Last Saturday Jan 9th the fish were coming under the bridge in a state of shock .We saw several that were floating,some were swimming in circles and others were just motion less.New to us in the deep south of the Florida keys.We've seen snook stunned in Jan and Feb but never grouper,hogfish,and mangrove snapper .I hope this is not a trend.
Mark snagged then released a small hogfish
some strange species of eel was slithering along the surface and Adam wanted a closer look-released
trying for sharks but they were far,far away in a warm cave somewhere maybe
trying to fish while in a sleeping bag is difficult but warm
SOUTH FLORIDA SHARK CLUB -President SFSC-Founding Member est 1983 SFSC-Website Administrator BIG HAMMER SHARK TOURNAMENT -Founder Rene Memorial Sharkathon -Founder NMFS Shark Tagger
Jerry & I went to Old Wooden on Saturday, 1/16/10 & the fish kill is still going on. There were dead groupers, ballyhoo, pinfish, etc. floating with the tide. The last time I saw this was in the 1980's when an extended cold snap caused a massive fish kill. Cold weather depletes the oxygen from the water & the fish literally drown. That is why they come up to the surface flipping their gills. They are trying to breathe. In the 80's it seemed like it took forever for the fish population to rebound, but I'll tell you it never returned to its previous bountiful state.
I find it disheartening, but it is nature's way. The buzzards were having a smorgasbord all along the mangroves from Key Largo to Big Pine Key & I was told that the pelicans were getting sick from overeating. Pelicans are like that old fat dog who doesn't have the "I'm full" center in his brain. We had the perfect live baits at Old Wooden, but not one snapper hit. We didn't see any cudas which is very unusual. We actually left by 7 PM & we never leave before midnight at the earliest. Let's all hope that the weather warms up enough to save the fish that are still alive.
The fish kills are still goin on around here too.The only good thing about it is that the jack cravalle love it! It happens every year round hear.Going to try to make it out to the "Ole Jack Hole" Sat.Good thing is you dont have to bring bait just scoop them up.
jpolk:
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