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We stink. Literally. Especially when your sense of smell is as highly attuned as a fish’s. Fish have very powerful and sensitive scent-detecti…
CAPT. JOSH:
Can you believe that summer is finally over? All right, it’s not officially over until Saturday, but who’s counting the days? That would be me…
Nothing is more frustrating than seeing bass break on bait but not be able to catch any of them. To know that the bass are there but I can’t m…
I went fishing this morning. Well, not this morning for you, since you’re probably reading this on a Thursday. I went fishing this morning for…
I know by the time you read this, the 17th anniversary of this event will be nine days behind us, but as I start this column it’s on all of ou…
By Bob Mudge
Peace River Wildlife Center is no different than any other wildlife rehabilitation facility in the country. On any given day, we see both the …
I’ve been writing weekly outdoors columns for the Sun newspapers since the mid 1980s. Sometimes the columns ran in the main newspaper, sometim…
Let’s take a stroll down memory lane, when daytime dramas were king and Peace River Wildlife Center was a nascent group of plucky kids with a …
After my wife and I finished up our cruise to the Bahamas last Friday, I had a chance to go out to do a little practice fishing on Lake Toho, …
We all have our bad habits. I know what mine are, and if you’re being honest with yourself, you probably have a pretty good handle on yours. S…
The water is looking better every day. I can’t say our red tide is over, but I can report that as I put this together, we are clear for now. I…
What’s a snook worth? Is it worth the $10 stamp to harvest them during season, or is that too pricey? Calls for hatchery programs have intensi…
As this is written, red tide is gone and our waters are clean everywhere, not just Charlotte Harbor, so that’s a good thing. Tarpon are on the…
Growing up in Zolfo Springs, I ate my share of deep fried gator tail. It’s good stuff, and I still enjoy it with some Everglades-seasoned cock…
CAPT. JOSH:
Capt. Josh:
In case you’ve been in a cave for the past week and haven’t heard, snook and redfish are closed along the Southwest Florida coast. The executi…
There is not much good that can be said about this year’s red tide bloom, which has dragged on and on and on and has popped up at various time…
Labor Day has passed and now summer is over. Tell that to the thermometers in Southwest Florida that refuse to budge below the high 90s during…
As a follow up to my last column, we were able to make our California trip and land among the dwindling (but still smoldering) fires. Thanks t…
Let’s look for bright spots as we pass Labor Day and head toward fall. It’s been a year since Irma shut everything down around here. We were l…
WaterLine photo by Capt. Josh Olive
New baits can definitely inject some life into a soft bait company’s product line. It always comes at a risk, though, because no is sure how t…
As a longtime employee of a local bait and tackle shop, I know all to well that picking out that new rod for your fishing adventures can be qu…
Those of you who are regular readers of Greg Bartz’s bass fishing columns have noticed that from time to time, he complains about aquatic weed…
Capt Josh:
OK, so the headline is a little misleading. If you’re the type who gives up easily, maybe fishing isn’t really your thing. We’re really talkin…
Right now, lobsters are the cheapest I’ve since in years. I think it’s because we aren’t selling them to China due to the tariff war, so the m…
“Hey Ralphie Boy, hurry it up back there. You’re cutting into my beer-drinking time, eh.” That’s what I heard as I sherpa-schlepped a refriger…
Four weeks made a huge difference in the terrain of our bird survey at Wildflower Preserve. Wildflower is going to be one of this area’s most …
It’s hard to guess what tomorrow brings, much less next week. A bright future is not promised — we have had big problems and lost lots of valu…
This time of year can lead to challenging fishing in the Harbor. We’ve had a ton of rain so our salinity is down. That rain has also made the …
Fishing is just like any other sport: The more you practice, the better and more knowledgeable you become. Practice does not make you perfect,…
Do you ever dream about winning a big lottery? Not just any lottery, but one of those big six-figure deals. About how life might change if mon…
Red tide and blooms blue-green algae are two nasty problems that have the same root cause: An excessive amount of nutrients in the water. Thos…
Even with this red tide mess, still have fishing opportunities most of the time. We also have problems that won’t be addressed if we don’t kee…
Fishing is a privilege, not a right. How many people have lost fishing spots from land because “No trespassing” signs got posted in their spot…
Soon I will be climbing aboard a jet plane in order to fly a few time zones into the past. No, I’m not expecting Marty McFly to be there, nor …
Peace River Wildlife Center’s main mission is to treat and release injured native Florida wildlife. Over the past decade, we have admitted app…
The last club tournament that we fished, my wife Missy and I were fortunate enough to win. Anchored by a 9.08-pound largemouth, we secured fir…
It was about 5 o’clock and I was cleaning up the shop to close. I got a call from my father, who was on his way in from fishing offshore with …
It seems like it been forever already with this problem with our waters. I hope the minds much brighter than mine will find a solution so folk…
To be fair, I don’t do a lot of live bait fishing. My wife and I mainly fish tournaments, and we aren’t allowed to fish with shiners in compet…
With a little bit of red tide still on the Boca Grande beaches and the water temperature reaching 94.3 this week, conditions have been tough —…
CAPT. JOSH:
A few weeks ago I thought I was seeing it, but I wasn’t sure. Now I am certain: The grass in my yard is not growing quite as fast as it was. A…
Peace River Wildlife Center’s adorable patient of the week goes to a northern parula. Brought to us by an astute couple who noticed him at the…
I was blessed by my youngest brother and his boss with a week in Key West. Florida lobster season opened on Aug. 6, and we were able to snorke…
Last week we started talking about the process for cleaning handguns. This time, we’re going to jump right in.