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Closing Down For The Summer!

Capt. Butch Rickey
August 20, 2013
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report

Week ending 6/22/13.....

Only two outings to report on this week. It's just about time to shut down for the summer.

First up on Tuesday was my first trip with Jim Davidson, of Simpsonville, South Carolina. Jim is a really nice guy and an avid outdoors man who loves to hunt, fish, and learn. He told me up front he wasn't worried about catching, but rather learning for use during the rest of his vacation. He had plans to rent a boat and fish with his son later in the week.

After picking Jim up at his condo on Sanibel, we made our way to the launch and were in the water in about 35 minutes. We were off. I wanted to share as much information with Jim as possible, but I also wanted him to catch some fish. But, I knew we had our work cut out for us. Normally, I would spend the earlier part of the tide looking and learning while things were still uncovered. As the water flooded the flats and covered things, we would concentrate more on doing some fishing and learning how to fish the spots. We didn't have that luxury, as our low tide that morning was at around 3:30 AM, and the full high tide was going to soon be upon us at around 9:30 AM. We would have to try to mix fishing with learning, right out of the box.

We made our first stop at a fantastic hole for snook and redfish. It rarely disappoints when the tide is near full high. I positioned Jim with the breeze at his back so that he could fish what is the most productive part of the shoreline, and I took an adjacent chunk of shoreline. We only got 1 fish to eat, but it was a beautiful 33 inch snook. I assured Jim there were plenty more nice snook there where that one had come from, and left Jim there plugging, while I went hunting for a bite. I wanted Jim to be where there were good fish on what we had left of the incoming tide.

I made a quick stop at a couple of spots that are very good on high water as I made my way to my actual destination. I picked up one nice redfish. I moved on. At my final destination, I was soon getting slammed repeatedly, but couldn't get hooked up. I knew it was redfish, and I knew that because the tide was almost done they weren't aggressive. I kept casting and getting popped. Finally, I got hooked up to a nice redfish, and called Jim in from where I'd left him. Unfortunately, even though Jim had run his motor on the maximum speed setting, the tide was done by the time he got to me. The bite was over.

Now, looking at a slack, and then an outgoing tide for the rest of our day, it was time to concentrate on teaching Jim how and where to come fish with his son in his rental boat. We finished the day on the water doing that. Once I thought we'd reached the saturation point, we headed in, and back to Jim's condo for the second part of our day.

At the condo, I got to meet Jim's beautiful wife, Kim, and his two fine looking sons. They were excited about the redfish we'd brought home. I had brought one of my HP Envy Quad-core laptops loaded with Tides and Currents and Google Earth, and it was now time for the second part of the lesson. For the next couple hours I taught Jim about tides, and how to read and understand them, and know when to fish, and when to golf, so to speak. We also covered using Google Earth and Bing Maps in conjunction with each other to find good fishing spots in unfamiliar waters. Finally, sensing Jim was about to go into brain seizures, we called it a day. It had been a good day with Jim, and lots of fun with a very good student.

Wednesday, it was time for me to drive out to St. James City to spend the day with my old friends Herb and Beth Smith. We've been fishing since back in 2008, in the Talon days, but I haven't seen them since I made the switch to kayak fishing. Herb and Beth are from Baltimore, Maryland, but finally bought a home on a canal here in St. James City several years ago. They spend a lot of time here, but aren't permanent, just yet. They're a wonderful couple, and I really enjoyed my trips with them in the past, so I was looking forward to this get together, which was going to be an instructional trip in their boat.

I wish I could remember the make of their 17 ft. skiff. It's a great boat for fishing here. It's a capless hull with a 60 HP Suzuki 4-stroke, is light, solid, and an amazingly good performer. I thought they had made a great choice and got a lot of bang for their buck. They have a dock with a lift, which makes it a breeze to get into and go.

Once we were in the water we stopped at a flat near their canal, and began the instruction with a casting clinic. Herb proved that he was a skilled caster. Beth needed some coaching. Some may wonder why I would do a casting clinic, and the answer is simple. In shallow water, casting is everything. Knowing how to handle the fish on the other end of the line is essential. Long ago I coined the phrase, "He who casts the farthest, catches the most fish!" And, that rarely fails to be true. Besides teaching distance and accuracy, I also teach anglers how to properly feather the line against the forward lip of the spool with the right index finger so as to drop the bait exactly where you want it. Lastly, I teach the anglers how to apply from minimal to lock breaking with their fingers on the skirt of the spool with the left index finger. Once the things I teach become automatic, the anglers' catch to hookup ratio increases. You can't spend too much time on mastering casting and the trick of fish control.

Once we were done with the casting clinic, we were ready to go looking at fishing spots and learn the features of each, and Herb was ready to go buy a Shimano Stradic CI-4 2500, like the one of mine he was using. I showed the Smiths probably about a dozen great fishing holes, and tried to teach them how to fish each. After a couple of hours of that we headed in for the last part of the instruction, which is how to use Google Earth and Bing Maps to explore unfamiliar waters and find good fishing spots before you ever leave the dock. I learned long ago that five to six hours of instruction is more than enough for one day. Beyond that, one tends to go into mental overload, and that's when the retention goes down.

It was great to see Herb and Beth again, and spend the day with them showing them around on my old stomping grounds. I hope what they've learned will serve them well in the future.

Target Species:

Snook and redfish

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Top Florida fishing guide, Capt. Butch Rickey has fished the waters of Pine Island Sound around Sanibel, Captiva, and Pine Islands, as well as Charlotte Harbor, Sarasota Bay, Terra Ceia Bay, and southern Tampa Bay, for much of his 65 years. He now offers guided kayak fishing trips, as well as sightseeing and bird watching tours anywhere that can be reached by kayak from southern Tampa Bay to Estero Bay.

Contact Info:

BarHopp'R Kayak Fishing
11520 E Palm Drive
Ft. Myers, FL 33908
Phone: 239-628-3522
Alt. Phone: 239-633-5851
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