Winter weather puts damper on fishing so get involved

As winter presses on, Anna Maria Island anglers are finding themselves with plenty of idle time as numerous cold fronts bringing wind and rain make it less than appealing to be out on the water trying to put together a bite. 

On the calmer, warm days, you can bet that every Tom, Dick and Chaya will be out there, trying to get an adequate dose of fishing after suffering through the withdrawals caused by the inclement weather —which in turn can be aggravating, to say the least. 

Crowds and fishing just don’t seem to go together. As we seem to have an ample amount of idle time on our hands, I have an idea of something to do to keep busy.

On January 23 at 5:30 PM a group called Captains for Clean Water will be visiting our little island to give an informational seminar on what we can do to preserve the delicate fishery that we all adore so much. 

Hosted by the Center at 407 Magnolia Ave, Captains for Clean Water will be here to reinforce the need to join together and be aware of the water quality issues we face on the daily.

Captains for Clean Water is a nonprofit organization started in 2016 to fight to preserve, restore and protect water resources in Florida. By bringing public awareness and having a voice in the political arena, Captains for Clean Water is striving to improve and sustain the resource we love most about Florida —it’s aquatic paradise.

In being aware of water quality issues as well as preventative measures to keep our waters clean and avenues we can take to have a voice on taking a step in a positive direction to minimize the impact we are having on our Florida waters. 

You can bet that with the development boom we are seeing in Manatee county, we need someone in our corner to combat this growth, or at least monitor it, to ensure the proper measures are being taken to protect what little land we have left. 

And yes, I’m talking about the land, because what happens on land directly affects what’s happening to our water. 

We are seeing more frequent red tides which are also more severe, as well as other issues, such as the introduction of blue green algae blooms, which have just started popping up in the past several years. 

Overdevelopment, runoff and poor infrastructure are all big contributors to these issues we are facing and having an advocate, such as Captains for Clean Water to represent us, is a necessity. 

These folks have the time and resources to effectively confront the issues we as Floridians are seeing on our local waters, but they need our support to really have an impact. 

And, even if you’re not a Floridian, I think it’s your responsibility to be educated on the impacts we’re having on our delicate ecosystem. 

Now that Anna Maria Island is firmly positioned on the map as a quality tourist destination, we all need to share the responsibility of taking care of her and her surrounding waters. 

And, don’t forget when the water quality goes bad, the tourists will move onto the next place, leaving us locals here to pick up the pieces. We’ve seen it in the past with severe red tides and will happen again if we don’t start being stewards of our precious resource. 

So come out and show your support on Tuesday, January 23 at 5:30 PM at the Anna Maria Island Community Center. It would be amazing to see one of the largest turnouts ever recorded for a Captains for Clean Water meeting. 

It’s time to get educated, get active and give back to the special place we call home. For more information visit www.captainsforcleanwater.org.

On a final note, FWC has made some changes to the snook regulations for the state of Florida. In our region, no changes have occurred as snook are open for harvest during the month of March, April, September, October and November. The slot remains the same at 28-33 inches with a limit of one fish per day.