Fishing Report for Pine Island Sound to Sarasota Bay, Florida

Capt. Butch Rickey
May 7, 2005
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report

RERORT FOR THE WEEK ENDING 5/7/05 by Capt. Butch Rickey

First up this week was Troy Gale, of Cape Coral. Troy was supposed to have been accompanied by his boss for this trip, but at the last minute he ducked out. We had storms just offshore, but to the south, and it appeared they wouldn't present us a problem.

We headed to Picnic Island for bait, where I was surprised to find there were only a handful of other boats trying to catch bait. We had a pretty stiff breeze just north of east, which against the incoming tide, made bait a bit tricky. But, with Troy's skilled chum placement, we had all the bait we could want in half dozen or so throws of the net. It was time to fish.

We headed to a spot that I love to fish on the first of the incoming tide, and took up position. The first bait I pitched was hit as soon as it hit the water, but of course, I was explaining to Troy how to get tight with the circle hook, and missed it! In the next half hour Troy caught a couple of trout, but that was about it. The snook were up to their usual tricks, and were scaling the baits, but not eating them. We moved on.

The next area I wanted to fish had a boat with three wade fishermen on it. My favorite patch of the place was not occupied, so we motored in on the MinnKota. Some chumming got us a snook or two, but most scaled baits. The bite was very slow.

We moved on, again, and switched species. Our attention was on redfish for a little while. I chummed and put out two cut baits and one live, to no avail. Not even a hit. It seemed nothing was interested in eating.

On to the next spot we hit a snook or two, and a small redfish, which actually gave Troy the Slam, but we didn't have any meat in the boat. Troy wanted a couple of fish for dinner. Redfish to be specific. Of course, snook are not out of season.

My friend Capt. Mark Westra joined us on the flat nearby. He told me he was fishing some kind of tournament, and needed a redfish. After a half hour or so, they had one on. I called him on the Nextel to see if he wanted me to join him and help with the chumming. He did, and we did. I could see a small pod of fish in front of him, but we never were able to get another red to eat. Troy and I fished a couple of other spots in the vicinity, and may have managed another snook, but certainly not much more.

Troy wanted a redfish or two, and we decided to head north to try to fill that order. But, the water was full of sand, and just didn't look right. We fished a couple of spots without incident, and moved on north. The water clarity was great just a short distance away, and we saw some snook, but couldn't get anything to do more than scale our baits. I was frustrated. I wanted to put Troy on some good action, but the fish just weren't interested.

I decided on a major landscape change. The first spot I wanted to fish had a boat near enough that I dared not try to approach for fear of upsetting those anglers. WE moved on. Dittos for the second spot. Geez! Where were all the boats coming from? The third spot, and old favorite of mine in the north end and rarely fished by others, was vacant. Although there wasn't a hot bite there, it turned out to be a good hole, giving us a nice keeper redfish, and a couple of snook. The second one smacked Troy's bait right at the mangroves and immediately took off into the root system. Troy did a masterful job of "down and dirty" on the snook, and eventually worked the female out and to the boat on the light tackle. She was 28 inches, but didn't have a lot of weight on her, yet.

I really wanted to put Troy on a second redfish, since the season had just closed on snook, and that nice 28 inch fish had to swim free. We moved on, hitting a couple more spots, and fishing on the now falling tide, but to no avail. The fish just weren't interested.

So, Troy ended the day with about a half dozen snook to 28 inches, a couple of reds, and a couple of trout. What a tough day! Back at the dock I talked to a couple other guides who recounted similar experiences. It doesn't hurt quite so badly when you know others struggled, as well. It was definitely a fun day of fishing, but a tough day of catching!

Wednesday was a great day! A very sweet young lady named Dana Waters, who has worked for her boss, Buddy Greenwell, for some fifteen years, arranged a gift fishing trip for Buddy. Buddy brought along his brother-in-law Jimmy Davis. Buddy and Jimmy, who live in Alva, are both Florida born and bred, like myself. Buddy grew up fishing the river for snook, redfish, tarpon, etc. I thought that I would do something different with them, that I don't do often with my typical customers; fish for big snook in the bushes!!

So, we headed to Picnic Island for bait, and with Jimmy chumming, we loaded up in less than an hour, and one mix of chum. I wanted plenty of bait so I wouldn't have to worry about running out if we got to chumming snook or redfish very heavily. I'm guessing we had a good 600 baits in the well.

I headed to a favorite spot of mine in Ding Darling Sanctuary, that I rarely fish because of the manatee zones. But, the wind was southeast, which was perfect, and I knew that by the time we could get there the water would just be kicking on the incoming tide. I also knew that the place is lousy with biiiiig snook, some big reds, trout, jacks, and grouper.

Once we arrived I got situated to fish the mangrove shoreline. It didn't take but just a few minutes for Buddy to get blasted by a monster snook, that caught him sleeping, and quickly had him way back in the mangroves, tangled up, but still hooked. Nothing had parted. After trying some grouper tricks that often work with snook, I pulled anchor and we headed to the shoreline, hoping we could at least get a look at this big female snook before the parted the line. We traced the line down into the mangroves, and managed to get some of it freed, but the big fish was hiding way up under a ledge, out of sight. After several minutes of trying, we finally broke her off. What a disappointment!

That first fish pretty much set the tone for the day. Buddy and Jimmy had multiple big fish on, but never got one close to the boat. They did manage to catch some jack crevalle, a couple of nice gag grouper, and hooked a couple of trout, but every snook was missed. We were having a good time, but opted to move on to easier fishing than what the mangroves allow.

As we arrived at our next destination, I could see several boat in the neighborhood. My cousin Sean Middleton, and friends Paul Hobby and Mark Westra were within a quarter mile area. I took up a position between Paul and Mark and began chumming with live and cut bait. We put out a couple of large live shiners, and it wasn't but a couple minutes before Buddy's bait was blasted, and the bite was on. Buddy and Jimmy caught redfish after redfish. We had several double hookups, and even a triple.

Suddenly, the wind switched around to the southwest, and blew us right off our fish. Damn! I chummed like hell trying to get the fish to move back in front of us, but they just wouldn't come. I could see that the school was in front of Paul, and shouted to him to move up on them. He did.

By this time the tide was coming to a stop, the wind had ambushed us, and I was desperate to try to get back on the school. So, I moved, trying to circle back around to get back on the fish. But, the tide had taken it's toll, and there were only a couple more fish caught.

We took a brief intermission while the tide was slack to put some nourishment into our tummies. Then, we were back at it. But, I couldn't get those obstinate redfish to eat, again. Me and the boys decided to go back after snook.. After having practically every bait banged and scaled, Jimmy finally got nailed by a big snook, and the fight was on. The fish made a couple of great runs, stripping line from the reel like the drag was turned off. But, Jimmy inadvertently dropped the fish some slack, and she swam free! He was really disappointed. But, a few minutes later, another snook crushed his bait, and although it wasn't the big fish he'd been missing, it was a nice snook, and Jimmy had broken the barrier.

We fished hard for another half hour, or so, and at around 1:30, we headed for home. The bite was over. It had been a great, fun day. The boys had lost some big snook, but that's what big snookin is all about. It takes a long time to perfect the light tackle snook techniques that I teach, and it's not until they become automatic and without thought, that you begin whipping those big snook butts on a regular basis. My thanks to Buddy and Jimmy for a great time.

I awoke Thursday morning at three o'clock, and went straight to the computer and queued up the radar. The front was still hanging on, having come back on us as a cold front, and the gulf was full of rain, just offshore. The prospects for completing my first trip with Joe Sanford weren't promising. I studied the movement for a while, and decided to go ahead and get ready. I figured that if I could get through catching bait without getting rained on, I'd take a shot at getting the trip done.

The decision was complicated by the fact that I had to pick Joe up in front of the runway at North Captiva. It's a long run, especially if it's blowing, or storming. I was at Picnic Island as dawn broke, and began my chumming ritual. To my surprise, there were only two other boats there the whole time I was there. Although it's harder to catch bait by yourself, the bait came in well, and I had the Talon loaded to the gills with enough bait for a day of fishing and heavy chumming. I called Joe and 7:20, and told him I would be there no later than eight o'clock.

I didn't run hard, but I was on the beach at North Captiva at 7:50. I waited, and watched 8:00 come and go. Then 8:05. I called Joe to tell him I was there waiting, and had been for 15 minutes. Finally, Joe and his lovely wife Susan pulled up in the golf cart at 8:20!! Susan was understandably concerned about the weather. So was I. I didn't expect to get through the morning without dealing with storms and rain, and I had come across some nasty water getting to North Captiva. I told her that if she was concerned about the weather and a bumpy ride, she might want to sit this one out. She took my advice.

Joe and I finally got going, and headed back south to an area that I just love to fish. I especially like it when there's a threat of storms, because a nearby golf course has a very loud lightning alert alarm that is audible for a couple of miles. Usually, when I hear that, I'm out of there and running for cover.

There wasn't a boat anywhere in sight when Joe and I arrived there, and we had the expansive flats to ourselves. The water was still low, and we began with targeting snook. Of course, it didn't take long to find out that Mr. Snook was still up to his usual tricks of scaling the bait and leaving it for dead! Joe noted how bass will do exactly the same thing. Joe is an avid and skilled angler of both fresh and saltwater species back in his home waters around Washington, DC, with both spin and fly gear.

We managed to catch a few snook, but it was a slow bite. It was dark and overcast, and the rumble of thunder was in the air. We made a move to a nearby flat, where I found two of my friends nearby. They were working at getting the redfish school chummed in and eating, but weren't having any luck. I joined them and chummed with both live and cut bait on my piece of flat. We couldn't draw a strike. I was very uneasy about how long we might actually get to fish, as we had already heard the lightning alarm once. I decided to stay and fish, as the weather seemed to be holding just to our north. And, besides! The rodtips weren't buzzing like transformers, yet!

I left my friends and turned my attention back to snook. I wanted Joe to be catching. He managed a few more snook, and some beautiful 3 and 4 pound trout, as we watched my friends give up on the reds and leave. We kept at it, and all the while I watched the water for signs of the redfish schools moving in. Finally, I saw what I was looking for, and told Joe I thought I could see the school. But, we were several hundred yards away, and it was hard to be sure. We moved closer, still concentrating on snook, but watching the water closely.

It didn't take long before I knew I had indeed seen the school, and moved up on them. I threw some chum, and we put our baits out. It only took a few seconds to have the first redfish on. I knew we were close to having redfish mayhem going on once again. Then came the second, and the third, and the fourth redfish. We were on them! My good friend Capt. Rey Rodriguez called, and I told him we had the bite started, and to come join us as quickly as he could. He did! Capt. John Objartle also showed up a bit later, while we were in the midst of a great bite. I would have called John if I'd had his Nextel Direct Connect number.

It was drizzling, and the rumble of thunder was getting louder and more persistent. The lightning alert went off a couple more times. As the bite slowed with the slowing of the tide, I urged Joe that we call it a day. We had to get him back up to North Captiva, and I then had to get home safely. A long ride in threatening weather. Joe was good with that, as we'd had a great day with snook, several big trout, and a bunch of redfish to about 7 pounds. We'd had a blast. Joe was as surprised about how well my 3 oz. St. Croix rods handled those redfish as he was about the fishing, itself. I suspect he'll be buying some of them.

We headed back to North Captiva. By this time the wind had switched around to nearly west, and we were in the lee, and the water was smooth. Once back at the airstrip, Joe called Susan, and she quickly showed up in the golf cart. She was thrilled to see the big trout and redfish we had in the well. We got everything off loaded, said our good-byes, and I took off, hoping I could get in ahead of the weather. It had been a great, albeit damp morning for Joe and me, and we vowed that on the next trip Susan went along, or we wouldn't go!

As good and fun as the week had been, Friday was even better. My customer was John Howell, whom I had fished with once before along with his son-in-law Jim. This time they brought along John's daughter, and Jim's wife, Kate. She was just bubbling with personality, had the most beautiful smile, and was just cuter than hell! I fell in love with her right from the start! OK, you perverts! Not in the literal sense. But, I just loved her right off the bat, and knew we were going to have a hell of a good time between her, Jimmy, and my friend John.

I met John and his gang at the Waterfront Restaurant in St. James City, and 6:45 AM. The conditions were very poor. The wind was around to the northwest with the passing of the front that had lingered over us for days. That usually means rough waters, a high barometer, and a tough bite. Once I met the guys at St. James I gave them the caveat that I expected the fishing to be very poor. John, Jim, and Kate put their heads together for a moment, and quickly decided they wanted to go fishing, and take their chances. I questioned their sanity, but little did I know that it would be a great day.

We headed back to Picnic Island, where we caught a ton of bait. Since Kate was the freshman on this trip, I elected her to be the chummer. She gladly took over the duties, and did a fine job. We caught a ton of bait! In fact, I had talked to my friend Capt. Rey Rodriguez the night before, and he told me he was leaving the dock at 7:30. I told him that I would be on the flat at around 7:00, and would catch bait for him until he arrived.

Well, by the time Rey joined us, I was about to sink the Talon with bait. We off-loaded a bunch of bait to Rey's well, and then I threw the net another couple of times, and we loaded Rey's well. After a few more scoops to top him off, we were all ready to go, and Rey's boat was still spick and span!

As we did that first leg of our journey into the Sound, I decided to take John and Crew into Ding Darling Sanctuary to the same area I had fished a couple of days before. We'd tangled with lots of big snook, but not gotten any into the boat. The area would offer up some great protection to the strong northwest wind that was blowing. The tide was just beginning to move in as we arrived. I prayed we could get something to eat!

And, eat they did. Katie had bragged to me that she was bad luck. She could never catch a fish when she went fishing. I warned her that I was going to break her spell! The first fish was a snook. Katie brought it to the boat, and it was her first ever. A little later Jim got his first snook, a small one. Throughout the course of the morning we caught speckled trout, snook, a grouper, a snapper, a nice redfish, and bunches of jack crevalle, which Kate just loved. It was just too fun watching Kate and Jim catching those jacks. Kate would squeal when she got a fish on, and get so excited she couldn't stand it. It just tickled the hell out of me. And, she was just funnier than bunch of monkeys playing basketball! She kept me, John, and Jim in stitches most of the day. We all missed lots of fish, but Jim and Kate each boated ten fish. And, not to discount anyone else or the great times I've had, it was one of the most fun days on the water I've had in a long time. Oh, I've had much more productive days in terms of fish caught, but in terms of fun, this day ranked right up there at the top!

Finally, as the tide slowed the catfish began to bite, and it was a sure sign that fishing was over. We all decided that lunch back at the Waterfront sounded pretty good. After a long idle out of the Sanctuary, we were on our way back to civilization. It had been a wonderful day with wonderful folks. What better way to end the day than with a wonderful lunch? We had more fun chatting and recounting the day. John thanked me more than once for showing his kids a great time. I was just happy to have been a part of it. And, as we parted, Katie gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. That just made my day!!

And, that's how it went. It was a great week filled with great people and great fishing. What more could a guide want? Next week's weather promises to finally be warm and sunny. Maybe this will be the week that the snook finally bust loose! Stay tuned.

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