Ethical Angling
Angling ethics is an issue that should be important to every individual who utilizes Florida's fisheries resources for any reason. There are several sets of guidelines for ethical anglers that are promulgated by various organizations.

Most recently, the National Marine Fisheries Service adopted an Angler's Code of Ethics that is worth reviewing. Here are the nine points that they stress:

• Promotes, through education and practice, ethical behavior in the use of aquatic resources.
• Values and respects the aquatic environment and all living things in it.
• Avoids spilling and never dumps any pollutants, such as gasoline and oil, into the aquatic environment.
• Disposes of all trash, including worn lines, leaders, and hooks, in appropriate containers, and helps to keep fishing sites litter-free.
• Takes all precautionary measures necessary to prevent the spread of exotic plants and animals, including live baitfish, into non-native habitats.
• Learns and obeys angling and boating regulations, and treats other anglers, boaters and property owners with courtesy and respect.
• Respects property rights, and never trespasses on private lands or waters. Keeps no more fish than needed for consumption, and never wastefully discards fish that are retained.
• Practices conservation by carefully handling and releasing alive all fish that are unwanted or prohibited by regulation, as well as other animals that may become hooked or entangled accidentally.
• Uses tackle and techniques that minimize harm to fish when engaging in "catch and release" angling.

Vanishing Lakes Lake Jackson (Leon County) is a 4,000-acre sink hole lake. This lake, like many of Florida 7,710 named lakes, sits atop a limestone aquifer. When droughts lower the subsurface water level in the aquifer, the weight of the surface water on the limestone can cause a sink to open, draining the lake as if a bath tub drain was opened. In Lake Jackson's case, this typically happens about once every 25 years, but the lake went dry about 7 years ahead of schedule this time.

This natural phenomenon actually is very beneficial to the lake's aquatic ecosystem. Periodic drying of these vanishing or sink-hole lakes serves the same healthy function as the drought-flood cycle does for rivers and lakes associated with them. It allows some of the accumulated muck to be flushed from the system and the remainder can dry out and consolidate. This firms up the bottom sediments allowing rooted aquatic plants to take hold and grow once the water is restored to the river or lake. Moreover, when water comes back the decaying organic matter forms a rich cornucopia for zooplankton (microscopic animals that drift around in the water column) and macroinvertebrates (larger insects which are associated with vegetation and bottom substrates). These tiny animals in turn become food for small fish that are prey to larger predatory fish like speckled perch and bass. The end result is a healthy dynamic fishery with very strong year classes of fish.

Lake drawdowns are management efforts to gain these same benefits in lakes whose water levels are artificially stabilized by dams. Many Florida lakes have benefitted from this important management tool and more are slated for restoration in the near future.