# Red tide?????



## Landry (Aug 18, 2019)

was talking to a fellow Canadian and when I mentioned I was planning on spending winters in Bradenton and inshore fishing he said “Change your plans. Red tide decimated FLA. Fishing inshore is a waste of time there now”. This surprised me as I knew about the Red Tide issue but I am not really aware of how much the fish populations have actually been knocked down. 
What are your thoughts on post vs pre red tide inshore fish numbers in the Florida gulf, Bradenton, Tampa...area?????


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## Guest (Oct 15, 2019)

It’s bad, no fish here


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## Landry (Aug 18, 2019)

Boatbrains said:


> It’s bad, no fish here


Is that sarcasm or serious response?? I have no idea. Lol.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

We were there last September and there were dead fish washed up on the beach everywhere we went.


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## Indy (Aug 21, 2015)

The fish are gone. Rumor has it many survived the Red Tide but later killed themselves to avoid Canadians.

Lol. What a great response.


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## EdK13 (Oct 3, 2013)

Indy said:


> The fish are gone. Rumor has it many survived the Red Tide but later killed themselves to avoid Canadians.
> 
> Lol. What a great response.


Couldn't agree more, well said. LOL..


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## Indy (Aug 21, 2015)

You did say it well. I am an innocent bystander.


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## Fishshoot (Oct 26, 2017)

You can look at fishing reports from those areas. While the fishing will probably never be like it was 40 yrs ago there are still fish. And no place fishes like it did back then.


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## Landry (Aug 18, 2019)

Indy said:


> The fish are gone. Rumor has it many survived the Red Tide but later killed themselves to avoid Canadians.
> 
> Lol. What a great response.


Who and why would anyone want to avoid a Canadian? - some of the greatest people on earth.


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## EdK13 (Oct 3, 2013)

Landry said:


> Who and why would anyone want to avoid a Canadian? - some of the greatest people on earth.


Even the half Cuban piques the interest of the inquisitor...soon.


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## Cam (Apr 5, 2017)

I haven't been fishing in several weeks but I grand slammed a couple months ago. Our last outing a few weeks ago netted several nice sized reds and snook.

The guides here have been doing very well lately especially at the end of September. The toughest part is dodging the sharks. They seem to be everywhere right now.


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## Indoman (Jul 25, 2013)

This past July we caught way more Snook than normal, but they were on the smallish side overall. 14-20” average. Redfish catch was about the same. Never have caught many. The trout were GONE. Didn’t catch one all week where we normally catch a ton. It seemed like that flats were definitely affected but up in the mangroves not so much. Explains the Snook vs trout #’s.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Since I'm getting copied on the red tide reports each week I can say that this year we've been mostly red tide free all year everywhere in the state - up until last week when there's been an outbreak in the Naples area... 

Anyone wanting to get on the distribution list for the red tide reports around the state each week... go to myfwc.com and just ask... After that you'll get one or two reports every week as long as they make and send them...


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## Ben (Dec 21, 2016)

https://myfwc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=87162eec3eb846218cec711d16462a72


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## Ben (Dec 21, 2016)

How much do boats have an influence (if any) on the spread of red tide? Bait wells and bilges carrying contaminated water to areas that are clear.


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## TooLoose20 (Feb 17, 2016)

Red Tide definitely had a huge impact.

I hope there is some serious thought given to the red, snook, trout closures this spring. IMO, the closure forced the adoption of balancing between grocery fish (magos, flounder, sheephead, trippletail) and sport fish (red, snook, trout) and appears it has not have a significant negative impact on charter businesses or recreational fishing.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Ben said:


> How much do boats have an influence (if any) on the spread of red tide? Bait wells and bilges carrying contaminated water to areas that are clear.


None, conditions have to be right for it.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

The red tide organism lives in tropical and near tropical waters period... The red tide incidents only occur when the conditions are right for a sudden explosion of growth (called a "red tide"). The state denied that polluted waters from the big lake (Lake Okeechobee) had much to do with last years terrible red tides that were almost continuous up and down the gulf coast. Extra nutrients in coastal waters can't be helping anything, though... 

In my memory (paying attention since the late seventies...) red tides are a periodic occasional problem and can be anywhere from minor and barely noticed to overwhelming (so bad you can smell the coast miles before you get to it.....).

Like everything else about our waters and the habitat that fish need... "more study is indicated". Clearly, though, when a red tide is on -go somewhere else, period. The damage to fish stocks after a year like 2018 can be profound and long lasting, and yet the Ten Thousand Islands and Everglades National Park areas were spared almost entirely last year....


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Just go today's report (dated 16 Oct) and it's not good... go to myfwc.com to be able to read it (or to sign up to have the reports sent to your email automatically each week....).


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## Cam (Apr 5, 2017)

The red tide has really intensified in the area around Pine Island and Matlacha. Keeping bait alive is a real problem and the bite has really died off in areas. One of the weekend tournaments was abysmal.


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## fjmaverick (Sep 18, 2015)

Red Tide is nasty here in Naples right now but there is still bait all over the beach. I am getting the cough I used to get when I was a kid when the red tide came around. Water quality is very poor and there is still a lot of red algae.


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## Cam (Apr 5, 2017)

Catching the bait has been really easy all year as the fish die off really cut into their natural predation. Keeping them alive is another story. Run over a pocket of bad water and they all turn bellyup immediately.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

It's actually starting again from lake drainage, again, through the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers and causing a red tide outbreak at the mouth of the river at the Sanibel causeway.

https://www.winknews.com/2019/10/27/red-tide-worries-swfl-locals-businesses-as-season-nears/


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## Ben (Dec 21, 2016)

Went out of Pineland yesterday and although the red tide was apparent I am more concerned at just how shitty the water quality is in general. I’m starting to wonder if we are past the point of no return in doing our part to fix the problem.


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## Bill Payne (May 22, 2018)

Heading to Matlacha next weekend. What’s the latest on water quality down there?


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## Ben (Dec 21, 2016)

Haven’t fished it in a few weeks but water should be clean. Only negative was the amount of filamentous green algae on the bottom.


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## Bill Payne (May 22, 2018)

Okay, that's good to know, thanks for the reply Ben.


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## Ben (Dec 21, 2016)

No problem and good luck


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## Bill Payne (May 22, 2018)

Thanks!


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