Seatrout Anglers! Don’t Fergit Yer Measurin’ Stick!

There are millions (probably billions!) of seatrout in our local rivers and creeks right now.  But while some are of the “keeper” variety, many are small.  And ever since the late Capt. Paul Cronk had his photo published in the Gainesville Sun with President Carter and what seemed to be a short trout,  Capt. Rick Davidson and I have called them “presidential keepers”.  There’s nothing wrong with catching these small fish, but I urge you to have your Florida Sportsman Lawstick handy and to measure each and every fish.  The FWC frowns on presidential keepers that aren’t released carefully, so be sure what you catch (and keep) is within the limits of the law. That law not only requires that you keep only 5 seatrout per angler per day, but that you don’t “double dip” by running back to the shore and then going out to catch another personal limit.  With the number of fish in the water now, that wouldn’t be hard to do, but I’ve got good inside information that FWC officers in plain clothes are watching ramps, marinas and rivers closely.