By RAY MARKHAM
Published: December 23, 2008
Temperatures are on the rise and periods of extended warm weather are kicking finny appetites into gear.
Water temperatures in the low 70s are credited for the increased action. Some excellent action for specks has been taking place from the Bulkhead at the mouth of the Manatee River north to Mariposa Key.
Potholes with 3 to 4 feet of water over a sandy green hole are producing trout while using the DOA Shrimp in some new colors like Copper Crush and Night Glow with Gold holographic glitter. On a recent half-day trip, we caught and released more than 50 trout, with the largest speck measuring 22 inches.
Ladyfish are making it difficult to get a jig to the bottom, but when we have, flounder have been in our catch. We usually get several legal flatties for the cooler. CAL Jigs with Shad tails have been my top producer for flounder.
The MirrOlip, a new lipped crank bait from MirrOlure has worked well. At 4 to 5 inches in length, the hard bait works well around the rough mouths ladyfish have. We're able to toss the bait out without sacrificing 6 inches of leader every cast, but are still catching some nice trout. When twitched and allowed to float back to the surface, we're even catching some nice redfish on the plug.
Another new lure I'm throwing is the Money Minnow, a custom hand-carved cedar lure from Dunnellon captain David Jefford (www.lureman.com). The bait suspends or sinks very slowly and has a tight wobbling vibration that reds, snook, and trout have found irresistible.
The small lure with a single treble casts like a bullet and works well when big trout and reds get shallow.
Ray Markham co-hosts "Florida Sportsman Magazine Radio Live," Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. on 820 AM, and can be reached for charter at (941) 723-2655.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
FIshing Holes will be Revealed in Low Water
The Tampa Tribune
Published: December 24, 2008
Winter fishing conditions have been in effect for the past few weeks with lots of wind, some rain and fickle temperatures. It will be hard to plan a fishing trip in advance for the next few months because of regular cold fronts.
Wind is the culprit, and when it blows harder than 15 knots out of the north with extreme low tides, it really limits where you can fish. On the bright side, it's a good time to explore, even if the fishing is slow. Clear water and low tides show you holes that are invisible the rest of the year, and the safest way to look for them is at idle speed. Also be aware that tides can be much lower than forecast, when the wind is out of the north. It pushes water out of the bay, and getting caught inside a sandbar on a cold windy day is no fun.
Another result of extremely low tides is that it puts manatees in harms way. In December and January, I see many manatees just outside the six-foot line between the E.G. Simmons Park boat ramp and Apollo Beach. If you run on plane here, it is advisable to stay 100 yards or so off the poles that mark the manatee zone. I saw several manatees there earlier this month, just outside the poles; so take care. Even if they could read the signs, there is not enough water for manatees inside the zone on spring tides in the winter months.
I was surprised to see several pods of bait on the flats in front of Sand Key last week. The big sardines were in tight clusters but scattered. It's surprising to see bait in shallow water in December.
The sheepshead bite is still on in the Little Manatee River. We've been catching fish by casting live shrimp at the dock pilings around the mouth of the river, and some of the fish have been good-sized. A few flounder, also caught on live shrimp, have also found their way into the frying pan.
Trout season reopens New Year's Day, and there appears to be plenty of big trout on the flats in front of Cockroach Bay. Limit stays the same as it was - four fish between 15 and 20 inches, with one fish over the 20-inch limit allowed. Trout are not particularly sturdy, so handle them with wet hands and use a hook remover to release the fish.
When fishing for a trout dinner, I like to have a cooler half full of ice on board. Trout flesh is delicate and will quickly turn to mush unless it's iced. For the best-eating fish, ice them as soon as they are caught, gut the fish as soon as they're dead and return them to the ice.
My last trip was south of the Little Manatee River, and I caught a single redfish on the flats on a high-falling tide. I couldn't get anything to hit a variety of artificial lures, so I finally put the anchor out and rigged a chunk of frozen ladyfish on a jig. I caught one oversized redfish and a couple of hard head catfish on the cut bait.
Fred Everson is a Ruskin fishing guide. All South Shore fishermen and guides may submit information and photographs to be included in this column by calling (813) 830-8890 or sending an e-mail to ihuntsnook@aol.com.
Published: December 24, 2008
Winter fishing conditions have been in effect for the past few weeks with lots of wind, some rain and fickle temperatures. It will be hard to plan a fishing trip in advance for the next few months because of regular cold fronts.
Wind is the culprit, and when it blows harder than 15 knots out of the north with extreme low tides, it really limits where you can fish. On the bright side, it's a good time to explore, even if the fishing is slow. Clear water and low tides show you holes that are invisible the rest of the year, and the safest way to look for them is at idle speed. Also be aware that tides can be much lower than forecast, when the wind is out of the north. It pushes water out of the bay, and getting caught inside a sandbar on a cold windy day is no fun.
Another result of extremely low tides is that it puts manatees in harms way. In December and January, I see many manatees just outside the six-foot line between the E.G. Simmons Park boat ramp and Apollo Beach. If you run on plane here, it is advisable to stay 100 yards or so off the poles that mark the manatee zone. I saw several manatees there earlier this month, just outside the poles; so take care. Even if they could read the signs, there is not enough water for manatees inside the zone on spring tides in the winter months.
I was surprised to see several pods of bait on the flats in front of Sand Key last week. The big sardines were in tight clusters but scattered. It's surprising to see bait in shallow water in December.
The sheepshead bite is still on in the Little Manatee River. We've been catching fish by casting live shrimp at the dock pilings around the mouth of the river, and some of the fish have been good-sized. A few flounder, also caught on live shrimp, have also found their way into the frying pan.
Trout season reopens New Year's Day, and there appears to be plenty of big trout on the flats in front of Cockroach Bay. Limit stays the same as it was - four fish between 15 and 20 inches, with one fish over the 20-inch limit allowed. Trout are not particularly sturdy, so handle them with wet hands and use a hook remover to release the fish.
When fishing for a trout dinner, I like to have a cooler half full of ice on board. Trout flesh is delicate and will quickly turn to mush unless it's iced. For the best-eating fish, ice them as soon as they are caught, gut the fish as soon as they're dead and return them to the ice.
My last trip was south of the Little Manatee River, and I caught a single redfish on the flats on a high-falling tide. I couldn't get anything to hit a variety of artificial lures, so I finally put the anchor out and rigged a chunk of frozen ladyfish on a jig. I caught one oversized redfish and a couple of hard head catfish on the cut bait.
Fred Everson is a Ruskin fishing guide. All South Shore fishermen and guides may submit information and photographs to be included in this column by calling (813) 830-8890 or sending an e-mail to ihuntsnook@aol.com.
Striper Fishing is Hot in Cold Weather
Chesapeake Sportsman: Striper fishing is hot in cold weather
Courtesy of Joe Evans
Striper fishing is hot in cold weather&bodytext=Striper fishing has become a year-round affair, and you won’t hear any complaints from me. The 2008 fall, and now winter, fishing has been nothing short of spectacular so I hope you got in your fair share of trips."
Striper fishing has become a year-round affair, and you won’t hear any complaints from me. The 2008 fall, and now winter, fishing has been nothing short of spectacular so I hope you got in your fair share of trips.
But to overlook the excellent tidal fishing within an hour’s drive or so would be a big mistake. Even when the winds howl you can always find a quiet stretch of water to wet a line. One of my favorite winter-time quarries is the chain pickerel, an elongated fish with a broad, spatula-like snout and very sharp teeth.
It was roughly around this time last year when Annapolis resident Joe Evans, editor of PropTalk magazine, and I snuck off for a few hours to chase pickerel and yellow perch in the Severn River. We weren’t disappointed.
Chain pickerel are voracious feeders that lurk in shallow cover like grass beds and fallen timer, and then ambush unsuspecting prey. Pike are found in brackish and freshwater creeks, farm ponds and lakes throughout Maryland. Even when the temperature drops like a stone, anglers who brave the elements can expect several good tussles with a hard-fighting, rod bending gamefish that offer and give no quarter. Last season was a banner one for chain pickerel in our part of the Bay.
The Severn River and its many finger tributaries such as Rays Pond, Brewer Creek, and Chase Creek are great pike waters. The pickerel stocks in the Magothy River are also fairly strong. Work the river’s feeder arteries inside Sillery Bay, Cypress Creek, Cattail Creek, and Blackhole Creek, all of which held good numbers of pike last year.
The South River has its own potential gems, like Duvall, Broad and Warehouse creeks. Don’t overlook the Patapsco River tributaries, such as Bodkin Creek, Stoney Creek, and Curtis Creek that can produce reliable catches of pike.
While these above mentioned waters have held good numbers of pickerel, part of the fun of fishing small water is exploring the cuts and inlets that make the Chesapeake so special.
Tactics and tackle
For the most part, the solitary pike is not a picky eater. They will eat killifish, various other minnows, crayfish, and even fish up to half their own size. Both spin and fly gear are ideal for chasing pickerel.
A five- or six-weight fly rod loaded with an intermediate or sink tip line works well. A balanced leader of about 7-8 feet long using 10-pound test is usually sufficient. Remember that pike have sharp teeth, so a shock leader of 15- or 20-pound test at times may be a wise move.
A money fly is a yellow over white Clouser tied on a long shank hook (#1 to 2/0). Years ago expert fly angler Joe Bruce suggested tying these flies heavier than normal. This may be accomplished two ways; option one is to use heavier eyes, and option two is to bulk up the fly’s body with more feathers and/or flash material. Don’t be scared to experiment with variations of proven standards like the Clouser or Deceiver, or create your own pike magnet.
For spin casters, lightweight to medium rods load with 4- or 6-pound test are plenty stout. Again, a shock leader is prudent insurance against the mouth pike. Fish the drop-offs and fallen timber with a spinnerbait, enticing the pike out of the cover to attack your lure.
In addition to spinners from Mepps and Panther Martin, a two-inch, black/chartreuse tube jig on a 1/16-1/8 oz. jig head, attached to a gold #1 jig spinner, is a killer. Fish it slow and steady. Few are the fish that can resist a bull minnow, and pike love live bait. Lip-hook a bull minnow onto a 1/8 to 1/4-ounce leadhead jig (white, black, or purple are good colors) and then retrieve it slowly along the shoreline edges.
As winter sets in the thunderous strikes become more subtle, and patience pays. Pike may mouth the bait for nearly half a minute. Resist the urge to set the hook immediately – all you’ll do is pull the hook from its mouth.
Wait until the pike turns to swim away to set the hook, then set it with a crisp, sharp tug. Winter can offer good, albeit different, fishing from the warmer months but can be just as satisfying. Lastly, take all safety precautions and fish with a friend, there’s comfort in having another angler aboard.
Courtesy of Joe Evans
Striper fishing is hot in cold weather&bodytext=Striper fishing has become a year-round affair, and you won’t hear any complaints from me. The 2008 fall, and now winter, fishing has been nothing short of spectacular so I hope you got in your fair share of trips."
Striper fishing has become a year-round affair, and you won’t hear any complaints from me. The 2008 fall, and now winter, fishing has been nothing short of spectacular so I hope you got in your fair share of trips.
But to overlook the excellent tidal fishing within an hour’s drive or so would be a big mistake. Even when the winds howl you can always find a quiet stretch of water to wet a line. One of my favorite winter-time quarries is the chain pickerel, an elongated fish with a broad, spatula-like snout and very sharp teeth.
It was roughly around this time last year when Annapolis resident Joe Evans, editor of PropTalk magazine, and I snuck off for a few hours to chase pickerel and yellow perch in the Severn River. We weren’t disappointed.
Chain pickerel are voracious feeders that lurk in shallow cover like grass beds and fallen timer, and then ambush unsuspecting prey. Pike are found in brackish and freshwater creeks, farm ponds and lakes throughout Maryland. Even when the temperature drops like a stone, anglers who brave the elements can expect several good tussles with a hard-fighting, rod bending gamefish that offer and give no quarter. Last season was a banner one for chain pickerel in our part of the Bay.
The Severn River and its many finger tributaries such as Rays Pond, Brewer Creek, and Chase Creek are great pike waters. The pickerel stocks in the Magothy River are also fairly strong. Work the river’s feeder arteries inside Sillery Bay, Cypress Creek, Cattail Creek, and Blackhole Creek, all of which held good numbers of pike last year.
The South River has its own potential gems, like Duvall, Broad and Warehouse creeks. Don’t overlook the Patapsco River tributaries, such as Bodkin Creek, Stoney Creek, and Curtis Creek that can produce reliable catches of pike.
While these above mentioned waters have held good numbers of pickerel, part of the fun of fishing small water is exploring the cuts and inlets that make the Chesapeake so special.
Tactics and tackle
For the most part, the solitary pike is not a picky eater. They will eat killifish, various other minnows, crayfish, and even fish up to half their own size. Both spin and fly gear are ideal for chasing pickerel.
A five- or six-weight fly rod loaded with an intermediate or sink tip line works well. A balanced leader of about 7-8 feet long using 10-pound test is usually sufficient. Remember that pike have sharp teeth, so a shock leader of 15- or 20-pound test at times may be a wise move.
A money fly is a yellow over white Clouser tied on a long shank hook (#1 to 2/0). Years ago expert fly angler Joe Bruce suggested tying these flies heavier than normal. This may be accomplished two ways; option one is to use heavier eyes, and option two is to bulk up the fly’s body with more feathers and/or flash material. Don’t be scared to experiment with variations of proven standards like the Clouser or Deceiver, or create your own pike magnet.
For spin casters, lightweight to medium rods load with 4- or 6-pound test are plenty stout. Again, a shock leader is prudent insurance against the mouth pike. Fish the drop-offs and fallen timber with a spinnerbait, enticing the pike out of the cover to attack your lure.
In addition to spinners from Mepps and Panther Martin, a two-inch, black/chartreuse tube jig on a 1/16-1/8 oz. jig head, attached to a gold #1 jig spinner, is a killer. Fish it slow and steady. Few are the fish that can resist a bull minnow, and pike love live bait. Lip-hook a bull minnow onto a 1/8 to 1/4-ounce leadhead jig (white, black, or purple are good colors) and then retrieve it slowly along the shoreline edges.
As winter sets in the thunderous strikes become more subtle, and patience pays. Pike may mouth the bait for nearly half a minute. Resist the urge to set the hook immediately – all you’ll do is pull the hook from its mouth.
Wait until the pike turns to swim away to set the hook, then set it with a crisp, sharp tug. Winter can offer good, albeit different, fishing from the warmer months but can be just as satisfying. Lastly, take all safety precautions and fish with a friend, there’s comfort in having another angler aboard.
Native Trout Protection
UM Research Tackles Native Trout Protection
By Kim Todd, UM University Relations, Guest Writer, 12-24-08
Graduate Student Aubree Benson and a bull trout near a Clearwater River dam. Photo by Jason Blakney.
Editor’s Note: This story was provided courtesy of the University of Montana. It’s based on research being performed by the UM College of Forestry and Conservation.
A 1929 issue of Montana Wild Life, the magazine of the State Fish and Game Commission, included a picture of a bull trout under the caption “The Cannibal of Montana’s Streams.” The photo shows a trout sliced open to display 103 fingerlings that were in its belly when it was caught near the mouth of Rattlesnake Creek. Another article declared bull trout “the enemy of game fish” and described efforts to scoop them out of Flathead Lake to give smaller fish a chance.
Times have changed.
Now the bull trout is listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. In most Montana lakes and streams, anglers are required to carefully release them back into the water. And Lisa Eby, associate professor of aquatic vertebrate ecology in UM’s College of Forestry and Conservation, is looking at ways to help bull trout and other native fish thrive.
Eby said fisheries science has come a long way from its beginnings when hatcheries viewed rivers as empty channels that could hold some ideal assemblage of fish, a view she characterizes as “the Walt Disney World approach.”
“Our perceptions and our values have changed,” Eby said, adding that the new emphasis is on “an appreciation of the native systems and the native trout.” Arctic grayling. Northern pikeminnow. Pallid sturgeon. All have risen in esteem, as have other native species, such as the frogs and toads of Montana showcased in a color poster on Eby’s office door.
Many threats to Montana’s wildlife are large and well-known – climate change, habitat fragmentation, polluted waters. But small changes to the landscape – an earthen dam built for irrigation, a newly closed road, a beaver pond – can have large ramifications, too, and Eby and her graduate students have set out to quantify them.
One study in Eby’s lab looks at effects of small dams. Many of the more than 2,000 small dams in Montana no longer serve their original purpose or are showing their age. Built to last 50 or 100 years, many are reaching the end of their life spans, forcing the state to decide whether to repair or remove them.
Outside Seeley Lake, graduate student Aubree Benson tracks bull trout near two dams on the Clearwater River, a tributary of the Blackfoot. Migratory bull trout are born in creeks and streams, move to lakes where they bulk up, then return to their birthplace to spawn. Benson has radio-tagged bull trout, surgically injecting tiny transmitters that put out unique signals every two seconds. This way she can track individual fish and see whether the dams thwart migration.
Benson also snorkels the river bottom to see if bull trout gather below the dams, and she set up a fish ladder that leads to a tank where she can monitor which fish are trying to get over. The goal of the project, done in collaboration with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, is to determine if the dam has a negative effect on the survival of bull trout populations.
Conventional wisdom said that removing dams helps fish, but Eby suspects that may not always be the case.
Just as attitudes toward bull trout have swung 180 degrees, so have attitudes about non-native fish. Eighty years ago, Montana Wild Life articles described heroic rescues of exotic sunfish from pools that dried up in the summer and schemes to increase numbers of non-native bass and northern pike. In the 21st century, as these newcomers have disrupted ecosystems and battered native trout populations, the question is how to stop their spread.
Some dams have kept northern pike – voracious predators of young trout – downstream. At Hungry Horse Dam near Glacier National Park, the barrier has prevented lake trout (native to the Missouri River but not the Flathead River) from reaching the reservoir.
“It’s one of the places the bull trout are thriving; the cutthroat are thriving,” Eby said. “If your dam is holding back a lot of exotics ... it might not play out that all dams are always bad.”
The study on the Clearwater will outline the trade-offs of taking down the barriers or leaving them in place.
Another of Eby’s graduate students examines different kinds of small-scale dams – those made by beavers. When beavers fell trees and build a dam, they create pools that are warmer and more biologically productive than surrounding, free-flowing waters. Because of this, beavers will sometimes be transplanted to help restore a damaged watershed.
But there is a downside. “A lot of people have noticed that brook trout will move into an area where beavers have established,” Eby said.
Brook trout, native to eastern North America but not Montana, out-compete native westslope cutthroat at lower elevations. Westslope cutthroat are stuck at the top of drainages, where the water is colder and there are fewer insects to eat.
In Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in Southwest Montana, Magnus McCaffrey compares watersheds with beavers to watersheds without. He captures brook trout and cutthroat at the start of the summer, marking them with tags – 8 mm transponders with individual codes. He then recaptures them several months later, scans the tags to determine the identity of the fish, and tallies growth and survival rates.
McCaffrey’s study is designed to see whether beaver dams let brook trout gain a finhold higher in the watershed and if there is anything managers can do about it.
A third project looks at westslope cutthroat in the Jocko River, just north of Arlee. As if westslope cutthroat didn’t have enough problems with brook trout, they also have trouble with rainbows. Before stocking, rainbows and cutthroat only co-existed in a few watersheds in Western Montana and their breeding schedules kept them from mating. But rainbow trout that have been stocked in traditional cutthroat areas interbreed with them and produce fertile offspring.
Right now small dams along the river keep the hybrids from entering some streams. Working with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, graduate student Matthew Corsi mapped the location of hybrids along the Jocko. He’s now comparing hybrids to pure westslope cutthroats, looking at the timing of migration, measuring how large they are as 1-year-olds and counting eggs to measure fecundity.
“Are they less fit? Do they respond differently? It’s an unknown now,” said Eby. Answers to these questions might point to whether hybrids should be kept out or let pass as if they were pure cutthroats. “If you pass fish that look like cutthroats, what is the long-term sustainability versus what are the genetic consequences?” Eby asks.
These studies center on questions raised with increasing frequency in Montana and throughout the West. How do you conserve native species in the face of constant competition for water and the influx of invasive species?
“Everyone in the lab, whether they are working on amphibians or fish, are looking at how landscapes or riverscapes affect fish populations and communities to give us more information to solve some of these contemporary problems,” Eby said.
Wildlife managers are as eager to know the answers as the scientists. As Eby said, “They’re interesting questions not only from a biological point of view, but they’re useful, too.”
By Kim Todd, UM University Relations, Guest Writer, 12-24-08
Graduate Student Aubree Benson and a bull trout near a Clearwater River dam. Photo by Jason Blakney.
Editor’s Note: This story was provided courtesy of the University of Montana. It’s based on research being performed by the UM College of Forestry and Conservation.
A 1929 issue of Montana Wild Life, the magazine of the State Fish and Game Commission, included a picture of a bull trout under the caption “The Cannibal of Montana’s Streams.” The photo shows a trout sliced open to display 103 fingerlings that were in its belly when it was caught near the mouth of Rattlesnake Creek. Another article declared bull trout “the enemy of game fish” and described efforts to scoop them out of Flathead Lake to give smaller fish a chance.
Times have changed.
Now the bull trout is listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. In most Montana lakes and streams, anglers are required to carefully release them back into the water. And Lisa Eby, associate professor of aquatic vertebrate ecology in UM’s College of Forestry and Conservation, is looking at ways to help bull trout and other native fish thrive.
Eby said fisheries science has come a long way from its beginnings when hatcheries viewed rivers as empty channels that could hold some ideal assemblage of fish, a view she characterizes as “the Walt Disney World approach.”
“Our perceptions and our values have changed,” Eby said, adding that the new emphasis is on “an appreciation of the native systems and the native trout.” Arctic grayling. Northern pikeminnow. Pallid sturgeon. All have risen in esteem, as have other native species, such as the frogs and toads of Montana showcased in a color poster on Eby’s office door.
Many threats to Montana’s wildlife are large and well-known – climate change, habitat fragmentation, polluted waters. But small changes to the landscape – an earthen dam built for irrigation, a newly closed road, a beaver pond – can have large ramifications, too, and Eby and her graduate students have set out to quantify them.
One study in Eby’s lab looks at effects of small dams. Many of the more than 2,000 small dams in Montana no longer serve their original purpose or are showing their age. Built to last 50 or 100 years, many are reaching the end of their life spans, forcing the state to decide whether to repair or remove them.
Outside Seeley Lake, graduate student Aubree Benson tracks bull trout near two dams on the Clearwater River, a tributary of the Blackfoot. Migratory bull trout are born in creeks and streams, move to lakes where they bulk up, then return to their birthplace to spawn. Benson has radio-tagged bull trout, surgically injecting tiny transmitters that put out unique signals every two seconds. This way she can track individual fish and see whether the dams thwart migration.
Benson also snorkels the river bottom to see if bull trout gather below the dams, and she set up a fish ladder that leads to a tank where she can monitor which fish are trying to get over. The goal of the project, done in collaboration with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, is to determine if the dam has a negative effect on the survival of bull trout populations.
Conventional wisdom said that removing dams helps fish, but Eby suspects that may not always be the case.
Just as attitudes toward bull trout have swung 180 degrees, so have attitudes about non-native fish. Eighty years ago, Montana Wild Life articles described heroic rescues of exotic sunfish from pools that dried up in the summer and schemes to increase numbers of non-native bass and northern pike. In the 21st century, as these newcomers have disrupted ecosystems and battered native trout populations, the question is how to stop their spread.
Some dams have kept northern pike – voracious predators of young trout – downstream. At Hungry Horse Dam near Glacier National Park, the barrier has prevented lake trout (native to the Missouri River but not the Flathead River) from reaching the reservoir.
“It’s one of the places the bull trout are thriving; the cutthroat are thriving,” Eby said. “If your dam is holding back a lot of exotics ... it might not play out that all dams are always bad.”
The study on the Clearwater will outline the trade-offs of taking down the barriers or leaving them in place.
Another of Eby’s graduate students examines different kinds of small-scale dams – those made by beavers. When beavers fell trees and build a dam, they create pools that are warmer and more biologically productive than surrounding, free-flowing waters. Because of this, beavers will sometimes be transplanted to help restore a damaged watershed.
But there is a downside. “A lot of people have noticed that brook trout will move into an area where beavers have established,” Eby said.
Brook trout, native to eastern North America but not Montana, out-compete native westslope cutthroat at lower elevations. Westslope cutthroat are stuck at the top of drainages, where the water is colder and there are fewer insects to eat.
In Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in Southwest Montana, Magnus McCaffrey compares watersheds with beavers to watersheds without. He captures brook trout and cutthroat at the start of the summer, marking them with tags – 8 mm transponders with individual codes. He then recaptures them several months later, scans the tags to determine the identity of the fish, and tallies growth and survival rates.
McCaffrey’s study is designed to see whether beaver dams let brook trout gain a finhold higher in the watershed and if there is anything managers can do about it.
A third project looks at westslope cutthroat in the Jocko River, just north of Arlee. As if westslope cutthroat didn’t have enough problems with brook trout, they also have trouble with rainbows. Before stocking, rainbows and cutthroat only co-existed in a few watersheds in Western Montana and their breeding schedules kept them from mating. But rainbow trout that have been stocked in traditional cutthroat areas interbreed with them and produce fertile offspring.
Right now small dams along the river keep the hybrids from entering some streams. Working with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, graduate student Matthew Corsi mapped the location of hybrids along the Jocko. He’s now comparing hybrids to pure westslope cutthroats, looking at the timing of migration, measuring how large they are as 1-year-olds and counting eggs to measure fecundity.
“Are they less fit? Do they respond differently? It’s an unknown now,” said Eby. Answers to these questions might point to whether hybrids should be kept out or let pass as if they were pure cutthroats. “If you pass fish that look like cutthroats, what is the long-term sustainability versus what are the genetic consequences?” Eby asks.
These studies center on questions raised with increasing frequency in Montana and throughout the West. How do you conserve native species in the face of constant competition for water and the influx of invasive species?
“Everyone in the lab, whether they are working on amphibians or fish, are looking at how landscapes or riverscapes affect fish populations and communities to give us more information to solve some of these contemporary problems,” Eby said.
Wildlife managers are as eager to know the answers as the scientists. As Eby said, “They’re interesting questions not only from a biological point of view, but they’re useful, too.”
On The Hook
When the water temps here in Southwest Florida head into the frig, your chances of bringing home a big fish narrow to a single species.
Easy answer: It’s grouper! The delectable resident of deep water caves, ledges and rocky bottom that thrills the angler with it’s bullish struggle before succumbing and later gracing the dinner table with mouth watering filets.
Bet you can’t wait to get out there; to go deep with gas prices down, and bring some of those great red and gag grouper to the cleaning table. Well you better make January count because that’s all you going to get this winter!
The bad news is “badder” than last year’s closure of red grouper for one month. This year you can add to that red grouper one month closure (from Feb. 15 to March 15), a gag grouper closure from Feb. 1 to March 31 — that’s two full months with no-take of the grouper species most prevalent here during the winter months.
Hate to do it, but here’s another grenade. The closures will be total (i.e. effective) in both federal and state waters. The independent position of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission on not shadowing the federal rules is over. We have the authorities in lockstep; there’s a good chance that will be the operational posture from now on.
It would be easy to get into the arguments and laments of these actions that are riddled with factors of questionable data, a terribly negative blow in the face of the national economic situation or, the classic grievance, of the allocation between commercial and recreational sectors, but we’re not going there.
Rather, I would like to take the issue of gross closures like these right down to the individual level and demonstrate, up close and personal, how they effect the recreational angler.
It was about this time of year, chilly and right before Christmas, a couple of years back, when I booked a charter for a fellow from the U.K., who was here for the holidays, bored stiff with the wife’s shopping and yearned for a nice filet or two of fresh fish.
Simon was very cordial and low key as we set out on a chilly morning filled with brilliant sunshine. His goals for the trip were quite modest; a morning on the pristine waters; a photo or two of some curious and cooperating dolphin and a nice size fish or two for the evening’s supper.
Easy enough, I thought. Wrong!
We set up early on a traditional sheepshead spot — maybe two of these guys would do the trick. With baits in the water, we experienced “taps and takes” right off the bat. The sheepies were hard at work doing what they do best; nudging and swiping your bait long before you react. I tried everything including having Simon put his baited rod in the rodholder. The sheepshead even did their thing before Simon could wrench the rod out of the holder.
Enough. We went off to try for snapper.
Simon did well on the snapper. He was landing them left and right. All of them were barely bigger than the shrimp we were using. He called them “wee” fish, certainly not what he or I had in mind.
Enough. We went off to try for spotted seatrout.
We worked the pass with tipped jigs and sure enough, Simon latched onto a hefty trout on a drift that gave him quite a struggle as he worked hard in the retrieval.
“Now, that’s more like it” he exclaimed as a 18” keeper trout squirmed on the hook.
“Nice fish, Simon, but the trout season is closed and we’re going to have to put him back,” was my timid response.
“Well I’ve heard that snook is a sizeable fish and great table fare. Can we fish for those” was Simons follow up response. I told Simon it would be my pleasure, but the season was also closed on snook. Even if we landed one, we would have to release.
Simon wasn’t too easy going after that. It took me a while to explain the closure. He listened but wasn’t buying, at all.
“I’m in the travel business and send people here to Southwest Florida all the time” Simon spewed. ”Many of them come to fish and pour lots of dollars into your economy and here you blokes have these fishing absolutes of none of these and none of those and that’s too small and that’s too big. It’s maddening!”
Trying to change the banter and move on I suggested that we move out onto the nearshore reefs for the possibility of a grouper. Simon’s caustic inquiry was anticipated “is the season closed on grouper, too”.
I assured him it wasn’t on the grouper we were after, but there were significant size restrictions.
“Figures, but we might as well go try” was Simon’s dejected response.
We set up on structure and gold hooked a dozen or so pinfish and set major rigs with live bait a turn or two off the bottom. We were catching grouper on just about every drop but, you guessed it, all too small.
Then all of the sudden the rod doubled over and was pushed to breaking. Simon grabbed the rod and the struggle was on. He shouted “this is a major fish. This is it.” Simon pulled up and the fish pulled down, time and time again. Finally after what seemed the longest 15 minutes ever, Simon surfaced his mammoth fish, a goliath grouper.
The boat was much too small for me to find a place to hide. But I knew I had to tell him.
“Simon that’s a goliath grouper, not one of the types we were after and, I’m sorry to say, they are permanently out of season.”
The look on Simon’s face was a show stopper as we released the goliath grouper and tried to go back fishing. But he was done.
We talked on the way home.
“Tell me, Captain, how many of those fish we were after today can one keep” asked Simon.
“You can keep five grouper and four sea trout per person” was the response.
“Well there’s the problem. Five or even four sizeable fish are much too many for any one day’s keep for one person. Most would be satisfied with one or at the most two on such a trip. If your authorities, limited the number taken, they could at least lessen this nonsense of closed seasons.”
Think of this little story, come February and you’re releasing keeper grouper and hoping to come home with a handful of 14” snapper.
Capt. Bill Walsh owns an established Marco Island charter fishing business and holds a current U.S. Coast Guard license. Send comments or questions to dawnpatrolcharters@compuserve.com.
Easy answer: It’s grouper! The delectable resident of deep water caves, ledges and rocky bottom that thrills the angler with it’s bullish struggle before succumbing and later gracing the dinner table with mouth watering filets.
Bet you can’t wait to get out there; to go deep with gas prices down, and bring some of those great red and gag grouper to the cleaning table. Well you better make January count because that’s all you going to get this winter!
The bad news is “badder” than last year’s closure of red grouper for one month. This year you can add to that red grouper one month closure (from Feb. 15 to March 15), a gag grouper closure from Feb. 1 to March 31 — that’s two full months with no-take of the grouper species most prevalent here during the winter months.
Hate to do it, but here’s another grenade. The closures will be total (i.e. effective) in both federal and state waters. The independent position of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission on not shadowing the federal rules is over. We have the authorities in lockstep; there’s a good chance that will be the operational posture from now on.
It would be easy to get into the arguments and laments of these actions that are riddled with factors of questionable data, a terribly negative blow in the face of the national economic situation or, the classic grievance, of the allocation between commercial and recreational sectors, but we’re not going there.
Rather, I would like to take the issue of gross closures like these right down to the individual level and demonstrate, up close and personal, how they effect the recreational angler.
It was about this time of year, chilly and right before Christmas, a couple of years back, when I booked a charter for a fellow from the U.K., who was here for the holidays, bored stiff with the wife’s shopping and yearned for a nice filet or two of fresh fish.
Simon was very cordial and low key as we set out on a chilly morning filled with brilliant sunshine. His goals for the trip were quite modest; a morning on the pristine waters; a photo or two of some curious and cooperating dolphin and a nice size fish or two for the evening’s supper.
Easy enough, I thought. Wrong!
We set up early on a traditional sheepshead spot — maybe two of these guys would do the trick. With baits in the water, we experienced “taps and takes” right off the bat. The sheepies were hard at work doing what they do best; nudging and swiping your bait long before you react. I tried everything including having Simon put his baited rod in the rodholder. The sheepshead even did their thing before Simon could wrench the rod out of the holder.
Enough. We went off to try for snapper.
Simon did well on the snapper. He was landing them left and right. All of them were barely bigger than the shrimp we were using. He called them “wee” fish, certainly not what he or I had in mind.
Enough. We went off to try for spotted seatrout.
We worked the pass with tipped jigs and sure enough, Simon latched onto a hefty trout on a drift that gave him quite a struggle as he worked hard in the retrieval.
“Now, that’s more like it” he exclaimed as a 18” keeper trout squirmed on the hook.
“Nice fish, Simon, but the trout season is closed and we’re going to have to put him back,” was my timid response.
“Well I’ve heard that snook is a sizeable fish and great table fare. Can we fish for those” was Simons follow up response. I told Simon it would be my pleasure, but the season was also closed on snook. Even if we landed one, we would have to release.
Simon wasn’t too easy going after that. It took me a while to explain the closure. He listened but wasn’t buying, at all.
“I’m in the travel business and send people here to Southwest Florida all the time” Simon spewed. ”Many of them come to fish and pour lots of dollars into your economy and here you blokes have these fishing absolutes of none of these and none of those and that’s too small and that’s too big. It’s maddening!”
Trying to change the banter and move on I suggested that we move out onto the nearshore reefs for the possibility of a grouper. Simon’s caustic inquiry was anticipated “is the season closed on grouper, too”.
I assured him it wasn’t on the grouper we were after, but there were significant size restrictions.
“Figures, but we might as well go try” was Simon’s dejected response.
We set up on structure and gold hooked a dozen or so pinfish and set major rigs with live bait a turn or two off the bottom. We were catching grouper on just about every drop but, you guessed it, all too small.
Then all of the sudden the rod doubled over and was pushed to breaking. Simon grabbed the rod and the struggle was on. He shouted “this is a major fish. This is it.” Simon pulled up and the fish pulled down, time and time again. Finally after what seemed the longest 15 minutes ever, Simon surfaced his mammoth fish, a goliath grouper.
The boat was much too small for me to find a place to hide. But I knew I had to tell him.
“Simon that’s a goliath grouper, not one of the types we were after and, I’m sorry to say, they are permanently out of season.”
The look on Simon’s face was a show stopper as we released the goliath grouper and tried to go back fishing. But he was done.
We talked on the way home.
“Tell me, Captain, how many of those fish we were after today can one keep” asked Simon.
“You can keep five grouper and four sea trout per person” was the response.
“Well there’s the problem. Five or even four sizeable fish are much too many for any one day’s keep for one person. Most would be satisfied with one or at the most two on such a trip. If your authorities, limited the number taken, they could at least lessen this nonsense of closed seasons.”
Think of this little story, come February and you’re releasing keeper grouper and hoping to come home with a handful of 14” snapper.
Capt. Bill Walsh owns an established Marco Island charter fishing business and holds a current U.S. Coast Guard license. Send comments or questions to dawnpatrolcharters@compuserve.com.
Trout Season Draws Closer
By FRED EVERSON
Published: December 24, 2008
One more week until the opening day of trout season and I can't wait.
Earlier this week Mike Strickland and I caught a couple of very big trout in front of Sand Key. Mike's fish was 27½ inches and he said it is the biggest trout he's ever caught in Tampa Bay. The last four trout I caught were all over 20 inches, and that's unusual.
They catch a lot of big trout in the Gulf, but our fish are generally smaller. These fish have come a long way back from the devastating outbreak of red tide several years ago. Trout grow fast, and it would appear that we now have more fish and bigger fish than I've seen in 15 years.
The down side is that we caught these trout while fishing for reds. Mike did catch two redfish, but both were short. Thus far I have not seen nearly the number of redfish I did last winter. I've been looking for them on the flats between Apollo Beach and Simmons Park, and they just haven't been there.
Captain Mark Thomas told me he found some fish in the mangrove backcountry of Little Cockroach Bay, but you need an airboat to get in there this time of year because of the extreme low tides.
The water temperature is about 70 degrees in the Gulf, and that means there will be some snook on the flats. We hooked a good snook on cut bait on the flats south of Apollo Beach last week. It ate a chunk of jack crevalle on a jig hook. Snook seem to savor jack crevalle and that's a good thing. It freezes well, and stays firm when thawed out. Redfish also eat it.
I'm seeing plenty of bonnethead sharks on the flats, and these fish are great winter targets. They fight like redfish, and no wire leader is required. I throw free lined live shrimp and strips of frozen squid at them.
For charter information, visit Fred Everson's Web site, tampabayfishingguide.com, or call him at (813) 830-8890.
Published: December 24, 2008
One more week until the opening day of trout season and I can't wait.
Earlier this week Mike Strickland and I caught a couple of very big trout in front of Sand Key. Mike's fish was 27½ inches and he said it is the biggest trout he's ever caught in Tampa Bay. The last four trout I caught were all over 20 inches, and that's unusual.
They catch a lot of big trout in the Gulf, but our fish are generally smaller. These fish have come a long way back from the devastating outbreak of red tide several years ago. Trout grow fast, and it would appear that we now have more fish and bigger fish than I've seen in 15 years.
The down side is that we caught these trout while fishing for reds. Mike did catch two redfish, but both were short. Thus far I have not seen nearly the number of redfish I did last winter. I've been looking for them on the flats between Apollo Beach and Simmons Park, and they just haven't been there.
Captain Mark Thomas told me he found some fish in the mangrove backcountry of Little Cockroach Bay, but you need an airboat to get in there this time of year because of the extreme low tides.
The water temperature is about 70 degrees in the Gulf, and that means there will be some snook on the flats. We hooked a good snook on cut bait on the flats south of Apollo Beach last week. It ate a chunk of jack crevalle on a jig hook. Snook seem to savor jack crevalle and that's a good thing. It freezes well, and stays firm when thawed out. Redfish also eat it.
I'm seeing plenty of bonnethead sharks on the flats, and these fish are great winter targets. They fight like redfish, and no wire leader is required. I throw free lined live shrimp and strips of frozen squid at them.
For charter information, visit Fred Everson's Web site, tampabayfishingguide.com, or call him at (813) 830-8890.
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