A Great Day of Teaching and Catching!
Capt. Butch Rickey
November 26, 2013
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report
Week Ending 11/9/13.........
I had a busy week on the books, but it blew up a storm for most of the week. I only managed to get out one day!
The day was Monday, and I had an instructional trip with a really interesting, fun, and nice guy, Bonnim Tanzman, who has recently bought a home on the river. He also bought a SOT kayak a few months ago.
The forecast was for 25 MPH winds. Bonnim wanted to get the trip in, so we did our trip in Punta Rassa Cove, which is about the most protected water around. The fishing can be good there, too. I was at Port Comfort Marina at the crack of dawn getting the boats ready. Bonnim arrived around seven o'clock, and we were soon on our way.
I wanted to get Bonnim (BT is his nickname) on a good bite early on the low incoming tide. We fished the edge of a drop that I had not fished before, but knew was likely to be full of trout. First, though, I gave BT a casting clinic. Distance and accuracy casting are as important as any other piece of the shallow water fishing puzzle. The farther you can stay away from your target fish, the better. The clinic typically begins with an explanation of all the parts of the rod, and what they're for. May sound silly, but most folks actually don't know. Then, I illustrate how important is it to fully load the rod during the cast, by doing a catapult, or slingshot cast. BT got that look on his face immediately that told me he got it. I saw the lesson before I said anything. The clinic ends with the education of the casters two index fingers, which is critical to accurate casting and controlling big fish with light tackle.
As the water began to move our clinic turned into a trout fest with trout caught on probably every other cast. That trout bite lasted for a couple of hours. All bites eventually end. For that reason I'm reluctant to leave a good bite until Mother Nature puts an end to it. Once our bite ended, we turned our attention to redfish.
I took BT to one of my favorite areas for reds. Virtually every time I have fished it I have found a school of redfish, and had them all over the place. The water was still so tannin stained as to make seeing anything beneath the surface impossible. We worked the area over in the knowledge that the reds are always there on the right stage of the tide. We didn't get a fish to eat, but I did wind up seeing one up tight to the bushes and very shallow. They were around!
We moved on to another spot that has never failed to give me at least one nice redfish, as well as nice founder and trout, too. The wind was really howling, making things difficult. I got BT situated so that he could properly fish the hole and went to another nearby spot that has given me consistently big snook nearly every time I fish it.
To my chagrin, BT didn't catch a redfish at Old Faithful, but I did hook a big dawg snook, which I broke off trying to stop her at the barnacle encrusted mangrove roots, which is an instant cutoff if the line touches. I teach brake it, and make the big dawgs break you, as they will cut you off if you let them get to the roots! Later, I lost another big snook after a good first run. It just wasn't meant to be that day. But, that's OK. The best part is the TAKE!
Most of our tide was done by this time, no doubt slowed in its tracks by the wicked north wind. We'd had a good day considering the conditions, and BT was totally in love with my Native Ultimates. The only thing keeping him from going right out and buying one is a storage problem at his condo!
I kept a couple of fish including a nice keeper trout and a 16 inch flounder, for dinner. I hung them on the dock next to the ramp for cleaning after the boats were broken down and on the trailer. We were both tired from fighting the wind for hours. BT and I said our goodbyes, and I jumped into the van and took off behind BT. The fish didn't cross my mind until late that night, and I knew that even if they had survived passing anglers, the birds would surely have gotten them. Hate to loose those Sampo stringers, though.
Target Species:
The SLAM!
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