The first phase of dove season closed Monday and will reopen Nov. 14. We’ve done that with doves in this nation for nearly a century, and the bag limit has gone up from 12 to 15 doves per person in the past couple of years. Such closures and reopenings seem to have done nothing but benefit the dove population.
That’s good news for Florida hunters, for this small game bird is probably the most popular quarry in the state. It’s a shame the management of marine fisheries isn’t as creative. Instead an archaic law will see all harvest of spotted seatrout outlawed for two months. The season closes on Nov. 1 despite complaints that trout are the most abundant of inshore gamefish.
You don’t have much time to gather dinner. Snook harvest will close on Dec. 15. If you like to eat fresh fish this won’t leave much during November or December.
The weekend catches indicate anglers are also getting short changed on migratory Spanish mackerel and kingfish. Ten days of record heat turned into near-record cold. That weather seems to have put a crimp in the mackerel migration that occurs each fall.
The cold front seems to have driven the majority of the mackerels — and the baitfish they follow — to other parts. Charlotte Harbor is a vast sea of leaping Spanish mackerel, and anglers are catching kingfish and cobia from the artificial reefs inside the protected harbor. A similar thing seems to have occurred in Tampa Bay. Both inland bodies of water are stiff with migratory gamefish, while the Gulf remains a wasteland.
The weather put gamefish off in general. Snook fishing was slow. Trout were down a little bit but should close the season well. Redfish have been where you find them.
Dave Golla of the south Sunshine Skyway fishing pier reported there are plenty of Spanish mackerel around. Kingfish are also active. Perhaps the best news is lots of pompano. Anglers are getting a thrill from huge, oversized redfish as well.
From Dry Dock Marina in New Pass comes word that anglers are doing well with Spanish mackerel on nearshore artificial reefs. The deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay should be the place to catch those last legal trout. Bluefish are mixed with them.
Dave Sork of the Anna Maria City Pier reports Spanish mackerel have been sporadic. But a week of calm weather should have them biting again. Some bonito are showing and one slot-sized snook was caught.
Jim Eliason of Discount Tackle Outlet in Bradenton said trout fishing has been good in the canals as far east as the Interstate 75 Bridge. Aaron Bishop traveled offshore to catch amberjack, kingfish and blackfin tuna.
Another balmy week is in the forecast. Unless the mackerel and the bait return to the gulf the best bet will be Tampa Bay and the ship channel near Egmont Key. For trout try all the deep grass edges.
G.B. Knowles, outdoors writer, can be reached at (941) 730-3234 or gb_knowles@yahoo.com.
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