
Photo courtesy of TakeMeFishing.org
Florida Fish Busters’ Bulletin
By Bob Wattendorf, FWC
It is that time of year again when freshwater anglers are taking advantage of the last of the winter crappie fishery and really looking forward to the spring spawn of bass and bream. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologists have completed their analyses of the 2009 fishing data from creel studies (angler reported catches), electrofishing studies, Big Catch records and various measures of young-of-the-year sportfish production. In addition, they have considered habitat trends and reports from local fishing guides and bait-and-tackle shop operators in order to come up with a list of top fishing sites for 2010.
These lists include bass, bream, crappie, catfish and striper fisheries and are summarized below. In addition, regional biologists check with local fishing guides and bait-and-tackle shops quarterly (January, April, July, and October) to get insights into how major fisheries are producing and what anglers are using to find success on a variety of lakes and rivers throughout the year. All of that information, along with fishing tips, is available to improve your fishing success at MyFWC.com/Fishing/ , and then click on “fishing sites and forecasts.”
January’s cold snap set several records and caused significant fish kills in fresh water areas. Fortunately for the resource and most users, those kills were primarily limited to nonnatve fishes such as tilapia and sucker mouth catfish. Thus with the possible exception of peacock bass in Southeast Florida, the cold snap should not have adversely impacted the overall freshwater fishing prognosis for 2010.
Panhandle area featured species
Site – Size and Counties – Featured species
Apalachicola River/Lake Seminole -106 miles/37,500 acres, Gulf, Liberty, Franklin, Jackson, Gadsden, Calhoun
Striped bass, channel, flathead and blue catfish
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Posted under Fishing, Outdoor Family Fun