January 2010 has been a hard month too fish. We had blistering cold temperatures for the first two weeks and as many of you may have heard there were plenty of fish that didn’t make it. There has also been plenty of talk about fish closures around the whole state of Florida. The main species are Snook, Tarpon, and Bonefish.
There was an article in the Miami Herald on January 16, 2010 talking about the Fish closures and that catch and release was prohibited. When I read this I couldn’t believe what I was reading. They were talking about closing tarpon and bonefish until after April and Snook through September. If this was the case I should just sell my skiff and find a new profession. Bonefishing and tarpon fishing is how I make a living, and if they would close this fishery I would be in big trouble as well as most of the guides in South Florida. I have also had several customers email and call me asking of this was true, and if this was the case that they were considering canceling their trips in the spring.
I’m here to say this is not true. According to FWC (Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission) the fishery is still open to catch and release. This means that we can still go out and target bonefish, tarpon, and snook. The only thing you can’t do is harvest them.
I wanted to let everyone know what was going on with the fishery, and if you were hesitant to come down and book a trip, you have nothing to worry about.
The weather has finally warmed up and the bonefishing in Biscayne Bay is getting back to normal. I will be out this afternoon on a half day trip targeting bonefish, and I’m excited to see that fisherman are still wanting to come down and fish the beautiful waters that Biscayne Bay has too offer.
The weather is great and now is a great time to come out and fish. Give me a call and chase down some giant Biscayne Bay Bonefish.
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