The Bradenton Herald from Bradenton, Florida • 42

The Bradenton Herald, Friday, July 29, 1988 Full moon, sultry heat call for adjustments when fishing the flats Thursday's full moon should -create fairly good fishing for a day for two, especially for freshwater -species, but the sultry heat of dog "days will necessitate a few adjustirments on the part of the anglers. For starters, forget skinny water less than knee deep at mid-day. Fish found with any regularity in these parts are thoroughly capable -cof tolerating water in the high 80s. This time of the year the official water temperature usually falls in that range, but those temperatures a are taken at Egmont Key where hard moving tides and adjacent channels produce temperate therlemometer readings. But in the vast shallow expanses that make up a great deal of local inland waters the actual mid-afternoon temperature, especially on two tide days -such as those that occur around the full and new moons, may be closer to 100 degrees than 80.

Those few fish that are willing to endure such temperatures are not going to be interested in feeding or pursuing an artificial. We've been doing some castnetting mullet in the late afternoon. Somedays the waters coming off the flat are hot enough to be uncomfortable to our legs. Normally, this time of the year many outdoor families in the area devote an evening or so per week to gathering blue crabs. For some reason, these pinching crustaceans are hard to find.

A number of folks have complained about this dearth of crabs. One night last weekend, second son Calvin and I threw a marine battery, a pair of crab nets, an ice chest and spotlight into our little pram and set out in search of the makings of a crab boil. Anna Maria Sound at the Manatee Avenue Bridge yielded one juvenile blue crab. The gulf beach was too rough. The last stop was the shallow edges across from Coquina Beach, just north of Longboat Pass and the new public boat ramp.

Zilch! Other crabbers report seeing a "lot too-small flounder, but except for one snook and a zillion pinfish, the Q-Beam didn't whitewash any finfish. 000 A few months ago this column devoted a day's production to detailing the increased use of smallmeshed castnets to gather pilchards, sardines and menhaden for bait. This class of small fish are known generically as "shiners." By and large, most who gather their own shiners for bait transfer them to the live well of a fishing boat and then either do their fishing from that craft or use it to transport them and the shiners to a spot where they get out and wade. Sometimes overlooked by this class of angler is the fact that a growing number of fishermen, who a decade ago would have used eiEther shrimp or fiddler crabs, are now also using small castnets to collect baitfish. But of a different genre.

These folks usually use smaller nets, some only 30 inches or so long. They seldom use chum to attract bait. Most of their netting is done either from shore or in ankle deep water alongside channels or dropoffs. Their bait consists of almost anything caught in the net, but chubs, mutton minnows or mosquito fish make up the bulk of the catch. If I had to choose between a baitwell full of lively shiners or the hardy species mentioned above, I'd ago for the shiners.

But that doesn't mean the chubs and other baitfish mentioned Calendar TODAY Softball Amateur Softball Association slowpitch state tournaments in Men's Major, Class A and Class divisions at G.T. Bray Complex, all day. Little League p.m. Manatee National vs. Northeast St.

Petersburg, Little League Section 4 tournament final, Twin Lakes Complex, Sarasota, 4 p.m. Junior League Manatee National vs. Fort Myers, Junior League Section 4 tournament final, G.T. Bray Complex, 5 p.m. Parimuteuls Dog racing at Sarasota Kennel Club, 7:30 p.m.

Radio sports Baseball: Pittsburgh Pirates vs. New York Mets, WBRD 1420-AM, 7:35 p.m. Local news GRANT JEFFERIES Herald White Sox outfielder Scott Tedder drives one to left Thursday. GCL Pirates fall, 3-2 Herald staff report Rolando Petit had the gamewinning RBI in the top of the 11th inning to lift the Bradenton Braves past the Bradenton Pirates, 3-2, at McKechnie Field in Gulf Coast League play Thursday. The Pirates led, 2-1, entering the the top of the ninth when Melvin Nievez singled in tying run to force extra innings.

Petit finished 2-for-5 and Johnny Maldonado got the win for the Braves. For the Pirates, Gene Denard and Roman Rodriquez each went 2-for-5. Brett Honeywell took the loss. White Sox 11, Expos 1 Dennis Walker and Paul the shade. went 2-for-3 and Robin Nina took 000 the loss.

Bass anglers are doing fairly well Mets 6, Yankees 5 at Myakka River State Park by Devren Moore hit a two-run single working the Upper Lake the last to tie the score and Mason Rufew hours of daylight. Reports in- dolph had the game-winning RBI dicate that the hydrilla infestation in the eighth inning to lift the Sarthat kept fishermen away from the asota Mets to a 6-5 victory over the lake for a year or so is now under Sarasota Yankees at Smith Comcontrol, and there is plenty of open plex in Sarasota. water for fishing and boating. Jim Tesmer, James Harris, Reid Hartman and Moore each had two Bassers say a lot of bream are hits for the Mets. Rich Bristow feeding on the surface as the day went two innings for the win, and fades.

Henry Lott got the save. Sure wish I could work in the For the Yankees, Mike Rhodes time to offer them some tiny pop- went 2-for-4 and Mark Ohlms took ping bugs. the loss. gamefish. Snook, speckled trout, flounder, redfish, mangrove snapper, grouper practically everything out there that will eat another fish will chomp down on these little baitfish.

And in contrast to the fragile shiners, you practically have to cut the head off and hide it from a chub or mosquito fish to kill it. 000 Best bet for inside waters the next few days will be either speckled trout or mangrove snapper. There aren't a lot of trout around this summer but those that are being caught are whoppers. A number of five and six pounders have come in the last few weeks. Best bet for the larger specimens is to fish just offshore of the beaches either by surf-casting or by fishing from small boats.

Keep a sharp lookout for rock formations on the bottom or the deep-jade hued waters that signify deeper and hence cooler water. Sometimes this time of the year big trout will stack up in such locations. Competition spurred by the presence of their kinsmen can make them jump on practically anything offered. 000 Mangrove snapper will be the subject of an entire column the next few days. Most of the mangroves caught this time of the year are juveniles of a pound or less, but rank among the tastiest creatures that swim.

Mature mangrove snapper can be ultra-finicky and shy where fishing lines, hooks and baits are concerned, but the little summer fish will jump all over a piece of fresh shrimp impaled on a panfishsized hook. 000 Fishermen working the open gulf have been enjoying moderate success on Spanish mackerel little tunny (bonito). The above can be caught within sight of land, but further out, from 10 miles on, there are scattered schools of small dolphin. Grasslines are not as prevalent in the gulf as along the Florida Keys or offshore of the Gold Coast, but dolphin are almost always found around even the smallest piece of floating debris. The common conception is that dolphin are attracted to the shade offered by these objects suspended on the water's surface.

If that be so, then considering the number of dolphin that sometimes are caught by fishing alongside a floating board or pallet, they must have worked out some sort of social order and be willing to take turns in GATORS From D-1 Outdoors JERRY HILL won't entice bites from most during the NCAA tournament last March, expressed support for the university and Sloan. "As far as I am concerned, the University of Florida, they are clean to me," said Maxwell, Florida's all-time leading scorer. He said Williams and other former Gators "are probably just mad at the coaches because of their situation. They got kicked off the The Gators began last season as co-favorites with Kentucky to win the Southeastern Conference. But they finished in disarray, with only seven players available for one game instead of the normal 12.

Aaron was dismissed from the team twice for disciplinary reasons, Sloan said. Forward Chris Capers quit the team in early March. David Berst, NCAA director of enforcement, said the association had been notified of the university Young John Ruffin pitching like a pro WILLIE HIATT Herald Sports Writer SARASOTA John Ruffin will never throw a major league pitch at the age of 15, a feat the Cincinnati Reds' Joe Nuxhall pulled off in the 1940s. And time ran out this week for Ruffin to make the show even at 16. But the Sarasota White Sox pitcher turns 17 today, the seventh week of Gulf Coast Rookie League play and barely a year since he got his drivers' license, qualifying him as youngster in a league full of young baseball players.

"I feel like I'm 20 or 21," said Ruffin, a 6-foot-3, 174-pound right-hander. "All the guys I hang around with are that age so I feel that way too." Ruffin didn't skip his senior year at Choctaw County High School in Butler, because of a lucrative pro contract. Fact is he has always been younger than his peers since starting school early at the age of 4. But that very fact may be what caught the eyes of the White Sox scouts. Ruffin, who also played outfield in high school, had only a 2-1 record as a senior.

But it seems the scouts only saw him on the days he pitched. Apparently they were impressed with his arm and willing to gamble that Ruffin wasn't anywhere near reaching his potential. The White Sox picked him up in the fourth round. "For 16 years old, this kid has a pretty good arm, poise and handles himself well," said GCL White Sox manager Art Kusyner. "I have had some Latin kids who were 16 years old, but usually the kids here are at least 17 or 18." GCL president Tom Saffell said several Latin kids have played here at the age of 15, but that was before the ruling that prevents them from signing before they turn 16.

He said it is very unusual for an American player to be that young. While Ruffin fits in with the old- Loehr to speak at Bradenton resident Jim Loehr Tennis Association Tennis Teachers in New York City, Aug. 31-Sept. 2. Loehr, the director of sports science topics, "Accelerating Mental Skills plying Sport Science on Court." AL Herald John Ruffin charts the pitcher.

er players on the team, he does receive some kidding about being GULF COAST LEAGUE SOUTHERN DIVISION Pct. GB White Sox 28 8 .778 Yankees 23 13 .639 en Dodgers 19 15 .559 8 Rangers 19 16 .543 Expos 17 19 .472 11 Mets 15 20 .429 Pirates 24 .314 Braves 10 25 .286 Thursday's Games Braves 3, Pirates 2 White Sox 11, Expos 1 Mets 6, Yankees 5 Rangers 2, Dodgers 1 Today's Games Expos at Braves, Pirate City, noon Pirates at White Sox, Payne Park, noon Dodgers at Mets, Twin Lakes Park, noon Yankees at Rangers, Port Charlotte, noon GCL the team's younger brother. And Ruffin's mother may or may not be glad to hear that the players look out for him. "We kid around with him a lot, call him kid," said 20-year-old right fielder Brian Davis. "We try to raise him up as an adult, teach him not to get in trouble." The second win of the summer for Ruffin, who is 2-0 with a 2.27 ERA, was No.

14 in the White Sox GCL record winning streak. The White Sox string reached 16 games before they lost to the Pirates on July 21 at McKechnie Field. The White Sox, however, have pieced together a seven-game winning streak since and lead the second-place Sarasota Yankees by five games. tennis conference Abbatinozzi hit home runs in the sixth inning and drove in three runs each to lead the Sarasota White Sox to an 11-1 win over the Bradenton Expos at Pirate City. It was the seventh straight victory for the White Sox and it puts them five games ahead of the second-place Sarasota Yankees.

Walker, who was 2-for-4, hit a two-run homer and Abbatinozzi, who went 3-for-4, hit a solo shot. Jerry Wolak was 3-for-5 with an RBI for the White Sox, who banged out 18 hits in the game. Scott Middaugh went six innings, struck out eight and gave up two hits for the win. Rangers 2, Dodgers 1 Jeff Shore hit a sacrifice fly and Anthony Berry an RBI single in a two-run second inning as the Port Charlotte Rangers beat the Sarasota Dodgers, 2-1, at Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota. Luis Benitez went 2-for-3 and Berry 2-for-4 to lead the Rangers.

Francisco Valdez got the win. For the Dodgers, Rod Harvell went 2-for-3 and Robin Nina took investigation. An NCAA investigation is not planned immediately, Berst told the Tampa Tribune. "We'll wait until the institution collects its information," Berst said. Criser said that if the university's investigation leads to proof of violations of NCAA or Southeastern Conference rules, the results will be promptly reported.

Maxwell's positive test for cocaine was the only time a Florida basketball player's use of drugs become public during the 1987-88 season. Florida was eliminated from the NCAA tournament before the test results became known. Maxwell said he talked to federal authorities in Tallahassee for two or three hours but couldn't remember what agency they were from. "It was all about me," Maxwell said Wednesday in his hotel room in San Antonio, Texas, where he is taking part in a San Antonio Spurs rookie camp. will speak at the 1988 United States Conference at the Sheraton Centre for the USTA, will address the Through Music Videos," and "Ap- SNAPPER.

GIVES YOU $100 TRADE-IN TOWARDS ANY MODEL SNAPPER WALK BEHIND Walk in with the Walk out with a Snap credit NEW SNAPPER WALK-BEHIND AS LOW AS LAWN MOWER $2000 and receive $100.00 Trade-In Offer ends SEE YOUR SNAPPER DEALER TODAY! PROMOTIONAL MODELS RATED 2 SNAPPED By A LEADING CONSUMER MAGAZINE SNAP a CREDIT 880 1274 SNAPPER 123456 1 MAKES IT EASY! NO DOWN PAYMENT AND LOW MONTHLY PAYMENTS WITH SNAP-CREDITI JOIN THE MILLIONS OF SATISFIED SNAPPER USERS. BRADENTON Anderson's Mowers 6004 43rd Ave. W. (813) 792-1122 Cortez Lawnmower Sales 3025 Cortez Road W. (813) 756-4216 Gravely of Bradenton 5732 15th St.

E. (813) 755-1565 HURRY! OFFER Jefferies Service Center 1225 29th Ave. W. (813) 746-4234 Jimmy's Sales Service 5103 53rd Ave. E.

(813) 756-8458 Manatee Lawn Mower 3606 Manatee Ave. W. (813) 746-2777 ENDS 8 8 88 ELLENTON PALMETTO Wide World of Cycles 3624 Highway 301 Western Auto Associate (813) 722-9221 Store 1118 8th Ave. W. MYAKKA CITY (813) 722-3758 Myakka Ranch Farm Western Auto Service Supply Center Highway 70 W.

1000 10th St. (813) 322-1783 (813) 729-8066.