Fishing Report for Pine Island Sound to Sarasota Bay, Florida

Capt. Butch Rickey
June 3, 2006
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report

REPORT FOR THE WEEK ENDING 6/3/06 by Capt. Butch Rickey

Poor tides helped create a short work week, but the snooking was good early in the week.

The week began on Monday with my old friends Stephen O’dell and John Cherry, down from Leesburg for a week of vacation. It was slick as glass Monday morning, and I knew as we caught bait we’d be headed outside for snook if the wind stayed down, or at least offshore. We caught bait at Picnic Island without any problems, and were on the way fishing by around 7 AM. By then the wind had kicked pretty well, but it was northeast, and once we were through Redfish Pass, it was beautiful and flat.

We were the only boat on the section of beach we chose, and we had a pretty good bite for a while. Stephen and John had a good time missing and catching snook, and both admitted they missed as least as many as they caught, which was a dozen or so. It was over shortly before ten, and we decided to head back inside to see if we could find a redfish or two.

The wind had laid and it was smooth on the flats. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the bright sunlight lit up the flats almost as if there were no water there! We might as well have been wearing bright neon signs! And, the water hadn’t moved the first bit all morning. We put out lines, both live and cut bait, and had two hits, both of which we missed. We fished a number of other spots trying to put something together, and went as far north as Josslyn Island without a bite. The water just wasn’t moving enough to see it move. Finally, the boys decided we’d better head in, to keep the ladies happy.

If we’d had to spend the whole morning in the Sound, it would have been an awful time to fish. Fortunately, the beach snook don’t seem to play by the same rules, ignoring the tides. At least Stephen and John had some new spots to try during the rest of the week from their own boat. They’re great guys, and always fun to fish with, and I hope I get a good fishing report from them when they get home.

Tuesday’s trip was the first with Alastair Stuart, and his friend Bobby, who were vacationing here for a couple of weeks from Scotland. I love fishing with folks from the UK because they have such great humor. Alastair and I had chatted back and forth via email since back in January, and I couldn’t wait to meet him. Although he’d told me early on that Bobby suffered with MS, in all the business of the season I admit that I forgot. But, when we met that morning at the ramp Bobby was doing quite well with the aid of a cane, although he’s usually in a wheelchair.

Alastair told me Bobby had never fished. Ever! And, he would have to stay seated. That’s a tough situation for snook fishing, and that’s what we were going to do. The tide was even worse than on Monday, and there would be little to nothing going on inside until around noon. As we cleared the ramp and the Marine Patrol folks guarding the causeway, I rolled the throttle on and headed up the river. As the bow raised in response to the power, Alastair let out an, “Oh, my!” I knew right then it was going to be a great day!

We arrived at Picnic Island just as it was light enough to see, and had all the bait we could use in about 45 minutes. After a quick cleanup, we were headed to the snook grounds. It was a beautiful morning, and again the prevailing breeze was nor-easterly, and I knew it would be flat on the beaches. The ride was great, and there wasn’t another soul around when we arrived at our destination.

Once I got the boat anchored on our spot, I baited Alastair and tossed the bait to the beach to show him where the bait needed to be. It was crushed almost instantly, and from that point we never looked back. We had a hot snook bite for most of the morning. Alastair was like a kid in a toy store! He’d never experienced anything like this before, and was just amazed there could be so many fish in one place. I was just glad they were biting, and was happy to be very busy baiting hooks and tying lines! We all had a blast. Even Bobby got to catch not only his first snook, but his first and second fish! And, I got to catch a couple, as well.

About an hour into the action we were joined by Capt. Bob Monford, and he and his anglers were immediately into the snook, too. We were all “carryin on” and having a big time. By the time we decided to go inside and give redfish a quick try, Alastair had easily boated 40 plus snook. I think he was pretty worn out, and the sun was wearing on Bobby. Alastair was concerned about Bobby getting too much sun, as was I. I had recommended they leave a sunbrella in the car, not realizing that Bobby wouldn’t be fishing.

Once we got inside it was the same situation as the day before. The water wasn’t moving, it was crystal clear, and full of floating debris presumably from the bait shrimpers dragging their traps across the flats during the night. All having had enough sun and action for one day, we headed in. Oh, did that Yamaha air conditioning feel great!

It had been a great day! There’s nothing more fun as a guide than to be a part of a day like that, where your customer experiences the greatest day of fishing ever. And, as I had expected it was a morning full of laughs, and as close to a perfect day as you could ask for. I’m betting Alastair takes home memories of that day that will live on forever.

I spent the day Wednesday taking John Hitt’s Coastline up the river to the City Ramp, where I met Danny Fowler. We had blown something on John’s Power Pole that last time we were out, and thought it was the seal in the hydraulic cylinder that operates the unit. Danny came prepared for almost anything, except what had actually failed. Murphy’s Law rules. One of the high pressure hoses had ruptured, and Danny had to go and run down parts to repair it while I stayed with the boat. As I sat and watched people come and go, I was amazed at the thoughtlessness and lack of consideration people have for others when they’re launching their boats. Oh well. Some things will never change, I guess.

Once Danny had the proper part, repairs and bleeding the system were quick. We actually spent a lot more time waiting to get the boat in and out of the water than we did working on it! And, of course, the ride up and down the river observing speed limits and manatee zones is a good 40 minutes one way. And, for what?

We have a serious double standard here, if you ask me. The environmentalists were thrilled to see so many of the Australian pines blown down my hurricane Charley because they’re not indigenous to our state. They were quick to finish the job. Well, let’s use the same logic with the manatees, and ship all these West Indian manatees back home! Problem solved.

I’ve got a full week next week, and the tides will be much improved. If the breezes allow us to get to the snook early, there should be lots to talk about next week.

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