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Talking Points


Capt. Troy

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Commercial fishing at least in my area is a non player, it’s a dead industry except for the sustainable ones like stone crabs. You need to look more at the big picture of global warming, overdevelopment and too much pressure by a million registered vessels in Florida and the loss of estuaries and grass flats. Dolphins are following boats because we’ve trained them like hungry dogs, blaming them on stock shortages is a reach at best, a massive number of guides contribute way more to the problem then dolphins

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39 minutes ago, fsusteve said:

You notice the state of grass flats down there in the last ten years? I made note there were several contributing factors, don’t focus on just one.

YES!!! Totally agree. There is virtually none left. I just don't think boating pressure is even close to the primary cause. No doubt it's a factor.

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2 hours ago, fsusteve said:

Commercial fishing at least in my area is a non player, it’s a dead industry except for the sustainable ones like stone crabs. You need to look more at the big picture of global warming, overdevelopment and too much pressure by a million registered vessels in Florida and the loss of estuaries and grass flats. Dolphins are following boats because we’ve trained them like hungry dogs, blaming them on stock shortages is a reach at best, a massive number of guides contribute way more to the problem then dolphins

I agree.

Flipper has to eat as well.

 

Allow and take which is common in my area, the take of millions of pounds of mullet, jacks and lady fish to be sold. Yes, the guides are an issue.

 

There has not for many months not been a border line net boat where I fish. They run it every day/cheat with the nets and have scooped every lady fish and Jack they can take. No wonder the porpoises are starving.

 

I will invite anyone to the ramp I launch at during dark thirty. Not a day goes buy that those well boat trailers aren't there.

There is a crap load of poaching going on under the cloak of darkness!

 

Jacks and ladyfish are paying over a buck a pound today. Don't fool yourself to the commercial effort. It is hidden for a reason.

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Some good input this morning. CCA, FWC and the Snook foundation were there for the FGA meeting.

Bret Fitzgerald "the Snook foundation" made a great speech for the I angler program. Worth all of us looking at that app.

Without going into great detail I will say there was some consensus that we need better input from the anglers so we can count effort better. The FWC looked on as to the concerns raised about trout and red fish. Notes were taken.

I just did my thing to ask CCA and the FWC why we have no count on the exempted participates in the fishery. The state of Florida has zero accountability  for effort placed on the resource of those 65 or older and 16 and younger. There might be a few of them around if you think about it.

 

My closing statement to the issue is to have the means to count the total effort. If you exclude the exempted from the count your data is BS in and BS out

 

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A little more on the subject.

 

The IFA redfish tournament out of Clearwater this week. I spoke to the winner yesterday as he is the FGA west coast VP Jason Prieto and a guide In Tampa Bay. Seems that only about half the field caught a red fish. Many of the field only caught one and for the most part the weights were low.

 

Also at the meeting The snook foundation revealed some alarming info. They have been using the I angler app for the big PCF tournament I fish every October. I am going by memory but there has been a big decline in both the numbers of trout since 2012 to 2017 for the tournament. This is a photo release event with around 150 anglers and 60 plus guide boats for 2 days of fishing The Bay Area. 1n 2012 the percent of trout entered was a little over 9% for fish over the 20 inch slot. As of 2017 the % of over the slot fish was down to less than 1.8%. 2012 was they year we started the 365 days a year open season on trout along with the commercial landings changes. It seemed to catch the ear of the FWC that were present.

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This boggles my mind.  It seems to me the FWC ought to be bringing the facts  and stats to you, not you  bringing the facts and stats to them!!!!!   I thought the FWC were the experts, with scientists, biologists, and staff that accumulate facts and stats!  What are the FWC personnel doing every day to pass the time?   Hasn't the FWC figured out that that speckled trout swimming around is worth more as a recreational fish than as a commercial fish?????

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3 minutes ago, JEM said:

This boggles my mind.  It seems to me the FWC ought to be bringing the facts  and stats to you, not you  bringing the facts and stats to them!!!!!   I thought the FWC were the experts, with scientists, biologists, and staff that accumulate facts and stats!  What are the FWC personnel doing every day to pass the time? 

Actually, the FWC is has been monitoring the data for a while now. The program has really started to take of with the I angler app. The CCA is now incorporating it into the Star tournament which will allow anglers to enter fish without harvesting them and also serve as data collection. As always, money is a hurdle for the FWC. Stock assessments cost money and that is why if you fish no matter what you should have to have/buy a license. It is what funds a good part of the research.

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I fished that ifa event.  The chatter is that you take 65 of some of the best redfish teams, most who practice multiple days to find them, and yet they can fish all day and not catch a single keeper. 

Lots of guys complaining about numbers of fish. We were fishing down in Miguel bay on saturday and watched a guide run the entire shoreline looking for fish. Crazy that he and others are willing to ruin their own fishery. 

I had a customer bring up something interesting regarding fiddler crabs. In the mangroves behind our home we used to have a thriving fiddler crab population, which is now near dead.  His claim was water quality  

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  • 5 weeks later...

FWC and others are looking at this redfish issue.

FGA membership is in general agreement and are all reporting dramatic decreases in catchers per effort.

Several long term guides, myself included, have arrived at similar conclusions concerning what we believe to be a significant and progressive decline in red drum abundance throughout Florida's West Central Gulf Coast waters. We believe this decline started about 5 years ago and is accelerating.
 
Pasco County Commissioner / Capt. Mike Wells recently coordinated a meeting including Capt. Greg Devault, myself, FFWCC SW FL Reg. Dir. Tom Graef, FFWCC / FWRI Luiz Barbieri and staff to give light to these concerns.
 
Greg and I are seeing the same conditions. Dramatic declines in numbers of redfish in all year classes and size ranges .... and very few "rats" in the pipeline, even in historic and comparatively remote nurseries.
 
Also, absent are the large nearshore / offshore aggregations of oversized breeder reds that had been present at / near the mouth of Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor for decades.
 
Two of those breeding aggregations were regularly targeted by FWRI via purse seining for scientific study at the mouths of Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor. There was fish mortality involved in those efforts. That study concluded at the end of 2015.

 

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The Sea Trout fishing in the 10,000 islands the last 6 months is the best I have seen in over 20 years. They have been easy to catch and all very good size. 

The redfish have been very slow to non existent. 

My theory: two years ago they were everywhere and most were mid 20’s to 30”. I believe once Redfish get overslot they leave the 10k. 

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9 minutes ago, ASB said:

The Sea Trout fishing in the 10,000 islands the last 6 months is the best I have seen in over 20 years. They have been easy to catch and all very good size. 

The redfish have been very slow to non existent. 

My theory: two years ago they were everywhere and most were mid 20’s to 30”. I believe once Redfish get overslot they leave the 10k. 

Lack of effort in the last 6 months in the 10K may be a factor. Lot's of folks got their stuff tore up.

Over slot red drum spawn offshore. When the little rats are becoming scarce in many areas it is of concern.

 

No expert/biologist by any means but the lack of big fish and small recruits in waters I have fished for 50 years is concerning.

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