northwest florida

Tag

Taking amberjacks to a whole new level

Panhandle best place in Florida to reel in the big jacks When I first heard my brother-in-law, James “Jim Bob” Higgins, talking about catching full-grown greater amberjack on spinning tackle and top-water plugs, I was a bit skeptical, to say the least. Old Jim Bob, who has caught his share of AJs out of Carrabelle, is known to tell a fish tale or two. But this one has been verified, and if you get a chance to see what I’m...

Grace Rides – a therapeutic place for special people

Equine therapy facility working wonders Sherry Hall is on a mission to help special people with unique challenges. As director of Grace Rides, an equine-assisted therapy facility in Niceville, she makes that happen in a big way, five days a week. Hall is founder of Grace Rides, a non-profit faith based organization formed in 2009. The facility provides safe and effective equine therapy and horsemanship training for students of all ages with emotional, physical, cognitive and developmental challenges. “Riding opens...

4-H marine camp offered July 30 – August 3, 2012 at Camp Timpoochee

Learn about fresh and salt water habitats, snorkeling and more at week long camp Are you interested in learning about marine life, going fishing, or exploring the underwater world with a mask and snorkel? If so, this is the camp for you. Separated from the Destin beaches by the Choctawatchee Bay, Camp Timpoochee 4-H Center, (located in Niceville, Florida) allows campers first hand experience with Florida’s marine environment from above and below the waterline. Timpoochee’s marine lab is equipped with...

North Florida nightfall brings out diversity of bats, biologists

13 different species of bats exist in Florida As night falls over north Florida, a band of 66 men and women split into small groups to find bats in damp, mosquito-rich places in the Panhandle, like Apalachicola National Forest, Joe Budd Wildlife Management Area and St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. To ensnare the bats, biologists hoist nearly invisible “mist nets” as tall as trees. They wait for hours in the dark. They have equipment out on portable tables, so they...

Flathead catfish common in Northwest Florida rivers

Non native fish populate most area waterways By Stan Kirkland, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission  A Jackson County man fishing in the Apalachicola River near Chattahoochee in 1982 landed the strangest catfish he had ever seen. It turned out he had a flathead catfish, a species of catfish not native to the southeastern U.S. Now, three decades later, flatheads are in every river in the Florida Panhandle from the Ochlockonee River west to the Escambia River. They are in...