Working Around The Cold Fronts
Capt. Butch Rickey
May 16, 2013
Pine Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report
Week Ending 4/13/13........
Had a pretty busy week on tap again this week, but late season cold fronts are still causing problems. It's gusting 30 mph outside as I write this, and of course, I had to reschedule this day.
The week began on Tuesday with another trip with my friend Dale Grantman. I picked Dale up at his condo at Punta Rassa. It appeared we'd drawn a beautiful weather day, and I was hopeful that the water might be warmed up enough to let the fish bite well. Dale had expressed an interest in putting some trout on the table, so we would target speckled trout for most of the trip. Trout fishing can be very good off the A span of the Sanibel Causeway, so that's where we launched.
Once launched, I suggested that we troll jigs down to our first stop, due west. Trolling from the kayaks can be very productive, and a great way to find fish like trout, flounder, ladyfish, jacks, and others. It wasn't long before we had the first few trout. I anchored with a new 8 ft. stake-out pole I'm trying out, and Dale drifted where is was too deep to anchor. There were lots of trout and ladyfish around, but we only got 3 keepers.
I moved to another area to see if I could find another bite with perhaps some bigger fish. Dale stayed where we were for a while and worked the area over. I did find another trout bite, and got another nice keeper of about 18 inches. I called Dale to come and join me. But, by the time he got to me the bite seemed to have tapered off.
I positioned Dale on a spot where I've routinely seen and caught redfish and snook, in hopes that he could tangle with either or both. I worked a different area not too far away from him. The area has always been a consistent producer of redfish over the years I've fished it, but the redfish weren't about to play with me. It did give up a beautiful 5 pound trout, though, that ate a gold spoon.
By now it was getting late in the tide, and I went to see how Dale was doing. He'd caught a jack, but that was it. Befuddled, I decided to stand up and quietly, slowly pole in to the shoreline he'd been fishing, and see if the problem was no fish, or fish that wouldn't eat. Holy, Molly. The place was lousy with big redfish. I saw at least 50 big fish in a concentrated area. They were all very light in color, which told me they had probably just come in from the gulf. I quietly left the fish, which had not even spooked! I told Dale about all the fish, and gave them a few minutes to settle down. Then, I went back and made some casts way up under the mangroves with jigs and spoons, and never got a hit. I was befuddled. I poled back into the area to see if the fish were still there, and there they were. Bunches of them all over the place, and they still didn't seem to mind my being there. But, they weren't about to eat, either.
It was time to head in. Back at the beach at the A span we had a lot of vacationers come to see our fish and check out the Native Ultimates. The Ultimates get a lot of attention from anglers everywhere I go. Most folks have never seen anything like them, especially dressed out the way mine are. It's fun talking to people and sharing the fun of kayak fishing with them.
**
After postponing Thursday for high wind, I was back on the water Friday with Tom and Debbie Jaskolski, both experienced kayak anglers from Sussex, Wisconsin. The wind was supposed to be down some, but with a front now on our doorstep, I had my doubts. Knowing that we'd get a blow regardless of what the weather folks said, I opted to fish San Carlos Bay, out of Port Sanibel Marina. The area actually gives anglers pretty good wind protection, particularly from a south wind. The plan was to try to catch some trout and ladyfish early, and then turn some of those ladyfish into redfish later on the tide.
By the time Tom and Deb arrived, I was about ready with the first two boats. With the third one in the water, we were ready to fish. I had my lightning detector on and clipped to the inside of my shirt pocket, so I'd know if we had anything brewing with electricity in it as the morning went along.
We headed down the scenic channel to our first stop for trout and ladyfish. We did have a trout bite for a while, but it ended abruptly. We never got a ladyfish to eat, which foiled my plans to cut-bait the reds.
As the tide came in, we moved to a redfish hole. I put Tom and Deb in position, and then started my own hunt for the reds. It was really howling, now. After a few minutes of working the area, I connected with a 24" redfish. I tried to call Tom and Deb in to me, but they wouldn't answer. I pulled anchor and went to get them. They'd had radio problems. I brought them back to my previous position and got them staked out. Tom hit a redfish, but it was under keeping size. Deb never managed to get one. We fished 'em hard, too.
After working our way down the flat area where I always seem to find them, I suggested we move on. We headed for another area where redfish commonly hang out. There was nothing doing there. We moved on to another area where several reds were missed and a snook broke off when it jumped. The line had probably been frayed on oysters or something.
It was a tough day for catching, yet we did bring home some fish. Tom and Deb were very nice folks, and serious anglers. The kind of folks I love to fish with. They assured me they knew all too well how fishing can go, and had no problem with the slow bite.
And, that was the week. Got a few trips next week, and I'm hoping the water will continue to warm and the fish will start thinking about eating.
Target Species:
Redfish and Trout
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