Skip to main content
Search Results for “rid

Remarks on the Bridge Authority’s early years

BY GINGER WATKINS Editor’s Note: At her last meeting as chairman last month, outgoing GIBA Chairman Ginger Watkins assembled facts and history about the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority. We have presented here a brief excerpt for Beacon readers who wish to know more about the “early years” from 1996 on. The Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority’s […]

Lemon Bay heads to Florida State Thespian Festival

The student theater troupe at Lemon Bay High School is heading to Tampa on March 13 for the Florida State Thespian Festival.  There were 21 one-act plays in the district, and Lemon Bay was chosen as one of six to compete at a state level, said Theater Director Gina Barber.  Barber believes that the last […]

SW Florida Fishing: Warm up to come…

BY CAPT. WILL WATERHOUSE The weather has been chilly but sunny this week in Boca Grande and the fishing has started to heat up in the mid day to late afternoon hours. We have been catching quite a few redfish on some of the higher tides with live shrimp along with some really nice sized […]

SW Florida Fishing: Salt or freshwater … ready for action

BY CAPT. SANDY MELVIN After a week of warm weather that gave us the first hint that spring is around the corner, another cold front came through and brought us back to reality that it’s still winter in Southwest Florida. That means the speckled trout, pompano, ladyfish and sheepshead fishing continues to be the best […]

SW Florida Fishing: Spring … is almost here.

BY CAPT. JOE LACLAIR I don’t know if I have ever seen the fishing go from so bad to so good so quickly. Part of me worries that the cold and windy weather is not totally behind us, but I love spring and want it to last as long as possible! We headed out in […]

Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority elects new chairman

The Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority elected a new chairman at its Tuesday, Feb. 13 meeting. The former vice chairman, Drew Tucker, was elected chairman. George Milne was elected vice chair.  “I have enjoyed it but I do believe in term limits,” said outgoing Chairman Ginger Watkins.  During the meeting, Watkins took a look back at […]

SW Florida Fishing: Between the front

BY CAPT. WILL WATERHOUSE The unsettled weather patterns this year has the water temperatures in the backcountry on the cooler side. But, with the water being fairly cool, the fish have still been biting. Some nice redfish have been caught on the incoming tides using both live bait and artificial. If you like to fly […]

Audubon seeks Florida flamingo count 

In September, Hurricane Idalia blew dozens of American flamingos into Florida and across the eastern half of the U.S. In February, a research team wants to see how many have remained in the Sunshine State and are calling all interested Floridians to report the flamingos they see from Feb. 18 through Feb. 25. This effort […]