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Fish Tales: Now's the time to brush up on boating skills

By CATHY COTTRILL (Contact)

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

February, traditionally our coldest and most blustery month of the year, isn't necessarily good for fishing, but those who enjoy the water can hone their skills thanks to a variety of educational opportunities.

• Do you live in Southwest Florida and have never been in a kayak? Are you a powerboater and clueless about paddle sports? Do you want to know more about what to do when you rent a kayak or go on a guided trip?

Come learn how.

Lee County Parks and Recreation is offering a learn to kayak session for newcomers and novices on Saturday, Feb. 10. It will introduce people to kayak basics and provide them with information about the Great Calusa Blueway, Lee County's marked paddling trail.

Boats and equipment will be provided. This event is for ages 8 and up; children must be accompanied by an adult. Bring water, sunscreen and clothing/shoes that can get wet.

The event takes place from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Imperial River Boat Ramp, 27551 U.S. 41, Bonita Springs. The cost is $10 per person and pre-registration is required. To sign up, call (239) 461-7440 or (239) 433-3855 or go to www.leeparks.org.

• The San Carlos Bay Power Squadron will be offering a "Boat Smart" Course beginning Saturday, Feb. 24. The course is recognized by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators and each student will receive a certificate from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission upon completion of the course. The course consists of two four-hour sessions from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24 and March 3. The course instruction will include anchoring, markers, docking and many other subjects to make your boating outings safer and more enjoyable.

The classes are free to the public with just a nominal fee ($30) to cover the cost of course materials. The classes are held at the San Carlos Bay Power Squadron classroom located at 16048 San Carlos Blvd., at the corner of Kelly Road (across from Ace Hardware). To sign up for any of these dates or for further information, call the squadron office at 239-466-4040 or visit our web site, www.scbps.org

• The San Carlos Bay Power Squadron, a unit of the United States Power Squadrons, will be again offering the popular "Local Waters" class. The class is directed toward new boaters and boaters new to the area, as well as those wishing to learn chart reading. It will provide the boater with some of the basics of navigation, oriented to the Fort Myers area. Students will be using chart 11427 and you must bring this chart to class. The will be held on Saturday, Feb. 17 and runs from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Classes are held at the squadron classroom located at 16048 San Carlos Blvd., at the corner of Kelly Road (across from Ace Hardware) in South Fort Myers. The cost of the class is $ 30. Register online at www.scbps.com or call 239-466-4040.

• • •

More cold, windy weather kept anglers moored last week. The occasional pleasant day, however, yielded snapper and grouper.

Fishbuster Charters' Capt. Dave Hanson canceled a trip last Monday when another cold front that passed through the area and kicked up seas offshore to 6-8 feet.

By Tuesday, seas were calmer, although there was still a 3-4 foot swell out there early, when Hanson headed out to 40 feet with Bill Story, Bernie Didoro, and friends Tom, Jim, Dave and Mike.

"Armed with plenty of live shrimp, we caught three limits of mangrove snapper to 17 inches and a keeper gag grouper at 26 inches," Hanson said. "We released lots of gag and red grouper shorts, and snapper shorts. We also caught 14-inch whitebone porgies, and Spanish mackerel to 22 inches.

Wednesday, Hanson headed out about 20 miles out of New Pass with Jim McCarthy and friend Dan. They had some pretty rough seas for a while, with 5-6 footers at times, but by about 2 p.m., seas had laid down to a calm 1-2 feet. They used live shrimp and caught a dozen nice mangrove snapper to 16 inches, lots of Spanish mackerel to 24 inches, porgies, whitings, gag grouper shorts, and a six pound bonito. They released all but the snapper.

Fishing Estero Bay was tough on Thursday when Lee Larsons, Bud Lancer, and friends Paul, Steve and John had to give up their offshore plans due to small craft advisories in the Gulf.

"We did our best in windy, low tide conditions, and managed to catch a keeper snapper and sheepshead," said Hanson. "We released a few smaller sheepshead. Winds got progressively higher all day, and advisories were extended to Friday. I canceled my offshore trip that day, and given conditions bayside, I did not even offer backwater fishing as an option. Saturday was no better, so I advised my anglers to reschedule their planned trip. I'm hoping the wind stops blowing soon!"

Submissions to Fish Tales should be made by noon each Monday. Contact Cathy Cottrill at 213-6031 or by e-mail at cccottrill@bonitanews.com. Her fax number is 213-6099.