Fishing Report for Pine Island Sound to Sarasota Bay, Florida
Capt. Butch Rickey
July 25, 2007
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fort Myers Weather Forecast, FL (33908)
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FISHING REPORT FOR THE WEEK ENDING 7/21/07
by
Capt. Butch Rickey
I only managed one day out in the heat this week. There was a little breeze early, but once it went away it was brutal.
I had my first trip Tuesday with Ron "Killer" Morris, of Lorton, Virginia, just outside DC, and his good friend Phil, of Panama City, Florida. Ron booked the trip back in April, and at that time we couldn't anticipate how unusually hot the water would be, nor how slow things would be this summer, in large part due to the strange weather pattern we've been in. After meeting Ron and Phil at Port Sanibel Marina that morning I suggested that we fish with artificials, rather than waste what would probably the best opportunity for a bite trying to catch the tiny bait we have now. The boys were in agreement, and we were off into the darkness.
Beside the super-heated water we had one other obstacle to deal with. The tide would barely be moving until around ten o'clock. It was almost completely dead, but technically an outgoing. Usually, when I have such conditions I look for cuts, canals, creeks, or any other feature that will funnel the water down and hopefully create some perceptible movement. I settled on a pretty little spot in Ding Darling that I don't often fish because of the manatee zones.
Once there we decided to cover the whole water column by tying on a topwater plug, a suspending plug, and a jig. It was a bit overcast and I thought it would be a good opportunity to fish on top for a while. Ron took the jig rig, and Phil the topwater popper. To my surprise, both were getting plenty of hits and rolls from speckled trout and ladyfish. But, we weren't connecting with that many of the hits because the fish just weren't aggressive. We did manage some trout and ladyfish, and put a couple of the ladyfish in the well for a possible shot at some redfish later on the incoming tide. Once our crawling tide appeared to stop crawling prematurely, we decided to move on and see if we could get some gag grouper and jewfish action.
I've noticed that the grouper and jewfish don't seem to be as sensitive to the tide as inshore fish. In fact, they seem to always bite better on the slower tide. Maybe it's because they're basically offshore fish, and offshore fishing is solunar rather than tidal. And, if they're eating, they don't much care what you're throwing at them. They'll eat shiners, pinfish, and a variety of jigs, and baits like DOA TerrorEyez, and Rattletraps. I favor the Exude RT slug, which is such a great bait for a variety of fish.
Once we were settled on our spot and the baits were rigged, I tossed a baby bass colored slug to show the guys where they needed to be throwing. A small snook jumped on it before I even had a chance to turn the reel handle. But, as usual, that wasn't a particularly good omen. The grouper weren't in much of an eating mood. The boys managed one gag, one jewfish, and several trout. We had a lot of jack crevalle that chased our baits right to the boat, but I don't remember if we caught one, or not.
SUMMER FISHING FUN!
The bite not being what we'd expected, we moved on. I stopped for a couple of minutes to visit with Capt. Bobby Dumont, an old friend of mine. I hadn't seen him in some time, and he was over with his brother for a day of fishing.
After a quick visit, we headed off to our next spot, still looking for moving water. Shortly after arriving, the tide began to move reluctantly, but we couldn't get a fish to eat our offerings. We moved on.
It was pushing eleven o'clock, and the heating of the water was now a factor. I knew we didn't have long to put something else in the boat. It was time to use our ladyfish to see if we could get a lazy redfish to go for a smelly, motionless steak laying in the grass. I carved a ladyfish into small steaks, and tied on a couple of spoons. We put the steaks way out in front of the boat, where I was sure the fish would not be aware of our presence. The boys tossed spoons around the area to stay occupied while we waited to see what would happen.
Well, nothing happened, although we could see the occasional redfish push. But, when I picked up the starboard rod and began reeling in to check the bait, I discovered a redfish laying out there with the bait in it's mouth. Fish on! God only knows how long she had been there, but the line never moved. Ron fought the fish in to the boat, giving us the Slam for the day. The beautiful redfish took up residence in her new home in the Talon. We did get a couple of other fish to look at our steaks, but they wouldn't go ahead and eat.
SUMMER FISHING FUN!
At that point we were cooking in the heat, and ready for a reprieve. We turned on the Yamaha air conditioner and pointed the vents right at our faces, and headed for the Waterfront Restaurant. There's not a more enjoyable boat ride this time of year than the one back toward home! The boys decided that the Caribbean grouper cake with mango salsa on a big Caesar salad sounded very good. But, after diving into it, they decided it was world class. Anything that good is surely a sin!
That's the way it went. It's very slow in our area. In fact, I just recently found out that no less than 13 restaurants on Ft. Myers beach have recently closed down. Others have cut back on their hours. I have three trips on the books for next week, and that's probably one more than my aging body can stand.
Be sure to check out www.BestFishingBooks.com Books and gifts for fishermen from my friend Jim Dicken!
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