On the Water: It was a busy week out on the water
By Capt. Bill Russell
I believe that anyone that owned or could rent a boat was on the water over the week. It felt like a holiday weekend, but it was just as crowded mid-week. The weather was great and everyone took advantage of it, plus its Spring Break for much of the country.
Fishing was up and down, at times the bite was slow to non-existent, and other times it was good. And it could switch in an instant. Many anglers found similar results both inshore and off.
Inshore, sea rout fishing continues to improve with a good number over 20 inches, and trout up to 24 inches reported. You can only keep one trout over 19 inches per vessel regardless of the number of anglers. These are egg-laden females, handle them gently and a quick return to the water so they have a chance to survive. Each year when the water warms up, fish including trout, snook, mackerel and many others return to our waters quickly from wherever they were hiding over the winter.
Snook numbers are on the rise as well. They weren’t always biting, but they were there. With so many boats snook fishing and a lot of the same areas or spots, it can be about luck and timing to get on a bite. Many areas get fished over and over throughout the day by both guide boats and private anglers — sometimes a continuous rotation. No one is doing anything wrong; it’s just the crowded Southwest Florida we are living in now. So, if fish aren’t biting, it may be because they have already been worked over by other boats. This is especially true in Pine Island Sound where a lot of boats are fishing in a limited amount of area.
Sharks and Spanish mackerel are making their appearance inshore. Mackerel were caught around the Sanibel Causeway, near the power lines in the southern Sound, and east of Pelican Bay. Sharks, including blacktips, spinners, blacknose and bonnetheads that were hooked south of the fish shacks in the Sound, east of Useppa Island and in north Matlacha Pass near Marker 76. A few tarpon were also reported in these areas, plus a couple undersize cobia.
Limits of sheepshead were boxed nearshore over depths to 45 feet, plus mangrove, lane snapper and grunts. Shrimp on a knocker rig or jig head worked best. As mentioned earlier, the bite could be hot or cold and change quickly. Time’s running out for the sheepshead to run; it’s likely to wind down after the next full moon.
Stay up to date with fishing regulations by visiting the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission at: www.myfwc.com. Also, upload the Fish Rules app. It has current regulations with pictures to help identify fish. If you enable your GPS, the Fish Rules app updates regulations to your location each time you open the app. In my opinion, it is more accurate and up to date than FWC’s website.
If you have a fishing report or for charter information, please contact us at Gulf Coast Guide Service; phone (239) 410-8576, email gcl2fish@live.com or you visit us on the Web 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 Pine Island and Southwest Florida, and as a professional fishing guide for over 20 years.