Submitted photo

Here's a picture of a 17-foot sawfish (angler unknown) caught in the early 1950s at the Naples Pier. You were allowed to shark fish form the pier in those days. The shark and sawfish would move into the pier area during January and February after the black mullet run.

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More Fishing and Boating

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February is looking good as I prepare this article. We have a mild cold front with softer winds as cold fronts go and it looks as if it will be played out by the time you read this article.

If so, the water temperature should get back up a few degrees and really kick the inland waterways, passes, outer shoreline and flats into high gear.

Redfish, snook, trout, sheepshead, black drum, some pompano, resident tarpon and other renegades such as jack, bluerunner, ladyfish and of course catfish will be waiting.

Fishing the midday hours on a fast tide should get you into some nice action. Some of these species will be near the bottom in the deeper holes including snapper, snook, sheepshead and black drum.

The list of bait and methods is a long one but having an assortment of both natural bait, lures, and jigs will give you an extra edge for successful fishing and catching. Working your bait slow is best.

A warming weather pattern, if we get it, should also draw the bait back closer to shore. Of course several species including Spanish mackerel, bonito, ladyfish, jack and some barracuda will also be working the bait from the beach and passes out.

Anglers will be trolling lures, spoons and jugs successfully for them. Other anglers will drift or anchor over the nearshore fish havens and wrecks using cut bait and some will add a trailer jig to the rig. This will give them an added edge for hooking up on some grouper and snapper.

The same game plan will work for the same species in offshore waters, 60 feet out and should increase the catch and keep ratio for grouper, cobia, amberjack, shark and barracuda.

Hardly a month goes by that someone asks me, “can you eat the barracuda?” My answer is, “I would not eat barracuda” as you are playing Russian roulette in our Florida waters and also in the Bahamas.

They, along with some other species can carry Ciguatera, a toxic poison. As I understand it, the fish get it in their system by eating a reef fish. I do have to admit Sharon and I ate barracuda in Belize, Central America and it was very good. The reason we felt comfortable with it was what my friend Wil Lala told us.

We stayed at Wil’s hotel, Caribbean Villas on the island of Ambergris Caye. According to Wil there has never been a case of Ciguatera reported in Belize. Many think it is because the fish that give barracuda the poison is not common in Belize.

There are some old sayings about barracuda, one that comes to mind is, “lay the fish on the dock in the hot sun, if flies land and stay on them, it is OK to eat!”

I don’t have much faith in that one but there is a test kit for Ciguatera offered by the Oceanit Company. Their website is cigua@oceanit.com which has a wealth of information about many things including Ciguatera.

February is also a month that brings forth many fond memories for me, as far back as 1949. It was the month my parents arrived in Naples to stay.

We pulled into Thurner’s Trailer Park, I was put in the one school building that housed grades 1 through 12, totaling around 160 students.

We were instantly hooked on fishing the Naples Pier that was laced with bait, huge schools of black mullet and many other species in good numbers. Shark fishing was allowed then. The trout fishing was in and really cooking.

My parents would soon find themselves managing the bait and tackle shop on the Pier and I worked for them and it was unreal.

Anglers could walk the shoreline and catch a nice stringer of fish also. You could build a fire or drive a vehicle on the beach from the Naples Beach Club north to Doctor’s Pass.

The trailer park was located near the Naples City Dump, we call them landfills now. It was near what is now the entrance to the Moorings. In the evening the residents of the park would build a fire near the shuffleboard courts and visit.

Once, my dad and I were watching them play shuffleboard when all of a sudden came a loud scream sounding like a woman. My startled dad yelled, “someone is in trouble!” One of the old-timers turned to say, “don’t worry Joe it is a panther and bobcats fighting over the stuff at the dump.”

There is so much more and I will try to have more about February, 1949 later this month.

Do not forget Marco Sportfishing Club meets this Thursday, public welcome at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Temple, corner of Peru and Winterberry.

The Coastal Conversation Association’s monthly fishing tournament is the first Sunday of February out of Calusa Yacht Club & Marina on Goodland.

Not a member? Come early around 6:30 a.m. and join the CCA, register for the tournament.

Call Marco angler Wright Taylor at 821-9203 or Terry Metzger 597-4973 for more information.

Have a great week!

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Red Stier is a weekly contributor to the Marco Island Eagle. Questions or comments may be directed to redstier@aol.com or 172 Trinidad St., Naples, FL 34113.