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