Fishing Report for Pine Island Sound to Sarasota Bay, Florida

Capt. Butch Rickey
November 10, 2003
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report

REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING 11/08/2003 by Capt. Butch Rickey

The week began with rain, the threat of rain and bad weather, and wind. I didn't get on the water for the first time until Wednesday.

Wednesday's trip was my second with Dr. Joe Sandza. He and his wife Helen fished with me back in September, and we had a great day. Today, he had a couple of his good friends, Tom and Bob, with him, who had seen the pictures from the first trip and wanted to come out and catch some of those beautiful redfish.

We had several factors I wasn't thrilled with working against us. First, we were coming up on the full moon, and the nights were bright. Second, we had a weak incoming tide that was moving only a foot over a 6 hour period. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the fish.

We left the dock at 6:30 and headed for the long bar off marker 34 in the Sound. Bait has been thick here. We anchored and I put out a little chum, and within a minute we had bait flicking everywhere. I threw my big heavy 1/4 inch by 10 ft. Caloosa net, and could hardly lift it out of the water. We had a well overflowing with bait on one throw. But, there were very few pinfish in the mix, and I decided to go to Kiesel's to catch a few for the redfish.

After the short ride, I stopped to anchor the Talon, and there was total silence. We had lost power to everything. The Power Pole, instruments, engine, wells, etc. Nothing worked. We'd had a major electrical failure of some kind. I did a couple of quick checks and didn't see anything obvious wrong, so I instructed the guys to quickly turn all the bait free. I didn't want to kill hundreds of shiners and pins for no good reason. Of course, within five minutes of turning all the bait out, I found one of the battery connections loose, and we were quickly ready to begin anew.

So, it was back to our original bar. I anchored a little shallower this time, and it took a little longer, maybe four throws, but we had a good mix of shiners and pinfish. We were finally ready to fish, if delayed a bit!

The battery ordeal had cost us a precious hour or so of a very early high tide, and I feared I might have missed the bite. But, from the time I got to the first, and as it turned out, only spot, the bite was on, and it was hot. I threw some live and cut chum, and within five minutes we had the first redfish in the boat. We had a blast catching those big redfish. We had doubles, triples, quadruples, and even had five on at one time. That is done by hooking the fish and then putting the rod in the rodholder until there's someone free to catch it.

Best we could tell, we caught in excess of 30 big redfish. It's funny! As the bite went on, we had a number of boats come to within easy watching distance of us trying to get in on the action. One boat, obviously a tourist because of the type of boat he was in, anchored within 50 feet of my port side, just like someone had done in the previous report. It always amazes me that people can be so clueless of the etiquette of the flats, and so inconsiderate. There was also a young couple in a Carolina Skiff who had watched the show for some time, but had kept their distance. Once we were ready to head to the Waterfront for lunch, we gave them a bunch of our bait. I told them to go and park right where I had been, in front of the intruder, and hopefully they caught some fish.

So, a day that had started off a bit on the wrong foot, had turned into a stellar day. Joe, Tom, and Bob had a blast. And, so did I!

Thursday, it was time for my old buddy Capt. Mark Bess, and I to get out for our first day on the water together in a good two years. Far too long. I still miss the days when Mark and I did trips together and would have unbelievable redfish days sitting next to each other on the flats. But, today would be different. Mark and I were out for a day of relaxation and camaraderie, and there was no pressure to produce.

We headed back to the same flat for bait, and were loaded with a good mix in just a few throws of the net. We headed back to the scene of the previous days carnage, knowing full well the fish would be right there. The question would be, "Will they eat?" The tide was a bit lower, and we were much earlier, and as I poled onto the flat we found big redfish tailing in all directions.

Well, Mark and I are both lovers of catching redfish on topwater plugs, and we quickly tied on a Yozuri Walk The Dog for Mark, and I tied on a red and white Johnny Rattler. It was a sight to behold. For those of you who have never seen redfish tailing on a flat, it's hard to describe the beauty and excitement. There were big pods of them actively feeding and showing us their broad, bronze tails. But, as exciting as it was, the redfish had other ideas. They wouldn't give our plugs a look. Mark did catch a nice speckled trout on his Yozuri, but that was it.

Finally, we moved on up to slightly deeper water, and began our chumming routine. We weren't met with the great bite of the previous day, but we had a bite. More than enough to keep Mark and me happy. We steadily caught redfish for the rest of the morning. We didn't keep score, but from experience I'd say we boated 15, or so. When things slowed down and we were sure they were done, we headed home. Mark was taking a weekend trip to Orlando the next day, and had lots to do.

Saturday morning I was up early and catching bait by 6:30, for the Big Brother/Big Sisters event that many of our local Lee County guides support each year with the donation of their time, boats, and talents, to take kids fishing. But, I was way ahead of schedule, as I put probably 800 baits into the boat in two throws of the net. Of course, there were a handful of guides that didn't show at the last minute, but there were also less kids than originally anticipated, so things worked out well.

My party for the morning was Rita, and her little sister Genesis. Genesis is a thirteen year old Puerto Rican girl, who is just as cute as she could be. From the time I rolled the throttle on, she was laughing and screaming, and having more fun than the law allows. We headed to a hole that gives me lots of big trout and snook on dead low tides, and although we caught some nice trout, we didn't get the bite I expected there, and saw no snook at all. But, it was perfect for a young girl on her first fishing trip, and Rita showed that she was quite a good caster, in spite of the fact that she had never fished with live shiners. It didn't take young Genesis to get the hand of pumping and reeling. It never takes the ladies long to catch on. They do what you teach them, and they catch fish, unlike us guys who have to get past the male ego thing!

After a bunch of nice trout, we moved to a snook hole. We only managed two small snook, but that was still a thrill for Rita, who said her brother has been here for 30 years and never caught the first snook. The third stop gave Rita a nice gag grouper and a ladyfish, and somewhere along the way there was a catfish to round out the "Trashcan Slam". We had many baits that were hit by snook at all three stops, but most of them weren't even felt by the girls. When the snook have full bellies, they'll hit a bait and kill it, but not eat it, and often, if not most often, the hit can not be felt.

We only had a couple of hours to get it done, but the girls had a great time, as did I. Back at the second spoil island of the Sanibel Causeway, where everything had begun, we enjoyed a great lunch and watched the kids get their prizes.

And, that's how it went. Not a busy week, but a fun one. The weather forecast for next week is a good one. I have three trips on the books, and one is with a young lady in her 90's. Stay tuned. Should be a fun report.

REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING 10/25/2003 by Capt. Butch Rickey

It was a busy week, with seven trips scheduled, and six trips to report on. For the most part it was a windy week, as well. It made things tough at times, but my customers enjoyed some pretty good fishing.

The first victim of the wind was my good friends Pat and Ron Kolata on Sunday. Although Ron and I were scheduled to fish together on Wednesday and Thursday, Pat decided she'd like to take Ron, and her friend Doris, out on the boat for a day of leisure, and let Ron do some fishing. But, after battling the winds all day on Saturday, and knowing it would be as bad on Sunday, I suggested we cancel. I couldn't imagine the ladies would be very comfortable in the rough waters that would accompany the wind.

My customer for Monday was Earl Millett, and his good friend of many years, Pat McCarrick, of White Plaines, New York. It was our first trip together. We headed to Chino Island where bait had been great the week before, to find none. I worked for more than an hour without seeing a shiner. Frustrated, I headed up to Keisel's, where I had been seeing bait everywhere every time I was in the area. Sure enough, with just a little chumming we had bait everywhere, and were soon loaded up.

We concentrated on snook and redfish, first. We had a tide with good height, but little current flow, and I anticipated a slow bite. It was slow, but steady. We picked away at the fish, and as it turned out Pat had the hot rod for snook, boating 6 to Earl's 1. The boys also boated 4 nice redfish. Later in the falling tide we caught lots of trout. It had been a good day, all in all, and Earl and Pat were great guys, and the three of us had lots of fun.

Tuesday, I had my first trip with Paul Fasano, of Carmel, New York, along with his brother-in-law. Still on an early tide, we left the dock at 7 AM, and headed straight to Kiesel's flat. Bait came easily in a couple of throws.

I picked a spot I hadn't' fished in a while to begin the hunt for snook. Man, the snook were there, along with some redfish. WE spent the whole morning on this one hole, and had lots of action. The boys boated 12 snook, but they had at least twice as many hit their baits that weren't caught, lost several big fish, and boated one nice keeper. Along with all the snook action, they boated 7 big redfish! It was a great morning of fishing, and all in the same spot.

Wednesday, it was time for the first of two trips with my old friend Dr. Ron Kolata, of Cincinnati, Ohio. I was to fish with Ron on Wednesday, then join Ron and Pat, and all their friends at their condo on Sanibel for dinner that night, then fish again on Thursday. I brought Pat a bottle of Crystal hot sauce for her to use in the wonderful stonecrab dip she makes, and couldn't wait to get into it.

Ron and I were facing a very windy day. A cool front had passed, and although it brought no rain, it brought wind and high pressure. But, in spite of a big northwest wind, the fishing was very good. We got bait at Kiesel's once again, and from the time we arrived at the first stop we had great action. We were targeting snook, but I usually put out a couple of cutbait rigs for redfish when I'm doing so. It paid big for us. We had immediate action, and the first fish was a red. Ron caught 7 big redfish in all, along with 20+ snook, a small barracuda, and a blacktip shark about 4 ft. long. It was constant action, and we never moved more than 50 yards from where we began that morning. We had a blast.

We had a blast with Ron and Pat, and all their friends that night, as well. Ron and Pat are wonderful folks, and I love to fish and visit wit them. Pat is a wonderful host, and a gourmet chef if there ever was one. She offers up some of the most interesting and delicious dishes you've ever tasted, but my favorite by far is still the stonecrab dip. What a great evening of great food and great company.

Thursday, it was nearly as windy as it was on Wednesday. Worse, the wind direction forced us to look into the glare of the sun on the water all morning, and apparently the pressure was up, as the bite was way off. Even bait was hard to catch. But, we managed. Ron is a great angler, but more than that just loves to fish, and take what comes with a grain of salt. We had to work hard at it compared to the day before, but Ron managed to boat 7 or 8 snook, 6 redfish, and one trout for the Slam.

It was a great two days with Ron and Company. It's wonderful to renew old friendships each year, and that's exactly what Friday and Saturday were all about, as well. My friends Alan and Pam Warren were back in town for two days of fishing, and the occasion was their anniversary.

Friday was a pretty nice day for Alan and Pam, and me. We still had a breeze, but nothing like what we'd had for the past several days. The tides were getting a little better each day, as well. Bait was getting tougher each day, though. We really worked for it.

We were getting started right at the bottom of the low tide. IT was time for trout fishing in the potholes while the water was low. Some of my favorite holes are home to big snook as well as big trout. At the first hole we had lots of snook hits, but couldn't connect with one. They were hitting to kill, rather than to eat, apparently. Allan and Pam did catch several large trout before we moved on, though.

The next stop was a snook stop. The fish didn't want to eat. We really worked to put 6 snook into the boat, but did get a keeper of about 30 inches. We decided to chase redfish later on the tide, and made our move. I put out live chum and cut shiners and pinfish, to put the smell of blood in the water. Nothing was happening. The fish didn't want to eat, but I knew I was on fish. We did catch a fish or two, as my friend Capt. Butch Boteler joined us on the flat, but they just wouldn't turn on.

Boteler finally moved on to parts unknown, but we stayed. I learned long ago that fishing reds is almost always rewarded by patience. You have to keep at it and believe, especially if you KNOW you're on fish. Finally, it happened. Not long after we were joined by a couple of weekend warriors in a yellow Key West Stealth, the bite began. The reds really turned on, and Alan and Pam had a blast catching some 15 of the bronze torpedoes, all while the couple who had parked not more than 50 yards off my starboard caught nothing. They were content to watch in amazement.

I had stayed late on the flat waiting, hoping, and knowing I would eventually get a bite. Finally, it was time for us to go. I offered our left-over bait to the fishless couple, and they were happy to have it. They had shiners, but no pinfish, and the reds were eating pins. Along with the bait, I gave them a few pointers, and we left hoping they would be able to catch a few redfish. We did leave them biting! What a day it had turned out to be.

We all went to dinner at the Matlacha Oyster House that night. Pam is a lean, mean, crab eatin' machine! We had a great dinner, and a great time. I love to be able to spend time with my customers off the water.

I wondered as I arrived at the already hectic ramp on Saturday morning, how I had let Alan talk me into fishing on Saturday. It was obviously going to be a busy day on the water. It was just after 7 AM, and I got one of the last remaining parking places. Worse, the wind was really blowing right out of the southeast. A sure sign that a change in the weather was imminent. As Pam, Alan, and I rode the Talon to Kiesel's for bait, I wondered what the day would bring.

Bait was tough. We got almost no shiners at the first stop in about 4 ft. of water. My buddy Butch Boteler was also on the water, out a little deeper, and was getting a handful per throw. I decided to move shallower, and it eventually proved to be the right move. It took some doing, but finally the bait came, and once it did, we caught tons of it. As we caught bait I had decided not to entertain even crossing the Sound in that wind. I was sure it would be ugly.

We began with trout and snook fishing in the potholes, but even once the tide began coming in hard, there was only a poor bite, at best. Oh, we had plenty of snook hits, but only managed to hook one. We brought many baits back to the boat with that classic scaled center section that can only mean snook. We caught a few nice trout there, as well, but the big surprise was that we Slammed in that spot with 2 redfish to the boat!

Once the bite slowed we moved on to another spot that gets great water movement on a descent tide, and I like to fish it while the water is low. We quickly had jack crevalle crashing our baits, and had a good time with them. Pam also caught a ladyfish. Alan was surprised and pleased to boat a 21 inch gag grouper, but it managed to get away from him and back to freedom before we could get a picture of it. We also managed a half dozen or so snook, including a nice 28 inch keeper for Pam.

From there we went in pursuit of redfish, again as the tide began to cover things, and we did manage to get a few to eat. Alan missed several great hits on pinfish under the old Cajun float, but he also caught a 9 pound red, and Pam caught a number of small puppy-drum on shiners, as well as a snook or two.

I think we were all pleased with the results of the day considering it had been a very windy Saturday, with boats everywhere. More than that, it had been a great two days renewing our friendship, and even nurturing it deeper. The Warrens are great folks, they're fishing people, and I love to fish with them. They decided to make the October trip an annual thing to celebrate their anniversary.

And that's how it went. It was a very busy October that followed a very scary August and September. But, as if by design, there's not a whole lot going on in November. The reports will grow short, once again if something doesn't happen. Stay tuned.

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