Exploring New Water With An Old Friend
Capt. Butch Rickey
December 21, 2014
Matlacha - Saltwater Fishing Report
Report for week ending 11/15/14...........
Just one trip to talk about this week, and it was the first with my good friend and fishing buddy, Don Marano, here from Salt Lake City for a fall vacation. We had been wanting to explore the east side of Jug Creek for some time, but the weather always seemed to get in the way. It's very exposed to a north and east wind once you're out of the creek.
I met Don at the county ramp in Bokeelia, near the end of Barrancas Avenue. It's a very nice facility. I had Don's Ultimate on the trailer for him. We were in the water and on our way in about twenty minutes. We made our way down the canal to the left-hand turn and then down to Jug Creek, and headed east.
From there on out to Charlotte Harbor it's very scenic. Problem is, there was very little water in the creek that morning because of the wind and low tide. I don't remember seeing a boat come through until early afternoon. We fished our way down the creek, tossing spoons, jigs, and topwater plugs.
Near a mangrove outcropping I hooked a big redfish, my first fish of he day. Unfortunately, he managed to get away before I could get him to the boat. I did get a good look at him, though. That was the only red I hooked that day.
There wasn't much happening until we got down to the mouth of the creek on the flats in front of it. Don had gone ahead of me and was already on a good trout bite. I went on out past him in about 4 feet of water and found a good bite of my own. There were lots of trout, lizardfish, puffers, and the best fish of the day was a bluefish that went about five pounds, and fought like hell.
When that slowed we headed on out to the oyster keys to check them out. There wasn't much water out there, and there were hull hazards everywhere. The wind and bottom made it hard to anchor. I did see a couple of reds and a sheephead, but that was it. We poked around for about an hour before heading back to the creek. The wind was just relentless.
Back in the creek we ran into my friend Patrick Holbert, in his Hobie Mirage 12. He came out to join us, but was late in doing so, and we were headed in. The tide was done, and we'd had enough of the wind. Patrick said he would fish for a couple of hours, but I don't know if he had any success.
All in all it was a fun day exploring a new area. And, we took a few fish home for dinner.
Target Species:
Trout and redfish
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