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More Fishing and Boating

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• Seaworthy: Start the season right

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August has arrived and weather permitting Southwest Florida anglers should be able to find some decent fishing on most all fishing fronts.

Our inland waters will more than likely have the biggest challenge for success due to the high content of fresh water and debris that will continue to be flushed out from inland areas.

Anglers fishing the inland waters during the high incoming tide through the high falling tide while working their way out to the passes and outer shoreline just might get that added edge for productive fishing.

While the bulk of large spawning tarpon have decreased in their numbers anglers will still be able to find some frisky tarpon from 15 pounds to in excess of 60 pounds.

Our nearshore waters, from the passes out to 50 feet of water will have many of the same species. The ratio of up to 20 grouper caught with only one or two keeper-size grouper caught will not only continue but could get worse. Fishing the nearshore waters during the high incoming tide through the high falling tide could be best, again due to less fresh water in the mix.

It is a good bet some of the larger tarpon will be found lurking around the passes, nearshore fish havens and wrecks. Setting out a free lined live bait such as pinfish, grunt, crab, small ladyfish, large minnows and defined catfish just might get a trophy size tarpon on the hook. The spawning tarpon might be a little under weight for their size.

Our offshore activity at the towers, wrecks and locations with some profile and hard bottom should be productive with the usual list of species including red, black and gag grouper, mangrove, lane and yellowtail snapper, being found near the bottom for the most part. Anglers going deeper and south have a good chance of adding other species of snapper such as mutton, red or just maybe a cubera snapper.

Closer to the surface barracuda, shark a stray kingfish or two, all looking for your live bait but do not rule out fresh cut bait in the event your live bait dies in the bait keeper.

I thought it would be interesting to dig into my archives that date as far back as the 1950s and see what was happening on the waterfront. Here are some of the things happening in years past.

July 18, 1979: Sharon Stier caught a nice five pound snook using a live shrimp near the mangroves. The lager snook were running the passes, outer shoreline, deep holes at the passes and nearshore fish havens.

The fish havens are really hot for snook at night with a clear sky and full moon. You should be prepared to fish it through the night until they come off the bottom driving the bait to the surface. Surface lures and tipped jigs should do the trick. This activity is limited from two to three hours.

Note: It was legal to keep four snook per person during this time so anglers would have extra lures rigged and ready to use. They would cut the line, toss the snook in the box, tie another lure on and repeat the game plan until they had their limit.

This scenario still holds true at the fish havens and should continue through August with the exception snook are protected through August and must be released. Using single a hook on the lures, spoons and tipped jigs is a must.

July 18, 1979: Tex Connor caught a 21 pound snook while night fishing the lights at various docks and also the Marco bridge. Tex had two favorite hobbies, stalking the snook at night and playing golf during the day. The last time I checked an award in his name it was still hanging on the wall of the Marco Island Golf Club house. The funny thing was, Tex did not like to eat fish and released his catches with the exception that every now and then we would find a nice size snook in our ice cooler at Marco River Marina when we opened at 7 a.m. with a note attached to the snook. “Thought you guys would enjoy a fresh seafood dinner, Tex.”

I had the honor of Tex telling me what he did before retirement. He was a public recorder at the Capital in Washington. He had met and got to know several presidents, federal judges, congress and senate members.

At the close of World War II he went on a world wide tour with some of them to assess where they stood in reference to the United States and what they needed to get back on their feet, which took several months. He ended the talk with, “They treated us like royalty every where we went.” I wish I would have recorded that interview.

I will try to have some more reports from the past in the next column.

Don’t forget the Naples Fishing Club meets the third Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the VFW Hall in the Neffs Way strip mall on the corner of State Road 951 and Pine Ridge Road. You may contact Kat NcNabb at 595-3122 or e-mail katmmc@aol.com.

Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve is hosting “Bugging Out” — a lecture presented by naturalist Dennis Giardina. This presentation will focus on an expedition made to the volcanic heart of Guatemala in the fall of 2006 where Giardina and colleagues searched for parasites of the Mexican bromeliad weevil.

I am speechless, so I will save my comments for another time.

Catch you later!

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Red Stier is a bi-weekly contributor to the Marco Island Eagle. Questions or comments may be directed to redstier@aol.com or 172 Trinidad St., Naples, FL 34113.