Have you noticed? Haven’t you seen it? Surely you must have had a hint that a blush of green has started to replace the browns and grays of winter. Unquestionably spring is on its way. Every day should get greener by the hour. Buds will be breaking open and the prettiest time of the year will be here in full splendor before you know it. Welcome to the world of the Meleagris gallopavo osceola, more commonly reffered to as the Osceola Wild Turkey.
Courtesy photo. Osceola wild turkeys roam Florida's forests.
Ben Franklin called turkeys “true American originals.” He harbored tremendous respect for their resourcefulness, agility, and beauty of the Wild Turkey, He described them as intelligent animals which In nature, can fly 55 miles an hour, run 25 miles an hour, and live up to four or five years.
There are five subspecies of Wild Turkeys – Eastern, Osceola, Rio Grande, Merriam, and Gould’s.
The Osceola Wild Turkey is only found on the peninsula of Florida. It was named for the famous Seminole Chief, Osceola, who was the first person to describe this particular subspecies in 1890. He was the same Chief Osceola who led his tribe against the Americans in a 20-year war beginning in 1835.
The Osceola Wild Turkey is similar to the Eastern Wild Turkey, but is smaller and darker in color with less white veining in its wing quills.
The white veins in these feathers are narrow, irregular, broken and do not extend to the feather shaft. The black bars dominate the feather. Secondary wing feathers are also dark. When the wings are folded on the back, the whitish triangular patches as seen on the Eastern Wild Turkey are not present on the Osceola.
The feathers of the Osceola Wild turkey show more iridescent green and red colors, with less bronze than the Eastern Wild Turkey. The dark color of the tail coverts and the large tail feathers tipped in brown are similar to the Eastern Wild Turkey but are unlike the lighter colors of the three western (Rio Grande, Merriman, and Gould) subspecies of Wild Turkeys.
The Osceola’s colorations and behavior are ideal for the flat pine woods, oak and palmetto hammocks as well as the swamp habitats of the peninsula of Florida. The hens, or adult females, are similar to the males but are duller and lighter colored throughout, except for the wing feathers, which are darker.
The reproductive cycle for the Osceola Wild Turkey begins slightly earlier than does that for the Eastern Wild Turkey, which is predominate Wild Turkey in other southern states.
However, in south Florida, Osceola turkeys gobble during warm spells in January, several weeks before actual mating. The laying of eggs occurs mainly in April with the cycle being complete with peak hatching occurring in May.
Fishing report: Rain makes creeks dark in color: cold temps keeping offshore dolphins away
Surf fishermen report there are good catches of black drum, whiting, and small bluefish. This month’s annual appearance of large bluefish has not yet occurred. In the inlet there is a lot of bluefish action and several redfish catches.
The sheepshead action on the jetties has slowed down considerably. The rain has caused the creeks like Spruce, and others to become more opaque and dark. Before the rain came, many reported that schools of redfish and black drum were visible but the bite was slow to nil.
Offshore, the dolphin run has started but is no where up to peak due to the surface seawater temperatures which are really too low for Dolphin to be hanging around. I had one report from a boat that found a bunch of smaller dolphin under a relatively large patch of weed.
Interestingly they did not act like usual and would not leave from the protection offered by the weed patch no matter how close bait was dragged to the patch. However, when the boat through the weed patch, the fish bit – not spectacularly – but at least they took some bait.
Apparently a lot of the large charter boats have been sold or have gone out of business in Ponce Inlet. The sole exception is the Sea Spirit fleet. They reported that there were many releases of grouper and red snapper. They were catching large triggerfish, Atlantic sharp nose sharks, and black sea bass. However, presently the boats are not generating enough business to pay for the dockage.
Up in the Tomoka area schools of redfish and black drum were visible but the bite was also very slow. In the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons, the quarter moons, weak currents, and cold fronts has slowed the shrimp catch.
This week should improve the results as the new moon replaces the quarter moons and the water temperature is around 64 degrees, which is a little less than normal. The water remains fairly clear, but the fish are extremely spooky. The fish can see you and as soon as you cast a bait to them “they get out of dodge”
Fishermen's rally in Washington D.C. two decades in the making
The Fishermen’s rally in Washington, D.C. took place on Feb. 24. It had been two decades in the making. When the National Marine fisheries Service (NMFS) closed the recreational amberjack fishery on Oct. 24, it was a major ire producer. The NMFS just three weeks prior had closed the recreational black sea bass fishery – a fishery that remains closed to recreational anglers today.
All this took place while the decision had already been made through the NMFS and the SAMFC (South Atlantic Fishery Management Council) to close all bottom fishing over a thousand square miles of coastal waters from North Carolina to Florida to protect and rebuild the red snapper populations.
The Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) had opposed “time specific” deadlines and the arbitrary, non-scientific provisions of our federal fisheries law – the Magnuson Stevens Act (MSA).
The inflexibility of the federal fisheries law to respond to a constantly changing marine ecosystem in conjunction with grossly inadequate management of the information systems within the federal fisheries service is producing a major industry collapse which has been occurring throughout our coastal communities.
It is time to start sounding off very loudly and clearly. As my father used to drill into my head – ‘if you want something then you should fight for it."
The first of two things that need to be done is for those who fish the Gulf should notify in writing to the Gulf council that they do not want any sector separation.
A recreational angler should have the right to choose the way they want to fish, be it from a private boat, a chartered boat with a licensed captain, or from shore. There is a very small group of Charter captains who think that they are entitled to all the fish that their recreational angler paying customers caught. This group is backed by the Environmental Defense in order to bring catch shares to the recreational fishery.
Next there is a petition on line that you should support. It is a concerted effort led by the CFOA (Central Florida Offshore Anglers), the HSFC (Halifax Sport Fishing Club), the SISA (Sebastian Inlet Sportfishing Association), and the FSFA (Florida Sport Fishing Association). It is about the South Atlantic Red Snapper Closure. Go to http://www.deep-blue-sea.org;8080/examples/servlet/petition
Florida Coastal Association examines shortcomings of Magnuson-Stevens Act
The Florida Coastal Conservation Association recently publicized the following, which is verbatim in this section of the Outdoorsman blog: Passage of the 2006 Magnuson-Stevens Act, the overarching law that manages America’s marine fisheries, revealed crippling deficiencies within the agency charged with implementing the law. Recently, a coalition of marine angling and industry groups launched an effort to improve the National Marine Fisheries Service’s efforts to manage the nation’s marine resources and the 13 million saltwater anglers who depend on healthy fisheries.
“We have the most conservation-oriented law we have ever had governing our marine resources, and the agency does not have the data, assessments, science or, frankly, the attitude, to adequately implement it,” said Chester Brewer, chairman of CCA’s National Government Relations Committee. “The result is that the agency has been reduced to managing fisheries by closure which was not the intent of the law when it was passed by Congress.
”In addition to requiring an end to all overfishing by 2011, the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) have a determination on the overfished status of every species under management, and have annual catch limits and accountability measures in place for them by a time certain as well.
For far too many species, there is not any science at all to do that and to develop it will take one to three years for every single species,” said Brewer. “With its startling lack of data, there is no way NMFS can catch up on decades of work and the agency will be crushed by its lack of science. The entire federal management system will be forced to ignore real conservation and management issues, and simply manage by closure. The coalition is seeking a way to fulfill the conservation tenets of the law without driving the entire process into a train wreck.”
Current efforts to revise the Magnuson-Stevens Act, including the so-called “flexibility” legislation (H.R.1584 and S.1171) do not address the shortcomings of NMFS that are negatively impacting anglers and, in fact, jeopardize a number of the true conservation gains in the Act.
“H.R.1584 and S.1171 do not provide for better data-gathering or prevent the imposition of in-season closures when NMFS believes there is a danger of overfishing, nor do they improve recreational data and the way it is used. It just delays rebuilding,” said Brewer. “That is not where the problem lies.”
Among other administrative and appropriations requests, the coalition is urging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to convene a blue ribbon panel to identify the long-term data, statistical, research and funding needs of the regional fishery science centers. The outcomes of this panel will help to inform the appropriation needs related to recreational fishing data and statistics for NMFS and coastal state fishery agencies.
“There is a great deal of frustration among recreational anglers, much of it attributable to an agency that doesn't have the ability to properly manage us,” said Pat Murray, president of CCA. “The shortcomings of NMFS have to be fixed, either administratively or by Congress. Recreational anglers deserve both a meaningful law, and an agency capably of implementing it.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum expresses concern about federal red snapper ban
Recently, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum also voiced concerns about the science used to warrant the restriction upon red snapper fishing in the Atlantic Ocean. He has called upon federal officials to reverse or delay the band and to provide more monies to fishery research to support its decision making in the Atlantic. He felt as do many others that such a wide restriction seems excessive.
McCollum sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke opposing the ban. Thousands of fishermen and several elected officials have done the same.
Federal regulators are trying to rebuild the red snapper population which they say is down from what it was 60 years ago. Back then, I personally do not believe that there were any definitive numbers kept and that the numbers relegated to that time period are extrapolated and are not actual recorded figures.
I am emphasizing that this is my personal opinion. I also know what I overheard at the last SAFMC’s council from one of the officials stated to a small group of anglers that the assessment had been based upon catches of two commercial boats from the panhandle area. When the meeting resumed that was denied by others. I do not know whether the man who said that was speculating or speaking fact.
The one thing I do know is that I have fished for red snapper for 35 years and I have never seen so many red snapper being caught as I have in the past 5 to 10 years.
If there is a red snapper shortage in the Atlantic, than it must be because we have something off Ponce inlet that is attracting all the red snapper to our area and creating a shortage elsewhere along the rest of the eastern seaboard from North Carolina to the Keys.
However, one thing for sure, in order for an accurate assessment of the red snapper stock to be properly made, more money is needed for the Southeastern Center.
The center is responsible for collecting data from fishermen and from scientists. This information is supposed to be based on strict scientific principles. Both sources are used to produce strong, science based results.
According to CCA’s Atlantic States fishery director, Richard Brame, science based research is sorely needed. Supposedly the center is hiring seven additional scientists this year and has received $1.5 million from congress for data collection. A new stock assessment is supposed to come this fall.
Sebastian Inlet fishing and boating expo Saturday
Anglers are going to be treated to some fishin’ fun on Saturday, March 20. That is the date of the Sebastian Inlet Marina Annual Fishing and Boating Exposition.
The event will include seminars, raffles, boats, electronics, and food. The day is planned to be filled with fishing fun for friends and family. Seminar speakers include Capt. Ron Presley, author of Secrets from Florida's Master Anglers, Mike Peppe representing DOA Lures on snook, Capt. Mark Nichols, Owner and creator of DOA Lures, Greg Grainger on Bottom Fishing, Capt. Wayne Marshal on Offshore Fishing and a representative from Hardcore Custom Offshore Lures on Trolling.
There will also be a session on boat maintenance by Mike Jones and a presentation on exploring Pelican Island by kayak. Seminars start at 11 with lunch at noon.
Capt. Budd's postscript
It has been written that “Nature is an unlimited broadcasting station through which God speaks to us every hour – if we will only tune in.”
So whether you charter, ride a head boat, run your own vessel, stay in the river, surf, or fish from shore or a bridge, there are fish to be caught. Fishing is not a matter of life and death, it is so much more important than that.
Tight lines, Capt. Budd