    
Capt. Dave Pinkham
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 | | Posted on Tuesday, July 10, 2001 - 1:11 am: | |
Subject: How Close is Too Close?
How Close is Too Close?
By Capt. Dave Pinkham
Over the past week fishing conditions out on the Gulf of Mexico have been picture perfect if you like flat calm sea conditions. As a matter of fact at certain times of the day it got so still there wasn't a trace of wind. When it gets like this, the bite can really slow down. I like to take advantage of this point of the day by moving on to the next fishing spot.
Depending on the fishing vessel's range, summertime fishing on the Gulf offers anglers many different choices as to what species of fish they can target. For those with the capability to run offshore 30 to 60 miles there is a good possibly of hooking into blue water type fishes such as a sailfish or wahoo. These deeper waters are also a good bet when you're in the market for some big groupers. When the water temperature gets warm, some of the best grouper fishing will be found out past the 80' line.
In closer to the coastline most of the action will be centered around the areas that are holding baitfish. Good bottom structure such as some of the man-made artificial reefs often will attract large schools of baitfish. This bait will in turn draw predator fish such as sharks, little tunnie, groupers, snappers, Spanish & king mackerel, cobia, permit, amber jack, and dolphin.
Now of course when the fish do make a showing it usually doesn't take too long before the word gets out, and boatloads of anglers and divers start showing up. When this happens some of these reefs can get awfully crowded.
This brings to mind a call I got the other day from a fella that wanted my opinion on a close encounter he had just had at one of these reefs. The fella said he was fishing out on the Gulf with his family. They were anchored down over the "Ferry Reef ", which is one of the artificial reefs west of Stump Pass. Anyway he said a boatload of divers came up and started circling around his boat with obvious intentions of diving the site. He said the divers pulled their boat so close to his he thought they would run into him. I guess at this point the situation went downhill, he said in so many words that he lost his cool and some very unfriendly words were exchanged. The fella finally got so aggravated that he pulled his anchor and left.
What I told him is what I tell myself every time I get in this situation. First control your temper! all a hot temper does is aggravate the situation. These man-made reefs are built with public tax monies, and the numbers are published. This means that everyone has just as much right to use them as I do, or you do. In this particular instance, I would have stayed right where I was unless I was finished fishing. Most likely the divers would be willing to wait to get in the water until you're done. For me the shoe is often on the other foot and I'm the late comer. If I see there is a dive boat on a reef that I've traveled a distance to fish on, I try and hail them on the VHF radio. Most of the professional dive boats monitor channel 16. These guys are usually very cooperative and will let you know how much longer they'll be there. If it's a recreational diver, it's a good idea to move off to another reef and return later. The last thing you want to do is run over a diver.
So how close is too close? Well, it kind of depends where you're fishing. If you're chasin tarpon in Boca Pass, rubbin rails is a daily occurrence. Offshore on the Gulf, the artificial reefs have seen a dramatic increase in boat traffic the last couple years. As mentioned earlier, courtesy is the key. I'd rather have a friend fishing next to me than someone that we've just been hollering obscenities at back and forth. Once you leave these congested areas and move off to fish a piece of hard bottom, the space between boats widens considerably. It takes time to locate good bottom, and it's just down right discourteous to pull close enough to steal someone else's coordinates. If you're under way, steer wide up to a ¼ mile in order to go around a boat
at anchor fishing. With more and more anglers out on the Gulf with bigger and faster boats, we all need to be considerate to others. It is supposed to be fun you know.
Capt. Dave Pinkham has been a fishing guide on this coast for more than 17 years. His Deep-Sea Charter-Boat "LEGACY" is based one mile from Venice Inlet. For Gulf of Mexico charter information call (941) 473-4603, or visit his web page at, www.charter-boatfishing.com |
