Fishing Report for Pine Island Sound to Sarasota Bay, Florida

Capt. Butch Rickey
December 24, 2005
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report

REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING 12/24/05 by Capt. Butch Rickey

Only one trip to report on before the Christmas Holiday, and there couldn’t have been a better one to end the year on. My customer was Lenny Hall, of Boscawen, New Hampshire, and his good friends Don and Ron. As we came down the final stretch to the day, it was obvious it would not be a textbook day for fishing. It was cool, overcast, drizzly, and windy out of the north/northeast. Yes, another front had just made its way through. But, Lenny assured me that no matter whether the fish cooperated or not, we were going to have a blast. And, that’s exactly what we did. I hadn’t seen Lenny in several years, and had forgotten just how crazy fun he was!

We headed up the river and across Miserable Mile to try to avoid some of the choppy water in the Sound. The tide was falling for most of the morning, and we would be running out of places to fish. I had planned on making a run at some redfish on the flats early in the morning, but traffic had been so bad that morning that Lenny and the boys were more than a half hour late in arriving at the dock. Plus, the strong north wind had the falling tide well ahead of schedule, and our window was already closed. I had to go to Plan B.

By the time we got into the Sound it was nearly pothole time. We made a first stop at one of my favorite falling tide spots, and fished it hard, but it was a solid case of nothing doing. The fish were having nothing to do with our offerings. But, the boys were having fun hanging lures in the bushes and on the bottom, and keeping me busy and laughing all the while. After trying lots of different lures and colors, and working the area over well, we moved on.

It was pothole time, now. I headed to one of my favorite winter time, nothing wants to bite, potholes. The fish were so seriously lock-jawed they didn’t want to eat even there. We managed to catch some trout and gets some pulls on our lines, but the action was slow compared to what I generally see there. Usually, it’s a fish every cast. We had enough of a bite for a while to have some catching fun, but it was rudely interrupted by and approaching rain shower. We had been misted on a time or two already, and it wasn’t a day to be cold AND wet, so we decided to run to the Waterfront Restaurant and wait on it to pass.

Once there I asked Tonya to cue up the weather channel so we could check out the radar picture, and ordered one of their world class hot chocolates. It will warm the cockles of your heart, and satisfy the chocolate lover in nearly anyone. Since it was pushing the noon hour we decided to go ahead and eat. We could see that our rain showers had pushed inland, and decided we would go give it another try after lunch.

We headed to a beautiful area in Ding Darling Sanctuary. I was hopeful that we could pop at least one nice snook, but the realist in me knew it was a long shot. But, darned if one of the boys didn’t get a good snook hit early on. The fish hit hard and pulled against the drag for a second before the hook came free. I believe it was Don, and he said it was definitely a much bigger pull than he’d felt thus far.

As we continued on we did manage to catch a couple of small gag grouper, but that was it until we found nice sized ladyfish wadded up in one area where the water was moving very well. We all caught quite a few ladyfish before moving on. They’re great fun, and ladyfish have saved many a winter charter for many a fishing guide when the rest of the fish are lock jawed.

It was time to head home. The fun day had been a self fulfilling prophecy. We’d had a blast event though the fish hadn’t been very cooperative at all. We had again proven that you don’t have to slay the fish to have a great fishing trip! I’d had more laughs than I’d had in a very long time, and Lenny, Don, and Ron were the perfect guys to usher in the holiday week.

I would like to wish all of my friends, customers, and readers a very blessed and safe Christmas with your loved ones and friends. I’ll be back next week with one more final report for the year. Merry Christmas to all!

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