A Very Busy Week With Good Friends
Capt. Butch Rickey
June 23, 2014
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report
Week ending 5/17/14...........
It was the busiest week I've had in a long time, with six trips on the schedule. The best part is that they were all with some of my favorite customers, who have become special friends over the years.
The fun started on Sunday with Don and Dawn Marano, who were down for some vacation time at the condo in Bokeelia. It's fun being out fishing with such wonderful folks, and it was even more fun with some good snook action. Instead of going to a ramp, we launched our boats off the seawall in front of the condo. I was reluctant at first that because of the weight of the boats, it would be awkward. But, we were able to get the trailer fairly close to the seawall and it went pretty smoothly.
Once in the water we set out to see if we could find some trout. The area is normally great for trout fishing, but the trout were nowhere to be found. So, we turned our attention to snook. My first snook was about 24", and very feisty. We were getting a lot of pops and follows on topwater plugs, but the first one came on a jig. In my haste to get back on the bite I neglected to check the condition of my leader. I paid dearly for that on the next hookup just a short time later. I hooked a big girl. She had to be well into the upper 30s, and had some serious jets. I managed to finesse her away from the freedom of the mangroves three times. I was beginning to think I was going to win this battle when she took off on yet another run. Again, I had no choice but to put the brakes on her, and that's when she put the breaks on me. The line went limp. When I reeled in to see that she had rubbed through my shock leader, I knew I had paid the price for failing to retie after the last fish before trying to catch the next one.
The bite was pretty good for a while, and we tangled with at least a dozen snook on jigs and topwater plugs. I counted 7 snook came to the boats. We did get one trout that was just short of keeper size, along with a jack crevalle, and a gafftop sail catfish. Once the snook bite died off, we went back to trying to find some trout action, but the one fish was all we could scare up. Other than the water being very busy with boat traffic, it was a great day on the water.
Note: I think it was on Friday May 23, just before Don and Dawn had to head home, they went out to the same general area, and Don raised 15 snook on topwater.
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Monday I fished with another of my favorite fishing buddies, Jonathan Tipples (JT), who vacations here from merry old England with his lovely wife Jane every year in May. We usually fish in his rental boat, but I wanted to introduce him to the fun of kayak fishing. I decided to take him to Clam Bayou, thinking the water there would be cleaner than the water in the sound, which has just been a mess. To our surprise, the water wasn't any cleaner there. And, of course, it was another windy day. We were also two days away from the full moon, and that usually means the bite won't come until late into the incoming tide.
The bite was indeed slow, but we kept busy and did manage a few fish before it was over. Jonathan and I put 4 snook and 2 redfish in the boat, and had a great time. We were to fish again during this week in the boat.
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The wind was even worse on Tuesday, for my trip with my long-time friend "Sparky" Mark Lucas, of St. Anthony, Minnesota. The wind was gusting to 30, we were one day off the full moon, and the water in Clam look like, well, clam chowder!
Mark is a riot, but a serious angler, and we went to work, and fished hard. The first fish was a beautiful
jewfish that attacked a silver spoon in the shallows! I was a bit surprised to see him in there. The first redfish came a bit later on the silver spoon, and was hanging on the edge of a shallow flat. It was a nice slot fish, and went on the stringer. The red was followed by a couple of snook, and 3 catfish, on DOA CAL jigs. Mark finally scored his keeper red late on the tide. His red was also invited to dinner. It was a slow day, but we had a blast, and we did take home dinner.
Later that evening, Mark and I went to Doc Ford's at Fort Myers Beach, where we enjoyed a fantastic meal outside on the water. A nice rain shower forced us to a table that was covered. We both ate to excess, and the paella is to die for!
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JT and I were back at it on Wednesday in his rental boat. His new neighbor Grant came along. JT and I have had some great trips, and JT has been able to do pretty well on his own, too. But, this year's visit has been a very tough one for him where fishing is concerned. The wind and dirty water have been relentless!
This day was no different. It blew 25 plus all day on a forecast of 10 – 15 out of the E/SE. There were big whitecaps everywhere the eye could see. We opted to fish the Wulfert Keys because it was one of the closer places we could go and try to get out of some of the wind. It took us quite a while to get to the power lines where we could enter, because it was really bumpy. We worked shorelines and potholes with the same result. One trout for the effort.
From there we went to some potholes that are normally very productive off Buck Key, but got only one more trout, there. It was a nasty day, but the ever good company and conversation from Jonathan, and meeting Grant made it a fun day.
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Sparky and me were supposed to do another trip on Thursday, but with the forecast for more of the same 30 mph wind, and him leaving the next day, we bagged it. Friday, I took him to RSW to catch his plane home to Minnesota. It had been a busy week, and we didn't get to visit as much as I would have liked, but it was great to see him.
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I knew it was going to be more of the same on Saturday, with JT. But, Jane would be coming along on this trip. I called him Friday night to see if he still wanted to go. I knew he was getting discouraged with the constant wind and milky water. Like all good fishermen, JT's an eternal optimist, and wanted to give it a go. But, with the wind now out of the north I was pretty sure it would stop the incoming tide in its tracks. The proof of my suspicions was evident as soon as I went over the causeway. The water on the Punta Rassa flats was far below where it was supposed to be on the low tide. And, when I got to JT's, he quickly remarked that the water was way down from where it's always at on the low tide when he visits each May. I asked JT again if he wanted to bag the trip, but he was still up for giving it a go. We got the boat ready and left the dock.
Because JT always comes in May, and has never seen weather like this around in May, he had never seen the tide so low, and land showing where there's usually water. I told him that we'd probably get very little movement as long as the wind kept up. We barely made it through Wulfert Channel, and there was another boat that was hung up when we crawled our way through.
I told JT that the best thing we could do would be to pull the boat up on the edge of the flats and get out and fish the potholes. There was no water to float the boat that didn't involve getting out into the nasty stuff. Wading can be tough, depending upon the bottom, and it can be good one minute and having you sinking up to your knees the next. He didn't want to put Jane in that situation, and didn't want to leave her alone in the boat while we went off. With not a lot of other options, we decided to bag it, and headed in. By that time there were several boats that were content to sit in Wulfert Channel/Blind Pass and hope for the best on the low water.
After returning to the house, Jane treated us to coffee out on the upper deck, as we waited and watched the boat to see if would ever move up on the dock. It was very nice just to sit and chat with the Tipples, and I think it was nearly two o'clock before I got out of there! We said our "Goodbyes", as I knew I wouldn't be seeing them again before they left.
That was the week. The has been a very strange weather month for May.
Target Species:
Snook and redfish
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