On the Water: Patience is best on slow fishing days
Much of the week anglers reported mediocre fishing – it wasn’t terrible and it wasn’t great, just OK.
Inshore, trout and sheepshead were the best thing going, unless you just wanted action, then ladyfish or jack crevalle were a good choice. Sea trout were reported in San Carlos Bay, Pine Island Sound and the perimeter of Charlotte Harbor.
For many the best choice was drifting over grass bottom in 4 to 8-foot depths and working a live shrimp or Berkley Gulp under a popping cork. Also a slow to moderate retrieve with soft plastics including DOA shrimp and other shrimp imitating baits worked well.
Many of the trout are running under-size but with patience and covering ground, good fish were caught. Areas worth noting included flats north of the Rest Room Island off the Sanibel Causeway, near the entrance to Sanibel’s Tarpon Bay, Between Foster’s Point and Redfish Pass and east of Useppa Island in the sound and off the north side of the Bokeelia shoals. Also on the colder mornings, a few nice trout were reported from canals around St. James and near Galt Island, and also Burgess Bay at the north end of Pine Island.
The best sheepshead reports came from areas around the barrier islands, including submerged trees along the beaches, and docks and piers near the passes. Good numbers of fish were also caught in creeks through “Ding” Darling Wildlife Refuge from kayaks and canoes, where mangrove snapper, trout and redfish were also caught.
Most redfish reported over the week were small, generally not much over 16 inches. A few larger fish up to 25 inches were caught from Matlacha Pass south of the bridge and near the Flamingo Bay channel in Pine Island Sound.
Not in big numbers, but pompano were caught off Bokeelia, west of the fishing pier, and near Useppa Island. Most were caught by anglers drifting for trout.
A good number of bonnethead sharks were also hooked while drifting shrimp under a popping cork.
Offshore, anglers found a bite very similar to inshore – OK, but nothing spectacular. Red grouper to 14 pounds were caught from 60 to 70-foot depths, plus a mix of grunts, porgies and snapper. Near shore artificial reefs yielded a mix of sheepshead, snapper and Spanish mackerel, plus a few sharks.
When the bite is slow, patience is often your best friend. Many times over the past week I would give the 5 minute signal, meaning if we did not hook something good within that time we were moving on. And many times just as our allotted time was about to expire we would hook a good fish, and this scenario often played out over and over while fishing from the same location. If you think you are in the right spot and pretty sure the fish are there, be patient and give it a little time. On a slow day it may be the difference between going home with dinner or getting skunked.
If you have a fishing report or for charter information, please contact us at 239-283-7960, www.fishpineisland.com or email: gcl2fish@live.com
Have a safe week and good fishin’.