11-09-2009, 06:01 PM
Quote:Forget the canals, for that you would need a freshwater license
I don't know where you got your information but it is wrong. [cool]
There are thousands of miles of residential canals on both east and west coast of florida that are salt water. In fact, most canals in florida, and particularly where Jed is applying are salt water. Coastal residential real estate development is far greater than interior development (where fresh water is).
As for snakes and gators, let’s take one at a time.
Gators and canals: brackish to fresh water. Since most canals are salt water, it’s not a big concern. Furthermore saltwater canals typically have concrete sea walls that sit about 3’ – 4’ about high tide mark, which is an effective barrier should any gator be there (which it wouldn’t). If you wanna flirt with gator disaster, go bass fishin on a golf course pond: fresh water; no barrier walls, and gators sunning themselves on the banks routinely. Take a camera! They’re not gonna run you down and eat you up. But your dog is another matter…
Snakes and canals: Again, a freshwater deal, not a saltwater one. And not really a big deal in freshwater for that matter; You’re more likely to run into a poisonous snake at the Gorge or Powell. And that’s been my experience.
Canal fishing is good, but you run into the same problem there that you do here: access. There’s hundreds of sea-walled communities in Florida, and it’s all private property. In fact, IMO, that’s the biggest problem with Florida coastal fishing: no solitude. Too bad too; you want to eat a redfish you catch out of one of those canals.
I know; I grew up fishing in SW Florida (on a s-water canal).
[signature]