The Fish Were In A Funk, But It Was A Fun Week
Capt. Butch Rickey
May 12, 2011
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report
Report For The Week Ending 5/7/11
I started the week off with an old friend, Jim Dougall, and his buddies Hilde and Helmut, in Jim's Action Craft. I hadn't met Helmut before, but Jim and Hilde are a couple of funny guys, and fun to be with. Helmut was, too. I hadn't been out bait fishing since last September, when I made the transition to kayak fishing. I hoped I could find bait, and still throw a descent net. Jim had all the tools, net, chum, etc., in his boat. I just brought a couple of my own rods and my cameras.
The guys picked me up at Punta Rassa Ramp, and we were off to Tarpon Bay to get bait. The sun was already well up, and I hoped the bait wouldn't be tough. On the bait grounds Hilde chummed and I tossed the net. Once we got the water movement figured out bait came easily in about five throws of the net. And, we were ready to fish.
We headed right to where I knew there were lots of snook. Once there and situated I expected the live shiners to immediately be getting hammered, but they weren't. I chummed, with no takers. Our low tide was not a very low tide, and it wasn't a very strong tide, either. We'd give 'em some time. I grabbed my 6 ft. kayak rig with the new Shimano Stradic CI-4 on it. What an incredible reel! I love it, and have bought two more of the 2500s since the first one. I had a DOA CAL 4" Stark Naked shad tied on, and gave it a cast. After a few turns of the handle I got slammed by a nice snook. I knew the fish were there, and that offered some proof.
As we fished Jim caught a keeper flounder and a couple of keeper trout, along with a redfish. He was on his way to the SLAM. Helmut got a snook. Eventually, as the tide rose, the bite tapered off. The wind was well into the 20s from the east. We moved on, and hit several other spots that I used to love to fish with live bait, but caught nothing.
We made a run of several miles and settled on some some new turf. I was looking for redfish with snook as a bonus, but we couldn't get the redfish to eat. As we moved around though, Jim did get a couple of snook, Hilde got a couple snook, and Helmut got another. Jim completed his SLAM. It was a slow day for shiner fishing.
Fortunately, as we'd done the last hour or so the wind had laid considerably, and the worst of the slop was laid down and the ride home was good. As the boys were letting me off at the dock a Marine Patrol Officer walked up and greeted us, and asked if we had any fish. Seizing the moment I said something to the effect of, "Officer, arrest these men. They've got a bunch of illegal snook!" He was the humor and we laughed and joked around a bit. He was a good guy, and after chatting for a while moved on. That was enough of a distraction for me to forget to unload my rods, and the guys didn't notice until they were nearly home in the south Cape. Fishing with the Dougall crew is always fun, and this day was no exception.
As I walked off the dock one of our great guides, Bruce Ringsmuth, was just coming in. I asked him how he'd done, and he'd experienced the same kind of day we had. He said he'd caught a handful of small redfish, and no snook. I expect everyone strugged.
Tuesday was originally schedule for Dana Echols, but when I didn't get the deposit I figured their plans had changed and scheduled a doctor appointment. Of course, a few days later I heard from Dana's wife Joanne, wanting to know if the date was still open. I had to refer her to Josh Harvel who guides out of Matlacha. But, after that was arranged Joanne got back to me and wanted to know if I had another day Dana and I could fish. That was great, and we booked that Thursday.
So, I was back on the water Wednesday with Jerry Miller and his brother-in-law Phil, of Paw Paw, Michigan. We met at the Circle K, and headed of to Sanibel, and were on the water a bit after nine o'clock. Although we didn't set the world on fire, a great day on the water began unfolding just after we got on the water. The lagoon I come out of is full of ospreys and at least two eagles' nests. There's almost always porpoise running fish in there. As we got close to Wulfert Channel I spotted something barely moving along out in front of me, and thought it might be a couple of racoons swimming from one mangrove island to another. But as I got closer I realized I was looking at a small croc of about six feet long. I tried to get in close enough to get a couple of shots without a zoom lens, but he was pretty timid, and disappeared under the mangroves.
We made a long run to see if we could get on some reds and snook on the earlier stage of the tide. But, Mother Nature had other ideas. I don't know what the cause, but there was turtlegrass floating everywhere on the water so thick that it made fishing all but impossible. It was so bad that if you didn't get a hit in the first few seconds, your bait would be covered with grass, and they won't eat grass!
I stationed Phil on a great spot that has plenty of both reds and snook, and then got Jerry situated to work depressions along a nice edge. I then went to hunt a redfish bite a short distance away. Although I did catch one redfish, I spent most of the time picking the seaweed off my lure. Once I'd caught the first red, I called Jerry and Phil to come join me. They'd not caught anything. But, they had just arrived when I spotted the reason I'd only caught one red; the seemingly ever present sharks. There seems to be no getting away from them this spring. We moved on in search of cleaner water, and I hoped the sharks wouldn't follow us or show up later.
I stationed the guys on spots that always have fish, and moved a short distance away again to try to find a bite. I had them fishing for reds, while I would search for snook. It wasn't long before I caught the first snook, and called the guys to come and join me. As soon as I had them properly situated, I moved on to try to find more snook. Jerry got a redfish and lost a snook at the spot I'd left him.
Meanwhile, I hooked a nice snook at my new spot. It gave me fits. I got it to close to the boat while it was too green. It wrapped itself around the trolling motor, and I managed to get it out. It wrapped itself around the stakeout pole and made a mess in the pulley, and I got it out. I don't know how that fish didn't get away, but I finally landed a nice 26 inch snook. I called the guys and told them to come join me if they weren't catching where they were. They came.
Once with me Jerry caught a couple more snook, and so did I. Then the shark showed up and really put on a show running fish right in front of us. Jerry was concerned that the fishing would once again be ruined, as is the case with the reds on the flats. But, I told him that the snook might be off for a little while but would still be there in front of us. Unlike fish out on an open flat, the snook can move right up on the mangrove root system or on the edge of an oyster bar where it is very hard for the shark to get to them. They're definitely in danger once they're hooked and on the line, though. I think Jerry did catch a snook after the shark had cleared out, but by then the tide had wound down.
Although we didn't set the world on fire, and Phil had not scored a fish, we'd seen a lot of cool things and caught some nice snook. Jerry and Phil assured me they'd had a blast, and Jerry said he was hooked on snook. They'll do that too ya! Jerry owns a Wilderness Systems kayak and Phil owns a Hobe. They both loved the Ultimates.
Wednesday evening, after cleanup, I called Dana Echols. We were going to fish the same area. But, even though we'd caught some nice fish, the sharks and seaweed situation were giving me second thoughts, along with the fact that we had yet another front on our doorstep, and the wind was going to be up as well. I asked Dana if he was up for an adventure. That guide-speak for, "are you willing to be a guineau pig?" I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to go back into Punta Rassa Cove and explore and learn more about the area. Dana did not hesitate in telling me it sounded like fun to him. The plan was laid.
I met Dana Thursday morning at the Circle K, and he rode the short distance to Port Comfort with me. He was armed only with his 9 weight flyrod, but I brought along extra spinning gear for him just in case. We headed out around Connie Mack Island to explore the many cuts, creeks, and coves. It's a beautiful estuary, but with it I think will come a serious learning curve. We had a hard time finding water more than a foot or so deep. The water was very stained, and you couldn't even tell it was that shallow. So, finding holes was all but impossible.
Dana quickly let me know he loves that kind of fishing, and proceeded to put on a flyfishing seminar on flyfishing under the mangroves. He's a very skilled fly caster, and it was fun just to watch him work that rod up in tight places. He did catch a small juvenile snook early on, but we went a while after that without action.
For the next hour or two I watched Dana make beautifully placed cast after cast. I made many brilliant casts, myself, and joked with Dana that I was known as Sir Castalot! Dana struck next blood and put a nice snook in the boat. But, just as I was about to push the shutter button, it flipped out of Dana's grip to freedom. I got a picture of Dana holding a "virtual" snook.
A short while later while Dana and I were not more than a hundred feet apart, it happened. I made the perfect cast that grazed the mangrove leaves going in. I got maybe two cranks of the handle and I was hit with a crushing strike that I instinctively knew was a very large snook. The strike was not a hit, and then run. It was a freight train hit. My lure couldn't have been more than six feet from the bushes, and my whole fishing life flashed before my eyes. In that millisecond I knew that I had only one chance to turn the snook before it cut me off in the mangroves. I HAD to lock the drag down with my left index finger on the skirt of the spool. I did! And that snook parted the brand new 15@ Power Pro with the crack of a high powered rifle going off. The rod unloaded violently as the line parted and almost smacked me in the face with the recoil. Dana turned and said, "What the hell was that? Sounded like a gunshot!." When I told him it was my line parting he was amazed. I've caught too many snook to count in my lifetime, and I'm hear to tell you that was one big, fat female, likely in the 20 to 30 pound range. Oh, well. I'd rather make her break me than let her cut me off in the barnacle encrusted mangrove roots. She earned that get-away.
A little later I finally boated a nice snook. It was great fishing, but tough catching. But, at least we weren't fighting constant seaweed problems and annoying, hungry sharks. For the last couple of hours we changed our strategy, and went looking for redfish around oyster bars. But, they weren't playing either, and we finished the day with three snook to the boat and the monster that got away.
Dana and I had a blast together. It had been a great day on the water in beautiful new surroundings. Back at his car Dana gave me a big hug and promised we would fish again. I can't wait.
Target Species:
The SLAM
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