Archive for May, 2009

ALL Fishing in Florida Now Requires a License 7/15/2009

Florida Keys bridge and shoreline anglers must carry a new state fishing license by August.

Gov. Charlie Crist signed the $66.5 billion state budget into law Thursday, and it includes a measure to create Florida’s first license requirement for resident saltwater anglers who fish only from docks, piers or the shore.

The law technically takes effect in July, with enforcement expected to begin in earnest Aug. 1. The shoreline license is priced at $7.50, plus $1.50 in processing fees, for a total $9 cost. People who already hold Florida’s $17 annual saltwater license to fish from a boat are not required to buy an additional license to fish from shore. Read more…

Russian Ship With Alien Virus Sinks Off Key West – Video

OK so it was really the Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg a 523-foot-long former U.S. Air Force missile tracking ship. And it was sunk to create an artificial reef.

But this same ship was the “Star” of the 1999 movie Virus with Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Sutherland and William Baldwin, a Russian spaceship tracking vessel somewhere in the Pacific. The scientists onboard are in direct communication with their pals onboard the MIR spacestation. A bright bolt out of the sky goes whipping through the spacestation and follows the invisible communication beam down to the ship below. The ship is loaded to the gills with research labs and only one Russian crewmember is still alive, raving about “intelligent lightning.” They soon discover that an alien life form has taken over the ship’s computers and is churning out biomechanical warriors to attack Earth’s virus, better known as humans.

Anyway, here is a video of the sinking.

Shooting Iguanas = Jail Time in Big Pine Key

A 40-year-old Big Pine Key man was in jail Monday after he allegedly threatened to kill his wife and fired several shots in his home Saturday night, including one while deputies were present, reports say. Michael David Cristler Jr. of 31357 Avenue C was charged with assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and discharging a firearm.

Cristler denied threatening his wife, saying he was only shooting iguanas, reports say.
Read more…

Do You Think the Florida Keys Has an Iguana Problem? Poll

In less than three weeks, state and federal officials have trapped and removed 65 iguanas at Bahia Honda State Park in an attempt to keep the reptiles from decimating a species of vine critical to the endangered Miami blue butterfly. U.S. Department of Agriculture workers who did the trapping for the state have left for a month, but they are leaving traps behind for the Florida Park Service to use, said Ricardo Zambrano, a regional biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “This is going to be ongoing,” Zambrano said. “I don’t think [the recent effort] is going to completely eradicate them.”
Please read the rest of this story and answer a short survey at the end.
Read more…

Gary Graves — Crab King of Keys Fisheries

Keys Voices has an excellent piece on one of the Middle Keys Treasures, Gary Graves. Gary is the owner of Marathon’s Keys Fisheries restaurant and manager of the fishing operation, has been with the business since it began more than 40 years ago. His fleet of boats ply the Florida Keys and surrounding waters capturing lobster & stone crabs for your dining pleasure. If you have eaten at Joe’s Stone Crab restaurant you should thank Gary for providing those sumptuous crab claws.

The on-site seafood market and restaurant, obviously, serve up the freshest seafood available.  They are  famous for their lobster Reuben, Gary came up with the dish after attending a meeting in Miami at Joe’s Stone Crab, where he was shown the version offered at Joe’s Take Away. About five months later, he created an over-sized sandwich at Keys Fisheries using lobster meat, homemade Thousand Island dressing and freshly baked bread. “Being such a huge producer of lobster as well as stone crabs, we have leftover meat from the lobster tails,” Gary explained. “So it dawned on me, why not make our own lobster Reuben?” 

Like savoring the lobster Reuben, ordering at Keys Fisheries is a unique experience. Customers walk up to a window and place their order for pickup. But instead of being asked their name, as in most establishments, they’re asked the question of the day, which might require them to name their favorite song title, pet peeve or New Year’s resolution. When the order is ready, the customer’s answer is announced over the loudspeaker to signal that he or she can come collect the meal.

Read the rest of the story at Keys Voices.

What Were You Thinking Kerry Harrison??????????????

Here is a story as printed in a local paper, with my remarks added in red.

A woman and her 2-year-old daughter were found trying to swim miles to shore in the Florida Keys after spending the night on a boat that had run out of gas, Why would you ever leave a floating boat when you are miles at sea? Who puts their 2 year old in that kind of danger? Sounds more like a suicide attempt then an attempt at survival. according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Kerry Harrison and her toddler, both wearing life jackets, were picked up Wednesday afternoon by a boater and taken to Caloosa Cove on Lower Matecumbe Key.

Their ordeal began about 8 p.m. Tuesday, when they left a friend’s house on Key Colony Beach for the five-mile trip to their home in Marathon. But they never arrived. At 11 a.m. Wednesday, a worried friend called the Coast Guard and a search began with the assistance of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. The mother and daughter were found by the private boat at 1:30 p.m. The boat ran out of gas shortly after leaving Key Colony Beach.  This boat must have had no gas. Harrison did not have a radio or cellphone. There are still people without cell phones?

Through the night, the boat drifted about 20 miles to the northeast, There wasn’t an anchor on board? All that water is less then 30′ deep, most less that 10′. ending up near Tennessee Reef Light off Lower Matecumbe Key in Islamorada. Sometime in the morning, the pair began the swim to shore, about four miles away.

”I’m extremely grateful they were located alive,” said Jim Olive, acting commander of Coast Guard Sector Key West. But he said in a statement the pair should have stayed with their boat. Duh!

There has got to be more to this story. Had she ever been in a boat before? Who let her take a boat with no gas? No radio? No signaling device?

Hopefully someone else will get custody of the child until her mom can get help.

Stu Apte…One of Islamorada’s Treasures

If you don’t know the name Stu Apte you haven’t been paying attention to South Florida fishing for the past fifty years. Stu Apt lived the life of a Navy jet fighter pilot, commercial airline pilot, fishing guide, professional angler, tackle designer and author. At 79 you might suspect he has settled into his rocker telling tall tales to his great-grandchildren. Well sort of, he has just published his autobiography, Of Winds and Tides: A Memoir.

This is a delightful autobiography of one of the world’s true fishing legends. Starting in the 1930s, it tells of Stu Apte’s Naval service and Pan Am duties that took him to the exotic places where he honed his fishing skills. The book continues through the years of Apte’s life with a variety of chapters on fishing with some of the sporting world’s greatest celebrities, hosting star-studded fishing trips, and other lively adventures. This book is sure to entice the fishing world–from beginners to veterans. But more than fishing, Apte gives readers a taste of what it is like to fly a combat mission aboard a Navy jet and provides some rare and intimate insights into angling and sports celebrities, such as late baseball great Ted Williams, Chicago Bears great Dick Butkus; and the Boston Celtics’ John Havlicek as well as outdoors television pioneer Curt Gowdy and Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf.

Through the years, Apte has held more than 44 saltwater light tackle and fly rod World Records, including the two longest standing saltwater fly rod records. A 58-pound dolphin caught in 1964 and a 136-pound Pacific Sailfish caught in 1965, both on 12-pound tippet. The Stu Apte Tarpon Fly and Stu Apte Improved Blood Knot are standard items. The Stu Apte Tarpon Fly has also had the distinction of being featured on a United States postage stamp in 1991. In 1969 Apte was inducted into the Fishing Hall of Fame. In 2003 he was the recipient of the prestigious Ted Williams Award, and in 2004 for the fifth-year in a row, was the Pro Celebrity Grand Champion of the Backbone Tournament. He had the distinction of joining Ted Williams, Curt Gowdy, Ernest Hemingway, Izaak Walton and Zane Grey to name just a few, when he was inducted into the International Game Fish Association [IGFA] Hall of Fame on December 11, 2005.

As a natural extension of his passion for fly fishing, he has written many articles for Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, and Sports Afield, as well as his own book, Stu Apte s Fishing In The Florida Keys. Apte has also been Angling Editor of Sea & Rudder, a national boating magazine. He was a contributing editor to Fly Fishing in Salt Waters magazine, and penned the back-page column, ‘Down and Dirty with Stu Apte.’ Currently he is field editor for Shallow Water Angler and writes its back-page column, ‘Stu Apte on Fishing.’ In addition to his writing, Apte has appeared on numerous television programs as an expert angler.

This latest endevor of Stu Apte’s is a must read and will certainly inspire some of the 21st century’s future hall of fame anglers. Be sure to pass them around as graduation, father’s day and birthday gifts.
Of Winds and Tides: A Memoir

Great White Egret Fishing…Keys Style

Photo by Stig Nygaard
Even the wildlife are more laid back here.

On a serious note, this a perfect example why you shouldn’t leave natural or artificial baits unattended.

Big Pine Key Alligator Finally Gets Justice

You should remember Tim Goll. He was convicted of killing the alligator at Big Pine Key’s Blue Hole in March 2006. In June 2007 he and Jordan Milo pleaded guilty to felony alligator poaching and received a very light sentence. Circuit Judge Mark H. Jones, saying he rarely has seen a case with as much public interest, sentenced Jordan Milo, 20, and Timothy Goll, 19, to six months at the Monroe County Detention Center, five years’ probation, community service and a psychological evaluation, despite the public outcry for five years in prison.

Goll has not been able to take advantage of this good fortune. In April 2008 he violated probation for failing to see his therapist, a requirement under the sentence agreement, failing to pay $50 per month for probation supervision, and testing positive for cocaine and marijuana. Goll was sentenced to 364 days in jail with credit for time served and had to complete an in-house program at the jail. This by the original judge.

In February 2009, Goll again violated his probation for failing to pay $50 per month, tested positive for cocaine, marijuana and Xanax. Fortunately, for the public, there was a new judge on the case. This time Judge David Audlin sentenced Goll to 36 months in the State prison, he gets credit for the 348 days he served in Monroe County Jail but will still have 2+ years left.

Rest easy Cola, justice has finally been served.

If you would like to read more check out “Blue Hole Gator Kllers Get 6 Months” and Kimberley Denney’s fantastic article in Key West The Newspaper.

Guitars Gone Wild in Islamorada

On Monday, May 18, at the TIB Bank of the Keys Amphitheater, fans can experience two of the most critically acclaimed guitarists playing today — Jennifer Batten and Vicki Genfan.

At one point Batten was in 6 different bands, playing everything from straight ahead rock, to metal, fusion, and funk. A major turning point came when she was selected from more than 100 guitarists to play in Michael Jackson’s band, resulting in 3 world tours over 10 years and playing in front of almost 5 million people. Spring of 98’ saw Batten joining legendary guitarist Jeff Beck, resulting in two CDs (“Who Else,” “You Had It Coming”) and corresponding world tours. Says the Cleveland Plain Dealer of Jennifer’s Rock N Roll Hall of Fame performance honoring Les Paul: “The evening’s showstopper was Jennifer Batten…amazing and technically dazzling.”

Vicki Genfan has captivated both US and international audiences with a unique style that defies description. Winner of the prestigious 2008 Guitar Player’s “Guitar Superstar”Award, Vicki has developed a sound all her own. As Joel Selvin of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, “Genfan doesn’t just play guitar. She also slaps it, tickles it, fondles it, scratches it, tosses it around in her hands and coaxes all kinds of unlikely, rhythmic sounds out of the otherwise simple instrument.”

Vicki is that rare artist whose live performances are becoming legendary among fans. Genfan’s newest release is “UnCovered.”