by Cap't. Ralph F. Mariano rmariano@streport.com | Info on Florida Saltwater Fish -Rules and Fishing Tips
Black Drum | Black Grouper | Bluefish | Blue Marlin
Bonefish | Cobia | Dolphin | Flounder
Gag Grouper | Gray Snapper | King Mackerel | Mutton Snapper
Permit | Pompano | Redfish | Red Snapper
Sailfish | Snook | Spanish Mackerel | Tarpon
Trout | Wahoo | White Marlin | Yellowtail Snapper
Yellowfin Tuna | American Shad | Swordfish | Greater Amberjack

SPOON FEEDING SALTWATER FISH When you walk into a well stocked, tackle shop featuring salt water lures, you can't help but wonder will those odd shaped hunks of metal called spoons on display really catch fish? Why would they? Veteran anglers know these spoons can catch fish, lots of fish, and neophytes soon learn how effective they are. These odd shaped lures have been used for centuries. Native Pacific fishermen used shell versions of today's spoons in the 18th century, and undoubtedly for centuries before. Fish were a staple in their diet. They fished to eat. Captain James Cook, famed British sea explorer, in 1772 when visiting the Sandwich Islands, today's tropical playground called Hawaii, noted in his log that native fishermen were using a spoon-type lure fashioned from a shell. Today, the metal version of an ancient idea is an important item in any salt water angler's tackle box. Effective as the spoon is, the reason for its effectiveness is uncertain. The lure doesn't resemble a bait fish as some artificial lures do. However, being shiny, the reflections may imitate those from a floundering bait fish. An injured baitfish is an invitation to a strike by any predator seeking a meal. Because spoons are designed to wobble or revolve, their effectiveness depends upon the speed of their gyrations. Different shapes cause various spoons to react differently at various speeds. To use them properly, you have to control their actions by the speed of your trolling. or the speed of your retrieve if you are casting. When first using a spoon, test it at various speeds in the water to determine at which it functions best. Some demand extremely high speeds. Others perform best at slow ones. The individual design is a big factor in this variation. Spoons can be identified in three ways: 1 - wobbling; 2 - revolving; and 3 - jigging. The first two can be identified further by their shape. The wobblers are much broader and often shaped like a spoon, while the revolvers are long and narrow. Both get their action being retrieved, either by trolling or casting. The jigging spoon's action results from raising and lowering it with your rod. All types of spoons are effective when used properly. Hooks are attached by two methods. They can be either single or treble. They can be free swinging when attached by means of a split ring. When attached by soldering or means of a screw, they become a solid part of the spoon. Treble hooks are not permanently fixed usually. Many prefer the free swinging arrangement because it enables a hook to be replaced easily is damaged. Hooks for jigging spoons usually are cast in some manner to a heavy chunk of metal. Years ago an ardent speckled sea trout fisherman living in the Florida Panhandle sent me a sample of his specially devised, homemade lure. He'd taken a treble hook and cast a metal body around the shank, and added a little nylon, rope skirt. He proudly wrote he never lost a fish that hit his lure. He shouldn't have with three barbs. However, I wondered how often he fouled using this unusual jigging lure. The action of all of the spoons is enhanced by the flash produced as they flutter either being trolled, retrieved, or jigged. Probably the flash is just as important as the actual action, and this combination probably appears to a predator to be baitfish in trouble. As a result, you find spoons generally are silver or gold in color. Spoons designed for fresh water often are other colors, and they will work in salt water. I've tested the famous fresh water red and white spoons widely used for muskies, pike, bass and other game fish and caught briny fish. But I'm not certain the paint was a factor because one side of the spoon was either silver, gold, or copper color. Anyway, the fresh water spoons with one shiny side wobbled and flashed enough to attract salt water fish. Although you can use fresh water spoons in salt, you are better off using lures designed for the ocean. Fresh water lures aren't made to withstand salt water. Manufacturers specializing in salt lures such as Clark, Hopkins, Reflecto, Accetta, Drone, Kastmaster, Lure Jensen, Krocodile and others realize the salty problem. They make their lures as resistant as possible to corrosion and tarnish, but a smart angler washes his spoons with fresh water, allows them to dry, and then wipes them with a clean cloth. You also can profit by giving them a polishing. Spoons come in a variety of sizes from tiny ones suitable only for ultra-light tackle to models more than a foot long. Spoons are usually classified by length, eight to 12 inches being rated as big; six to eight inches, medium; and anything less than six rated as small. The small size is best for casting. The larger spoons generally are used for trolling. Naturally, your tackle has to match. Don't try trolling a big spoon (or casting one) with light tackle.Remember a big spoon can be heavy, and this coupled with the resistance its size encounters when dragged through the water puts a heavy strain on your rod and line. The rule of thumb for big spoons is a minimum of 25 to 30-pound class rods and matching tackle. With medium ones, you can use 12 to 15-pound tackle. And, of course, for smaller spoons with 8 to 12 pound tackle will add a lot sport, but also may produce either an IFGA record or an abundance of broken lines. Your choice depends upon much gamble you like to do with your fishing. Remember a big fish will hit a small spoon at times. If it does, you're in for some rugged sport if your tackle holds. But little fish seldom attack a 12-inch model. After all, they're looking for an easy meal, and they know what size they can handle. To keep from tangling with too many smaller fish, it's best to pick a big enough spoon to discourage them. If you like casting, then you might like to try an idea popular along the Florida Middle Gulf coast. When the redfish are in the shallows around the numerous rocky islands, smart anglers load their tackle boxes with fresh water Johnson-type spoons. They cast them tight against the shore, retrieving rapidly to keep from fouling. Of course, you can't help but foul often, but redfish will chomp on the flashing metal, and provide a spirited fight. Spoons attract a variety of salt water fish. Even marlin have fallen for the wobblies. But as a rule, spoons are most effective with kingfish, Spanish and cerro mackerel, bluefish as well as blackfin tuna, bonito, Wahoo and Amberjack. Because so many of the fish that eagerly attack spoons have sharp chompers, it's mandatory that a wire leader be used. Don't make the mistake of using shiny wire. A toothy fish might hit it by mistake. You want the spoon to provide the attraction, not the wire. Dull, coffee colored wire is best for your leader. How long your leader is depends upon whether you're casting or trolling. Try feeding 'em spoons, and stand by for action!
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WILL HELP RESTORE SOUTH FLORIDA'S COASTAL AREAS The Comprehensive Plan for rebuilding South Florida's freshwater supplies will restore water flows to coastal bays, estuaries and coral reefs and ensure long-term recovery for these important coastal habitats. Vice President Gore presented the Comprehensive Plan to Congress July 1 as the central component of the Administration's long-term strategy for restoring the Everglades and other parts of the South Florida ecosystem. While repairing water flows to the Everglades, the Plan will significantly improve the quality, quantity, timing, and distribution of water delivered to coastal areas. • The existing system of canals and levees was built 50 years ago to reduce flooding and deliver water to farms and growing communities. Seventy percent of the historic freshwater flows that went to the Everglades have been diverted to coastal areas. • The existing system resulted in serious degradation of coastal bays and estuaries as too much water was diverted to northern coasts and not enough reached southern areas like Florida Bay. The diverted flows also carried increasing levels of pollutants to sensitive estuaries and coral reefs, further damaging fisheries and other coastal resources. The Administration's Plan calls for a series of improvements over 20 years to redivert nearly all the damaging freshwater flows that now go to the coast, and deliver it when and where it is needed to restore more natural hydrological conditions in the Everglades and coastal estuaries. WHAT WILL THE PLAN DO FOR SOUTH FLORIDA'S COASTAL AREAS? Florida Bay and the Florida Keys, at the southernmost tip of the Everglades ecosystem, are considered two of south Florida's most important ecological resources. Once known for its clear waters, lush seagrass beds, and outstanding fishing, the health of these subtropical ecosystems has diminished. Florida Bay has experienced seagrass mortality, algal blooms, and hyper-saline conditions, and the living coral reef stretching the length of the Keys is stressed. The Plan will help restore important Coastal Resources including: Pink Shrimp Fishery: Reduced input of freshwater into the nursery grounds of Florida Bay and adjacent estuaries from the 60s into the late 90s resulted in severe declines in the numbers of pink shrimp, one of the most important commercial fisheries in Florida. By returning to more natural flows of freshwater, the Restudy will help the pink shrimp fishery recover and remain one of the most valuable commercial resources in Florida. Agricultural Pesticides: The Plan will help reduce the flow of pesticides from agriculture into coastal bays and estuaries where they are disrupting reproduction of marine species in Florida Bay. Endangered Turtle Habitats: By restoring more natural flows to coastal bays and estuaries, the Plan will help rebuild sea grass beds and other important areas for feeding and reproduction for several marine endangered species such as dolphins, green and loggerhead sea turtles. Reducing Abnormalities in Fishes: Increasing numbers of abnormalities are now found in estuarine, coastal and reef fishes due in part from massive freshwater discharges into estuaries from Lake Okeechobee. The Plan will reduce these damaging discharges and improve water quality, helping to reduce the flow of pollutants into these areas. Sending Additional Freshwater to Florida Bay: Approximately 80 percent of all the "new water" made available by the Restudy will be used to meet environmental needs. The largest amount of new water will be sent to Shark river Slough in Everglades National Park, increasing fresh water flow by an average of almost a million acre-feet per year. Most of this water will flow into Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico estuaries. Tidal Restoration Project: This feature of the Comprehensive Plan will restore the tidal connection that was eliminated in the early 1900s during the construction of the Flagler railroad. Bridges or culverts will be constructed at four locations to restore the tidal connection between Florida Bay and the Atlantic Ocean in Monroe County. Restoring circulation to areas where water flow has been impeded for decades will significantly improve water quality, benthic floral and faunal communities, larval distribution of both recreational and commercial species (such as the spiny lobster), and the overall hydrology of Florida Bay. Florida Keys Water Quality Protection Plan: Water Quality in the Keys is critical to ecosystem restoration. The Florida Keys Water Quality Protection Plan includes measures for improving wastewater and storm water treatment within the Keys. Implementation of this plan is essential to restoration of the south Florida ecosystem. Integration of Protection and Quality Plans: The Comprehensive Integrated Water Quality Plan would ensure that the Florida Keys Water Quality Protection Program is integrated with the recommended Comprehensive Plan and with water quality improvement activities in the Keys. The water quality plan would also expedite the development of salinity-based water quality criteria for Florida Bay and appropriate pollution load reduction targets for nearshore water in the Florida Keys. | PWC backlash…Acting on the results of a user survey, the National Park Service has banned personal watercraft from Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The chief ranger said up to 200 PWC’s at a time would crowd Oregon Inlet to surf waves and jump wakes. Y2K alert… The U. S. Coast Guard is telling electronic anglers to check with the manufacturers to make sure their imbedded chip appliances are compatible with the new century. Affected electronics include marine radios, GPS and LORAN navigators, depth sounders and fish finders, chart plotters, radar and auto-pilots. CITGO helps… CITGO has stepped up to the plate and funded three Fish America Foundation projects. Threadfin shad, bass forage, will be stocked in Alabama’s Highland Lake. Concrete debris will be removed from a 29-acre mangrove wetland along Florida’s Oleta River near Miami. Some trout habitat and bank will be restored on Pennsylvania’s Ridley Creek in Delaware County. Longlining protest… The National Marine Manufacturer’s Association has agreed to sign a resolution protesting longline fishing, which is blamed for the decline of billfish and shark populations. NMMA policy is to not put small, family-operated commercial fishermen out of business, said an NMMA spokesman, adding that the resolution is needed because the possibility of the National Marine Fisheries Service doing anything about longlining is not very promising. Newstuff… Now we have, floating binoculars, thanks to Bushnell. The binocs are nitrogen-purged, making them virtually impervious to fog, rain and saltwater spray.

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