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| Around 10% of the world's total fish species can be found just within the Great Barrier Reef. |
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| Starfish can re-grow their arms. In fact, a single arm can regenerate a whole body. |
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| Starfish do not have blood. Their blood is actually filtered sea water. |
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| Starfish don't have brains. Special cells on their skin gather information about their surroundings |
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| Not all animals with the word fish in their names count as fish. |
| Though their names may suggest otherwise, cuttlefish, starfish, and jellyfish aren’t actually fish. Generally-speaking, fishes must have skulls, gills, and fins. Surprisingly, though, not all fishes have proper spines. |
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| In three decades, the world's oceans will contain more discarded plastic than fish when measured by weight, researchers say. |
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| As of 2020, there were 34,000 known fish species around world. That’s more than the number of species in all other vertebrates: birds, reptiles, mammals, and amphibians combined. |
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| Just how man species of fish are there? |
| As of 2020, there were 34,000 known fish species around world. That’s more than the number of species in all other vertebrates: birds, reptiles, mammals, and amphibians combined. |
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| Even Catfish are finicky |
| Taste Buds ? Catfish have a more refined sense of flavor than humans. Our 10,000 taste buds may seem like a lot, but catfish can have as many as 175,000. This helps them find the exact location of their next meal. |
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| A bit of Humor |
| My brother has 2 German Shepherds named Rolex and Timex. You guessed it they are Watch Dogs. |
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From Jan 01, 1999 To Sep 22, 2025
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Sep 7, 2006; 03:30PM - Butler Chain
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Category: Florida
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Author Name: Capt Tim Fey
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Today I had a good friend out on Butler Chain to help him scout out a few areas for a tournament he has coming up soon. We had started the day out in Lake Pocket working schoolies for about 20 minutes when they settled down, from there it was pitching docks and working shoreline with deep drop offs close by. With a move into Lake Sheen, the pattern had pretty much stayed the same, working shoreline that had deep drop offs close by and grass beds set up in waters 6-9 feet deep. Baits used in these 2 lakes were Mepps Minnows and Gitem Shads, with a small screw in weight.
Lake Isleworth, as usual was a good stop off for some drop shot action for about 45 minutes before making the move into Lake Louise, where we worked spinner baits and lizards thru the Eel grasses managing 2 descent bass in 12 foot of water.
Lake Down and Little Lake Down produced some good numbers using Gitem KO’s and Shads with no weight, and worked extremely slow in the 4-8 foot depths. Once again fish were just picking up the baits and moving slowly, so line watching was a big key to catching today. Fish were very scattered other than the schoolers on Lake Pocket. Total fish today was 16, with the best 5 coming in about 14 pounds. Not bad for numbers, but trust me on this folks, we had to work hard for the ones we caught, 16 fish with probably 20 moves around the lakes.
Hopefully the weather starts cooling down some soon, with the rains we have been getting, the water temps have come down a good bit, starting the day out with 83 degree water temps is a lot better than the 89 degree we had been seeing before the rains. Water levels out on Butler look great, and waters are still very clean with visibility in areas roughly up to 4 feet, we did hit a few areas where water depth was 9 foot and could clearly see the bottom, which makes for long casts and 10 pound test line.
Till my next report, tight lines and great fishing!
Capt Tim Fey
Bassfishingfl.com
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Sep 6, 2006; 02:46PM - Johns Lake
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Category: Florida
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Author Name: Capt Tim Fey
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John’s Lake September 6th
Today we did some more exploring on John’s Lake. Waters are still looking great out here, with water temps starting the day out at 85 degrees. Very light if any real breeze to speak of. We started the day in the cut to the Horseshoe, working the Gitem Drop and picking up 3 very quick bass before heading to the shorelines and doing some flipping.
Schooling activity was pretty much non existent this morning with only a few blows here and there but very small schools. Hitting the grass beds away from the cut to the horseshoe produced 2 descent bass on the Gitem Shad in watermelon red tight to the grass bed, before making another move to the main lake area.
Hitting the main lake grass beds was the key for the day, and fishing very slow was the only way to catch anything. Flipping the grass beds and just bouncing your bait around the holes produced a couple more bass. I did manage to flip a few of the docks out there and you had to work extremely slow doing so, pitching all the way under the docks and boats, and letting your bait just sit there, giving it an occasional twitch to get a strike. None of the hits today were by any means aggressive in nature, so paying close attention to your line was very important, as they would pick up the bait and slowly move, if at all.
Till my next report, tight lines and great fishing!
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Sep 4, 2006; 08:43PM - Butler Chain
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Category: Florida
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Author Name: Capt Tim Fey
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Today I went on a scouting trip on Butler Chain. I have received a few e-mails from people asking where the bass are hiding and what they are hitting on. I started the day in Lake Louise, simple and basic pattern was running the edges tossing a Baby Bass colored KO from Gitem Baits. Working the shallow water grass beds in 4 to 6 foot and tossing directly at the cypress tress, and letting it fall to the base of the tree yielded 3 descent sized bass. The bite was real soft, as they seemed to pick up the baits and just hold onto it with moving so you really had to watch your line very closely.
I did stumble on 2 different schools in Lake Louise picking up another 12 on a Little George. Although the schooling fish are generally not very big in size, ranging from 1 ½ to 2 ½ pounds, I did manage a 3 pounder from one of the schools, always fun nailing schoolers though.
From there I made the move back into Lake Isleworth and started tossing the Gitem Drop, working it slowly along the grass edge with mixed in pads, picking up 4 more descent sized bass before calling it a day.
I did notice that the deep water bite had slowed down some for me, as this time of year I am usually getting them in 10 to 20 foot of water. Today they seemed to be suspended on the drop offs somewhat and always close to some type of cover or structure, the big key was to fish VERY slow and pay close attention to your line, and if you were around the grasses, watching for grass being moved around by fishing moving thru.
Till my next report, tight lines and great fishing!!
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Sep 4, 2006; 06:05PM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
August 28-Sept.3, 2006
WEATHER: Talk of the week was of Hurricane John. At the start of the week it was just a tropical depression to the southeast of Acapulco and almost everyone, including me, thought that it would follow the normal track to the west-northwest if it developed into anything. Thinking that was what was going to happen I booked tickets to California to get a car to drive back. To my dismay John developed into a tropical storm then a hurricane and came right at us. Kristen, out to the west, kept John from moving to the west. Uh-oh, I quickly booked tickets back on the first flight out on Thursday and arrived about 2 pm Thursday afternoon. No rain yet, just a few dark cloud bands. When the attendants went through the plane before we left Phoenix Airport and explained the Cabo was expected to get a direct hit from a hurricane, we were an hour late leaving as the manifest had to be radically changed and a lot of luggage unloaded! We came in with only about 20 people on the plane, but there had to be about 300 waiting to leave! Thank goodness we were not trying to get out. After going directly to the marina to secure the boat it was time to head for home and take care of the heavy stuff my wife could not do. I have to say that after having been through at leas 3 category 5 hurricanes, I am always happy when we only get a little rain and wind. Hurricane John kept moving off to the east and we only received the weak side, with winds to 35 knots and maybe 2” of rain over Saturday and Sunday. The East Cape took a direct hit and I lost contact with a few friends up there and I hope they are all right. Our cell phone system is busy and as of Sunday morning we cannot get on line or phone anyone, probably because a relay tower or two in the northern part of the state has been damaged.
WATER: It was decent water early in the week with swells on the Pacific side at 2-4 feet and the water was blue and warm at 84 degrees. On the Sea of Cortez side there were almost no swells and only light winds with blue water at 86 degrees. The clouds started moving in on Wednesday, not thick, but enough to give us partly cloudy skies and they kept the surface temperatures down a bit. Thursday the swells started to pick up and of course the port was closed on Friday and Saturday. The port re-opened on Sunday and a few boats that still had clients went out. A few of them returned with seasick passengers but most of them stayed out, the swells were up a bit but there was no chop on top of them.
BAIT: Caballito early in the week with the usual price of $2 per bait, some Sardinas up at Palmilla at $20 a scoop. At the end of the week on Sunday there were two bait boats out there selling bait, they were Caballito held over in their tanks through the storm, but they weren’t trying to gouge, only asking the usual $2 per bait.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: This whole section is going to be a bit difficult for me as I was only here for Monday and Sunday. There were Striped Marlin reported every day as well as some Blue Marlin, but the numbers of both had dropped off a bit. The Striped Marlin were reported close to shore near home and the Blue Marlin were reported to be out past the 95 Spot, just like last week.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Scattered football fish were caught on the Pacific side amongst Porpoise and there was a good bite on Yellowfin to 25 pounds with an occasional larger fish to 100 pounds reported early in the week a the Gorda Banks. I am writing the report on Sunday and will upgrade it if I find that anyone has found fish today. Almost all the above action at the Gorda was on Sardines and chunk bait.
DORADO: Exactly the same as last week. Slow trolling strip baits was the way to go if you wanted Dorado this week. A good trip could result in 45 to 50 pounds of fillets. Most of the fish were between 12 and 20 pounds and they were found close to shore with the most effort being expended on the Pacific side. These fish like the rougher water and with the swells churning up the beach there were a lot of rip currents and debris lines to attract their attention. Lures also garnered a few fish but best results were had with the first fish kept behind the boat and chunks or strip baits drifted behind the first caught fish.
WAHOO: Nada
INSHORE: Like they say in jersey, fagitaboutit! Storm swells made inshore fishing almost impossible on the Pacific and there were enough Dorado just offshore that the Pangas focused their attention there.
NOTES: As I said above, I am writing this on Sunday and am not sure if we will get internet back or not before Monday. If the boats that went out today did any good I will try and update this report before it is posted. Cabo got off lucky with Hurricane John, a bit of wind and rain but little damage. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we are as lucky the rest of the month!
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Sep 4, 2006; 01:53PM - And Along Came John!
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Category: Saltwater Fly Fishing Reports
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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And Along Came John! Updated September 04, 2006
Endless Season Update 09/04/2006
REPORT #1026 'Below the Border' Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape Magdalena Bay Zihuatanejo
- - -
Today 9 / 7
Full 9 / 14
Last Quarter 9 / 22
New 9 / 30
First Quarter
East Cape
An Unwelcome Visitor, Hurricane John 10:25 PM mdst Friday Night
While everyone was preparing for a big Labor Day weekend, along came Hurricane John. This is the first time that I can remember the same storm hitting three of our locations in one week. If you haven’t heard about “John” you must be watching too much football. All the networks covered this one extensively. To Tel Mex’s credit, they managed to keep DSL up throughout the storm. The IM’s (instant messages) yesterday reflected the sender’s experience with Baja storms. Messages ranged from “ho hum” to “oh shit!”
As the reports continue to filter in, it sounds like plenty of property damage, but fortunately few injuries.
Here’s link to photos of the damage caused: http://www.parkmodelexpress.com/baja/Hurricane John
On a lighter note, congratulations to Brett Phillips who received notification this week from IGFA that his “Gaff Sail Pompano” caught on a trip with Baja on the Fly in May set a new all tackle record.
Water temperature 74-89
Air temperature 80-91
Humidity 83%
Wind: S 15mph
Conditions: T-Storms
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 7:01 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:35 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
As the Southern tip of Baja begins to dig out this morning, all of Magdalena Bay is hunkering down for their turn with “Hurricane John”. Predictions are for more rain and less wind as the storm moves into that area.
Water temperature
64 - 78
Air temperature
76-86
Humidity
97%
Wind:
WNW 15 mph
Conditions:
Rain
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
7:07 a.m. MDT
Sunset
7:44 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The big story this week was not about fishing, but rather staying off the water. Hurricane John, even though we got no damage at all, passed only 60 miles out in front of Ixtapa / Zihuatanejo. Over a period of several hours, we did get 5 inches of rain, but no wind. However, you would not have wanted to be on the water, because it was a completely different story only a couple of miles off the beach.
It is going to take a few more days before the barometer stabilizes and things settle down.
Ed Kunze
Water temperature 78 - 87
Air temperature 75 - 84
Humidity 89%
Wind Calm
Conditions: Mostly Cloudy
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 7:31 a.m. CDT
Sunset 7:58 p.m. CDT
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Sep 3, 2006; 04:35PM - What size Hook?
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Category: Hawaii
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Author Name: Stan Wright
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Dean Shirota didn't tell me the weight of the 25 inch bone fish he caught. What's amazing is the 1/0 size hook he was using for the fly. Normally, his bone fish flys like the Christmas Island Special and Crazy Charlie are tied on a #4 size hook. Now Dean says he's going to tie some bonefish flys on a 2/0 hook. Well, our Hawaii bones usually run 6 to 12 pounds. How big a hook have you used for a bone fish fly?
Aloha,
Stan
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Sep 1, 2006; 08:59PM - Alaska Action
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Category: Alaska
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Author Name: Stan Wright
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The last thing my wife said to me at the airport was, 'Don't forget to bring home some halibut'.
So this was our 'meat fishing' day. Rick Collins of Explore Alaska Charters usually takes tourist from the cruise ships on 1/2 day salmon fishing trips. Today we would be using downriggers in the morning to pick up some salmon and then bottom fishing for a limit of halibut in the afternoon.
The first downrigger was set with a large flasher and a green squid skirt. A 'hoochie'. As Rick reached to set the second rod, the first rod bent double and the reel screamed, signaling a strike. A great start for a day of fishing. My brother, Lynn, was closest and grabbed the rod . After a short fight, a fat silver salmon lay on the crushed ice in the fish box.
It took almost an hour to get the three downriggers rigged and set. The fishing action was so fast that they kept getting hit before all three could be rigged. Rick was really working hard. Every time he went to set up a rod the other two rods would go off.
Since it was the first trip to Alaska for Lynn, and my son Chris, I let them reel in the fish while I used video and digital camera to capture all the excitement. Most of the salmon action was from silvers. We also landed two nice kings and several pinks. Then there was the assortment of bottom fish too. It was the perfect fishing day...... calm seas, a light breeze, and non stop strikes. Rick was earning his pay today.
After lunch we moved to area where the 260 foot deep shelf dropped off into deeper water. Using stand up rods with a 6-0 reel, and a 2 pound weight, we made our first drop for halibut. Rick took away my cameras and handed me a rod. It was time for me go to work, while he took a break. With the braided line you could feel the weight bouncing off the bottom. Then tap, tap, tap. Rick warned me not to set the hook. 'Let the halibut take the bait and the circle hook will do the rest.' Well the halibut took it, the rod was almost torn from my hands. Within 15 grueling minutes a nice 35 pound halibut lay on the back deck. (I don't know how in the world people can land a 100 pounder.) Meanwhile Chris and Lynn were standing with bent rods draped over the side of the boat. The bite was on.
In less than 2 hours we had our limit of 2 halibut each and sat exhausted as Rick headed the 'NOOYA' for home. At the pier our catch was unloaded, cleaned, shrink wrapped, frozen, and packed for shipment. Final score: three, 50 pound boxes of halibut and salmon fillets, frozen and ready as checked baggage for the airline. Not bad, not bad at all.
Oh yea, we took several fillets back to the B&B and enjoyed fresh salmon right off the barbie as the sun set slowly in the west. Tomorrow night, bake halibut and crab. LOL
Aloha,
Stan
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Aug 27, 2006; 11:30AM - East Central Florida Report
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Category: Florida
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Author Name: Capt. Chris Myers
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Fishing in east central Florida the past couple weeks has been hot, if you find the spot. Inshore, the redfish action has been steady. The schools of oversize redfish have been tailing along the deeper edges of flats early in the day. If they are not subjected to excess pressure, they will eat a well placed offering.
Last week, Paul Fondo of Orlando, joined me in the Mosquito Lagoon with his friend, Don Mathis. They both caught their biggest redfish ever with Paul taking the largest fish of the day.
In the Indian River Lagoon, big tarpon were providing us with consistent action. We jumped and caught fish from 50-125 pounds using a rootbeer colored DOA TerrorEyz with 40-60 lb leader. On several days, we fished near other anglers using live baits and the TerrorEyz produced much more action.
This week, most of the tarpon moved on, but several in the 100 pound class were jumped on the same lure.
Tuesday, Dennis and Brad Prokopowicz fished with me in the Mosquito Lagoon. The brothers wanted to catch some big reds and the fish cooperated. Dennis caught the big fish of the day, a red af about 30 pounds, but Brad was not far behind.
After leaving the reds, the brothers used a DOA shrimp under a cajun thunder float to catch over a dozen trout in leass than an hour. Fishing around schools of mullet was the key .
The next two days, I fished nearshore with friends. Capt. Tom Van Horn and I searched outside Port Canaveral. We found the water to be quite cool and the bait along the beach was scarce. After finally finding menhaden well south of the Port, we trolled in various locations with only one barracuda to show for our efforts.
Thursday, Paul Huffman and I tried the waters outside Ponce Inlet in New Smyrna Beach. Bait was plentiful but the preadators were not. A big jack crevalle was the only fish that saved us from a shutout.
Cold water has hampered the nearshore bite throughout the summer. The next couple months, however, should bring more stable water temperatures and an increase in bait as the fall mullet run begins. Inshore, redfish will continue to provide steady action. Pompano will begin to invade the flats of the Indian River and can also be found staging around the many causeways.
Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com
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Aug 24, 2006; 05:17PM - Fly Out Fishing Trip
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Category: Alaska
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Author Name: Stan Wright
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It was raining. How can we fly out to a remote lake in weather like this? But float planes loaded with tourist from the cruise ships were taking off every minute. Those on a flight/seeing trip to Misty Fjords today would defiantly see lots of mist.
You haven't experienced Alaska unless you include a float plane trip to some remote fishing spot. Our guide, Dan, was waiting at the lake with a boat to take us up the river in search of Cutthroat Trout. The Hook Up fly shop who arranged our trip described this place as 'nonstop cutthroat action'. That turned out to be an understatement.
Due to all the rain the water was a little high and a dark stained color. With out the sun it was hard to see the fish. So we just blind cast into likely spots and watched as our fly vanished with a splash. A sharp tug on the line was instantly followed by a wild jumping trout. Frisky doesn't really describe these wild beautiful fish. The action was so good we tried different flys, just to see what all they would hit.
In one spot where a large still pool empties into a stretch of rapids, my brother Lynn made 7 casts with a Madam-X and landed 7 fish. The fishing was that good.
This was the first trout fishing trip for my son Chris. He took right to it, listening to Dan's advice and coaching, Chris was catching way more fish than the rest of us put together.
Trout in this area feed on small mice and shrews. The 'mouse fly' looks real enough to frighten an elephant. You just cast it up and accross the current and kind of skitter it slowly along as it drifts down stream. Talk about wild surface strikes. You'd think the mouse would only attract larger fish, but one little trout wasn't much longer than the tail of the mouse. LOL
Finally I had to take a break. As my brother and I sat on a rock eating our sandwiches in the driving rain, Chris came splashing up with a big grin on his face and said, ' Woooo Daddy, ain't we having fun.'
Yea, I'd go fishing there again, in a heart beat.
Aloha,
Stan
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Aug 21, 2006; 03:19PM - Turtle Releases and Marlin Refusals
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Category: Saltwater Fly Fishing Reports
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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REPORT #1024 “Below the Border” Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
Endless Season Update 08/19/06
East Cape
Cooler than July, August at East Cape has produced great striper fishing this week with multiple shots for those willing to put in the time to tease them close enough. The billfish teasers are also attracting a few larger dorado in the pattern.
Plenty of football sized tuna if you are willing to make the run down below Las Frailes. The better quality fish are a bit deeper below the smaller fish boiling on the sardina on the surface. A Baja Wasabi on an Eagle Claw 413 hook allowed to flutter down a bit deeper will draw a take that can rip the flyline out of your hand if you aren’t paying attention. There are also some better sized fish in front of La Ribera down deep, too deep to get to with a fly. If you get lucky, however, you may occasionally get a shot at them feeding on the surface.
Close to the beach, either from a panga or hoofing it, you can expect to get some shots at both jacks and roosters, a few of which are in the Bubba class. The best action will be where the sardina are being pushed in close to the shore by feeding fish. Watch for the diving pelicans. In the afternoon when the boats are unloading at the hotel and dumping their leftover bait, the action can be good as well.
Water temperature 74-89
Air temperature 78-93
Humidity 49%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 6:56 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:57 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
On Saturday, August 12th, Lopez Mateos held its 4th Annual Turtle Festival in Lopez Mateos, with a crowd estimated to be at least 1,500 people. The Governor of Baja Sur, el Gobernador Narciso Agúndez, along with other government dignitaries and staff were in attendance as the townspeople celebrated their successes and considered the challenges for the upcoming year. The festivities included crowning a new queen for the Turtle Festival, along with food, music and speeches.
Sunday, El Gobernador Narciso Agúndez and his staff traveled out eight mile into the Pacific to assist graduate student, Hoyt Peckham, and his team in releasing a large turtle with an electronic tracking tag on its back into the wild.
By chance, later in the morning one of the local fisherman delivered a turtle that had been tangled in the net to the Proytecto Caguama, led by graduate student Hoyt Peckham. The Governor had the opportunity to assist the team in cleaning, measuring and tagging the animal. It was then placed in a pen to allow it to recuperate from its ordeal before being released back into the ocean.
As I promised last week, here is a photo of a nice sized rooster caught in the surf near Boca de Soledad. As you can see by its size, there are some nice ones just waiting for the right angler.
Offshore, with our client, Richard Negley Gill from San Antonio, TX, we checked out the Thetis early in the week where we found offcolor water and only raised one billfish. The highlight of the week was on Tuesday, when we worked south of the bank, we found classic Mag Bay conditions with diving frigates, marlin feeders, tuna and porpoise everywhere. While there was plenty to look at, nothing wanted to bite. For the remainder of the week we found marlin every day, but unfortunately, they seemed to have lockjaw and would barely come into the pattern, let alone get close enough for Richard to present the fly.
On our last day (Saturday) we opted to fish the esteros and had excellent action for leopard grouper and spotted bay bass. Chartreuse Baja Deepdiver was definitely the hot fly for the morning.
We were back in by 11:00 a.m. loaded up the van and headed back for the border which accounts for my report being a day late.
Water temperature 64 - 78
Air temperature 72-84
Humidity 62%
Wind: WNW 15 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 7:02 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:56 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
There has not been much change in the fishing this week. The blue water is just a very short ride of two miles off the beach, and the fleet is only averaging a sailfish or two a day, per boat.
There has been a change in the water temperatures, however. According to the Terrafin Satellite Surface Temperatures, the 'cooler' 81º water is about 60 miles out, with the inshore waters as warm as 87º.
The jack crevalle and roosterfish action is continuing on its good pace, with about 4 roosters and 6 of the jacks per day.
Ed Kunze
Water temperature 78 - 87
Air temperature 77 - 91
Humidity 63%
Wind WSW 12 mph
Conditions: Thunderstorms
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 7:29 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:08 p.m. CDT
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