During January 2010 FWC received hundreds of reports from anglers, fishing guides, and the general public regarding dead snook presumed to have been killed by cold weather and low water temperatures.
 
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission took a proactive and precautionary measure aimed at protecting surviving snook during their spring reproductive season by issuing an executive order on January 15 that temporarily extended closed harvest seasons for snook statewide until September 1.

The war between fishermen and lawmakers over snapper fishing is heated as a crematorium furnace on the south pole. On Thursday, July 15^th, new legislation was introduced that has both sides working the debate of the Atlantic snapper fishery hard.

For those of you unaware, there is a law already in effect that bans all snapper fishing in areas of the south Atlantic from North Carolina to Cape Canaveral. Florida’s concern is from south Georgia to Cape Canaveral. There is also legislation on the table to ban all bottom fishing. The depth of effect on all levels of fishing would be devastating, but so would continued overfishing, if that is truly the case. Thus, the debate rages.

Recently while perusing the Tampa Boat Show, I saw a new product “Flex-Toilet” that would be an excellent tool for boaters and campers alike to consider. This product is easy to use, environmentally “green”, compliant with current laws, inexpensive and adaptable for use with many kinds of waste receptacles.

This product is simply a bag that is used as a liner for your boat or camper “head”. When used, the bag will absorb the liquid waste and its odors into a solid gel. The solid content can then be easily disposed of as an odorless, leak free, compact discrete package along with regular household waste. Flex-Toilet is available in a convenient 5 pack and Handy emergency packages with 2 Flex-Toilets, great for being stored in a small space in a; car, truck, private airplane, or in a backpack...

Pollution from human sewage is a very serious issue for the gulf, some of which comes from careless boaters. By providing education and access to the proper tools, this kind of pollution can be greatly reduced. 

Andy Thornal Company, one of CCA Polk County's long time supporters and sponsor, is having a cost-free Fly Fishing July! If you fly fish, it's a time to practice up, or if you were always wondering what fly fishing was all about, now is your chance to find out. From casting to rigging to tying your own flies, you will be able to do it all. Please see the information and schedule attached and below.

As Allen of Thornal's has indicated, if you are interested, you should call and make reservations. Those of us who fly fish know that Allen stocks everything you need, so you should act now and get your reservation. We can guarantee that you will not have a better time while enjoying the sport. Have fun!

Orvis will sponsor a $15 gift certificate to all who participate in the course that have reservations. We will provide all of the gear or bring your own - Please call or email to reserve your place as classes are limited. Call (863) 299-9999 or toll free (800) 499-9890

Two new ideas are going into action right now, including something called an "air bubble curtain" and a barge blockade at Destin Pass. The state of Florida is placing barges there to act as huge booms in the water. The idea is to keep the oil away from the shoreline and help funnel the oil toward skimmer boats so they can collect it. Other ideas involve the use of an air bubble curtain as an underwater barrier. Okaloosa County wants to create a wall of bubbles at Destin Pass to help shield the coast from oil.

I am not sure if these aforementioned techniques are from the BP suggestion website, created shortly after the spill to collect any and all ideas that may help them, but hundreds and hundreds of ideas have poured in from people across the globe, some suggesting the use of explosives and others want to try magnets. Suggestions are pouring in from auto mechanics to physicists to marine engineers and mining workers. I have a suggestion: don't drill so deep that you can't reach the well in a crisis!

See suggestions below:

• Magnetic plug: Powerful fixed magnets to hold magnetic particles in the pipe
• Screw top: Fit a threaded sleeve around the pipe, then screw on a closed valve.
• Big shot: An explosively inserted copper plug, shot from a crude cannon
• Freeze out: Wrap the pipe with a heat exchanger, then pump in cryogenic fluid to form an ice plug
• Snap shut: Use explosives to pinch pipe closed
• Burn, baby, burn: Inject oxygen before oil exits and create a giant acetylene-like torch
• Inflatable collar: Insert another pipe into the fractured pipe with an inflatable collar, then inflate to create a seal
• Bubble curtain: Use perforated hoses to create a bubble curtain around the oil slick and contain it for pumping to the surface
   

Perfect trolling speed doesn't necessarily mean the addition of an expensive trolling motor, or does it?  You can make this fixed-position trolling plate a simple but extremely effective part of your fishing strategy or buy a trolling motor. In the up position, the plate acts as a stabilizer, smoothing out the ride in rough water and reducing porpoising and cavitation. In the down position, it serves as a brake so you can maintain the ideal trolling speed.

Slows even big motors down to that ever-so-slow fish tantalizing speed. A significant invention in the sport of troll fishing, Happy Troller mounts on the anti-cavitation plate to allow fine control of trolling speed. At cruising speed, your boat?s stability is enhanced. Locks in down position for trolling. Locks in up position for cruising. Happy Troller is the answer to correct trolling speed. Use it year-round in all boating activities; salt and fresh water. 

Over 150 anglers hit the water this past weekend to raise money for a great cause – to send children burn survivors to summer camp.  And, some AWESOME fish were caught!  The winning offshore team, Braggin’ Rights with Captain Steve Bertran, Mike Watts, Tommy Butler, and Josh Taylor reeled a 218 pound Warsaw Grouper among others!  It took a crane just to lift the grouper out of the boat! The team donated the giant fish to The American Legion in Bradenton.  And, Junior Angler, Jared Mong reeled in a 34 inch Snook to win the biggest inshore junior fish.

The offshore fishing tournament ran from Friday night, June 18th through Sunday morning, June 20^th at 3pm.  The inshore fishing tournament ran from 7am on Saturday morning, June 19^th through 1pm on Sunday afternoon, June 20th.  The Weigh-In & Awards Party and Fishing Expo were on Sunday, June 20^th from 11am-6pm at the Bradenton Yacht Club.  Besides fishing, there were vendors, live music and family entertainment provided by local band, New Justice. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Samantha Scott (239) 221-2858 | Samantha@GetPushing.com 42ND ANNUAL NAPLES BOAT SHOW SEES MORE THAN 7,000 VISITORS Despite Economy, Event Bigger & Better Then Previous Year NAPLES, Fla. – January 29, 2009 – The Marine Industries Association of Collier County (MIACC) is pleased to announce their recent 42nd Annual Naples Boat Show and 1st Annual Seafood Festival was a huge success. The four-day event kicked off on Thursday, January 22nd and saw more than 7,000 attendees and over 200 boats. A total of more than 100 vendors, including over 20 area boat dealers and in excess of 80 related businesses, were on hand as guests perused the show and enjoyed the sounds of J Roberts, The Dazzling Delray’s and Cathy Orban.

As part of the inaugural seafood festival, food and beverages were offered by Pincher’s Crab Shack and their 7 locations. Event sponsors included Naples Daily News, Bonita Daily News, SetAnchor.com, Pincher’s Crab Shack, Antaramian Development Group, Carter Fencing, Taylor Rental Naples, Naples Bay Resort, Renda Broadcasting and Sea//Tow Naples. “We were thrilled with the turn out this year and look forward to continuing the tradition in an even bigger way next year,” commented Summer Hoglund, Director of MIACC. “Our guests and vendors enjoyed themselves and the weather couldn’t have been better. Just another day in boater’s paradise.” For more information about the 43rd Annual Boat Show and 2nd Annual Seafood Festival already in the works or to sign up for the mailing list, please visit www.miacc.org or email director@miacc.org. The Marine Industries Association of Collier County represents the Collier County marine industry and promotes and protects recreational boating in Southwest Florida. The MIACC believes in every citizen’s right to access Florida’s waterways and helps to protect and enhance the waterways for the enjoyment of both residents and tourists. In addition, they also promote boating and fishing education.

Tampa Bay Watch celebrates fifteen years of Restoring the Bay Every Day with an Evening for the Bay. The event will take place at Tampa Bay Watch Marine Center and will feature live music, delicious food, libations, a silent auction and raffle on Friday, December 5, 2008 from 5-10 p.m. Guests are welcome to wear island casual attire. Dean Young, popular cartoonist of Blondie comic strip, graciously donated the commemorative artwork featured for this event. Proceeds from the event will benefit Tampa Bay Watch, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the marine and wetland environments of the Tampa Bay estuary and educating the community about environmental stewardship.

Tampa Bay Watch mobilizes over 10,000 community volunteers per year with hands-on habitat restoration projects such as salt marsh plantings, oyster dome and reef construction, coastal cleanups and storm drain markings. The mission of the organization has a positive and visible impact on the community, children and the Tampa Bay area through restoration projects and education programs. The efforts of Tampa Bay Watch to restore and protect the bay’s habitat through stewardship and community awareness provide effective long term improvements to the bay and empower our community with the knowledge to counteract our environmental problems. By expanding involvement in hands-on restoration and protection projects around the bay, the organization strives to counteract the huge loss of wetland habitat over the past 100 years. To register for an Evening for the Bay, to sponsor this event, or donate auction and raffle items, please contact Jessica Combs at 727-867-8166 or visit www.tampabaywatch.org.

Please RSVP by November 28th. Tampa Bay Watch is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) stewardship program dedicated exclusively to the charitable and scientific purpose of protecting and restoring the marine and wetland environments of the Tampa Bay estuary encompassing over 400 square miles of open water and 2300 square miles of highly-developed watershed. Tampa Bay Watch involves more than 10,000 youth and adult volunteers each year in hands on habitat restoration projects. For more information on upcoming events, becoming a volunteer or member, visit www.tampabaywatch.org, or call 727-867-8166.

Inboard Performance System, or IPS, is the name for the most innovative development in propulsion since the invention of the outdrive, and something that may render the conventional shaft drive obsolete. IPS is a combined engine and propulsion system, sold as a package in the same way that an outdrive can be. You can’t buy the propulsion unit on its own, and currently IPS is approved only for twin installations. The engines are the same as used in the sterndrive and conventional shaft drive applications. IPS uses two forward-facing contra-rotating propellers per unit. The superior efficiency of twin contra-rotating propellers over a single larger diameter one was appreciated many years ago, and Volvo’s duoprop outdrive is the established manifestation of that theory. Because they operate in clear water, propellers work better in tractor (pulling) form than in pusher mode, but shaft drive installation naturally ensured that the pusher principle has remained dominant in the marine world.

Higher Efficiency Significantly increased propulsive efficiency is one of the key benefits of IPS, but that increase has been made possible on by a fundamental rethink of propulsion principles. About the only thing IPS has in common with conventional shaft drive is that it uses fully submerged propellers rather than jets or surface-piercing propellers. Forty-Plus Knots Another advantage of the IPS propulsion unit is the ability to break through the 40-knot barrier that the inefficiency of conventional propellers imposes. This is significant because propulsion for 40 knots plus boats has traditionally been the preserve of relatively expensive surface drives like the Arneson or Buzzi drive. The IPS does seem to provide the potential for a new generation of higher speedboats that inhabit the mainstream rather than the esoteric. Improved Handling Low speed maneuverability is excellent. IPS provides all the (outdrive) advantages of vectored thrust so you can push or pull the stern around and turn extremely tightly using just one engine, or both if you need more haste. But unlike most outdrive setups, IPS also works okay when you leave the wheel centered and use ahead and astern commands as you do with shaft drive. The response is slower but still distinctly shaft-like. The drive units also have plenty of keel area so they provide remarkably good directional stability. Idling out of the marina on just one engine required only the slightest deflection of the wheel, and like shafts and rudders, side winds have less effect than on outdrive leg boats. The great thing is that you can pick and choose depending on what you are trying to achieve. Center the IPS and turn in your own length. Or vector the IPS, dab the bowthruster, and see yourself pulling smartly sideways and backwards (or forwards) out of a tricky cross-tide marina berth.