and the University of Florida Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. It combines the latest in online-mapping technology with the public's enthusiasm about sharing their wildlife observations.
The fox squirrel survey began in August, and data will be collected through at least January 2012. So far about 600 sightings of fox squirrels have been logged online. Fox squirrels have been observed throughout Florida in open woods, pine and cypress stands and mangrove swamps, but knowledge about their distribution is limited.
Fox squirrels spend more time on the ground than in trees and often escape their enemies by running rather than climbing. Their favorite food is pine seed. The Sherman's fox squirrel is found in the pine forests of central and northeast Florida and is classified as a state species of special concern. The Big Cypress fox squirrel is a state-threatened species in southwest Florida. The Southeastern fox squirrel lives in the Panhandle.
All of Florida's fox squirrels are protected from hunting. For more information about fox squirrels, visit the "Species Profiles" area of MyFWC.com/Wildlife.
Video Special on Florida panthers
Courtesy video / Check out the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Panther Project series.
Capt. Budd's PostScript
It has been written that “The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive, but attainable; a perpetual series of occasions for hope.”
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. Fishing is not a matter of life or death, it is so much more important than that.
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.
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