Beavertail Skiffs has been quietly building some of the best flats boats on the market for several years.  Their newest model, the BT3, has come closer to perfection than almost any other 18 footer I’ve ever seen. 

Beavertail actually started out building duck hunting boats in Minnesota before jumping into the saltwater market.  I bought one of their ultra-light B2 models in 2007 and considered it the best possible rig for the type of shallow water fishing that I do here on Pine Island and after more than 600 charters I had no intention of giving it up for something new.

 “About Boating Safely” is a beginner boating course offered by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary (Flotilla 75-Ruskin). The course will be held at the Tampa Sailing Squadron clubhouse on Apollo Beach Blvd. in Apollo Beach .

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) on Thursday in Key Largo approved St. Augustine's proposed boating ordinance for the anchoring and mooring pilot program coordinated by the FWC. However, the approval was contingent upon the city changing the length of stay for anchoring to 30 consecutive days in any 45-day period.

Local governments for the five communities participating in the pilot program are responsible for soliciting public input for their ordinance-development process. Since the June Commission meeting, when the final participant was selected for the program, FWC staff has been attending the sites' public-input meetings to provide information on the pilot program.

Pictured above: USCG Auxiliary Flotilla 7 Commander Alexander Ilnyckyj (L) and District Commodore Woody Simpson (R) with “Flotilla of the Year” Award

Purchasing a boat put a bit of a dent in our monthly budget, but each time we fill the tank I cringe even more. Knowing that we intended to use the boat every weekend I put together a gas budget. Being inexperienced, I based my budget on standard gasoline, the less expensive kind containing ethanol. I am frugal by nature so after filling up at the marina the first time to the tune of $150, I vowed to find a more economical route.

I noted rather quickly that the gas at any of the marine docks was much more expensive than the gas stations I fill my van at. The next weekend as we filled up at the dock I decided to interview the attendant.

The first weekend we spent at the cottage I learned the first of many lessons about tides. Growing up far from any sign of salt water, I was not familiar with anything greater than an elementary level oceanography degree. I announced to the rest of the family that high tide would occur at noon, since it occured the previous day at noon. WRONG. I was shocked the when at noon it wasn’t high tide, in fact, far from it. I imagined tides would be like sunsets, close in time each day varying only slightly.

Life Jackets: How to Keep Your Children in Them

Boating is an activity that can be enjoyed by the entire family. It is fun and exciting and generally quite entertaining. I have four small boys that love to spend their weekends on the boat. Boating with children poses a few extra challenges though that you don’t have with adult type passengers.

One of the greatest trials we’ve had with our boys is the life jackets or life vests. According to our FWC invessels under 26 feet in length, all children under the age of six must wear an approved and appropriately sized life jacket at all times. The only exceptions are when the boat is anchored, docked, moored or grounded. It can be a challenge to keep young children in compliance.

“Everyone got a life jacket?”
 
It’s a simple question boat owners often ask when heading out on the water. However, for younger guests who require the right-sized life jacket that answer isn’t always “yes.” There may be only adult-size life jackets on board, kids may have simply outgrown their life jacket, or perhaps some younger guests joined the outing at the last minute.

For over thirty years, I’ve used a pair of jigs tied up in tandem called the Love’s Lures Tandem Jig with good success and have caught a wide assortment of fish with them. I’ve varied the original rig by tying up my own rigs using an assortment of jig weights with CAL Curly tails. The different weights will control the speed of the fall of the rig. This way, I have better control in fishing different depths, but they work the same way.