T he Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and hundreds of bays, sounds,
and inlets provide bountiful waters that Florida's marine fish call
home. We as anglers might not get the opportunity to observe and
understand the underwater environment of the fish we catch. We imagine
what they might be doing while they contemplate taking our bait. We may
muse "I might catch more fish if I understood exactly where they hang
out."
In discussion of habitat, Florida's widely divergent marine
topography is the first consideration. No other state in the union and
few countries can boast of a more varied marine environment. Florida
saltwater anglers can fish for more than 100 species of fish. Let's find
out about where fish live by taking a deep breath and going underwater
to explore Florida's spectacular marine habitats.
Let's start
with the Panhandle. The Panhandle has long stretches of white sand
beaches and ocean that rapidly drop off; boaters in 70 feet of water can
often see bathers on the beach. Bountiful estuaries, places where rivers
meet the sea, are generally hidden by long, narrow barrier islands.
From Apalachicola to the Big Bend, estuaries are protected by
myriads of oyster bars and rocky islands, and also by the fact that
water depths drop off very gradually. Off the Suwannee River and St.
Marks Light, ordinary outboard motorboats can run aground more than 3
miles from the nearest shore. Some seagrass beds grow so far out that
land is over the horizon. This area has few beaches and is predominantly
marsh.
Down through the Tampa Bay area and Charlotte Harbor the
angler pursues his or her catch in seagrasses, mangroves, oyster bars
and even artificial reefs. Traveling south, we discover the Florida
Keys, with the only live coral reefs in the contiguous 48 states. The
Keys are a picturesque series of rocky islands thrown like a string of
pearls between land's end and Key West, each of them ringed by shallow
grass flats, mangroves, and finger channels.
After visiting the Florida Keys, we travel up the Atlantic coast.
The Atlantic coast is similar to the Panhandle, with lengthy beaches and
an ocean floor that can drop off rapidly. Some of its estuaries are
almost landlocked, with some having very low salinity and inlets as much
as 40 miles apart. One 10-mile stretch of the Atlantic coast, north of
Flagler Beach, has exposed rock reminiscent of the coastline of Maine.
Each of these habitats offers its own hidden treasures for the saltwater
angler.