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OUTDOORS COLUMN

Early Champion Of Kingfish Conservation Featured In Book

By FRANK SARGEANT

Published: Oct 28, 2007

Gene Turner of St. Petersburg is a legend in the lore of kingfish, mostly because without his booming voice during the 1970s, there would be few kings today.

Turner and others in the Florida League of Anglers - the only statewide saltwater recreational fishing group at that time - stood up to the state's Department of Natural Resources and the commercial fishing industry. They insisted that the slaughter of kings, made possible by enormous nets that sometimes captured 50,000 pounds in a scoop, come to an end.

Now, in what he said is a labor of love, St. Petersburg dentist Anthony DeNavarra has written a book on Turner's life. "I Never Backed Down" is the apt title of the self-published paperback. DeNavarra is an avid angler and has long admired Turner's role in Florida's conservation history.

"I just felt that somebody needed to preserve this story while Gene is still able to tell it," DeNavarra said.

The book is basically a printed version of DeNavarra's frequent interviews with Turner, and it can be a bit rambling. But it covers his life in detail from his days as a young boat builder to his years as the state's top voice in fishery conservation.

Turner was an innovator in recreational kingfishing and one of the first to use a cast net to capture threadfins or greenbacks as live bait. He also was one of the first to note the stunning decline of fish numbers that began shortly after the big nets arrived on the scene in the early 1970s. By 1975, fish numbers had plummeted, and Turner placed the blame squarely on the net boats.

He enlisted the help of outdoors writers at newspapers across the state, as well as Florida Sportsman magazine, to get the word out on the lack of management.

Gradually, over many years, the pressure brought to bear on the state fishery managers had an effect. Limits were placed on commercial and recreational catches in the early 1980s.

Though kingfish numbers are nowhere near what they were before the great kills, there seem to be a few more each season, and fishable populations have been restored statewide. Turner is the individual most responsible for the turnaround.

He is also one heck of a kingfish angler, and there are plenty of tips provided in the book that still work today.

One of Gene's favorites is to chum from an anchored boat. His advice:

"Don't feed a kingfish, just tease him."

His theory is that anglers do best if they put a lot of scent in the water, and offering big bites will likely fill up the fish. That led him to start snipping up threadfins as bait.

Using poultry shears, Turner would clip a single thread into dozens of tiny pieces, dribbling them steadily over the side to form an oily chum line that extended hundreds of yards.

More often than not, the kings found the slick and followed it directly to his boat, where a free-lined live greenback, typically on a double hook or stinger rig, waited. He typically fished 40-pound monofilament on revolving-spool reels with the drag set very light, and he used No. 4 dark wire as leader.

The methods still work fine today, though most anglers use somewhat lighter lines thanks to the smoother drags and greater power of modern reels and rods.

Turner was a well-known builder of wood offshore boats used for grouper and kingfishing along much of the West Coast in the 1960s and '70s. A few of the big, lightweight hulls still are being fished today.

Turner is also inventor of what may be the first "fish flipper" release tool, which allows hook removal without touching the fish - a huge benefit to the successful release of all species.

DeNavarra's book costs $12.95. It is available by visiting www.iuniverse.com/bookstoreor www.amazon

.com. It also can be bought at Gulf to Bay Bait & Tackle, 6920 Gulf Blvd. in St. Pete Beach.

FREE SEMINARS: Captain Bob Gonzales presents a free GPS seminar Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at West Marine, 1516 Brandon Blvd. in Brandon. For more information, call (813) 657-5553. … Vance Tice presents a free grouper trolling seminar Thursday at 7 p.m. at Tightlines Tackle, 6924 N. Armenia Ave. in Tampa; (813) 932-4721. … Kayak expert Neil Taylor joins captain Mel Berman of WFLA, 970 AM, for a flats seminar Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. at Toyota of Tampa Bay, 1101 E. Fletcher Ave., Tampa; (866) 438-8696.

GRAND SLAM TOURNAMENT: The Mercury Grand Slam Celebrity Fishing Tournament is Nov. 9-11 out of Vinoy Resort in St. Petersburg. The tournament fisherman's ball, with baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs, is Nov. 9 at Tropicana Field. Tickets are $150. For more information, call (813) 269-0955.