It has finally happened: We are in crisis mode at Peace River Wildlife Center. While we rested comfortably on our laurels, the unthinkable occurred. We were dethroned as the number one thing to do in Punta Gorda on TripAdvisor, an honor we have held since time immemorial.
I was recently accused of being negative. I’m not a negative person by nature. However, the facts are negative, and we do have problems to add…
I got the hard one out of the way first. I’d launched my little lake boat after supper one evening last week and had decided that I’d spend th…
I can’t catch any fish to eat because the seasons are all closed! Why do I have to drive so far to find good fishing? I want to catch a tarpon…
Recently I was with a fishing client out on the water. We were discussing everything we saw out there, not just the fishing stuff. One of thos…
Come on, man — you’ve got to be kidding Nope, they are actually really still here. Flashback to the 1950s and duck hunting or just shotgunning…
Mangroves are woody plants which are found along almost every coast that has a tropical or subtropical climate. Worldwide, there are approxima…
Capt. Josh:
Tackle shop chatter is interesting. There's a mix of bragging and questioning, a blend of information exchange and chest-thumping. A fair chun…
So, you bought your RV, and for a while you thought it was the most amazing thing on the road. Now you have owned it for a while and, if you’r…
Provided by the FWC
Recent appointments by our governor give me more hope than I’ve ever had on the state level. I am extremely disappointed in our cities and cou…
The fishing has gone crazy with the warmer temperatures and the migration of bait coming into the Harbor. Schools of bait are everywhere, and …
We are definitely in the spring swing of things on Charlotte Harbor. The water has just come alive in the past few weeks.
One of the benefits of kayak fishing is access to wadable spots other folks can’t get to from shore or by boat. We both enjoy wade fishing and…
Southwest Florida’s anglers are very, very lucky that the FWC operates the Charlotte Harbor Fisheries Independent Fish Monitoring field statio…
It was a beautiful cool and sunny morning — what every Floridian celebrates about spring, hopeful that it will last for months and months. We …
Capt. Josh:
I don’t know how boat shoes got their name, but they don’t deserve it. They’re terrible. They don’t breathe, they get wet and stay wet, and if…
When people come to me for help with improving their fishing skills, I usually steer the conversation toward their goals. Finding out what the…
Capt. Josh:
Think back to last summer. Remember how you felt when red tide was creeping over the beaches and intracoastal waters like the black plague? Wa…
It has finally happened: We are in crisis mode at Peace River Wildlife Center. While we rested comfortably on our laurels, the unthinkable occ…
Crevalle jacks are one of the most underrated fish we have here. If they would jump, I think they’d achieve the same highly coveted gamefish s…
Southwest Florida gardeners, beware: Lubber season is upon us, and the biggest grasshoppers you’ve ever seen will soon be munching their way t…
All serious anglers look forward to spring each year, because with spring comes new life and great fishing. If you listen to any fishing repor…
With Easter less than three weeks away, the end of season is drawing near. It’s time for our beloved snowbirds to fly back to their northern h…
You know, I was just sitting here thinking about it, and it’s been a while since I’ve had the RV in for an oil change. We have owned it just o…
It’s time for new, very different ways of thinking. It’s an absolute necessity if we want our future to include the beautiful waters and excel…
So, I haven’t offered a shark recipe yet, and I thought I’d see what I could come up with. As far as catching goes, I’ve only ever hooked into…
Things were getting tense in the meeting room. The public information officer from the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, a dynamic an…
March is marching on and I’m looking forward to April. Hopefully it will bring less wind. The stiff breezes of March are true to form and blow…
Everything matters when kayak fishing, but your choice of terminal rigs can make or break your day. You might have the best kayak and the best…
“Worm” is our common word for invertebrate animals that have soft, elongated bodies. When most people think of worms, they usually think of ni…
So your fishing day isn’t going so good. You are overrun by guides taking their customers out, a bunch of people suddenly discover there are b…
It seems like I say the same thing in every column this time of year, but another cold front just passed through the area yesterday. This one …
I watched a happy moment one evening last week. Two guys in a bass boat were tossing artificials for snook and one of them landed a really nic…
Many years ago (I am not going to say how many), I met a great group of birding friends. We mostly traveled on group birding trips to places l…
Capt. Josh:
Over the past two years, I have been hearing a lot about the sorry state of the seagrass in Charlotte Harbor. Apparently, I’m not the only one…
Peace River Wildlife Center is extremely grateful to our supporters who donate items from our wish lists. Some of the things we request are pr…
In recent weeks we’ve talked about the fighting and eating qualities of some of the many fish that we encounter in Southwest Florida. But what…
Well, I knew it would happen sooner or later. I had a fender bender in the RV. Worse, it happened at a place where I am very familiar with the…
Happy vernal equinox! I trust all my loyal followers were dancing along with me (in their hearts, at least) last night during the Super Worm M…
Tomorrow, March 22, is World Water Day. One would think something as life-sustaining as water would deserve more than just one day — but I gue…
I see it happen day after day in the bait shop: Someone will bring in an expensive rod and reel, hand it to me, and tell me it won’t reel or t…
Mackerel season is here, and this is the time to look good catching fish even if you are a beginner. My go-to simple method is trolling with h…
James G. “Cappy” Joiner, Jr., 81, of Placida, Fla., left this earth on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, from his Charlotte County residence.
We all have to pee. You pee. I pee. He pees. She pees. It’s one of the most basic biological functions.
Kingfish are starting to show up. They are seasonal, like some of our other species. In the fall they run south and in the spring they head no…
