The Tampa Tribune
Published: December 26, 2008
GO FISHING is a look at the area fishing scene through the eyes of local charter boat captains and fishing guides. Today: Mel Berman.
That brief shot of cold air this week has motivated the larger seatrout to move into local waters. One of my forum members, "InshoreSlammer," earlier in the week launched at sunrise.
"It was a foggy morning, no wind and I could see the sun starting to come through the clouds. I was able to get the last hour of the falling tide and things were just looking really fishy," he said.
Throwing an Exude RT Slug, he hooked a 301/2-inch trout on his first cast.
"This fish jumped completely out of the water and then gave me a head shaking tail walk that I will always remember," he said.
He also ended up catching a few upper-slot reds as well.
This holiday weekend looks like a winner, with mild temperatures, light winds and good moving tides. Though you may not score a 30-inch gator trout, you most certainly should be able to catch and release some beauties.
The north Pinellas area is not the only place where one can catch lunker trout. Many are also being landed in the flats off the Gandy/Weedon Island area, Pinellas Point, Fort Desoto and all along the Tampa Bay south shore.
Long Boat Key's Rusty Chinnis also reports landing some fat trout and several bluefish on flies. "We were amazed at the numbers we saw, including a few that looked to be pushing 30 inches," he said.
Captain Tim Whitfield, fishing around the Anclote area, caught trout on just about every cast using scented jigs. He said the best way to work them - or any jig - would be to cast out, let it drop down and slowly twitch it in across the grasses.
Hear "The Captain Mel Show" Saturdays from 6-9 a.m. on
970 AM. Also, visit "Fishing
Florida OnLine Magazine"
Friday, December 26, 2008
Summer Flooding allows Trout to go Free
Summer flooding that allowed some of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, or DNR, trout stock to swim away will cut the number of fish releases at Scott County’s West Lake from three to two.
The first release was in November and a second will be in the spring, after the ice clears. A release in January will not be held because of the West Lake ice quality.
“We opted to do that because we don’t get good ice there,” said Chad Dolan, a DNR fisheries biologist. “A lot of times you just have an ice shelf.”
To ensure that trout releases would happen, Iowa received stock from natural resources departments in Illinois, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and West Virginia as well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The West Lake releases have been popular since they began in 2006, drawing 80 to 350 anglers, depending on the weather, said Marc Miller, deputy director of the Scott County Conservation Department.
“Since we started doing the trout fishing, the number of anglers in the fall and spring has increased,” he said. “The number of ice fishermen has increased dramatically.”
When flooding was predicted, DNR workers took steps to try to prevent the loss of trout stock at the Manchester, Iowa, fish hatchery by blocking entry points with chicken wire and moving some of the stock to unaffected fisheries. That did not prevent the loss, though.
Some of the trout were contained to a pond and recaptured, Dolan said.
“Trout fishing’s pretty good on the Turkey River,” he said. “We may have lost them from the hatchery, but we are still providing a fishing opportunity for somebody, so it isn’t a total loss.”
In the past, 3,000 trout were released each time, but the next release will be 1,800. The good news, Dolan said, is that the fish are bigger because there are fewer and there is more food available to them.
Miller says trout, a cold-water fish, continue to be caught well after the early summer release at West Lake.
“We haven’t had the die-off,” he said. “We’ve had the trout going from 10-12 inches and about three pounds up to six-seven pounds.”
Dolan suspects a spring must feed into the lake to provide the cold water source the trout need.
Kurt Allemeier can be contacted at (563) 383-2360 or kallemeier@qctimes.com.
The first release was in November and a second will be in the spring, after the ice clears. A release in January will not be held because of the West Lake ice quality.
“We opted to do that because we don’t get good ice there,” said Chad Dolan, a DNR fisheries biologist. “A lot of times you just have an ice shelf.”
To ensure that trout releases would happen, Iowa received stock from natural resources departments in Illinois, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and West Virginia as well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The West Lake releases have been popular since they began in 2006, drawing 80 to 350 anglers, depending on the weather, said Marc Miller, deputy director of the Scott County Conservation Department.
“Since we started doing the trout fishing, the number of anglers in the fall and spring has increased,” he said. “The number of ice fishermen has increased dramatically.”
When flooding was predicted, DNR workers took steps to try to prevent the loss of trout stock at the Manchester, Iowa, fish hatchery by blocking entry points with chicken wire and moving some of the stock to unaffected fisheries. That did not prevent the loss, though.
Some of the trout were contained to a pond and recaptured, Dolan said.
“Trout fishing’s pretty good on the Turkey River,” he said. “We may have lost them from the hatchery, but we are still providing a fishing opportunity for somebody, so it isn’t a total loss.”
In the past, 3,000 trout were released each time, but the next release will be 1,800. The good news, Dolan said, is that the fish are bigger because there are fewer and there is more food available to them.
Miller says trout, a cold-water fish, continue to be caught well after the early summer release at West Lake.
“We haven’t had the die-off,” he said. “We’ve had the trout going from 10-12 inches and about three pounds up to six-seven pounds.”
Dolan suspects a spring must feed into the lake to provide the cold water source the trout need.
Kurt Allemeier can be contacted at (563) 383-2360 or kallemeier@qctimes.com.
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