A slow opening to snook season
The opening week of snook season did not go quite as anticipated. A strong cold front dropped in on opening day and lasted through mid-week dropping the water temperatures once again and making it very difficult to catch a snook. Although snook fishing was slow and it was pretty cold and windy for several days, there were some good sheepshead reports.
The biggest sheepshead of the year were reportedly caught in good numbers from the Sanibel pier, under docks around Sanibel Harbor, at the jetties and snags at Redfish Pass, the old phosphate docks at Boca Grande and on near-shore artificial reefs. Fish were caught up to 7 pounds with most anglers using fresh shrimp fished on bottom. A few of the larger fish went for a pompano-style white buck tail tipped with a small piece of shrimp. The tides were running slow over many days, however all these areas generated enough water movement to get the fish feeding. A couple good sized flounder and an occasional pompano were also caught on the sheepie baits.
Sheepshead were also caught in the sound around docks, deep shorelines and structure. The fish are running slightly smaller, but fish up to 4 pounds were common. One day this week on my boat we fished a sunken boat for a short time and boated six nice sheepshead from 14 to 20 inches in pretty short order and left with them still biting. For the Pine Island shore bound angler, there are also some big sheepshead lurking under the Bokeelia pier at the north end of the Island.
Trout fishing wasn’t great this week but it wasn’t terrible either. Anglers that put in the time often were rewarded with a limit of good fish. On the cold windy days with little or no water, the fish were found in potholes in the southern sound, around oyster bars in lower Matlacha Pass and in creeks and canals mouths. Fish up to 22 inches were taken on live shrimp both fished on bottom and under a popper. Anglers opting to go with artificials faired very well with a wide selection of soft plastics both imitating shrimp and baitfish. During the cooler days, a very slow bouncing retrieve was the way to go for the most strikes.
Towards the end of the week, the air continued to warm and the trout were a bit more aggressive with some moving back onto the deeper grass flats and sand holes at the northern end of the sound and in the harbor. On my boat we caught several fat trout up to 20 inches working the edges of the sand holes between Pelican Bay and Cabbage Key in the upper sound. They were caught on soft jerk baits and live pilchards. The same type of catches were also found between Patricio Island and the west mouth of Jug Creek, where there were also bluefish feeding with the trout.
The few redfish reports came from anglers getting back into the hard-to-get low tide areas. Once there, working a mid-size top water lure or dropping scented jerk baits into the potholes worked for redfish up to 8 pounds and one big trout estimated at 5 pounds was also reported. The action was not great; however those that located the fish and put in the time were rewarded with some good fish.
Back to snook, although it wasn’t the weather everyone had hoped for the season opening, a few were still caught. Dark colored soft plastics worked slowly on bottom and mid-depth lures also worked slowly fooled at least a couple snook near canal mouths in St. James during the cold days. Several snook were also caught around the keys and islands at the north end of the sound but all were running undersize.
What a change in the weather in a week’s time. Earlier in the week it was cold, windy and miserable, and now at week’s end as I write this it is absolutely beautiful. And it’s the first time this season I can say it really is beginning to feel like spring. You can feel it in the air and see it in the water. If the weather holds for a week or two and the water temperatures continue to rise, our waters are going to come alive real soon. Large schools of baitfish will begin to move into our waters and game fish of all sorts and sizes will be there to gorge on them. It might be a great time to plan a fishing trip!
If you have a fishing story or photo that you would like to share or for charter information, contact me at (239)283-7960 or visit us at www.fishpineisland.com. Have a safe week and good fishin’. a