Quantity Over Quality and Drive-By Fishing
Capt. Butch Rickey
May 19, 2010
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report
I had three trips booked for the week, but delayed one because the fishing remains so off. Actually, the fishing is fine. It's the catching that's really in the tank. Still, we're having lots of fun out there, big catches or not.
Tuesday morning I met my old friend Dr. John Hitt, at 6:00 AM at his dock. We had a beautiful morning in the works, and a nice breeze that would keep us cool. I had the boat iced and ready to launch when John got there, as we were quickly in the water and on our way. As we rode along in the breaking dawn, John and I reveled in how awesome it is to be on the water at daybreak. My favorite time of day!
There were noticeably fewer boats at Tarpon Bay working on bait than there had been. The stiff easterly breeze was already at the forecast 15. We anchored and went to work. The first couple throws didn't turn up much, but the bait was there. After a couple of good strikes, I realized the boat was moving. We'd come off the anchor in the stiff breeze and chop. We got the anchor set again, and after another productive toss, were again off anchor. I decided we'd better put down the old standard danforth off the stern, or we'd be all day getting bait. Once we were able to stay with the chum, we quickly topped off the well.
John is always interested in putting some dinner in the well, so we decided to stop at what is usually a great trout spot along the way. Problem was, the trout had other ideas. John got cut off by a mackerel, and had some baits clipped off, but we never found a trout there.
I suggested that while we were there we should move up to a nearby point to see if we could catch some reds there. Within probably five minutes, John had a nice fish on, which indeed turned out to be a nice red of right at 26 inches. We fished for a while without another hit, and decided to move on.
Our next stop was redfish and snook territory, but at the first couple of spots we had nothing but scaled baits. At the third spot, which has been covered with redfish, we scored only a nice trout, that went into the well. Moving on to our next stop John scored a snook, and an nice 5 pound trout, which completed the SLAM for him, and added to the dinner order. One more stop at the top of the tide gave us a goose egg. It was time to head home.
As John had said, it was a day of quality over quantity. We'd caught some nice fish, but hadn't set the world on fire with numbers. John's Coastal was getting a bit low on the fuel gauge, and we stopped in the mouth of the river to top it off. The boat holds 70 gallons, and a fill up is a bit of a religious experience. Any day on the water with John is a great day, and this one was no exception.
Friday, my good friends Terry and Michele Ryan were over from UCF country for a day of stress relief with me aboard the BarHopp'R. Terry and Michele have had a lot on their plates to deal with lately, and a day on the water would hopefully be just what the doctor ordered. I knew it would be a great day for me as well, because anytime you're with Terry and Michele it's like being right in the middle of a live comedy act. There's never a dull moment, and you never know what's coming next.
We headed back over to Tarpon Bay for bait, and were loaded up and ready to fish in four throws. It was all nice shiners with a handful of pins and a few very large threadfins mixed in. Great bait. But, from here it would get tough.
Our first stop was at a great snook hole that usually is full of trout and often gives up flounder, redfish, snapper, and other stuff as well. But, with the slow moving tide and half-high water the fish weren't interested. We Terry caught one nice trout. Most every bait we tossed out was scaled by those wily snook.
From there on, the day became of what I guess you could call "drive-by" fishing. We fished many spots, have baits scaled everywhere we went. We didn't stay long anywhere once the pattern was established. We just kept hitting spots and working out way north as we did our drive-bys. Finally, we hit a spot that was the charm for a while. Terry and Michele caught 4 snook, and Terry did battle with a nice stingray before the action slowed as quickly as it had started. From there we did a couple more drive-bys, and finally caught a couple more snook at our last stop of the day.
We had laughed our way from drive-by to drive-by, and had a blast. Now, it was our turn to eat. We headed to the Waterfront Restaurant, and you can believe that was no drive-by. We all had JD's seafood gumbo, which has to be the best I've ever eaten. It was full of all kind of goodies from A to okra, and decorated with beautiful gulf select shrimp and large sea scallops all cooked to perfection. And, the secret to the flavor we couldn't put our fingers on turned out to be cinnamon. Amazing stuff!
I'll be the first to admit that we guide here in SW Florida are spoiled. When the weather and tides are good, we generally enjoy some very good snook, redfish, trout, and other inshore fishing. With the bite so off this year, we're having a hard time coping. That is evident by the long faces and the tales of "slow" at the ramp in the morning. But, with friends like John Hitt and the Ryans to fish with, any frustrations are soon forgotten and and buried under piles of laughs, fun, and wonderful memories. And, that's what it's all about to begin with.
Target Species:
The SLAM!
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