On the Water: Hurricane Isaias brings unsettled local weather
Weather dictated the fishing over the past week as conditions were all over the place. As hurricane Isaias was churning north in the Gulf far to our west, we felt gusty winds, thunderstorms and rain, plus some very high tides.
Offshore, much of the week’s seas were high with stormy weather. Only a few reports when conditions allowed. Hard fighting fish, including amberjack, sharks and goliath grouper, were hooked while dropping live bait over wrecks in depths from 50 feet to around 100 feet.
Inshore, fishing was fair early in the week, then by mid-week weather was unpredictable at best. Snook and redfish were found throughout the Pine Island Sound. The wind pushing the incoming tide moved a lot of water and bait; shoreline points and oyster bars yielded good action on both if you were at the right place at the right time. A few schools of redfish were also working the Sound, with most fish running over 27 inches.
Similar reports with snook and redfish came from the eastern and western shores of the Charlotte Harbor and north of the Boca Grande Pass. From land, both snook and black drum were caught from the Matlacha Draw Bridge over the night hours.
In the Matlacha Pass, anglers report catching a snook or redfish here or there, plus jack crevalle and ladyfish. A few keeper-sized sea trout were also caught in the Indian Fields area of the north Matlacha Pass.
Mangrove snapper and sea trout were caught around the Pine Island Sound and Charlotte Harbor. Look for the snapper around the deeper shorelines and oyster bars, plus any type of structure. Trout were found over grass bottom in 3-8-foot depths. Both fish respond well to chum. Inshore snapper are thinning out, but some are still around.
As we reach mid-October, let’s hope Isaias was the first and last hurricane of the season in Gulf waters.
Keep up to date with fishing regulations and seasons as they change often. You can visit www.myfwc.com for all current state and federal regulations. Also, you can upload the Fish Rules app on your phone. It has current regulations and seasons with pictures to help identify fish.
If you have a fishing report or for charter information, contact us at Gulf Coast Guide Service by calling 239-410-8576 or emailing gcl2fish@live.com. Or you can visit us online at www.fishpineisland.com.
Have a safe week and good fishin’.
As a lifetime resident of Matlacha and Pine Island, Capt. Bill Russell has spent his life fishing and learning the waters around the Pine Island and Southwest Florida, and as a professional fishing guide for over 20 years.