Outdoors

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FRANK SARGEANT

Gag grouper are a popular target in the Gulf, but under new rules anglers can harvest them only four months a year.

The Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission last week bent to pressure from the federal regulators and agreed to match state gag grouper closures to those set by the council, with a shutdown from November 1 to June 30 yearly.

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OUTDOORS

FRANK SARGEANT

With warm temperatures, sheepshead will likely spawn early, making spots like the bridge at Boca Grande a prime fishing spot.

Now's the time for getting big-headed

If you consider sheepshead "panfish," you're going to need a bigger pan for the next couple of months.

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OUTDOORS

FRANK SARGEANT

Gag grouper like this one are a popular target of reef anglers, but a new federal rule would limit fishing to just four months a year.

Season of change coming for grouper

The adoption of federal law would limit gag grouper fishing, in an effort to rebuild a population that dwindled during the 2005-06 red tide.

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OUTDOORS

FRANK SARGEANT

Geoff Page shows that wade fishing is one of the best ways to access the extreme shallows created by new and full moon low winter tides.

Winter catches can be worth wading for

Astronomers assure us there are perfectly logical reasons for the tides to be lower in winter than in summer. But whatever they may be, they can help anglers in the cooler months.

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OUTDOORS

FRANK SARGEANT

The TECO electrical generating plant at Apollo Beach puts out a plume of warm water that attracts both fish and manatees in the winter.

Fish get spa treatment at local power plants

Many environmentalists would like to see them go away permanently. They cook billions of larval shrimp, crabs and fishes every year in their boilers, and the hot water they generate kills thousands of acres of sea grasses in some areas.

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