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.
Fish Caught: Redfish, Sheepshead, Lady Fish, Catfish, Mangrove Snapper
High Tide: 12:30 AM 1.9 FT Low Tide: 8:30 AM -0.9 FT Wind: 5-10 NE Air Temp: 42/71 Water Temp: Clarity:
It was kind of cool in the morning so we didn't leave the dock until nearly noon. My brother Fred and wife Ruth are down from Connecticut for a few days, so this was to be their day on the water. As it turns out they liked the first day a lot so it ran into two days and screwed up all the plans they had for the last days of their vacation. I can't blame them, after the cold weather we've had (nothing compared to theirs) it was perfect boat weather. Sunny, 75 degrees, with only a light breeze.
In the two days we used up 9 dozen live shrimp. As you can see from the photos it was only Fred and I feeding shrimp to the fish. Ruth was practicing to be a sun worshipper, following it around the boat with a book or a nap. Fred and Ruth are dog rescuers and Ruth was on the phone a lot trying to rescue dogs while on vacation. I did notice she'd take the time in every conversation to ask the weather the caller was experiencing and reporting her location, temperature and sunny comfort. "How is the weather there?… Oh, man, well it's 75 here, I'm on a boat, in a canal, in south west Florida…" Something us Floridians do regularly when talking to northern friends.
Fred did a lot of fishing in two days. We caught a lot of fish with our 9 dozen shrimp but mostly, as Ruth would be glad to tell you, we fed shrimp to many small sheepshead, mangrove snapper, catfish and redfish. There was rarely a dull moment, we were forever trying to set the hook on the little tap tap tap of the small, bait stealing sheepshead or snapper. But mostly we were helping them gain back their strength after the horrible weeks of cold weather. There are still fish dying in the canal, mostly sand perch. We also got to see a manatee which swam within 10 feet of us. It seemed like it was cold, surfacing very frequently and swimming very near the surface trying to get as much warmth from the sun as it could.
And we did manage to get a redfish over the 18 inch limit and a keeper sheepshead and we had a sudden run on mangrove snapper that were around 11 to 13 inches, so we did have some fish to clean when we got home.
But we could have done better at the fish market with the money spent on bait. But we would have had to find something else to do for two days and the cost of vacation would have been that much higher. So we're all sunburned and happy. At least Karen and I are, I checked the weather in Connecticut, where Fred and Ruth are home by now, it was only 5 degrees. I'll bet that sunburn looks a little out of place now, doesn't it Fred?
But it was a really nice visit, a great couple days on the water and we hope ya'll will come back soon.
