On This Page:

• Hookin' a Whoppin' Wahoo

• Town of Palm Beach Welcomes New Golf Course Manager

• Century Village Sunfish Sailors

• Boynton Beach Fishing Club

~Teach the Kids to Fish Day~

~Great American Cleanup, April 17, 2010~

• Golden Lakes Ph. B Couple Fish the Panama Canal

• CenWest Fishing Club News, 2011-2012 Season

~Meeting December 7, 2011~

• Gone Fishin' by Manny Luftglass, July 28, 2010

Last Updated 01/20/2012

Senzamici Hooked 'im a 

Whoppin' Wahoo

On Sept. 29th my fishing club, The Boynton Beach Fishing Club, had a tournament which I joined and am happy to report that I came in with first prize with a 9 pound Wahoo. I received a nice big trophy and a cash prize and I was quite surprised because there are some excellent fisherman in the club and I didn’t think I had a chance.

Tony Senamici, Cresthaven Dudley, with the Wahoo he caught.

(8-10-11)

I finally got out to do some fishing last week and had some very good luck. I hooked a nice 53 inch Wahoo about 55 lbs., see photo. It was the hardiest, fightingest fish I ever caught. I thought I hooked on to a Volkswagon. It took me 40 minutes just to get him alongside the boat to land him. For a while, I felt like Hemmingway’s "Old Man and the Sea." Naturally, I was as exhausted as the fish, so I was home by 1:30 and slept until 5 pm. By the way, it tasted great. Also, I am forbidden by the wife to bring in a fish that big into this house again (what a mess). She cleaned for 2 hours.

Town of Palm Beach Welcomes New Manager at the Palm Beach Par 3 Golf Course

Photo by Jimmy Shirley

Tony Chateauvert officially came on board with The Town of Palm Beach as the new PGA certified golf course manager at the Palm Beach Par 3 on February 22, 2011.

Tony comes with a long history in the golf business. A 27 year member of the PGA of America, Tony’s career has included being head Golf professional at Bedford Golf and Tennis Club in New York for 17 years, Director of Instruction at The Inverness Club, outside of Chicago, consultant to PGA Magazine and most recently golf professional at The Yacht and Country Club of Stuart, FL. Tony and his wife live in Juno Beach and their 2 children Henry and Sophie attend the Dreyfoos School of the Arts. Come meet Tony and mention this article for a free swing tip!

Palm Beach Par 3 was first designed by renowned golf architect Dick Wilson in 1961. The Phipps family owned the course until selling it to the Town of Palm Beach in 1973 for $5 million. It is world famous and has hosted celebrities, royalty, Presidents and hosted The LPGA for many years. In 2009, Raymond Floyd was attracted to enhancing the golf course and attracted many of his friends to help renovate the gem of a golf course. Today the project is completed and has had rave reviews. In 2010 Golf Digest voted it the #1 par 3 in the Country!

Now it has the #1 PGA certified manager!

Sunfish Sailors of Century Village

By Dot Loewenstein

Century Village's Sunfish Sailboats

Photos by Dot Loewenstein

(5-18-11)

One Sunday afternoon in the middle of April, we heard lovely music wafting across our clubhouse parking lot, so of course, we walked over to Duck Island to satisfy our curiosity. The music was provided by Tommy & Dolores Caruso of "Solid Gold Revue" for the benefit of the Sail Club who had received trophies that same day. Pictured above, l-r: Ray Mullen, James Roszko, Bill Kallma, Joe Llano, Frank Monider, Ron Helm, and Kathy & Dave Forness.

Helga Lieb at the sailing dock. 

Unlike most lakes, Lake Century is not just a round circle. It has several "doglegs" adding to its beauty and offering a varying view.

Our Sunfish Sailboats are fun and sporty, wildlife is plentiful, and sailing is well and active during the summer months. The lake water is warmer now, and many residents prefer sailing during this time, especially the ladies. On an average, summer days will find five or more sailors out there. New students sign up frequently so they can participate also. Ladies please note: most are men - this is a fine opportunity to make new friendships.

Operated by WPRF (West Palm Recreation Facilities), we have a sailing instructor/attendant on staff at the boat dock five days a week. The hours are: Tue-Fri from 11-5 and Sat from 9-1. It is not required that sailors be members of the Sailing Club, but each must have a Certification Card and Century Village (West Palm) ID card. At times other than when an attendant is present, we have a Buddy System in effect, where two unit owners who are both certified sailors can get a key from the ticket office for access to the Sunfish sailboats.

During Season, attendance increases, the Sailing Club holds races competing WP with other CV locations, and cheerleaders provide encouragement. Joining the Sailing Club is optional, but if a sailor wants to be included in the races, he/she must be a member of the Sailing Club. Even watching from the sidelines can be most enjoyable as well as relaxing. 

Petanque at Century Village

Story & Photos by Dot Loewenstein

A few weeks ago, while strolling around the Village, we were warmly welcomed by a group of men and women. Upon arrival, I noticed one gent on his knees, brushing sand off the boules*, and then tossing them behind him in two different directions. This, I learned, was how to determine the two teams, A and B. In other words, teams are determined by random choice. Observing the actual play, it was quite obvious that there is a strong resemblance to bocce, and a slight resemblance to bowling. In my younger days, I was once thrilled to achieve the 4-7, 6-10 split known as Double Pinochle. But as I got older, the bowling ball got heavier, and my knees didn’t really want to cooperate with bending. Thus, my interest in Petanque. Those who are computer happy can Google this and learn more, but my space here is limited. Bending is difficult for someone using a cane, (see photo) and these boules*, average 1½ pounds. Each player provides his own and, like bowling, can use different weights. Ramon Marquis was kind enough to tell me the average weight in grams: 680 to 1000. Studying the players and the game, I came to the conclusion that anyone would be quite comfortable joining this group. For information, call 684-1487.

*steel balls used in the game of petanque

Two men compare the proximity of different *steel balls to the cochonnet (pig) in order to 

award points.

Jerry Karpf picks up his boules*, 

with a magnet.

Boynton Beach Fishing Club 

Teach the Kids to Fish Day

Great American Cleanup

Munyon Island

CenWest Fishing Club Members aboard the Lady K

CenWest Fishing Club 

new Condo News columnists

Alice and Al Roth. 

2011-2012 Season

Hi Everyone: Happy New Year! We had our first meeting of the new year at the Clubhouse on January 4th. I would like to welcome all of our new members which together with our old members resulted in about 35 people in attendance. Since we are in agreement when it comes to having fun and catching fish the new year should be a great success.

Elections were held and it was determined that the same board would continue into the coming year. We also made plans for having another breakfast this month on January 20th, at 9:30. A club dinner at a local restaurant, a picnic on Duck Island, and hopefully a dinner cruise on the Jungle Queen out of Fort Lauderdale.

Our V.P., Captain Mike and club member Dennis O’Brien demonstrated the making of the Palomar knot, which done correctly is a speedy way of tying a hook to a line. This knot is also used for braided fishing line. Also demonstrated was a 3 hook rig with a yellow tail for party boat fishing.

Last week several of our members went fishing on the new drift boat out of Hypoluxo. The boat is brand new and is a very comfortable boat for the fishermen. Although we all managed to catch fish, none of our catch was heavy enough to win the pool. However, the fish we did catch made for excellent dinners for several nights.

This coming week on the 11th of January, we have another boat trip planned. Because a number of us have already signed up we should have a much better chance of catching the big one.

I would also like to report that our club member Lou Maldonado caught his first sail fish of the year with a friend of his while fishing out of Stewart.

Until next time stay well. New members are always welcome.

Hi Everyone: Please remember that our next meeting will be at the Clubhouse on Wednesday January 4th, 2012 at 3:00 pm. It is important that we all attend so that we can discuss and finalize all our plans for 2012. We will also be collecting dues for the New Year.

The buffet breakfast on 12/16 went very well. We had 11 members attend and everyone enjoyed the morning feast. I know that we will have a larger turnout in January as there will be more of us who have returned to our winter campgrounds.

The unusual blast of very high winds has put our saltwater fishing on hold for a while. Although we hear that the fish are biting, most of our members would rather wait until the seas subside and we can enjoy our boating experience a little more.

One afternoon I met up with one of our newest members, Harry Goodfield to try our luck at lake fishing here in Century Village. Harry had not caught any bass here although he had tried several times, always without any luck. I showed Harry the setup that works best for me and together we caught and released 6 bass in about an hour and a half. Harry can no longer say that there are no bass here in Century Village.

Have a Happy and Healthy New Year!

We had our first meeting on 12/7/11 at the clubhouse. Although not everyone has returned as yet. We still managed about 30 members and new members at our first meeting. Our executive board will remain the same for the next month, but we will be having elections in January for a new leadership group. To start our new year off, we will be meeting at a Royal Palm Beach restaurant on December 16th at 9:30am for their breakfast buffet.

We also decided that our fishing days will remain on Wednesdays, where we will be lake fishing, party boat fishing (2 times a month), and pier fishing. Herb Wilk will gather information about two new open boats which have started sailing in our area. When we actually start this schedule all the information will be e-mailed to our members. Other activities also include a cruise, a BBQ on Duck Island, and a dinner buffet at Bellante’s.

Our meeting concluded with a terminal knot tying demonstration by our VP Mike Laden. Captain Mike has developed a type of knot that far exceeds the strength of any known knot used for tying on hooks or lures to the business end of your fishing line. Used correctly this knot will result with a far less chance of a fish breaking off before capture.

We also decided that the mission of our fishing club should be information sharing, catching fish and having as much fun as possible for our members.

Any new members will always be welcome.

For information call - Al 242-0351.

Welcome back snowbirds... 

We hope every-one had a healthy and enjoyable summer and are anxiously awaiting our 2011- 2012 season to begin.

Our VP Captain Mike has reported that fishing for Bluefish, Mackerel, and large Jacks has been excellent at the Boynton Beach Inlet and surf.

The Cenwest Fishing Club of Century Village will be holding their first meeting on Wednesday, December 7th, 3pm, room B at the Clubhouse.

It is important for all to attend so that we can discuss elections for new officers and plans for the upcoming and, hopefully, fun filled season.

New members are always welcome. Looking forward to seeing you on December 7th.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

For more information call - Al 242-0351.

VP Mike Laden conducting wire twisting demo

Members participating in the wire twisting demo

(5-18-11)

We had our last meeting of the season on May 4th which again proved to be educational and very interesting for those of us who attended. Again our VP, Mike Laden gave us a hands on demo on how to catch large fish before they could break off before being boated. We were all able to partake in this hands on demo of twisting wire to the eye of a hook. The purpose of the wire is to prevent fish with big teeth from biting through our lines before you are able to boat them.

On April 20th our members met at Duck Island for an afternoon of lake fishing. Although the weather was great we were only able to land and release 6 bass in two hours. On April 27th we again met at Juno Pier. We spent the morning fishing, followed by a day on the beach where we enjoyed the warm Florida surf. On April 29th, we had our last Golden Coral breakfast buffet for the season. We had 10 people attend and for all of us it was a wonderful morning.

Our fishing club had a very successful season and hopefully our success will continue through the coming year.

We wish all of you a healthy and happy summer and hope to see you all next season.

For the members who are here in the summer if you want to party boat fish or lake fish in the evenings, you can always call me at 242-0351.

At the Lady K - l-r: Francine DiGiacomo, Victor Kane, Al Roth, Walter Leitch, Margaret Williams,

Anthony Stefanic.

Photo by Alice Roth

May 4, 2011

Our club meeting on April 6th was very successful. We had a very large turnout and everyone who attended was very interested in all the activities which we planned for the coming month. Activities during the month of April included:

4/20 Lake fishing at Duck Island. 4/27 Juno Pier with suit for swimming after fishing. 4/29 Golden Corral - Breakfast buffet.

Included in our April meeting was a swap and shop and some of our members were able to sell and buy items related to fishing. Again our VP Captain Mike gave us a very interesting and informative demo on the importance of using wire and large metal jigs when fishing for large toothy critters such as king fish and wahoo. Everyone was really impressed by Mike’s knowledge and we tried our best to twist metal wire on to the large jigs that Mike passed around. Again I would like to remind everyone that in order to learn fishing techniques and take part in making plans for the upcoming weeks activities you have to attend the once a month meetings.

On April 13th, six club members fished the 8:00 am trip on the Lady K out of Lantana. The weather was perfect and the seas were very calm. Although the fish were not exactly jumping into the boat, we did manage to catch about 20 or so keeper fish which were brought home after being filleted by the talented mates of the Lady K. Our club members all had a terrific time and I know that if it were possible they would not hesitate to party boat fish several times a week. As the saying goes even a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work.

For any additional information call: Al at 242-0351

Club member Lou Maldonado with a recently caught and released sailfish.

Photo by Al Roth

(4-6-11)

The month of March has ended with a very low count of fish caught by our members. Although we did our best with our combined years of fishing experience, we did not do well when it came to actually catching fish.

On March 23rd, we had 10 members meet at the Juno Pier for a morning of fishing. Although we tried very hard, we did not catch any fish. However, it was a gorgeous day and we were able to go swimming, collect shells and have lunch with our wives on the beach.

On March 25th, 22 of us met at the Golden Corral for our monthly buffet breakfast. The selection of food was as good as usual and again, because the turnout was so large, we all had a great time being together.

On March 30th, we attempted to go on the Lady K for a morning of drift fishing. As luck would have it, the weather was really against us as the wind was blowing at more than 18 knots. Although several of the members braved the elements to go on the boat, the rest of us decided to go home and wait for another day when the winds would be a lot calmer.

Our Wednesday, April 6th meeting included a Swap and Shop. More about that in the next issue

L-R: Frank Mongiello, 

Al Roth, Syd Schnyder

(3-23-11)

We have not had a lot of luck fishing, but for those of us who tried, we did have fun.

On March 9th, our trip to Loxahatchee Preserve resulted in our catching several small fish. Although the fishing was not very productive we still had a fun time in this very pretty setting. We saw many alligators and one in particular (we called him Harry) stayed with us the entire time we were fishing.

We also visited the Everglades museum and learned about the many forms of wildlife that live in the Everglades. While there we also enjoyed a simulator ride in an airboat which takes you through the Everglades with narration by a Park Ranger.

March 16th, we tried our luck at lake fishing in Century Village. About 10 of us participated in the event but as luck would have it, we only landed about 4 fish that afternoon.

Hopefully, our future planned salt water events will result in larger catches of fish for everyone.

For any further information call - Al -242-0351.

Club member Syd Schnyder shows off a nice bass caught on 2/23 while lake fishing at CV.

Photo by Al Roth

(3-9-11)

We started off the month of March with a very good club meeting at the clubhouse. Besides planning our activities for the coming month, our vice president Mike Laden gave us a very informative demo about knot tying our fishing line to the terminal end of our fishing tackle. We also learned how to adjust the drag on our reels so that while we were fighting a fish our line would not break and we would be able to bring in any large size fish we would be lucky enough to hook.

For the past two weeks fishing in the ocean has not been very productive. This news has been reported by some our our members as well as their friends who are very knowledgeable about offshore fishing. However, lake fishing in our Village has been phenomenal. The bass have been almost jumping on to our hooks. Catches of 10-20 bass in several hours of fishing are not uncommon.

Future planned activities are: 3/9 Fishing at Loxahatchee Preserve; 3/16 Lake fishing - 2:00 pm meet at Duck Island; 3/23 Party Boat fishing in the am to be announced; 3/25 Breakfast at Golden Coral 9:30 am; 3/30 Pier fishing Juno Pier, meet at pier 9:30 am.

All of our past activities have resulted in good times and a lot of fun for all who attended. We hope that this trend continues into the future, and makes our time together more enjoyable.

(2-23-11)

The month of February has gotten off to a very good start. Our planned activities were very enjoyable for those who attended and everyone was happy to be in the company of other members who were equally enjoying themselves at these functions. On the morning of February 9th a bunch of us met at Juno pier. The weather was perfect, and one our members, Syd Schnyder, was able to catch 7 fish. This was a great feat and we will make sure to try it again. On February 10th several of us went fishing on the Blue Heron fishing boat and limited out on our catch of King Mackerel. This trip was a little unusual as were in the presence of huge sharks which attacked the fish that we were trying to reel in. When a shark attacked the fish it was like trying to hold on to a freight train with your fishing rod. On February 11th about 14 of us met at the Golden Coral for breakfast. Again the company was perfect and conversations were almost as if we had known each other for years. Although it rained on the morning of the 12th, our BBQ on Duck Island went off without a hitch in the afternoon. More than 50 of our members and their spouses attended this fun outing. Although many of us played a part in this event we would like to give special thanks to Frank Mongiello, our BBQ chef extraordenaire, and his wife Pat, who helped Alice with the setups and made sure that the platters were always full. Of course we cannot help but mention the extra efforts of Bonnye and Mike Laden, Denise Turcotte, and Lou Maldonado. On February 16th, we again went out on the Blue Heron and, although the action was much slower, we did manage to bring home some very nice fish. No matter how you look at it, the fun and companionship was greatly enjoyed by all. (See photos below)

Future planned activities are: 2/23 Lake fishing 3pm meet at Duck Island; 3/3 Dinner at Bellantes - 4:45 pm.

Our next meeting is 3/2 at 3pm Room B at the Clubhouse where we will discuss future activities. Hope to see you there. Have fun and stay well. Al and Alice - 242-0351. 

Photos by Alice & Al Roth

Peter Amato, Al Roth, Jim Lubecki, Lou Maldonado, Bill Sawyer, 

Georg Sukkar

Francine DiGiacomo, 

Bonnye Laden, Al Roth,

Mike Laden, 

Frank and Pat Mongiello

Club members Lou Maldonado and Russ Lowe with the pool winning Bonita on Feb 3rd on the Blue Heron fishing boat.

Photo by Alice & Al Roth

((2-9-11)

We had our monthly fishing meeting on 2/2 at the clubhouse. We would like to extend our warm welcome to all our new members. Our meeting resulted in the following planned activities for the month of February: February 9th - Fishing at Juno Pier; February 11th - Breakfast at the Golden Coral; February 12th - BBQ at Duck Island for paid up members and their spouses or significant others. Don’t forget your rods & reels; February 16th - Party boat fishing on a am trip; February 23rd - Lake fishing at CV - pm.

I hope our members will all enjoy the good times planned by our club. In the meantime stay healthy so that we can all have fun together. Any questions call Al - 242-0351.

(1-26-11)

On January 12th, six of our members braved the real cold and windy weather and went to the Juno Pier. Unfortunately no fish were caught.

We did not have to brave the real cold and windy weather on January 14th, when 14 of our members met at the Golden Coral for a buffet breakfast. A grand time was had by all. The company and the food made for a very enjoyable morning. (see photo above)

We had a nice attendance on Wednesday, January 19th on Duck Island. A total of 6 bass were caught which included one 5 pounder and one four pounder. Everyone who was there had a fun time under a beautiful blue sky. Again the company was great which led to a very nice and enjoyable afternoon.

We are having a BBQ on Duck Island on Saturday, February 12th from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm for the paid up members of our fishing club. Of course, this includes spouses and significant others. And don’t forget your rod and reel. During this time we will be accepting new members.

As a reminder our next meeting will be Wednesday, February 2nd, classroom B at 3:00 pm. Hope to see you all there so that we can discuss exciting activities for the following month. Any questions call Al - 242-0351.

At the Golden Coral

Clockwise from left: 

Anthony Stefanic, 

Linda & Syd Schnyder,

Walt & Marlene Leitch,Peter & Cecilia Amato, Denis O’Brien, 

Alice & Al Roth, Cye Cynamon,

Margaret Williams.

(1-12-11)

We had our first meeting on 1/5/11 at the Clubhouse. We elected Al Roth, Pres., Mike Laden, VP, Alice Roth, Secy, and Phyllis Frishberg, Treas.

The meeting proved to be very successful and we made the following plans for January: • Wed, 1/12, 9:30am, pier fishing - Juno Beach • Friday, 1/14, 9:30am, Breakfast - Golden Coral • Wed., 1/19, 2-5 pm, Lake fishing in Century Village - meet at parking lot by Duck Island.

We also created a list for Members Only to enjoy a days fishing with our VP Mike on his private boat. We are sure that these fishing excursions with Captain Mike will result in a lot of fun and large catches of fish for everyone.

We decided that the mission of the club should result in information sharing, catching fish and having as much fun as possible for our members.

Any new members will always be welcome.

For info call: Al at 242-0351.

January 11, 2012

Welcome, Snowbirds! By now, most of the three month flyers have landed. Of course Karen and I got here two months earlier to test the waters and of course, save for those few cold night last week, here’s hoping that things will be warm for the rest of the season.

I fished five times since we last met and got a mess of fish each time. But first, from a newly arrived "bird," Art Dolgan of the Newark Bait & Fly Casting Club, a report about his trip on the 5th on the Island Time out of Hypoluxo. Art fished with his son Phil and they had a ball beating up on the blue runner population. They also caught a few porgies and other critters. Next report from him should come from a trip they are taking to the Keys.

Locally, in my five trips, the least I got was a dozen fish on the 6th when the wind was so light that the Lady K bobbed around in a very poor drift most of the afternoon. However, a mess of short cobia were caught along the rail and a customer nailed the pool with a 15 pound "cobe." My biggest fish that afternoon was a 10-lb. bonito. I also had two porgies and a nice trigger.

My first of five was on the 27th, also on the Lady K when I boated 41 fish. Wow! Ten were triggers, two were porgies and I had four snappers among that tally. Then on the 29th I fished in the rear of the Helen S VI from Pompano and got me my first pool of the year with a 4-lb. trigger among my three triggers, two yellowtail snappers and a short African pompano. Weirdly, my leaders were cut off five times that afternoon. There were some unusually shiney blowfish biting along with triggers and maybe that’s what chopped me off.

Two days later, on the Fish City Pride from Pompano I had 28 fish and five were porgies and with them were a dozen snappers. In my other trip, on the Helen S, I had 23 fish in all with a big file fish that Karen and I ate for dinner the next night. I also had six snappers, one trigger, a porgy and a just-too-small hog snapper, the tastiest of all critters in the sea, doggonit.

To repeat from prior reports, most of my fish have been caught on size 1/0 or 2/0 snelled Mustad model #9175 hooks baited with small strip of squid/sardine sandwiches, held at bottom by a four-ounce sinker. This can only be accomplished if you are fishing in the point of the bow or corner of the stern and manage to avoid tangling your neighbors with that rig. But, boy, does it work or what? (Yes!)

See ya’ next time.

Scuze me, gone fishin’.

"GREEN GRASS SYNDROME"

I write at least one column each year with the heading, "Green Grass Syndrome" and here is one that tops ‘em all.

Last time out I promised a column about a trip I expected to make out of Galveston, Texas on the 23rd. Well, not so much! The boats that sail out of Galveston want a far larger group of anglers to board before they will make a trip. Hereabouts, the Lady K from Lantana, the Island Time out of Hypoluxo and the two boats out of Pompano Beach (Helen S VI and Fish City Pride) require far less for sure to justify sailing. I wanted to take a twelve hour trip from Galveston and that boat only had one single angler wanting to go out (ME!). The other boat owned by the Galveston Party Boat Company also makes a four hour trip and 15 of us were ready to go. But they need thirty so, again, it was no saltwater fishing for me this trip. Oh well, fishing out of our local ports has been so good that I cannot complain at all!

Two weeks ago, I had what could be called a "Grand Slam" over three trips. On the 12th, I caught a 35 inch "keeper" sized cobia and 21 other fish on the Lady K while using a very light bait-casting outfit and 20 pound test mono. Two days later, on the Island Time, I got me two dolphin and 16 more fish. To complete the grand slam, I sailed on the Fish City Pride on the 16th and boated four king mackerel and a cero mackerel (plus 24 other critters). So, cobia, dolphin, and kings, in three consecutive trips, ‘taint bad at all, specially for someone who usually only fishes with a "guppy rig" for small fish. Therefore, the caption, Green Grass Syndrome truly works.

The following three trips were also quite productive for me. On the 17th I got eleven fish including a brilliantly colored blue parrot fish, maybe 5-6 pounds. I never saw a fish prettier and chances are won’t see another nicer ever. The day before, among the king-day catch, was a gorgeous bright yellow hog fish. 39 fish made it to my score card on the 19th including five snappers that went home along with two yummy file fish, six porgies and four trigger fish. Lastly, on the 21st, I couldn’t escape the ferocious appetite displayed by a bazillion blue runners. Best guess is that I boated at least 25 of them. One is fun, but 25+? Not so much. In addition, I boated twenty-six more fish. Three were snappers, six were porgies, one was a 3-pound Queen trigger that had to be released. Add 9 grey triggers and a batch of other critters and for sure, that clearly beat not even sailing out of Galveston, right?

Hey, here’s wishing you and yours the healthiest and happiest of New Years and maybe some good fishing along the way.

Scuze me, gone fishin’.

OCEAN ACTION CONTINUES

This column usually talks about local ocean fishing action, of course, but most of it will involve a few incidents that took place at sea on Friday, 12/9, and since I was on the boat that day, who else could give you an accurate report, huh?

The day began on the Lady K out of Lantana with a nice catch of top-feeding fish. I got to the dock intending to sail on her 1 to 5 p. m. trip and saw the day’s haul unloaded. A few bottom dwellers were in the take but most of the fish caught were high-up in the water feeders. Two nice dolphin, three king mackerel, two skipjack tuna and a black fin tuna were joined by a handful of bonito so, all in all, some nice fish were boated.

The afternoon trip wasn’t as productive but not because Skipper Bruce caused the reduced catch total. Far from it, you see, we lost well over an hour successfully dealing with a frightening incident at sea, a heart attack!

I walked into the cabin between stops and saw a man leaning against the bulkhead and, he appeared ghostly white. I asked him if he was sea sick and he said no. I asked him if he was otherwise ill and he said yes. He was holding his chest and was perspiring and complained of a sore arm.

He had been questioned earlier but said he didn’t want any medical aid. I’ve had a heart attack of my own though, and asked him if he would like a coated aspirin. (My cardiologist insists that I take a 325 mg coated aspirin daily and carry one with me.) So, dumb luck, I had one and he took it. He refused my offering of a squirt of my nitro.

I went up to the pilot house and told Bruce what was going on. He immediately went into action. He stopped the boat and went to speak to the customer, Tony, a Finnish-American, and went over his condition with him. Tony’s friend Kenny was there and we found out that Tony did indeed have a heart condition. Tony told us that he would like to go to a hospital and that was all that Bruce needed to hear.

Bruce had the mate call the Palm Beach Rescue Squad and asked them to bring medical gear and meet the boat at the local dock, right inside the inlet in calm water.

Fishing ended for a while, of course, as we headed back into the inlet. During the fifteen minute ride in, "Miss Helen", a retired nurse was told what was going on and she moved into action herself. Sitting alongside of Tony, she talked calmly and gently to him through the entire ride back, assuring him that safety was right around the corner.

The crew tied the boat up and one rescue squad was soon joined by a second crew and Tony was put on a heart monitor while being asked a bank of medical questions. It was discovered by the rescue guys that he was having a heart attack and for sure, they were most certainly needed.

I asked Tony’s friend Kenny to call me after he saw him at the hospital and he did so Friday night, reporting that Tony was feeling better and was told that he could go home the next day. Of course I don’t know what follow-up medical help was to come later but at least, this story has, for now, a very happy ending!

Oh yeah, we went back out and caught some fish too but a clown who should have known much better came far too close to us en route to heading a half-circle around us whereupon he stopped to make a drift. He was so close that he actually ran over and cut the line of a customer in our bow, "Lee", a real expert, who is probably still cussin’ the other guy out. I won’t tell you what boat it was but as a hint, I wrote badly about the same captain a year or two back. It wasn’t a dangerous act at all but for sure, not a smart one. 

Scuze me, gone fishin’.

November 30, 2011

Hi, Condo News readers. The population of trigger fish being caught out of the so-called "South Lake Worth" Inlet (most of us think it is the Boynton Inlet) has been awesome. Anglers rigged with two small hooks tied in above their six ounce bank sinker have really been getting quite a few of these hard-fighting and wonderful-to-eat triggers, also called "turbot" at times. They are tough to clean unless you have a stiff steel knife with a sharp point. Done correctly, they don’t take any longer to fillet than other fish and, at least to me, they taste even better than snappers. The only critters I like more are the various members of the grouper family that have no size limit like graysby, coney, etc., and they are way up at the tippety top of the food chain to this writer.

Catches vary from one to ten per angler, depending on skill and luck, in that order. But if the triggers are hitting, the two hook rig with big sinker is the way to go. Just put on a small piece of squid, drop down, and wait for the action to begin. My top tallies so far this season were 33 fish twice including triggers, yellowtails and a variety of lesser desired bottom feeders.

My favorite boats are the Lady K out of Lantana and the two boats out of Pompano Beach, the Helen S VI and the Fish City Pride. But there’s a new kid on the block now too, situated at the Palm Beach Yacht Center in Hypoluxo, the two boats owned by John and Sandy Schultz; the Southern Comfort IV, a ten-passenger boat and their brand new one, the "Living on Island Time," a more conventional drift boat.

I saw a good friend at the Lady K a week or two back and he said that he is just about ready to go fishing and that could mean great harm lies ahead for the fish population. Herb Wilk, long-time member of the CenWest Fishing Club was at the dock and he promised to go out and get himself some fish one day soon. So, welcome back, Herb!

Regarding Century Village in West Palm Beach, I bought myself a table at the Flea Market Bazaar being held across the street from Century Village off of Haverhill Road for Sunday, 12/18, and I’ll be there selling my various books between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The site is: Congregation Aitz Chiam and the address is 2518 Haverhill Rd. N. in W. Palm Beach. So if you want to pick up a Chanukah or Christmas present for someone, check the Flea Market out and if you don’t want any of my autographed books, foo on you, but you can still find some other fine things to buy, I’m sure. Scuze me, gone fishin’.

May 4, 2011

Well, dear readers, Karen and I got back from Lake Worth (to New Jersey) on the 25th and, of course, I had to try to get me some fish. The only problem was that my accursed Yamaha went haha again and after starting and running for a while, it died, dead, and fortunately, my electric motor worked (of course, I had to spend $150 to get a new battery the day before plus new wiring) but at least I got back to the dock. The day before though, I actually caught me six fish from shore in the Delaware and Raritan Canal in Hunterdon County. Three were trout, two were rock bass and lastly was a big fallfish. Hey, at least I had some action.

My last three trips out of Florida were quite productive and since that’s where you are, let’s talk about them and about a style of fishing I learned in Key West that I intend to practice after getting back to Florida in the fall. It involves the use of a small jig, in either green or yellow, maybe a 1/4 ounce or so, with feather or bucktail tied in. These are baited with either a strip of squid, maybe a strip of fish belly, or a shrimp. The shrimp should either be alive or recently deceased and it’s hooked once near the tail.

On Friday, a very "good Friday" for Jared on the Lady K, he limited out that way. "Limited out" means that he caught ten yellowtail snappers, the maximum an angler is allowed to keep, and since the boat was mobbed, actually sold out, that was quite a feat indeed. The wind was out of the southeast and we started in 100 feet of water and drifted in towards shore, into as little as 50-60 feet and that’s where he had most of his action. Casting underhand off the back corner, behind him, the jig settled down to near bottom and quite often, he got slammed. I did this same thing in Key West but that was only in 25 feet of water. It’s trickier to reach bottom in deeper water but using his skill, combined with light line, Jared got to where the fish lived!

I managed ten fish that day too with my usual "guppy rig" but only one was a yellowtail. I also got a very big file fish and a two-pound trigger fish along with an assortment of seven other critters for my last trip of the season.

Two days earlier, I was on the Helen S VI out of Pompano Beach and I nailed two yellowtails, six porgies, three triggerfish and another dozen or so mixed bottom dwellers. My first trip of the week was on the Lady K on the 18th and that too was a nice outing. I boated two more yellowtail snappers, one more yummy file fish, a few triggers, plus the usual assortment of grunt, sand eels, squirrel fish and the like.

Here’s wishing you a fine spring and summer, plus fall as well, along with a great Mother’s Day for those to whom the term applies. I’ll be in touch via Condo News a few times before we come back in November.

Scuze me, gone fishin’.

April 20, 2011

Dear Condo News readers, Karen and I head north on the 24th and I’ll send more news next edition about my last week of fishing hereabouts and hope to give you more help from time to time before we return in the late fall. But for now, here’s wishing you and yours the very best of the current holiday season, whichever of the big holidays you celebrate, okay?

And for fishing? Hey, it continues to be good in Palm Beach and Broward Counties and for that matter, I fished on the Gulfstream IV out of Key West also on the 15th and 16th and really had a ball each time. So, first off, those two trips. I did my usual "Guppy-rig" deal on the 15th, using three small size 1/0 Mustad model 9175 hooks tied beneath each other and held at bottom with a four-ounce bank sinker. This worked well, as it always does for me up here. The bottom was paved with small fish and I had to pick through the 75 or so (honest!) that I caught to put a mess in the cooler. Included in my catch were three nice yellowtail snappers, three porgies and at least 15 white grunts that were good-sized. The next day, I boated four porgies and a mess of grunt again as well as lots of short y’tails but then switched over to the use of the standard yellowtail rig that the ringers use out of Key West, something I never tried before. And in one hour, I swung aboard seven beautiful yellowtails in that style. What style? They tie a small 1/8 of an ounce yellow jig directly to their main lines and then put either a small strip of squid or a little fish on the jig and cast it out underhanded. As the jig settles down, a blasting interruption often occurs. This was only 25 feet of water we fished in and while the jig may not get to bottom, the light chumming done by mate Craig attracts the tails up in the water column. Captain Andy gave me two of his jigs and they really produced.

The Gulfstream IV is the fastest headboat in Key West and its owner, Jamie, knows what she is doing for sure. I’ll be back!

Locally? Since last we met, I fished out of Pompano Beach and Lantana five times and got me a mess of critters again each time. My best was a 34 inch king mackerel on the Lady K but I also got three yellowtails on the same boat on another trip. I boated fifteen vermillion snappers in the Fish City Pride and Helen S VI, from Pompano, and also got my first bonito of the year, a 12 pounder. So all in all, fine fishing for sure. But if you want to try an anchor boat and also would like to visit Key West, head thee to the Gulfstream IV, a six hour boat that produces. Oh yeah, expect a side-show too when Craig drops fish corpses over at the dock. There always are a mess of submarine-length tarpon waiting to eat the fish racks.

See ya’ next time. Scuze me, gone fishin’.

April 6, 2011

Once upon a time, when I had hair and worked for a living, I was deeply involved in "do-good" stuff, and while talking to a friend, Sgt. John Gusciora of the Somerville, N. J. police department, he said the word "attaboy" to me and being a guy who was born and raised in Brooklyn, I hadn’t heard the word before and asked him what it meant. You see, at times, it’s all in the pronunciation. My bestest friend and fishing buddy, Ron Bern, a rebel from South Carolina just got a boat for his fishing out of Naples, Florida, and he named it "Hitaldo" and when I asked him why he gave it an Hispanic name, he told me that I just didn’t know how to pronounce southern stuff. He told me that one day, down south, years after moving to Jersey and while visiting his "roots", he saw a boat with that name and asked the owner wherefrom it cometh. The owner, a deep, deep southern guy said "where are you from boy?" and when Ron told him he was from Anderson, So. Carolina, the guy said something like "Boy, you sure forgot how to pronounce southern words, didn’t you?" The guy explained that when he bought that boat and thought about naming it, he felt, "It will do," and therefore cometh "Hitaldo," -- dig?

So when I asked "Gus" about "attaboy," he pronounced it much slower, something like "That a boy," dig?

Therefore, to Nick Wiley, Executive Director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, and his right-hand man for our region, Mark Robson, here’s a big "Attaboy" for each of you because you stepped up to the plate in time of need for anglers fishing out of Palm Beach and Broward Counties and truly did something great for anglers and party/charter boat Captains alike.

What did they do? Doggone, folks, you gotta’ start reading Condo News from cover to cover, not just the stuff about your own condo community, okay? Many know already but for those who don’t, these two guys did something early in February that really helped take the sting out of one the regulations that was imposed on anglers fishing the ocean waters of Florida.

Briefly, the Fed’s imposed yet another rule, and this one said that no party or charter boats were going to be allowed to fish at bottom in water depths that reached or exceeded 240 feet as of 2/1/11. This was done to protect certain species of fish from "over-fishing." Florida signed on to this rule and told everyone about it and the screams could be heard from the north end of Palm Beach County on down to the southern part of the state. You see, in our area, a boat can reach 240 feet of water only a mile or so from land.

"State waters" hereabouts range from shore to three miles from the beach. So when you get to 240 feet in depth, or more significantly, when you get to my new best friend fish, "Blueline tile fish," who live in 400 to 450 feet of water, you still are in Florida waters, and I appealed to both Director Wiley and Mr. Robson, simply saying something like: "Hey guys, @#[!, why should you adhere to Federal rules when you doggone near "own" the waters from the beach out to three miles offshore?" And after thinking about it, each told me that they agreed that the regulation shouldn’t apply to State waters when it was written for Federal waters. Hey, I’m not "quoting" either of them but this was, more or less, their feeling which, of course, made sense and completely agreed with logic. Therefore, Mark and Nick, "Attaboy!"

What did that do for us near here? Well, I fished for blueline tile fish when conditions permitted doing so quite often from 2/1 until now. This required light wind and modest current to get down to bottom and stay near it 400+’ under the boat. Obviously, the boats couldn’t do it very often but at least they had the option.

I won’t tell you the exact numbers, but in eight or so outings, when conditions permitted us to fish for tiles since the regulation was changed to accommodate logic, I caught a bazillion of them and many of the other anglers did so too.

This fishing style gave us something to do other than to concentrate on catching smaller fish. You see, the kingfish population was very modest this winter and the only snappers we saw in volume were another critter that was foolishly considered "endangered" by the feds, vermilion snappers. I caught and threw back over 100 of them during the restricted period. However, that all ended on 4/1 when boats were allowed to permit anglers to catch and keep up to five vermilions if they were at least a foot long!

Therefore, who needs fishing in 450 feet of water now, other than as a change in pace, right? In my last outing on 4/2, before typing these pearls, I caught two vermilions plus three big banded rudder fish, a 3-pound porgy, two trigger fish, and several other critters. So, ‘bye for now, bluelines, and get ready to meet my hooks, vermilions, but once again, ATTABOY, Nick and Mark, from all of us!

Scuze me, gone fishin’.

March 23, 2011

WHAT RECESSION?

Yeah, I know that folks are hurting just about everywhere, but hereabouts, they seem to find the money to afford a four hour trip at sea and that’s good for the boat owners, for sure. In December, it was tough to get enough customers for the boat to be able to pay for fuel but now there are nice-sized crowds nearly every day. Of course the 70+ degree temperatures couldn’t "hoit" either. We have had a very nice run of fine weather nearly every day for several weeks. Some days were blow-outs but most were good enough to head offshore. I’ve seen some 40+ customer days a few times and that is very unusual.

Fish are biting and that helps but nearly all of the fish are more-like cutie-pies than beasts but still, a biting and fighting fish sure makes the smiles appear from one end of the boat to the other. In recent years past, there were lots of king mackerel caught many a day but this season, not so much. In fact, I haven’t seen more than five or six kingfish caught in a half-day and most times, not even that. But trigger fish and porgies are taking up the slack and, hey, they taste far better in any event. Add to the fact that these critters are on hand the wonderful realization that the @#$vermilion"?} snapper season is about to re-open again on 4/1 and even more smiles should be present thereafter. Just as a guess, I believe that I’ve thrown back well more than 100 vermilion snappers this season because they are, harumph, "an endangered species". That’s just plain dumb!

Here’s the report from yours truly of my past few weeks of "guppy-rig" fishing. (Three snelled 1/0 hooks, baited with small pieces of squid and cut ballyhoo, all held bouncing at bottom with a four-ounce bank sinker): 3/6, on the Helen S VI from Pompano -17 fish including three porgies; 3/11, on the Lady K from Lantana - 26 fish including my first dolphin of the season, on a guppy rig! 3/13, back on the Helen S for 18 fish including the two biggest fish on the boat, triggers; 3/17, Fish City Pride from Pompano for 26 fish - 13 different varieties including two "endangered" vermilions; 3/18, Lady K again in a 41 person mob scene, well handled by the crew, for 17 fish including a yummy file fish for dinner.

Hey, go do it! Scuze me, gone fishin’.

March 9, 2011

ST. PATRICK’S DAY-FLOUNDER, PARADE ‘N SUCH

Well, St. Patrick’s Day is coming on the 17th. Of course, that means fun for all, regardless of ethnic background. To me though, it means a few very specific things that are in my past. #1 was that St. Patty’s Day signaled the beginning of the winter flounder season in New Jersey. But this year, it won’t even be legal to catch and keep flounder for another week and at that, the limit is two fish! Oh well, some guys will head out anyway, even if it means being able to barely keep a meal for two. However, down here, the last thing I want to think about is freezing to death trying for a few paltry flounder.

#2 was the parades. Of course, New York is famous for theirs and lots of controversy prevailed at these events because of the opposing views that existed between folks who believe in gay rights and those who did not. Hopefully, things will be quiet this year up north. My own personal experience involved a whacky insurance guy/mayor who made the parade committee in his town tear their hair out because he was afraid that kids would get run over by the floats as they raced to gather the beads that were thrown off. He insisted that the parade organizers provide his town with insurance that would protect them from law suit. Holy cow, now that I think of it, the rat was me and we got the certificate and no one was hurt, I think.

Flounders and parades to the side, here’s wishing you and yours a happy St. Patrick’s Day! And on to the fishing—

We got whacked so much with high winds as February was ending as well as in the start of March that the boats couldn’t sail often and when they did, urphers galore ringed the rails calling down to someone named Raallpphh to save them. But I still managed to get out four times since we last met, on The Lady K on the 20th, the Fish City Pride on the 23rd, and back to the Lady K on the 26th and lastly, on the 28th on the Helen S VI. A rare few days of relative calm water snuck in during that period and I took advantage of them.

On the 20th, I guppy-rigged for seven blueline tilefish, and then we went inshore where I got two porgies, two white and one tomtate grunt, a margate, one flounder and a squirrel fish. Three days later we tried offshore out of Pompano for tiles but the current was way too strong to stay there. However, I got four more tiles before we left that day. On the 20th, I was using 50 pound test braided line and boy, did it ever make a huge difference or what? Yup, it did, the line is so sensitive that I could feel every bite, 400-500 feet away from the rod tip way, way down below. I also got five pink porgies on the 23rd plus four tinker mackerel, and an assortment of 13 other bottom dwellers further inshore. The 26th found roaring current so it was inshore only on the Lady K where I got five porgies, 4 vermillion snappers that had to be released, plus five other critters. Lastly, on the 28th, it was inshore only for 19 fish by yours truly including a 3-1/2 pound trigger fish. Fun for sure, but please wind, slow down awreddy?

Scuze me, gone fishin’.

February 23, 2011

Well, dear Condo News readers, you can only blame yourselves if you aren’t catching any fish in the ocean hereabouts because, plain and simple, loads of critters are biting just about everywhere up and down the coast. Chances are that you, 1) haven’t gone out at all or worse, 2) have gone out but are too stubborn to listen and learn.

So, listen and learn, will ya? The answer is so ridiculously simple. It involves small hooks, small bait, heavy sinkers and relatively light rods, reels and line (20 pound, for example). If you do that and know how to get to and hold near bottom, again, it is EASY, honest!

Meanwhile, I do want you to know that Florida Fish & Wildlife has eased up on what had been a foolish regulation that the Fed’s had imposed on us which for a brief moment, Florida was adhering to. However, due to the great cooperation of Mark Robson and Nick Wiley of FWC, we "got ‘er done" and one problem (tile fish) has been solved. #2 though, not so easy, (vermillion snapper) but I’m still trying.

Briefly, the Fed’s wrote a regulation that said that no one in Florida could fish on a head or charter boat at bottom in depths at or greater than 240 feet. This was done to protect the diminishing grouper population mainly. Even though lots of our water depths that surpass 240 feet are located within State water, Florida had to comply but our good guys agreed that that was wrong and as of a few weeks ago, head and charter boats can now fish in the 400'+ foot depths that hold blueline tile fish providing they are within state waters and since boats reach 400 foot deep water less than the three mile "state" range out, no problem, yes!

The other problem isn’t so simple to solve, but to me, it still shouldn’t apply, the rule that ALL vermillion snappers caught ANYWHERE in our Florida ocean have to released immediately, period. Vermillion snapper are the most prolific and most commonly caught of all of the snappers in our water, period. My friend Art Dolgan and I threw back TWENTY FIVE or more of them that we caught in 100 feet of water or less on the Lady K from Lantana on 2/15! There was only one other legal snapper caught on the boat that whole afternoon!

Oh well, at least, when wind and current permit, we can now catch some of the blueline tiles and take them home for a great dinner!

Here’s the tally since last we met, again, using size 1/0 model #9174 Mustad hooks, plus pieces of cut squid and ballyhoo, and a four ounce sinker to hold the rig near bottom: 2/8- 11 tile fish (needed 16 ounces to hang near bottom); 2/10- 17 critters; 2/12- 10 fish; 2/15- with Art D., we lost count! Somewhere near 50 fish in all; and 2/17- 25 fish overall.

So, use heavy rods, huge hooks, monster baits and relax ‘cause you probably won’t catch dork. Sure, you may catch a beast every now and then but mostly, you will eat chicken that night while I am eating fillet of trigger fish or something similar. Scuze me, gone fishin’.

February 9, 2011

"CATCH, RELEASE, REPEAT"

Those are the words that are on the front of a tee-shirt that Karen bought for me and unfortunately, those words have rung true often this season! You see, the guys watching the fish stocks have restricted us from keeping a huge variety of fish and in truth, at least in part, for good reason, sort of.

At last look, fish that were "keepers" in recent past that are now "off limits" to party boat customers include but are not limited to: Red snapper, vermilion snapper, all kinds of grouper, queen trigger fish, and some also think file fish are in that list, along with pork fish and who knows what else. The dopiest of all the rules involves vermilion snappers. Since getting to Lake Worth at the start of December, I’ve caught somewhere between 80 and 90 of those beautiful to look at and better yet to eat critters. Some call them red-eye’s, and others say bee-liners but by any name, regardless of size, vermilion snappers have to be chucked back. Hey, I caught five of them on the 4th and all went back. Others on the Lady K that afternoon caught some and released them also.

This is nuts, folks, just plain dopey! There were no other snappers caught on the boat that day, period, nada, zilch, nuttin’ in the way of snappers. Sure, we got a whole mess of other critters like trigger fish, porgies, etc and it was lots of fun but the tourists and regulars alike really want snappers and so far, it is, like my shirt sez: "Catch, release, repeat," doggonit!

Yet another horrible mess just started to take place as of 2/1. This rule says words to the effect that no head or charter boats can fish bottom in depths of 240 feet or more. That depth is only a little over a mile off our beaches, maybe 1½ miles. This year, some of the boats went after blueline tile fish and I boarded three boats that targeted them. I got a total of 16 tiles in all and since in years past, I had only boated a grand total of four of them in maybe 500-750 outings, this season was really good, right?

But the new rule, intended to protect grouper from overfishing, I guess, has destroyed the blueline tile fishery. It is funny, but maybe not so funny, that in my three sailings, while tile fishing in 400+ feet of water, nary a single grouper was caught.

I’ve been working with two very nice guys at Florida Wildlife, Executive director Nick Wiley and Mark Robson and I truly believe that each is very sympathetic to the needs of party and charter boat captains and customers but so far, nothing has been done to void either of these two terrible restrictions.

I have asked that either or both of two things occur: 1) Remove the closed season on vermilions (It reopens on 4/1, to be fair, but by then, most of the snowbirds will have flown home and the number of people on vacation down here will diminish and just maybe, vermilions many have swum out beyond our range anyway). 2)- I also asked that the regulation saying that Charter and headboats can no longer fish in water deeper than 240 feet simply be voided completely or at least put on hold until vermilions can be legally taken home. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear back.

Meanwhile, it is not all gloom and doom. Sure, kingfish are not to be seen anywhere, ditto mahi-mahi, but still there are the countless trigger fish, porgies, blue runners and other jacks to bend the rods.

Since my last column, I’ve caught: 27 fish on 1/21, 25 on 1/24, 15 on 1/27, 24 on 1/28, 6 (but four were tilefish) on 1/30, 26 on 1/30, 10 on 2/2, and 31 on 2/4 so run me no benefits, but still I wanna’ do what I wanna’ do and foolish overkilling rules are simply wrong! These trips have been on the Lady K from Lantana as well as the Fish City Pride and Helen S VI from Pompano.

Scuze me, gone fishin’.

January 26, 2011

Hi, Condo News readers. The annual invasion from the north occurred again, meaning that grandson Joe Morea was here, testing my ability to stand toe to toe with him for days on end and, wow, it’s over and I’m ready to rest.

We fished five days in a row, and caught loads of fish each time. But the best, by far, was on Tuesday, the 11th, on board the big Lady Stuart II out of Fort Pierce. There are two Lady Stuarts, the "I" from Stuart, and the "II" from Fort Pierce. Each does very well indeed. Each offers five hour and seven hour sailings for you to select from. And each, nearly all the time, produces loads of fish for the table and for a workout too.

Sea bass are the main target and Joe and I brought home seven keepers. But we were after bigger fish and therefore, "only" had seven yummy bass for dinner. We also had a good-sized lane snapper and two porgies to go home with. Joe landed our biggest fish, an 18 inch (he sez 20 but, hey, he’s a kid, right?) mutton snapper. He lost or broke off three more monsters and I had the biggest bottom fish I had ever hooked on either Lady Stuart and it broke me off too.

Seven mangrove or mutton snappers were caught on the boat and that was more then everyone else combined went home with in our four other trips! Add to that the fact that at least a dozen or more other big bottom dwellers broke off or got off too. Two nice-sized king mackerel were also landed.

No one, not a person, went home without a bag of great eating fillets, something not all that common on the boats we fish closer to Palm Beach County! Sure, it is an 80 mile ride for me from Lake Worth but hey, well worth the drive since 90+ percent of the drive is on the high-speed Florida Turnpike.

On a sour note, two anglers released some "out of season" critters, a 20+ inch red grouper and a "true red" snapper that was bigger than that. Most important to me though is that we all had to throw back a mess of vermilion snappers that are, in my opinion, not even close to being "endangered" even though they must be released.

I have appealed that decision with the good guys of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Division and hope to hear good news from them one day. Perhaps not an immediate cure, but clearly, the regulation is doggone dopey. This fish is NOT endangered one little bit.

In the four other trips, on the 8th, Joe and I nailed 35 of the 38 fish caught on the Fish City Pride out of Pompano Beach. Most of them were porgies or grunt but, hey, the rod bent and went bangety-bang quite often. Next day, on the 9th, we were on the beautiful Southern Comfort IV out of Hypoluxo for a great, but expensive trip. Again, we released at least twenty of the non-endangered vermilions, caught four yellowtail snappers, maybe 15-20 porgies, 15-20 trigger fish, another load of grunt, five pork fish, and four undersized king snappers. But that six hour trip costs $75 per person. Compare that to the Lady Stuart II which charged only $50 for our 7-1/2 hour trip!

Before the big ride north, we were on the Lady K on the 10th for yet one more nice trip. Joe had two short kings, and threw back, guess what, another vermillion snapper, and we also had a mess of blue runners and a few porgies.

In our final outing, we hit the Fish City Pride again on the 12th and had a wonderful and different experience. In "normal" depths (60-90') we caught six lane snappers, five triggerfish, and some other bottom dwellers. But Captain Dwight took us offshore for an hour to 400' of water where we fished for blue line tile fish. Joe and I boated 16 of the 24 tiles that were caught on the boat and he took the pool fish too. More about this deep-water fishing next time, with yet one more horrible regulation about to destroy it.

Three different folks with Florida F&W have all responded already to my various complaints. Again, more, next time.

In two trips since Joe went home, I caught 29 fish on the Fish City on the 15th on my usual "Guppy" rig. Then on the 21st, I was in the bow of the Lady K for yet one more fine trip. I got four triggerfish including the 4-pound pool, plus 23 other fish, including four short but fun-to-catch king mackerel, nice!

Scuze me, gone fishin’.

December 29, 2010

Hi, readers! I rediscovered once more that we Floridians aren’t the only ones burdened with annoying regulations. I typed these pearls of wisdom in Texas before heading back to Lake Worth on the 27th. Before leaving though, as always, I had to go get me a fishing fix and I did that on the 23rd out of Galveston.

The red snapper season has closed down again in that part of Texas and when you cannot keep a red snapper, the folks simply don’t turn out in big numbers. As a result, the boat I prefer to fish from, the New Buccaneer, stayed tied to the dock. But the 70' Cavalier member of the Galveston Party Boat outfit sailed on the 23rd on a four-hour trip. When the big 75' New Buccaneer goes after red snapper, the boat anchors up over hard bottom on 12 hour trips and as many as 100 anglers (honest!) drop down but again, that’s when the red snapper season is open.

The four hour trip fishes closer to shore and targets "redfish", what some call red drum, and this is a hit or miss proposition. I got a 39-incher several years ago and that was a blast. But this time, not a single "red" bit at all. The only fish of size caught was a black drum that was bigger than the rules allowed so it had to be plopped back in. The 69 other anglers on the boat all had fun in spite of very slow fishing. The fare is a very modest $25 per angler and that is about the lowest price around, anywhere, so an afternoon on the water was enough to enjoy, with or without fish.

Two young men near me used their own rods and rigs, combined with live shrimp. However, they caught dork all afternoon long. But this old geezer, who also used his own gear, got 13 fish, maybe more than the 69 other anglers combined! Man, what a great ego trip that was. Simply, I beat them all up big time by using a combination of factors that made all the difference. Sure, skill, maybe, but moreso, I also used shrimp, but supermarket shrimp that I peeled and cut into two or three pieces. Putting the pieces onto small hooks and dropping down, I had countless bites and giggled to myself as I watched the others around the rail gaze at the old guy who reeled little fish after little fish in. I had a saltwater catfish, two croakers, and 10 whiting in my tally and the messcook working the galley went home with a batch of fish for dinner that night and the next. What’s funny about this is that one hundred yards from the boat dock were two fish markets where dead shrimp can be bought with ease.

We have our own "closed season" in Florida and while anglers hereabouts will still go fishing, many are unhappy with the rule that just knocked vermilion snapper and grouper out of the box for the remainder of the winter. Grouper are truly limited in number and maybe it makes sense to leave them alone, with hopes that they will spawn and rebuild the stock. But vermilion snapper, on the other hand, are far from "limited in number" and not allowing any to be taken home really is bad for the party and charter boat folks who depend on this fish to please their customers. I fished on the Fish City Pride twice since we last met and, not counting other critters, I caught 28 vermilions one day and 19 the other trip. And every one had to be released. "Endangered species"? Hell, no.

I wrote to the good guys of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, appealing that foolish decision and if and when I get a good reply, will let you know. Meanwhile, here’s wishing you and yours a happy and healthy new year!

Scuze me, gone fishin’.

December 15 2010

Hi, friends and fish. I’m back, so watch out! Karen and I took the Auto Train and arrived at our condo in The Fountains on the 29th and what did I do the next day? You got it, I went fishing, what else?

I was greeted with some news that I found unpleasing to me but frankly, the boat owners dislike it even more. Repeating what Florida Fish and Game did last year, rules again have knocked out two favorite fish from the "keeper" list. As of 12/1, all vermillion snappers caught must now be released immediately. I believe the season for taking up to five per angler, if at least a foot-long, reopens again on 4/1 so that is a long way off. And grouper are again off-limits as of 1/1 and expectations are that they can be kept if within guidelines, on 4/1 as well but this may be delayed until 5/1. That is very unfortunate but hopes are the stocks will rebuild better with less fish being taken home. But as for the need for "rebuilding", doggonit, check what I did in my last sailing at the end of this article!

Here’s the results of what I dragged aboard two boats during a five-trip stretch starting on 11/30, ending on 12/10, and no, these numbers are not a combination lock set, they are the actual tally of what my catch included. In order, 31 fish on the Lady K from Lantana on 11/30, 28 more on the same boat three days later, and on 12/6, 26 critters on the Fish City Pride from Pompano Beach, and on 12/8, "only" 17 on the Lady K and on 12/10, my top, 32 fish were caught on the Fish City.

Truth be known, few of these fish went over two pounds but still, it was lots of fun and in four sailings, I was wearing a tee-shirt so, Florida fishin’, I do love you so ever so much indeed.

My good "luck" is really not luck at all with 95% of the fish I catch, it simply is based on fishing with a style that differs from everyone else on the boat. It cannot be practiced on a very crowded boat nor from any point along the rail other than at the very tippety point of the bow or at the dead-stern position because otherwise, I would tangle folks up and get very angry sounds directed towards me.

I use a four-ounce bank sinker with three size 1/0 Mustad "live-bait" hooks that are snelled onto a foot of leader. Each snelled hook is tied onto dropper loops with the idea to have three smaller baits in the water, separated from each other by the way they are attached to the line. Often, the fish I catch the most of are on the bottom hook but at times, the top hook will produce as well.

I put a small strip of squid on each hook and then add a small piece of filleted sardine thereto, giving a sandwich of food to the waiting mouths below. Again, I do not catch beasts but when the rod goes bangety bang as I reel ‘em up, it’s funny how the other folks along the rail look towards the old guy who is again catching fish after fish while they do dork most of the time.

It’s not skill alone that does it, it is the style invoked.

In my combined tally were 18 porgies, six trigger fish to a five-pound monster, one 5-pound king mackerel and 46 snappers. Of course 28 of those snappers were vermilions that I caught and released on the 10th and I got 18 of them in six consecutive drops, reeling up "triple-headers" six times in a row. "Needing protection"? Well, maybe not.

See ya’ out there next time. Meanwhile, if you would like me to talk to your club or association about the three topics I blab about, give me a buzz at 561-965-2813 any day between 10 a. m. and 10 p. m. or shoot me an e-mail to mannyfishing@msn.com. My topics are "Saltwater Fishing in Florida", "So You Want To Write A Book" (I’ve done 21 to date), and/or "How To Sell A Condo Or Townhouse". I used to call myself "Condo Manny" and was quite good at it. All I ask for is at least ten people, no snoring, and lots of questions.

Scuze me, gone fishin’.

PS: Happy Holidays to one and all!