Thread: If you think sharks are bad.......

Just wait until flipper takes over! I can't believe how much they have changed in the last few years. It all got much worse with size limits on snapper. They learned to follow boats and eat throw backs. Now they are targeting fish on a hook. Nothing is off limits - hardtails, Spanish, blues, kings etc. I even "heard about" two being hooked on regular live bait! These things are going to become a worse issue than sharks because if anyone gets protected, it won't be the fishermen.

Ask any Florida Panhandle Pier angler... "Flipper" is "THE DEVIL"!

In natures scheme of things the adults teach the young and yes it will get worse, I have lost 2 fish to flipper at Alabama Pass last year so they are "trained" here somewhat. Just be glad we don't have sea lions here like at Monterey Bay, CA I never got to land a salmon there as the crafty things watch and wait and I think can sense a struggling fish and come unseen to rip it off the line and weighing hundreds of pounds can also get your rod they pull so hard. Boat captain had a name for me "lucky". Lol

Originally Posted by Green_Steel

Just wait until flipper takes over! I can't believe how much they have changed in the last few years. It all got much worse with size limits on snapper. They learned to follow boats and eat throw backs. Now they are targeting fish on a hook. Nothing is off limits - hardtails, Spanish, blues, kings etc. I even "heard about" two being hooked on regular live bait! These things are going to become a worse issue than sharks because if anyone gets protected, it won't be the fishermen.

Flipper definitely senses a fish struggling. They came racing over to get our fish several times.

And with seals and sea lions come great whites - ask cape cod. I am happier with sharks that only eat my catch and not my kids. <cue Jaws theme>

Sharks and porposes probably complain about us the way we complain about pinfish and crabs stealing bait. We're just little annoyances interrupting their hunt.

after fishing navarre and pcola several times this year, i would much rather deal with sharks personally. last time i fished navarre, every (bait) you threw out got eaten by a dolphin. literally every bait, cigs ly pinfish crazyfish. there are no survivors when flipper has clocked in for the day..

That's crazy! It seems odd to me that they have just started doing that in the last few years. I wonder if this is occurring everywhere there are bottlenosed dolphin, or is this this a "local" behavior? I could easily see where they could completely ruin pier fishing.