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Fish Tales: Coast Guard Auxiliary has 4 easy tips for safer boating

By CATHY COTTRILL (Contact)

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

It's just a month into the new year, but already many New Year's resolutions have already been cast aside like used wrapping paper, leaving those making the broken resolution discouraged and disheartened, and wondering if they'll ever make a pledge they can stick to.

Well, hope is on the way.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary is offering boaters and water enthusiasts four easy-to follow tips for those who want to resolve to be safer boaters this year:

Special to the Banner

Harry Smith, age 6, with a 15½-inch mangrove snapper he caught (with a little help) on a recent offshore Fishbuster Charter.

• Always wear your life jacket: Statistics show time and time again that many boating fatalities could have been avoided simply by wearing a life jacket. Wearing a life jacket while boating is like wearing a seat belt when driving or riding in a vehicle. Simply put, life jackets save lives. Resolve to wear one anytime you are on or near the water.

• Be prepared: Take a safe boating course: Most drivers were required to take some sort of driver's education course before getting their drivers license. Statistics show that 80 percent of those involved in boating fatalities never took a boating safety course. Knowledge is power, and that knowledge may help you be "Semper Paratus" (the Coast Guard's motto, which means "always ready") and may, in fact, save your life. Resolve to make this year the year you improve your boating safety knowledge and skills.

• Get a free vessel safety check: Boats that are properly equipped, in good operating condition, and are safe from hazards are less likely to be involved in a accidents and fatalities. Know before you go — request a free Vessel Safety Check by visiting www.safetyseal.net and clicking on "I WANT A VSC." Resolve to make sure your boat is a safe boat.

• Avoid alcohol while on or near the water: Approximately 40 percent of all boating fatalities involve the use of alcohol. If you are drunk and get into an accident on the water, but are fortunate enough to survive, you will likely suffer financial and social consequences, such as large fines (similar to driving under the influence), and the loss of automobile driving privileges. But alcohol doesn't just impact the operator; passengers who have been imbibing are 10 times more likely to fall overboard and drown. Simply put, water and alcohol don't mix! Resolve to be a sober boater.

By following these four, easy-to-follow tips on how to stay safe on or around the water, the Coast Guard Auxiliary hopes that you and your loved ones will enjoy 2007, and be around to make more New Year's resolutions come next January.

• • •

Mother Nature created more challenging conditions for anglers last week. Before the most recent cold front approached, however, snapper, sheepshead and grouper were prevalent.

Fishbuster Charters' Capt. Dave Hanson fished Estero Bay down toward Wiggins Pass last Monday with Leeds Hutchinson and Pete Sohldon. They used live shrimp to catch two keeper sheepshead at 14 inches and 16 inches, and three keeper mangrove snapper. They released smaller sheepshead and a cravalle jack.

Fishing at the artificial reefs off Bonita Beach Tuesday with Jim Ozark and father-in-law, Jim Kincaid, Hanson caught keeper sheepshead and mangrove snapper, and released gag grouper to 18 inches, grunts, and a 9 pound goliath grouper. There was a pretty good swell even that close in, with another cold front approaching this week.

Wednesday morning, Hanson headed to the reefs again, this time with Ed and Margie Bock. They caught a mess of nice snapper — lanes and mangrove — as well as keeper Spanish mackerel, using live shrimp. They started getting some light rain by about 11:30 a.m., so headed in a bit early to avoid the worst of it, as it was building in the Gulf.

Thursday, Hanson awoke to rain, as expected, and was planning to cancel his fishing trip, but when he called my eager anglers, Mike Hughes, his son Luke, and Luke's grandfather, Leon, they wanted to tough it out for an opportunity to catch fish.

"The Gulf was definitely out of the question, so we fished the bay, with our rain gear on, and the rain didn't let up until just before 11 a.m.," said Hanson. "We caught sheepshead to 17 inches, ladyfish, and a two pound crevalle jack. We released all except for two sheepshead that were 14 inches and 17 inches."

Friday morning, with seas still high offshore, Bob Pumford and friend Larry opted to fish the backwaters. They caught a keeper redfish at 20 inches, and released a 16-inch red. They also caught two keeper sheepshead, and released several small sheepshead, along with a small snook.

Saturday, Hanson headed offshore to about 40 feet with Norm Ayer and Pete Gonzales. Seas were predicted to be 2 feet, but they were in 3-and 4-foot seas most of the morning, until it calmed some. They were fishing for snapper, and caught three limits of those, all 15 to 17 inches. They released lots of smaller ones, along with whitebone porgies and porkfish.

Capt. Ron Kowalyk said last week's weather was challenging, but he managed to find some nice bites in the rivers, feeder creeks and canals adjacent to Estero Bay and San Carlos Bay. Wind was a major factor on the open bays and driftfishing was very difficult. Kowalyk found fair numbers of snook, big jacks and snapper in the creeks. Live shrimp, Gulp Shrimp and DOA shrimp made up for the problematic conditions that made cast netting a chore. Hendry Creek, the Estero River, the Imperial as well as the Caloosahatchee offered some refuge from the cold gusty winds.

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.