March madness out on the water
By BILL RUSSELL, On the Water
While “March madness” is known around the rest of the country as the time for college basketball, it is known by local fishermen as a time when fishing can get crazy good. And that has happened over the past several weeks. The water temperature has risen to that magic degree where snook fishing has been hot and anglers are catching their biggest trout of the year.
As mentioned, 30 inches were reported daily. There are more and more snook making their appearance on the flats daily and although there are plenty of smaller fish, for whatever reason the larger fish are eating better. If I had to guess, I would say that about one out of every six fish caught on my boat over the past 10 days measured 30 inches or better. Talking to other captains and anglers, and they had similar results.
Our largest snook of the week was actually a pair of fish that each measured 37 inches and were caught within minutes of each other, the first by Ced Wagner of Gulf Harbor, followed by Larry Latham of Naples. On the same trip, at least four other fish measuring over the 30-inch mark were landed – it was just a good day for larger fish. On other trips we had several anglers catch their first snook ever and they also went over 30 inches (I wish that could happen every trip). The best bite for us was over the incoming tide about the time the sea breeze stirred the water up a little. The fish were caught on live pilchards and shad free-lined on an Owner circle hook.
Capt. Cliff Simer reports similar snook fishing at the northern end of Pine Island Sound. His parties landed snook up to 32 inches while pitching live sardines to shorelines and potholes. He also noted about the same one to six ratio of large to small fish.
Capt. Gary Clark found snook up to 31 inches from the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River to St. James. The fish were grouped in small pods on the deeper edges of Spoil Islands along the intracoastal and near oyster bars. The last half of the incoming and first stage of the falling tide gave the best results.
Girard Cicoria of Bokeelia gave snook fishing a try late in the afternoon and got on a great bite. Gerard said, “The snook were fighting over the baits with three or four chasing the hooked fish up to the boat.” He was fishing a deep shoreline at the north end of the Island and again several of the fish caught measured over 30 inches. Gerard noted the only down side to the trip was that he was fishing alone and did not have anyone to share such a great snook bite with. I bet he won’t have any trouble getting a friend to go next time.
Snook are also showing up around the passes, and on the beach, most are smaller fish 24 inches and shorter, but you can bet the bigger fish will begin showing up real soon. Big snook were found at the Sanibel Pier where nocturnal anglers landed a few over 34 inches and several others were lost. A little farther down the beach near the Sanibel Lighthouse, a few pods of mostly small snook have been working the surf feeding on glass minnows and small pilchards.
If you want to catch a really big trout, now is the time to do it. Just about everyone that is snook fishing has reported multiple catches of large trout with many measuring up to 26 inches. On my boat we did not catch any really big, but we lost count of the number of fish around the 22-inch mark. The larger trout were caught along oyster bars, over potholes and early and late day over the shallow grass flats.
To catch a really big trophy trout, there probably is no better way than working a top-water lure during the low light hours. The first couple hours after daybreak and again at sunset, the big gators move up in the shallower flats to prowl for food. They love eating small mullet, pilchards or herrings – pick a lure that imitates them and put in the time and you might be rewarded with the trout of a lifetime. Unlike the smaller fish, the really big trout don’t tend to school. They are usually loners or occasionally in pairs, but there could be several on the same flat if the conditions are favorable.
Also, tarpon are beginning to show as a few were hooked in southern Pine Island Sound on a catfish tail soaked on bottom and several fish were sighted rolling near Cabbage Kay at the upper end of the Sound and in the Harbor in front of Bokeelia. Schools of large jack crevalle were found busting anything in their path in Matlacha Pass and along the eastern shore of Charlotte Harbor. Some of these fish are weighing in over 15 pounds and are really putting anglers’ tackle to the test.
I expect this week with another round of good strong tides and mild weather, the fishing should remain good if not improve even more. It’s a great time to get on the water and wet a line; you might just be surprised at what you catch!
If you have a fishing story or photo that you would like to share or for charter information please contact us at (239) 283-7960 or visit us at www.fishpineisland.com. Have a safe week and good fishin’.
March madness out on the water
While “March madness” is known around the rest of the country as the time for college basketball, it is known by local fishermen as a time when fishing can get crazy good. And that has happened over the past several weeks. The water temperature has risen to that magic degree where snook fishing has been hot and anglers are catching their biggest trout of the year.
As mentioned, 30 inches were reported daily. There are more and more snook making their appearance on the flats daily and although there are plenty of smaller fish, for whatever reason the larger fish are eating better. If I had to guess, I would say that about one out of every six fish caught on my boat over the past 10 days measured 30 inches or better. Talking to other captains and anglers, and they had similar results.
Our largest snook of the week was actually a pair of fish that each measured 37 inches and were caught within minutes of each other, the first by Ced Wagner of Gulf Harbor, followed by Larry Latham of Naples. On the same trip, at least four other fish measuring over the 30-inch mark were landed – it was just a good day for larger fish. On other trips we had several anglers catch their first snook ever and they also went over 30 inches (I wish that could happen every trip). The best bite for us was over the incoming tide about the time the sea breeze stirred the water up a little. The fish were caught on live pilchards and shad free-lined on an Owner circle hook.
Capt. Cliff Simer reports similar snook fishing at the northern end of Pine Island Sound. His parties landed snook up to 32 inches while pitching live sardines to shorelines and potholes. He also noted about the same one to six ratio of large to small fish.
Capt. Gary Clark found snook up to 31 inches from the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River to St. James. The fish were grouped in small pods on the deeper edges of Spoil Islands along the intracoastal and near oyster bars. The last half of the incoming and first stage of the falling tide gave the best results.
Girard Cicoria of Bokeelia gave snook fishing a try late in the afternoon and got on a great bite. Gerard said, “The snook were fighting over the baits with three or four chasing the hooked fish up to the boat.” He was fishing a deep shoreline at the north end of the Island and again several of the fish caught measured over 30 inches. Gerard noted the only down side to the trip was that he was fishing alone and did not have anyone to share such a great snook bite with. I bet he won’t have any trouble getting a friend to go next time.
Snook are also showing up around the passes, and on the beach, most are smaller fish 24 inches and shorter, but you can bet the bigger fish will begin showing up real soon. Big snook were found at the Sanibel Pier where nocturnal anglers landed a few over 34 inches and several others were lost. A little farther down the beach near the Sanibel Lighthouse, a few pods of mostly small snook have been working the surf feeding on glass minnows and small pilchards.
If you want to catch a really big trout, now is the time to do it. Just about everyone that is snook fishing has reported multiple catches of large trout with many measuring up to 26 inches. On my boat we did not catch any really big, but we lost count of the number of fish around the 22-inch mark. The larger trout were caught along oyster bars, over potholes and early and late day over the shallow grass flats.
To catch a really big trophy trout, there probably is no better way than working a top-water lure during the low light hours. The first couple hours after daybreak and again at sunset, the big gators move up in the shallower flats to prowl for food. They love eating small mullet, pilchards or herrings – pick a lure that imitates them and put in the time and you might be rewarded with the trout of a lifetime. Unlike the smaller fish, the really big trout don’t tend to school. They are usually loners or occasionally in pairs, but there could be several on the same flat if the conditions are favorable.
Also, tarpon are beginning to show as a few were hooked in southern Pine Island Sound on a catfish tail soaked on bottom and several fish were sighted rolling near Cabbage Kay at the upper end of the Sound and in the Harbor in front of Bokeelia. Schools of large jack crevalle were found busting anything in their path in Matlacha Pass and along the eastern shore of Charlotte Harbor. Some of these fish are weighing in over 15 pounds and are really putting anglers’ tackle to the test.
I expect this week with another round of good strong tides and mild weather, the fishing should remain good if not improve even more. It’s a great time to get on the water and wet a line; you might just be surprised at what you catch!
If you have a fishing story or photo that you would like to share or for charter information please contact us at (239) 283-7960 or visit us at www.fishpineisland.com. Have a safe week and good fishin’.