TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Fishing At Lake Okeechobee To Get Tighter Restrictions

ADVERTISEMENT

By FRANK SARGEANT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 24, 2007

Twenty years ago, any biologist who proposed turning Lake Okeechobee into a catch-and-release fishery for largemouth bass would have been summarily handcuffed and slapped on a train to California or Massachusetts, or some other foreign land where people thought fish were useful for something other than eating.

But next month, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will hold meetings to explain a proposal doing almost that very thing, and the ruling is not expected to draw much opposition from anglers.

The rule would replace the existing 13- to 18-inch slot with an 18-inch minimum size on bass at the famed 'Big O.' Because most anglers rarely catch a bass that big, the slot limit will, in effect, make the lake very close to an all-release fishery.

'The lake has a fair population of 3- to 4-year-old bass, but very few young fish coming up behind them,' regional biologist Jon Fury said. 'We think this is the result of water levels held too high, which caused a lot of shoreline vegetation to die out, and then on top of that the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005 made the water very turbid and prevented successful spawning.'

Fury said sample netting and electro-fishing surveys show fish numbers far below desirable levels in the lake. And unfortunately, the 18-inch minimum is not expected to improve things anytime soon.

'It's not a real fix, but it's one of the few that the commission has direct control over,' Fury said. 'The water management district and the Corps of Engineers control the water levels, and that's key to bringing the lake back, but we have to get cooperation from nature for that to work out.'

Fury said Okeechobee is a major water supply lake for the huge metro areas of Southeast Florida, so it's managed primarily to supply the needs of people and agriculture, with fish a distant third.

Fury said in terms of the fishery, the current drought is likely to be a good thing, however.

'Low water lets the bottom dry out, the mud solidifies, and rooted plants start to grow, which provides good spawning areas,' Fury said. 'But when the water gets too low, you can't water the lawns in South Florida, and that makes hundreds of thousands of people unhappy. And extreme low water prevents fishing boats from being launched or run safely. So it's always a balancing act.'

Fury said the Corps of Engineers has been supporting low water levels in recent years because they are concerned that the aging earthen dikes may not survive extreme high water and storms. He added that he's hopeful water quality in the lake will gradually improve as numerous stormwater treatment marshes are built upstream. The marshes filter out nutrients and make the water cleaner as it works its way south.

The 18-inch minimum, if approved, is expected to keep more quality fish in the lake and increase the number of spawners, hopefully taking advantage of the improved bottom and water quality if water levels rise to normal over the winter.

'It only takes a couple years of good spawning to restore a lake, but conditions have to be right when the fish are bedding,' Fury said.

He said rules also will be tightened on fishing for crappie - a k a speckled perch - on the lake, because catch numbers have been low for this species as well. The change would make 10 inches the minimum legal size for specks.

The commission will hold public hearings on the proposals Nov. 14 at the Corps of Engineers office, 525 Ridgelawn Road in Clewiston, and Nov. 15 at the Okeechobee Civic Center, 1750 U.S. 90 N. in Okeechobee. Both meetings are at 6:30 p.m. If adopted, the rules would go into effect July 1, 2008. For details, visit www.myfwc.com.

ENGLEWOOD FINDING ACTION: Captain Van Hubbard of Englewood reports a bit of everything along beaches in his area, despite the remarkably warm water.

'We're catching Spanish mackerel and kings, as many as the anglers want, plus some tarpon, sharks, little tunny - it's just constant action as long as the winds are down,' Hubbard said.

He credits vast schools of bait and clear water.

The best tactic, he said, is to net sardines or threadfins and fish them free-lined on a short length of wire around the bait schools or where you see birds diving.

Hubbard said he expects the beach action to continue until around Thanksgiving. For more details, visit www.captvan.com.

KINGFISH SEMINAR: Captain Bill Miller of Catch 47 and his son, captain Billy Miller, present a free kingfish seminar tonight at 7 at the Golden Triangle Fishing Club meeting at Bill Currie Ford, 5815 N. Dale Mabry Hwy., Tampa. Call (813) 935-3293.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT