Programs

Programs are from 7:00-8:30 p.m. on the third Thursday night of each month (except December) at Walter Fuller Park 7891 26th Ave. North St. Petersburg, Florida

Suncoast Fly Fishers General Meeting

SFF September Program

Wanted: Anglers to Score Tarpon DNA.

The tarpon is the king of inshore angling, the Grand in Grand Slam, the Wow in Slam Wow. A tarpon on a fly, any size, is a trophy for the memory if not the wall.
And for all that, marine biologist Kathy Guindon points out, science doesn't really know all that much about tarpon.
That's changing, though. Guindon manages the Tarpon
Genetics Recapture program at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) in St. Petersburg. Thanks to this new program FWRI is finally scoring
valuable information about tarpon.   Guindon brought Suncoast Fly Fishers up to date on the research at September's meeting. How many survive a battle with an angler? How many get eaten by sharks? What are the migration patterns of different subpopulations. What are the genetic characteristics of tarpon
in different geographic locations?

One data generator is the DNA collection program. Tarpon anglers get a DNA kit, just for asking. Before they revive and release a tarpon, they are asked to scrape the upper or lower jaw to put a white smattering of skin cells on the sponge. The sponge is put into a vial of fluid that can be mailed back to FWRI. Guindon and her colleagues evaluate the genetic samples to determine recapture rates and to learn where fish go in Florida.

Another is the acoustic telemetry program. FWRI researchers tagged catch-and-release tarpon with transmitters then tracked them (until the signal stopped) to determine short-term survival and migration patterns. With both programs, Guindon said, the returns are very encouraging and very informative. The good news is tarpon populations appear to be doing well. A high percentage of released tarpon survive.
When sharks were in the area 87 percent survived. When sharks were not present, approximately 95 percent survived. Proper revival technique appears to be the key to survival. Though bull sharks and hammerheads may be in the area, FWRI's research suggests that anglers who have caught a tarpon need to make sure not to release it until it has been fully resuscitated. FWRI has already noted that among 3000+ samples, 23 tarpon in the database were caught twice. One went from Fort Myers to Tampa Bay. One angler caught a tarpon in 2007 and caught the same fish again a year later. A tarpon reaches maturity when it is from 48 to 52 inches long. The FWRI needs more DNA from immature tarpon. Females seem to live longer, grow faster and bigger. Boca Grande and Tampa Bay harbor eight footers. One time FWRI put some reverse-transducers on the bottom of Boca Grande pass and later estimated there were about 25,000 tarpon in the pass at that point in time.
The St. Petersburg-Clearwater area probably has as many tarpon as Boca Grande but they are distributed over a bigger area. There are many tarpon in Tampa Bay's two passes, Egmont Channel and Southwest Channel, but Charlotte Harbor has only one narrow pass, Boca Grande Pass, concentrating the tarpon. Non-migrating
tarpon move out of the rivers into the bays in late March. May-June-July are tarpon spawning months. Guindon said they have noticed that one fish in a daisy
chain may be open to feeding; the others are likely not. By August the spawning rituals are 90 percent done. For awhile, while there is bait available, they go back into the bays and feed over hard-bottom areas. "Now she is hungry, if you can find her," Guindon said. Fall cold fronts will send the big fish away. Smaller tarpon will go into brackish mangrove areas and fresh water, even murky water. "They can handle the yucky stuff."
Tarpon fights on record from the acoustic tagging study lasted from four minutes to 120 minutes. Guindon said that anecdotal information suggests that each time a tarpon rolls and gets more oxygen the angler can add another 10 minutes to the fight. Anglers tire out before tarpon, typically the world record is 288 pounds. The next record may be a 300-pounder from Angola. A guy from Texas who goes there regularly is keeping a place on his wall for it.

Club goal: tarpon pictures and DNA. Guindon said that she visited www. suncoastflyfishers.com and saw pictures of small fish but no pictures of tarpon.
Challenge accepted, said President Ken Hofmeister. He said Suncoast Fly Fishers will do their best to post pictures of member-caught tarpon by September 2010 and swab some tarpon jaws for the FWRI's DNA pool also.
To become a volunteer and request a tarpon DNA sampling kit email tarpongenetics@myfwc.com or
phone 1-800-367-4461. To learn more about FWRI's tarpon genetics recapture program and others visit research.
myfwc.com and type in key word "Tarpon" for a list of articles.

Kathy Guindon, Assistant Research Scientist     
Fish & Wildlife Research Institute
100 Eighth Avenue, SE
St. Petersburg, FL 33703

727-896-8626, X 1514
Email: Kathy.Guindon@myfwc.com

July 9, 2009 7:00 p.m.

Program:

David Chouinard moved to Tampa and opened The Tampa Angler Fly Shop on Hillsborough Ave. along with his partner Mike Saputo in the fall of 2008. Dave has a long history with running successful fly shops having previously owned The Fly Hatch in New Jersey which was one of the largest fly shops in the country. Dave is a published FFF certified casting instructor and a contract fly tyer and designer for Umpqua. Dave is a USCG certified captain and has been guiding for over 12 years. This month, Dave’s presentation, called “Fly Fishing Tips and Tricks” will cover many helpful tips that any fisherman will benefit from. It will cover equipment, fishing, boating, fishing etiquette, travel and knots. Don’t miss this one!

June's Featured Fly Tyer:

Siobhan Archard will demonstrate tying techniques for cork and foam poppers. Just what you’ll need for this month’s outing on the Hillsborough River.