Red tide has killed thousands of fish in my area. Big breeder snook, red fish, tarpon, trout and flounder. It breaks my heart but money talks. It might not be preventable but we could limit it if we tried.

How long have you lived in Florida? Red tide is something that happens every once in a awhile on the West coast of Florida. The fish will rebound a while after the red tide goes away. In the meantime you can fish the East coast which has plenty of tarpon,snook, redfish, and more.

I have been fishing these waters for 15 years. I know it will rebound. However just three weeks ago I was catching at least 2 snook over the slot every trip out, having 50 trout days. I was done Tarpon fishing for the year. The water from Okochobee is making it worse. I just hate to see thousands of fish dead, not to mention it makes it hard to breath. I guess I will just golf for the next few weeks.

Red tide...fill me in, what’s that all about?

3 minutes ago, Graham said:

Red tide...fill me in, what’s that all about?

It's an algae bloom...best defined here:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_tide

That’s pretty wild, I see it mostly happens in the gulf coast of Florida. Have you ever seen it’s effects in the VA beach area @Darren.?

Just now, Graham said:

That’s pretty wild, I see it mostly happens in the gulf coast of Florida. Have you ever seen it’s effects in the VA beach area @Darren.?

No, at least not to my knowledge. So I had to look it up!  

 

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science is in my neck of the

woods, and it seems we do get red tide here on occasion.

 

http://www.vims.edu/bayinfo/habs/index.php

7 minutes ago, Darren. said:

No, at least not to my knowledge. So I had to look it up!  

 

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science is in my neck of the

woods, and it seems we do get red tide here on occasion.

 

http://www.vims.edu/bayinfo/habs/index.php

Really interesting stuff, I’m not a salt guy or a even really a beach guy for that matter, but still surprised I’ve never heard of red tide. Thanks for sharing! 

 

And to the OP: 

Thats a bummer it’s happening in your area, hoping that the fish will bounce back, seems like after reading that it shouldn’t be too long!

It depends on how long the affect will be. If it kills the breeding females it can hurt the fishery for 3 or more years. Big snook do not breed every year. The bull reds will move out of the area and could take months to come back. It is really messing with the businesses down here. Nobody at the beach means nobody at the beach bars and restaurants.

I happens in SE Louisiana as well.  Usually in August.  I remember one time I experienced it, we were all Surf fishing in Grand Isle, it was a hot August day.  It started with crabs, it seemed like out of nowhere you were stepping on crabs every step, I remember my grandma was just scooping them up with a dip net, and they would get so thick around your feet, you would have to spin in a circle to clear your path.  Then came the trout and redfish, I was picking up trout and redfish from the surf. 

it is sad to see loads of fish die, where I live we get ponds and lakes that turn over for various reasons. but it does show us how Mother Nature can control it self, and some things are just out of our hands.on the other hand you are also correct in saying man should be much more aware of our actions and consequences.

I was in Sarasota last week and went to Nokomis Beach on Casey Key.  While sitting there you could actually watch the red tide as it came in.  Once it got close in the lifeguard chased everyone out of the water and you could see tons of dead fish floating behind it.  I've seen the red tide before, but I've never seen it come in like that.

 

Guess I'll have to get used to it as I'm moving to Tampa from VA in less than a month.  

This year's red tide is still affecting the West Coast and one of the worst red tides in many years;

https://www.wfla.com/news/sarasota-county/red-tide-persists-along-sarasota-county-coast/1288381058

 

Quotes from the article;

"Although red tides have been documented in this area since the 1800s, many researchers say the events are more intense and longer-lasting these days because of human activities like farming and fertilizing lawns. 

Fanara said it's the longest-lived bloom that she knows of in more than a decade, since the mid-2000s saw an 18-month long bloom"

 

"Fanara said cell counts were as high as 24 million cells per liter at some Sarasota beaches.Respiratory issues and fish kills can start once levels reach 10,000 cells per liter, according to the FWC."