Spiny Lobster Season Has An Added Bonus This Year

The Spiny Lobster Season opens with a two day recreational sport season July 29th and July 30th, followed by the regular commercial and recreational lobster season that starts August 6th and runs through March 31.

This year the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has given divers an added incentive to remove some invasive lionfish while they're in the water harvesting lobsters.

Divers can take one additional lobster each day during the two day sport season if they first harvest 10 or more lionfish on the same day.

If you plan on catching your own spiny lobster dinner this year, here is what you need to know before you go.

Make sure you check the size.  Measuring devices are required and lobsters must be measured while in the water.

If the length of the carapace is not larger than 3", it must be left in the water.

Harvesting of egg bearing females is prohibited.  This is to protect the next generation and insure your lobster dinners in the future.

Don't take spiny lobsters with any device that can puncture or crush their shells.

To ensure that your friends and family have enough lobsters, stick to the bag limits.

During the two day sport lobster season in Monroe County and Biscayne National Park waters, recreational divers and snorkelers can harvest up to six lobsters per person per day or up to seven lobsters if they take at least 10 lionfish that first day.

In other Florida waters, each person can take up to 12 lobsters per day or 13 if they harvest at least 10 lionfish that same day.

When you are on the water, you may not possess more than the daily bag limit.  When you are OFF the water you may not possess more than the daily bag limit on the first day of the sport season and no more than double the daily bag limit on the second day.

The chart below is an easy to read guide to the two day sport season:

During the August 6th to March 31st regular spiny lobster season, the daily recreational bag and on the water possession limit is 6 lobsters per person.

Night diving during after the sun goes down during the two day sport season is prohibited in Monroe County. 

During the two day sport season all harvesting of lobster is prohibited throughout John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and ALWAYS PROHIBITED in Everglades Nationa Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, Biscayne Bay/Card Sound Spiny Lobster Sanctuary, certain areas of John Pennekamp State Park, and NO TAKE AREAS in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

You must have the proper paperwork with you.  Unless you are exempt from recreational license requirements, you must have a recreational saltwater fishing license and a lobster permit.

Additionally, if you plan to take advantage of the extra lobster bag limit offered in the lionfish incentive program, you must have proof of your lionfish catch before you harvest the extra lobster.

This can be done by simply keeping the ten lionfish in a cooler while on the water, or having a picture of yourself with  the lionfish when you're off the water.

Information on licenses and permits are available here:   MyFWC.com/License

If  you are planning on removing lionfish while you’re out in the water, and plan on using a a spear, be aware of no-spearing zones, and always check with your local law enforcement agency before planning your spearfishing trips.

If you take a photo of your lionfish and lobster catch during the two-day sport  season, post it on Facebook.com/LionfishReefRangers. 

The FWC is giving the first 100 submissions a “Be the Predator” T-shirt and whether you’re one of the first 100 submissions or not, everyone who submits a photo will qualify for a special prize. 

One lucky winner will win a lifetime saltwater fishing license in a drawing held shortly after the sport season.
 
Safety is first.   Divers and even those who just wade in, should stay within 300 feet of a properly displayed divers-down symbol (red with a white diagonal stripe) on a flag or buoy when in open water, and within 100 feet of a properly displayed divers-down flag or buoy if on a river, inlet or navigation channel.   Boat operators must slow down to idle speed if they need to travel within 300 feet of a divers-down flag or buoy in open water, or 100 feet of one on a river, inlet, or navigational channel.

Divers-down flags displayed on vessels must be at least 20 inches by 24 inches, and a stiffener is required to keep the flag unfurled.  

The flag must be displayed from the highest point of the vessel, must be visible from all directions and must be displayed only when divers are in the water.   When divers are out of the water, don’t forget to take it down.   Divers-down symbols towed by sport divers must be at least 12 inches by 12 inches. 

Additional information on divers down flag requirements is available online at MyFWC.com/Boating by clicking on “Boating Regulations.”

Happy Lobstering and Tight Lines.
Till next time.

Haulover Canal Summertime Reds

During the hot summer months, Haulover Canal is your best bet for really big Bull Redfish.

Cayden Bly's caught this big redfish on a shrimp outside of Bairs Cove boat launch.  The big grin on his face indicates that he will probably be fishing the area again.

The "Dog Days" of August are coming up and like the past month or so, the best times for catching are in the early morning hours till about 8:00 am and then again at dusk.

The exception is the deep waters of Haulover Canal where big Redfish, Tarpon, Snook, Black Drum, Mangrove Snapper and Grouper can be caught at almost any time of the day or night.

The video below captures the action and joy of catching, not just fishing.


I might just head out there tomorrow.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Sea Trout Fishing During A Space Launch

Topwater Sea Trout fishing during a space launch is always great fun, especially when you're catching instead of fishing.

After giving my wife's truck an oil change and getting some chores done around the house, I decided to take Elmo and Odie for a spin around Peacocks Pocket Road to see if the fish were biting.

With all of the afternoon thunderstorms running through the area like clockwork, I figured that the water levels in the marsh should have risen and that the sea trout bite should be on.

I have been working out of town in Mobile, Al. and today was the first day I could spend any time with my two beloved canines.

Around 4:.30 pm I loaded up four spinning rods and the dogs and headed out to the marsh.

The Black Point Wildlife  area was closed for some reason but Peacocks Pocket was open for business.  The unimproved road needed mowing and the high grass made it problematic for out of town drivers.

I entered the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge via the eastern entrance to the kayak launch and drove slowly around the entire area.

The air temperature was 95 degrees and there was virtually no wind blowing over the marsh.

I let the A/C on in the truck to keep Elmo and Odie cool as I made several stops to fish.  The water was flat in the marsh and weedy on the Indian River side of the road so I concentrated on fishing the marsh canal.

The first area I stopped at had some activity along the bank and after two casts with a pink and chartreuse paddle tail bait, I hooked up with this nice fat sea trout.

After releasing the fish I managed to hook up with a small ladyfish that nailed a top water Chug Bug smeared with Pro-Cure Inshore Formula.  The little lady jumped all over the place before I landed and released it.  I considered using it for cut bait but I didn't have the foresight to bring along a cooler to keep anything.

As I slowly drove down Peacocks Pocket Road, I stopped several times to toss the Chug Bug at sea trout and redfish that I spotted in the canal and around the small ponds.

I managed to land several more ladyfish and five more sea trout on the Chug Bug before my truck started acting up.  The ABS and engine lights both came on and I almost couldn't restart the truck when it stalled out.

I decided to head for the nearest Chevy dealer but it was close to 7:00 pm and everything was closed so I decided to head for the house.

On the way out of the refuge, I had to stop at two more spots where some huge redfish were foraging in extremely shallow water.  I spooked the first fish by tossing the Chug Bug too close to its nose, but the second fish nailed the top water bait as I very slowly tickled it past it's nose.

The red nailed the bait and was briefly hooked but it managed to pull out the center treble hook from the split ring after a couple of minutes on the line.

Undaunted, I tied on another Chug Bug pattern and continued out of the refuge.  As I was driving past another pond, I spotted two redfish pushing a wake and actually partially coming out of the shallow water.

Despite the condition of the truck, I pulled off the side of the road and gave the new Chug Bug pattern a try.  This time the fish bumped the bait but did not eat it. 

After several casts I decided to see if the truck could make it to the house.

On the way out of the wildlife refuge, I lost  the power steering and brakes.  I could steer but not with the power assist and the brakes were functioning but without power.

I managed to make it home without killing myself and as I washed down the rods I remembered that a space shot was supposed to go up this evening.   

I asked Karen if she would like to see the launch and she agreed if we could take Elmo and Odie along so we got into her truck and headed back to the "swamp".

As we passed some of the spots I fished earlier, I noticed that the redfish were still feeding in the same areas. 

The United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket was set to launch around 8:00 pm and it was almost that time when Karen and the "kids" pulled off the road to watch.

As I opened the door to let the dogs out, the Delta IV took off and I almost missed the shot.  I turned on my smart phone and took the following video at the spot where I hooked the redfish 20 minutes earlier.

As we headed back home, I was hoping the truck wasn't too bad off.  I'd sure like to get another shot at those redfish.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

East Central Florida Mixed Bag

This East Central Florida mixed bag of fish was sent to me by a friend of mine who spends a lot of time on the water, and since I'm working in Mobile, Al. and am unable to provide up to date fishing forecasts, I thought I'd post them for those of you who think "they're not biting".

All the fish below were all caught in our area on live and cut baits by Jason Cooper and his brother during the past week or so.

The Gator Sea Trout to the left was caught off of  Peacocks Pocket Road and measured in at 30 3/4".

It was caught on live bait

The Redfish to the right measured in at 32" and was caught on a cut ladyfish bait  out of Gator Creek in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.














The Goliath Grouper below was caught on the flats in the south end of the Mosquito Lagoon on a cut lady fish bait.

Below is Jake with a 24" Mosquito Lagoon redfish that he caught on a ladyfish bait.

Jason picked up this tripletail on a marker buoy outside of Port Canaveral on a pinfish he was using for bait.  These guys are super great eating...

 He also nailed this nice Snook Snook out of Port Canaveral on a mud minnow while fishing for Mangrove Snapper.  Nice bycatch!

These Sheepshead were all caught under the South Cocoa Beach docks on fiddler crabs.

This nice Redfish was caught near Blackpoint Wildlife Preserve on a live mullet.

Jason's brother (with beard, below) with a nice Redfish caught on a mullet near Blackpoint.

Austin (below)with another nice redfish that was also caught near Blackpoint on a mullet.

Jason with a 54 " Cobia that he caught on the shoals out of Port Canaveral on a live mullet.

And finally, a mixed bag of Flounder, Mangrove Snapper and Tripletail that they caught out of Port Canaveral on live mud minnows.

Jason is obviously a great fisherman that definitely knows how to catch fish. 

After checking out all his pics, I'm ready to drive back home, launch my Maverick and head out of the Port to do some serious fishing.   

I may even start using live baits a little bit more than I already do.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Sea Trout and Red Snapper

 Got this email from one of my readers who likes to go catching; not fishing!

"John,

I fished PP last Saturday too.   I only fished from 18:00 to 20:00.

I did very well on a KEITECH “Easy Shiner” in Silver Flash Minnow color.

These are infused with squid. The fish were trying to swallow them. I think that flavor is a winner.

The trout were all real nice upper slot fish with one up to 24”.

I even caught one on a rubber bass frog buzzing it across a flat I saw some feeding action in. Sweet!

In addition to the trout I landed and released a nice 30” Red on the same swim bait.

I rigged them on 3/0 weighted swim bait hooks with the screw locks to keep them weedless.

The Red really smoked the bait. I saw it’s dorsal pop up under a mangrove bush.

I tossed the bait about a foot in front of it’s nose and let it hit the bottom.

A short pause, one shake and PAPPOW!

When we went up to Port St. Joe, we fished the “Fishing Express” party boat.

Last year we were allowed 2 per day over 16”. Of course were looking for fish over 10#.

We fished him 2 days together during the open season in federal waters and boxed some very nice snapper.

This year the FWC changed the program and limited the number of permits to the captain for Federal Waters.  As result to extend his trips, the captain limited the daily bag to one fish per angler.

With a one fish retention, we released some pretty nice snappers in order to retain fish in the 12 to 14 pound class.

On our first day we used hole squid. Brought our own 5 pound box. We did pretty good.

On our second day we caught some pinfish at the dock and split them up between a couple buckets with bubblers.

I changed the water frequently and they stayed lively until they were gone.

With live pins, I set them up on 3 ounces with a 7/0 Gamakatzu circle hook snelled on 50# fluorocarbon.

The bites were fast on live bait. Mary and I both got spanked by grouper on 50# with our drags cranked down. Just couldn’t stop them before they rocked us up.

What a fun trip. Were considering trying the long range overnight boats out of Johns Pass.

I did that trip about 5 years ago. What a blast!

Hope to see you on the water. Keep your tip up!"

I just love fishing................

Tight Lines.

Patillo Creek Tarpon

Sunday afternoon was looking a lot like Monsoon season in Southeast Asia, but despite the conditions, I decided to give Patillo Creek Tarpon a try.

Patillo Creek during the summer months is a great area to try your luck at juvenile tarpon.  The area is usually not over crowded and this afternoon was no exception.

When I left the house, the air temperature was in the high 80s and there was a slight breeze blowing.

I took my usual array of spinning rods and headed to Shiloh Marsh Road to check out a couple of spots where I've spotted juvenile tarpon in the past.  Unfortunately, this afternoon the water levels were so low that nothing but a few small sea trout were in the area.

Undaunted, I drove into the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and headed toward Patillo Creek.

By the time I got to the area, it was thundering and lightning.  The air temperature had dropped to 79 degrees and the wind was blowing steadily.

I stopped at a couple of culverts and briefly pitched a Chug Bug, a DOA jerkbait, a gold Johnsons Sprite spoon and even a Creme paddletail spoiler shad bait, all with no success.  Apparently the fish just weren't there today.

I decided to try the deep water canal and was pleasantly surprised to find only two other fishermen in the area.  One fellow had pitched a tent like shelter and was sitting on a lounge chair watching a couple of rods.  He apparently didn't care if the fish were biting, just having a good time.

The other fellow had a baited rod out and was pitching a paddletail bait around the opposite bank of the canal.

I gave them a wide berth and parked several yards away from them.

The canal was sheltered from the wind and was relatively calm.  At first I didn't spot any fish but after a few minutes I saw a small school of juvenile tarpon in the 3 foot category meandering around the middle and opposite bank.  .

The fish were sporadically surfacing and rolling, but after an hour of pitching lures to them and around them, nothing was biting.   It would have been a perfect day to bring along my 9 wt fly rod but as usual, I left it home.

When the weather started getting really nasty, I decided to head for home.

On the way I decided to make a quick run around Peacocks Pocket road.

I drove in from the eastern entrance and when I got to the unimproved boat launch I wasn't especially surprised to find no one in the area.

As I drove down "Pocket Road" I spotted several redfish cruising the marsh canal but no sea trout.

I followed one large redfish and made several casts to it, only to spook the fish.  I spotted another fish up the road a bit from the first fish but that red also spooked when I made a misplaced cast.

When the thunder clouds pushed overhead and the lightning began to get really close, I decided to get my butt out of there and head for home.  I'm getting too old to chance a lightning strike.

I left the fish for the birds to gobble up.

Got skunked today but had a good time scouting the area.  Maybe next time I'll catch, instead of fish.

Tight Lines

Topwater Fishing For Sea Trout

Topwater fishing for sea trout is one of my favorite pastimes and this afternoon, even though it was thundering and lightning, I still managed to get out and wet a line around the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I planned to get in more fishing but I had an ear infection and a wound from my cat that I had to attend to at the local walk in clinic.  They took their time but eventually gave me a shot of antibiotic and a prescription that I got filled at the Pharmacy. 

When I finally got to the refuge, it was around 6:30 pm.  There was lightning all over the area and the air temperature was a pleasant 79 degrees,   There was a little breeze but it subsided towards dusk and for the most part, the waters in the refuge were flat.

I thought that because of Independence Day, the area would be crowded with visitor traffic but the grass alongside of Peacocks Pocket Road has grown up a bit and the rain evidently kept a lot of visitors home.

I started out fishing with a jerk bait on a chartreuse hookup jig but quickly changed over to a bass patterned Chug Bug for the rest of the trip.

The water in the marsh was even farther down than the other day and the fish were definitely concentrated in small areas throughout the area.

After slowly driving bast several areas where I normally fish I stopped at a deep hole and started tossing the Chug Bug.  I had a couple of trout bust on the bait but no hookups so I moved on to another spot.

The fish were really spooky this evening and until about 7:30 pm I only had six or seven misses on the bait.

Finally I spotted a redfish coming out of a small pond and made a well placed cast several yards ahead of the fish, waiting for it to get close to the bait.  When I twitched the Chug Bug, the red swirled on the bait but just butted it with it's nose. 

Disappointed that I missed the redfish, I continued working the plug until a slot size sea trout nailed the lure just at the bank.  I landed the fish, took a quick pic with my cell phone, and released it to fight another day.  Sorry for the picture quality.

The fish seemed to break the "hex" and I started catching sea trout at almost every stop.

The water was totally flat and working the bait quickly seemed to be the ticket this evening.  Up to this point I had been fishing the plug slow with a stop and go action.  When I started imitating  a baitfish  running for it's life, the fish keyed up on the bait.

Anyway, for the sake of brevity, I landed five more sea trout in the 15" to 25" category before calling it a day and I missed at least six more trout and another redfish.

The rain had been sporadic but not enough to even begin filling up the marsh as these pics show but enough to get the insects in a feeding frenzy.

I tried some No Natz, but the bugs evidently didn't read the label on the bottle and kept eating on me so I called it quits just as darkness started to settle in around 8:45 pm.

On the way out, I just had to take a pic or two of the beautiful Indian River Sunset.

Till next time, Tight Lines and have a save 4th.