Ahoy there anglers,
At last ! Now all the other
saltwater anglers will be putting a little back into the resources
after all these years of taking from it and not contributing. What I
am talking about is a saltwater fishing license being required of
shore, dock and bridge anglers. Yes, come August 1st, 2009 they will
also be required to have a license. The only thing that kinda
gets me is that their license will only be $9.00 where a 'boat-fishing
license' is still $17.00 but, at least it's a start.
If the Governor approves this new
law then all of the saltwater anglers of the State of Florida will not
be required to pay for the new National Federal Saltwater Registry
starting January 1, 2010 where all saltwater anglers in the U.S. will
have to "register" just to fish in saltwater. That's
supposed to cost between $15 & $25 each year. Some people are
against a new shore bound license because they say it's just a
new tax.
I've always had the opinion that
if you enjoy the sport of fishing, a license that only costs $17 for
an entire year is well worth it. After all, when you break it down,
that's only $1.42 per month and I know people can take home more than
that worth of fish not even counting the enjoyment they get while
fishing.
Now, I might upset some anglers
with my opinion but look at it this way, with more license fees the
State of Florida can hire more FWC Officers and with more Officers
they can keep a better eye on what's happening with the poaching. The
less poaching going on the better the fisheries are going to be for
all of us. People who take small illegal fish, (undersized) take
oversized fish and take over their bag limit of fish are
poachers. Plain and simple. That is the FWC's definition of poaching. All
responsible anglers who abide by the laws are affected by the
poachers. Smaller fish don't get large enough to even start their
breeding and when people take more than their fair share, (over the
bag limit) of fish they are taking some of YOUR fish, part of your
share. So, let's look at the bright side of this. Our fishery should
be better because of this new requirement.
Some exceptions have been made for
the new license. If an angler is on food stamps, temporary cash
assistance or medicare they will be exempt. Also seniors over 65 and
children under 16 do not have to buy a license. Finally, individuals
fishing with a simple pole with no line retrieving device, (reel) attached
will also be exempt.
Re: Ethanol Waiver
The U.S. boating industry needs your help in PREVENTING THE EPA FROM
ALLOWING AN INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF ETHANOL in gasoline.
Act Now
On March 6, 2009, a new pro-ethanol lobbying organization called
Growth Energy aligned with 54 ethanol manufacturers and formally
requested that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allow an
increase of ethanol blend levels in gasoline to 15 percent (E15). As
is required by law, the EPA on April 21 published a Notice for Comment
in the Federal Register, beginning a 30-day public comment period that
will close May 21, 2009. (This date has been
extended to July 20, 2009,)
Failure to stop momentum at this stage will almost certainly cause all
engine companies and their suppliers to redesign and re-engineer
product lineups at a time when all of us can least afford it.
IMPORTANT FACTS:
Marine engines have not been tested with ethanol blends above E10.
Some marine engines have experienced issues using E10, and additional
problems would certainly be anticipated with higher levels of ethanol
blends.
Let the data tell the story! Tell the EPA to deny the E15 waiver until
adequate testing has been conducted.
TO SEND YOUR COMMENTS TO THE EPA, URGING THEM TO DENY THE E15 WAIVER GO
TO THE FORM AT:
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=SubmitComment&o=09000064809a3684
YOU CAN
IGNORE THE BLOCKS RELATED TO "GOVERNMENT AGENCY" WHEN YOU
FILL OUT THE FORM.
Beat them at their own game. Ethanol Advocates are mobilizing forces
to submit 20,000 favorable comments to the EPA, requesting that the
agency grant a waiver for E15.
There are 18 million boats
currently in operation in the U.S., and none of them has been
designed, certified, or warranted to run on anything above E10, the
current maximum legal blend level. Boaters know that increased
ethanol blends will cause performance problems with their boats and
engines, increase maintenance costs, potentially pose safety risks
and increase air pollution.
And yet, neither the EPA nor any other federal agency has performed
a single test regarding the impacts of E15 on marine engines, fuel
systems or components. Marine engines and fuel systems are not
designed, calibrated or certified to run on anything above 10
percent ethanol. We ask you to support a science-first approach and
urge the EPA to deny the ethanol industry's E15 waiver request until
independent and comprehensive scientific testing is completed on a
full range of marine engines and other products.
Visit the link above to submit your comments to the EPA and to tell
them about the negative impact this will have on your boat engine.
I also want to take a moment to
thank all of the kind people who donated books for my Hooked On
Reading Program for Dinsmore Elementary School. I appreciate you all
being concerned enough to help our kids, our future, become better
readers and more educated. Here are a couple of photos of the book
sale held at the school last month. THANK YOU ALL !!!
CREEKS:
The redfish have been chewing
better and better here lately. We've even been catching some nice
oversized reds in the creeks up to 32' so far. Please be careful with
these fish and revive them as long as it takes for them to survive.
There are some nice 15" to 18" black drum here and there in
the creeks and they seem to bite better after the tide has been coming
in about two hours.
More and more flounder have been
showing up but most of them are still on the small size. A few around
the 16' to 19" are there. You just have to hunt for them. We've
actually been catching the flounder better on live mud minnows so far.
Spotted trout are all over but so
many small ones get to your bait first. I like casting hard lures for
the larger ones as it seems the larger ones like the lures better than
actual bait. My favorite top waters are the Super Spook Jr's in the
Redfish color, the Skitterwalk in the Redfish color and MirrOlure's
Top Pup in the mullet color. Of course I really like the Bomber
Long A's but they aren't top water lures.
JETTIES:
Black drum and a very few
sheepshead are being caught out at the rocks. The black drum are still
around 20" to 28" and man, do they fight. That's why I call
them "jetty grouper". bull redfish are showing back up from
offshore with a vengeance. When you get into them they seem to not
wait to take a bait. They're on it like they're ready to rumble.
I've seen a few cobia at the tip
of the South Jetty on the incoming tides but I personally haven't had
one take a bait from me yet. I just haven't had any live pogies or
Gulp! Ell Baits when I see them. I'll have to keep some on board when
I can get back out there.
I also saw my first tarpon of the
season just inside the South jetty about a week ago. It's getting
time. They should gather more and more at the rocks and then drift
into the creeks in another few weeks.
A few sharks have been bending
rods and now, at this time of the year, I'll be looking for some
real bent rods with the bull sharks that should be here any day
now. You talk about a fight ! I always wonder who's going to tire out
first when one of my customers tie into one of these bruisers.
Whiting are showing up good now
outside of the rocks in the sand.
RIVER:
Black drum are still around in the
river and when you find them you'll also find whiting and sea bass.
Some of the sea bass here lately have been up to 14" in the river
and that's a strong size. Of course there are loads of undersized ones
around too.
Oversized redfish are also in
the river ready to give you a run for your money. Please revive these
big fish so they can give another angler a fun fight.
Some real nice whiting and yellow
mouth trout in the sandier areas of the river. When I mention 'sandier
areas', I'm not talking about rock bottoms or mud bottoms. Some of the
whiting I've seen here lately are a couple of pounds. Whiting and
black drum are being caught from the bridge in Nassau Sound too.
