Fishing Report for Pine Island Sound to Sarasota Bay, Florida

Capt. Butch Rickey
December 16, 2005
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report

REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING 12/17/05 by Capt. Butch Rickey

It was a slow week, with only two trips to report on. It was also a cold week, with overnight lows in the mid to upper forties every night. Fishing was tough.

The first trip was on Monday with Billy Herrington, of Maumelle, Arkansas. It was my first time out with Billy, and his first time in the Sound. As we rode to the fishing grounds I explained to Billy that fishing here is very different during the winter, and cautioned him not to judge the fishing based upon a winter trip.

We had a very early low tide, and it was already coming in hard when we got to the first spot. We were in the pothole mode looking for trout, ladyfish, flounder, and maybe small reds. We managed some small trout, but we didn’t have the fast bite I’m accustomed to in most of the winter potholes. We moved to a nearby pothole, where we caught some bigger trout, but again the bite was slow.

We made another move hoping to find some outsized trout, or perhaps a stray winter snook. We only caught one fish there, which was a small redfish.

I wanted to get Billy on some kind of action so I headed to a grouper hole. The hole rarely disappoints and gives up gag grouper and small Jewfish from 10 to 26 inches. Because the grouper are usually found around rocky bottom, even the small ones are tough to dig out of their homes on light tackle. And, they’re really scrappy. Billy caught 7 or 8 gags, but they were all small. We moved on to search for redfish.

I decided to check a flat near 40 Acre Bay, to see if any fish pushed. I was actually surprised that we pushed quite a few fish. I moved on to let them settle down. I headed to the spot where we’d caught a bunch of redfish on the previous Friday. It was blowing pretty hard out of the northeast, and the redfish just weren’t interested. We couldn’t get them to eat a spoon or a jig.

More than an hour had passed, and I was ready to go back to where we had pushed the big reds. We made a quiet approach, trying to keep the wind at our back as much as possible. And, were the reds there! The were big fish, and we making big muds when they spooked off the muddy bottom. We worked them hard, and as we crawled along, we kept spooking the fish. They were laid up sunning themselves. They were so intent on sunning that they would let us get very close before they spooked. The pushes were big, and sometime would cause other fish laid up there to spook. It was a cool thing for Billy to see, but I wanted him to see and actual fish, and catch it. But, the water is still so stained with tannin from all the dumping from Lake Okeechobee, that it is really hard to see the fish unless the water is very shallow.

Billy did finally get a good look at a big red a bit later. It appeared to be a good three feet long, and wasn’t the least interested in eating. We finally had to concede to defeat, and leave without a red. The tide was done moving, and would be laying flat for the rest of the day. It would be pointless to be out there under such conditions.

Although it was a tough day, it had been great fun with Billy. We decided to cap the day off with a stop at the Waterfront Restaurant. Fried oysters and scallops were the orders of the day, and Billy thought both were just great.

The second trip came on Thursday, with John Cook and his good friend Jim Swalby, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. I hadn’t see John and Jim since September of 2002. I warned them that fishing in the winter here is very different from fishing the rest of the year. I think Jim was a bit disappointed that we wouldn’t be catching bait.

We had a big winter low tide just before nine o’clock, and I headed to one of my favorite places to fish on a falling winter tide. You have to cross some seriously skinny water to get there, and most won’t do it until there’s more water. It’s a large area with lots of fishing opportunities.

We got in OK, and were soon casting jigs and Rattletraps upstream to the falling tide. We had no bites at the first stop, and moved on. Shortly after setting up on the second spot, all hell broke loose as a big snook ate John’s Exude RT. We were close to the mangroves, when the snook hit, and I got a good look at the fish when she took off for the closest structure, which was a fallen limb left by hurricane Charley. I was coaching John for all I was worth, but there just wasn’t time to try to teach him how to slow the fish down. I would rather a smaller fish or two had eaten first, so that I could have given him some instruction, but John’s luck was a big female for his first fish.

So, there we were. The fish was still on, and you could feel it moving in the limb. John gave me his rod, and I tried to free the big snook from the structure, but the hook straightened and pulled before the line broke or she succumbed to the pressure. Battle over. Snook won. I sure would love to have gotten just one good picture of John with that snook, but it wasn’t to be.

We continued to fish the area, but couldn’t draw another snook bite. We did catch half a dozen or so nice speckled trout before the tide quit running. Once it did, we were on our way to the next spot. Potholes.

What should have been some dynamic speckled trout action, wasn’t. We had just seen a front pass, and we were on the full moon. Another front was approaching, and I had hoped that would turn the fish on. It didn’t. Oh, we caught a few trout, but it was hard fishing. We moved to another hole nearby that is always full of big winter trout, and only caught one. They were there, but not interested.

I decided to again try for some grouper action to get something pulling on the ends of their lines, and even the grouper were lockjawed. Jim caught one small gag, and that was about it. We were on the move, again.

I stopped on a flat north of Flamingo Cut where redfish often accumulate. I saw a big red as I was making my approach and quickly shut down. I knew the fish were there. Would they bite? I rigged three Stella with different types of spoons; a gold Johnson Silver Minnow, a silver one, and a Tony Acetta Hobo.

We were treated to the sight of several redfish following our spoons almost to the boat, then turning away. We knew they were at least thinking about it. Then, boom. Jim had a big redfish gobble the Tony Acetta and take off for Mexico. It was a great red, probably 10 to 12 pounds, and was just stripping line of the light reel more like a bonefish than a red. As John worked her close to the boat, and we were thinking it was a catch, the leader parted. She swam free without leaving us a souvenir; her picture. Inspection of the line revealed that the leader had parted about 3/4 inch below the knot. It had probably been nicked by something sharp in the water. Who knows when?

I was bummed. That was the second great fish that managed to get away from John! John seemed to take it in stride. We were vindicated a short time later, though, when another big red crashed the gold spoon I was casting. I quickly got the rod into John’s hands so he could enjoy the fight, and land this one. Fortunately, everything held together and John brought the red to the boat. She was 8 pounds, and out of the slot. We worked the rest of the flat without another hit, and moved on.

I headed north to a spot where there have been lots of reds. The wind was howling pretty good out of the southeast, as the front drew closer. We fished our way down the side of a small key without a hit until I got to the same area where I had last caught them. I anchored.

We worked the area well, mostly with spoons, but I did eventually tie on a jig. We caught 4 more reds and a trout or two, and missed several bumps. Jim had the hot rod. The reds were just short of the 18 inch slot limit, as so many of the winter reds are.

At that point John’s legs were bothering him, the wind was up to at least 20, and the tide was about done. We decided to hit one more spot, and call it a day. The last stop was full of seaweed and hard to fish, and we went without a hit. It was time to head home. The ride was exciting once we turned into the wind south of York Island and crossed to the Sanibel side. I had promised to drop the boys off at their condo back near the Sanibel Lighthouse. I dropped them off on an extended seawall, and headed home. That was an exciting ride, too.

Things are slowing way down here in front of Christmas. I have only one trip scheduled for next week. But, early signs are that next year is trying to return to some semblance of normalcy. Time will tell.

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