The Political Sandbox: Think About Catch Shares, Sector Separation & R.I....

The Political Sandbox: Think About Catch Shares, Sector Separation & R.I....: "When it was passed in 1970, the RICO Act was primarily intended to eliminate the influence of the Mafia in the nation's economy. Though toda..."

The Political Sandbox: SAVE OUR FISHING INDUSTRY: TELL PRESIDENT OBAMA>>>...

The Political Sandbox: SAVE OUR FISHING INDUSTRY: TELL PRESIDENT OBAMA>>>...: "Here is a link to the white house web that will give you an opportunity to submit a question for Pres Obama to be answered after his state..."

Facebook | JaneLubchenko Must Go

Gary Poyssick

Honored to be a small component in the battle to keep the Environmental Defense Fund, NOAA and the left from controlling our fisheries. Americans have the right to fish. Make America Aware of the travesty of progressive regulation of our fishery. Defend our right to fish. Defend our Carbon Footprints!!!!!!

Gary Anderson

NOAA, the EDF, the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council and the Keep America Fishing advocates are pushing for more recreational permit programs, thus allowing those that can afford to fish to do so and those that can't, well they can just cut bait. The Keep America Fishing logo is just that, a branding or a tool for all the government ABC's to control your fishing rights and all those that joined up under the Keep America Fishing website thought it was aimed to preserve their right; where as they were really just sold a bill of goods. The Duping of America! “Fishermen who signed up for Keep America Fishing email campaigns as are now united under one voice with a group which openly supported the restrictive language written into Magnuson in 2006 and is now advocating for

building broader private angler support for catch shares in 2010,” Jim Donofrio, RFA (Recreational Fishing Alliance) Executive Director.

THE BACKBONE TO DEFENDING OUR RIGHTS TO FISH: THE ONLINE FISHERMAN DOT COM!

Something Smells Here?

FLORIDA FLOATERS!


There is more than oil floating around in our Legislature and if we are not

careful they will be taxing your rod guides next!

Here Kitty-Kitty; In Search of Florida Cats

Where the catfish play, the gators are not far away...

Springtime Visits by the Gators...

It is the Mating Game here in Florida and Gators are active too!

ROAD KILL!

HOG HUNTING ON RIVER ROAD BETWEEN I-75 & U.S. 41
JUST NORTH OF NORTH PORT AND SOUTH OF VENICE, FLORIDA

A JOURNEY IN FLORIDA GREEN

Angling Florida waters is a blend of open oceans and seas to bays, beaches, brackish water rivers, creeks and streams, which make up inshore Florida. A demarcation between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean noticed only by a thinly spread of islands, known as the Keys and its exceptional styles and varieties of fish caught either on land or onboard. If you need it, Inshore Florida at The Reel Deal will get it; outboard/inboard motor parts to any angling gear you cannot find; also carrying a small but select inventory of products to aid you in catching fish within and beyond Inshore Florida. Looking for an adventure to remember and cherish for a lifetime, kayaks to backpacks, a journey in Florida green, providing you with a free no fee charter guide referral service from offshore big game to inshore whatever and backcountry drifting trips too. Kayaking the inner secrets of Florida’s estuaries and mangrove-lined creeks to canals, where you, like the Indians of yesteryear once paddled quietly across the skinnies in search of his quest. Exotic birds to alligators on the waters; a photographic moment waiting to be caught in time with Inshore Florida-Offshore Wherever, helping you find what you want while visiting us here in the Sunshine State and becoming a better steward to your marine surroundings and practicing CPR when ever possible (Catch, Photograph and Release).

Florida: Gator Hunt Season: Aug. 15 - Nov. 1, 2008

One Permit Allows Two Kills
Alligator hunting permits go on sale June 3, as approximately 45-hundred permits will be available for the season, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The season runs from August 15 through November 1, with permits sold on a first-come, first-served basis from June 3 through June 9. Each permit allows one hunter to kill two alligators.
Permits for Florida residents cost a little over $270.00. Nonresidents pay slightly more than $1,000. Each additional permit costs about $60.00 regardless of residency. Applicants have the option of applying at any county tax collector's office, license agent (retail outlet that sells hunting and fishing licenses), and at MyFWC.com/license.

To educate participants on the rules and regulations of the hunts, the FWC offers a no-cost, three-hour training and orientation program, held at various locations throughout the state. Permit recipients are not required to attend, but first-time participants are strongly encouraged to do so. Courses held in July and August, and permit holders will receive, by mail, permit packages listing dates and locations.

Bigfoot's Realm: Skunk Ape

Bigfoot's Realm: Skunk Ape

What If?

Photo Blog: Myakka State Park

Neat little VOX Blog on the park by Warren. Photo is from his story and says it all:

Fishing Myakka River/Charlotte Harbor, Florida

Fishing Myakka River/Charlotte Harbor, Florida

Blog I found that has some great info if your planning a trip down south of Snook Haven on the Myakka at Venice. Best bet would be to launch in El Jobean and go north, either way there are many fish to catch, one way or the other.

Heaven on the Myakka at Venice: Snook Haven

500 E. Venice Ave., Venice, (941) 485-7221.

Take I-75 south to exit 191 and go west about a mile, and then turn left onto East Venice Avenue.

River tours run Wednesday-Sunday, 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., $10-$12 person.

Don’t let the dirt road fool you, just keep on trekking and you will dead end into the river or parking lot, and they both are at the end, next to Snook Haven.

At Snook Haven little has but changed but the faces and styles; all that remain of a day from our past. If you sit back, you can still hear Johnny Weissmuller ordering a cold can of brew from over the bar back. Old style pictures still hang at crooked angles and if you listen carefully, ignoring the hustle and bustle of the modern world down the road, you will hear a raptor’s cry as Marlene orders the same, waiting from a break in the rain, before filming again begins with Revenge of the Killer Turtles (1947). As an old Florida, bayou-style restaurant and pleasantly primitive entertainment venue, Snook Haven Restaurant & Fish Camp has been a fixture in Venice for more than 50 years. Even before that, fishermen traversing the fish-filled waters of the Myakka River in the early 1900s camped in the area. Used as everything from fish camp to fish house, this journey back into time is well worth the time to visit. Back when I first moved to Venice, Florida, Snook Haven is where I set up my head quarters and rendezvous for ReelnFish Charters. Running clients up the river for a chance to mingle with our Florida wildlife and catch Bass to freshwater Channel Catfish. Big cats in the twenty pound plus range on light tackle to cane poles. Camping on the banks or overnight pack-ins. Moving down stream we would catch everything from Snook to Reds and if the tides are right, you can catch Bull sharks on one side of the river and Bass on the other, along with an occasional Blue crab too. Now retired to angling and writing about it I enjoy my visits back where “Tarzan” slept lazily along an out stretched branch of a giant oak draped with Spanish moss beyond the restaurant's waterfront, back deck. There one can find a canoe tucked between a fleet canoes to kayaks loosely tied to the aging dock. Here you can elect to explore the slow-moving waters by powerboat or as Snook Haven's slogan states - "You and a Canoe" – paradise to me! In the canoe, the river is yours, at eye level with the crocks, the beauty is bountiful.

Snook Haven is on the sun-dappled shores of the winding Myakka River in Venice. Think giant oaks draped with Spanish moss, graceful cabbage palms, and tea-colored waters flowing by. Two movies have been filmed there, the most famous a Tarzan flick called Revenge of the Killer Turtles. On Thursdays, the public is invited to hear the Gulf Coast Banjo Society practice from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., and every Sunday the place overflows with weekend bikers and other regulars who gather round the shaded outdoor picnic tables to listen to live music. For overnight stays, you can bring your own RV or rent one of the fully furnished cabins. Call first, though, as many are undergoing renovation. Snook Haven also offers guided pontoon boat charters up and down the Myakka River. Bring a camera; one November afternoon, one of the largest alligators the boat captain said he’s ever seen charged the charter and dove straight under. Even grown men shrieked. But the boat also meanders down some spectacularly scenic stretches of pristine county-owned lands that will never be developed. River tours are available Wednesday through Sunday. You can eat indoors or dine outside at a wooden table overlooking the river. Lunch is served from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; dinner runs from 4-9 p.m. seven days a week. Specialties include gator bites (of course!) and grouper, fried, grilled or blackened. Try it stuffed with crab or with the shrimp and clam platter. December, when the early mornings and evening are cool, is a splendid time of year for this experience. Bring bug spray, as the mosquitoes can be vicious.

Some of our Favorite Links:

Florida Nature Lover

Myakka River State Park

Friends of the Myakka River