Fishing For Tomorrow

According to the latest NOAA fishery bulletin, the expected recreational Red Snapper season will be 40 days this year, down from 48 days in 2011. This will no doubt cause a raucous among the user groups as the stock is known to be rebounding and fish are getting bigger. This spurs educated fishermen, Environmental Non Governmental Organizations, regulators, and fisheries to continually work together trying to find systems and solutions to our growing problems. There is outcry for some extremist groups to repeal and rewrite the Magnuson Act, responsible for getting us to the point of rebuilding potential we are currently at.  And constant complaining about the system, or the data, or the charter fishermen, or the commercial fishermen for causing the problem. As we see our season get shorter year by year it becomes obvious that the complaining and blaming hasn't been very effective so far, in case you weren't aware of that already.

Meanwhile, this week in St. Petersburg, Florida, I was invited by a group called FishSmart to participate in a fish survivability workshop relating to barotrauma. For simple purposes, barotrauma is the effect on a fish such as Red Snapper or Grouper when it is brought up from depth and has a stomach out its mouth, eye popping out of the head, and/or overinflated or ruptured swim bladder. Although these effects appear life threatening and detrimental, research shows that fish are actually capable of recovering from these effects if handled properly and in a timely manner.

There are two main schools of thought about helping fish to recover from barotraumatic effects. Venting and recompression. Venting is when you poke the fish behind the pectoral fin releasing gasses from the swim bladder so the fish has the opportunity to swim back to the bottom. Recompression is a fairly new tactic which involves rapidly sending the fish back down to or near the bottom where it came from. This process show a lot of promise for the survivability in the future and should be a hot topic moving forward. I was also able to acquire a new product called The Seaqualizer for recompression and I am really looking forward to getting it out on the water and trying it out as the seas calm down and we begin to start the Galveston deep sea fishing season early this summer.



For more information about The Seaqualizer or the FishSmart program , go to: http://theseaqualizer.com/SeaQualizer/Movie.html and
FishSmart.org

And to book your next Galveston fishing charter check out thefishinaddiction.com

The July Report

As far as the fishing report, it's been almost two different world as far as inshore and offshore lately.  There has not been a day thus far in the Red Snapper season that Capt. Dan has left the dock on the fountain without returning with a limit of BIG Red Snappers just like this from offshore!  Meanwhile, at the jetties and in the bay, the fishing has seen its ups and downs day to day.  Since my last update we were catching great speckled trout every day and redfish mixed in.  With the latest shift into the full moon came ripping tides and rainy days.  This has made it tough to find the trout and reds, but we are still hitting the dock with a few, but made up for it with sheepsheads in good numbers.  As the lightning and thunderstorms danced around us yesterday on the water, we nailed those nice trout again.  Gettting back just in time for the heavy downpour with a box of trout, with 2 over 23 inches and I have faith that when the weather gets better I'll be right back on the fish.

With a great bay trip behind me for the morning, I met Dan at the dock to see another solid day of Galveston deep sea fishing... Little did I know, my day was pretty good, but their day offshore was just spectacular.  The deckhand, Roy started unloading with the usual big Red Snappers,  nice kings, and a couple big cobias.  Then they pulled out the surprises, 2 nice wahoos, and 12 awesome dorado!  Great trips guys, and a big thanks to all of our happy clients over the past few weeks.  Happy fishermen leaving our boats is why we are in this business, and why we are up early every day working for y'all.  

Also, a special thank you to our guests, and newest members of the Charter Fishermans' Association.  We are proud to have your voice in improving sustainability and access to our nations' fishery resources.

To book your next Galveston fishing charter,  check out thefishinaddiction.com

For more information on the Charter Fishermans' Association, visit charterfisherman.org

The Other Side of Professional Fishing

As I talk more and more about the fishery issues we represent, I might as well give a brief overview of the issues we have been working on at the national level for those who wish to know. Over the past few months, I have made several trips to Washington, D.C. to meet with House and Senate offices from across the gulf about fishery issues.

It began with a large trip to maintain funding for the exploration of flexible and accountable management tools in the charter for hire and private recreational fishery. Charter captains from across the gulf took the time away from their businesses and busy schedules to talk to their representatives in DC about the issues facing our industry.

About a month later, I returned to speak against the Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill proposed by Congressman Southerland from Florida. This bill was an attempt to block the implementation or development of catch shares from the DC level. While I respect everyone's views on catch shares, I believe there should be no management tool removed from exploration for our fishery managers. Bills such as this are the perfect example of attempts to bypass the local decision making process, where everyone has an equal seat at the table, and regulate fisheries from Washington. Although the bill passed the house, it has not been introduced in the senate as of yet.

The second trip I made was to meet with congressional and senatorial office across the gulf about the Fishery Investment and Regulatory Relief Act (FIRRA). In support of this bill we are trying to gain traction and sponsorship from the southeast to regain funding from NOAA that has been slowly diverted over time from the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act. It is estimated that since 1979, $13.1 Billion has been diverted from the regional management councils. This money was set aside to be used for cooperative research, stock assessment, data collection, and Exploration of new fishery management tools. Our success is still pending as this bill is in the very early stages, but we hope for it to gain traction over the next months and after the election madness that's coming up later this year.

The most recent trip is actually being completed as I write this on the plane returning to Houston was to express our overall support of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation Act. This is the landmark piece of legislation that is responsible for protecting our fisheries, and it's reauthorization in 2006 mandated that we take action to end overfishing. At the time of reauthorization, the fishery was in serious trouble and has since made a fantastic recovery. Magnuson is working, but the problem we have now is an access problem and a 27 year old fishery management plan. That's a topic for another time, but the main focus on Magnuson is IT'S WORKING!


For now, it looks like I'll be able to relax and just go back to fishing and providing access to the american non boat owning public. As more legislation threatening this access comes out of the usual area, I'm sure I'll make the trip back to DC. But for now it's time to just sit back and enjoy the good times to come as the Memorial Day Weekend on Galveston Island!

Those Pesky Snappers

After the long awaited announcement of what we have left of  Red Snapper season in federal waters this year, we finally got our answer a few weeks ago. This year we will have 40 days. From June 1-July 10 this year we will be able to legally harvest those pesky Red Snappers in federal waters. In the few blue water and Galveston shark fishing trips we have had this year, the Red Snapper seem to be really  thick and good sized heading into the season.

Book your Galveston fishing charter today, before it's too late. Our boats are filling up fast for deep sea fishing trips during this limited season, so don't wait too long to get your reservation. Last year we managed to bring limits of 10 pound fish to the dock nearly every day, so we hope to improve upon that with your help.

On a separate note, make sure you also talk to us about your membership to the Charter Fisherman's Association. We want to represent the fishermen on our boats at all levels and work hard to improve the access and sustainability of our fisheries. Your voice will be heard as a member of the Charter Fisherman's Association at all levels. We appreciate the opportunity to make lasting memories with every fisherman on our Galveston fishing boats and look forward to continuing to provide access to Americas non boat owning public in the future.

Book your Galveston Red Snapper Fishing trip with Fishin Addiction Charters

Check out the Charter Fisherman's Association at Charterfisherman.org 

and be sure to like us on Facebook

Fishing at all Levels

After a few very busy weeks, I've finally gotten around to getting another update from the crew of Fishin Addiction Charters. It's been a crazy few weeks here in Galveston, Texas with some fantastic fishing going on. This weekend looks to hold a lot of promise as well.

I've been traveling back and forth to our nations' Capitol talking to congressional and senatorial offices from across the Gulf about some critical issues to the Charter industry. Meanwhile, Captain Dan has been finishing up the school year with finals and getting warmed up for the great Galveston fishing season ahead.

A couple weeks ago I was greeted with a great surprise.  My mom, dad, uncle, and grandpa joined me for a Galveston deep sea fishing trip and a morning at the jetties. I knew nothing about it until they showed up the morning of the trip. We had some great times and managed to catch and release some nice red snappers while bringing home this nice kingfish along with a cobia (ling) and several chicken dolphin. As for the blue water trips, we have getting good numbers of amberjack and king mackerel with a few nice wahoo and groupers mixed in.  This past week I had some friends from Liberty Hill, Texas where I went to high school join me and get rewarded with our new boat record for speckled trout. This great fish was about 8 pounds.

With 2 more days of fishery lobbying behind me for this month I am really looking forward fishing the rest of the week on the Gulf Coast. Looks like I'll be returning for another round of lobbying next week to continue the fight for improving our fisheries at the federal level. I appreciate the opportunity to represent the millions of Americans who rely on the Charter for hire industry as their lifeline to this nations fishery resources.
















To book your next Galveston Fishing Charter visit Fishin Addiction Charters

For more information about our nations fisheries check out Charter Fishermans Association

And make sure you like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

What a Difference a Few Days Can Make

After another great week in Galveston, Texas the fish are still biting.  The week got off to a rough start with some horrendous weather , but the weather settled back down as the week moved along and we were able to get back on the water safely.  Thursday we were greeted with light winds and calm seas, fishing at the Galveston jetties was truly at its best!  On the left is a picture of the radar taken on monday... and on the right is the catch we brought in Thursday from our Galveston Fishing Charter.  

After catching enough for a meal or two, our guests decided to just enjoy the day catching redfish after redfish and safely releasing them.  A great way to ensure successful days of fishing for our future.  Overall we were able to catch over 20 redfish, with sheepshead, gulf trout, and some really nice speckled trout.  Captain Dan even caught an undersized snook, which is a very rare catch for the upper Texas Gulf Coast.  

Over the next 2 weeks the Captains of Fishin Addiction Charters will be taking two very different paths.  Captain Dan will be continuing to run fishing charters and going to school at U of H Clear Lake.  I have been invited to attend the FishSmart Gulf of Mexico/South Atlantic Workshop on Improving the Survival of Released Fish Focussing on Barotrauma in St. Petersburg, Florida as part of a continuing effort to improve our nations' fisheries.  The following weekend, we will have a full slate of trips before I head of to Corpus Christi, Texas for the highly anticipated Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council Meeting as a member of the Charter Fisherman's Association and it's ongoing goal to achieve sustainable and accountable status for our fisheries in a way that will increase all user groups' access to our nation's natural resource.

To reserve your next fishing adventure visit: thefishinaddiction.com

For more information about the Charter Fisherman's Association go to: charterfisherman.org

Kicking off the Season in Style

Another great weekend on the water is coming to an end here in Galveston, Texas and it has been another very productive one along the Galveston jetties as well as for Galveston deep sea fishing.

At the jetties, we found some really good fish along the end of the North Jetty catching nice sheepshead, black drum, and a bull redfish on light tackle. The bite was great for both the morning and the afternoon Galveston fishing charters. We expect the fish to just keep moving in and to begin seeing more speckled trout and slot reds in our catches as the excellent weather hangs around and water temperatures continue to climb.

As for the day of deep sea fishing, Captain Dan and his fishermen for the day were blessed with calm seas and magnificent weather out 80 miles offshore. They were able to box 5 nice Amberjacks a few King Mackerel, a Warsaw Grouper, as well as a Wahoo. Definitely a great way to get the year started deep sea fishing and got some fantastic pictures in the process.

We work hard to put our customers on the fish they deserve, and it gives us great pleasure to be your choice for access to the fantastic resource we call our home.  Please show us thanks by supporting our Charter Fishermans' Association and continuing to fish with the captains of Fishin Addiction Charters in Galveston, Texas.

Give us a call for your next Galveston fishing charter adventure at 512-639-9188, and feel free to visit our websites at:
thefishinaddiction.com and gulfoffshorefishing.com