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Florida freshwater fishing forecast for 2010

Florida Fish Busters’ Bulletin By Bob Wattendorf, FWC It is that time of year again when freshwater anglers are taking advantage of the last of the winter crappie fishery and really looking forward to the spring spawn of bass and bream. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologists have completed their analyses of the 2009 fishing data from creel studies (angler reported catches), electrofishing studies, Big Catch records and various measures of young-of-the-year sportfish production. In addition, they have...

FWC responds to widespread cold-weather saltwater fish kills with temporary closures

Snook closure extended until September, temporarily closes bonefish and tarpon season until April Catch-and-release fishing still allowed •    Executive Order 10-02 (Dead Fish) Click here •    Executive Order 10-03 (Snook, Tarpon, Bonefish) Click here The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has issued executive orders to protect Florida’s snook, bonefish and tarpon fisheries from further harm caused by the recent prolonged cold weather in the state, which has caused widespread saltwater fish kills.  The FWC has received numerous reports...

FWC announces blue crab trap area closure

10 day closure will enable FWC-authorized groups to collect lost and abandoned blue crab traps The harvest of blue crabs from traps will not be allowed from Jan. 5 through Jan. 14 in all waters of Franklin County west to the Florida-Alabama border, except all waters of the Ochlockonee River and Ochlockonee Bay. This closure will give authorized groups the opportunity to identify and retrieve lost and abandoned blue crab traps from the coastal and inland waters in this area....

Florida stone crab season opens Oct. 15

Season runs from Oct. 15 – May 15 The commercial and recreational harvest season for stone crab claws in Florida opens on Thursday, Oct. 15.  The season will remain open through May 15. Stone crab claws must be at least 2 3/4 inches in length to be harvested legally, and claws may not be taken from egg-bearing female stone crabs.  Recreational harvesters are allowed to use up to five stone crab traps, and there is a daily bag limit of...

Large python seized from Crestview Florida home

Investigators estimated the snake weighs more than 100 pounds Acting on a tip that a Crestview resident had a “large snake” that had escaped before, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) investigators went to the man’s home Wednesday and were amazed to find an uncaged, 11-foot-long, albino Burmese python crawling in the man’s home....

Alligator killed at popular viewing site at St. Andrews State Park

  • September 17, 2009
  • /
  • Parks

An investigation is under way to determine who killed an alligator earlier this week inside St. Andrews State Park at Panama City Beach. A visitor walking in the park Wednesday morning found the gator’s remains next to Gator Lake, a popular place to view alligators.  The head and tail had been severed, but an investigator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) estimated the gator was at least 6 feet long....

In search of the elusive beach mouse

FWC and DEP partner to study beach mice population The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the State Park division of the Department of Environmental Protection have teamed up to study beach mouse population at the state parks in Walton County. Patrick Hartsfield, Park Service Specialist at Grayton Beach State Park, along with Dan Greene, Wildlife Biologist with FWC, have been working together to monitor the mouse population at Grayton Beach State Park and Deer Lake State Park. Specially...

A Bad Day Fishing Beats a Great Day at Work

Florida Fish Busters: Top freshwater fishing destinations in Florida for 2009 If you are like me, you’ve probably heard “you should have been here yesterday—the fishing was great,” more times than you can count.  Well, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologists continue to give anglers advice upfront that will help them find some of the best honey holes into which to cast a line in the hope that you’ll be the next one bragging about a whopper of a...