Light it up
By David A. BrownEditor's note: David A. Brown has a B.A. in journalism from the University of South Florida and you can see his work in Florida Sportsman, FLWOutdoors.com, Cabela's Outfitter Journal, TIDE, In-Fisherman, Louisiana Sportsman, The St. Petersburg Times and Saltwater Angler. He also ghost-wrote and published "Fish Smart — Catch More!" for Tampa's cable TV host Capt. Bill Miller (www.billmiller.com) and a couple more publishing projects will be docking soon. He operates a professional writing/marketing agency, Tight Line Communications.
Annual aggregations of Pyrodinium bahamense algae in Tampa Bay waters presents another seasonal limitation for summer tarpon anglers — the ability of living creatures to generate light. P. bahamense and other microscopic organisms common to southern waters use bioluminescence as a defense mechanism when startled. In small doses, these flashes are enough for tiny creatures to evade predation, but when thousands of these little guys get the willies at once, thousands of internal strobes igniting simultaneously give the appearance of fireworks under water.
Huge aggregations of these creatures in the warm summer brine often cast eerie green glows that are subtly visible from considerable distances. Whether it's the ghostly radiance of your boat wake, or the eerie halo enshrouding fish that swim through a field of little flashlights, a close range view is simply stunning.
The downside for anglers is the tarpon startling affect bioluminescence often imparts. As Capt. Jim Lemke notes: "(Bioluminescence) creates a big glow and makes everything look spooky to the tarpon. That 4-inch sardine now looks like a 10-inch (object) and then the glow of your leader will also spook them."
The season of glowing water lasts through fall's cooling. Once the water temperature starts to decline, the little glow sticks die off until the next summer charges a new set of bio-batteries.
