Conservation Salt Water Fishing

Most of the fishing hubs ,I will be writing ,will be in a series about salt water fishing on the Indian River Lagoon in Brevard County Florida. Here are some fishing techniques and tips already in the series that might help your fishing be more successful.

Blue Crabbing on the East Coast of Florida

Fishing the flats in Florida and Brevard County

Don't forget your salt water fishing license for Florida.

When I went fishing it was to have dinner in the evening. The thrill of salt water fishing was the excitement of not knowing what kind of fish dinner I would look forward to that evening. So, I only took fish I would be eating in the next two to three days.

I fished from a shared fishing dock in a Palm Bay Florida Mobile Home park. At any given time there were five to ten people fishing from this dock and only a few of us actually ate the fish.

The anglers that lived near me were on the dock for the sport of fishing. The sport fish they caught in the flats of the Indian River Lagoon were spotted sea trout, red fish, snook, tarpon, lady-fish, mackerel, jacks, catfish and you name it, it was there, even a variety of sharks.

Many of the fish mentioned above are protected by regulations of sizes or off season at certain times of the year, making it mandatory to catch and release them.

Did they keep all these fish? No they did not. They cooked a few for their company but most were caught and released.

We can all help to conserve our fish resources for our future fisherman by learning your local fishing regulations and taking only the fish you will use.

• After reeling the fish in, keep it in the water to release it from the hook.
• use a fish hook removal tool
• Reel the fish in fast so you don't exhaust the fish.
• If you do take the fish from the water for a picture of it, use wet gloves and a wet towel so you don't remove the protective slime it has on its scales.
• Avoid touching the fishes eyes or gills
• Always support the fish by the belly so the fish organs don't get damaged by lifting it by the mouth only.
• Never drag a fish through the sand or on the ground.
• Always fish with steel hooks( avoid stainless steel hooks) so if you cannot remove them they will rust out of the fish.
• Avoid using treble hooks or if you use lures cut off the one prong on each three way hook and remove the centre hook altogether. This won't bother your fish count but it makes it easier to remove the lures with less damage to the fish.
• If you cannot remove the hook or the fish totally swallowed it, cut the line as close to the fishes mouth as possible.
• Always support the fishes belly in the water and move the fish forward quickly in the water to open it's gills.
• Be fast. the faster the fish is back in the water the better it's survival will be.
• Have patience and support the fish until it swims off on it's own.

We all need to respect the fish we catch. Learn to catch and release properly so the fish has a good chance of surviving. We need to limit the fish we take and not fish the limit.

Have fun and enjoy your fishing day. Good Luck everyone.