- April 26, 2024
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In state fishing news, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission put the redfish bag limit on hold to obtain an updated stock assessment. Final action on the decision on whether to increase the bag limit to two fish per angler per day will take place in November.
On the federal level, federal fishery managers are proposing measures for species managed jointly by the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Councils, including king mackerel, Spanish mackerel and cobia. Measures are also being proposed for the lobster fishery, which is also jointly managed. Annual catch limits (in pounds or numbers of fish) and accountability measures must be set for these species by the end of 2011, as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, to prevent overfishing. The measures will impact both commercial and recreational fishermen who fish in federal waters along the Atlantic Coast and Gulf of Mexico.
Sales for fly-fishing gear showed impressive gains with 59.3% of anglers reporting they bought fly fishing tackle in 2010, an increase of 4.1% from 2009. Sixty-nine percent of the gear bought was spent on flies, while 66.3% of dedicated fly fisherman fish for freshwater trout.
Along the county beaches, fishermen are still looking for cobia to show up in numbers. I have heard of a couple being caught but nothing to get excited about yet. Most of the near-shore action still remains to the south of us, near Ponce Inlet. Most of the cobia in Flagler is taking place offshore on the reefs and wrecks. George’s Reef has been very productive if you can get out of Matanzas Inlet on a calm day.
The Flagler pier has been yielding whiting, bluefish, Spanish mackerel and trout. I’ve heard that some of these trout have been in the 4-pound range. Use Gotcha plugs for the mackerel and bluefish. Frozen, live or cut mullet will also work on the blues. The trout are eating live mullet.
Inshore, the fishing has slowed with the full moon, but look for things to pick up as the moon wanes.
Here’s another national title for you University of Florida sports fans to brag about: The Gators won the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship, on Kentucky Lake, making it the Gators’ second-straight national title. Teammates Jake Gipson and Matt Wercinski weighed in bass totaling 41 pounds, 8 ounces, besting LSU-Shreveport by more than 3 pounds. First-place prizes totaled $100,000, of which $25,000 goes to the University of Florida and $50,000 to Florida’s Bass Club, along with a $25,000 Ranger Bass Boat.
