Anglers punished by wind at area charity tourney

Yet another too-breezy weekend made fish-catching tougher than it might have been back when you could count on the weather to follow seasonal rules a bit more closely.

Offshore anglers in the Doug Johnson and Donnie Young Reeling for Kids Tournament last Friday and Saturday at Steinhatchee were walking a little gingerly at the weigh-ins each afternoon following the pounding they had taken all day by 4- to 6-foot waves. Even so, quite a few fine grouper were entered, topped by Shane Morris' 15.9-pound gag. Jules Gerding's 15.5 and Chris Williams' 15.3-pound fish followed closely.

A sleek 24.1-pounder took top honors in the kingfish category - and this fish helped the Ray Hedgecock team also win the coveted and lucrative Masters Offshore title.

Fishers concentrating on the inshore part of the competition had things a little better. Lots of maximum-length redfish and several big speckled trout better than four pounds were seen at the scales.

Caught by Lucas Smith, the tourney's heaviest red weighed 7.3, while the Creative Sign Solutions team had the best trout at 4.5. The combined weights of Brett Brantley's 4.3 trout and 6.5 red, however, earned his team the Masters Inshore award. Most importantly, the annual event again raised some serious and much-needed funds for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Alachua County.

Farther south, weekend fishing was also excellent out of Homosassa. Grouper fishers here don't necessarily have to run far offshore to find fish - and some great gags were taken in water just 8 or so feet deep.

Interestingly, the best trout catches came from deeper than that as several Homosassa trout guides are now concentrating on sand-bottomed areas in about ten feet of water.

But for Homosassa anglers the biggest event every year is the arrival of huge tarpon in late spring - and the silver giants have shown up on schedule.

Tarpon fans have descended on the gulf river with all kinds of boats and equipment - but anyone with strong tackle and a fighting spirit can have a real shot at one of the world's gamest fish.

Saturday morning, Galvin Oakes cast a fish head out from his boat dock at the Homosassa Riverside Resort. The sixteen-year-old had whipped a fine 37-inch snook from the dock a few days earlier, but on this morning his sights were set on something bigger. Galvin's dad, Phil, had recently caught a nice tarpon in the river and the teenager had an itch to do the same.

At 8:15, Phil and Gail Oakes heard their son call out and knew that he had hooked his fish. Along with Ginger, the family's golden retriever, Phil ran down to the water. He and Ginger jumped into a skiff moored at the dock.

With rod bent double, Galvin jumped in too. Phil Oakes motored along, keeping his son reasonably near the powerful fish. The trio followed the tarpon as it ran out towards the gulf. Then at Bird Island, the giant turned and headed back upriver, pulling Galvin, Phil, and Ginger all the way back past the resort and up near the rivers' headwaters. By this time, a sizable group of boats had assembled to watch the epic struggle.

Aboard one of these was Galvin's mom, Gail, still with her morning coffee and in pajamas. After a two-and-a-half hour battle, the silver king was whipped.

Even as tarpon go, it was a huge fish - at least 130 pounds. Rather than risk injuring the fish while trying to wrestle it aboard, Phil broke the leader and everyone watched the beauty swim off.

Although our direly low fresh waters continue to drop, panfishers with smaller boats are still finding ways to get to their targets.

Hawthorne angler, John Courtney stopped by The Tackle Box with a cooler-full limit of big Orange Lake bluegill and shellcracker he had fooled with worms and grass shrimp. But there was a peculiar fish in the pile.

Courtney had pulled an amazing interloper from the bream bed - an oscar. These scrappy little devils are common in the Everglades ... but, to our knowledge, they have not been encountered locally until now.

Mike Allen, associate professor at UF's Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, seemed as surprised as I had been when I phoned him Wednesday. But he didn't seem too worried that the alien species might present a permanent problem.

"They shouldn't be able to survive water temperatures under 55-degrees," he said, "and I believe Orange Lake falls below that mark most winters."Gary Simpson is a veteran tournament angler who works at The Tackle Box.

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Anglers punished by wind at area charity tourney: from www.gainesville.com