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Fishing Report: New offshore regulations went into effect July 1
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If you are an offshore fishermen, you should be aware of the new reef fishing regulations. As of July 1, anyone fishing for reef fish such as snapper or grouper needs to carry a fish dehooker, a venting tool, and use circle hooks only, unless fishing with a jig or lure.
Most area anglers already carried a dehooker, if not to save the fish, which is the purpose of this new legislation, at least to save their fingers from our toothy offshore critters. The venting tool is simply a long needle that is used to deflate the air bladder when fish are brought up too fast in very deep water. Previously, this was only really necessary for those boats that fished in deep water, but now all reef fishermen need to carry one.
The tricky part about this new regulation is the use of circle hooks. The theory is that circle hooks tend to attach to the jaw, and thus there are less gill or stomach hook-ups that may kill the fish. This is certainly good conservation, but anglers need to be aware that circle hooks work differently than the previously popular j-hooks. When using circle hooks, the angler does not set the hook. He is supposed to simply wind slowly and let the hook set itself. If he does, in fact, yank on the pole when he feels a bite, the hook does not set, and the fish goes free.
This sounds simple enough until you try to tell someone who has spent his entire life tearing the jaws out of any fish that even dared to sniff his bait, that he can longer lean back on that pole. Of course, it will all work out for the best in the end, but, in the mean time, the new laws favor the fish and those who sell shrimp. One captain told me, “We’re still catching plenty of fish, but we're using twice as many shrimp because everyone keeps pulling the hook out and leaving the shrimp behind.”
It is somewhat unclear how this regulation affects backwater fishing, but I was told simply that if you have a snapper in the boat, you better have circle hooks on your lines.
NAPLES: Capt. Tommy Robinsons guided his boat, “Sea Legs,” out 28 miles on Sunday, and his charter landed a 27-inch red grouper on the first drop, then added a hefty mutton snapper, and then another 28-inch grouper. By 11 a.m., Robinson had his limit of grouper, so he moved to a ledge where he added eight nice yellowtail snapper. King mackerel and goliath grouper to 100 pounds rounded out the day.
In the backwater, Capt. Pat Gould said that the snook and snapper continue to feed around the passes. Gould fished on Tuesday and landed 15 snook including three in the slot, 10 large mangrove snapper, one slot redfish, a gag grouper, and numerous large jacks and mackerel. Gould said all of the fish were caught on the outside.
MARCO ISLAND/TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS: Capt. Roger Parcells spent Saturday 50 miles offshore in 100 feet of water. Parcells anchored over a wreck in the morning where his party limited on medium size amberjack along with a 30- and a 40-pound kingfish. There were also snapper on the wreck, but the barracuda would not let any get back to the boat. Even the big, 40-pound king was attacked when it was brought in. Still, the fish weighed 40 pounds even with a bite out of its tail.
On Saturday, Parcells fished 25 miles south of Marco Island near the D-tower. The tower, itself, did not hold any permit, so he moved to hard bottom area and had good luck with lane snapper and red grouper, before the storms chased him back to shore.
EVERGLADES CITY: Capt. Shane Miller used the smaller “beach baits” this week and limited on snapper while catching numerous small snook and a few redfish. The snapper can be found anywhere on the outside where there are downed trees. The fish are fairly large measuring between 12 and 14 inches.
On Monday, Miller fished with Bob Morrow and his grandson, Ronnie, and they hooked 20 snook to 28 inches, a limit of snapper, a large flounder and several “gray marlin” (aka catfish).
WIGGINS PASS/NORTH NAPLES: Capt. Dave Hanson fished both in the backwaters and offshore this week. On Tuesday morning, Hanson fished in Estero Bay with Tom Wolfe and his son, Jordan, and they caught a 22-inch redfish, mangrove snapper to 14 inches, three trout, all around 14 inches, four snook to 16 inches and several jack cravelle. All were caught using live shrimp.
On Wednesday, Hanson took Jim and Lisa Roe, their son, Brendon, and friend, Jerry Garland, to fish the reefs off Bonita Beach. They caught 20 nice porgies and 15 legal mangrove snapper, plus Spanish mackerel to 25 inches and hogfish to 14 inches. They also released short red grouper and yellowtail snapper, and hooked a huge 50-pound cobia that gobbled a snapper that was being brought to the boat. The cobia hung on for about 15 minutes before spitting the bait, and was probably never even hooked -- just hungry.
FRESHWATER: The canals are finally running and that means good fishing around the weirs where the snook and bass are gathered. Live baits work the best, but top water soft jerk baits and lipless crank baits are also producing some good fish.
Bluegill and shell crackers should move on to the beds next week under the full moon, and if you want some variety and don’t mind driving across the Alley, Jess Edwards of the Golden Gate Tackle Box suggests targeting peacock bass in the canals along Alligator Alley. The peacocks will attack a surface lure in the heat of the day right in the middle of the canal -- just the opposite of the largemouth bass. The peacock bass average between one and five pounds and fight considerably harder than do the largemouth bass.
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