Every week I receive a report from the FWC (Florida Wildlife Commission) about arrests and citations handed out throughout the state. These citations usually pertain to hunting and fishing infractions, poaching, illegal fish etc. One disturbing one that I read recently was of an arrest made here in Flagler County. The person has been citied for killing eight great blue herons by use of a pellet rifle. How anyone could kill such a beautiful, defenseless creature is beyond my comprehension. Isn’t part of the reason we live here because of the wildlife? It’s bad enough that so much wildlife is being depleted due to development that we don’t need individuals to speed up the process. If you know of a wildlife infraction and want to report it you can contact the FWC online at, myfwc.com then click on wildlife alert at the bottom of the page or call 1-888-404-3922 for an incident in progress.
Another disturbing article I read in the paper the other day was of a two year old that was killed when he fell of the stern of his fathers boat and was killed by the propeller. This incident most likely could have been avoided. I can’t express SAFE BOATING enough. We must be aware of our surroundings and the people onboard our boats at all times. It only takes a second for an accident to happen that may well have been prevented by the use of a little precaution and some common sense. Some of the things I see people doing while boating are accidents waiting to happen. Please, think and Practice Safe Boating !
Surf fishing has slowed a bit. What I have been hearing is mostly of blues and whiting. Still waiting for the tarpon to make an appearance along the beaches.
The ICW is producing reds, snook, flounder and some trout. Most of the flounder are around the fourteen inch range. Live shrimp is still a rarity. Mud minnows, mullet and pinfish are the live baits of choice. I probably had my worst day of fishing in the past 2 years when all I could produce was a 14” mangrove snapper and a couple of catfish for the party on my boat. They did however lose a nice snook. It’s tough when you have young children on the boat and you have to change your whole style of fishing. Capt. Ralph Olivett did well though. His party had 4 reds and a flounder. The reds were 27, 26 ½, 18 and 19 inches. All were caught on live bait.
Photo: left to right - Capt Ralph Olivett holds a redfish for Alyssa Wilson, Lindsey Jones – mangrove snapper, Lauren Jones – flounder, Dayton Wilson – redfish.
Rear, Shane Wilson –redfish, Gary Jones - redfish