Big South Wind On The Front Made A Big Bite in Sanibel Waters
Capt. Butch Rickey
March 9, 2008
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report
To say it has been a windy week would be an understatement! Back to back cold fronts have made it difficult to get out at all.
I did make it out on Friday. What a day! A big front was scheduled to come through during the night on Friday. As Friday dawned, the forecast was for south winds 15 to 20 with gusts as high as 30! I figured we could handle 15 to 20, and fully expected a good bite on the south wind.
After laying awake half the night, Friday morning finally came. This would be the first of two scheduled trips with Joe Moyle, his 78 year old dad, Stu, and their friend Harry. I was in the water and paced the docks for an hour before the Moyle boys showed up. The wind was already up. I figured that if we could catch bait, we'd surely catch fish. After a trip or two back to the car to get rid of unnecessary items, we were off. I'd thought I'd first try the flats at St. James Creek for bait, but as we arrived there I could see that the rollers were already enough to make it difficult to anchor on the PowerPole. I moved on, and crossed over to Tarpon Bay. There's a lot of snot-grass on the bottom there, and it was my second choice. But, in less than an hour we were loaded to the gills with nice bait, thanks to Joe's chumming skills.
I debated whether to begin on the east or west side of the Sound as we rode north. If the wind really kicked, it would be a much easier ride home from the Sanibel side. But, as we approached the decision line, I opted to head up into the east side, first.
The tide was still going out, as I settled on our first spot. I didn't really expect anything to happen before the tide turned, but we were pleasantly surprised to have a good snook bite, and the boys had a great opportunity to miss plenty of fish trying to get the hang of reeling tight to the fish before striking, and catch plenty of snook, too. As the tide came to a stop the boys caught a couple of very nice trout that went into the well. Then, once it turned and began coming in, the bite dropped off to nothing. We caught another snook or two, but that was about it. Go figure! We moved on.
Our second stop was a snook and big trout hole. And, although we had some snook sign our baits as only snook can do, the guys didn't get connected to one. But, they did catch some beautiful big winter trout there, and we put a few in the well. We would have fished it longer, but the wind was rising along with the tide, and blew us off anchor.
Our next stop was a snook stop. The wind was absolutely roaring. There was no gusting to it. It was steady, and blowing hard. I got set up on the spot, and within a couple of minutes, we were blown off it. It was panic time trying to get everyone reeled in and get the Yamaha lit before we were blown into our cover!
The next stop was again for snook. A beautiful place with lots of fish. But, the wind was a definite factor, and making things very hard for me and my guys. It was nigh impossible to feel a bite unless it was a big one, to manage slack, or avoid line tangles. And, we had plenty of all three. The wind had the incoming tide moving at double-time, which further made things interesting. After having numerous baits scaled and signed by Mr. Snook without a hookup, we moved on.
I knew my next spot was full of both snook and redfish. I had a good feeling. I figured that if I could stay on anchor, we'd catch. And, we did, sorta. The wind was approaching dangerous in terms of trying to navigate home. I was worried about what we would face when we turned the corner at York Island and tried to cross in front of St. James on the way home. But, a great snook bite quickly took my mind off that for a while. The boys were catching snook on nearly every cast. We were having fun in spite of the trying conditions.
It was around 11:30 AM. The Sound was so full of whitecaps it looked as if it were a snow covered field instead of a body of water! I was genuinely concerned for our safety, especially since the wind had just kicked another 5 MPH, or so. The safety of my customers is my first responsibility, and to that end I suggested we call it a day. Stu, Joe, and Harry were fine with that, to my surprise. They said they'd had a great day and caught lots of fish, and were happy campers. In fact, Stu paid me the highest of compliments as we were readying for the ride home. He told me that this trip had been by far the best guide trip he'd be on. Well, that made my day. There are no better words a guide can hear. While we were preparing for the ride home, Harry kept a line in the water. And, darned if he didn't catch a nice slot redfish to give him and the boat the Slam for the day.
It had been a difficult but great day with three great guys. From the first cast they were in competition with each other for first fish, biggest fish, most fish, last fish, etc., and I watched the lead change hands repeatedly throughout the day. But, when the dust settled, Harry emerged the victor. He had really kicked butt at that last hole, and put it all away.
The ride home was the icing on the cake. We sat four abreast, so that Stu wouldn't have to be on the front seat, as he had been most of the day. And, when we made that turn at York Island it got ugly and wet. We were all pretty well soaked by the time we made that crossing. But, on the last leg of the ride in the mouth of the river we were running right into the wind, and I put the Talon on top of the chop at around 50 MPH. We had a good 80 MPH wind in our faces, and were nearly blown dry by the time we reached the ramp! Oh what fun it is to ride.......
Pine Island Sound Fishing Forecast:
A week of good tides coupled with good weather should mean a week of good fishing. Now about that weather!
Target Species:
Snook, redfish and trout
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