New York Times Article

36 Hours in Sarasota, Fla.
By PAUL SCHNEIDER
link to original article

SET on a sparkling bay, behind a necklace of sandy barrier islands, the resort town of Sarasota was pioneered in the Roaring Twenties by the immensely wealthy John and Mable Ringling of circus fame. The couple didn’t come to get away from the clowns and freaks; they brought the entire circus with them to pass the winter in warmth and style. To this day, this scrubbed, suntanned and artsy little town offers just enough of a city vibe to sustain great food and a little night life. Plus, the circus still comes down in the winter.

Friday 5 p.m.

1) FLASHING COCKTAIL
Get sand between your toes before the sky goes dark, and head to Lido Key beach, a relaxing stretch of white sand across the bay from downtown Sarasota. Park near the Ritz Carlton Beach Club (1234 Benjamin Franklin Drive) and make a beeline for the Lido Key Tiki Bar (941-309-2581). Leave your shoes in the car but don’t forget to bring cash, so you can order the signature Green Flash Cocktail, a rum, pineapple and Midori concoction served with flashing ice cubes. A resident bongo player is there to provide a live soundtrack for the spectacular sunsets.

8 p.m.

2) CEVICHE CHOICES
Darwin Santa Maria, the chef and owner of the Selva Grill (1345 Main Street, 941-362-4427; http://www.selvagrill.com/), is originally from Peru, and the flavors of his country of mountains and coasts infuse almost everything on the menu. And everything on the menu is worth trying, as Selva serves quite possibly the best food in town. The ceviches de la casa alone offer 10 choices ($11 to $17), not including the daily specials. It’s a tough decision, but the Selva ceviche, made with corvina, cusco corn and roasted camote (sweet potato), tastes like the first day of summer. It’s served up in a lively space, with a crowded bar and friendly patrons who wave to one another as they come and go.

10 p.m.

3) RHYTHM AND BALLS
Sarasota’s night life is a mixed bag, so for surefire action, head to the Gator Club (1490 Main Street, 941-366-5969; http://www.thegatorclub.com/), a popular dance club with red brick, polished brass and R & B tunes. Not a dancing fool? Head upstairs to the billiards bar, where they serve 125 different single-malt Scotches. Don’t try them all. For other options, pick up a copy of Creative Loafing (http://www.sarasota.creativeloafing.com/), a free arts and entertainment weekly.

Saturday 8:30 a.m.

4) POLISH THAT BACKHAND
Your morning tennis is about to begin. Though the Colony Beach and Tennis Resort (1620 Gulf of Mexico Drive, 941-383-6464; http://www.colonybeachresort.com/) is a little frayed, it frequently ends up on the lists of top tennis resorts for its first-class instruction. Most patrons sign up for multiday packages, but the pros are happy to accommodate shorter lessons (dial extension 2312 to reserve). The adult clinics start at $50 for a 90-minutes lesson and private lessons start at $80 per hour. And if your traveling partner doesn’t need as much help with follow through, the glorious white sands of Longboat Key beach is a ball toss away.

1 p.m.

5) HEALTHY TO GO
The thing about Floridian sprawl is that the best eats are sometimes in the most unassuming places. Such is the case with Simon’s Coffee House (5900 South Tamiami Trail, 941-926-7151; http://www.simonstogo.com/), which serves one of the best lunches in town in a nondescript shopping plaza. Nothing fancy, just whole grain breads, meaty panini, fruity smoothies and creative sandwiches like roasted butternut squash, with soup, ($9.50) that taste too good to be vegan. It’s a local favorite.

2 p.m.

6) VIVA LA SIESTA
Sarasota Bay has plenty of sandy beaches on the gently lapping Gulf of Mexico. But Siesta Public Beach, on Siesta Key, is widely considered by locals to be the fairest of them all, with talcum-powder-soft sands that never get too hot to the touch. And it draws a mixed crowd — the young and ancient, locals and tourists, active volleyball players and laid-back lollygaggers. Best of all, it rarely feels crowded.

5 p.m.

7) AMBER AND BANDANAS
St. Armand’s Circle is the vaguely touristy heart of Sarasota shopping. There are a few big-name stores like Tommy Bahama, but mostly it’s jammed with smaller boutiques like the Baltic Amber Gallery (9 North Boulevard of the Presidents, 941-388-2651, http://www.ambershowroom.com/), where handmade earrings from Latvia, Poland, and elsewhere start as low as $18 a pair. If you forgot your bathing suit, there are plenty to choose from at the Beach House (331 John Ringling Boulevard, 941-388-1025; http://www.thebeachhouseswimwear.com/). If you forgot sandals, check Foxy Lady West (481 John Ringling Boulevard, 941-388-5239, http://www.foxyladysarasota.com/). And if you forgot your New Year’s resolution, grab a homemade waffle cone at Big Olaf Creamery (561 North Washington Drive, 941-388-4108), a sort of homegrown Ben & Jerry’s.

8 p.m.

8) PAN-AM DINING
By day, sleepy Hillview Street seems an unlikely spot for night life, but when the weekend rolls around, good luck finding a parking spot. A handful of buzzing restaurants and bars have recently opened along this block-and-a-half stretch. For lively ambience and inventive food, go to the Table (1936 Hillview Street, 941-365-4558, http://www.thetablesarasota.com/), an upscale restaurant that serves so-called Atlantic Rim cuisine, which blends Caribbean, South American and southeast American flavors. Favorites include spring rolls with Havana short ribs ($7.95) and grilled salmon encrusted with Venezuelan crab and served with purple sticky rice ($23.95). Ask for a table in the back room; a D.J. starts spinning at the bar around 9 p.m. By 10 p.m., it’s a full-on dance.

10 p.m.

9) ROCK ON
If D.J.’s aren’t your thing, head next door to the Five O’Clock Club (1930 Hillview Street, 941-366-5555; http://www.5oclockclub.net/), a rocking dive bar that’s been showcasing live music since 1955. On any given night, there might be reggae or an eccentric AC/DC tribute band.

Sunday 10 a.m.

10) WEIRD GROWTH
Had enough sun and sand? Stroll around the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens (811 South Palm Avenue, 941 366-5731; http://www.selby.org/), a 9.5-acre park with bamboo, banyans and shady benches where you can enjoy great views of Sarasota Bay. But the real prize is the tropical display house, which has rare orchids, psychedelic caladiums and a strange yet beautiful society of pitcher plants that trap insects.

1:00 p.m.

11) FREAK SHOW
The Ringlings left behind more than just a circus. They amassed a large art collection, including a series of gargantuan paintings by Rubens that are displayed at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art (5401 Bay Shore Road, 941-359-5700; http://www.ringling.org/), on the 66-acre bayside estate where they wintered. But the main event is the Howard Bros. Circus, a miniature model of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at its height in the early 20th century. Created over half a century by a passionate circus fan, Howard Tibbals, the three-quarter-inch-to-the-foot scale replica covers 3,800 square feet and is, as one might say, the Greatest Historical Installation on Earth.

The Basics
JetBlue has direct flights from Kennedy Airport to Sarasota, with round-trip fares starting at about $200 for travel next month. More flights and airlines service the much bigger Tampa airport, which is about an hour’s drive away.

If your budget is up to it, the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota (1111 Ritz-Carlton Drive, 941-309-2000; http://www.ritzcarlton.com/) offers all the usual big hotel pleasures, plus access to its private beach club on Lido Key. Double occupancy rates range from $399 to $5,000 a night.
Groovier and cheaper in-town lodging can be found at the Hotel Ranola (118 Indian Place, 866-951-0111; http://www.hotelranola.com/). Rooms with full kitchens start at about $159 a night.
On Lido Key, Coquina on the Beach (1008 Ben Franklin Drive, 800-833-2141; http://www.coquinaonthebeach.com/) has clean and simple rooms that offer views of the Gulf of Mexico, but not a whole lot more. Double occupancy with beach views start at $189.

Sarasota Herald Tribune Article

REAL ESTATE PROFILE
Partners work together for winning formula
By STEPHEN FRATER
stephen.frater@heraldtribune.com

SARASOTA -- At a time when realty brokerages are under pressure across the board and many have merged or been bought out, it is increasingly unusual for a partnership of individual Realtors to survive and thrive for nearly a quarter-century, as have Marcia Salkin and Paulene Soublis of Premier Properties of Southwest Florida.

The pair worked together in three separate brokerages and along the way racked up close to a quarter of a billion dollars' worth of closed Southwest Florida real estate.

Salkin grew up in the real estate business, the fourth generation in her family of Realtors. Born and raised in Louisville, Ky., she used to help her father set up for open houses when she was 4 years old. She moved to Sarasota in 1979.

Trained in journalism with a minor in business marketing from the Ohio State University, she has honed her interviewing, marketing and negotiating skills. She says the real estate business is her "passion and excitement."

Salkin says she "doesn't sweat the small stuff." She raised her son alone while taking care of her parents, an experience she says taught her to keep her eyes "on the big picture."

Her family's real estate legacy continues with her son, David, a 2003 graduate of Pine View School in Osprey. He is in his final year at Tulane University's School of Architecture in the master's program.

Upon entering the local real estate market in 1981 at Merrill Lynch Boomhower Realty, she soon decided to partner with Soublis, whom she had met there."

I listened to Paulene, who is the much more quantitatively oriented one of us," Salkin said. "I admired her attention to detail, her persistence and follow-through on behalf of her clients. She would speak with everyone involved in the transaction: the termite inspector, the appraiser, the lender, the attorney, the title companies, etc."

The partners joined Michael Saunders & Co. in 1986, where they became a top team by setting records and placing in the upper tier of powerhouse producers year after year.

They continued their successful collaboration after deciding to join Premier Properties of Southwest Florida in 2006.Real estate has also been Soublis' passion from an early age. Every Sunday when her father brought home the newspaper, she said, she would go straight to the real estate section and read every ad, visualizing each home."

While other girls were playing with dollhouses, I would send away for floor plans for real houses and study them," Soublis said.Born and raised in Philadelphia, the daughter of Greek immigrants, Soublis speaks Greek fluently. She married and raised three daughters while working in her husband's restaurant business. When they sold that business, Soublis pursued her longtime interest in real estate and earned her Pennsylvania real estate license.

Upon moving to Sarasota in 1984, Soublis joined Merrill Lynch Boomhower Realty and met Salkin. She says she realized that Salkin had great people skills and marketing savvy that complemented Soublis' own self-described analytic approach.

As Soublis' business grew, so did her family. Married for 41 years, Paulene and her husband, George, owner of Sarasota's El Greco Café, enjoy spending time with their three daughters and their five grandchildren, all of whom live in the Sarasota area.

An interesting note is that their boss at Premier Properties, Steve Bailey, is not really a big fan of realty teams.

Bailey says he would prefer agents to manage their client portfolios solo but makes exceptions when he sees strength of teamwork, as he does in the Salkin-Soublis partnership. He calls the duo "one of the successful teams at Premier."

Sarasota Market Continues to be Bright Spot in Florida Real Estate

August 29, 2007

*The following press release was sent to local media on Aug. 27 at 11 a.m.*

Sales of homes and condominiums compiled in the Sarasota MLS system, and sales within the Sarasota-Bradenton Metropolitan Service Area (MSA), are continuing to reflect strength compared to the overall state of Florida.

Statistics indicate the summer months have actually seen a strengthening of sales activity in the Sarasota real estate market, with overall sales in July 2007 up 7 percent from July 2006.

There were 369 single family home sales recorded in the Sarasota MLS in July 2007, compared to only 351 sales in July 2006 - a 5 percent increase, while the MSA showed a drop of 4 in single family home sales for the period. But even that figure stands out in stark contrast to other MSAs across the state. A total of 14 MSAs saw double-digit percentage declines in single family home sales, and statewide the real estate market saw a sales decline of 24 percent from July to July for single family homes.

Condominium sales were also up in the Sarasota MLS, with 159 sales in July 2007 compared to 141 sales in July 2006, for a 12 percent increase. Condos also saw a median price jump of 14.8 percent for the Sarasota MLS, from $269,990 in July 2006 up to $310,000 in July 2007.

The MSA fared better, with a 41 percent increase in condo sales, July to July. This was the third best performance in the state, and Sarasota-Bradenton was one of only six MSAs to show positive condo sales growth in July. Only two much smaller MSAs - Panama City (up 78 percent) and Fort Walton Beach (up 49 percent) - fared better than the local MSA. Statewide, condo sales were down 19 percent.

"When you look at the numbers, we are clearly seeing the Sarasota market taking the lead in the anticipated real estate market recovery in Florida," said Joe Hembree, 2007 SAR President. "Our Association has taken the lead in educating the public concerning the fundamentals of our market, and this has made a big difference. Local real estate agents have also done an excellent job of counseling sellers on the need to price their properties realistically."

With an eye toward the bigger picture, and discounting the historically abnormal years of 2003-2005, we have seen a return to the normal market experienced as recently as 2001 and 2002, Hembree noted.

In July 2001, there were 359 homes and 175 condos reported sold in the Sarasota MLS. In July 2002, there were 328 homes and 187 condos sold. The biggest difference this July is that the median price, even with recent declines, is still much higher than those recent years.

The median home in July 2001 sold for $176,000, and the median condo sale price was $132,000. The numbers went up a little in July 2002 - $190,000 for a single family home, and $179,900 for a condo. But the figures are much higher today - $299,000 for a home, and $310,000 for a condo - so the overall sales volume is far greater.

"The current market is in a normal adjustment period, which makes this an historic buyer's market," Hembree continued. "Our area has always offered tremendous amenities, abundant cultural assets, and great natural beauty and climate. Now, it's all more affordable than it was two years ago."

The lowest point in the recent local market was apparently reached in December 2006, when only 355 sales closed. Sales have escalated since then, and were much higher in July 2007, with 528 total sales - almost 50 percent higher than the sales low. The strong pending sales numbers - nearly 500 reported pending sales - continue to reflect a brighter future as the Sarasota area begins to enter the traditionally stronger fall and winter sales period.

SarasotaRealtors.com Statistics Released for July 2007

SENSATIONAL SARASOTA REAL ESTATE

BARRIER ISLANDS

Single Family Homes, Lots, Waterfront

$19,500,000.00 View Details

$4,195,000.00 View Details

$3,599,000.00 View Details

LONGBOAT KEY

$1,975,000.00 View Details

http://www.realestateshows.com/175656

BIRD KEY

$7,800,000.00 View Details

LIDO SHORES

$3,950,000.00 View Details

COUNTRY CLUB COMMUNITY

Single Family Homes, Waterfront

$6,195,000 View- Country Club Community

DOWNTOWN
Condominiums, Single Family Homes, Waterfront

SOLD $3,250,000

$2,990,000 More Info

RENAISSANCE $795,000 More Info

http://www.realestateshows.com/191250

MAINLAND

Single Family Homes, Lots, Waterfront

Sold $5,000,000 View Details

$395,000.00 View Details

http://www.realestateshows.com/202979

$4,200,000.00 View Details

$439,000.00 View Details

$198,000.00 View Details

SARASOTA-The Top of the Small Business List

10 Best Places for Starting a Small Business Florida is the best state to grow a small business, according to a new study by Bizjournals, the Web site of American City Business Journals Inc. Bizjournals used a 12-part formula to rate the vitality of small-businesses in the nation's 75 largest metropolitan areas. These 75 markets, taken as a group, had 179 million residents as of mid-2005, accounting for 60 percent of the nation's total population. They also included 4.5 million small businesses, a number that rose by 7 percent between 2000 and 2005. The study's objective was to identify those metro areas that are most conducive to the creation and development of small businesses. The highest scores went to areas that have prosperous economies, are expanding rapidly, and are densely packed with small businesses.

The top 10 are:
1. Orlando
2. Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.
3. Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
4. Las Vegas
5. Jacksonville, Fla.
6. Raleigh, N.C.
7. Washington, D.C.
8. Salt Lake City, Utah
9. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks, Calif.
10. Minneapolis-St. Paul

Source: Biz Journals, G. Scott Thomas (07/10/07)
Daily Real Estate News

FIVE STAR REAL ESTATE AGENTS

The Best in Client Satisfaction is the resulting list of Five Star Real Estate Agents, an elite group, representing less than 7 percent of licensed agents in the Sarasota area. Among this elite group are our very own Marcia Salkin & Paulene Soublis of Premier Properties. Please feel free to travel through their website to see why this Team has been chosen top of their class. Congratulations!
www.SarasotaBestProperties.com

The complete list can be viewed in the Summer 2007 issue of Sarasota Magazine http://www.sarasotamagazine.com/

Real Estate Gossip
Everything you want to know about Sarasota luxury property sales.
Mary Alice Collins

CHARMED, I’M SURE When the market slows and sellers grow uneasy, clever realtors generate excitement in creative ways. Marcia Salkin and Pauline Soublis of Premier Properties teamed with Carol Clark and Joel Schemmel of SKY Sotheby’s to stir interest—along with mint juleps—for their listings in The Oaks Bayside. The Old Southern-style homes, at 100 Osprey Point Drive and 136 Osprey Point Drive, are offered for sale at $10.8 million and $7.7 million, respectively. Guests were steeped in Southern hospitality, from icy mint juleps to the lovely ladies dressed as Southern belles who served as greeters and tour guides. “We had a wonderful turnout with over 100 people,” says Clark. “Guests responded with very positive comments, and we were fortunate to experience gorgeous weather and a magnificent sunset. The event was a fun way to showcase these residences, which really are the pinnacle properties of The Oaks Bayside.”

GO LONG Ever dreamed of living like an NFL star? Quarterback Kurt Warner of the Arizona Cardinals is selling his vacation home in Sabal Cove on Longboat Key for an asking price of $1,724,900 and will even autograph the deed of sale. Warner purchased the 4,000-square-foot, four-bedroom home when he was still with the Super Bowl-champion St. Louis Rams. Built in 1994, it has expansive lake and golf course views. Warner’s home is listed with Tom and Andy Cail of SKY Sotheby’s International Realty.

GOING, GOING, GONE! Marsha Wolak is trying to shatter the image of real estate auctions as the last step before foreclosure. “Auctions are no longer the last resort of desperate sellers,” explains Wolak, who started Marsha Wolak Auctions earlier this year, “but an alternative for individuals seeking a different approach to buying and selling property. Buyers usually get a bargain, but sellers get a good deal, too, because they can rid themselves of properties in a hurry without fees and without hassles.”

Wolak’s new company specializes in residential and commercial properties, with offices in Tampa, Sarasota and Naples. A short-sale division handles sales for financial institutions, but Wolak also sells for individuals who are looking for an innovative way to showcase their properties.

At a recent auction Wolak sold a Ritz-Carlton penthouse for $3 million, her largest residential sale to date. She’s currently preparing to auction off a buildable canal-front lot at 505 Avenida de Mayo on Siesta Key. And with each successful sale, her telephone starts to ring. “We’re a nice alternative to real estate agents for people who want a different approach, say a faster resolution or results without the marketing costs,” she says.

Wolak explains that sellers have to be motivated and not looking for top dollar, although there are occasions when the competitive nature of the auction drives price up. Sometimes bidding starts with a reserve amount and the sale price is subject to seller confirmation. Then there are absolute sales, where offers can begin at any amount and the property sells to the highest bidder, creating tremendous excitement in the crowd.

Wolak has the genuine patter of an auctioneer. “I love to hold my auctions on the property, with a big tent filled with chairs so bidders can see the land, see the waterfront and walk around the neighborhood,” she says. Wolak also offers a bidder reward program for high rollers and frequent bidders, including VIP seating in a special roped-off section along with beverages and appetizers. “We don’t just sell property at our auctions, we create events,” she says. “The atmosphere is exciting and fun.”

IN ANY LANGUAGE Candy Swick felt certain she could loll around the house in her pajamas on New Year’s Day. But the telephone rang very early, and the caller begged Swick to show her prospective buyers a house that Swick had listed for sale. One hour later, Swick met the enthusiastic clients at the property only to find out that neither spoke or understood a word of English.

The buyers hastily called a multilingual friend, and he hurried over to the house to act as interpreter. The buyers loved the place and decided right then and there to buy. But the friend could not accompany them to the bargaining table, and once again Swick was left to negotiate the contract and explain the subtle nuances of the transaction.

“I was lucky enough to locate someone through MLS, Tania Corredor, who was fluent in Spanish and English, and I hired her to facilitate the transaction,” Swick says. As luck would have it, the deal did not go through. But Swick was so impressed by Corredor’s people skills and professionalism that she hired her to come aboard and work at Swick & Associates. Not long afterwards, the Spanish-speaking couple called back. “This time, the details all came together,” says Swick. “They got the house; I got a brilliant new associate and a few words of Spanish on my vocabulary. Gracias.”

SARASOTA MAGAZINE June 2007

The Magazine of Sarasota and the Barrier Islands

Lutgert Insurance Joins Premier Properties of Sarasota

We are thrilled to offer our clients and customers the services of Lutgert Insurance of Sarasota, a full service agency that has served Southwest Florida individuals and businesses for over fifty years. Lutgert Insurance of Sarasota has a dedicated “Premier Client Services” division which was specifically designed to properly cover our client’s with significant assets.

Working in our Premier Properties Sarasota office, Lutgert Insurance of Sarasota comes armed with waterfront home insurance options that are not currently offered in our area.

They will have the ability to write coverage on coastal properties and to provide personal lines of coverage for high wealth clients with homes in excess of $1 million.

Please Contact John Taylor at

941-366-6100 office 941-228-3589 cell.

Lutgert Insurance of Sarasota
Plaza at Five Points
50 Central Avenue
Sarasota, FL 34236

Clearing the Quay to Make Way...

...for Developer Patrick Kelly of the Ireland-based company that wants to build 701 condominium units and 175 hotel rooms in the 14.5 acre development. It will also include 189,000 sq. ft. of commercial space, over 39,000 sq. ft. of office space, 18 boat dock slips, several restaurants, a night club, and a waterfront multi-use recreation trail open to the public. For those environmental conscious readers, it may interest you to know that roughly 90 percent of the demolished materials will be either inventoried, recycled or reused.

Information courtesy ofwww.HeraldTribune.com

Our Residence International Summer Edition

EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY, UNSURPASSED CIRCULATION AND THE MOST ELITE FRATERNITY OF REALTOR MEMBERS HAVE ESTABLISHED RESIDENCE INTERNATIONAL AS THE PREEMINENT BRAND FOR THE MARKETING OF LUXURY REAL ESTATE.

The Summer Edition of RESIDENCE INTERNATIONAL features one of our listings, SNOOK INN of Siesta Key offered at $19,500,000. We invite you to log onto our exclusive Ultimate Yachtsman site for a closer look at: http://www.ultimateyachtsmanestate.com/ and www.ResidencesLuxuryHome.com

Premier Properties of Southwest Florida, Inc.

The Plaza at Five Points, 50 Central Avenue, #110 Sarasota, FL 34236 Phone: 941-364-4000 Website: http://www.premiersarasota.com/

Today's Catch May Depend on Yesterday's Home

By: Aaron Adams, Ph.D.

Magazine Articles
On the Line with Aaron Adams, Ph.D.

Walk into any fishing shop and you’ll likely overhear anglers recounting big-fish tales. Whether they’re talking about a 150 pound tarpon, 20 pound snook or 15 pound redfish, the story is just as exciting whether the fish was landed or not.

As an angler, I’ve both listened and told these stories myself.

But as a fish ecologist, my research focuses on understanding how such fish use coastal habitats to grow to the sizes that warrant such excited tales, and how such habitats support populations large enough to sustain the fisheries.

Anglers pursuing a trophy may not think about how much the fish depend on healthy habitats for survival, but as primary users of the marine environment – whose sport depends on healthy fish populations – they need to understand the importance of healthy habitats to the fisheries and help conserve the places where fish grow and live.

A local favorite – snook – is a good example of just how important healthy habitats are to an economically and ecologically valuable species.

Snook gather in aggregations to spawn during summers around the time of the full moon, on outgoing tides late in the day, usually in coastal inlets. Like most marine gamefish, snook gather in mixed-sex groups and males and females eject sperm and eggs into the open water. Egg fertilization is external in this process of “broadcast spawning.” One female may have hundreds of thousands of eggs.

The larvae that hatch aren’t recognizable as snook – they are clear and shaped differently. They live as plankton in open coastal waters and estuaries for a couple of weeks before moving into backwater mangrove creeks, wetlands and ponds. It’s been estimated that only one-tenth of one percent of the larvae survive, but that’s still a lot of snook being produced from the millions of eggs fertilized each spawning season.

Once in backwater habitats, the larvae metamorphose into miniature snook. These juvenile snook are able to survive in water with very little oxygen, which we think helps them avoid many fish predators that need water with a greater amount of oxygen. As they grow, the juveniles migrate down the creeks, eventually joining the adults in estuaries and along the coasts.

And as any angler who fishes for snook knows, adult snook are able to use most coastal habitats, including mangrove shorelines, mangrove creeks, rivers, seagrass beds and beaches.

So what does this say about the habitat snook need to reach that trophy size – the catch of a lifetime for many anglers?

The trophy fish’s parents had to have a good location with clean water and good tidal flow to spawn; The larva had to have clean water to survive and good current flows to provide access to backwaters; The juvenile needed a place with clean water, safe from predators, and with plenty to eat; The growing snook needed mangrove-lined creeks so it could move slowly toward more open habitats; The adult snook needed healthy habitats with plenty of prey. It’s been a successful – if complex strategy for snook.

And take a lesson: Knowing how snook use habitats at different times of the year, and at different points in their life cycle, anglers can focus efforts on the habitats most likely to harbor snook. After all, knowing more about where snook live and why can’t do anything but improve your odds at catching that once-in-a-lifetime fish.

Dr. Aaron Adams is manager of Mote’s Fisheries Habitat Program in the Center for Fisheries Enhancement and an avid fly fisherman whose been known to tell a few “fish-that-got-away” tales himself.

www.mote.org