Bluefish have invaded surf and inlet

To my readers, who expressed concern over a brief lapse in my column, the opening of the North Carolina deer season, Mother Nature beckoned to me requesting my presence there to do my duty of attempting to thin the herd. We did OK, but not as well as previous trips. The weather was a little tough for a Floridian as some mornings greeted us with layers of ice. However, as it has been said so many times before, all god things must come to an end. So it is back to business as usual.

Our weather is typical for this time of the year. Windy days interspesed wirth good weather. Presently we have a high pressure ridge extending from the outer banks of North Carolina to the lower Mississippi Valley, which will weaken through Sunday as a reinforcing high pressure ridge drops out of the northern plains and moves across the northeast and mid Atlantic states. A tight pressure gradient will be created on the southern periphery of the ridge and that will produce moderate to fresh northeast breezes across our local waters over the weekend. Winds will become north to northwesterly late Monday into Tuesday as a low pressure system develops over the Bahamas and moves northward. No Karenia Brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was detected this week in water samples from the lagoon or in samples taken off Crystal River. However, background concentrations of Karenia brevis were detected this week in samples collected along the Sarasota, southern Lee, and Collier counties. So far, no adverse effects have been noted. The bluefish have invaded the surf and inlet. Pompano, Whiting and a few flounder have been landed in the surf mostly hitting sand fleas, clams (*wrapped with gauze” which will assure that the clams stay on the hook for longer periods of time) and fish-bites. Offshore, the windy activity has kept most charter boats at the dock. Reports suggest the Kingfish bite is really slow but the sailfish activity is good when you can locate the pods of bait. A few headboats went out and did their usual thing of sharks, black sea bass, an occasional triggerfish, ruby lipped grunts, and other bottom dwellers. In the inlet area, Capt. Fred Robert reports that the redfish are everywhere. The inlet temperatures are in the low 70s and high 60s. There are numerous reports of bluefish in the inlet and the tarpon are still here. In Spruce Creek and other tidal waters, the redfish and bluefish are delighting anglers. Speaking of the tributaries to the Halifax/ Indian River complex, the infamous Rich C. went fishing for his favorite fish – the lowly bluefish – and while eating his lunch leaving his rod and reel in the rod-holder and the bait dangling in the water, he suddenly got a hit. As he munched on the last of his sandwich he finally noted that he was about to be spooled. Gulping down the last bite with a swallow of a warming beer, he grabbed the rod and started to crank back the immense amount of line in the water. Diligently he cranked with much difficulty and gradually the spool began to exhibit a slight increase in size. Claiming he was out of breath, he handed the rod to his friend Tom, who rapidly gained line and brought what was anticipated to be a bluefish to the surface. “Holy Mackerel”, said Tom, “that is a redfish and a big one too”. That was all Rich C. needed to hear. “I hooked that fish – I want to land it” “Ok,” said Tom. The final six cranks of the reel were extremely difficult for Rich C., but with heroic effort he succeeded in bring the fish to the side of the boat. Tom rapidly grabbed the lower lip of the fish with his boga-grip and brought the fish aboard. Tom noted that the fish was too big to keep so pictures were taken. Rich C. made sure that he held the fish properly by following the directions on the proper way to hold a fish that he had been told several times by his friends Rich A. and Ted W. Unfortunately Rich A. did not accept the invitation to go on this trip as he wanted to clean his pool and put new windshield wipers on his son’s V-W bus. Ted could not be there either as he was in New York, catching bluefish. The recent high water in the lagoon has begun to recede. There have been several redfish caught using live shrimp but most are in deeper water. There are also trout hitting on the clear spots in the grassy areas. The mangrove snapper bite has improved. Up in the Tomoka area there are slot reds being caught by fishing the adjacent canals. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will commence holding hearings to gain input on the harvest of Florida’s fresh water turtles starting Nov. 20. They will hear from scientists and fishermen, and from concerned resident regarding the long-term plan for the harvest of freshwater turtles. The meeting will be 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Tampa Port Authority Board Room, 1101 Channelside Drive in Tampa. Concerns over the increased demand for freshwater turtles led the FWC to consider what impact the harvests have on the species. Recently, the FWC enacted a new rule on the harvest of freshwater turtles that further restricted their harvest. The new rule limits the harvest of wild freshwater turtles to five per day per person. A person with a commercial license to harvest freshwater turtles is allowed to harvest an additonal fifteen trutles a day (therefore, twenty per diem.) This rule was passed to allow the FWC to develop a long-term comprehensive strategy for sustainable use and conservation of amphibian and reptile populations. There have been some concerning reports of unusually large turtle harvests, which coicide with reports of the increased demand for freshwater turles as both pets and food. The public is invited to attend and provide information and engge in an open discussion of the pertinent information regarding freshwater turtles. It has been written; “Your fishing outfit may be elaborate or it may just be a cane pole. Fortunately the size of your fishing equipment is no indication of the pleasure that you will derive.” 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. Tight lines. <*)/// /><

Photo cutline: Connie Tippins holds her bluefish catch. Bluefish are along the beach right now and in the inlet.