On the Water: Fish early ahead of thunderstorms
We needed rain and we are sure getting it. Afternoon thunderstorms interrupted fishing and brought a lot of rain about everyday over the past week. The best bet was to get on the water early and back at the dock by mid-afternoon ahead of the storm.
Most days the wind wasn’t strong enough to keep boats in port, as many made the trek into gulf waters. Far out, in depths well over a hundred feet, red snapper, plus a few scamp groupers, were boated. Red grouper up to 29 inches were hooked over hard bottom in depths from 80-115feet. Mangrove, lane and vermilion snappers, plus grunts and porgies were caught as well.
Public wrecks and reefs in the same depths yielded hard fighting fish including amberjack, goliath grouper, barracuda, king mackerel, bonito and sharks. Nearshore reefs within sight of land, in 30 to 50-foot depths are holding Spanish mackerel, barracuda, sharks, snapper, snook and big goliath grouper. Bottom fishing over reefs, ledges and hard bottom near shore yielded a mixed bag of snapper, grunts, mackerel and undersized grouper.
Schools of Spanish mackerel were reported around the gulf passes, the Sanibel Causeway, off the Sanibel Lighthouse and Charlotte Harbor. Small silver spoons and mylar jigs with a fast retrieve was the top method while on the drift, and freelining small live pilchards, herring or shrimp also working well. On days with light wind, mackerel were sighted leaping from the water chasing small bait fish. Keep an eye out for concentrations of birds to help locate the feeding action.
Tarpon hook-ups came from Pine Island Sound, off the beaches, Boca Grande Pass and Charlotte Harbor. As usual with tarpon, some days, or hours, cut bait was preferred, or it was live crabs, pinfish or thread herring, and at times they turned up their nose to any and all offerings. Large bull and hammerhead sharks follow the tarpon. When hooked up to a tarpon, keep a close eye out and be prepared to quickly break the tarpon off when sharks arrive. This is the only way the tarpon has a fighting chance of survival.
Decent trout reports came from Pine Island Sound and Charlotte Harbor. Trout up to 20 inches were hooked in 4 to 7-foot depths south of Captiva Rocks, around Foster and Pejuan Bayou’s and northwest Bokeelia. At times, the bite started slow and picked up after a few were caught. Jack crevalle, Spanish mackerel, ladyfish and sharks also came from these areas. Seatrout, Spanish mackerel and ladyfish were caught in north Matlacha Pass over flats between markers 68 and 76.
Snook were caught in and around the gulf passes, fishing areas with good water movement. Fish to 40 inches were caught and released on pinfish, thread herring, pilchards, grunts or pigfish, small ladyfish and hand-picked shrimp. Redfish to 30 inches were hooked with the snook around the passes on the same baits. On the lower tide’s redfish were found on drop-offs and troughs around sand bars and shorelines along the eastern and western side of Charlotte Harbor and the eastern portion of Pine Island Sound.
Summer is here, most days are very warm with a light wind, and the potential for afternoon thunderstorms. This is great weather for fishing, just make sure to bring plenty of drinking water and pay attention to those thunderstorms.-
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 on your phone. It has current regulations with pictures to help identify fish. If you turn on your GPS location the Fish Rules app updates to your location. 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 — call or text 239-410-8576; website at www.fishpine island.com; or email gcl2fish@live.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.