Going Coastal!
here's a few more saltwater fish picks. The half fish actually was caught and a bigger fish came up and bit half off. Here's a little info on coastal aids in fishing.
One biological truism states that habitat diversity creates ecological diversity. You've also probably heard, If you build it, they will come. Texas Artificial Reef Program has been applying both these concepts for decades in creating new reefs.
Natural structure and hard bottom are rare in the Gulf of Mexico where the bottom is pretty much a vast featureless plain of mud and sand. Where structure does occur, natural or otherwise, it is like an oasis in a desert. Virtual gardens of sessile (permanently attached) invertebrates like barnacles, corals, sponges, clams, anemones, bryozoans and hydroids quickly attach to every available surface and in every nook and cranny. On the natural side, this biological richness can be seen in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, a natural reef complex located about 100 miles from Galveston, Texas, and 400 miles north of the nearest tropical coral reef. On the man-made side, the hundreds of petroleum platforms dotting the Gulf of Mexico also support a vast array of natural reef-like communities, functioning as hard substrate upon which animals and plants can settle.
Living within the shelter of these encrusting animals, a host of reef fish species like beautiful angelfish and damselfish, as well as snappers and groupers feed and breed. Further up the food chain, larger predatory fish like mackerel, shark and billfish can be found seeking shelter and the occasional lunch. The final link in this natural chain is us; human beings who have learned that where there is structure, there will be fish to catch.
However, for that vast muddy featureless bottom, TPWD has applied the build-it-and-they- will-come philosophy. Those who arrive are not only the reef community animals from barnacles to mackerels, but also the anglers and divers who want greater fishing and diving opportunities in the Gulf!
Hit the coast running!
One biological truism states that habitat diversity creates ecological diversity. You've also probably heard, If you build it, they will come. Texas Artificial Reef Program has been applying both these concepts for decades in creating new reefs.Natural structure and hard bottom are rare in the Gulf of Mexico where the bottom is pretty much a vast featureless plain of mud and sand. Where structure does occur, natural or otherwise, it is like an oasis in a desert. Virtual gardens of sessile (permanently attached) invertebrates like barnacles, corals, sponges, clams, anemones, bryozoans and hydroids quickly attach to every available surface and in every nook and cranny. On the natural side, this biological richness can be seen in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, a natural reef complex located about 100 miles from Galveston, Texas, and 400 miles north of the nearest tropical coral reef. On the man-made side, the hundreds of petroleum platforms dotting the Gulf of Mexico also support a vast array of natural reef-like communities, functioning as hard substrate upon which animals and plants can settle.
Living within the shelter of these encrusting animals, a host of reef fish species like beautiful angelfish and damselfish, as well as snappers and groupers feed and breed. Further up the food chain, larger predatory fish like mackerel, shark and billfish can be found seeking shelter and the occasional lunch. The final link in this natural chain is us; human beings who have learned that where there is structure, there will be fish to catch.
However, for that vast muddy featureless bottom, TPWD has applied the build-it-and-they- will-come philosophy. Those who arrive are not only the reef community animals from barnacles to mackerels, but also the anglers and divers who want greater fishing and diving opportunities in the Gulf!
Hit the coast running!
posted by Waco at
9:12 PM
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