Sailfish City - Stuart Florida Community Site

Guy Harvey will be making an appearance at the 2008 World Sailfish Championship to donate an original work of art to be auctioned off for charity. Proceeds will be donated between the Don Shula Cancer Foundation, Camp Boggy Creek, the Rotary Club of Key West, the American Red Cross, Bahama Village Music Program, MARC and the Guy Harvey Research Institute at NSU. See Guy Harvey’s blog for more details.

$100,000 1st Place Guaranteed Cash

RESULTS HERE

The 2008 World Sailfish Championship is set to kick off in just 2 weeks!  Think you have what it takes to be a world champion?

The tournament will be held April 15th-19th 2008 in Key West, Florida.  If you think you have what it takes, registration and schedule details are below.  See you on the water!

The Entry Fee for the tournamnent is $7,500 plus tax.  That fee includes one boat with up to six anglers (Owner, Captain and up to four crew).  The fee also includes six VIP gift bags and six VIP social passes.  Additional crew can be added for $500 per person, which includes VIP social pass (quantities limited).

The optional Charity Division is $6,000.  $1,000 of your entry will go to your qualified 501(c)(3) charity of choice.  $5,000 of your entry will be distributed 50/50 between the WSC Charitable Foundation and the overall winner’s qualified 501(c)(3) charity of choice.  Fully tax deductible.

Schedule of Events:

For complete details, please visit the World Sailfish Championship website at:

http://www.worldsailfish.com

Source: Everything Key West

March 2008 - The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission released their list of recommended destinations for anglers looking for the thrill of catching freshwater bass.  According to the latest national statistics, there are more than 30 million anglers,10 million of whom specifically pursue freshwater bass.  Florida has four species of freshwater or black bass: largemouth, spotted, Suwannee and shoal.  Of the four, largemouth bass are by and large the most common bass in Florida, since they can be found in abundance in most of Florida’s 10,550 miles of rivers, streams and creeks or in its 7,000-plus lakes.

Based on various data along with the sites ability to handle the fishing pressure with adequate ramps and fishing access, the FWC compiles a list of top destinations.  Below is 2008’s list, in no particular order.

• Lake George is the second-largest lake in the state with 46,000 acres and located 18 miles northwest of Deland.
• Lake Tohopekaliga (18,810 acres), also known as Lake “Toho,” is adjacent to the City of Kissimmee in Central Florida.
• Lake Kissimmee (35,000 acres) is nationally renowned for consistently producing high-quality fishing.
• Rodman Reservoir, east of Gainesville and south of Palatka, covers 9,500 acres of prime largemouth bass habitat.
• Lake Tarpon (2,500 acres) is near Tampa/St. Petersburg in Pinellas County.
• Lake Weohyakapka, commonly known as Lake Walk-in-Water (7,500 acres), is south of Orlando and east of Lake Wales.
• Lake Istokpoga (28,000 acres) is situated in Highlands County between U.S. 27 and U.S. 98 south of Sebring.
• Deer Point Lake is a 5,000-acre impoundment north of Panama City and is fed by natural freshwater streams.
• The Suwannee River is a pristine, blackwater stream that flows 213 miles within Florida from a swampy region near the Georgia border to the Gulf of Mexico.
• The Everglades Water Conservation Areas are South Florida marshlands intersected with over 200 miles of canals.
• Crescent Lake is a 15,725-acre lake near Crescent City on the Putnam/Flagler county line.
• The 7,300-acre Tenoroc Fish Management Area near Lakeland provides a special opportunity to bass fish in Florida’s famous phosphate pits.
• Mosaic Fish Management Area (1,000 acres) includes 12 phosphate pits from 10 to 200 acres each, with depths down to 30 feet.

Notably missing from this list is ‘The Big O’.  Lake Okeechobee covers 450,000 acres and is often a top choice in the nation for largemouth bass fishing.  The aquatic plant life that makes Lake Okeechobee a prime habitat for largemouth bass has been severely damaged by prolonged high water levels, agricultural pollution runoff and the hurricanes of ‘04 and ‘05.  There are still bass to be caught in Lake O, but until the damage can be repaired, there are many other destinations anglers can choose from.

And remember what they say, ‘A bad day fishing is better than a good day working’.  Good luck and be safe!