2013 Hammer Point Snook Tournament Prize

TOURNAMENT FISH C. D. Clarke  Sportsman Artist Limited edition - Framed -  Signed/numbered 184/300

J T Kalnay

This is a photo of J T Kalnay a best selling author who fished with Captain Dave Perkins last week.

Here is n article JT wrote about his experience with Dave.

Fishing Florida Bay

After fishing the flat water in the back country around Florida Bay I’ve decided I’m never going offshore again! Why? Not just because I get seasick on the ocean, but because of the magic and beauty of the back country water.

Al & I spent a nearly indescribable day fishing with Captain Dave Perkins ( http://www.captaindaveperkins.net/ ) on Florida Bay.

We left the dock at 9:15 and were fishing for real fish (not for bait fish) by 9:30 and had fish in the boat by 9:45. We saw sea trout, blue fish, jack, sheepshead, pinfish, and even one shark. We tried fishing the muds (areas disturbed by feeding fish) and we tried pole fishing for redfish. This part of Florida is so beautiful that I would have gone on this trip even if we hadn’t taken the fishing rods.

When you go offshore, you see the ocean. When you go in the back country, you see the mangroves, the birds in the mangroves, the clear water and the flora and fauna on the bottom of the clear water. If you get lucky, like we did, you may see porpoises (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3uvudvYqow ). And, unlike our last couple of tries offshore, we came home both with supper and with our breakfasts…

I’ll be going out with Captain Dave again next year. It’ll be worth the ride just to visit this nearly idyllic piece of the planet again. Dave gets “it”, that it’s about being out in the back country that is the thing. I’d go out there again even if we didn’t catch any fish. But if you go with Dave, you’re likely to catch some fish.

Here’s a link to a short video that captures some of the beauty of the place and of the day. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWuPvY8rssY ) I can highly recommend this place and this captain.

Down Time

I had my fuel injectors removed and sent to Punta Gorda to be cleaned and also had the yearly service done. That is Virgil and Scott the mechanics.  The best around.
The injectors were sent out Tuesday morning and should be back today and installed tomorrow.

YEARS AGO

Gus and Sonia and Pat and I used to do a lot of shrimping and bully netting for lobster when we were younger.

KEYS SOON COME

Captain Bob Randall picked up his mail this morning and and said he will be at the Bass Pro Shop the last day of the Fishing Classic Sale in Dania Beach.  Bob is also wearing one of our new design Snook hats.  He will be ice fishing until he hits the Keys on March 10.

Captain Glenn Warrington continues to have good luck on Tavernier Creek.

KEYS WEDDING

A wedding reception was held at the end of our canal tonight.

MIXED BAG

Gary Humfleet holding a Sheepshead he caught tonight.  We also caught Snapper, Grunt, Lady Fish, Jacks, one Lobster and about 500 mosquito bites.

CREEK SNAPPER

Gary Humfleet and I fished the creek tonight and caught eight keeper Snapper before we ran out of bait.

SNAKES ON THE BOAT!!!

Captain Mike DeStefano called me over to his dock today to check out a situation he had on his boat. There was a hissing snake under the seat of the boat.  I thought it was a Copperhead but after Mike's grandchild did some google research we found it was a harmless Corn snake.  We got it off the boat unharmed

Corn snakes are not an endangered species. However, they are listed by the state of Florida as a Species of Special Concern because they face habitat loss and destruction in the lower Florida Keys. Corn snakes are often mistaken for copperheads and killed. They are also popular as pets. They are the most frequently bred snake species for pet purposes. However they are sometimes captured in the wild to be sold as pets. This does not seem to pose a serious threat to this species at this time.

Corn snakes help to control rodent populations that may otherwise spread disease.


All or part of this information was provided by the Animal Diversity Web and Museum of Zoology of the University of Michigan

Mixed Bag

Captain Warrington and his daughter Laurie caught a mixed bag this morning including grunts and trout.

Shark

Captain Jim Dowling caught this 3 foot 6 pound Bonnet Shark yesterday.

TROUT

Captain Charley Best and friend Paul from New Jersey did some late afternoon back country fishng and caught a few 17 inch trout.

Shrimp Time

Wilmarie and Captain Dave Perkins caught a lot of shrimp the other night.  Wilmarie's dog Otto enjoys walking around with a shrimp in his mouth and don"t try to take it from him.

GATOR

Captain Jim Dowling fished with his brother-in-law Ken a few days ago and snapped this picture of an alligator with a bobber in its jaw.  Jim was wondering what became of the fisherman on the other end of that line..

SHRIMP

Captain Glenn Warrington took the family out shrimping in the creek last night.  They did pretty good but the mates got cold and they had to come in early.

DOCK SHRIMP

After having a great Wahoo dinner at Guy and Sue's last night I took a walk out onto their dock with my shrimp net and bucket that I just happened to have with me and caught about three dozen nice size shrimp and a few crabs.  I didn't have a light so it was difficult spotting them, but tonight I will have a light.

SHEEPSHEAD

Captain Glenn Warrington's daughter Laurie and granddaughter Jenna fished the creek yesterday and Laurie caught this 18 inch Sheephead.

GROUPER

Captains Glenn and John  teamed up and tore up the back country yesterday.  They caught these Gag Grouper along with Jacks, Trout and a whole bunch of other stuff.

Ranger

This is a picture of two Rangers that have been stopping and checking out boaters in the park.  Make sure your safety equippment is ok and your fish are legal.

Wahoo

This 168 pound Wahoo was caught in Bimini the other day by a friend of Rudy.  Trying to find out the name.

5 Pound Walleye

Captain Bob Randall caught this 5 pound Walleye ice fishing on Bear Lake MI.
Bob will be fishing the Keys next month.  Watch out Snook.

Saw Fish

Jim also hooked this saw fish yesterday and released it unharmed.  He saw a few of them in shallow water.

Trout

Captain Jim Dowling from Cromwell Court has been catching his share of nice size Trout this year.  He caught this one near Lake Key with a shrimp tipped jig.  He was fishing with his friend Greg who caught his limit of trout.

35 Inch Snook

Ray and Ed did some trolling in the Cape Coral canals and caught a few Snook including this 35 incher.  They had it on the dock because they had to surgically remove the treble hooks.  It was released unharmed.

Sea Urchin

Pat and I fished for awhile tonight and then did some bullynetting and caught these three lobster.
That is a Sea Urchin that I scooped up.  I stepped on a few of them in Jamaica, it was not fun.  Those spines are like glass and they get enbedded in your foot until they work themselves out.  And they cause a great burning sensation in your foot until you pour vinegar on it.