Manatees are also a common sighting.  They are very boat friendly and often curious about your presence.  One way to spot a manatee is to look for a slick spot on the water which almost always is observed in the shallows of 6 feet or less.  The photo shows you what it looks like.  The slick travels with the manatee as it flips its tail it creates a series of circle patterns that smooths out the water behind it.  Its basically a Manatee Wake!  If you approach quietly and perhaps with a trolling motor the manatee will often come up to the side of your boat and stick its head out.

If you see them at your dock, they will sometimes come by for a drink of fresh water, literally!  Put the hose in the water and they will come up and suck on it.  I have seen them fed lettuce and greens in the Florida Keys but of course, that is actually illegal to do.

So, when you travel around the harbor keep your eye out for a moving slick spot on the water.  Manatees are very commonly found in the back waters of Burnt Store Marina.  This is a very reliable location in the winter.  In front of the east or west side of the harbors right along the sandbar is a normal hangout especially in the spring.

We love seeing manatees any time of year and always are careful to avoid a collision with them.  They are not very wary of boaters on Charlotte Harbor and often you will see gashes on them where a propeller struck them.

For fisherman, Manatees attract a fish known as a Cobia.  Cobia normally range from 2 to 4 feet in length and are one of the best eating fishing in the ocean.  Cobia follow the manatees in the shallows because the manatee disturbs the bottom as they move along causing shrimp, crabs and fish to jump out of their wake and the cobia is right there following.

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This past year red tide has affected the coastal waters on the west, east and panhandle region of Florida.  The scientists continue to say it’s a naturally occurring event and it’s been on record back to near biblical times.  The difference in modern times is that extra nutrients from run-off and other sources created by man feed the red tide and make the problem worse.

Red tide does not live in fresh water. It needs a very salty environment to survive and mainly develops in the Gulf of Mexico and can spread to the beach areas.  In contrast to that Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte reside on the beautiful Charlotte Harbor.  Red tide is very rare in the harbor and largely non-existent!  Red tide is largely non-existent in the canal systems where we live the waterfront dream! Thank goodness!

Here are the basic reasons why red tide is not an issue to our waterfront lifestyle in these fine communities.  First, the Peace River and Myakka River contribute a huge amount of freshwater to Charlotte Harbor.  This in itself pretty much keeps us free of red tide.  Add to that there are many creeks and rivers such as Alligator Creek and countless others that feed freshwater into the harbor.  The harbor is brackish and depending on the amount of rain it can have low salinity at times and in a drought higher salinity of course.  With two very large river systems feeding the harbor with current flows heading south, we do not suffer from red tide.  We do not smell foul air either.

My house is 1000 feet from the edge of the harbor and there has never been red tide, a fish kill or air problems in 17 years of living here.  What a blessing for Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte to not suffer the issues experienced by beach side communities.  Granted we are bummed out when the beaches are messed up but it is normally very short lived and until this year very rare.

Scientists have speculated that the Mississippi River may have contributed to the west coast issue this year as some rare steering currents in the gulf channeled water from the Mississippi river basin sending that run-off in our direction.  There was also talk of sand mist from the Saudi deserts having an effect.  I have a hard time swallowing that one.

At the end of the day, the harbor has had remarkable fishing and crabbing this summer.  Plenty of dolphins frolicking, sea turtles and you name it.  The tarpon have been around and I have landed tarpon to 160 pounds in the middle of the harbor when the media was saying all the fish are dead.

The real estate market was very busy this summer and our town did not miss a beat because of the red tide news.  Contrary to that the business’s on the beach suffered but as of this writing red tide is no longer an issue.

I expect amazing clean, turquoise blue water on the beaches in the months ahead and am looking forward to swimming and boating the beautiful gulf.  Nature has a way of fixing things and the media will have to find something else to focus on.

Algae is not and never has been an issue in Charlotte Harbor.  Algae is an issue in Cape Coral relating to water releases from Lake Okeechobee that are contaminated and create hideous bright green algae blooms that enters the Calossahatchee River and then into the canal systems.  It is a real problem for the beaches south of there as well.  Fortunately, Charlotte Harbor is to the north of this problem and currents in the harbor/rivers and the flow from Boca Grande Pass keep us isolated from this issue.

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When I first moved here you could not find Old Bay Seasoning or a steam pot.  I quickly discovered that local crabbers had a good thing going and were making a living shipping crabs to Maryland and the general Del-Mar-Va area.  Crabs here are super plentiful and easy to catch!  Amazingly, almost no one local crabs other than the commercial guys.  Local Floridians do not get it and I hope they never do.  I have the harbor all to myself for crabbing and normally get all I can eat very close to home.

Each person is allowed to have 5 crab pots, of the commercial type in the water.  The crabs taste the same and are actually larger than Chesapeake Bay crabs.  I cooked up a batch of crabs the other day and I would categorize them as jumbo’s which would sell for close to $100 per dozen at times in Maryland.  Crabbing is easy, bait the crab pot with locally caught ladyfish that are really easy to catch or put in chicken for bait.  Put the traps out in the harbor or off your dock.  There are some differences in the crab traps that make a world of difference in how many crabs you catch.  I will be happy to help you be a top crabber when the time comes.

I used to crab in many places on the Chesapeake and its tributaries including the Severn River near the sailing area of Annapolis.  Now, its right in my backyard.  You can also shrimp in the harbor which requires more gear and is done at night.  They are super delicious!  I find it much easier to buy fresh shrimp from a local shrimper.

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Visitors to the Charlotte Harbor area that are considering a home likely do not have any idea of what an amazing waterway this is. I fell into that same bracket when I came here 15 years ago to buy a house. What was important to me was to have my boat at my dock and important to my wife was a pool (which she eventually did get J).

As my boating life evolved I quickly learned that the harbor is a host to more marine creatures than you can imagine. On a normal boating day you can expect to see many dolphin, the flipper kind! Often, they jump in unison just like at SeaWorld and sometimes catch a fish and throw it back and forth.  When fishing it is sometimes hard to release a fish because dolphin will approach the boat waiting for an easy catch!

Manatees are always around if you know where to look as well.  They are extra friendly and very curious and often swim up to the boat as if wanting to be petted.  You will see them in your canal systems as well.  A very popular hang out for Manatees is at the back end of Burnt Store Marina in the boat ramp area.  They hang there all winter and sometimes all year.

The population of stingrays in our area is staggering.  There are a variety of species from cownose rays to the spotted eagle rays.  Some are solo travelers and at times there are hundreds of rays swimming in unison….it is quite a beautiful sight.  In the spring you often see the spotted eagle ray jump sometimes 5 to 8 feet out of the water!

The variety of tropical birds is also amazing with Egrets, Herons, Roseate Spoonbills and Ibis all calling our harbor home. Our waters are clean and uncongested, very different than many other areas. With that comes a bounty of marine life that never ceases to amaze me. As a fisherman I often throw a cast net (which throws a circular web onto the water’s surface). It is not unusual to catch tropical species such as seahorses, many crab species, pipefish, trumpet fish, box fish and a host of other species you would normally expect. Normally, I am cast netting for sardines or herring for fish bait. At certain times of the year I even come up with sand dollars in my net!

THIS BEAUTIFUL SEAHORSE WAS HANGING ON TO MY CRAB TRAP!  PHOTOGRAPHED AND RELEASED ON NOVEMBER 15, 2016

The harbor also has a healthy population of shrimp that are absolutely delicious and intrinsically sweet. You can catch your own but it is a night time activity that requires special equipment. Much easier to go to Fisherman’s Village and visit the shrimp boat Iron Horse!

I am from the Chesapeake Bay area and was raised on blue claw crabs. I thought I would be giving crabs up and actually gave all my Old Bay Seasoning to my friends. As it turns out, Charlotte Harbor has a remarkable crab fishery! They are easy to catch once you know the basics. Fifteen years ago you could not find Old Bay in the stores and we shipped it down however now more have caught on and Old Bay is easy to find.

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