Englewood Fishing Club October 2026 Newsletter
October 8th Meeting
Englewood Fishing Club (EFC) meets 6:30pm Thursday, October 8th at the Rotonda Community Center, (646 Rotonda Circle, Rotonda West). Visitors are welcome. Attendees are asked to bring an item of non-perishable food or sanitary items that will be distributed to people in need. For additional information about Englewood Fishing Club, visit EnglewoodFishingClub.net or visit our Englewood Fishing Club (EFC) Facebook Group.
Preventative Maintenance Versus Costly Repairs
Rocky Reed, owner of Victory Boatworks in Englewood is our guest speaker at the October 8th meeting. Rocky will share the basics to maintain your outboard motor and trailer.
Motor
· What you should be doing every 100 hours or annually.
· What you should be doing after every time you go out.
Trailer
· What you should check before every trip.
· What you should be doing seasonally or at least annually.
Looking forward to see you at the October 8th Meeting. Bring your questions.
Ron Likar
Fishing Tournaments and Future Events
The October fishing event will focus on a combination of snook, redfish and trout. It will be held the entire month of October and will be a photo contest. Send pictures of your biggest snook, redfish and trout (on a measuring device) to Steve Daniel at retiredsteve@gmail.com. Please also declare the length of the fish in your email. Depending on the angle of the camera, shadows, etc. it is sometimes difficult to precisely read the measurement by looking at the photo. Steve will total the lengths of each of the fish you submit and the prizes will be awarded based on that total. Prizes are a $50 gift certificate to Fishin’ Franks for 1st and $25 for 2nd. In the event of a tie the winner will be determined by a drawing. Steve Daniel
The monthly photo submission for your catches also continues. Submit pictures of your catch to Steve Daniel at retiredsteve@gmail.com. If you submit a photo your name will be entered in the drawing for two $25 gift certificates at the following month’s meeting. Steve Daniel
Drawings for three half price offshore charters worth about $175 each will occur for members only that are in attendance at the November meeting and three more half price offshore charters at the December meeting. If you have any desire to try offshore fishing or you just want to go again, this is a good opportunity if you attend these meetings. If you have been a visitor and thinking about joining the club and you join in October, November or December of 2026, you are a 2027 paid member. You will not find better timing. EFC Board of Directors
The monthly 50/50 raffle goes on each month and is open to all in attendance.
A Club BBQ is scheduled for October 10th from 10am until 2pm with food around noon. Prizes will be awarded for the most popular side dessert and for the most popular other side dish. Sign up at the door if you wish to participate. Every member has a vote.
Englewood Fishing Club will be represented at the Rotonda West Association open house on November 5th from 5-7pm and is open to the public. Come and learn more about this community and all it has to offer.
A fishing gear garage sale is scheduled for Friday and Saturday November 6th and 7th in Rotonda West at Mike Ballard’s driveway (185 Medalist Road) from 8am until noon. Volunteers are needed to help set-up. We are selling a lot of donated items and profits go to our youth programs.
Englewood Fishing Club will have a float in the Rotonda Christmas Parade December 5th. Volunteers are needed to walk the parade route and hand out candy and club information.
The annual Christmas Party for members and guests is scheduled for December 8, 2026.
A Special Christmas Raffle is for paid members only, same as last year! All proceeds go to the winner in first and second place. When we sell all of the 300 tickets, $1,500 Will be collected. The winners will be drawn at our annual Christmas party but you Do Not need to be present to win! Tickets will be sold for $5.00 each before our meetings, (October and November). Tickets may not last and if you wait until the last minute so the winner will be on top, you are probably missing out or just plain fooling yourself. Buy big at the October meeting and get the winning ticket.
Cedar Point Park youth fishing events are scheduled in 2027 for January 2nd, February 5th, March 6th and April 3rd from 9am-noon. A new coordinator is needed for these activities.
A Big Brothers/Big Sisters youth fishing event is scheduled for January 9, 2027. A new coordinator is needed for this activity.
Recent Event
Pioneer Day’s Carboard Boat Races were held on Saturday September 5th. Two of Englewood Fishing Club’s youth teams competed in our boat named “Dot” that was built by our master shipwright Dick Kern. Both teams won all of their races, and were recognized as the overall champions for both of the age groups that competed . This is the second year in a row that our teams finished as champions of the day. Thanks go out to Charlie Pisch, Obie Maddox, Tom Anderson, Patrick Lawrence, Jim Thompson, Cappy LaBarbera and Dan McClain for volunteering to help. About 15 club members cheered from the sidelines. Special thanks to Dan and Dick for recruiting the youth teams.
Pioneer Day’s Parade was held on Labor Day with our boat “Dot” as our main float feature. Thanks to Jeff Suchadola, Rick Rogoski, Josie Fankowski, Fritz Stifler, Patrick Lawrence and Jim Thompson for decorating the float and handing out candy and club information and Cappy LaBarbera and Dick Kern as helmsman and navigator in the tow vehicle.
A new chart relating fish size to fish age has been added to the Englewood Fishing Club Website. Go to EnglewoodFishingClub.net and click on the three lines in the top left
corner of the home page, scroll to the bottom and click “How Old is That Fish” It is worth exploring every other page in the website.
Activities
Dan McClain is our Charter Captain Coordinator. Contact Dan for details at danielrmcclain@gmail.com or see him at the meeting.
Please do not sign up for a charter unless you are sure that you can go. If a schedule conflict occurs and you cannot go after you signed up, it is your responsibility to find a replacement or pay for your place in the charter. Dan may help you find a replacement, but the responsibility to find a replacement is yours.
To get on a charter or get on a waiting list contact Dan.
If you need a ride or if you can provide room for others in your boat, Patrick Lawrence will sign members up for a ride. Contact Patrick at the meeting. If you sign up for a ride, be prepared to offer and share expenses for the trip.
If you have ordered shirts, see Ken or John at the meeting.
Dave Richardson has his Key West boat for sale. Phone Dave at 404-944-9172 for information.
Recipe of the Month
Dan McClain added a copy of a recipe named “Blackened Red Snapper in Creole Sauce” that was submitted by Josie Falkowski to the October newsletter. If you have a favorite recipe that you are willing to share, send it to Dan for testing and have it published in future newsletters.
Volunteers Needed
If you are a club member and willing to volunteer, contact either Jim Thompson at Englewood.fishingclub@gmail.com (941-456-3684), or Debbie Jones at packd315@yahoo.com (937-307-7639) for additional information. There are committee member openings. Get to know your fellow members while getting the inside scoop on what is going on.
In my opinion, each club member should volunteer to help in at least one activity each year. Many hands make light work. (RR)
Is Rainy Season Over?
Mid-September through October is the "wind-down" phase of the rainy season, which also coincides with the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season.
The System of Rod, Reel, Line and Drag Settings
Last month, I talked about how to set the drag on a reel and how the rod angle affects the line load. This month, I will try to show how to design a rod, reel and line-system.
In order to protect the rod, manufacturers list a range of line strengths on the rod based on the blank they use for each rod. For example, I have an old rod that lists line strength of 20-40 pounds. All rod manufacturers assume the line strength of 40 pounds is reduced to 33 percent for a working load or in the example 1/3 of 40 = 13.3 pounds maximum working load. This working load protects the rod and line from breaking as long as the drag is set to approximately 13 pounds maximum. Even if the line on the reel exceeds 40-pound test the rod is protected by the 13 pound drag setting. Staying within the working load limits helps to ensure that the rod, line and reel/drag-system is usable day to day without failure. The system design starts with protecting the rod first.
For the system above, the fishing line is protected because the working load has been reduced to 1/3 of it breaking strength rating (Safety Factor of 3), but the entire system can be affected by impact loading or line/leader cross section reduction.
Impact loading happens during aggressive strikes, boatside lunges or violent headshakes. Even though drags are greatly improved from previous years, this instantaneous loading may not give the physical drag discs time to start moving. Impact loading can increase line loading by a factor of three plus which is a good reason to lower drag settings while trolling. Also, think of the extreme example of a 200-pound airborne Silver King slamming down on the fishing line and the fisher fails to bow to the king. Was it a line or rod failure? What can we do to prevent system failure due to impact loading?
Fishing line/leaders can provide line stretch to absorb most impact loading. Monofilament line can have 25-30 percent stretch before deforming. That means a three-foot leader can stretch to four feet without damage and return back to three feet when the line load is reduced. Fluorocarbon leaders only have a one to four percent stretch before permanent deformation. Braid fishing line has essentially no stretch. A good reason to use mono leaders when stealth is not required. So, what happens if the maximum stretch is exceeded?
When the stretch limits on mono or fluorocarbon leaders are exceeded (yield strength), the line deforms and a portion of the line stretch becomes permanent. The line
diameter also becomes smaller in diameter and the line will have a lower breaking strength than the original rating due to the reduction in cross-section.
Take-Away: If you are setting up a rod, line and reel/drag-system, protect the rod first, assure the line is adequate for the fish being targeted and set the drag to protect the rod and line being used. Provide adequate protection for impact loading. Rick Rogoski
Blackened Red Snapper in Creole Sauce
Ingredients:
Red Snapper filets
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Creole Seasoning
Creole Sauce
For Creole Seasoning mix all together:
1 cup smoked paprika
½ cup kosher salt
⅓ cup each of: garlic powder, onion powder, oregano &
basil
3 tablespoons each of: thyme, pepper, white pepper &
cayenne pepper
For Creole Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ finely chopped onion
1 finely chopped green bell pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon each of Creole Seasoning & smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper if extra spiciness is desired
½ cup of chicken broth
½ cup of heavy whipping cream
¼ cup of tomato paste
Saute onion, bell pepper & garlic with seasonings until
soft. Stir in chicken stock, heavy cream and tomato paste
and simmer until thickened. Set aside.
Season Red Snapper filets with salt & pepper & Creole
Seasoning on both sides. Saute in olive oil & butter in hot
skillet until brown (blackened) 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Add Creole Sauce and simmer until fish is done.
Serve over rice.
Notes:
● Any nice fish filets work well with this recipe
● Cast iron skillet works best to brown fish
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