The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council got an earful -- mostly negative and colorful -- Wednesday in Key Largo at a public hearing on proposals to end overfishing for gag grouper and vermilion snapper in federal waters throughout the region.
My recent fishing history is like that of someone who plays Lotto casually for a decade with no luck, and then suddenly hits the jackpot twice in two weeks.
SPOTLIGHT | ON PARTICIPANT SPORTS
Neil Bayer, 50, of Pinecrest, secured a spot in the Super Bowl of triathlons, the Ford Ironman World Championship, on Oct. 11 in Kona, Hawaii. He was selected to compete during the event's annual lottery draw.
For months, I have been promising everyone I know that if I ever caught a permit on fly rod on the flats, I would quit fishing. Although I haven't conquered that particular watermark, I did manage a lifetime achievement two weeks ago while fishing with captain Tom Pierce and his wife, Rita, in the lower Keys: a tarpon of more than 100 pounds on fly rod on the flats.
BEST BET Captain Jay Cohen on the charter boat Spellbound out of Haulover Marina reported a great week of offshore fishing that produced lots of sailfish, limit catches of kingfish, large dolphins and wahoo up to 25 pounds. The best action has been from 100 feet to 750 feet of water. . . . Captain Todd Morrow on the charter boat Connie Marie led James Rivera of Miami to a catch of an estimated 60-pound cobia off of Fowey Rocks and Mike Steadman of Miami to his first sailfish off of Triumph Reef...
The Youth Fishing Foundation will hold its 12th annual banquet, auction and raffle at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Champions Club at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Tickets cost $75. For more information, call Sam at 305-258-1367.
Fort Lauderdale artificial reef builder Gary Levine has received tentative approval from Miami-Dade County officials to post a gigantic environmental billboard on the ocean floor off Miami Beach.
FISHING
The Keymorada inshore and offshore tournament enters its fourth year May 7-9 in Islamorada as perhaps one of the nation's top fund-raising fishing events.
SEAVEE/MERCURY GROVE SLAM
Team Fish Up/Boat Center weathered a bit of controversy to win $20,200 for the heaviest total of five dolphin -- 121.95 pounds -- in the SeaVee/Mercury Grove Slam Saturday.
Visitors to South Florida's national parks and wildlife refuges have 60 days to comment on a federal proposal on carrying firearms on federally-owned public lands. The proposal would allow an individual to carry a concealed weapon in national parks and wildlife refuges only if the person already has a concealed weapons permit in the state where the park is located. For more information, visit www.doi.gov.
SPOTLIGHT | ON PARTICIPANT SPORTS
In front of hometown fans and family, Fort Lauderdale's Jimmy Lariche capped a great wakeboard weekend by winning the Board Up Miami pro-am wakeboarding festival last month at Key Biscayne.
CORPORATE RUN NOTEBOOK
The field of 20,310 registered runners and walkers at the Mercedez-Benz Miami Corporate Run had plenty of interesting and well-dressed characters, from veil-wearing wannabe brides to a neon, purple-colored bowling pin from Miami's Strike Lanes.
Make plans to compete in the Grove Slam Dolphin Tournament from Thursday-Saturday at Monty's in Coconut Grove. Entry fee is $495 per boat. Call 305-461-2700 or visit GroveSlam.com.
BEST BET Gill Tremblay from Pompano Beach and Bill Buckens of Davie fished offshore with captain Bouncer Smith on Bouncer's Dusky out of Miami Beach Marina and caught five sailfish. Two of the sailfish were tagged, and one had been caught and released in Antigua on Jan. 3. Smith reported excellent large dolphins action over the weekend and expected the fish to return when the wind picks up out of the east. . . . Captain Jimbo Thomas on the Thomas Flyer out of Bayside Marina reported good catches...
