Fishing Report for Pine Island Sound to Sarasota Bay, Florida

Capt. Butch Rickey
June 10, 2006
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report

REPORT FOR THE WEEK ENDING 6/10/06 by Capt. Butch Rickey

Feast of Famine! That’s what it is right now. Famine on the flats, and Feast on the beaches. That being said, it was a great week overall, with all but one day with old friends.

The week began with new customers, George Bock and his brother-in-law David. The high pressure that controls our summer weather had moved and caused the prevailing wind to be onshore. That would be enough to keep us from going outside for snook on the beaches if it was more than 10 MPH. It gets too bumpy out there, and to fish the beaches you have to anchor right where the waves are cresting, about a cast from shore. So, we would have to get ‘er done inside.

We headed out to Picnic Island in the dark broken only by the blue flashing lights of the Sheriff’s boats that are patrolling around the causeway while they work on the first span. They turn all boats away, and no one is allowed to pass underneath. It’s very unusual to have bait still on Picnic Island this time of year, and even more unusual to have it where we’re catching it. So, I wondered as we rode along in the cool morning’s dawn if the bait would still be there. Fortunately, it was, and it didn’t take us long to load the Talon’s console well with enough bait for a couple days fishing.

We headed up into the Sound with high hopes, but not so high expectations. At the first couple of stops there was no action at all. Lots of beautiful water and lots of fish, but none that would eat. The wind seemed to be laying a bit, and we voted to go and see how rough it was outside. I figured it would still be bouncy, but you never know for sure until you go look. As soon as we entered Redfish Pass the answer began to become apparent. I rode down the beach a half mile or so, and it was just too rough to be able to enjoy fishing. We turned around and went back inside.

We were close to Charley’s Pass and Fosters Bay. I hadn’t been there in a long while, and decided while we were this close to take a look. There were two larger guide boats already there fishing some stumps, and between the two of them they had eight or nine lines in the water. We worked around some trees keeping our distance, and during the time we were there we saw a total of three fish caught. We moved on.

Since I was fairly far north, I decided to head farther north to a beautiful spot I hadn’t fished in quite some time. There was one other boat in the area, but their setup fishing into the breeze had me wondering. Finally, we had almost immediate action. I thought we’d finally found some fish that we could catch for a while. But, two or three snook and two reds was it before the tide quit moving. It was an early tide. The rest of our morning would be fishing on the outgoing tide.

I had just the spot in mind, and once we were sure the fish were done at our spot, we headed out. The westerly breeze and an outgoing tide gave us the perfect presentation for snook; casting down the wind and retrieving the bait with the current. Before the action died down we caught a few more snook, a couple of mangrove snapper, and another redfish. We were hungry. It was time for the Waterfront.

The lunch at the Waterfront was great, as always. We had fun recapping the day and chatting. Although the catching had been slow by our standards, George and David were a blast to be with, and it had been a fun day.

Tuesday morning I met my old friend Tom Smith, and his son Stephen, of Cincinnati, Ohio, via Marco Island. Tom is a veteran of many trips, and we’ve had some great ones over the years. We’ve caught redfish together until our arms ached. We’ve had some great snook trips, too, but not as many. Tom told me he’d caught enough redfish and wanted to concentrate on snook. That was great by me, but as our day approached, it became obvious that we wouldn’t be able to get out to where the main snook population was. We’d have to get it done inside. Tom assured me that whatever we did would be fine by him and Stephen.

After catching great bait at Picnic Island, we hung around to catch a few of the trout that were feeding in the legions of bait that was there. After a few small trout we were off to our first stop; a beautiful spot in Ding Darling. We anchored just inside the mouth of a creek and began tossing live chum. It wasn’t long before we had some fish blowing up some of our chum, and were catching some fish. We caught ladyfish and jacks, along with one redfish. I put a couple of ladyfish in the well for use as redfish bait later. As we moved on into the creek the action slowed. We moved on.

At the next stop we fished hard but only managed to break off one nice redfish, and land one nice snook on a chunk of cut ladyfish. The fish were there, but not interested in eating ladyfish, cut pins, or live shiners. Frustrating.

By this time our tide had turned, and was going out. I decided to visit the same spot where we’d done pretty well on the first of the falling tide on Monday. It was as good a call as we could make, as we managed several snook there to wrap up our day.

As we rode home I thought about the man sitting next to me. Tom is 76 years old. He’s in great shape and sharp as a tack. I love his rapier wit! He gives me hope and inspiration that I can keep guiding for many years to come.

I’d been looking forward to Wednesday’s trip for a long time. My good friend Bubba Baker, his daughter Shelby, and nephew Kevin, from Ft. Lauderdale, had come over Tuesday night to stay at the fishcamp by way of their vacation on Palm Island. Bubba had been wanting to get Shelby out with me for a long time, and of course, I was just as eager to take Shelby fishing.

Shelby is quite the fisher-girl. She already has several IGFA world records under her belt at the tender young age of 14! She’s caught tons of small snook fishing on the beach when they vacation on the west coast every year, but had only caught one redfish. Bubba’s mission for Shelby was to catch redfish. I had explained the situation with the fishing here this year, and how tough it has been, and Bubba was cool. He just wanted to have a good time with his daughter and nephew, and told me not to worry about production!

So! Up and at ‘em we were on Wednesday morning early. We were on the water well before 6 AM. I just love that ride through the darkness early in the morning. It’s the best time of the day! It’s the cool summer air in your face. The hint of pink and orange on the horizon to your right as dawn struggles to break. It’s the excitement of riding along at 40 to 50 MPH in the darkness. And, I’m sure that for my customers it’s the excitement of wondering if I have any idea where I’m going, and if I’m going to plow into something unseen in the darkness and kill us all. It makes you feel so alive! Well, rest assured that I know the waters like I know every inch of my glorious, naked body! Also, rest assured that my primary concern is for the safety of my customers. Right behind that is concern for my own safety!!

It was still quite dark when we arrived at Picnic, and we had to wait a while for the bait to wake up. But, once it did, we had plenty in a few throws, and were ready to take on the day. Our first stop would be in Ding Darling.

Once in the sanctuary, I anchored and began chumming. It wasn’t long before we had action. As we fished our way into the interior, the kids (Shelby, Kevin, and Bubba) caught flounder, a couple of ladyfish, several mangrove snapper, a gag grouper, and Kevin caught a blacktip shark. It was his first. We had lots of strikes that were missed, and lots of kill strikes from snook. It had been blowing pretty good out of the east/southeast all morning, and we were content to stay in Ding Darling. But, once things slowed down, we had to move on.

It was time for flats fishing for redfish, and the spot we chose was beautiful. There were mullet flipping everywhere and the water was beautiful and clear. Not good for fishing, though. I rigged everything with popping corks, and we got to fishing. I showed Bubba a couple of tricks that have really helped me produce redfish in this clear water. And, they worked for us this day. We managed several redfish, and several snook. Shelby got her second redfish, ever, and her 501st snook! Kevin got his first snook, and second redfish, ever.

We finished the day at the Waterfront Restaurant. It was the first time there for the Baker gang! We had a great lunch, and recapped the day. Bubba assured me that he was happy with the day, even though I wasn’t.

Thursday was my annual trip with my old friend David Adair, from the Cincinnati area. Dave’s brother-in-law Paul was with him. It had been so long since I’d seen Paul, I actually didn’t recognize him. That’s embarrassing! Dave is one of my all-time favorite people to fish with! He just loves to fish, and he loves those snook. He’s like a kid in a candy store when I put him on those fish, and I get the biggest kick out of him.

I picked Dave and Paul up at the Sanibel Harbor resort dock, where I traditionally do. We went straight to Picnic Island and were there early. We had a boat full of bait and the boat cleaned up by 6:30, and were on the way to the fish. It was rough in the Gulf, but we were determined to get on the snook, and pressed on. We arrived at our destination shortly after seven o’clock, and there wasn’t another boat in sight.

We were immediately on the fish. It was a hot bite. Dave was having a blast. One thing I love about fishing with Dave is that he talks to the fish. He coaxes them, romances them, curses them. He’s totally In-Tuit! He doesn’t care if he lands the fish, or not. Can’t keep them, anyway this time of year. He just loves the strike and the fight.

It had been a few years since Paul had been here, and it took him a while to get into the groove. Although he’s right-handed, he wanted to reel with his right hand. The Stellas aren’t reversible in the field. And, Paul doesn’t fish with spinning gear back home. It’s baitcast stuff. So, he definitely had an adjustment period. But, once he got through that, his rod got hot.

David and Paul wrecked the snook for three hours. Finally, Dave said to Paul, “This is catching! What do you say we go do some fishing?” He was talking about fishing for redfish on the flats. Although I told them I couldn’t promise what the action might be other than slow, they were ready to go give it a try. The stiff easterly wind that had made the bay rough and the beach bearable had laid down some, and the ride was pretty nice.

Once we were on the flats we were met with tight lips. Man, the fish were lockjawed! I don’t know. I guess the water was too clear, and too hot. We finally decided to turn our attention back to snook for the last part of the tide, and headed to a new spot. There we found some mangrove snapper, speckled trout, and Dave caught an 8 to 9 pound snook to end the day. We never got our redfish for the Slam.

Tired and hungry, we headed for the Waterfront Restaurant. After a great lunch and some relaxation out of the heat, we headed home. Back at Sanibel Harbor, I finally got to meet Dave’s wife Vicki, who’s as pretty as a picture, and his daughter, and Paul’s daughter. I gave Dave some of the left over bait, and said good-bye. It had been a great day. I don’t know how it could have been much better.

It’s Friday! I’m half way through eight days in a row in the summer heat. I was already physically and mentally fried. I met Tom Smith and Jim Brady at quarter till six, and we were off into the darkness, headed for Picnic Island. Neither bird nor bait was awake when we arrived.

Bait was tough! We actually had to mix up a second bucket of chum. Actually, I think the only problem was that we were early. There’s not usually much going on before the sun cracks the horizon. We kept at it though, and with Tom’s expert chumming we finally had a full livewell, and I had a sore back. But, we were ready to go fishing.

Friday proved to be the toughest day of the week. It was flat calm. Jim has some problems with his knees, and some balance issues, so going outside to the big snook bite was basically not an option. And, boy the fish inside sure weren’t very friendly.

At our first stop we had lots of fish blasting our live chum, but nothing wanting to eat our hooked baits. We caught one speckled trout, which was missing almost all of his tail. The area we were in had lots of fishing opportunities, and we worked them hard. But, we came up with nothing else but catfish and a small trout, or two.

We worked our way north. While we rode I looked for redfish moving in the slick calm waters. Although I did see quite a few redfish, I never saw a school. All the fish I saw were scattered singles that would be hard to catch. We fished hard, but it was no wonder we couldn’tget a bite, as the water was so full of floating seaweed that our baits were immediately covered with the mess. The northern end of the Sound seemed to be much worse than the southern end, so we headed back south. The other major factor we were dealing with was the Caloosa Stretch and Release Tournament that had started that morning. It had put some 100+ extra boats on the water chasing fish.

I stopped at a beautiful spot that has been very good to me over the years. And, on a day when it was nearly impossible to get a bite, it was, again. We managed to catch a couple of nice snook, and a couple of nice redfish, giving Tom his second Slam of the week. On the slack tide, we also caught several catfish.

It had been a tough day, indeed. And, although I was in desperate need of a day out of the sun, it was a great day with old friends. And, no matter how tired you are, or how much it hurts, that’s what it’s all about!

Well, we’re ten days into the hurricane season, and we have the first tropical disturbance on the radar. It’s expected to move into the eastern Gulf on Sunday. Let’s hope it’s a rain maker, only.

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