Fishing Report for Pine Island Sound to Sarasota Bay, Florida

Capt. Butch Rickey
March 23, 2003
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report

REPORT FOR THE WEEK ENDING 3/22/03 by Capt. Butch Rickey

It was a full week replete with windy days, red tide, problems keeping bait alive, and great snook fishing. The weekly average was about five keeper snook per day of all the snook caught, as well as many that were just under the slot.

I met my old friend and favorite fishing buddy John Hitt at 6:30 Sunday morning, and headed straight to Picnic. After some tough fishing through out brutal winter, John and I were due a good day! We had a brisk breeze from the southeast, and the high was to be in the mid 80's. It took four or five throws to get plenty of bait, but it was beautiful. We were off.

We had a good start, as John Slammed at the first stop; catching snook, redfish, and trout. He also missed a couple of redfish, as revealed by the classic damage only a redfish can do to a shiner. John and I had a good time, catching fish at every stop we made. The catch included a ladyfish, a nice jack crevalle, about 8 nice trout to 3.5 pounds, one nice redfish, and 20 or more snook to 29 inches. It was a good day. We had a blast! We were due!

Monday was my first outing with Bob Nagy, of Maumee, Ohio, and his friend Fritz, whom he’d worked with for many years. Bob was quick to tell me that most of his fishing trips were bad ones, with not much caught, and I guess he expected this would be no different.

We headed to Picnic, where we threw the net twice and were gone fishing. I wish it could be that easy all the time. The snook fishing wasn’t that easy, however. It was downright tough, but over the course of fishing half a dozen different places through the day, we put together a catch of 15 to 20 snook. Bob and Fritz were a couple of crazy guys, and a lot of fun. That always helps fill the slow times.

When we were done fishing we headed to the Waterfront Restaurant for lunch. During lunch, Bob told me that this had been the best bad day of fishing he’d ever had. ‘Nuff said!

Tuesday, Vic and Randi Weinstein were back for a repeat performance. They had been here for their first trip in November, and Randi caught a monster snook of almost 19 pounds. I assured her that would be almost impossible to do again, and she acknowledged that fact.

But after quickly gathering bait at Picnic, Randi quickly showed her stuff when she landed a beautiful 9 pound snook for her first fish of the day. It came from a pothole, and as she fought that fish, another hit a bait on a rod in the deck rod holder, and jumped, freeing the hook! There was no stopping Randi for the rest of the day. Of course, Vic was right there in the action, too. Together, they put somewhere between 15 to 20 snook in the boat, including 5 keepers, along with half a dozen or so nice trout. Although it wasn’t a stellar day in terms of numbers, it was a great day in terms of quality of fish, and there were a lot of missed hits, too.

We finished the day at the Waterfront Restaurant with a great lunch, and had fun rehashing the day. It was great to see the Weinsteins again. They’re fun, and love to fish.

Wednesday was a great day for my old friend Jeff Stevens, owner of Stevens Industries, in Naples, who had brought his kinfolks Jim and his son Chris for their first BarHopp’R outing. The red tide was becoming more of a factor because of a steady southerly wind all week, which serves to push the organism in from the gulf. Some of the guides were reporting problems keeping their bait alive, and I feared it could be a problem for us. Catching bait proved to be a bit tougher, but after a move to shallower water, we were able to load up and get going.

From the first minutes of fishing we were in to action, and in it all morning long. Even though, as in days past there were a lot of snook that were simply hitting the bait and killing it, rather than eating it, Jeff, Jim, and Chris managed to put some 30 plus snook to 30 inches in the boat. That included 4 keepers and several nice trout. I couldn’t begin to tell you how many fish we lost and missed, but we had a great bite going on.

We finished the day at the Waterfront Restaurant, where the boys tackled one of the world’s biggest and best steak burgers. They all agreed they were great. It had been a pleasure getting to know an d fish with Jim and his son Chris, who is a freshman at West Point. He is indeed a fine young man who gives me confidence that our country is indeed in good hands in the future.

Thursday Jim and Chris were back for a repeat, sans Jeff, who had to take care of business. My good friend Capt. Butch Boteler was already on the Picnic flat chumming when we arrived at around 8:45. Before I could even get things ready Butch was calling to me to come quickly. He had more bait in his net than he could keep alive. I quickly anchored up next to him, as he delivered another load of shiners. I also threw my net a couple of times for kicks. We both had so much bait that it was beginning to die. We took off without cleaning up, and I had Chris in front with his arm in the well stirring the bait, in an effort to keep it from laying down in the bottom of the well and dying. Our efforts were successful, as by the time we got up into the Sound, the bait had stabilized, and was looking good. The only bait we lost were the threadfins, which would die regardless.

I called Butch to see where he was, and he reported that much of his bait had died. Actually, he thought the red tide had killed it, but I think it was more likely that they just had so much bait in the wells that in the red tide infested water, it just couldn’t survive all the competition.

It was blowing like hell out of the south/southwest; a good 20 gusting higher. Anchoring and fishing were tough. But we stayed with it and kept moving, and managed to put together a descent day. Jim quickly scored a nice 30 inch, 8 pound snook at the first stop, as well as a huge flounder. Again, there were lots of instinct, strike to kill hits, but Jim and Chris managed to put together a 15 to 20 snook day, capped off with several nice trout and the big fluke. We were all pleased under the circumstances. And, yes! We finished at the Waterfront!

Friday was to be the sixth trip of the week, and the first trip with Jason DeArman and his lovely lady Kara Nelson. I talked with Jason Thursday night and warned him that it had been a very ugly day on the water, but that we had caught some nice fish. He was wired to go, and told me that Kara was a real trooper. I wondered if Kara knew just what she could be in for with a 25 knot wind blowing and a threat of thunderstorms. I got up Friday morning, readied and supplied myself and the boat and went to the ramp. I found most of the guides still on their trailers, having canceled, and knew that it was the proper thing to do. Jason and Kara showed up shortly after I arrived, and I think they were both a bit relieved that I suggested we reschedule next Wednesday. It was really howling.

So, that’s how it went. It was a week of some 100 plus snook caught that included more than 20 keepers. That’s pretty good snookin under the circumstances. In the face of big wind and red tide, the good tides of last week were definitely a factor. Next week, the tides are tough, and the fishing will likely not be nearly as good. We’ll know soon enough!

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