I live in Port Charlotte, FL on a canal with access to the Myakka River near El Jobean, FL and Charlotte Harbor. I own a boat and I love to fish. I'm new to Florida so I'm learning a new kind of fishing and I thought a record of fish caught, weather, tides, etc. for each trip would help me to learn quicker. That record is what you'll find in my blog which I post as soon as I possibly can so check before you're going out, my success or failure might help make your trip more productive.
High Tide: 11:59 PM 1.75 FT Low Tide: 8:00 AM -0.5 FT Wind: 5-10 SW Air Temp: 69/87 Water Temp: 73 Clarity: clear
I'd heard that their were redfish in Tippecanoe Bay so I chummed up some shiners and we headed out about 12:30 PM. I wanted to stop at the El Jobean bridge but there were a lot of boats and my favorite spots were occupied. So we went straight out to the very top of Tippecanoe.
I threw Gulp Swimming Mullet, a Heddon - Zara Puppy and free lined the shiners. I tried some of the deeper channels and oyster bars and sand flats. The only thing I saw was a couple fish, that may have been redfish, follow my Gulp to the boat and a lot of mullet jumping in the very shallow water where the sun warmed the water very quickly. I noticed my thermometer went from about 73 to as high as 77 degrees in spots where the water was still and shallow. When we got into the small areas between mangroves it got very hot, I had to put sandals on to keep my feet off the hot deck and our deck is white.
But, not a single fish. About 4:00 PM we went back to the El Jobean bridge and I used up the last of my shiners. The tides was still so it was impossible to keep my bait where I wanted it and we left there without a single strike.
It was nice to be on the water without the wind we experienced last trip. We noticed an awful lot (10-15) sea kayaks between the El Jobean boat launch and where we fished way up in the Tippecanoe Bay. They were all fishing, a lot with fly rods. We guessed there must have been some kind of group meet like a kayak club? Long way to paddle if they all put in at the boat launch.
