ishing Captain Favorite's Weekend Fishing Forecast: July 23, 2015

BRADENTON —  Tripadvisor names Mote Marin fifth best aquarium in U.S. A bomb is detonated on St. Petersburg Beach. A pro surfer narrowly escapes a shark attack. Poachers are arrested after officials find dozens of undersized grouper and an adult sea turtle in their boats. NOAA is asking mariners to expertise caution as showers and thunderstorms will be prevalent over the weekend. 

Surfer narrowly escapes shark attack during surf competition

• In case you haven't seen it, be sure to click the link above to see Australian pro surfer Mike Fanning narrowly escape a shark attack while competing in a South African surf competition. 
• After punching the shark several times, Fanning is rescued by competition personnel riding on a wave runner. 
• The tournament was called off shortly after the attempted attack.

Bomb is detonated on St. Pete Beach

• A beachgoer discovered an old bomb had washed ashore on the beach
• That call triggered a daylong effort to evacuate beachgoers and homeowners, build a sand berm around the bomb, protect hatching sea turtles and safely detonate the M122 World War II-era flare where it was found.
• Follow the link to watch a video of the explosion.

Tripadvisor names Mote Marine fifth best U.S. aquarium

• Travelers have spoken and TripAdvisor has named Mote Aquarium in the Top 10 list of best U.S. aquariums, clinching the number five spot, according to TripAdvisor, which recently announced their 2015 Traveler’s Choice awards.
• Mote placed 5th in the U.S. list this year, up from 10th last year. This year, Mote is also named the 15th best Aquarium for the entire world.

Poachers arrested after discovery of undersized grouper, sea turtle in secret compartment

• The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) arrested four people over the weekend for possession of undersized and illegal species.
• Saturday, as a result of an ongoing marine resource investigation, FWC officers conducted stops on two suspect vessels. These stops revealed undersized and illegal species onboard each vessel.
• On one of the vessels, stopped in the Gordon Pass area of Naples, FWC officers located two goliath grouper filets and 86 red grouper. Eighty-five of the red grouper were undersized, some as small as 12 inches. These fish were located in a hidden compartment, which was detected by an FWC K-9.
• The second vessel, stopped in the Caxambas Pass near Marco Island, had a similar hidden compartment, which contained parts of a sea turtle, 13 goliath grouper filets, 119 red grouper, five oversized permit and several other fish. Eighty-eight of the red grouper were undersized.

Discarded monofilament line injures, kills wildlife

• Fishing is an important part of the Florida lifestyle as well as its economy. To ensure that this activity doesn’t lead to problems for birds and other wildlife, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) wants anglers to know about the potential hazards and sure-fire solutions. FWC biologists warn that monofilament fishing line and fishing hooks can snag and entangle birds, sea turtles and manatees, leading to injury and even death.
• Many different species of wildlife can be impacted by discarded monifilament line. Along the coast, manatees, sea turtles, whales, dolphins and rays have been seen entangled in line. FWC researchers note that clumps of monofilament line are the most common foreign object found during manatee necropsies. Aside from aquatic wildlife, species of wading birds and shorebirds are also affected by monofilament line. These birds frequent piers and other fishing hotspots, where they are often hooked accidentally when trying to grab bait off an angler’s line. Additionally, discarded monofilament line hanging from trees, piers and other structures can ensnare birds. Once entangled, birds can have a difficult to impossible time flying and feeding.

Fishing Forecast

West to Southwest winds will continue through the rest of the week, with showers developing over the easter Gulf during the late evening and early morning hours. Winds over the offshore waters north of Tampa Bay will increased to small craft warning levels on Thursday afternoon, but winds will subside below headline criteria overnight.

Thursday
West winds around 10 knots. Seas 2 feet. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Scattered thunderstorms in the morning...then isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Thursday night will bring west winds around 15 knots diminishing to 5 to 10 knots after midnight. Seas 2 feet. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop. Isolated thunderstorms.
2015/07/23 Thu 12:13 AM 0.7 L
2015/07/23 Thu 06:09 AM 2.0 H
2015/07/23 Thu 01:27 PM 0.81 L
2015/07/23 Thu 06:39 PM 1.53 H

Friday
West winds around 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop. Scattered thunderstorms. Friday night will bring west winds around 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop. Scattered thunderstorms.
2015/07/24 Fri 12:50 AM 0.87 L
2015/07/24 Fri 06:53 AM 2.09 H
2015/07/24 Fri 02:45 PM 0.69 L
2015/07/24 Fri 08:15 PM 1.4 H

Saturday
West winds around 15 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop. Numerous thunderstorms. Saturday night will bring west winds around 15 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop. Numerous thunderstorms.
2015/07/25 Sat 01:32 AM 1.03 L
2015/07/25 Sat 07:41 AM 2.17 H
2015/07/25 Sat 03:59 PM 0.53 L
2015/07/25 Sat 10:03 PM 1.37 H

Sunday
West winds around 10 knots then becoming southwest in the afternoon. Seas 2 to 4 feet. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Numerous thunderstorms.
2015/07/26 Sun 02:20 AM 1.16 L
2015/07/26 Sun 08:34 AM 2.27 H
2015/07/26 Sun 05:03 PM 0.36 L
2015/07/26 Sun 11:33 PM 1.4 H

Solunar Forecast