The weather is hot and you are worried if a hurricane will come or not.
You want to go fishing and not just sit home wishing.
Gas is high in price, should you leave your boat home? To take it would be so nice...
You could fish from your dock, sitting out there in your socks.
Ride your bike to a good fishing spot, drop a line and give that a shot.
Or go to a local park, listen to stories about the sight of a shark.
Sit at your local bait shop, listen to all “Fish Tales,” believe them or not.
Watch the pro fishing on TV, showing the shots only that they want you to see.
Listen to the guy next door, and ol’timer who tells you how to fish without ever a shiner.

Read one of the many books on “How to Catch a Snook.”
After all of these options, quit wishing, and just go fishing.
Check out your boat, be sure it stays afloat.
Take plenty of sunscreen; don’t come back with a red sheen.
Keep your eye on the weather. Don’t go alone, but fish together.
Follow the birds in flight, they  will lead you to a good fishing sight.
Breathe the fresh air, cruise along without a care.
Aren’t you happy that you went fishing and are not home still wishing?
This is a great time of the year to catch pan fish.

Worms are a great bait for freshwater catfish. Virtually every child begins his fishing career with worms for bait. It is also popular for all adults fishing in fresh ­water. If you don’t want to dig your own you may buy bags of worms at your local bait shops.
Pan fishing in Florida exists all twelve months of the year, and ­anglers here do not have to wait for the water to reach a certain temperature in the spring to go fishing.
Waters of both local rivers, the Little Manatee and the Alafia have freshwater fishing in the ­upper flow of both. Record catches of largemouth bass have been reported. One angler says we have the best fresh­water catfish in the world.
The two most widely accepted recipes for panfish are the basic dry dusting recipe or the wet dunking recipe.

The dry uses one cup of flour, one can of milk, one teaspoon each of salt, pepper and oil. Mix flour salt, pepper together, dip fish in milk, then flour, mix, fry in deep oil until flaky.

The wet method has two eggs, one teaspoon baking powder, half cup of water, teaspoon sugar and a cup of flour, mix all together, dip fish in mixture, deep fry.
In this area, the majority of the anglers fish for the big one in salt water and don’t bother with catching the small ones. One angler told me he used panfish for bait.
Out in the bay waters, some were trawling plugs behind their boats as they cruised along, with the bite slow, but they did make a few good catches.

Sea trout catches are being made, but they are fragile and difficult to bring to your boat. They have such a soft mouth, often the hook slips out before the catch.
One angler in the park said he caught a lot of trout and put them on a stringer around his waist as he was wading and some fish swam up to him and ate them all. I’m glad he is still here to tell us this story. It could have been a shark; don’t ever do this -- it is dangerous.

Large schools of Spanish Mackerel are evading our water­ways. They are a great tablefare. Redfish are still the King at Simmons Park with anglers making legal catches. Mangrove snapper are playing around in schools in the Little Manatee River.
Tarpon are still glowing in their jumps around the ship channels. Sheepshead are playing hard to get and eating a good meal, while anglers feed them all of their shrimp. Permit are taking anglers’ bait and have landed in bait wells.

Some are drifting flats to save gas, but catching trout and redfish as they float along. Snappers are out there, but more active than your grouper. If you are lucky enough to make a catch, they are a great tablefare. Offshore season is now open, but there is a different season for State and Federal waterways.
Fish early, fish late, fish together for goodness sake.
 -- Aleta Jonie Maschek is a ­member of Florida Outdoor Press­.

© Copyright 2008 by The Observer News Publications and M&M Printing Company, Inc.

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