Florida Sea Grant Extension in Collier County

Welcome to the Collier County Sea Grant Extension Blog

This blog is an opportunity for me to share with you my extension outreach efforts and useful information to make you a more informed coastal citizen. If you have any questions about what you see, feel free to contact me at fluech@ufl.edu.


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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Day 3 Collier County Fishing Camp: Tigertail Lagoon

Today my fishing camp  was suppose to go to Barefoot Beach in the northern part of the County, but because of a recent algal bloom, and resulting fish kill in the area, we decided to head south and fish at Tigertail Lagoon on Marco Island. I think we made the right choice; the fish were biting! My students caught snook, red drum, sheepshead, mangrove snapper, pinfish, and one very large needlefish! The kids did a great job, and I was proud to see them demonstrating proper handling and release practices. We did have one student go home with a legal mangrove snapper. Overall I'm pleased with the group's progress. There are still a few students struggling to master the skill/art of grabbing shrimp out of the bait bucket, but they're getting there. Once the shrimp ran out we pulled a seine net to catch extra bait. Unfortunately I brought my smaller net, and we did catch bait, was mostly on the smaller side. I think the kids still had a great time. Once back at Freedom Park, we watched another FWC video called the Science of Fishing. It does a great job explaining the how fish are adapted to living in an aquatic environment and  factors anglers should consider when trying to target certain species such as feeding behaviors, time of day, tides etc. Enjoy the pictures!

The art of baiting one's own hook!

Nice Snook

The first red drum ever caught during one of my camps

Carefully releasing a red drum

Even Barry got in on the action today!

First fish!!

A nice little sheepshead

Bringing in another red drum

A nice sized needlefish!

A proud angler!

Another snook landed

Seine netting for bait

Our catches were a bit on the small side today!

I think he's proud of the bait they caught

Barry gives a demonstration on how to clean a fish.

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