BigBendFishing.Net

I talked to a cute strawberry blonde FWC officer in St. Marks today and gave her a heads up about the netting activity. She was going to pass it along to dispatch.

They'll break out the night vision goggles and the stealth skiffs and go to work.

Personally, I wish they'd fire a few Rocket Propelled Grenades and blow some bird dog boats to smithereens. That would get their attention.

silverking wrote:I talked to a cute strawberry blonde FWC officer in St. Marks today and gave her a heads up about the netting activity. She was going to pass it along to dispatch.

They'll break out the night vision goggles and the stealth skiffs and go to work.

Personally, I wish they'd fire a few Rocket Propelled Grenades and blow some bird dog boats to smithereens. That would get their attention.

SK the only FWC I ever see are dudes, how does one find the cute lady officers

So now anyone with a bird dog is guilty ? I don't think yall really believe that...I know some older gents with bird dogs and they aint hurting the trout. Maybe I'm wrong but with all the FWC in the area and all their toys do yall really think that a few netters are depleting the trout population ? Look at the Reds caught last week...really ? Gossip !!! If and man is going to steal fish, don't you think he'll lie too ? You guys keep blaming the netters like a certain group keeps blaming their troubles on slavery,lol. maybe its yalls nature. BTW in yalls defense FWC did catch some guys in Carrabelle, I think last week, with their nets tied together so I understand.

zload wrote: SK the only FWC I ever see are dudes, how does one find the cute lady officers

ZL, Just perfect timing is all. Any other time I only see dudes too.

GC, I stand by my earlier assertion that there could be multiple factors responsible for the low number of trout this year. And I'm not against honest commercial fishermen who are working hard to make a living. But gill and entanglement nets are illegal, no ifs, ands or buts. Individuals breaking the law should receive the maximum penalties possible, whether they are stop-netting a creek at 1 in the morning or keeping too many trout or redfish in the middle of the day. Fishing is not only my hobby and passion but livelihood as well and poachers of any kind are taking money out of my pocket. And that makes me mad as hell. RPGs are actually too quick for real punishment. If there was true justice, the scum bags would get conked in the head by a flying fat roe mullet, knocked overboard and take an hour drowning after tangling in their own gill nets.

Do you look the other way when someone is shoplifting in your store? Or do you let someone who is poaching deer or turkey on your family property slide?

Not going to defend illegal netting....and we don't always call the law....if ever, folks generally understand..... Now how's the skiff coming ?

That's good to hear.

Hull is laid up. Should have some photos early this week.

We had that cute little blonde FWC officer speak at the NFGFC meeting a couple of months ago. I wouldn't want to mess with her. I asked if anyone ever tried to intimidate her. She just smiled.

Mister Mullet wrote:We had that cute little blonde FWC officer speak at the NFGFC meeting a couple of months ago. I wouldn't want to mess with her. I asked if anyone ever tried to intimidate her. She just smiled.

Anyone have her name? Meant to ask her out for our own Fish and Wildlife adventure!

There are several of us that regularly fish the Apalachicola area and we are of the opinion that the trout catch has dropped off considerably in the last couple of years. There are exceptional days but the catch at certain spots is not as consistent as it used to be. Add me to the list of those that suspect illegal netting.
OD

I'm not saying there isn't any illegal netting but if it is, it must be happening everywhere in our region. Probably a combination of a lot of things. Be glad when it gets back to normal.

Just received this reply today from Jessica McCawley, the Florida FWC Marine Fisheries Division Chief:

"Thank you for reaching out to me about your concerns. We have heard from a lot of fishermen in northwest Florida who share your concerns about seatrout in the regions and are therefore already keeping a close eye on that fishery.

An updated stock assessment for spotted seatrout is scheduled to be completed in 2016, and we will be bringing the results of that assessment to the Commission as soon as they are ready. However, based on the concerns we have heard from stakeholders, staff have been actively monitoring preliminary data from the Fishery Independent Monitoring program as it becomes available, to see if there are any early indications of a population decline. While we are not seeing any evidence of a decline in the data, we share your concern and are monitoring the fishery closely.

To answer your question about redfish guides, licensed guides are allowed to keep redfish during for-hire trips, but the captain and all of his or her clients are still subject to the eight fish vessel limit, which likely limits a captain’s ability to keep his own limit on many trips. A redfish stock assessment is currently in progress and expected to be completed within the next couple months. Although it is not final yet, a preliminary review of the assessment indicates that redfish in the northwest region are doing well. We are currently planning to bring the results of this redfish stock assessment to the February Commission meeting here in Tallahassee on Feb. 10 – 11, and will likely be conducting redfish workshops around the state sometime in 2016.

I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns. Please keep in touch about what you are seeing with both the seatrout and redfish fisheries."

I have also spoken with both the SMNWR and FWC law enforcement and they are stepping up patrols due to the uptick in netting activity along the Big Bend coast. A fellow angler found this illegal gill net in Stony Bayou Saturday afternoon while we were all fishing the area. If you see something suspicious, please let law enforcement know. The Wildlife Alert hotline is 888-404-3922 and you can remain anonymous.

I was talking to an employee at a seafood market the other day while picking up oysters.
He was talking about crabbers being upset with a decline in blue crabs and stone crabs and were blaming it on too many redfish.