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Sargeant column: Report Confirms That Trout Picture Is Much Brighter

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By FRANK SARGEANT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 2, 2007

The consensus among west coast anglers that trout fishing has gotten noticeably better in recent years has been born out with the release of a report from state biologists at the Fish & Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg.

According to lead researcher Mike Murphy, there was a general increase in trout numbers throughout the state's southwestern waters from 1995 onward, after declines in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Researchers estimate the total trout population statewide in 2005, in the latest survey, was 37.6 million fish, and anglers harvest about 3.4 million fish annually. Trout must be at least 15 inches long to be kept, and only one fish over 20 inches is allowed per day. The bag limit is four daily in the southwest and along the East Coast, and five daily in the northwest.

The season is closed Nov. 1 to Jan. 1 in the south zone, and Feb. 1 to March 1 in the northeast and northwest.

Murphy does not speculate on causes of the upturn, but it's likely that the controlled recreational harvest, combined with the net ban that took effect in 1995, have had major impacts on the trout revival along the west coast, the area where most trout are caught, and where most trout were netted when gill netting was legal. Today, the commercial harvest of trout is minimal, totaling around 40,000 fish per year via cast net and hook and line, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission statistics.

Maybe the best news is that the researchers believe that the spawning potential ratio, which is sort of a measure of how many fish actually survive to spawning age compared to how many fish would probably survive to spawning age if there were no fishing harvest, is now estimated at 44 percent in the southwest area, 38 percent in the northwest, and a remarkable 51 percent on the north Atlantic coast, 62 percent on the south Atlantic coast.

Biologists say that if just 35 percent of trout survive to spawn at least once, the fishery will sustain itself or grow. However, Murphy's report indicates that conditions on the Atlantic Coast likely will cause somewhat of a decline in the future, while numbers should remain steady on the Gulf Coast.

A factor not covered in the report is the improved water quality in some areas, including particularly Tampa Bay.

Along the west coast of Florida, trout numbers are closely related to grass flat acreage, and on Tampa Bay, grass is on the rebound. Some 2,200 acres have regrown during the past decade, thanks mostly to improved waste-water treatment, and the bay now boasts a total of more than 28,000 acres of this productive habitat, the highest coverage since the 1950s, according to the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.

Trout fishing has improved hand-in-hand with the better grass coverage, and even despite a major red tide kill in 2005, anglers around the Bay area report excellent fishing for trout this fall, with many over the minimum size. The really big trout seen before the kill are still absent, but the species grows rapidly and more lunkers are not far off.

On the other hand, poor water quality can quickly ruin productive habitat; the outfall from Lake Okeechobee, directed both to the west coast via the Caloosahatchee River and to the east coast via the St. Lucie River, has destroyed hundreds of acres of prime habitat in recent years, and trout fishing has slumped in those areas as a result.

Bottom line is that so long as we continue to do our part in providing healthy habitat and reasonable harvest rules, nature is capable of quickly restoring and maintaining our fisheries.

SNOOK DATES: Snook season on the West Coast closed Saturday and remains closed until March 1. The closure includes Everglades National Park and all of Monroe County.

The Atlantic Coast season closes Dec. 15 and remains closed until Feb. 1. Snook in Lake Okeechobee are considered in the East Coast fishery. Catch-and-release fishing for snook is permitted during the closed season.

SHOW ENDING: The St. Petersburg Boat Show concludes today at 400 First Street South in St. Petersburg. Admission is $8 for adults, $4 for children 6-12. For more information, call (813) 978-1992.

SEMINARS: Captain Richard Seward joins captain Mel Berman of WFLA, 970 AM, for a clinic on winter trout fishing Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Toyota of Tampa Bay, 1101 E. Fletcher Ave. in Tampa. There will be free snacks and door prizes. For more information, call (866) 540-1711. ... The Tampa Bay Fly Fishing Club hosts a free fly-tying clinic and fly-fishing flea market Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Compton Park Rec Center in Tampa Palms; www.tbffc.org. ... Vance Tice presents a free seminar on trolling for grouper in Tampa Bay on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Tightlines Tackle, 6924 N. Armenia Ave. in Tampa; (813) 932-4721.

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