Fishing Report for Pine Island Sound to Sarasota Bay, Florida

Capt. Butch Rickey
April 15, 2000
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report

FISHING REPORT FOR THE WEEK ENDING 3/18/00

This was the week of my wife's second surgery. I took three days off to be home with her, and had one cancellation. The result was that I only fished two days, and they were tough.

Monday, my friend Bo Mack, the fella who dubbed me "Radio Schnaz", was back in town with his son Ed, and his good friend Bill Morriel and his son. Since the tide was very poor in the morning, the plan was to hit the water around nine o'clock, catch bait, have lunch at the Waterfront, and then fish the afternoon incoming tide. It was a good plan, but it didn't work very well. Oh, we got our bait at Picnic Island, and had a great lunch, but the wind was 15 knots straight out of the east, and I suspect was in part responsible for a horribly slow bite. I mean the fish just had a major case of lockjaw. OK, it's true that the boys missed a few hits that should have been fish in the boat, but the bite just wasn't there like I would want. The boys put one snook and two trout in the boat all afternoon. We worked hard at it, but the fish just wouldn't cooperate. I hate days like that.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were off days with Jean. Her surgery went well, but left her very sore. Tom and Sue Savage had been scheduled originally for Friday, and had booked last year. Unfortunately, something came up with his job that caused him to cancel at the last minute. That allowed me to move Geoff Jarvis and his friend of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, from Thursday to Friday. We were on the water at 6:30 AM. The wind was southwest at 15. We caught bait at Picnic and were off. I anticipated a pretty good bite, and actually, the snook and trout bite wasn't bad. Geoff and his friend got their first snook ever! Unfortunately, they missed a lot of hits, but did manage to land 3 snook. The boys also were really surprised at the size of the half dozen big trout they caught. They were the largest they'd seen at 5 pounds.

I took the Geoff and friend away from eating snook and trout to find them some redfish. I wanted them to get their West Coast Slam, and also to enjoy the mighty pulling power of our redfish. I took them to some of the best redfish waters in the Sound, on both the east and west sides, but to my disbelief, I couldn't get a redfish to eat.

But the boys had so much fun they decided they wanted to do it again. I didn't have any open days during the rest of their stay, so I arranged for them to fish with my friend Capt. Rey Rodriguez. We'll talk about how they did on that trip next week. It will be a full week for me, and there should be lots to talk about.

Thanks to all of my friends out there for your continued well wishes and prayers for Jean.

FISHING REPORT FOR THE WEEK ENDING 3/25/00

Well, I actually almost got a full week of fishing in this week, but Friday fell victim to the weather. I put it to good use, though. Read on.

Monday, I met my friends Stew and Lucy Evans, and their son Morgan, and daughter Elizabeth, of Littleton, Colorado, at the beach at the end of the runway on North Captiva. It was great to see them again. This year they had Liz along, whom I didn't meet last year. They're delightful folks, and I was looking forward to our two trips on Monday and Friday.

Since I had to run all the way to Safety Harbor on North Captiva, I decided to gamble on bait being in at Fosters Point, as it's just south of there. We were all delighted to find that not only was the bait there, but it was plentiful, and beautiful bait. We had enough for four anglers in pretty short order and were off to the fishing grounds.

I first made a stop looking for ladyfish. We didn't find ladyfish as usual, but did catch half dozen trout. I headed to our ultimate destination. Once there, I began the chumming process, and did it pay off! Through the course of the morning, we the Evans gang caught another 6 trout from 3 to 5 pounds, 6 snook to 33 inches, and around 15 redfish to 29 inches. They were once again amazed at how many fish we have to catch on a good day. Oh, they missed a lot of fish, too, and of course, I had fun teasing Liz, calling here Lizzard, Lizzard Lips, etc. Of course, she told me that her classmates call her that all the time.

Stew and Lucy wanted plenty of fish to keep for their week on North Captiva, as there are no grocery stores there! They were banking on catching lots, and that they did. They promised that none would go to waste. I headed back to Punta Rassa that afternoon smiling at what a great day it had been, not knowing that we wouldn't be able to meet and fish again on Friday.

What a difference a day makes! During the night a cold front had passed. Tuesday morning the wind was straight out of the north at 15+. I was to meet Ray Schol and his son Rhett, at 8:30, and we would fish the full incoming tide. My bud Mark Bess was running a trip with a party of four in my backup boat, BarHopp'R II, and leaving at 6:30. I had asked Mark to catch plenty of bait at Fosters, just in case the bait double-crossed us later in the morning. He did, and it did! When we arrived at Fosters, Mark was already gone, and Capt. Paul Hobby, who I'd told about the great bait the day before, was there chumming. I chummed and threw on four different spots without so much as a shiner! I couldn't believe it. Finally, I eased up to Paul to see if he was catching, and he hadn't caught a shiner either. I called Mark on the cell, and he assured me that he had loaded up the well on BarHopp'R II, but early. We rendezvoused with Mark and transferred enough bait for the day.

Mark was fishing a spot I had told him about and suggested he fish. There are tarpon there year-round, but I hadn't seen any in quite a while. When we met for bait, Mark was proud to tell us that they had jumped two large tarpon on his Shimano Stradic 2000 with 10 pound test, and both reels had been spooled! Since that, there wasn't anything doing but ladyfish and catfish.

Well, to make a long story short, we worked our butts off trying to get something going, but the fish just wouldn't hear of it. Through the course of the trip Ray and Rhett boated one 25 inch redfish and lost 2, caught one snook and lost two, and caught one 17 inch trout, and two jack crevalle. I knew Ray had high expectations about catching lots of fish after reading my website for so long, but it was not to be on this day. I felt really bad for him, but he was great about the slow bite, and we vowed to do better next Monday.

Wednesday was more of the same, weather-wise! Tony and Linda Kozumplik, of Sterling Heights, Michigan, were on board to try their luck, and I had decided upon a change of strategy. I knew from yesterday what didn't work, and I was determined to find something that would work in this north wind. Bait was fairly easy at Fosters, but was deeper, at about 5 feet.

I headed first to the same area as the previous day, except that instead of fishing the edge for trout and snook, I decided to fish a sunken boat hull for grouper. I had also brought along a tarpon rig, just in case we got a shot at the poons. That rod came in handy, as it turned out. The grouper were on the boat, and were willing to eat. Problem is, shallow water grouper are fierce fish. Much like snook in the shallows, they will dive into their hole or whatever they're living in and cut you off in a heartbeat. They're hard fighters, and tough on light tackle. Out of 7 hits, Linda lost a really big fish, that just freight-trainer her 12 pound rig after the hit, and four others. Tony landed a beautiful 21 inch gag grouper on the tarpon rod, and even then, it was all he could do to drag that joker out of that boat. Linda got one small gag to the boat. The rest were cutoffs. Tony and Linda also got 3 catfish and a jack crevalle. We also did see the tarpon roll twice not far off our bow, but couldn't get them to eat our baits. Figures. They knew we were ready!

We decided it was time to go after snook and redfish. Problem was, they had other ideas! I hit spot after spot with nothing but a 17 inch trout to show. Finally, I decided to head way north, to waters I rarely have to visit to catch fish. By then, the wind had shifted to northwest, and was perfect for the spot I wanted to fish. The snook didn't want to play right off the bat, but with some live shiner chumming, they turned on. We had a blast! Tony and Linda caught around 15 snook to 29 inches, and missed I don't know how many. Linad was quite a good angler, and I believe she cleanly outfished Tony. As the tide and action ended, and we prepared for the long ride home, Tony made the comment that he had always wanted to catch snook like that, but had only seen it done on TV! Well, that made my day. I can't tell you how happy I was that my hunch had paid off.

Thursday morning I was shocked at the roar in my ears from a 25 knot plus wind! Damn! Would it ever end? Tom Kayusa, an attorney from right here in Ft. Myers, had drawn a terrible day. Experience forced me to fear the worst. We headed to Fosters Point. The crossing was really rough. The water was very dirty from all the wind, and ironically, the bait was very easy. But the easy part ended right there!

I worked my butt off, hitting hole after hole, after hole. Tom and his friend fished hard. The fish just wouldn't play. We finally got 3 snook right in the same place that had been our salvation the day before. I knew the snook were there, but it was lockjaw city. We also got a couple of snapper hidden back in what is basically a winter spot, trying to catch some snook and stay out of the horrible wind. We finished the day at the Waterfront Restaurant. Tom and his bud were great guys, and lots of fun. They took it all in stride, and promised to be back for another try.

Friday morning I opened the door at 4:30 AM, and the wind slapped me in the face like an insulted woman. I went through the motions. I loaded up and headed to the ramp. I called Stew Evans from the Hess station at around 5:30, and he agreed that we should stay in. I was thankful that we had pulled off one great trip. I was also determined to make the best use of the day, and try to find a place to call a work house close to the ramp. I'll spare you the details, but I was successful in finding a very suitable place just four minutes from the ramp, and bought it, and moved in that day! The move will give me back easily two hours of my day, every day, plus save me considerably on gas now that prices are so high.

FISHING REPORT FOR THE WEEK ENDING 4/1/00

After being canceled for weather last Friday, I was certainly anxious to get out on the water on Monday. But, the fishing Gods had other ideas. Seems here lately my calendar has more days lost to weather than spent fishing! But, this week the mechanical Gods would rear their ugly heads, as well.

Monday morning is was blowing 25 plus from the southwest. If you're going to fish in a high wind, a south, southwest, or west is the wind to fish, because the fish WILL eat. Ray Skol, who I'd fished last week, decided he didn't want to fight the wind, and I can't blame him. But, the few guides I talked to that braved the wind had great bites.

Tuesday morning I was in the water early all ready to take John Mnich, of Suffield, Connecticut, out for a much anticipated trip. The Yamaha 150 on BarHopp'R usually fires us at the first spin of the starter, but this morning she just spun and spun, and didn't hit a lick! Damn! In twelve years, I'd never been unable to leave the dock for a scheduled trip because of a mechanical problem. The string was broken. I strongly suspected I had no fire because of a bad kill switch. John showed up as I was pulling the boat out of the water, and helped me check a plug for fire. None!

I can't tell you how bad I felt for John. I just killed me to send him away, but I had no choice, and I was off to Smith Marine. As I suspected, the kill switch was bad and the repair was quick and easy. Foolishly, I didn't put BarHopp'R in the water and run her. I mean, it was only a bad kill switch, right?

Wednesday morning I put her in the water and she cranked right up. Ah, sweet music! She sounded fine. Jeff Trope, captain of Fast Break Charters in Northport, Michigan and his gang were there ready for a day of light tackle flats fishing, and we were all looking forward to a great day. I idled out of the no wake zone and hit the throttle, and the engine just bogged down with a pathetic waaaaaaaaa! She wouldn't even get up on step! I couldn't imagine what could have happened to my Yamaha, and was fearing the worst. I unloaded Capt. Jeff and his crew and tried to run it again, with the same result. She didn't even have enough power to put herself on the trailer. After many apologies, I sent Capt. Jeff on his way. He was very understanding of the whole situation, and assured me that he had been right there in the same situation more times than he cared to remember.

Once again I was off packing to Smith Marine, hardly able to believe I had been cheated out of a fourth consecutive day on the water. I was even more upset when it only took Danny about a minute to find a fifty cent part broken! There is a ball-socket coupler that joins the advancer plate to the throttle linkage. That little plastic part had split, and I was getting no advance. I had no idea those engines would not make any power without any advance. A tough lesson learned. You better believe I went straight from Smith to the water and gave her a quick road test. Everything seemed to be working in harmony.

I approached the water Thursday morning with predictable trepidation. What could possibly go wrong today, I wondered! I hoped for my friend Chip George, his son Chris, and dad Chuck's sake, the day would go smoothly. We were already looking at another front on the way, and we had wind at 20+ from the southwest. I felt reasonably sure the fish would cooperate, but apologized to Chip for having to use he and the gang as guinea pigs. We made the run to Fosters, where I had last caught beautiful bait. It was much bigger and more plentiful than what they were catching down south, and well worth the ride. It was close to my first stop of the day, anyway.

Once fishing we did have a good bite until around noon. From just two stops the George boys caught more than a dozen nice snook up to 29 inches, a jack, and 6 redfish. Oh, they missed their share of hits, too, but they only get to practice our brand of fishing once a year. Still, that's not a bad morning of fishing. I was just thankful that nothing broke! We finished the day at the Waterfront. Although I have fished with the Georges for several years, it was the first time the tide was right to include a trip there.

Friday morning was my first trip with Shawn Waite, his brother Corey, and dad Dave, of Cape Coral. Shawn, being a fairly recent transplant, was looking to learn the how's and where's, and improve his angling skills. I hoped I could teach him some new tricks. Bait went well at Fosters, and Shawn was fascinated with the Purina Tropical Fish Food we used for chum.

The boys caught fish at every spot we tried. We had a mixed bag that included a stingray, 2 nurse sharks, a ladyfish, 2 big trout to 28 inches/6.5 pounds, 3 redfish, and more than a dozen snook to 28 inches. The Waites broke off several big fish, and missed quite a few hits, to boot. It was a pretty good bite, and we had a lot of fun. Because I'm behind with the reports with all that's been going on lately, Shawn actually sent me a very nice testimonial before I was able to get the report written.

So, it was a disaster of a week financially, but a pretty good week of fishing. If these late season cold fronts will leave us alone, I think we can look forward to more of the same.

FISHING REPORT FOR THE WEEK ENDING 4/8/00

I laid awake half the night Sunday, listening to the wind thrash the palms around my new workhouse. God, it was blowing. I wondered if we were in for yet another week of weather cancellations. I met my friend and regular customer Dr. Bob Rose and his friend John Sheridan just before seven. My buddy Capt. Mark Bess was fishing, too, and we planned to head to Fosters and double-team the bait. The southeast wind at over 25 knots was the first signal of yet another approaching front. In retrospect, I suppose we should have all canceled that Monday, and opted to fish Tuesday when the wind was around to the south, but the fish sure to be on the rampage. That wasn't the way we played it.

I got to Fosters ahead of Mark and was nearly baited up by the time he arrived. Bait was plentiful in the four foot deep, dirty water. Mark came along side, and discovered that his danforth anchor would not hold in that wind. He tried and tried to anchor, but the wind was just too much. I'd never seen him have that problem before, and believe me, we've fished some terribly windy days together. Finally, I waved him alongside to tie up to my boat, hoping that my Digger anchor would hold the two of them.

All the fuss trying to get anchored had blown the bait out, so we had to start over. We were well on our way to filling Mark's well when my anchor finally pulled a plug out of the bottom and let go. We had to re-anchor two more times before we got it to hold the two boats again. Bob was really anxious to get to fishing, but I wasn't about to hang Mark out to dry with no bait. If the roles had been reversed, there's no way Mark would have left me struggling to get bait. Besides, Mark was fishing with folks I'd sent him. At this point we were having problems getting the bait back in, so I topped Mark off with a couple of scoops from my well, and we were both off. I knew in my gut it would be a world class tough day!

Bob and John fished hard, and I took them where I knew for certain there were lots of fish. But, my gut was right. They managed 6 snook, a catfish, and a stingray. No keepers. No reds. Mark predictably had similar results. The other guides I spoke with all struggled, as well, and we did as well as anyone that day.

Bob and John decided they didn't want to fight that much wind for a second day, and opted to fly back home Tuesday morning. They came by for a quick visit and a cocktail that evening. I suggested that next time Bob came down to fish, he might rather save some motel money and camp at my place, and just add a few bucks to the kitty. I make that offer to any of my customers who come down just to fish, and then go back home. Most of you are coming from other parts of Florida and either paying high motel rates, or getting up in the middle of the morning to get here to fish by daybreak. I would be happy to have you come visit with me, have dinner that evening at one of our great seafood restaurants, and fish the next morning. Of course, I still have to find a bed for the second bedroom, but that shouldn't take long.

Well, as it turned out, many of our guides canceled Tuesday, but the ones who fought the south wind were well rewarded. A friend of mine, caught 21 nice redfish right in my favorite spot that morning. I hated to tell Bob that news, but thought he should know.

By Wednesday morning the front was through and the winds were now howling out of the northeast at 25. This was my first trip with Dave Zmijewski and his wife Beth, and her friend Kelly, all of Freemansburg, Pennsylvania. Beth and Kelly are both veterinarians, and just beautiful girls about my daughter's age. I think they were all having second thoughts about fighting that much north wind. I laid if out on the table for them. I explained that the snook and redfish most surely wouldn't eat, but that trout will often cooperate on the days when the glamour species won't. I was pretty confident that we could catch plenty of trout. Dave said they just wanted to catch fish, and especially wanted Kelly to catch fish, as she hadn't been able to do well while they were fishing on their own. We were off!

Not wanting to make the long run to Fosters, and fearing crossing the Sound in that much north wind might be unsafe, I opted to check for bait at Picnic Island. Bingo. There was plenty of bait, and it came quite easily. It wasn't long before we were making our way through the wind to my favorite trout hole. It wasn't long before we were all proclaiming how happy we were that we decided to fish. We had a serious trout bite going, and they were all beautiful fish. Everyone caught plenty. In fact, I lost exact count, but I know from doing it so many times in the days when I used to mark down every fish boated just how fast the numbers add up, and I'm sure we caught nearly 50 trout. The best part was that only half dozen of them were not keepers! We kept 7 fish to give them a couple of good meals, and the rest were released to fight again.

By Thursday morning the high pressure was well entrenched, and the wind was around to the east, where fishing is least. Tom Smith and his pals Charlie and Jim were down to snook fish from Cincinnati, Ohio. They told me they had done a lot of snook fishing over the years, much in the Thousand Islands, but they had never done this light tackle, shallow water stuff. It was kind of like going back to school for them.

I stopped at Chino Island for bait, then headed for a beautiful place in the north end of the Sound that has been giving me lots of snook action. I knew the snook were thick there, but I didn't know how they'd be holding or if they would eat. Well, they wouldn't eat anywhere! We went for most of the day without a bite! I was beginning to wonder if we were going to score a goose-egg for the first time in years. I made another move to what amounts to nothing more than a small depression on a beautiful flat. It had been holding lots of snook. Would they also have lockjaw?

We got our answer almost immediately. A bat full of chum was greeted with some serious crashing and thrashing on the flat. Finally, the fish were ready to eat. We pitched baits armed with hooks, and the fun was on. Until now, the boys hadn't had a chance to practice getting completely tight on the line before striking. They had their problems containing their desire to strike as soon as they saw the line move, and missed a lot of fish, but still managed a dozen or more snook to 25 1/2 inches to finish the day. We had a lot of fun in short order, and ended the day on a high note. Thank God! Tom, Charlie, and Jim were great sports and did their best to follow my coaching.

I was scheduled to fish with Bruce Heintzman, from Valrico, Florida, who I've fished with before, and know. As Thursday evening dragged on, I knew something was amiss. I hadn't heard from Bruce either by phone or email. By news time, I knew something bad was wrong, and that I wouldn't be fishing, and decided to send Bruce an email. I really didn't expect an answer, however, Bruce answered me within minutes. Seems that a few days before, while at a baseball game with his teenaged son and daughter, a line drive was hit from an adjacent field and struck his daughter in the head behind the ear, nearly killing her. She was in pediatric ICU for several days, and the doctors thought they were going to have to operate. Fortunately, they didn't have to, but the whole ordeal was a nightmare for Bruce. I wouldn't have been thinking about fishing, either. This should be a jarring reminder to all of us as to just how precious is life, and how quickly it can be taken from us.

So, there you have it. Compared to previous weeks, three out of five days ain't bad. Both the weather and the fishing are bound to turn around soon. Stay tuned!

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