Florida Sportsman is the complete fishing magazine for Florida and the Tropics. Devoted to fishing, boating, and outdoor activities in the Sunshine State, Florida Sportsman is the authoritative source for Florida's most active fishermen.
So what’s the difference between hurricane damages and the ruinous pollution of our estuaries? A hurricane does its dirty work quickly and naturally. The pollution of our waters, however, is a man-made drainage catastrophe that shunts tainted water slowly and steadily on us. Poisonous discharges, mainly caused by excessive fertilization and overdrainage, come and go, yet always return along with high-profit growth of industrial agriculture. A new assessment of our predicament from engineer/hydrologist Dr. Gary Goforth highlights the continuing problems and provides important suggestions. Most crucial, he emphasizes the need for a large reservoir in the Everglades Agricultural Area, where government-supported Big Sugar resides. Goforth includes these words in his assessment report : “The St. Lucie River and Estuary (SLRE), located along Florida’s southeast coast, is one of the most…
In the waning days of August, as Hurricane Harvey dropped 4 feet of rain on Houston, Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced westbound convoys of Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission equipment and officers. By August 29, nearly 125 FWC officers, more than 40 boats, 17 high water vehicles, two mobile command centers, and eight shallow draft vessels were in Texas supporting search and rescue and disaster response efforts. “We started in the Beaumont area, east side of Houston, and we expanded upon that,” said Col. Curtis Brown, Director of the FWC Division of Law Enforcement. “We’d meet with the Emergency Operation Center, the sheriffs, local police and ask where we could help. Our shallow water boats—john boats, duck boats and airboats—were critical in helping evacuate low-lying areas. It was a week-long…
Demand for magnum-sized bay boats that pull double duty in shallow backwaters and offshore has given birth to the “hybrid” or “crossover.” Wildwood, Florida’s Crevalle Boats this year introduced the 26 Open model, a beautifully crafted illustration of this class. The 26 Open features fine lines that lean more toward an offshore center console. The deep cockpit between the helm station and the anchor locker support this effect but the elevated rear casting deck across the stern, along with optional Power-Pole and bow-mounted trolling motor, say otherwise. This boat is just as happy prowling a mangrove shoreline in 2 feet of water as she is drifting a kite spread in the Gulf Stream. While testing this model for Best Boat Television we put it through its paces in water just…
For catching redfish and the related black drum, nothing in your tackle box or bait well beats a piece of crab fished close to or dead on the bottom. Blue crabs are available at most coastal bait and tackle stores and cost around a dollar each. Recreational fishermen can also catch their own blue crabs with a crab trap, of which they are allowed five per fisherman. For info on recreational harvesting of blue crabs visit www.myfwc.com. Looking for red or black drum on unfamiliar waters? Start by finding plenty of crab trap floats in a bay, in deep sloughs adjacent to large oyster flats, or along the edge of a grassflat. When you see the crab traps, the drum will likely be close by. Fiddler crabs are a redfish…
I did my time as a charterboat mate in high school. The captain of the first boat I ever mated on made me a leather sheath for my pliers on my 16th birthday. Down at the marina we all knew who the serious fishermen were. They had a knife and pliers on their belt. In fact come to think of it, once winter rolled around and we all switched to bottom fishing, the knife and pliers were joined by a hand towel attached to the belt. On today’s fishing scene, we are releasing more fish than ever before. Long ago I decided we would stop pulling billfish and tarpon out of the water for pictures. I also decided there would be no more exhausted billfish thrashing against the side of…
Sad but true: Along with the typewriter, the desk phone and the morning newspaper, the true pork rind is dead. Uncle Josh, venerable supplier of the best rinds there ever were for nearly 100 years, has posted an “Officially Sold Out” on their website. (The company continues to offer other fish attractors, however.) But that does not mean that the ability of the pork strip design to catch mega-bass has ended; in fact, at the right time of year—February through April—and in the right places—lily pad fields and bulrush flats among others—there’s not much short of a live shiner that gives you a better shot at putting a trophy-class Florida largemouth in the boat than hanging one of these big, squirmy trailers on a weedless spoon. And fortunately, there are…
