Tips Galore!

By Jonie Maschek

These cooler mornings with the temperature around 60 degrees are ideal for fishing. Not only do the fish enjoy the weather so do the anglers.

I suggest early morning fishing when the snook are feeding and going after bait fish. Or if you work during the day, try evening fishing during the cool evenings of October. Fishing is great then too.

Are you wondering where all the snook are? I was speaking with a person who was telling a story about his friend that caught so many snook he couldn’t give them away. The place where he caught them is off limits to you and me. They catch them after a day’s work on the job. I don’t know the spot nor can I say if they had a snook tag or not or if they legally caught the snook. I just listened in amazement as he told me the tale.

Another jet-propelled water vehicle went astray this week hitting a dock.

I can’t write much more about jet-propelled water vehicles other than I have seen so many out of control with operators who know nothing about how to handle them. If you see one out there get out of their way.

I have had some telephone calls about my fish recipes, but I will relate a negative one. “I don’t cook fish because I don’t like the fish smell in my house.” May I say, “If the fish smell, they are not fresh!” Don’t ever buy a fish that smells.

Overhear out in the blue, “Hey Buddie, can you take time to show me how to tie a knot in these ropes?”

I think each and every boater should know how to tie a knot. The bowline knot neither slips nor jams. The stevedore’s knot is tied the same as the figure eight knot, except that two turns are taken around the rope instead of one. If you insert a small stick or shackle, the knot can easily be untied. Two half hitches are used for making fast the ends of a rope, around its own standing part.

Learn the clove hitch which has many uses. The most interesting is attaching one pole to another.

There are many other knots like the slip and the square. All are useful and boater should be aware of how to make them. There are so many things that a boaters must know before going out to sea.

Some people think you buy a boat and put it in the water and go.

Always wear life jackets. A boat capsized near the Skyway Bridge this weekend. That person wasn’t wearing a life jacket.

Redfish are being caught in most all the waterways. Some anglers seem to think the only place to catch them is at Simmons Park. I do know that many catches are being made there.

Snook are boiling around the mangroves and have been seen around piers feeding as early as 5 a.m.

Sheepshead are schooling around piers and are being hit by the anglers that have mastered the art of hooking their bony mouths.

Mangrove snapper are a small fighting fish that have caused a lot of excitement for many anglers as they fished the Bay channels this week.

Some anglers have been entertained with the escapades of the tarpon around the Bay water. I haven’t heard of any catches.

Black tip shark are out there and one or two have been outsmarted by anglers this week. They are edible.

An angler reported pompano in schools around the warm waters of TECO.

Be a responsible angler and release all undersized fish.

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