South Florida Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • C3

pn Friday, May 3, 2013 SunSentinel.com Sun Sentinel 3C Outdoors Fishing report Bimini is worth the effort STEVE WATERSSTAFF PHOTO Dave Nyitray, left, George Poveromo and Carl Grassi hold up snappers, dolphin and kingfish at the dock in the Bahamas. LAKE OKEECHOBEE Bass tournaments were being won with 30-pound stringers, but the majority of anglers had stringers weighing 10-15 pounds fishing the outside grass lines. EVERGLADESFRESHWATER Water levels were rising in Everglades canals with the rain, which slowed the bass bite. Sawgrass Recreation Park had small fish. The best bass bite at Everglades Holiday Park had been at the southern end of the L-67A Canal.

Peacock bass were biting flies and jigs in Miami's urban canals. SOUTH FLORIDA INSHORE Tarpon fishing has been terrific around the bridges and channels in the Keys. SOUTH FLORIDA OFFSHORE Capt. Skip Dana of the Helen and Fish City Pride drift boats at Hillsboro Inlet Marina said fishing is not red-hot, but there have been some good catches, including blackfin tunas up to 30 pounds, sailfish, kingfish and dolphin. There were even a couple of giant bluef in tunas seen in 120 feet off the steeple.

Drift boat anglers were doing well with vermilion snappers. THE KEYS There have been some nice catches of dolphin far offshore. Yellowtail snapper fishing has been excellent around the reefs. Notebook Bass tournament: The fifth and final qualifier tournament of the King of the Glades Open Team Series is Sunday out of Everglades Holiday Park. Entry fee is $75 per boat.

Call Mike Lendl at 954-393-5596 or visit kingoftheglades.com. Fishing benefit: A fundraiser for the Florida Fishing Academy, a nonprofit afterschool program that teaches at-risk kids about fishing, is Friday at City Fish Market in Boca Raton. Tickets are $150 and silent auction items include airline tickets, weekend getaways, spa packages, artwork and fishing charters. Contact Richard Brochu at 561-740-7227 or RichFloridaFishingAcademy.com. Benefit regatta: The Chris Williford Second Wind Regatta to benefit the Children's Organ Transplant Association is Sunday at Lauderdale Yacht Club.

A former U.S. Sailing Development Team member, Williford had a bone marrow transplant to help him in his fight against leukemia. Sailors will race in the Optimist, Club 420, Laser, Laser Radial, Laser 4.7 and Mercury classes. Non-sailors can participate by virtually sailing against a live competitor. Entry fee is $100.

Register at yachtscoring.com. Contact Shannon Conness at 954-205-8456 or sconnesssunsentinel.com.. Register at yachtscoring.com. Bird-watching: The Audubon Society of the Everglades has a bird-watching tour from 8 a.m. -noon Saturday at Stormwater Treatment Area lEast west of Wellington.

To register call Linda Humphries at 561-742-7791. Dolphin seminar: Capt. Bouncer Smith has a seminar on fishing for dolphin from p.m. Thursday at Dusky Sport Center, 110 N. Bryan Dania Beach.

The cost is $15 and redeemable for merchandise at the store. Call 954-922-8890. Hunter safety: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has a free hunter safety course from 8 a.m. -5 p.m. May 11 at the Markham Park Target Range at 16001 W.

State Road 84 in Sunrise. Participants must successfully complete the online portion of the course prior to attending and bring their final online report. Register at MyFWC.comHunterSafety or call the FWC's South Region office at 561-625-5122. Head to Bahamas and you'll catch a variety of fish BIMINI -The thought of running your boat across the Gulf Steve Vibters Stream to fish in the Bahamas can be intimidating, but it's not that difficult, and well worth the effort. I was reminded of that after my friends and I made the crossing from Miami on Tuesday morning, cleared customs and departed the Bimini Sands Resort Marina to go fishing.

After anchoring near a reef in 62 feet off Hammerhead Cay and putting two chum bags in the clear, blue water, we immediately had fish behind Marc VT, George Poveromo's 28-foot Mako center console. Drifting back small pieces of bonito and goggle-eye in the current, we were soon catching big yellowtail snappers. We also lost a number of snappers to sharks: We'd get a bite, start reeling in the fish, then the line would zing off the spinning reel, which meant something big had grabbed the hooked fish. After a few moments, the shark would bite through or break the leader. One of the neat things about fishing the reefs around Bimini is you never know what other species you might catch.

Dave Nyitray got a hit from what he assumed was a big yellowtail, then a 10-pound dolphin leaped out of the water and Nyitray care- MLB boats from as far away as Texas took part. Poveromo, Nyitray and Grassi will be there to help anglers with everything from tactics and techniques to rigs and fishing spots for a variety of species. Each afternoon, there are dockside cocktail parties where anglers can swap fish stories and pick the brains of the pros. Two Poveromo tips before you go to Bimini: Pack your boat with boxes of chum and bring plenty of tackle. We caught most of our yellowtails on lightweight Perm spinning outfits with 20-pound Sufix braided line and 15 -pound fluoro-carbon leaders tied to tiny No.

8 hooks, but Nyitray used a bigger outfit with 20-pound monofilament line and no leader and Grassi, who was bothered by a pinched nerve, used a Perm International 12 their catch of yellowtail reel with 50-pound braid and 30-pound fluorocar-bon leader to crank up yellowtails before the sharks could get them. There is no cost to take part in the Extravaganza, which is open to boats 23 feet and up. Bimini Sands, which has floating docks and one-, two- and three-bedroom condos with washers and dryers, is offering special rates. The resort also has fuel, ice, two restaurants that'll cook your catch for you, free Wi-Fi, a swimming pool and Neal Watson's Bimini Scuba Center, which offers diving and snorkeling trips as well as rental gear. For more details and rates, visit and scroll down to "Bimini Fishing Extravaganza" or visit swaterstribune.com HOWARD Padres rally past Cubs 4-2 Marlins seek a boost from nemesis Diaz fully got it close enough for Carl Grassi to gaff.

Poveromo noted that kingfish often swim through the area, and then proved his point by landing a 16-pound king that ate a live pilchard on a circle hook with no wire leader. The host of "George Poveromo's World of Saltwater Fishing" on NBC Sports and the organizer of the Saltwater Sportsman National Seminar Series, Poveromo, of Parkland, takes great pleasure in introducing others to the bountiful waters around Bimini. His 16th annual Bimini Fishing Extravaganza, which is June 12-16 at Bimini Sands, is the ideal way to learn your way around the island, which is 55 miles from Miami, or about a two-hour boat trip from South Florida on a calm day. Last year, 42 drove a changeup from his brother off the top of the fence in right-center. "At that moment I became a starter and he went to the bullpen.

I felt terrible. He's my hero in life," Diaz said of Zach, now a home builder in Central Florida "We had a batting cage in our yard and he would make me look silly on changeups." Beginning his Marlins career in Philadelphia bodes well for Diaz as he has hit .326 against the Phillies. Although an outfielder thorughout his career, Diaz was working at first base with New Orleans. He should get some opportunities at first due to a rash of injuries at the position. The Marlins did get shortstop Adeiny Hecha-varria back from the disabled list Thursday.

Lefthander Brad Hand was sent to New Orleans and infield-er Nick Green was designated for assignment. Green, who hit .331 in eight games and drove in the winning run in Monday's 15-inning win over the Mets, is out of options and may opt for his release if unclaimed. Alvarez setback Right-hander Henderson Alvarez, on the DL all season, had shoulder soreness after his latest session throwing to hitters. Manager Mike Redmond said Alvarez will cease throwing until the soreness subsides. There is no timetable for his return.

More encouraging, catcher Jeff Mathis began a rehab assignment Thursday with Class A Jupiter. Mathis fractured his collarbone when hit by a foul tip in the first spring training game. Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (shoulder inflammation) has begun playing catch but is not ready to face hitters, Redmond said. was pulled in favor of ace left-hander James Russell. Cabrera greeted Russell with a single that scored Alonso for a 3-2 Padres lead.

Chris Headley then beat out an infield hit that brought Denorfia home for a 4-2 advantage. San Diego had runners on second and third with one out against Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol. But Alonso lined to first for the second out and Marmol got pinch-hitter Will Venable to ground out to short Street, the Padres' fifth pitcher of the day, gave up a two-out double to pinch-hitter Nate Schierholtz in the ninth. The Cubs host Cincinnati on Friday in the opener of a three-game weekend series. The Padres are home for three games with Arizona on Friday night Marlins left fielder Juan Pierre steals third base.

The Marlins-Phillies game was not over in time for this edition. For game details, go to SunSentinel.comMarlins. By Jack McCarthy The Sports Xchange CHICAGO Everth Cabrera singled home the go-ahead run as the San Diego Padres sent 10 men to the plate in the eighth inning on the way to a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. The Padres scored four runs after two were out in the inning and split the four-game series. Left-handed reliever Joe Thatcher (2-0) worked one-third of an inning for the victory and Huston Street pitched a scoreless ninth for his sixth save.

Scott Hairston's two-run homer in the seventh broke a scoreless tie and provided Cubs starter Travis Wood a temporary 2-0 lead on a brisk afternoon. Hairston's homer, his third of the season, came off Padres starter Eric Stults and scored We-lington Castillo. Wood (2-2) allowed four hits in Ti innings. He struck out three and walked one. Stults worked 62A innings before he was lifted for right-handed reliever Brad Brach, who faced one batter before leaving in favor of Thatcher.

Stults allowed two earned runs and seven hits, struck out four and walked two. Wood retired 14 straight Padres batters before Kyle Blanks singled up the middle with two out in die fifth. The Cubs threatened in the bottom of the second with runners at second and third with one out and the bases loaded with two outs. But Chicago failed to score as Stults got Wood to pop out to short right field to end the inning. Wood struggled in the eighth as the Padres put runners on first and second with none out Jedd Gyorko flied to left for the first out before Nick Hundley sent a sacrifice fly to right that moved Jesus Guzman to third.

Guzman scored when Julio Bor-bon misjudged a fly ball, allowing Yonder Alonso to By Craig Davis Staff writer PHILADELPHIA The Miami Marlins never could beat Matt Diaz, so they decided to have him join them. The Florida State University product was the ultimate Marlins ldller during seven seasons with the Atlanta Braves. His .360 average in 66 games is the highest of any player with at least 185 at-bats against the Marlins. "It's one of those things you thought you were going to jinx it by people talking about it, and it never got jinxed," said Diaz, who joined the Marlins for Thursday's series opener against the Phillies. "The Marlins early on had two lefties, Dontrelle Willis and Scott Olsen, so I got to play most of the time against them.

I feel whenever I get to play twice in a week that usually tends to bode well for me." Particularly when facing left-handers. A career .291 hitter, Diaz has feasted on lefties at a .324 clip, including 31 of his 45 home runs. Ten of those homers were off Marlins pitching. So it was no surprise the hitting-starved Marlins elected to sign Diaz after he was released by the Yankees in spring training. He was hitting .341 in 23 games with Triple-A New Orleans when summoned two weeks before the Marlins were obligated to bring him up or offer the option of becoming a free agent.

"It was one of the first calls we made, because you know they think you're good," Diaz said. As for his uncanny mastery of lefties, he attributes that to the frustrations of trying to hit against his older brother Zach, a pitcher who preceded him at FSU. Matt finally got the upper hand in his first college at-bat in the Seminoles' Garnet and Gold game when he SMITHUSA TODAY SPORTS PHOTO reach base. Wood then departed in favor of Shawn Camp, whose first pitch was mishandled by Castillo for a passed ball that allowed Banks to score from third and tie it Camp walked Chris Denorfia and 2250 Glades LSi, LLirs'L Call to schedule your appointment 247 Marlins at Phillies WhenWhere: 7:05 p.m., Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia On the mound RHP Ricky Nolasco (2-2, 3.82) vs. RHP Jonathan Pettibone (1-0, 4.35): Nolasco has won his past two starts.

In the most recent, he went seven innings against the Cubs, holding them to three earned runs on four hits and retiring the final 15 hitters. He is 6-1 with a 2.98 ERA at Citizens Bank Park. Pettibone is coming off his first big-league win, against the Mets. In his two starts, opponents are batting .333. Saturday RHP Jose Fernandez (0-2, 4.50) vs.

LHP Cole Hamels (1-3, 4.75); Sunday RHP Kevin Slowey (0-2, 2.15) vs. RHP Roy Halladay (2-3, 6.75). Upcoming series Monday-Wednesday, at Padres; May 10-12, at Dodgers; May 14-16, Reds On the air TV: Radio: 790-AM, 104.3 FM, 710-AM (Spanish) Craig Davis 2nd Floor of Regions Bank Boca Raton' FL 33431 with live operator 561-395-0601 lfflpwwvvw.refineryniensGliniGS.Goni.