A Terrible Tide and An Approaching Front Make For A Great Day!
Capt. Butch Rickey
December 20, 2012
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report
For the week ending 12-15-12............
I had one trip to report on this week. It was a good one.
I met Charlie Bing, of Fort Worth, Texas, at the Circle K on Summerlin Road, at 6:15 Thursday morning. Charlie parked his car and brought his gear including a fly rod, and we were off to Castaways on Sanibel.
Charlie and I were going to be fishing an extreme low tide right behind a cold front that took every bit of three days of rain and wind to push through. I knew the fishing would be tough. It always is behind a front like that. Charlie wasn't dissuaded, though. We got the boats launched, and were on our way. There was a distinct lack of water, and an abundance of virgin land showing everywhere.
We paddled out of the cover and most of the way to our first stop. Of course, the wind was out of the north at about 15, and it was still very overcast. The overcast conditions spoiled plan A, which requires good visibility to fish, and the north wind made plan B impossible to fish. So, I was on to plan C.
We made another run to a long pothole, where I finally was able to get Charlie and myself anchored and ready to fish. I, and especially Charlie, were delighted to see that the fish were for the most part ignoring the rules, and biting.
That was great, as Charlie had a stated objective of taking all the saltwater fish home that he legally could. This time of year, that means mostly trout. So, of course, we worked on getting the stringers full of trout, first. Charlie and I caught a load of trout, many of which were too big to keep, and filled our stringers with four trout each. We each had one over 20 inches (about 22 inches) and the others were mostly 18 to 20.
The brisk north breeze was holding the incoming tide back, and would no doubt stop the incoming tide in its tracks before the schedule time. Eventually though, I deemed we had enough water on the flats to chase redfish, and off we went.
I parked Charlie in a spot that would offer him the opportunity of more trout, and some redfish, too. I moved off a short distance away to the skinny water looking for redfish. Charlie kept reporting to me on the radio that he was catching trout on every cast, or at least getting bit every cast.
I had a nice redfish that I had caught earlier while we were fishing for trout. I sure wanted to get Charlie on a red or two. I did hit 3 more redfish, and called Charlie to see if he wanted to come join me, but he was having too much fun catching trout, I think. He did finally move up and fish the reds with me, but by that time the tide was about done.
We headed in with our stringers full of nice trout, a flounder, and redfish. We got the boats on the trailers so that we could move if someone else came in to use the ramp, and then cleaned our fish. We had a few spectators, for sure.
Charlie and I had a great day, and a lot of fun. Charlie was a great fishing partner, and a very skilled angler. That makes for a great day in itself. I look forward to his return.
Target Species:
Redfish and trout
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