The Valencia Lakes Fishing Club (VLFC)

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1 Dedicated to Fishing Education and Activities Our November meeting was our annual social event. We met for dinner and drinks at the Sandpiper Grill in Sun City Center. Getting together with friends and loved ones who share a common bond is ALWAYS a great feeling. Meeting the significant others of our club members was very welcomed and, for the most part, everyone enjoyed the evening. I received a huge surprise, when our VLFC honored me for my efforts in sharing knowledge, experiences and events to members. I am not very good at receiving such praise, but your show of appreciation, indeed, was humbling for me. Thank you all. Gary Spieler IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA FOR A WORKSHOP, PLEASE CONTACT GARY garys49401@aol.com If you learn of any member, or their immediate family, have had a hardship or a blessing, let us know so we can pass the word on to: Charlie Brown - cebrownlawyer@gmail.com. The Valencia Lakes Fishing Club (VLFC) 2017 VLFC OFFICERS PRESIDENT STU FURGANG V.P. GLENN BROWN SEC Y BOB RACE TREAS. DAVE PERTL ASST. TREAS. STEVE EPSTEIN DIR. AT LARGE TOM BOSWORTH DIR. AT LARGE KEITH SCHNEIDER DIR. AT LARGE BRAD TAYLOR sfurgang@gmail.com calmseas@tampabay.rr.com bobrace123@gmail.com pert1@aol.com sepstein50@yahoo.com tcboz50@gmail.com shoebz@hotmail.com sbsbtaylor@gmail.com CHAIRMAN GARY SPIELER NEWSLETTER GARY SPIELER 2017 EDUCATION AND EVENTS garys49401@aol.com garys49401@aol.com NEXT MEETING is on Social Hall, VL Clubhouse

2 **VLFC Open Board meetings are held on the Thursday following the club s general meeting --YOU RE INVITED! ** December 5 th Meeting GUEST SPEAKER Ms. Gina Russo, Outreach Coordinator for the Port Manatee Field Lab. Gina has been a guest speaker at our club numerous times and each time, our membership thoroughly enjoyed and learned a great deal from her. She will be discussing all aspects of Catch and Release. DON T MISS THIS VERY INFORMATIVE MEETING! 1. Joel Linky Grandkids Fishing Derby Dec. 26th CONTACT: Chris Bosworth - christina.i.bosworth@gmail.com, 2. GOLF CART FISHING By Appointment CONTACT: ALAN ( BASSMAN ) BERKOV - Aberkov@Tampabay.rr.com KAYAK FISHING: Brad Taylor (sbsbtaylor@gmail.com) Frank Ray (Fray1@verizon.net) Joan Komorowski (joank2@hotmail.com) Had any interesting fishing experiences? Heard of any interesting fishing ideas? Would you like to see additional events, educational experiences for our VLFC members? Garys49401@aol.com

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4 YOUR GO TO PLACE FOR WHAT S UP! The VLFC is proud to debut our new website: Much thanks is due Allison Davis, our new webmaster, for her tireless work to get this up and running. The website is still under construction but please check it out and send your comments to Allison: allison0929@gmail.com. This is a very valuable asset, and it s yours! ***** Great videos, pictures of our members ***** Contact Information for all VLFC Members *** Issues of VLFC Newsletters *** TURN UP THE AUDIO, THERE S MUSIC, TOO! WEBMASTER- ALLISON DAVIS - allison0929@gmail.com

5 GETTING EXCITED..? Joel Linky Grandkid s Fishing Derby (December 26 th ) In just one month, preparation will begin for our Joel Linky Grandkid s Fishing Derby. It s the fishing event of the year at Valencia Lakes. This year, Chris Bosworth will be organizing this annual gala annual event. Below is a picture of Rich Brown (previous event organizer) doing his thing at Emerald Green in Upstate New York.

6 A TAMPA BAY FISHING GUIDE FOR A MILD WINTER by LUCILE MILLER on JANUARY 27, 2012 Sheepshead, a great catch during a mild Florida winter This winter has been amazingly warm in the Tampa Bay area. January days hitting the upper 70s and even 80? Pinch me! As an angler, if you get out before or after any cold fronts, you can find some pretty awesome inshore fishing here on the Suncoast. Approaching fronts will keep offshore boats tied to the dock most of the times but for inshore anglers, if you do your homework, fishing in protected areas can take place almost any time. The key is to find a few protected honey holes that are out of the wind. When you do find your honey holes, the action can be hot! Here is a guide for the various fish you ll find around Tampa Bay this winter and what jigs you should use to catch them. Trout Trout fishing closures have been eliminated as of February 1 for the entire state, so this means that the trout season is open for take for recreational anglers. Strong management practices for this fish have allowed the additional months of open season without reducing the numbers of fish to the point where it would negatively affect the SPR (spawning potential ratio). Speckled trout are pretty tasty. I have one client who says this is his favorite eating fish, so I am often on the hunt for it. Speckled trout are available on most grass flats. Look for those with good moving water that s where you ll find the best action. Sarasota Bay is a top spot for these fish. Longboat Pass and New Pass areas bring strong water flow into the areas in between, and the grass flats west of the canal going into Cannon s Marina are some of the best for trout fishing. The Sister Keys and the flats to the

7 south and east of that area and north to Jewfish Key just inside Longboat Pass are awesome places to start looking for trout. If you use live shrimp under a popping cork or a DOA Deadly Combo, you will quickly reach your trout limit. MirrOlure TTR series plugs for deep cuts are veteran producers of big trout. When water temperatures are cold, these fish generally glue themselves to the bottom. Surface lures lose effectiveness in cold weather with only a few exceptions, and those times are near the tail end of a string of warm, sunny days, usually in the afternoon during the peak of warmth. Chuck a jig out with a long cast using a light braided line like 10-pound Power Pro, and a 15-to 20-pound test stealthy leader like Ande Fluorocarbon or Backcountry co-polymer and you have a good shot at catching dinner. I like the CAL ¼-ounce chartreuse jig head coupled with a CAL #305 night glow or the #309 night glow/ holographic gold rush Shad tail. In the same colors, the DOA Shrimp is a deadly winter lure. Redfish Redfish are one of our heartiest winter fish. They will cooperate under extreme conditions. But don t confuse these fish with something easy to catch, because under clear water conditions, they can get spooked easily, so stealthy approaches to reds are a must. A wide assortment of lures will take redfish. MirrOlure s Lil John soft plastic jerk bait rigged on a sixteenth or an eighth ounce jig head lands softly on the water, keeping from spooking wary fish. Redfish that will feed can usually be found in small protected coves that are sheltered from the wind, but have access to direct sunlight. A dark muddy bottom will heat up quickly as the sun rises and heads for the afternoon. Move these lures slowly with sharp, short twitches of the rod. Braided line with a 20-to 25-pound leader will suffice. When water is very clear, make leaders at least 30-inches long. Leaders that are at least this long will add a bit of stealth and put spookish redfish at ease. A CAL Shad is a favorite of mine for redfish in the shallows an assortment of colors will work, from dark to light. These fish will get so shallow at times only a wade fisher or very shallow drafting boat will get to them. Skinny water reds can be found sunning themselves with their backs exposed to the air. This is when you ll find them easy to spook, so taking care to avoid noises and boat wakes is imperative if you want to catch reds. Avoid running outboard motors. Run trolling motors on their lowest speeds. A good motor can be used with care to avoid spooking shallow water reds, but some opt for a push pole for moving about in the shallows too.

8 Either way, keep the noise off the water and you ll have better success with redfish. Flounder Flounder made a tremendous presence in Exceptional numbers of some fairly large flounder were caught, mostly on jigs and lures that could be worked on the bottom. Catching flounder is not difficult, providing you are fishing where the fish are. Passes and artificial reefs are some of the most productive areas to find flounder. The edges of the ICW that run out of Cannon s Marina and head to Longboat Pass can hold good numbers of flatties. Artificial lures, like jigs, work best. Maintain contact with the bottom with your jig as much as possible. Twitch the jig with your rod tip down, forcing the jig to move minimally across the bottom, kicking up small puffs of mud as the lure moves. This action attracts attention from flounder that may be following your jig. Silver Trout Silver trout can be found in deep holes in Tampa Bay, along the beaches, and up rivers like the Manatee River. Good numbers are caught each year in Terra Ceia, Tampa and in Sarasota Bays, on the Middle Grounds flats. Tandem rigged jigs like the new DOA Deadly Tandem are excellent for silvers. There are no bag or size limits on silvers. These fish do not freeze well. The flesh of silver trout deteriorates rapidly once it is frozen. So, eat your Silver the day you catch it. Make sure you keep only enough that gives you what you need for a fresh meal or two. This gives you the best flavor and maintains the resource. Sheepshead Sheepshead will be coming into their spawn around the full moon beginning in February. Some of the largest sheepies of the year are usually caught during the next two months. They are a tough catch on artificial lures, but tipping jigs with a small thumbnail size morsel of fresh shrimp can add to your mixed winter bag of fish. You ll find the bulk of these fish around boat docks and structure, like the many artificial reefs that were made from the rubble of the old Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Black Drum Lower Tampa Bay around the Clam Bar on the Pinellas side is notorious for holding some monster black drum that begin moving into the bay over the next couple of months. Many of these breeders range up into the 50-plus pound bracket. Due to their size, stout rods and line are advised in order to

9 land these beasts. Like the sheepshead, these fish will take a shrimp tipped jig. A bag limit of five fish per person between 14 and 24-inches may be kept and one of these five may be over 24-inches. Black drum over the maximum size begin holding more parasitic worms. While they may be harmless to ingest when cooked properly, some feel that they aren t very appetizing. Boat docks in Sarasota Bay are great spots to find black drum as well. Pompano Finally, pompano, one of Florida s best-eating fish can be found on the flats this time of year. Sarasota Middle Ground flats, Big Sarasota Pass, Longboat Pass, and the flats near Key Royale are some great spots to find pompano. Small short skirted jigs work well for pompano, but a jig made in Pinellas called Doc s Goofy Jigs is becoming the standard for pompano. This winter may not be much to talk about with the meteorologists, because it s been so mild, but for sure, if you re an angler, the fishing for this winter, is one you may never forget. spread the word... About the author: I was born a commercial fisherman s daughter in Cortez, an old fishing village off the west coast of Florida where you can still experience Old Florida and get a really good grouper sandwich. I went to school and became an anesthetist, after privileged years of practice, I jumped ship to work in the family business Cannons Marina. I love my job and the view. I am crazy about my dog Gnarly. Being out on the water is magical. I still get giddy every time I see a dolphin. Often I brag that I had the opportunity to swim alongside a humpback whale it was freaky and pretty amazing. My life is no doubt boating, but I also love paddle-boarding cooking and travel. The Valencia Fishing Club Newsletter is provided as is, without any guarantees or warranty. Valencia Lakes Fishing Club makes no endorsements or warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, of title, or of noninfringement of third party rights. Use any print material, product, techniques or idea s in this Newsletter by a user is at the user s ris

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22 #1 Angler at Valencia Lakes My daughter and son-in-law gave me a fabulous fishing charter last year for my birthday with Wham Bam Charters in New Smyrna Beach. On my bucket list was to catch a bull redfish. It took almost a year to set up the charter due to weather and medical issues but finally, on November 20 th, I got to fulfill my bucket list dream. A 44 bull redfish (see below). It was pretty choppy out on the water and the mate had to grip on to the back of my jacket so I wouldn t fall in the water while fighting the fish! This is one experience I will always cherish. Karen Stone

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25 PICTURE OF THE MONTH Artistic modifications applied to this picture (I COULDN T HELP MYSELF, IF ONLY THIS WERE TRUE!) Photographer: Gary Spieler * Please forward any photographs to: garys49401@aol.com

26 RESOURCES 1 #1 Resource HOW TO, WHERE TO CATCH SALTWATER FISH ING OUR LOCAL WATERS The Online Fisherman CURRENT SOLUNAR CHART FOR OUR LOCAL WATERS CURRENT INFO FOR OUR LOCAL WATERS KNOT TYING GENERAL LEARNING INFORMATION FLORIDA FISHING RULES/REGULATIONS WADE-FISHING SLOTS, BAG LIMITS OTHER If you would like to add to this list of resources please forward your suggestions to: garys49401@aol.com

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