I have slacking a little bit with getting some new fishing reports up. Luckily this has been because I have been booking a lot of trips and the fishing has been either good, unbelievably good, or just downright scary good.
Lately I have had an even greater number of families fishing with me. It has really made me realize that I just dont like taking kids fishing, I love it! There is just something about kids out-fishing their parents three, or four-to-one that makes me feel good inside. After a little while the parents are actually trying really hard. They catch fish, but the kids just catch more and bigger fish. There is something that kids can really teach us about fishing, and life in general. They always show up to the boat with a smile and have the best expectations. They are always ecstatic about their catches. Never have I been fishing with a kid who did what I do when I catch a decent fish: “nice fish, now there must be a bigger one there too.” I am almost disappointed with the first one, because I always want it to get better and better. Kids are just able to have fun, not worry about things like that, and live in the moment.
My bookings have been dominated lately with inshore trips, and a few shark trips and reef or wreck stuff thrown in. The inshore trips have ranged from decent fishing, with a steady flow of fish throughout the day, to 40-60 reds and snook in a single 4 or 6 hour trip! I have had a few days that we actually caught so many fish, my clients wanted to just sit and rest for a while towards the end. The up side is they catch more fish than they could imagine, and I am not talking about shabby catches. We had a 40+ fish day of snook with an average size of about 27-30 inches this week and the same with upper-slot reds in the 28-35″ range. The downside is that I rarely get to take photos or videos. I always try very hard to get my fish back into the water as soon as possible, and by the time I get people set up with the fish and they take their photos, my 20 seconds or so with that fish is up. I sure do know there are some nice family shots floating around out there from this week though.
The fish we have been finding are spread out from the west wall of Charlotte harbor, Sump pass up north in lemon bay, and even down in Captiva throughout Redfish pass, Captiva Pass, and Pine island sound. Of course live whitebait has been the mainstay. Bait has been extremely plentiful, but it has taken some tricks and good local knowledge to get the bigger ones. These bigger baits have been standing out like a sore thumb to the larger snook feeding on schools of small whitebait and threadfins. Spanish mackerel, lady fish, jacks, snapper, and trout have also been mixing it up in the moving water over points and bars. Even some small tarpon has been showing up to these feeding frenzies.
For family fun, fish the fast outgoing tide near the passes or in channels. Look for areas where their are points sticking out near deeper water or where there is a bar or hump that comes up to several feet. These areas are usually easy to recognize because they cause a disturbance on the surface. These are perfect ambush points, and the narrowing water column causes the bait being flushed out to get compacted near the surface. This is the all-you-can-eat buffet of the saltwater inshore world. These areas should provide constant action for you and your family.
If you are looking for something a little more challenging, you cant beat a high tide and the start of a falling tide back under the bushes for fat reds. Make sure you put a few extra turns on the drag when targeting these fish. They know where they are, and wont hesitate to run you right back into the mangroves. When you pick a nice spot with deep water and a good mangrove overhang, give that spot at least 20-30 minutes with your baits back under, or very close to the bushes. It takes reds a while to turn on, but once they do you should have good action for a while.
Remember to show your fellow fisherman some courtesy, and even if its not an idle speed zone, slow down when your passing fellow fisherman that are working the mangroves and flat edges. Its a small world out there, and they will usually do the same for you.
Stay safe,
Capt. Tom
