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. Shrimp, Trout, Rivers and Bass! By Gary Anderson When I think of those ‘Dog Days of Summer’, I think August-September and I think Shrimp, Trout, rivers and bass! The dog days of August bring the season to fish live shrimp if you are looking to put fish in the box for the table. Weakfish to Reds, live shrimp are a best bet to any bite and will even take the most finicky of Snook during shrimp season. Shrimp are running in the rivers and though smallish, now, their numbers and size will increase every day. By the middle of this month, along many of Florida’s rivers, there will be so many shrimp the fish will have a natural "all you can eat" buffet and most other baits will not attract them. Therefore, if you are going to bring along a tackle box, leave the lures at home, pack it up with leaders, lines, hooks, and shot because shrimp is what is for dinner. Taking advantage of this situation is to catch a couple of dozen of these crustaceans and present them as naturally as possible, such as free lined or under a Cajun cork rig. "I don't use any weight, just a light bait hook, preferring those of the circle variety in angling for morality. The survival rate of a foul hooked fish is not good and using a circle hook lessens the chance of fouls or gut hook up, just quick, clean releases from the lip; that is the way I like it! "Hooking shrimp through the horn lets them swim naturally and they stay on the hook longer during a bite." The "horn" is a jagged ridge that runs along the shrimp's head. Shrimp hooked in the tail or threaded through the bodywork well also but are not of a natural action and their presentation is radical at best but hey, sometimes that is what it takes to get on a bite so try it. That is why I have more than one rod with me when I go fishing each different for a variation in style or method that is called presentation. Casting a shrimp on an unweighted hook is certainly the simplest approach. There are times when conditions will call for a little weight or jig head, and some anglers like to put a float on the line. It is all personal preference, but the more natural the presentation, the more likely a strike. Remembering, your shrimp is competing with lots of others, so giving it a little something different just might be the ticket. My son, Edwin likes to place a piece of twisted aluminum foil about half an inch long above the hook giving it flashy pizzazz according to him, whatever floats your boat, I like the old fashion noise of a pop’ in cork over 24 inches of forty pound fluorocarbon and a number one Eagle Claw circle hook. Three times the flavor, three times the fun, sounds like a Wriggles gum commercial except we are Fishin with shrimp, during shrimp season and that means you too can catch and eat the shrimp. The best experiences in catching live shrimp for the grill are either with a dip net while wading the skinnies of the grass or the lazy mans way; find a bridge, jetty, outcropping or seawall placing a light out over the water and on a out going tide, wait. Upon either sight scoop up or cast out your net modified with duct tape or lawn chair webbing around the base of the skirt to make the net blossom out as it sinks. Once you have your shrimp, use a live well or bait bucket to keep them lively. One trick is to put them on ice immediately, and their metabolism will slow way down, but stay alive. They perk up once back in the water. With your shrimp in the well, look for docks, especially older docks, in locations where the tide is moving well. Drift your live shrimp, or shrimp and float, under the dock and hang on. If angling on the river, like our Myakka, remember during high tides on the upper reaches of the river around Snook Haven you can hook er up with bass and Due to the quirks of Florida law, you need a saltwater fishing license to take shrimp and a freshwater license to catch bass, so it is best to just purchase a combination license to be safe on all sides regardless if you posses fish or not. “FISH ON!” DO NOT FEED THE DOLPHIN First of all it is against the law and second sometimes they too are not in a friendly mood. DOLPHIN ATTACK It could happen to you if provoked! The Skinny on Hook Types; To Which Do I Use? Gary Anderson 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 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 NOW YOU KNOW! “FISH ON!” What is Inshore Florida? The tools we give you are actions used repeatedly throughout your angling lifetime only to change depending on where you are fishing. Our site, Inshore Florida focuses on the inshore waters of Stretching Your Advertising Dollars to get More for Less! Paying a simple subscription of your choice puts your ad out on all of our network and move viewers means more product awareness for you. Getting more for your valued dollar with up to five ads for the price of one. PRO-REPORTS: Onshore the Inshore 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 Reel Addiction, 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! Inshore Florida
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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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 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.
Fun Facts to Know
About
The
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.
*Important FWC Rules & Regulations to adhere to:
The regulated saltwater fish listed below must remain in a "whole condition" until the fish are landed ashore. In general, this means you must bring fish in with heads and tails intact. You can gut fish, scale them, and remove gills -- but you cannot fillet them, cut off heads or tails until your fishing trip has ended (vessel has returned to the dock).
“When you are fishing from the beach, you can wait until you finish fishing, and are at least 100 yards from the shore before filleting and storing these fish. For some fish, the rules also apply until you have exited a fishing pier or bridge, catwalk or jetty.”
These fish used as bait, but only while in a "whole condition". Remember that any fish that is harvested and used for bait counts toward the daily bag limit.
These rules make it possible for officers to enforce size limits and fishing regulations.
The saltwater fish that must remain whole through landing are:
Billfish (blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish) 50CFR635.30(B) (federal regulations apply to the shoreline)
Black drum 68B-36.005(2)
Bluefish 68B-43.003(2)
Crawfish 68B-24.003(4)
Dolphin 68B-41.003(3) - commercial harvest only
Mullet 68B-39.003(2) - commercial harvest only (no recreational size limit)
Sharks 68B-44.004(4)
Snook 68B-21.005(2)
Swordfish 68B-33.004(5)
Wahoo 68B-41.003(3)
Weakfish 68B-47.002(3)
The following saltwater fish must also remain whole through landing and on a fishing pier or bridge, catwalk or jetty:
Cobia 68B-19.002(2)
Flounder 68B-48.003(1)(b)
Mackerel, King 68B-30.0025(2)
Mackerel, Spanish 68B-23.0035(2)
Permit 68B-35.003(1)(c)
Pompano, African 68B-35.003(1)(c)
Pompano, Florida 68B-35.003(1)(c)
Redfish 68B-22.006(4)
Reef Fish 68B-14.006(4) - includes snappers, groupers, sea bass, amberjacks, almaco jacks, banded rudderfish, gray triggerfish, hogfish, red porgy, and *golden tilefish
Seatrout, spotted 68B-37.003(3)
Sheepshead 68B-48.003(1)(b)
Tripletail 68B-49.002(1)(b)
*effective July 1, 2007
You can read the saltwater rules at
http://myfwc.com/marine/FWC68B.htm.
“FISH ON!”
And their look-alikes
(Illustrations by Diane Rome Peebles)
http://myfwc.com/marine/FishID/index.html
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