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Venice Inlet and the Gulf of Mexico
Capt. Dave Pinkham
February 15, 2001
Venice - Saltwater Fishing Report
Arriving Front Excites Gulf Fish Into Feeding
It always amazes me when just the slightest change in something as simple as the wind direction will set fish into a feeding mode. To illustrate what I'm talking about I'd like to share the experience I had aboard my charter boat last Friday. The day started out early as we left the dock and headed offshore at 7am. This was to be a half-day trip, and we planned on returning at 11am. I had an afternoon trip scheduled at 11:30, thus allowing me 30 minutes dock time for my clients to unload and for me to clean their catch. The fog was thick as we idled out of Dona Bay bringing back some old memories of days gone by, of hiding in the fog over secret honey holes loaded with huge grouper. Once we cleared the Inlet I made for an area of hard bottom about 8 miles west of the pass that I was sure would produce some good fish. There's something about fishing in the fog that I just love. Anyway we arrived at our destination and anchored over the spot and dropped some baits to the bottom. There was plenty of fish showing, the problem was they just didn't want to eat. That's how the morning went, drop the baits to the bottom, catch a few white grunts, a couple of short grouper and a lone snapper and the bite would shut down. The next spot was ditto, and so on. When it was time to head back, sure we had enough fish for a good meal but it was nothing to brag about.
By the time the folks for my afternoon trip loaded up and we stuck our bow out the pass the conditions on the Gulf had changed. Earlier the fog had been thick and the Gulf had been slick as a baby's behind with barely a trace of wind. Now the fog was completely gone and there was a stiff wind out of the northwest. The seas hadn't caught up to the wind yet, so after listening to the latest weather update on my marine radio indicating nothing too severe in the forecast we opted to go for it. We went to the same area as I had on the morning trip. This time the minute the baits hit the bottom all heck broke loose. For the next two hours we couldn't get a bait to the bottom fast enough. Groupers, snappers, triggers, flounder, grunts, you name it, they were all hungry. Anyway the barometric pressure must have changed with the wind direction because something sure set those fish off.
On Sunday I had the crew from Gold's Gym of Venice out fishing. Rov Vongkorad the manager is a fishing fanatic, and when he is not working at the gym he's out honing his expertise with a fishing pole. Sunday, Rov was on his toes and took full advantage of the good bite putting his limit of gag grouper in the boat along with several nice mangrove snapper. Rov's girlfriend Christine Davis not to be outfished tangled with some nice fish also. Dennis Lynch also an employee over at Gold's was no slouch at catching grouper and snapper either. Sunday was just another example of the reason we all love Southwest Florida so much.
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