== IN THE SKY THIS WEEK == The first quarter Moon is Saturday May 2. On Friday May 1 the waxing Moon is close to the Beehive Cluster. The keen-eyed, who have a clear, level western horizon, can see Mercury just peeking over the horizon at twilight. Saturn is visible the entire night and can be easily seen as the second brightest object above the northeastern horizon. It is about a quarter of the way between the bright stars Regulus and Spica. On Tuesday May 5 the waxing Moon is close to Saturn. Saturn's rings will be edge on, this will not occur again for 14 years. The morning sky has the brightest planets with Jupiter being outshone by Venus. If you are an early morning riser with a small telescope, Jupiter's moons are readily visible and Venus is an obvious crescent. Mara is visible below to Venus and they will draw further apart during the week. According to the St. Pete’s Captains Corner: Big kings are the first in line to eat and seem to be the big news on the last day of Snook season ending tonight at midnight May 1, 2009. Usually when the season is drawing to a close the snookers get snookered as the snook go into hiding or just off the bite until just after its closing; then it is wham bam thank you mama the bite is on but not to this savvy angler Gary Anderson and his son Edwin. We found the honey hole over the closing days of the season and bagged it out with some real fighting lunkers! The ole’ train trestle turned fishing pier were the hole in the walls hideout until the right freelinned bait were dropped in front of them. After tonight, season will remain closed until September of the year giving us all a chance to play CPR to all the snook we catch. Baits of choice were large snapper or grunts on a 12/0 mustad circle hook. With gasoline prices as high as they are it might be just a great idea to taxi along that kayak out in the garage. When you get to the skinnies, away you go and saving gas too. Great site for those who enjoy skinny water in a yak. Top of the line articles to what, where, when and how to catch that trophy your looking for while fishing here on our waters of Inshore Florida. Be it skipping baits across the water under a kite to throwing a Clauser minnow while fly-fishing, kayaking the backcountry to a day aboard your favorite charter, on BlogSpot Inshore Florida you will find action with information you can use for your day when out and about on the waters of Inshore Florida! Contact us here if looking for Kayak Adventures The Skinny on Hook Types; To Which Do I Use Many a different hook and design are on the market today so I choose to pick the ones I use the most with my favorite being that of the Circle Hook, to which is about all I use today: O’Shaughnessy Hook, Live Bait Hook And on and on… O’Shaughnessy Live Bait
Circle Hooks BACK TO TOP JOINT ADMENDENT 27/14 The New Law States As Follows: The law states you cannot use any hook except circle hooks when fishing for reef fish. The law states at least one de-hooking device is required and must be used to remove hooks embedded in gulf reef fish to leave minimum damage. The law states that at least one venting device is required and must be use to deflate the swim bladders of gulf reef fish to release the fish with minimum damage. NMFS is delaying until June 1 the effectiveness of these requirements to provide additional time for manufacturers and retail outlets to prepare for the demand. This also will provide more time for anglers to comply with these new gear requirements, though Joint Amendment 27/14 became effective Feb. 28, 2008. The circle-hook rule applies only to tournaments, not recreational fishing! CIRCLE HOOK RULE WILL TAKE EFFECT IN February of 2008 but allowing a phase-in so as it will only be pursued after June of 2008. Beginning in the year 2008, then, all participants in billfish tournaments on the East Coast, the Gulf of Mexico and Joint amendment 27/14 requires the use of no stainless-steel circle hooks when using natural baits to fish for gulf reef fish. It also requires venting tools and de-hooking devices when participating in the commercial or recreational reef fish fisheries. Specifically people fishing for gulf reef fish in the Gulf EEZ must have them onboard and use them as described by law. This new federal mandate is meant to reduce mortality in released fish. Circle hooks tend to lodge in a fish’s jaw; J-hooks can often lodge further down a fish’s mouth, sometimes gut hooking a fish. The circle-hook rule applies only to tournaments, not fun fishing. Even so, many offshore anglers might adopt it full-time, if only for practice. The switch to circles will force not-so-subtle changes in both rigging and tactics. In order to comply with the law we have to understand just what a circle hook, a de-hooking device and what venting tools are. I think the circle hook and the de-hooker are going to cause some concern until tested in court for there are many look a likes out there as well, those that claim to be but are not. The law and descriptions of these elements are provided by NMFS, a division of NOAA. National Marine Fisheries Service or NOAA Fisheries Service is dedicated to the stewardship of living marine resources through science-based conservation and management, and the promotion of healthy ecosystems. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a federal agency focused on the condition of the oceans and the atmosphere. A circle hook is described by NMFS as a hook designed so that the point is turned perpendicular back to the shank in forming a generally circular or oval shape. There are several hook manufacturers that make a hook with the point turned perpendicular back to the shank to form a generally circular or oval shape, but they are not advertised as circle hooks, like an octopus hook. I am curious if these hooks will pass the smell test to usage within tournaments being their description is much the same as a circle hook but in fact, they are not. In real life and cutbacks at FWC Law enforcement, (story in the works), this is going to be a hard law to enforce. Think about it: What if you have J-hooks in your tackle box and are fishing in federal waters? When you are favorite Game Enforcement officer or other law enforcement agent comes up and checks your box, are you still in compliance even though you do not have one (a J-hook) on your rod and reel? I do not think enforcement is going to rifle through your tackle box to see just how many different kinds of hooks you possess but if they wish too and you present a danger to them or whatever, they can. The law states you cannot use any hook except circle hooks when fishing for reef fish. What if you decide to troll for king mackerel? Do you have to use circle hooks on them too? If you use a Duster and nothing else, no, you do not have to use a circle hook. Nevertheless, if you use a cigar minnow as an enticer I would believe you would need a circle hook. The next question is do king mackerel qualify as reef fish, or shark or tarpon or? The law states at least one de-hooking device is required and must be used to remove hooks embedded in gulf reef fish to leave minimum damage. The hook removal device must be constructed to allow the hook to be secured and the barb shielded without re-engaging during the removal process. The de-hooking end must be blunt, and all edges rounded. The device must be of a size appropriate to secure the range of hook size and styles used in the gulf reef fishery. Pliers are out, appropriate sized whatever is in; who comes up with this stuff? I wonder what an official de-hooker looks like, hmm maybe The Island Anglers could build and sell it along with the million other look a likes. At least one venting device is required and must be use to deflate the swim bladders of gulf reef fish. This tool must be a sharpened, hollow instrument, such as a hypodermic syringe with the plunger removed, or a 16-gauge needle fixed to a hollow wooden dowel. I wonder how many fish will die or better yet, be murdered before anyone actually learns how to use such a device? Here are explicit instructions on doing just that: Insert the tool into the fish at a 45-degree angle approximately 1 to 2 inches from the base of the pectoral fin. Hook Composition Hook Types Hook Sizes Hook Parts BACK TO TOP 47,000 People read this page this year and your ad could have been here. Stretching Your Advertising Dollars to get More for Less!
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Onshore the Inshore PROUD TO BE: Fishing Reel A fishing reel is a device used for the sport of angling for the deployment and retrieval of fishing line using a spool mounted on an axle. They are most often used in conjunction with a fishing rod. The first illustration of a fishing reel is from Chinese paintings beginning about 1195 A.D. History of the fishing reel English literature first reported a "wind", placed within two feet of the lower end of the fishing rod in 1651. This is usually accepted as the first reference to a reel. And the first picture of a fishing reel is mentioned above. Until the 1800, the fishing reel was not much more than a storage place for excess line. The British claim to be the originators for the multiplying reel, but the fishing reels of George Snyder, of Types of fishing reels 1) Fly casting - These fishing reels are traditionally fairly simple in terms of mechanical construction, though this has been changing with developments in technology. A fly reel is normally operated by stripping line off with one hand, while casting the rod with the other hand. Another development in fly reels has been a larger design to increase the speed of retrieve and keep a tight line in the event a hooked fish makes a sudden run towards the angler. 2) Bait casting – These reels in which line is stored on a revolving spool. When a cast is made, line is pulled off of the reel by the weight of the lure. Because the momentum of the forward cast must rotate the spool as well as propel the lure, bait casting designs normally require heavier lures for proper operation than most other types of fishing reels. On most newer reels, spool tension can be adjusted to reduce spool overrun during a cast. The result of spool overrun is the famous "birds nest". And dealing with a "birds nest" is no fun at all. 3) Spinning – Spinning reels were originally designed to allow the use of lures that were too light to be cast by bait casting reels. Because the line didn't have to pull against a rotating spool, much lighter lures could be cast than with a bait-casting reel. Spinning reels do not suffer from backlash, although the line can become trapped underneath itself on the spool or even detach in loose loops of line. Various level-wind mechanisms have been introduced over the years to attempt to solve this problem. Most spin fishermen manually reposition the bail after each cast in order to minimize line twist, which is exactly what I do. 4) Spin cast reels – These fishing reels were developed by the Johnson Reel Company in the early 1950's. Just as with the spinning reel, the line is thrown from a fixed spool, and can therefore be used for throwing light lures and bait. This fishing reel eliminates the large wire bail of the spinning reel in favor of two pickup pins. The spin cast reel is then fitted with a nose cone that encloses and protects the fishing line and spool. Pressing a button on the rear of the fishing reel disengages the line pickup thus allowing the line to fly off of the spool. Upon cranking the handle, the pickup pin immediately re-engages the line and re-spools it onto the reel. Many of you probably used a Zebco reel when you were a kid. This is a spin cast reel. 5) Under spin or Trigger spin – These are spin cast reels that are mounted underneath a standard spinning rod. A lever or trigger is grasped with the forefinger. During the forward cast, this lever is released, and the line flies off the fixed spool. Like spin cast reels, there is no wire bail to hold the line, rather two pickup pins. Basically, these fishing reels are a combination of #3 and #4. You can read the saltwater rules at http://myfwc.com/marine/FWC68B.htm. “FISH ON!” And their look-alikes http://myfwc.com/marine/FishID/index.html
Snook moves in with wind, just in time for Season to End
At Three inches over slot this one ain't going home for dinner!
Edwin baiting up over our "Honey Hole."
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Big Kings Still No Show but Tarpon Hot on Both Tides!
This hook design, more often called a ‘J’ hook, is considered the basic industry standard hook design because it is the hook design in almost every illustration of a hook. It is a classic hook coming in all sizes, and is made in a variety of metals. It is the most widely used hook on the market today. Use this hook for all general-purpose fishing. Just make sure you purchase the right size for the fish you looking to either put in the box or practice CPR (Catch, Photograph & Release).
When fishing with live bait, it is desirable to have short shank hook. First, a short shank allows the live bait to swim more naturally, and second, the shorter shank means the hook is more difficult for feeding fish to detect. Long shank hooks with live bait draw fewer strikes when presented on a mono or fluorocarbon leader; though on a wire king rig shank size only prohibits your baits movement not strikes.
These hooks are made from thin wire and range in size from a number 10 to a 4/0. They are very applicable for fish with soft mouths, like that of the Weakfish or for fishing with light tackle. Many
The commercial industry has used a form of circle hooks on their catch boats. Using this type of hook attached to a long pole, commercial anglers would hooked it up with the fish, slinging them backwards in a quick release and return the pole for more from their encircled nets. It was easier in the early years of commercial Tuna harvesting to employ anglers to pole the fish rather than hoisting the nets because the nets were not strong enough to hold the weight suspended. Circle hooks are named for the unusual circle like bend in the gap of the hook. The point of the hook actually curves into the hook shank. If the bait is swallowed, the hook will come right back up the throat hooking the fish in its jaw line or mouth. As the fish turns away and runs, the hook is pulled toward the mouth of the fish. When the line pulls the shank of the hook out of the mouth, the hook naturally turns back toward the angler, and the fish is hooked right in the corner of the mouth as the angler is slowly retrieving his line back onto the spool of his reel. Today these hooks are becoming more popular, are used in catch, and release situations. Where size limits mean releasing undersized fish, circle hooks offer a very high survival rate on released fish. The rule is – do not set the hook. It is so hard fro anglers to remember that rule. Setting the hook means pulling the hook and bait right out of the mouth of the fish. Let the fish turn, run, and simply start reeling. The hook sets itself with a slight lifting of the rod at a right angle to the run of the fish!
THE CIRCLE HOOK RULING;
Hooks are all made from various metals. Saltwater hooks were generally made from corrosion and rust resistant metal but since a number of anglers had the foresight to worry about our oceans futures, tinned hooks are now available for those of us that are esuriently anglers. Freshwater hooks can be made from wire.
There are several basic hook designs currently on the market today with many specialty designs for catching specific fish, but for the everyday angler the basic hooks are the ones I have chosen to explain to you.
Hook sizing is relevant to just what you are fishing for. The measurements used today use a numbering system that measures from the smallest hook to the largest hook. The smallest hook readily available is size 24. This is a hook, with a 1/16 of an inch gap, can be found on trout flies to Salmon egg hooks. As the size number decreases, the width of the hook gap increases, all the way to a size 1. A size 1 hook is at about ½ inch in width on the gap. After size 1, the numbering system changes and begins with 1/0 goes all the way up to 20/0, the largest commercially made hook; generally used in Gaffs.
There are five basic parts to a hook: the point, gap. shank, eye, and barb with all of these parts working together in its design; different hook designs are made for different fishing applications. Knowing the sizing and what species you are angling for can help make your selection an easier task. The type of hook you select does make a difference, and hook selection depends on the fish being sought.
More than one way to use a 'wasted' fish
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