Bradenton Times News Articles

All eyes are on Tropical Storm Isaac this week as it continues to form in the Caribbean. The storm is scheduled to pass over the southern end of the state on Monday. Residents should put their fishing boats in an open space away from their house and tie it down on the trailer. Any gear outside should be safely secured. Instead of fishing, break out the board games. Get hooked and Let's Go Fishing are great games that can be played with the family even after the lights go out. 

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission has declared that fishing licenses are no longer needed for the harvest of lionfish, an invasive species plaguing Florida waters. Starting Monday, August 20, all blue crab traps must be removed in east coast waters. It will be a stormy couple of days coming up as subtropical ridge sprawls across southern Florida waters through Tuesday. Lobster season is going strong, check out the fruit de la mer in this week's Catch!

It's all about the night fishing this weekend! The increasingly hot water temperatures are making fishing during the day a seemingly impossible task, but with the new moon approaching this weekend, anglers should have great success going out at night. The Discovery Channel's Shark Week is still going on and diehards making their annual pilgrimage to the Florida Keys are successfully catching lobster left and right!

Too hot to fish? The countdown begins for this year's Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, which started August 12 -- check out the complete lineup here!  As far as fishing goes, the rising water temperatures have caused fishing action to decrease. Most fishermen will have luck going out before, or after the sun goes down.

Too hot to fish? The countdown begins for this year's Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. Check out the complete lineup here! Tarpon fishing should continue next week. As tarpon thin out along beaches, they will move to inside waters where you may find them rolling early in the day. Spin anglers can catch and release snook before dawn and then moving to the flats for trout and reds in Sarasota Bay should also be good options, according to our contributing captain.

Too hot to fish? The countdown begins for this year's Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, check out the complete lineup here! Tarpon fishing should continue next week as we head away from a full moon. As tarpon thin out along beaches, they will move to inside waters where you may find them rolling early in the day. Spin anglers can catch and release snook before dawn and then moving to the flats for trout and reds in Sarasota Bay should also be good options, according to our contributing captain.

Amberjack season just opened yesterday, Aug 1, 2012. Too hot to fish? The countdown begins for this year's Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, check out the complete lineup here! The full moon should bring in some great fishing tonight, so rig those rods and get out to the pier for the chance to catch a big one!

Amberjack season is set to open Aug 1, 2012! Also, residents who utilize the Fort Hamer boatramp should be sure to attend the public workshop to discuss proposed improvements to Fort Hamer Park the night of August 1, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria of Williams Elementary School. Too hot to fish? The countdown begins for this year's Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, check out the complete lineup here!

Today is the last day of the spiny lobster short season which is available exclusively to recreational boaters. The full moon will bring lots of good fishing, so rig those reels and get fishing. Tarpon are still present offshore, but inshore fish will become docile in the mid-day heat. The best fishing remains in the early hours of the morning or in the evening. Amberjack season will open in Gulf waters on August 1.

Florida families will begin packing up for their annual pillgrimage to the Florida Keys for the two-day exclusive recreational lobster season on July 25 and July 26! Those anglers who choose to stay local will have to accomodate numberous scattered thunderstorms throughout the week. Tarpon should be aggressive, look for them rolling on deep grass flats or feeding in bait schools. Trout and blues on deep grass flats and reds in skinny water of Sarasota Bay are also good options early in the day.