Submit Your Question | Talk Outdoors

Hello Frank, I read your column Sunday and do agree with you. The bay is looking better these days. I have, though, noticed a few things. The absence of kings crown conchs. I used to see them everywhere and they were big. Now I rarely see them, and when I do they are very small. Do you have a take on this? Also, I was at the Gandy area the other day and noticed the absence of seagrass off of Georgetown. This area used to be huge and it was full of trout. When I was a boy, my stepfather and I always fished there first because of all the grass. Now the grass is very sparse and it is mostly sand flats. I wonder what happened there?  But, I have noticed that the grass is coming back in the shallow water off of Simmons Park in Ruskin. Also, do you know if they are going to replace the reef markers in the bay? I saw one washed up on the beach at Picnic Island the other day. How can the average fisherman find the good locations without electronics we can’t afford? I enjoy your columns and am glad Tampa Bay is still a wonderful place to fish. Thanks, Mike Baier

A: I’m starting to see quite a few small king conchs along the south shore, but I understand these are slow-growing; maybe in a few years we will see more of them once again throughout the bay. Re the big flat near Gandy, I don’t know why that one has not come back, but it might be worth noting that this area was one of them where water quality was marginal in the most recent report. On the reef markers, I will pass along your request to the county and see if we can’t get something going on that front, though with the current budget crunch in nearly all departments, it may be a challenge. Thanks for your note, and good fishing. FS

---

Dear Mr. Sargeant: First, I would like to thank you for your efforts through the years to educate and inform the public about hunting, fishing, and conservation issues.  I have enjoyed your columns for many years now and I still look forward to them each Sunday.

I also wanted to seek your advice with regards to an upcoming fishing trip.  For the past 4 years, my company has allowed myself and two colleagues to take one of our most important customers on a fishing trip.  We are all avid fishermen, but our customer is even more fortunate in that his job has allowed him to fish all over the world.  One trip that he has never done is a trip to the Everglades.  We are interested in pursuing snook and redfish primarily, but we are open to fishing for trout, tarpon, or even goliath grouper.  We would like to go in April or May (2-3 days of fishing), but we are flexible if there is a better time of year to target these species in the Glades.  I don’t know if you are comfortable recommending any specific guides, but I thought I would see if you could at least point us in the right direction.  We want to make sure we find a reputable guide with a proven track record.  Also, any recommendations on lodging or the best areas of the Glades to fish would be appreciated.  Thank you. - Don Beard

A: Captain Pat Kelly is one of the best in that area for snook, and he gets a lot of big fish in April and May. He can be reached at doublepats@aol.com or 863-644-4401. Pat used to keep a house down there where he lodges his clients--may still have it. Otherwise, check with him on suggestions for lodging at Chokoloskee or Everglades City. Tight lines, Frank Sargeant

---

Q: I strongly disagree that mullet have made a comeback to previous levels. That is before commercial netting, just for the roe. The fish would be discarded after removal of the roe and the roe shipped to Asian countries. I was not for the gill net ban, only against the roe fishing. I had a gill net boat and netted on my days off from my job as a Hillsborough County deputy. To me it was recreational. I was never able to cash in on the roe mullet runs due to my work hours. I sold the gill net boat before the net ban and went back to cast netting. There were several areas I could depend on to cast net my limit weekly. In my opinion mullet are the best eating fish that swim. In ‘96 I moved out of the area and moved back in ‘06. Since moving back to the Bay area I have returned to my old cast netting areas and the mullet are not there. Also there is a bridge in Dunedin where we threw our nets blindly with success until the roe netting began in Clearwater Bay. I haven’t been back to this bridge in years but I doubt that the mullet have returned. There should be a ban on exporting the mullet roe. There was never a shortage of mullet before exporting began and the roe was only consumed locally. I make my own cast nets and have a boat just for cast netting (wide, flat bottom and stable). I am a nephew of Gene Turner’s and although not as vocal, I am concerned about the lack of mullet in our waters.  G. Turner

A: Many anglers feel the way you do. Of course, the commercial netters don’t agree, but the FFWCC will consider the input from various user groups as well as the biological status of the fish before they make any changes. Hopefully, we won’t see a return to toward the bad old days prior to 1995.

---

Hi Frank: Enjoyed your article on tilapia. Set me straight, I recall about 30 or 35 years ago these fish were introduced into Lake Parker in Lakeland. The purpose at that time was to attempt to control elodea and other water weeds. These fish were called ‘’Chinese Carp.’’ Do you know if these are the same kind of fish as tilapia? I looked at the Florida Fish & Wildlife web page and it says that these fish are mistakenly called Nile Perch. What say you? - Chuck Wilkeson, Zephyrhills

Chuck: No, tilapia are not the weed-eating carp. A species known as the white amur has been introduced here and there to cut down on weeds, and the fish are sterilized before they are released so that they won’t reproduce. The idea is they eat the weeds, then gradually die out. It hasn’t worked too well, though. As you indicate, tilapia and nile perch are not the same species. Tilapia reach maybe 8 to 10 pounds, nile perch over 100 pounds. They look quite a bit alike, but the nile perch is actually a distant relative of the snook, as well as the Australian barramundi. Best, FS

---

Mr. Sargeant: First let me thank you for help in the past. I started fishing Hicks Park after reading an article you wrote about it. It is truly a great park. My 6-year-old son caught his first bass on an artificial worm there. Later you helped out when the lake became overgrown with weeds and needed treatment from the city. Anyway, I have moved to the northwest part of Hillsborough. I still have a john boat and would like to find some other places similar to Hicks Park that I can fish with only a trolling motor maybe a little closer to home. Any suggestions? - Marty Palmer

Marty: Lake Rogers Park might be worth a try - I’ve not fished it personally, but it looks pretty good. It’s west of Gunn Hwy, where Race Track and Boy Scout Roads join. Also, you’re pretty close to Lake Tarpon, which can be pretty good at this time of year - the canal on the south end is great with a RatLTrap when the water is moving. Tight lines. FS

---

Dear Mr. Sergeant, With all great respect for your fishing advice, I read with great interest today’s article on USGS Surveys and went to the site.  Have you ever tried Google Earth to view waterways? It’s a pretty good tool to zoom in especially when you’re looking for grass flats etc. Best wishes and hope to meet you in person (to get some fishing tips)! - Vince Mazzara
Vince: Good point - I use that one frequently, too, and have mentioned it in my column before. The difference on the USGS sight is that you can see the deep water contours, which is of special interest to grouper and snapper fishermen. Tight lines. FS

---

Frank: Can you tell me the best time of the year to fish for juvenile tarpon up in the Manatee River? Thanks. Al
A: It’s mostly a summer thing, though I think the fish are there year around. They seem to move farther upriver in periods of low rain, like Fall, and then down nearer the mouth when there’s lots of rain in summer. Tight lines. FS

---

Frank, I’ve been fishing the gulf beaches (Anna Maria and Longboat) quite a bit this summer. In June/July, I saw many snook wading in the surf and throwing a little white flat tailed jig. Caught 10-15 each weekend. In August, I’ve barely seen any schools (2-5 fish) cruising along the beach. Where have they all gone? The numbers are noticably lower. Any idea why? Thanks. Rod Crawford, Tampa

A: Natural cycle--the fish are in the passes and along the beaches during the spawn, typically May through mid August, then they move out of that area and back into the bays, winding up in the Intracoastal Waterway and in the coastal rivers for the winter. They’ll be back where you found them this summer starting next May. Tight lines. FS

---

Dear Frank,
I live near Collier and Hwy 54 in Land O’ Lakes. I work nights, so driving home at night I have seen the usual type things like raccoons, possums and deer. I have even seen a gator in the middle of Willowbend Parkway. Twice, in the last week, I have seen what I think is a coyote; once on the side of the road on Willowbend and County Line - Lutz and just this morning feeding on roadkill at 41 and Sunset. Being from West Texas I have seen my share, so know what a coyote looks like. Has anyone else reported the same? If so people need to keep the cats in. Always enjoy reading your colums.—Ben Strakos

Ben,
Actually, coyotes are now very common throughout most of Florida. They spread into the state roughly 20 years ago, and have also come on strong in pretty much all of the eastern U.S. in that time; I occasionally see them when I hunt in Ohio, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina. Biologists speculate that the spread came along with the increase in whitetail deer, though I think they prey on smaller animals in general--armodillos seem the most common target here. In any case, you are right about them taking household pets--an easy catch. 

---

Frank: In and around Tampa Bay, Anna Maria Island, etc., rental Jet Skis do more damage than most other boating. They pay no attention to signs, bouys, and no-wake zones. Sea grass, mangroves and dolphins are not safe. The state and county need to address this rental to save our shoreline. A few more police patrols to stop these people would help. Thank you. Joe Anderson

Joe: Unfortunately, you are right. Rental PWC’s are a particular problem because they renters do not know our waters nor the rules for courteous operation - it’s a continuing problem. Boaters can do their part by reporting any unlawful operation to the FFWCC or the Sheriff’s Marine Patrol department. Thanks for reminding us. Best, Frank Sargeant

---

Frank,

I have always wondered why outdoor writers and anglers have found themselves so fixated over the gill plates of a snook. Reams of paper have been devoted, and wasted, on insisting unless one is armed with a mono leader of hundreds of pounds, or wire, you will certainly be ‘’cut off’’ by the gill plates.

Your story in the Aug. 12, 2007 Tribune prompted me to write. Just north of the terminal end of the gill plate of a snook lies what I will call that portion of the gill plate which has caused such misconception. Its sharp edge points to the tail of the fish. The great majority of hooked snook swim forward not backward. Hooked fish swim against the restraining fishing line. In a great many instances, if not in every instance of a hooked snook, the leader never touches the gill plate. The only exception which comes to mind is when a hooked snook jumps and flares its gills. Then, exists the potential, particularly if the angler ‘’bows’’ to the fish thus placing slack into the line, for the leader/line to become entangled in that portion of the gill plate located north of the terminal end of the gill plate. If such entanglement occurs, your famous ‘’cut-off’’ results.

I am convinced after many, many years of fishing the writings on gill plate cut-offs are more myth than fact unless, of course, hooked snook have learned to swim backwards.

What outdoor writers seem to regularly neglect from their snook writings is informing the angling public of the devastating effect on mono leaders, sans those of 100-pound test and above, by the lips of the snook. At the lip is where the vast majority of snook ‘’cut-offs’’ occur, not on the north end of the gill plate.

I’d like to hear from you if you think otherwise.

Norman S. Cannella, Sr.

Norm,

I don’t disagree that the rough jaws of the snook do sandpaper their way through mono leaders, particularly lighter ones. However, I do think that in numerous cases where the leader breaks on the first run of the fish, as the fish is going away, that the leader can come over the shoulder of the fish, and in that case could easily be cut by the gill plate. In cases where the broken leader shows no roughness or sanding, it seems to be fairly likely that the cutoff was on the gill plates rather than on the jaws, to me. On the other hand, I brought this up with Scott Moore, and he said he thinks 90 percent of the cutoffs are on the jaws. In any case, thanks for sharing your thoughts, and tight lines. FS

---

Good Morning Frank—Did you used to work in the Houston, Tx. area as a sports writer? Your name sounds very familiar to me. I’m new to Tampa from the Texas Gulf Coast area and am looking for easily accessible spots to wade fish. You’ve written several articles on it, but I’ve not had much luck locating the exact points of entry into the water. Any help you could give me would be appreciated. I’m interested in Cockroach Bay, Simmons Park, and either end of Sunshine Skyway Bridge and Courtney Campbell Parkway (which restaurants are you referring too?). Sincerely, Ted Bishop

Ted: I used to work for Southern Outdoors and a number of other BASS publications, which is probably where you’ve heard my name. In any case, Cockroach Bay is at the west end of Cockroach Bay Road off U.S. 41 south of Ruskin. The trick here is to wade along the north shore until you round the mangrove point--then, you have miles of shallow water flats where you’ll find reds and snook. At Simmons Park north of Ruskin, it’s tougher--you have to wade or swim across the canal that’s on the northeast side, and then you gain access to more than a mile of mangrove shoreline--very good snook area. At the Skyway, you can park on the south end and wade either side--the farther you go from the parking area, the better the fishing. And at Courtney Campbell, I like the rocks out in front of the Rusty Pelican. Tricky wading in there--it’s easy to fall. But there are plenty of reds and the occasional snook. The east end of the bay here near the big hotel is also a good redfish wading area. Hope this helps. FS

---

Dear Frank: My family and I and a friend of the family have been fishing a lot at the Skyway Pier. Mostly the south pier. We have been trying for shark mainly, but go for whatever we can get. The problem we have been running into is the sharks haven’t been hitting like we want.  For baits I’ve been using mullet, bonita, jack and threadfins. I’ve tried chum blocks with no success. I’ve spoken to countless people at bait and tackle shops looking for advice. Some has been good and some has been bad. Do you have any suggestions for bait, chum, or a better place to go?  We mainly go at night on the weekends. Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Tom in St. Pete

Tom: Give the Gandy Friendship Trail Bridge a try; that area has lots of bull sharks after dark, in there feeding on ladyfish attracted by the lights. Best bait is ladyfish, naturally, which you can catch on a small jig. It’s sometimes possible to actually see the sharks cruising the light line, and then pitch a cut ladyfish in front of them. Then, HANG ON! Tight lines. FS

---

Mr. Sargeant, I have read tons of your articles and have always found them knowledgeable and entertaining. I have recently fished the heck out of Fort DeSoto without very much luck, I’m afraid. I’m just not understanding what’s keeping me from the fish this year. I have heard about better snook fishing a little farther north, but I must be cursed this year. I really need some sure-fire stuff. Can you help me out? - James

James, I’d try getting out there at dawn and walking the beach near Bunce’s Pass, casting ahead as you walk within 5 to 15 feet of the sand. A DOA Shrimp of a Mirrodine would be a good choice. Best action is likely to be on the two or three days just after a new or full moon, on rising tide. Good luck! FS

---

Dear Frank, It is obvious that the saltwater fishing is not so hot above Tarpon, but just once could you guys throw us a bone and show areas in Pasco and Hernando? If there are places to wade above Green Key, we non-boaters would be tickled pink that someone knew we existed. Thank you, Leonard Reiss

Leonard: Fishing is great above Tarpon Springs, and I fish there often. In the past few months we’ve had pieces on the trout fishing up in your area, and on the trout at Homosassa, among others. Of course, wading can be a problem up there, particularly north of Hernando Beach, because of the vast marshes that guard the area. I know quite a few people who do well fishing off the Honeymoon Causeway, north side for trout and around the undercuts for snook. Right now, in that area, best bet would be to go to Honeymoon and fish the beaches for snook--walk all the way up to the north end, fishing as you go, on a rising tide. Cast within 10 feet of the beach ahead of you as you go with a Tsunami 4 inch swimbait or a Mirrodine - you’ll hook up. Tight lines. Frank Sargeant

---

Advertisement

Get Weekly Deals | Write a letter to the editor | Subscribe and get two weeks free | Place an Ad