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Alligator Dam
Written By: Jim Plastic |
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I’ve
known about Alligator dam for so long I can’t remember what year I first
wet a line there, but I would have to guess it was around 1962. The damn
is just a little bit south of Safety harbor on the west side of Old
Tampa Bay. When I first discovered it, the landscape was much as it had
been for the last several thousand years, wild and untouched except for
the dam. The dam and road next to it were the only signs of
civilization. The condominiums that would eventually overlook Alligator
Lake weren’t even a glint in some developer’s eye yet, and the namesake
of both the lake and the dam seemed to be everywhere.
.
More
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| | | | | CapMel.com will continue honoring the legacy of Captain Mel Berman. Keep visiting for exciting new articles and updates. | | More fishing reports and articles: | | |
Grouper fishing to reopen in
Atlantic
The recreational and commercial harvest of shallow-water groupers
(including gag, black grouper, red grouper, scamp, red hind, rock hind,
coney, graysby, yellowfin grouper, yellowmouth grouper and tiger
grouper) will reopen on May 1 in all Atlantic Ocean and Monroe
County waters. The harvest of these groupers has been closed since
Jan. 1 to address overfishing of grouper in the AtlanticA 3-fish-per-person aggregate daily recreational bag limit applies for
all groupers in Atlantic and Monroe County waters, and the captain and
crew of for-hire vessels are not allowed to keep any species in the
aggregate grouper bag limit. | |
Bucktail Jigs Make A Comeback
I was a twelve-year-old dock
boy living the dream at a resort in Northern Wisconsin. By day, I'd hang out
with minnows and men who tell fish stories, while earning a little walking
around money for my efforts. It was there one summer that I met Hans, an
unassuming Swede and regular at the resort. Without fail, he'd motor back to the dock after sunset with
walleyes to show. Oftentimes, he was one of several successful anglers returning
to camp. But there were plenty of other times when Hans was the only one who
walked the hallowed path to the fish cleaning house. The "skunked" guys claimed
that the fish simply weren't biting. | |
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Techniques to Reduce Catch/Release Mortality
Fishing effort in Florida has increased dramatically over the past
decade and is forecast to continue as Florida’s resident population
of 14.7 million increases daily by about 1,000 people. More than 40
million tourists visit the state annually, most with coastal
destinations. Fishing is a favorite pastime of Florida’s residents
and visitors, and in 1997, saltwater anglers made about 24 million
fishing trips and caught 141 million marine fishes, 71.5 million of
which were released. Because increased exploitation could negatively
impact Florida fisheries, |
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Good
Line Control
Why do the same people
consistently catch fish with artificial lures and flies?
It can’t be luck. Have you ever shared a boat with a companion who
constantly out fished you, even though you both used the same
equipment? What are some of the variables that you could improve and
move you closer to being one of the ten percent who catch ninety
percent of the fish? Is there any single factor that is more
important than others? Is presentation, the way it appears to the
fish, more important than lure selection? Absolutely! |
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A Giant Of
A Fisherman
A few years back I started
thinking about all the fishing adventures I’ve had in the last few
decades and decided I’d put pen to paper and try my hand at outdoors
writing. I was going to write the Great American Fishing Novel. I
wrote, or more accurately taught myself to type on the computer, for
a couple of years and then my fishing experiences took a whole new
turn. I was fortunate enough to be invited to fish with Cap. Mel.
One trip led to another and another until we became fishing buddies | | Record largemouth bass caught in Japan DANIA BEACH --- After nearly six months of waiting, Japan’s Manabu Kurita is taking his place along side Georgia, USA angler George Perry in the International Game Fish Association’s (IGFA) World Record Games Fishes book as dual holders of the All-Tackle record for largemouth bass each weighing 22 lb 4 oz and caught 77 years apart. Today the IGFA approved Kurita’s application for the fish caught from Japan’s largest lake on July 2, 2009. The 70-year old non-profit fisheries conservation, education and record-keeping body, received Kurita’s application and documentation on Sept. 19, 2009. | | | With spinning reels, put the line on correctly for best results There's no shortage of reasons to keep a few spinning reels in the boat. Perhaps you haven't yet mastered a baitcasting reel or maybe the fishing conditions require you to downsize your bait selection to try to finesse a bite. Either way, despite the ease of use on a spinning reel, there are some common problems that even the most experienced anglers encounter when using them. Some of these problems can be lessened - if not avoided all together - by properly spooling line onto the reel. | | Acid oceans: the 'evil twin' of climate change Far from Copenhagen's turbulent climate talks, the sea lions, harbor seals and sea otters reposing along the shoreline and kelp forests of this protected marine area stand to gain from any global deal to cut greenhouse gases. These foragers of the sanctuary's frigid waters, flipping in and out of sight of California's coastal kayakers, may not seem like obvious beneficiaries of a climate treaty crafted in the Danish capital. But reducing carbon emissions worldwide also would help mend a lesser-known environmental problem: ocean acidification. | | | FWC makes bonefish a sportfish - Adds more shark protections The FWC voted last month to elevate public awareness of the importance of Florida bonefish by declaring it a saltwater game fish. "Bonefish are one of the major reasons Florida is 'The Fishing Capital of the World,'" said FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto. "We took this action today to emphasize how important the bonefish fishery is to Florida anglers, visitors and South Florida's recreational fishing industry." It is illegal to commercially harvest and sell bonefish in Florida, and sport anglers are allowed to keep only one bonefish 18 inches in fork length or greater per day. | | Anglers keep plugging for lost friend : After two weeks of bitter cold, the sun finally broke through the clouds and warmed the water enough that the fish would bite. "It seems like this happens every year," said Al Autenrieth, for whom the month of January holds special meaning. "Whenever the Johnny Kellar Tournament rolls around, you know it is going to be cold." In 1990, Autenrieth and fellow members of the Old Salt Fishing Club took a little boy fishing. The 9-year-old hemophiliac, who had tested positive for HIV after a receiving blood transfusion, was having a hard time fitting in. "He felt alone and isolated," his mother Margie Kellar recalled. " | | | EPA delays decision on more ethanol in gas: Is it just about cars? More ethanol in the nation's gasoline supply? Not just yet, said the Environmental Protection Agency when it announced it will delay making a decision on a waiver requested by the pro-ethanol lobbying group Growth Energy to increase the amount of ethanol in gas beyond the current 10% level. However, the country's largest recreational boating organization says it remains concerned that the EPA said that it will review initial findings on testing of mid-level ethanol blends... | | Big catch a big problem for Marco man charged with illegal snook netting A big catch has a Marco Island man in big trouble. Authorities say they caught 56-year-old Leslie Roy Morse poaching protected snook Tuesday afternoon off a dock near the Stevens Landing condominium complex. Snook are struggling to survive in the unusually cold weather and many have been stunned by it, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Capt. Jayson Horadam said. "They’re very vulnerable right now," Horadam said. "They don’t do cold very well at all. ... | | | | | |
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