A Couple of Good Days, A Day Lost To Wind, and Back To School!
Capt. Butch Rickey
March 20, 2012
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report
Week Ending 2-25-12.......
The week began with Presidents Day, and I have no desire to work holidays, so my week began on Tuesday. It was to be a full week.
I met my long time friend and customer Martin Wenick at Castaways at 7 AM. The forecast was for warm and sunny with a breeze to 9 MPH. But, when I got to the marina it was already breezier than that. Martin and I got the boats into the water, and were off into the breeze, hopeful of a good day of fishing.
We made our way through the very shallow waters that come with a big winter low tide, and got ourselves situated on our first spot. Right from the get-go, we were on fish. In little more than an hour we'd caught 5 nice redfish and five nice trout. We had our limit of two nice redfish and a limit of trout.
Somewhere around ten o'clock our breeze kicked it up a notch, and was probably close to 20. The bite shut down as if a switch had been thrown. I think we got one more redfish after that, and that was it. We made some moves to some new turf, but the bite was the same. Off! At around noon I suggested to Martin that since we had our limit of reds and plenty of trout for him to add to his red, we call it a day early. We are planning to fish a couple of more days while he's here through the end of March. Martin thought it was a good idea, and we pointed our little ships for home port.
It's always fun to come in to the Castaways Marina with stringers of nice fish in tow when when they have a lot of guests in the cottages. More often than not, they all fall out to see the fish, and usually some will comment they've been fishing off the dock all day or out in a rental and have caught nothing but catfish. And the Native Ultimates usually create a stir among the guests, as well. Most folks have never seen one. Say nothing of one totally rigged for fishing.
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Wednesday was a reunion with another old friend, Andy Mount, of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Andy and I have fished together for years, but have missed the last two due to a last minute juggling of airline schedules one year, and a death in the family the next. This would be Andy's first kayak fishing experience.
I picked Andy up at the Caribe, on Sanibel at 7 AM, and we had a chance to catch up as we rode to Castaways Marina. It was good to see him after missing a couple of years. The day had dawned a gorgeous one with glass slick water and blue skies. What a difference a day can make. You'd have thought that the calm and sunny day and a good tide would have been good for the fishing, but that proved not to be the case. It truly was a great day of fishing, but we really worked for our fish. They just weren't much interested in eating.
Andy and I actually had a lot more opportunities than our stringer would indicate at the end of the day, although we did bring home some beautiful fish. We both had countless misses and get-aways, as the fish just weren't aggressive. But, Andy, being the seasoned angler that he is, is not just all about catching. Andy has just as much fun on a slow day as he does on a day with lots of fish to the boat. We stayed at it until the tide was done, and only then did we head in.
We brought home more than enough beautiful fish for Andy to feed his wife Christine, and friends. We had bagged two 5# trout, as well as smaller one, a flounder, and four nice redfish. We kept our limit of two reds, and four beautiful trout. Even though we'd let a lot of fish get away that day, it was still a great day on the water.
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I was scheduled to fish with my Ultimate buddy, Alan Sanders on Thursday, in his new Ranger Banshee 16 technical skiff. But, the wind was once again back up and blowing 20 MPH, and we decided to bag it for another day. When you're local or here for more than a week or so, you have the flexibility of picking your days. We'll try again next week.
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Friday, I became a student again for the first time since the 80s. I had the first of six classes in the Coastal Systems Module of the Florida Master Naturalist Program offered through the University of Florida Extension Institute. It's the first of three forty hour modules which also include Inshore Systems, and Highland Systems modules. Once all three modules are completed, the designation of Florida Master Naturalist is awarded to the student. Each day is from 9 AM to 5 PM.
There is always something new to learn, and we're never too old to begin. There will be a lot of field trips, which will also make it interesting and fun. It's all about being outdoors in nature. The designation should create some new possibilities and perhaps open some new doors in my kayak guiding career. I will be far more qualified as a FMN to do nature and eco tours than I am at present. And, that is something that I can do with larger groups than are possible as a fishing guide. So, I'm excited about getting all three modules completed, but it will probably take about a year for each to be offered in Lee, Collier or another county that is close by.
The week wasn't quite as full as it was supposed to be, but it was a rewarding week spent with old friends Martin Wenick and Andy Mount, and making new friends during the first day of the FMNP class.
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